As an athiest myself, Sanderson's religious Mormonism really has no reflection on my thoughts about him, it's his actions, his teachings, the demonstration of his character and morals within his books that clearly define his being, and based on what what I've read, he is worth admiring and a great role model.
A month later maybe, but also I have been catching things here and there in the Intentionally Blank podcast that, and this may be a stretch, that he and some of his friends are more like how my parents are Catholics, they go to church more as a social/community thing, they put a neglectable a amount of money in the basket and they are happy to call the church on their BS. It's like, there but nonconsequential most of the time.
@@vanTerseche's actively in his deconstruction phase. Everyone has to take that at their own pace. And in their own way. Which for him would be writing.
What happened here was inevitable. When an Edgelord like Kehe meets a relentlessly positive person like Sanderson, clearly they aren't going to be able to see things on the same level.
I am not a Sanderson fan at all. In fact, I’ve complained about him on this channel. BUT this article was nuts. I don’t even agree with his criticism for the writing itself. I’m pretty sure this guy didn’t read Sanderson’s main works because there’s no way someone read Dalinar’s story and thought “yeah, this dude is a good guy, total hero material”
The fact the journalist didn't go more into depth on the writing/plot and prose and ask more questions is baffling to me. He just decides Sanderson is objectively bad. You don't sell 20+ million books being objectively bad. My problem with trying to analyze prose is that it is mostly subjective. Yes technical quality and skill is measurable, but just because something has "good" prose doesn't mean it works for everybody. Simple prose/writing can be a skill itself.
Rock's stew. Both times... one thing to add. I believe that Brandons comment about the graphic tee and sports jacket making him look "professorial" was sarcasm. I can imagine him saying that with a smirk and a twinkle in his eyes. Anyways, great discussion.
This time listening to Brandon's response I finally saw the subtle burn to Jason. In the article Jason natters on about what it is to be a writer. Brandon gives a more succinct definition basically saying that good writing is finding the emotional truth of all people. Essentially that no person is boring to a real writer. Which boils down to Jason not being a real writer.
I, for one, felt very strong emotions because of Jason's article. The rage keeps me warm at night and the second hand embarassment gives me quite the healthy parlor. It's actually a feat that he made me feel so much cause I don't care about Sanderson, I've never read his books, we're of different religions, I'm not American and he's old enough to be my father so our life experiences are on completely different levels, about the only thing we have in common is that being a full time author is my life dream too. This piece terrifies and disgusts me with how little common sense it shows, not even as an author, just as a human being. You get invited into someone's house, you spend time with their family and friends, you talk about their live's work and you write about it all like this? Where's the journalism objectivism? Where's the basic decency? "You're not at all like I expected, I don't like the genre you write in and if it was me I would never be overly personal with strangers like you are even if they claim to like my work BUT I respect you as a person and I'll try to understand how this all works out for you and write all about it in my article like purely scientific analisys" That's all Jason had to do, write things as they are, not try to twist it into something that would get him hate clicks, but hey he got what he wanted, hope it was worth it.
Rocks Stew. I’m genuinely shocked you guys aren’t way bigger. Your shorts are pithy, attention grabbing, and well edited. Your bookish insights are great and your reviews are well thought out and entertaining. You also just have high quality production and a recognizable “set”. If I had no idea what ur sub count was and had to place you based on other booktubers, i would guess around the 100k sub area. So again, I’m genuinely shocked you haven’t blown up yet. Maybe you need to try getting in on some Daniel Greene/Merphy Napier/Elliot Brooks collabs lol. But seriously, i was subbed to Man Carrying Thing when he was at like 8k subs and he’s absolutely blown up. Granted, his skits are a large part of that, but he started rapidly growing in the booktube space with his collaboration videos….so I’m gonna implore Daniel in the comments of all his new videos to get you guys on his channel. (And more than just ur bookshelf)
Wow…thank you! This is one of those comments that will really stick with us. I feel like I can run through a brick wall after reading this 😮💨. We’re not quitting and comments like these keep us going - thanks again, glad you’re going to annoy the Goblin for us lol
Somewhere in the middle of the article the author talks about feeding his notes to an AI. This shocked me. How much of this final article was written by an AI? It's odd to me that he criticizes Sanderson's writing when he uses an AI for at least some of his writing. (Rock Stew 😀 )
This article reminds me of the musical Hamilton, when Aaron Burr is frustrated that Hamilton "writes like he is running out of time"... Patrick Rothfus got sick after writting five George RR Martin wrote 29 Sanderson wrote THE OTHER 51!!!
I actually would love to have Rock’s stew in real life. That said, I would rather be forced to eat a stew with actual rocks in it than have a single interaction with this “journalist” much less share a meal with him. Hats off to Sanderson for being able to stand being around that douche for multiple days. Sanderson is a truly classy guy who doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. Also, love your guy’s content. Keep up the great work!
I have zero knowledge about things and events in the US, but two things I did learn with all this drama 1. Lots of people on the internet are filled with vitriol towards Sanderson and his writing. A lot of both, people and vitriol. Didn't expect that. 2. I did learn from people who identify as LGBTQ+ about the mormon church that gets donation from Sanderson and how they have actively been trying to suppress rights of trans people. And I do not have knowledge of LDS or any of their activity so I did give benefit of doubt to Sanderson as his writing to me has never come across as hateful or suppressive to certain groups of people be it religious or people with certain sexual orientation. But it did make me feel rather queasy about what Sanderson's thoughts are and I would have really appreciated the author of that article go into details such as that, rather than outright mocking mormonism. ROCKSTEW as always. Love the channel, read the first law trilogy faster.
Rockstew!!! Thanks for watching and YES - would’ve loved if the article dove into ‘separating the art from the artist’ and exploring how one’s religious beliefs could bleed into their writing. The article was too biased for us to take any of that potential commentary seriously though, so a different tone would’ve been needed for sure. Appreciate the comment! (Also will read First Law as fast as we can lol)
You should go on to Sanderson's subreddit. Also the AMA that happened 8 months ago. He does accept he needed learning regarding LGBTQ issues and is always open to learning. I'm an atheist but Brando Sando is someone I highly admire for his ability to keep educating himself and loves everyone.
