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Firstborn
by
Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
Of the son of a High Duke of the interstellar Empire, much glory is expected.- And expected.- And still expected, despite endless proof that young Dennison Crestmar has no talent whatsoever for war. But the life Dennison is forced to live will have its surprising lessons to impart-
ebook, 84 pages
Published
July 20th 2010
by Tor Books
(first published December 17th 2008)
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Mr. Sanderson...Sir...Brandon...it is with a heavy heart that I must report that this story contains a fair to moderate amount of...
2.0 stars. The fail is by no means EPIC or UBER, but given how much I loved the Mistborn series, it was, in the end, a disappointment. Now, I don't mean to imply that this SF short story is horrible or poorly written because that is not the case. I just found it to be very UNDERWHELMING and seasoned with a healthy sprinkling of MEH...it is the very definition of j...more
2.0 stars. The fail is by no means EPIC or UBER, but given how much I loved the Mistborn series, it was, in the end, a disappointment. Now, I don't mean to imply that this SF short story is horrible or poorly written because that is not the case. I just found it to be very UNDERWHELMING and seasoned with a healthy sprinkling of MEH...it is the very definition of j...more
Apr 09, 2013
Manny
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
audio
Sanderson read this for Tor.com. It's about an hour long, and as much as Sanderson warns about his shortcomings as an audiobook narrator, it's always enjoyable to hear an author read their own words.
The story is relatively simply, playing on a few sci-fi tropes, but Sanderson's love of genre-fiction (and knowledge of the canon) makes his story stronger than it has any right to be. This seems to be one of Sanderson's hallmarks, since I found it also true in "Mistborn 1: The Final Empire" (althoug...more
The story is relatively simply, playing on a few sci-fi tropes, but Sanderson's love of genre-fiction (and knowledge of the canon) makes his story stronger than it has any right to be. This seems to be one of Sanderson's hallmarks, since I found it also true in "Mistborn 1: The Final Empire" (althoug...more
Jun 18, 2011
Joe Martin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
fiction
Dennison has spent his entire life watching Varion, his older brother by 20 years, win battle after battle. Varion has fought his battles flawlessly, perfectly, never losing. Dennison has fought his own battles valiantly, but hopelessly, never winning. And, yet, his father and his Emperor refuse to release him from military service. Why? What good does it do anyone for him to stay in arms? Especially when his brother is loyally advancing the Empire’s cause at every turn?
This was a pure impulse b
...more
Believe it or not, I had never heard of Brandon Sanderson until I encountered this short story (“Firstborn”).
As I’m not a natural short story fan I started out anticipating the frantic (or conscious minimalist) characterizations and setups which you often see reading through magazines like Asimov or Fantasy and Science Fiction. I was instead surprised and delighted by how well Brandon manages in “Firstborn.” I grew to enjoy the leading character and the supportive characters surrounding him. By...more
As I’m not a natural short story fan I started out anticipating the frantic (or conscious minimalist) characterizations and setups which you often see reading through magazines like Asimov or Fantasy and Science Fiction. I was instead surprised and delighted by how well Brandon manages in “Firstborn.” I grew to enjoy the leading character and the supportive characters surrounding him. By...more
Brandon Sanderson is a master storyteller. This novelette was a steal at 99 cents.
I gave it 3 stars because it, as many short stories do, gives an ending I feel isn't very satisfying. Short form is great for telling a scene, but this length - and I think my Kindle said it was 44 pages - is long enough that I expect a more emotionally satisfying ending, and I didn't get it.
Still, if the story is about the ride, and not the ending, then this would get 4 or maybe 5 stars from me. It's awesome from...more
I gave it 3 stars because it, as many short stories do, gives an ending I feel isn't very satisfying. Short form is great for telling a scene, but this length - and I think my Kindle said it was 44 pages - is long enough that I expect a more emotionally satisfying ending, and I didn't get it.
Still, if the story is about the ride, and not the ending, then this would get 4 or maybe 5 stars from me. It's awesome from...more
Jun 15, 2011
Robert
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone into the Old Sci-fi shorts from the 50's and 60's
Shelves:
sci-fi
First off, Firstborn is very short. And at the end, I found myself regretting this, as it was a really good setting and concept. I very much enjoyed it.
