My problem with Brandon Sanderson has never been that he dislikes The Wheel of Time show. He is perfectly entitled to dislike it. What bothers me is the way he has increasingly presented his own relationship with the adaptation:
Before the show aired, Sanderson said the vast majority of the changes were excellent choices and praised Rafe Judkins’ approach to adaptation. In 2021 he wrote that, although he disagreed with some decisions, the team had listened to his voice and was doing a great job. His own episode commentaries describe quite a few of his suggestions being taken. After the cancellation, however, the story became that he had been largely ignored and that they wanted his name for legitimacy rather than meaningful involvement.
Perhaps his involvement diminished over time. But that later framing sits rather awkwardly beside his own earlier account of what happened.
https://t.co/czPsveNT5F
Opportunist? Liar? What do you name people like that?
Then there is his religion. I do not care that Sanderson is Mormon simply because he is Mormon. People are entitled to their faith. But religion stops being entirely private when substantial amounts of money are involved.
Sanderson has publicly confirmed that he gives personal funds to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, although he keeps the amount private.
He has also very clearly changed his own views and now says he supports gay marriage, trans rights and LGBTQ+ rights.
But there is still an uncomfortable contradiction in financially supporting an institution who has oppressive views.
I fail to find the right term for a person who does one thing and preaches the other. Might it be hypocrisy in english?
But I think that people are perfectly entitled to consider where part of the money they spend on his books ultimately goes and whether that matters to them.
And finally, there is the writing itself. Sanderson is an extraordinarily successful storyteller, but I have never understood why that is so often treated as synonymous with being an extraordinary prose stylist.
He himself describes his aim as crisp clarity.
For me, that is the problem. His worlds are intricate, his magic systems are meticulously engineered, but the language itself often feels functional and dead rather than beautiful.
He treats something that ought to be art like a mechanic treats a tool. It is all technic, but he fails to create emotions trough his writing. Check for yourself, he frequently explains them rather than to create them trough writing.
But fiction can be more than efficient delivery.
Jordan, at his best and with all his own fails, made you forget there was machinery there at all. He could create feelings by writing. He wrote with soul and not like it was a tool.
So if you’re a die-hard Sanderson fan, please unfollow me now. You’re really not going to enjoy my posts.