@@thesmilingtitan One thing that bothers me is that people don't do research. Yes Sanderson is a mormon, and mormons in general often believe some weird stuff especially about LGBTQ people. But not every mormon agrees with everything the church says. Sanderson has very recently spoken about how he has changed views on LGBTQ people and discussed needing to learn and improve, and has used LGBTQ characters in his books. By mormon standards, he is ridiculously progressive. Also, he personally (as far as we know) doesn't go out and harm individuals. So who am I, some rando on the internet, to make sweeping judgements about his character?
Naming kids reminds me of this from the episode of Tika to ride from Red Dwarf. Rimmer - JFK as in the airport Lister - who would be stupid enough to name their kid after an airport? Rimmer was trying to explain to Lister who JFK was.
Would not be surprised if this wasn’t done on purpose by his pin team. Makes sense to me. Because I was ready to fight the guy after reading the article
Apparently, he was really nice to Brandon's face- I'm guessing there was some kind of unsuccessful pass in there somewhere, given how bitter this article is- but, either way, Jason might as well be in the next round of layoffs at Wired, because no one is ever going to open up/trust him in an article, again.
Hey! Don’t I’ll-wish the WoT show. I’m really hopeful now that they have more time for post production and they don’t have COVID restrictions 🥺 I’m someone who actually discovered Sanderson via the Wheel of Time (which is my favorite series of all time)
We’re on a journey right now where I (Austin) am reading each book for the first time and Richard is rereading each - we’re going to do a review on each and every one - can’t wait to read! 🤌
@@2ToRamble Enjoy your journey! I do think WoT is best when you have someone who already read the series there to help lol. Also I did watch the whole thing, so “Rocks Stew” 😉
There's difference between easy to read and repetitive overly simple prose. I read Red Rising and The Final Empire the same time, Red Rising doesnt have more complicated prose, but it felt much less repetitive than The Final Empire.
I am a Norse Pagan who has very very serious issues with Yahwahism and all the Yahwahist religions. With reguards the mormon church in particular I take very serious issue with it's stand in regards to the alphabet mafia. All of that said what this "journalist" did was so far beyond unprofessional. The article was clearly nothing more than a hitpiece on Sanderson.
So if Brandon Sanderson really can’t feel pain there is a good reason why it would be very personal CIPA is a nerve disorder and can be very dangerous and difficult to live with you have to constantly be hyper aware of yourself pain is a good thing it warns us of danger (this doesn’t really extend to emotions 🤷🏻♀️) This guy is just really mean for no reason you can have a good story about someone that is just a feel good story that would have been much better ☹️
One big critique of Sanderson’s books: terrible cover art (except for Way of Kings, which is awesome). I think the tone of the art contributes to the “young-adultish” vibe.
We do love his cover art and are more positive on Sanderson’s prose, but your comments are a lot nicer than the article 😂. But definitely understand that his prose isn’t for everyone - glad you love the plots and pacing, they really are next level. (Not to mention his magic systems, worlds, etc)
I don't think anyone will argue with this. I actually love his YA level prose, I can go to other authors for higher pros. Sanderson feels like a storyteller to me, not a writer. He likes plotting and worlds and character and telling stories, so he writes at a level he's comfortable with to tell his stories. I don't think thats a bad thing as a whole, whilst being a completely valid critizism from anyone who doens't like his books. Fair enough!
For me, it’s not about being geared towards young adults, there are just some sentences that are objectively bad. “Felt a feeling” was a good example (as much as I disagree with almost everything else said in the article). Sanderson frequently violates basic rules found in Strunk and White. It sounds like Sanderson himself acknowledges this. In the end, he’s the GOAT at so many other aspects of the craft, it’s easy for me to overlook the occasional clunker of a sentence.
I don’t think Sanderson is an amazing writer and I sometimes roll my eyes at the prose but it is compensated by the fact that he is an imaginative and compelling storyteller
An article reeking of bay area. Also, by reading 17 books, he probably means he read the first chapters and got the rest from summaries and 1 star reviews. To be more realistic: he probably read them wanting to hate them and just gave the least charitable interpretation possible.
I was enrolled in Sanderson’s class at BYU and I love Sanderson! He is a kind and passionate person who does his best and tries to always help others. He loves his family, his students, and his fans! Idk how anyone could speak so poorly of the guy!
This is the first article I've read that legitimately felt like the journalist just had it out for the successful straight white religious guy. As he mentions himself he had no 'angle.' there was no low hanging fruit to grab on to by the standards that this kind of journalism lives off of. Brandon Sanderson is just a simple chill nerd who likes to write and writes stories that people like. Simple. But you can't do click bait journalism from that. You had to 'pull a Disney' and some angle to get people talking ("This is our first gay character ever!!" -- said the 20th time), this article smells like that. No easy low hanging fruit angle to get clicks, no controversy that hasn't been dissolved with time and personal growth, and Sanderson doesn't have a DEI angle to latch onto either. He's just a guy who likes to write and write to a degree that the public loves him. And yup, doesn't make for clicky journalism, so the journalist had to grab onto whatever he could and he chose the religious angle whilst also making fun of Brandon's neurodivergence. Shameful. Another commenter said it somewhere but if Sanderson was LGTB or BIPOC or not religious, but had the same personality, and wrote the same exact books with the same level of fanbase hype then this would have a very differently bias'ed article "wow look at this author, one of the people; writing what they want! So bold, such deserved success." --- and I hate that thats where my mind goes when reading this article because I think the "woke" debate is stupid and immature - from both sides. But this article really feels it was written by someone with an agenda
Okay little do most people know but there are tons and tons of very popular "Mormon" authors. Here's a brief list: Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere Brandon Mull - Fablehaven James Dashner- Maze Runner Stephenie Meyer - Twilight Orsen Scott Card - Ender's Game Brian McClellan - Powder Mage Glen Larson - Battlestar Galactica Dan Wells - I Am Not a Serial Killer Larry Correia - Monster Hunter International/ Saga of the Forgotten Warrior David Farland - Runelords series Tracy Hickman - Dragon Lance Chronicles Shannon Hale - Austenland This barely scratches the surface lol
Most slept on podcast about books I've run across on UA-cam. Quality, funny, insightful. Sounds cliche but it's true. Wish I could find a podcast like this for horror novels
Found you guys because of Sanderson. Love your channel and can’t wait to see it continue to grow! Reading Oathbringer now and am excited to watch your breakdown after I I finish. His writing style may be basic, but dang can he write some characters that jump off the page, action scenes that have you leaning up in your seat, etc. Anyone that got me to read two 1,000+ page books is a damn good writer to me!
