Fantasy with Friends poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works. It was created and is run by Pages Unbound. Learn about the weekly prompts and how to participate by visiting their Fantasy with Friends blog post.
Fantasy With Friends Weekly Question
Are you a Brandon Sanderson fan? Some readers online have called his books the “fast food of fantasy?” Do you think that’s a valid criticism?
Well, I finally find some time to participate in Fantasy with Friends and the weekly prompt just so happens to be one that I’m not really familiar with! I’ve never read a book written by Brandon Sanderson, so I’m neither a fan or a hater, and neither can I comment on whether I think his books are the “fast food of fantasy.”
To be honest, I don’t really ever see myself picking up any of his books any time soon. If I do, it’d probably be TRESS OF THE EMERALD SEA because it’s a standalone novel. I don’t have the capacity to start a Sanderson series. They all seem so long, both in series and individual book length. Moreover, I don’t gravitate toward epic fantasy…when I do I think I tend to pick something with a romance element to it.
I did enjoy Tress of the Emerald Sea! And Yumi and the Nightmare Painter stands alone, too. I agree that the Stormlight Archive is kind of a commitment. I haven’t even gotten around to reading the newest book in that one.
Oh nice, I didn’t realize he has another standalone. Yea, I just can’t commit to Stormlight Archive, no thanks!
I could have written this exact post! I have never read his books either, and even though I sort of have FOMO because so many bloggers I know love him, his books are too intimidating for me.
I hope this doesn’t sound too mean, but I don’t have FOMO at all about this books. Idk why…maybe because I know nothing about them, lol!
Sanderson does have a couple of standalones which make for decent entry points, at least! I remember liking Warbreaker, and I’m still curious about Elantris.
I’m pretty unfamiliar with his work too, but I did write up a post here: https://breathesbooks.com/2026/07/13/fantasy-with-friends-brandon-sanderson/
I totally get what you mean about not having the capacity to start a Sanderson series. I have so many of his books on my TBR but they’re all so chonky and it does make it intimidating. It’s not like I don’t read chonky books either, but there are *many* Sanderson ones to get through, lol.
I think I’ve read a couple of Sanderson books. I know I read Mistborn and didn’t feel super compelled to continue with the series. It wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t as blown away as I expected to be if that makes sense. I’m pretty sure I’ve read one of his standalones, too, but I can’t remember which one. 🤷‍♂️