I would describe Firstborn as an homage to the early to mid 20th Century science fiction stories of "Doc" E.E. Smith, Asimov, Pols, Simak, and all the others who pioneered the sci-fi novel genre. It has that "Found in a Science Magazine" feel to it: fast paced, presenting new technological ideas and concepts every few pages, and ending with a ver...more
I would describe Firstborn as an homage to the early to mid 20th Century science fiction stories of "Doc" E.E. Smith, Asimov, Pols, Simak, and all the others who pioneered the sci-fi novel genre. It has that "Found in a Science Magazine" feel to it: fast paced, presenting new technological ideas and concepts every few pages, and ending with a ver...more
I'm not generally a huge fan of short stories--I'm all about character-driven stories, and it's so hard to really make a character feel real in such a short period of time. But this is Brandon Sanderson we're talking about here, and you know? He manages! I liked Dennison a lot, as well as Kern, and even the emperor. Still, I feel like the short story is just not where Sanderson's real strength lies. There are a couple of twists in this one, but neither of them really came as much of a surprise t...more
Apr 17, 2013
A.L. Sowards
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
magic-fantasy-scifi-or-time-travel
Several of my siblings LOVE Brandon Sanderson (yes, love in all caps). Several people in my writer's group too. So last time I was visiting my family and the siblings found out I still hadn't read any Brandon Sanderson, my sister took my computer, bookmarked this story on the publisher's website (http://www.tor.com/stories/2008/12/fi...), and told me to read it.
It's a short story, and I often have a hard time getting into short stories. I'm also not a big sci-fi reader, but this was enjoyable. I...more
It's a short story, and I often have a hard time getting into short stories. I'm also not a big sci-fi reader, but this was enjoyable. I...more
Firstborn is a sci-fi short story available for free on Tor.com. It has some great visualizations of deep space battles including lumbering but powerful capital ships and agile fighter squadrons. The main character is a commander who issues commands to his fleet by walking through a holographic, real-time representation of the battle. Unfortunately, he is a far cry from his older brother who is an unbeatable legend in commanding space combat.
The story is really one of the younger brother oversha...more
The story is really one of the younger brother oversha...more
Whenever I read, I try to separate the story from the author. Brandon Sanderson has set a high bar, a high expectation, and this story does not live up to it. However, this is one of his earlier works, and I'm certain he wrote it as well as he could at that time in his career.
So, separating iconic man from paper, this is a decent story. It explores a commonality most of us struggle with - confidence and pride. I enjoyed this fast read, but it lacked human connection. A good idea, but it fell sh...more
So, separating iconic man from paper, this is a decent story. It explores a commonality most of us struggle with - confidence and pride. I enjoyed this fast read, but it lacked human connection. A good idea, but it fell sh...more
Jan 01, 2011
Robin Ambrose
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sci-fi,
short-stories
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I don't really read short stories. I don't see much point, I'm one of those people that like big massi books with big long series where I can invest lots of emotional connections with my characters. So don't expect any of that here you will find a passing fondness for the main character but nothing lasting.
I have so far enjoyed every single book Brandon has written and this wee story's no exception. Although that's all it is. It's a simple short sci fi story that's an enjoyable read.
Which is exa...more
I have so far enjoyed every single book Brandon has written and this wee story's no exception. Although that's all it is. It's a simple short sci fi story that's an enjoyable read.
Which is exa...more
In Firstborn, Brandon Sanderson takes a look at what it means to be a success and what it means to be a failure. As always with Sanderson, I enjoyed the writing (his command and use of language are beautiful and skillful), the characterization and the plotting. I also felt as though I came away knowing something I didn't know before I read the novella, and I appreciated that. I'm glad I read this story, and I'll very likely read it again.
This was OK... It just didn't really grab me. On a scale of 1 to 10, my interest in military battle theory is a -2, so I wasn't exactly engrossed here.