i was waiting for a response from this channel. this article was ridiculous and when he took those quotes out of context i was at my tipping point. not every line an author writes is going to be literary gold, and they shouldn't be.
Theres definitely such thing as ‘doing too much’ in terms of prose and it can sometimes detract from the immersiveness of a story. A story being enjoyable and flowing well is part of what makes it feel like you’re really experiencing that world. Sanderson balances this perfectly
I think when Jason wrote about sprinting towards an ending and having the only time Sanderson said anything meaningful, only 7 words but "that you aren't ready for them yet" was his attempt at satire/mocking the Stormlight archive and having Kaladin be told that he wasn't ready to hear the words that he needed to say. Kaladin then had to wait a long time (by words count) to find out what he needed to say. It is like Jason wanted to just spit as many words onto a page and attempt to be like Sanderson and ended up failing at it miserably. Edit: I think Jason got halfway WoK and gave up.
Loved the video and did watch it to the end. The world is so much smaller if you can only appreciate creative works from people who have religious views you approve of. Imagine the pushback that would occur if he did this to a Jewish writer or a Muslim one. But because it's directed towards a Mormon writer Jason thought he could get away with his open bigotry. Thanks for calling him out on it and greatly enjoyed the dynamic you two have created. You earned a subscriber.
Sanderson: *invites a journalist to his home and to try out his expensive home theater Jason: "This weird Mormon guy took me into his basement and forced me to watch Hugh Jackman until I cried!" 🤣
There are so many angles he could have taken for this article. 1. Sanderson's effect on and predictions about the publishing industry, given the Kickstarter as well as his advocacy for newer writers through the deals he's made (or not made) with companies like Audible and Spotify, the congressional testimonial against mergers, the classes he teaches, the mentoring he so freely gives. 2. Sanderson's marketing and PR - especially how much time and effort he puts into connecting with fans: e.g., discussing theories of his magic systems at length with fans at cons, doing so many booktuber interviews, having multiple podcasts, etc. 3. On the LDS front, the many times he explores organized religion in his books, NOT as the keeper of absolute truth but as a powerful force that may cause harm or good, may share truth or conceal it - and how that is similar or different to how he sees organized religion in the real world, Mormonism in particular. 4. Why fantasy as a genre is so compelling to so many people, what is the deeper truth hidden within these made-up worlds, and why its fandom appears to be growing now. 5. Even simply a tongue-in-cheek instead of insulting: "I tried to dig up dirt on Sanderson but he infuriatingly turned out to actually be the thoroughly decent person he shows to the world."
Rocks stew is far more complex and tasteful than this author's journalism. Seriously... I gave the cliff notes of this to my wife (who is not a Sanderson fan) and she was horrified by it
Lord--- I never laughed so hard at a podcast on books gives me a warmth just like trapped under plastic but deliciously goofy . . was drafting a Libro while having this in the background
It sounds like Jason didn't want to go to Utah and he partially took it out on Sanderson. I definitely think he wanted to get Sanderson riled up to try to tear down the "good Mormon" persona. I looked at the list of Jason's articles over the past 2 years and he published 10+ in 2021 and 2022, each year. However, the Sanderson hit piece has been his only article this year (Late Nov 2023). Final note: I'm wondering if he thought the controversy over the article would be a positive for WIRED & his career and then it actually hurt him, instead.
Mormon here who was on my two year religious service when the musical, “The Book of Mormon: The Musical,” came out on broadway. We got so many questions about the musical, I broke mission rules and found as many UA-cam clips and stories I could. Matt Stone and Trey Parker are geniuses. They got belly laughs out of a Mormon missionary on his mission. They were asked if they were concerned about the LDS/Mormon church’s response. “Nah, they’ll be cool.” And cool they were. The Church took out a page in the playbill for the musical which said “you’ve seen the play, now read the book.” And “The Book of Mormon: the Musical will entertain you for an evening. The Book of Mormon will bless you for eternity.” Like just pure class.
Why did I find this video - and this channel - just when I really, really need to go to bed? XD You guys are so entertaining, keep up the awesome work! Okay... Time to prep for a late night and finish watching this article read, hehe. ^^
Jason's gay, right??? Not to sound homophobic, but it's hard to picture a straight man being so damn extra, 'crying' every time and showing such dislike to someone just for having a religion
In this 4000-word article with Brandon Sanderson in the title, I learned so much about Jason Kehe and almost nothing about Brandon Sanderson. It seems like this "article" was merely an excuse for Kehe to live and sup at the home of someone much more successful than himself and then spend the next 5 months on the payroll writing about himself. It probably took that long to reduce it to just 4000 words as Kehe can't seem stop talking about himself. Good job, comrade. Your proletariat work ethic is how capitalism will be destroyed.
The spirit of fantasy is to create loyal Bolsheviks; true believers in the humanists cause and unflinching sadists who can draw out pain from even the most unflinching traitor to the cause. Rocks stew.
Just want to point out, the reason "She felt a feeling of dread," is a bad sentence is because it's repetitive. The corrected sentence would be closer to: "She felt dread." Honestly the sentence is guilty of telling not showing, as well. Which means it can't be easily saved 😅 But that's the issue Also also ... that article writer is an asshole.
