The Rithmatist

By -

I love Brandon Sanderson.  Not the man... but his books.  They're so good.  With the exception of his very first novel, Elantris, I've loved every single book or novella of his that I've read.  I recommend them to people all the time.

I just finished listening to the audiobook version of The Rithmatist.  I've read the book a few times before, so the audiobook was a change of pace.  But, it was great!

The world of The Rithmatist is basically an alternative history version of the early 1900s in the U.S.  Some major event has shaken the world, changed the landscape, and created a new form of science/math called Rithmatics.  Those in the world who are Rithmatists can use chalk to do things that would be considered magic in other circumstance, but it conforms to a very precise set of laws and theories.  It's an interesting setting.

We learn throughout the book that wild creatures called chalklings may be on the loose.  They are animated chalk-like drawings that can interact with the world.

I don't know how much more to talk about the setting and the story, I'm afraid I could ruin it for anyone interested in reading the book.

If you're already a Brandon Sanderson fan you should definitely read this book.  If you haven't ever read a Sanderson book this is actually a great entry point into his work.  It's a quick read that will let you see his ability for amazing world building.  I highly recommend it.

Comments

  1. MagsonApril 29, 2015 at 3:23 PM

    You didn't like Elantris? Did you write a review of it somewhere that I can read to see why not?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VoidApril 29, 2015 at 3:29 PM

      It's his only writing that I haven't liked. I don't think I've ever written up a review for it.

      Honestly, it all came down to pacing. The characters and the world that he built were great, but the book should have been like 1/3 the length that it was. There was so much filler and so many slow sections.

      Delete
    2. MagsonApril 30, 2015 at 9:59 AM

      Yeah, I guess I can see that. OTOH, I didn't mind those either, since the characterization and world-building was, IMO, well done.

      Delete
  2. ChestnutMay 4, 2015 at 8:04 AM

    I've never heard of Brandon Sanderson. I shall add him to my list of authors/books to check out. But first I need to get through the massive pile of books that my husband has helped me pile onto the bedside table as he finished books for his English Ed degree.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Latest Board Gaming

By -
Image
Besides video games I also regularly play board games when I'm hanging out with people face to face.  My brother, my wife, and I end up playing a lot of 3 player board games, but sometimes we get other players involved too. I realized I haven't talked much about what I've been playing in the world of board games, so here goes: Ticket to Ride - We own 3 different base versions of Ticket to Ride, 2 expansion sets, and an extra map set.  We love this game.  This is the game that gets the most overall table time when I'm playing board games with friends.  It's super accessible but still holds fun for people who have been playing the game for a long time.  I recommend this as a great beginner board game for anyone. Masquerade - A hidden role game where roles are constantly switching hands.  You're limited in actions on your turn and can only take one action.  This means that a lot of the time you're not entirely sure what role you currently have.
Read more

S2E22 - E3 2017 - “Who doesn’t want to be a dinosaur?!”

By -
E3 Hype! E3 2017. Not comprehensive. Not VGNN.  Only talking about things we think are interesting enough to talk about.  You have video game news sites for the rest :) We’re talking about Press Conferences, if more news comes out throughout the rest of the week it won’t be here because we’re recording on Tuesday night! http://e3recap.com/ has been my friend Overall trends Esports being forced onto games that aren’t even out yet “Influencers” being put front and center BJ: torn on the current “influencer” boom. Feels like a bubble that’s totally disingenuous Shorter press conferences with less big game announcements Really hard to tell what is actually exclusive Microsoft “Console Launch Exclusive” Most of these press conferences would have been better pre-recorded as just a series of trailers instead of having a stage show, honestly. Updates on games we already knew existed.  This is what we get for so many years of announcing games way ahead
Read more

Games of the Year 2022: In Conclusion

By -
This running Games of the Year list has been an interesting experiment.  I decided to start this series right as we were shutting down the Geek to Geek podcast as a way to keep creatively broadcasting some gaming thoughts out into the world.  I learned a few things from sticking with it this year. The main thing I learned is... I just don't have as much desire to broadcast my thoughts out in public as I used to when I started this blog or when I started podcasting.  I still love to have in-depth discussions about current games and general geekery, but I feel less and less need to broadcast those thoughts widely.  Honestly, it's been over a decade of blogging and podcasting at this point.  It would be more surprising if my relationship with the media landscape hadn't  changed. Around mid-year I started trying to use Twitter as more of a microblogging platform to do very short quick-hit thoughts about games but didn't get much traction or conversation going which was wha
Read more