There were some interesting concepts though, such as the expectations that others put on us, and those we put on ourselves, and how we don't always live up to them, no matter what the potential is. Sometimes those very expectations backfire.
This wasn't terrible, but definitely not my favorite of Sanderson's stories.
I'd still give him a good leg...more
There were some interesting concepts though, such as the expectations that others put on us, and those we put on ourselves, and how we don't always live up to them, no matter what the potential is. Sometimes those very expectations backfire.
This wasn't terrible, but definitely not my favorite of Sanderson's stories.
I'd still give him a good leg...more
Read here
A sci fi fantasy short story.
Quite different in feel and writing from Sanderson's Alcatraz series. I wouldn't have even known it was written by the same author if...I didn't know.
Dennison is a failure. A failure at military command. He can't seem to win any battles, let alone the simulations. Unlike his perfect brother, Varion, who excels at everything, especially strategy. But his brother is not all he seems to be....
and neither is Denn.
I read this short story on tor.com and found it amazing!
I saw similarities to another book I read (view spoiler)
On the surface, the story is one of a younger brother living in his famous brother's shadow, living with expectations he feels are beyond him. However, much more is going on and, once revealed, the story was great.
I saw similarities to another book I read (view spoiler)
On the surface, the story is one of a younger brother living in his famous brother's shadow, living with expectations he feels are beyond him. However, much more is going on and, once revealed, the story was great.
This isn't a bad science fiction story, but ultimately disappointing. It unfolds very much like an old fashion science fiction short story, something from the 50s or early 60s, using a space opera setting (fleets of spaceships in combat, and interstellar empire fighting a revolution.) It's not adding anything new to the military science fiction interstellar travel sub-sub-genre. What it has is a small, clever ending, emphasis on small, in a novelette-length tale without enough meat on the bone....more
A plot of epic scale somehow fit into a short story while rarely feeling rushed. I'm impressed. Brandon wastes no words getting from action piece to action piece. The story reads almost like a well developed outline. To its benefit, Firstborn is fast paced, has interesting twists, and has great closure. The problem with the outline feel is that some events don't have the emotional impact they could have if Brandon had the luxury of even a few thousand more words to develop characters.
After start...more
After start...more
I rounded out my reading of his short fiction with the e-book Firstborn. Originally released as a Kindle edition in 2008, it was later re-released by Tor in a DRM-free format. I purchased it on my nook color and read it on an iPad. I’m not accustomed to reading on digital devices yet, but it was the simplest way of acquiring this particular story. Firstborn is a different venture for Sanderson as well, as it is short form science fiction. It’s a story about a second son who lives in the shadow o...more
Jan 19, 2012
Derek Jordan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Sci Fi Fans and Sanderson Fans
Recommended to Derek by:
Amazon
Shelves:
owned-kindle
I usually do not really get into short stories. Many times they feel as it they could only have been better with a few more details, but as well I have read some that just lacked any sort of hook to get me to even read it all.
Sanderson... ,ever since I read the Mistborn novels, has always been able to grab my attention. I started this and was immediacy understanding of the plight this younger son was having in his field as well as with his father. It may be because it was reminiscence of the re...more
Sanderson... ,ever since I read the Mistborn novels, has always been able to grab my attention. I started this and was immediacy understanding of the plight this younger son was having in his field as well as with his father. It may be because it was reminiscence of the re...more
I've got mixed feelings about Brandon Sanderson -- I liked his Mistborn series, and I've gotten invested in his new doorstopper epic fantasy series The Stormlight Archive, but he's kind of a dork and sometimes he writes dorky stuff. He talks on his blog about being a big Magic: The Gathering player, the magic systems in his novels are very clearly based on spending his teen years as an RPGer, and while reading this short story, I pictured him pushing little cardboard chits around on a Starfleet...more
Brandon Sanderson is such a creative story teller that even reading the synopsis' of his books on Amazon is great fun. He is a master of big, emotional epics. Unfortunately, this sci-fi military strategy novella does not contain his "himselfness" as much as I hoped it would. Maybe the little novella just didn't have enough room for his style, I don't know. But none, the less, it's still pretty darn cool. In fact, better than you might expect from a tiny space military book.