Thank you for getting into this. I’ve been watching several of these and this was a good way to discover your channel. About prose-it drives me crazy when professionals , Jason in this case, misuse the term “prose.” EVERY book has prose, so does every tweet. “Prose” is not interchangeable with “lyrical.” Beyond a basic definitional problem, Jason does not understand that the job of prose is to render the project of a work in the manner most appropriate to the author’s intent for that work. Robin Hobb writes lyrical prose because that is the style best suited to the storytelling of the ROTE. Sanderson writes with packed, efficient prose because that is what suits his vision of the Cosmere. Just imagine how long his books would be if he wrote like Hobb! Prose must, above all things, be written to purpose and Sanderson does that with aplomb. About Jason, I think it’s clear from this bullying, scrambled, wreck of an article that Jason is not well. And I mean that. He needs serious, genuine, medical help. My question is WHERE THE HELL WERE THE EDITORS!!? The quality of this article is an embarrassment to the long established tradition of Wired. I was a subscriber to Wired from the third issue, back when each issue still came with a floppy disc of software. How can this publication have gone this wrong? There is absolutely no excuse and it has certainly undermined my trust in Wired in general. This article isn’t Jason’s fault. The buck stops with the editor who read it and signed off. For that person I have no mercy.
Very thought provoking comment - thank you for this. We couldn’t agree more with your insight on prose. This whole comment should be a video on its own! Thanks very much for watching us and commenting !
This guy so wanted this to be his “End of Tour” DFW moment. Hoping that Sanderson would expose himself for a quick click bait headline. Choosing to intentionally ignore the story that was presenting itself in favor of the one he likely conjured up before he even met Sanderson. The article is overwrought, narcissistic and filled with pretentious elitism that ultimately reads like an insecure writer who is desperately seeking validation. Instead of a story about Sanderson, he turned it into a story about himself struggling to write a story. (Yikes) The problem is, Jason isn’t an interesting person and no one is interested in reading a story about him. I want to say also that I have never read Sanderson. Not here just blindly defending because I’m a fan.
I’m a Mormon, a BYU student, and a student of Sanderson when this article came out. All I can say is that Sanderson is nothing but one of the nicest guys I have ever met or been taught by. As for the church we simply are people trying to worship God the way we think is best. We love Jesus and are trying to be like Him. We as a people we really aren’t that interesting, very milk toast. I say just let people be who they are and don’t go after them for things you don’t understand. God bless Mr. Kehe, I hope he’s able to move past whatever is evidently going on.
It’s insulting too because any decent aspiring writer who maybe doesn’t live in the US or doesn’t have access to a good writing program will have listened to his lectures that he filmed and put on for free, where you will learn very actionable skills about writing and publishing. Sanderson changed more lives across the world than that journalist could ever conceptualize.
this is so so late, but i can't help but think about how hateful this guy must be. sanderson, whether you're a fan of his or not, has created a life for himself where he can do what he loves, provide for his family, and create a community of likeminded people who enjoy reading and writing. there are parts in his article where I think the author is trying to "diss" sanderson and I keep thinking to myself "wait no, that'd actually be so sick to provide for my family and friends, or go to a fantasy theme park and talk about my favorite genre with other people who love it". the original article is just so baffling
Rock's Stew! Based on what Jason says about people naming their kids after Cosmere characters, I think he's lying about knowing Kaladin from Adolin. That said, he's right to hate The Greatest Showman.
How a journalist can be so blatantly elitist and clueless disgusts me; he literally complains that Brandon Sanderson is just a humble man who writes fiction that this Jason guy doesn't get. What a frickin' jerk.
This is a HORRIBLE article, but I'm confused how Sanderson could be the best selling fatasy author. He great but I can't seeing him selling more than Tolkein or Rowling even and I'm struggling to find any sources about it
As an athiest myself, Sanderson's religious Mormonism really has no reflection on my thoughts about him, it's his actions, his teachings, the demonstration of his character and morals within his books that clearly define his being, and based on what what I've read, he is worth admiring and a great role model.
Really well said
A month later maybe, but also I have been catching things here and there in the Intentionally Blank podcast that, and this may be a stretch, that he and some of his friends are more like how my parents are Catholics, they go to church more as a social/community thing, they put a neglectable a amount of money in the basket and they are happy to call the church on their BS. It's like, there but nonconsequential most of the time.
@@vanTerseche's actively in his deconstruction phase. Everyone has to take that at their own pace. And in their own way. Which for him would be writing.
What happened here was inevitable. When an Edgelord like Kehe meets a relentlessly positive person like Sanderson, clearly they aren't going to be able to see things on the same level.
I think it’s entirely accurate, but I LOVE the description of “relentlessly positive”
I am not a Sanderson fan at all. In fact, I’ve complained about him on this channel.
BUT this article was nuts. I don’t even agree with his criticism for the writing itself. I’m pretty sure this guy didn’t read Sanderson’s main works because there’s no way someone read Dalinar’s story and thought “yeah, this dude is a good guy, total hero material”
The fact the journalist didn't go more into depth on the writing/plot and prose and ask more questions is baffling to me. He just decides Sanderson is objectively bad. You don't sell 20+ million books being objectively bad. My problem with trying to analyze prose is that it is mostly subjective. Yes technical quality and skill is measurable, but just because something has "good" prose doesn't mean it works for everybody. Simple prose/writing can be a skill itself.
Elitists from San Francisco have a twisted warp of morality so could be he thought Dalinar was a super great guy.
They probably read Waximillion.... because that is a charcter made to be lancelot.. with guns.
Rock's stew. Both times... one thing to add. I believe that Brandons comment about the graphic tee and sports jacket making him look "professorial" was sarcasm. I can imagine him saying that with a smirk and a twinkle in his eyes. Anyways, great discussion.
This time listening to Brandon's response I finally saw the subtle burn to Jason. In the article Jason natters on about what it is to be a writer. Brandon gives a more succinct definition basically saying that good writing is finding the emotional truth of all people. Essentially that no person is boring to a real writer. Which boils down to Jason not being a real writer.
I, for one, felt very strong emotions because of Jason's article. The rage keeps me warm at night and the second hand embarassment gives me quite the healthy parlor. It's actually a feat that he made me feel so much cause I don't care about Sanderson, I've never read his books, we're of different religions, I'm not American and he's old enough to be my father so our life experiences are on completely different levels, about the only thing we have in common is that being a full time author is my life dream too. This piece terrifies and disgusts me with how little common sense it shows, not even as an author, just as a human being. You get invited into someone's house, you spend time with their family and friends, you talk about their live's work and you write about it all like this? Where's the journalism objectivism? Where's the basic decency? "You're not at all like I expected, I don't like the genre you write in and if it was me I would never be overly personal with strangers like you are even if they claim to like my work BUT I respect you as a person and I'll try to understand how this all works out for you and write all about it in my article like purely scientific analisys" That's all Jason had to do, write things as they are, not try to twist it into something that would get him hate clicks, but hey he got what he wanted, hope it was worth it.
I love how Brandon responded. Way to take the high road.
Rocks Stew.
I’m genuinely shocked you guys aren’t way bigger. Your shorts are pithy, attention grabbing, and well edited. Your bookish insights are great and your reviews are well thought out and entertaining. You also just have high quality production and a recognizable “set”. If I had no idea what ur sub count was and had to place you based on other booktubers, i would guess around the 100k sub area. So again, I’m genuinely shocked you haven’t blown up yet. Maybe you need to try getting in on some Daniel Greene/Merphy Napier/Elliot Brooks collabs lol.
But seriously, i was subbed to Man Carrying Thing when he was at like 8k subs and he’s absolutely blown up. Granted, his skits are a large part of that, but he started rapidly growing in the booktube space with his collaboration videos….so I’m gonna implore Daniel in the comments of all his new videos to get you guys on his channel. (And more than just ur bookshelf)
Wow…thank you! This is one of those comments that will really stick with us. I feel like I can run through a brick wall after reading this 😮💨. We’re not quitting and comments like these keep us going - thanks again, glad you’re going to annoy the Goblin for us lol
@@2ToRamble lol, no problem, you guys give great entertainment
Was having a bowl of Rocks Stew, when I realized Brandon is a much better person that I would have been in this situation 😅
I watched to the end and enjoyed it. Thanks for an interesting discussion!
Rock's stew.
This video is the only way to get through experiencing that article. Thank you for your sacrifice in suffering through it.
I was on a plane and my head was exploding as I read it
Ay! Nice to see you at this channel again!
Somewhere in the middle of the article the author talks about feeding his notes to an AI. This shocked me. How much of this final article was written by an AI? It's odd to me that he criticizes Sanderson's writing when he uses an AI for at least some of his writing. (Rock Stew 😀 )
The AI didn't write bits of the article. It created transcriptions ol and summaries of his audio recordings.
Hit piece. A chance to write some rage bait and rip Sanderson for being Mormon. San Francisco recipe for a promotion.
Numuhukumakiaki'aialunamor's stew is the best, i am glad you noticed
This article reminds me of the musical Hamilton, when Aaron Burr is frustrated that Hamilton "writes like he is running out of time"...
Patrick Rothfus got sick after writting five
George RR Martin wrote 29
Sanderson wrote THE OTHER 51!!!
Also late to this and didn't see it but sanderson said he wears the blazer to look more like a professor. Which he is. He teaches at byu
I actually would love to have Rock’s stew in real life. That said, I would rather be forced to eat a stew with actual rocks in it than have a single interaction with this “journalist” much less share a meal with him. Hats off to Sanderson for being able to stand being around that douche for multiple days. Sanderson is a truly classy guy who doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.
Also, love your guy’s content. Keep up the great work!
Great video :) I'm craving Rocks Stew for some reason...
Rocks Stew!
Sandow Rocks! You guys have an interesting relationship, which certainly makes discussing this article again much more interesting.
Thankya!!
I have zero knowledge about things and events in the US, but two things I did learn with all this drama
1. Lots of people on the internet are filled with vitriol towards Sanderson and his writing. A lot of both, people and vitriol. Didn't expect that.
2. I did learn from people who identify as LGBTQ+ about the mormon church that gets donation from Sanderson and how they have actively been trying to suppress rights of trans people.
And I do not have knowledge of LDS or any of their activity so I did give benefit of doubt to Sanderson as his writing to me has never come across as hateful or suppressive to certain groups of people be it religious or people with certain sexual orientation. But it did make me feel rather queasy about what Sanderson's thoughts are and I would have really appreciated the author of that article go into details such as that, rather than outright mocking mormonism.
ROCKSTEW as always. Love the channel, read the first law trilogy faster.
Rockstew!!! Thanks for watching and YES - would’ve loved if the article dove into ‘separating the art from the artist’ and exploring how one’s religious beliefs could bleed into their writing. The article was too biased for us to take any of that potential commentary seriously though, so a different tone would’ve been needed for sure. Appreciate the comment! (Also will read First Law as fast as we can lol)
You should go on to Sanderson's subreddit.
Also the AMA that happened 8 months ago.
He does accept he needed learning regarding LGBTQ issues and is always open to learning.
I'm an atheist but Brando Sando is someone I highly admire for his ability to keep educating himself and loves everyone.
@@thesmilingtitan One thing that bothers me is that people don't do research. Yes Sanderson is a mormon, and mormons in general often believe some weird stuff especially about LGBTQ people. But not every mormon agrees with everything the church says. Sanderson has very recently spoken about how he has changed views on LGBTQ people and discussed needing to learn and improve, and has used LGBTQ characters in his books. By mormon standards, he is ridiculously progressive. Also, he personally (as far as we know) doesn't go out and harm individuals. So who am I, some rando on the internet, to make sweeping judgements about his character?
Rock's Stew
Naming kids reminds me of this from the episode of Tika to ride from Red Dwarf.