Mr Sanderson should do more of this kind of story, I do believe he's into high fantasy type of stuff but this short story is really good. Maybe he should make a series about the Crestmar brothers in their younger years before this story happened. Expanding the relationship between the two and their own father, and the main protagonist's with a surrogate type of father. After reading this I thought that Mr Sanderson was not confident with creating short stories, but with Firstborn he has shown hi...more
An interesting short science fiction story, following Dennison Crestmar, the younger brother of Darion, the greatest fleet commander the empire has ever known.
Dennison has long been in the shadow of his older brother, and has never lived up to his potential. Where command and victory came easily to Darion, Dennison finds it difficult. He can see the objective, but getting there always seems to be just out of reach. After his latest failure, he is given a new assignment -- one that involves doing...more
Dennison has long been in the shadow of his older brother, and has never lived up to his potential. Where command and victory came easily to Darion, Dennison finds it difficult. He can see the objective, but getting there always seems to be just out of reach. After his latest failure, he is given a new assignment -- one that involves doing...more
This has now become one of my favorite Science fiction short stories. Well worth the read. (you can read it for free on Tor.com by-the-way) It starts out as every other Sci-fi short story, some galactic war somewhere etc. But then the story twists in a way that makes it unique in it's own little way. It is short and I recommend it to anyone from Brandon Sanderson fans to anyone who may be saying "who is this Brandon Sanderson guy anyway."
Apr 11, 2011
Elise
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
His fans, sci-fi fans
Recommended to Elise by:
Tor.com
It's eighty pages long, for his short story. That would be um...half of my book? How is that short for anyone! Just kidding. I hope to be like Brandon Sanderson when I writerly grow up. Yeah, I've got writers jealousy from this author. Four out of five because it's short :) He totally could have made it a book and I'd've read it already. I have it on my phone so I can just read it if I've fogotten my book at home or something.
A quick, enjoyable read from Sanderson. This was the first bit of sci-fi that I have read from him, and he did a good job. The characters and universe were interesting, and I would be interested (as always) to read more from him. Certain elements reminded me a bit of Ender's Game, like the holographic ship displays.
The whole story is available on tor.com, and will probably only take 45 min - 2 hours depending on how focused you are while you read.
Rating: PG-13, for some violence, and explosions...more
The whole story is available on tor.com, and will probably only take 45 min - 2 hours depending on how focused you are while you read.
Rating: PG-13, for some violence, and explosions...more
Okay short story. Not as bad as some reviews have made it out to be. Not as good. Reminded me some of a golden age era story as written by Poul Anderson, but not as well. Interesting idea. Probably would have worked better as a novella. The end though is what really kept me from liking it. There's always a hopefullness to Sanderson's writing and the end to this didn't suit his style. And the conflict too easily resolved.
I would have given 3.5 stars, but I didn't think it rated a four or highter. Mainly this was due to the the ending. I liked it, and it was a nice short read, but the ending came about in a kind of unsatisfactory way for me. Unlike Sanderson's other short work, all of which I really liked, I was disappointed that the story just stopped--if it would have had a little more to give it a bit more closure I would have been much happier.
Firstborn is a short story that feels like a longer book, in a good way. Sanderson didn't really delve into any of the characters in depth, but all the battles and skirmishes in the outer reaches made it feel like things have been going on for a really long time.
An unexpected twist, another minor twist, and then a kind of cop out, predictable ending. I would have given this 4 stars if the ending weren't so abrupt.
An unexpected twist, another minor twist, and then a kind of cop out, predictable ending. I would have given this 4 stars if the ending weren't so abrupt.
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Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in Provo, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University. He has been nominated twice for the John W. Campbell Award.
Sanderson married on July 7, 2006 and is a member of the LDS church. Sanderson's writing is noteworthy for its epic fantasy tone, unique settings,...more
More about Brandon Sanderson...
Sanderson married on July 7, 2006 and is a member of the LDS church. Sanderson's writing is noteworthy for its epic fantasy tone, unique settings,...more
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“Better to be the failure who nobly strived than the success who never really had to.”
—
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