Rimmer - JFK as in the airport
Lister - who would be stupid enough to name their kid after an airport?
Rimmer was trying to explain to Lister who JFK was.
Should I rewatch every video after this one thinking “what would have Richard said if not for Jason”?
😂
Would not be surprised if this wasn’t done on purpose by his pin team. Makes sense to me. Because I was ready to fight the guy after reading the article
was looking for this comment. someone talks s**t about my wife and family .......
The “journalist’s” bigotry toward Mormonism is gross.
watched this whole thing yall funny had to sub😂
Thank you !
Rocks stew
Rock’s stew
Apparently, he was really nice to Brandon's face- I'm guessing there was some kind of unsuccessful pass in there somewhere, given how bitter this article is- but, either way, Jason might as well be in the next round of layoffs at Wired, because no one is ever going to open up/trust him in an article, again.
Rock's stew... Sando Rocks!
journalistic ethics is something of the past.
Hey! Don’t I’ll-wish the WoT show. I’m really hopeful now that they have more time for post production and they don’t have COVID restrictions 🥺
I’m someone who actually discovered Sanderson via the Wheel of Time (which is my favorite series of all time)
We’re on a journey right now where I (Austin) am reading each book for the first time and Richard is rereading each - we’re going to do a review on each and every one - can’t wait to read! 🤌
@@2ToRamble Enjoy your journey! I do think WoT is best when you have someone who already read the series there to help lol. Also I did watch the whole thing, so “Rocks Stew” 😉
There's difference between easy to read and repetitive overly simple prose. I read Red Rising and The Final Empire the same time, Red Rising doesnt have more complicated prose, but it felt much less repetitive than The Final Empire.
Rock`s stew!
I am a Norse Pagan who has very very serious issues with Yahwahism and all the Yahwahist religions. With reguards the mormon church in particular I take very serious issue with it's stand in regards to the alphabet mafia. All of that said what this "journalist" did was so far beyond unprofessional. The article was clearly nothing more than a hitpiece on Sanderson.
Rocks stu
Rocks stew!
👊👊
Rock's stew 🍲 🎉
So if Brandon Sanderson really can’t feel pain there is a good reason why it would be very personal CIPA is a nerve disorder and can be very dangerous and difficult to live with you have to constantly be hyper aware of yourself pain is a good thing it warns us of danger (this doesn’t really extend to emotions 🤷🏻♀️)
This guy is just really mean for no reason you can have a good story about someone that is just a feel good story that would have been much better ☹️
Rock stew
One big critique of Sanderson’s books: terrible cover art (except for Way of Kings, which is awesome). I think the tone of the art contributes to the “young-adultish” vibe.
I also think his prose is below average for a professional, but his plots and pacing are literally the best in the industry.
We do love his cover art and are more positive on Sanderson’s prose, but your comments are a lot nicer than the article 😂. But definitely understand that his prose isn’t for everyone - glad you love the plots and pacing, they really are next level. (Not to mention his magic systems, worlds, etc)
Content idea: Do one of these rating videos for his cover art
I don't think anyone will argue with this. I actually love his YA level prose, I can go to other authors for higher pros. Sanderson feels like a storyteller to me, not a writer. He likes plotting and worlds and character and telling stories, so he writes at a level he's comfortable with to tell his stories. I don't think thats a bad thing as a whole, whilst being a completely valid critizism from anyone who doens't like his books. Fair enough!
For me, it’s not about being geared towards young adults, there are just some sentences that are objectively bad. “Felt a feeling” was a good example (as much as I disagree with almost everything else said in the article). Sanderson frequently violates basic rules found in Strunk and White. It sounds like Sanderson himself acknowledges this. In the end, he’s the GOAT at so many other aspects of the craft, it’s easy for me to overlook the occasional clunker of a sentence.
I don’t think Sanderson is an amazing writer and I sometimes roll my eyes at the prose but it is compensated by the fact that he is an imaginative and compelling storyteller
An article reeking of bay area.
Also, by reading 17 books, he probably means he read the first chapters and got the rest from summaries and 1 star reviews. To be more realistic: he probably read them wanting to hate them and just gave the least charitable interpretation possible.
Sando rocks stew.
🙏🫡
sando rocks stew
How did they let this guy publish his hit piece? It’s so bad 😅
👍👍
Its like he thinks hes a far superior writer than brandon in every way and cant fathom why sanderson gets all the love and he gets none
A little late with this on ;)
Had to put this on the Monday pod because it was way too long for a normal video. But we are always late to trends anyways 😆
First
Genuine means clownself should be virtue signalling. And, also was a victim of boredom, how dare those non-clowns! 🪳
I was enrolled in Sanderson’s class at BYU and I love Sanderson! He is a kind and passionate person who does his best and tries to always help others. He loves his family, his students, and his fans! Idk how anyone could speak so poorly of the guy!
We are incredibly jealous - that must’ve been a great class!
Rock's Stew
This is the first article I've read that legitimately felt like the journalist just had it out for the successful straight white religious guy. As he mentions himself he had no 'angle.' there was no low hanging fruit to grab on to by the standards that this kind of journalism lives off of. Brandon Sanderson is just a simple chill nerd who likes to write and writes stories that people like. Simple. But you can't do click bait journalism from that. You had to 'pull a Disney' and some angle to get people talking ("This is our first gay character ever!!" -- said the 20th time), this article smells like that.
No easy low hanging fruit angle to get clicks, no controversy that hasn't been dissolved with time and personal growth, and Sanderson doesn't have a DEI angle to latch onto either. He's just a guy who likes to write and write to a degree that the public loves him. And yup, doesn't make for clicky journalism, so the journalist had to grab onto whatever he could and he chose the religious angle whilst also making fun of Brandon's neurodivergence. Shameful.
Another commenter said it somewhere but if Sanderson was LGTB or BIPOC or not religious, but had the same personality, and wrote the same exact books with the same level of fanbase hype then this would have a very differently bias'ed article "wow look at this author, one of the people; writing what they want! So bold, such deserved success." --- and I hate that thats where my mind goes when reading this article because I think the "woke" debate is stupid and immature - from both sides. But this article really feels it was written by someone with an agenda
Okay little do most people know but there are tons and tons of very popular "Mormon" authors. Here's a brief list:
Brandon Sanderson - Cosmere
Brandon Mull - Fablehaven
James Dashner- Maze Runner
Stephenie Meyer - Twilight
Orsen Scott Card - Ender's Game
Brian McClellan - Powder Mage
Glen Larson - Battlestar Galactica
Dan Wells - I Am Not a Serial Killer
Larry Correia - Monster Hunter International/ Saga of the Forgotten Warrior
David Farland - Runelords series
Tracy Hickman - Dragon Lance Chronicles
Shannon Hale - Austenland
This barely scratches the surface lol
To be fair OSC is an openly terrible person now.
Most slept on podcast about books I've run across on UA-cam. Quality, funny, insightful. Sounds cliche but it's true.
Wish I could find a podcast like this for horror novels
You honor us! Thank you!
Kehe just burned any future author interview opportunities. If he can attack someone as generous and genuine as Sanderson, no one is safe.
Found you guys because of Sanderson. Love your channel and can’t wait to see it continue to grow! Reading Oathbringer now and am excited to watch your breakdown after I I finish.
His writing style may be basic, but dang can he write some characters that jump off the page, action scenes that have you leaning up in your seat, etc. Anyone that got me to read two 1,000+ page books is a damn good writer to me!
Cheers - thank you for the support!
i was waiting for a response from this channel. this article was ridiculous and when he took those quotes out of context i was at my tipping point. not every line an author writes is going to be literary gold, and they shouldn't be.
Rocks Stew! You guys are defiantly my favourite UA-cam duo. Keep up the good work and funny banter!
Thank you!
Theres definitely such thing as ‘doing too much’ in terms of prose and it can sometimes detract from the immersiveness of a story. A story being enjoyable and flowing well is part of what makes it feel like you’re really experiencing that world. Sanderson balances this perfectly
Couldnt agree more!
I think when Jason wrote about sprinting towards an ending and having the only time Sanderson said anything meaningful, only 7 words but "that you aren't ready for them yet" was his attempt at satire/mocking the Stormlight archive and having Kaladin be told that he wasn't ready to hear the words that he needed to say. Kaladin then had to wait a long time (by words count) to find out what he needed to say. It is like Jason wanted to just spit as many words onto a page and attempt to be like Sanderson and ended up failing at it miserably. Edit: I think Jason got halfway WoK and gave up.
Didn’t put this together ourselves but this makes sense, interesting thought! 🧐
Brandon really upholding the Second Ideal with his response 👏👏
Loved the video and did watch it to the end.
The world is so much smaller if you can only appreciate creative works from people who have religious views you approve of. Imagine the pushback that would occur if he did this to a Jewish writer or a Muslim one. But because it's directed towards a Mormon writer Jason thought he could get away with his open bigotry. Thanks for calling him out on it and greatly enjoyed the dynamic you two have created. You earned a subscriber.
Thank you for watching and the support!!
Sanderson: *invites a journalist to his home and to try out his expensive home theater
Jason: "This weird Mormon guy took me into his basement and forced me to watch Hugh Jackman until I cried!" 🤣
People wonder why main stream news is dying and lost all credibility
There are so many angles he could have taken for this article.
1. Sanderson's effect on and predictions about the publishing industry, given the Kickstarter as well as his advocacy for newer writers through the deals he's made (or not made) with companies like Audible and Spotify, the congressional testimonial against mergers, the classes he teaches, the mentoring he so freely gives.
2. Sanderson's marketing and PR - especially how much time and effort he puts into connecting with fans: e.g., discussing theories of his magic systems at length with fans at cons, doing so many booktuber interviews, having multiple podcasts, etc.
3. On the LDS front, the many times he explores organized religion in his books, NOT as the keeper of absolute truth but as a powerful force that may cause harm or good, may share truth or conceal it - and how that is similar or different to how he sees organized religion in the real world, Mormonism in particular.
4. Why fantasy as a genre is so compelling to so many people, what is the deeper truth hidden within these made-up worlds, and why its fandom appears to be growing now.
5. Even simply a tongue-in-cheek instead of insulting: "I tried to dig up dirt on Sanderson but he infuriatingly turned out to actually be the thoroughly decent person he shows to the world."
Who wrote this, 🤔
It sounds like a butt hurt person
But I really love you guys, keep doing your amazing work ❤
Always appreciate your comments thank you greatly 🙏
Rocks stew is far more complex and tasteful than this author's journalism. Seriously... I gave the cliff notes of this to my wife (who is not a Sanderson fan) and she was horrified by it
The article succeeded in making me go out and buy one of Sanderson's books. Hopefully I like it.
Lord--- I never laughed so hard at a podcast on books gives me a warmth just like trapped under plastic but deliciously goofy . . was drafting a Libro while having this in the background
It sounds like Jason didn't want to go to Utah and he partially took it out on Sanderson. I definitely think he wanted to get Sanderson riled up to try to tear down the "good Mormon" persona. I looked at the list of Jason's articles over the past 2 years and he published 10+ in 2021 and 2022, each year. However, the Sanderson hit piece has been his only article this year (Late Nov 2023). Final note: I'm wondering if he thought the controversy over the article would be a positive for WIRED & his career and then it actually hurt him, instead.
This article tried to perhaps cancel Sanderson and instead just did the opposite really …
Sanderson knocked it out of the park with his response.
Mormon here who was on my two year religious service when the musical, “The Book of Mormon: The Musical,” came out on broadway.
We got so many questions about the musical, I broke mission rules and found as many UA-cam clips and stories I could.
Matt Stone and Trey Parker are geniuses. They got belly laughs out of a Mormon missionary on his mission.
They were asked if they were concerned about the LDS/Mormon church’s response. “Nah, they’ll be cool.” And cool they were.
The Church took out a page in the playbill for the musical which said “you’ve seen the play, now read the book.”
And
“The Book of Mormon: the Musical will entertain you for an evening. The Book of Mormon will bless you for eternity.” Like just pure class.
Love it! I'm a member as well!
Austin: "Jason, I wish you the best."
Richard: "I don't."
Same
Rocks stew!
Why did I find this video - and this channel - just when I really, really need to go to bed? XD
You guys are so entertaining, keep up the awesome work!
Okay... Time to prep for a late night and finish watching this article read, hehe. ^^
Thank you for the awesome comment and for watching! Glad you found us (sorry about the sleep schedule 😆)
Jason's gay, right??? Not to sound homophobic, but it's hard to picture a straight man being so damn extra, 'crying' every time and showing such dislike to someone just for having a religion
This is extremely homophobic lol, even if not intended. Straight men cry just as much if not more than any other group.
Why not both sandow rocks and rocks stew
The jealousy is palpable
Sandorockstew 🤑
Sando Rocks / Rock Stew
Rock Stu baby
Rock stews!
Rock's stew!
Rocks stew
In this 4000-word article with Brandon Sanderson in the title, I learned so much about Jason Kehe and almost nothing about Brandon Sanderson. It seems like this "article" was merely an excuse for Kehe to live and sup at the home of someone much more successful than himself and then spend the next 5 months on the payroll writing about himself. It probably took that long to reduce it to just 4000 words as Kehe can't seem stop talking about himself. Good job, comrade. Your proletariat work ethic is how capitalism will be destroyed.
The spirit of fantasy is to create loyal Bolsheviks; true believers in the humanists cause and unflinching sadists who can draw out pain from even the most unflinching traitor to the cause.
Rocks stew.
Just want to point out, the reason "She felt a feeling of dread," is a bad sentence is because it's repetitive.
The corrected sentence would be closer to:
"She felt dread."
Honestly the sentence is guilty of telling not showing, as well. Which means it can't be easily saved 😅
But that's the issue
Also also ... that article writer is an asshole.
Thank you for getting into this. I’ve been watching several of these and this was a good way to discover your channel.
About prose-it drives me crazy when professionals , Jason in this case, misuse the term “prose.” EVERY book has prose, so does every tweet. “Prose” is not interchangeable with “lyrical.” Beyond a basic definitional problem, Jason does not understand that the job of prose is to render the project of a work in the manner most appropriate to the author’s intent for that work. Robin Hobb writes lyrical prose because that is the style best suited to the storytelling of the ROTE. Sanderson writes with packed, efficient prose because that is what suits his vision of the Cosmere. Just imagine how long his books would be if he wrote like Hobb! Prose must, above all things, be written to purpose and Sanderson does that with aplomb.
About Jason, I think it’s clear from this bullying, scrambled, wreck of an article that Jason is not well. And I mean that. He needs serious, genuine, medical help. My question is WHERE THE HELL WERE THE EDITORS!!? The quality of this article is an embarrassment to the long established tradition of Wired. I was a subscriber to Wired from the third issue, back when each issue still came with a floppy disc of software. How can this publication have gone this wrong? There is absolutely no excuse and it has certainly undermined my trust in Wired in general. This article isn’t Jason’s fault. The buck stops with the editor who read it and signed off. For that person I have no mercy.
Very thought provoking comment - thank you for this. We couldn’t agree more with your insight on prose. This whole comment should be a video on its own! Thanks very much for watching us and commenting !
Where are the editors? Well, Jason IS a "Senior Editor" at Wired. I'd bet this never got a second look from anyone else at the Wired offices.
This guy so wanted this to be his “End of Tour” DFW moment. Hoping that Sanderson would expose himself for a quick click bait headline. Choosing to intentionally ignore the story that was presenting itself in favor of the one he likely conjured up before he even met Sanderson. The article is overwrought, narcissistic and filled with pretentious elitism that ultimately reads like an insecure writer who is desperately seeking validation.
Instead of a story about Sanderson, he turned it into a story about himself struggling to write a story. (Yikes) The problem is, Jason isn’t an interesting person and no one is interested in reading a story about him.
I want to say also that I have never read Sanderson. Not here just blindly defending because I’m a fan.
I’m a Mormon, a BYU student, and a student of Sanderson when this article came out. All I can say is that Sanderson is nothing but one of the nicest guys I have ever met or been taught by.
As for the church we simply are people trying to worship God the way we think is best. We love Jesus and are trying to be like Him. We as a people we really aren’t that interesting, very milk toast. I say just let people be who they are and don’t go after them for things you don’t understand. God bless Mr. Kehe, I hope he’s able to move past whatever is evidently going on.
Rocks stew
It’s insulting too because any decent aspiring writer who maybe doesn’t live in the US or doesn’t have access to a good writing program will have listened to his lectures that he filmed and put on for free, where you will learn very actionable skills about writing and publishing. Sanderson changed more lives across the world than that journalist could ever conceptualize.
this is so so late, but i can't help but think about how hateful this guy must be. sanderson, whether you're a fan of his or not, has created a life for himself where he can do what he loves, provide for his family, and create a community of likeminded people who enjoy reading and writing. there are parts in his article where I think the author is trying to "diss" sanderson and I keep thinking to myself "wait no, that'd actually be so sick to provide for my family and friends, or go to a fantasy theme park and talk about my favorite genre with other people who love it". the original article is just so baffling
Rock's Stew! Based on what Jason says about people naming their kids after Cosmere characters, I think he's lying about knowing Kaladin from Adolin. That said, he's right to hate The Greatest Showman.
How a journalist can be so blatantly elitist and clueless disgusts me; he literally complains that Brandon Sanderson is just a humble man who writes fiction that this Jason guy doesn't get. What a frickin' jerk.
This is a HORRIBLE article, but I'm confused how Sanderson could be the best selling fatasy author. He great but I can't seeing him selling more than Tolkein or Rowling even and I'm struggling to find any sources about it