2018 March Madness ROUND 1 - The polls closed 3/6

[Sean]

Clearly we need an independent counsel to investigate these very serious charges.

[Linnea]

Dara wrote: "Linnea wrote: "I'm disagreeing with the choice to add Autonomous to the poll, as that appears - to me - as a small way of skewing the poll to their preferences, in an activity (March Madness) that ..."

Ok, you misunderstood me, or perhaps I didn't express myself very well (English is not my native language). I do not believe they are trying to skew the bracket as a way of sabotaging it, they are, as you say, good people and their reasons for adding Autonomous are probably not bad. It's just my personal opinion that the person running this kind of poll should not also add alternatives to it, as that is a kind of skewing, intentional or not. And yes, I read the FAQ - unlike a lot of people in the nominations thread, lol - and I know what it said. I don't fully agree with it, that's the point.

This has all been seriously taken out of proportions though. It's not that big of an issue, guys! I'm generally very happy with the work Tom and Veronica do. I wouldn't be here if I weren't. :)

[William]

Shad wrote: "For what it is worth, overall I have found the dictatorial picks by Tom and Veronica tend to be better than the ones chosen with more audience involvement."

I agree though last year's winner The Invisible Library was excellent (I say this even though it beat my nomination in the final).

The system seens to be, if Tom or Veronica see a book they think will be great - they share it with us. Every now and then they'll add a bit of fun like this March Madness in which we all have a laugh and ... nobody takes things too seriously ;-)

So I think overall Tom and Veronica have a really good balance and I hope they keep things the way they are, because I've really found a lot of good reads thanks to the S&L group.

[Linnea]

Tom and Veronica, I apologize for creating this much of an argument, that was not my intention.

[Dara]

Linnea wrote: "It's just my personal opinion that the person running this kind of poll should not also add alternatives to it, as that is a kind of skewing, intentional or not. And yes, I read the FAQ - unlike a lot of people in the nominations thread, lol - and I know what it said. I don't fully agree with it, that's the point."

Ahh, I see what you're saying now. Apologies for misunderstanding. :-)

[Brendan]

Sanderson is going to win anyways.

[Linnea]

Dara wrote: "Linnea wrote: "It's just my personal opinion that the person running this kind of poll should not also add alternatives to it, as that is a kind of skewing, intentional or not. And yes, I read the ..."

No worries!

[John (Taloni)]

Brendan wrote: "Sanderson is going to win anyways."

That's not true! That's impossible!
\Luke

[David H.]

I think there's a decent chance Sanderson won't win, if only because not everyone wants to or has the time to read a 1000-page book.

[Mark]

Brendan wrote: "Sanderson is going to win anyways."

Unless that upstart Bob wins...

[William]

I'm still hoping for House of Suns, it's an SF classic.

Go Gentians!

[Dara]

David wrote: "I think there's a decent chance Sanderson won't win, if only because not everyone wants to or has the time to read a 1000-page book."

That and I feel like a lot of people have already read it. It did have the most nominations, however. I could be wrong.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

David wrote: "I think there's a decent chance Sanderson won't win, if only because not everyone wants to or has the time to read a 1000-page book."

That may be the thing that stops it winning.

You could read 4 books (From March Madness) The Last Unicorn, Shades of Milk and Honey, The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet and Other Stories and The Sirens of Titan and still be 75 pages less than The Way of Kings

[Shad]

Tassie Dave wrote: "David wrote: "I think there's a decent chance Sanderson won't win, if only because not everyone wants to or has the time to read a 1000-page book."

That may be the thing that stops it winning.

Yo..."
That along with if you want to and have the time to read a 1000-page book, you have probably already read it. A good chunk of those people may vote for something they haven't read yet.

[Caitlin]

Shad wrote: "Tassie Dave wrote: "David wrote: "I think there's a decent chance Sanderson won't win, if only because not everyone wants to or has the time to read a 1000-page book."

That may be the thing that s..."

And it's not just 1000 pages... It's the first book of what's planned to be a 10 book series.

[Trike]

Sean wrote: "Clearly we need an independent counsel to investigate these very serious charges."

Thunderdome.

[Trike]

Caitlin Duck wrote: "And it's not just 1000 pages... It's the first book of what's planned to be a 10 book series. ."

Wait, what?

Googling.... holy giant swords, Batman. Looks like the two sequels are 1,087 and 1,248 pages. What could it possibly be about to warrant 10,000-12,000 pages?

Looks like Sanderson writes faster than I read.

[Caitlin]

Trike wrote: "Caitlin Duck wrote: "And it's not just 1000 pages... It's the first book of what's planned to be a 10 book series. ."

Wait, what?

Googling.... holy giant swords, Batman. Looks like the two sequel..."

I loved it, but I haven't read books two or three yet. I figured I'd give him a head start, especially since he typically writes a book or two in one of his other series in between each of these behemoths.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

How does Brandon Sanderson find the time to write everything he does?

I was shocked to see how much he has written and intends to write in such a short period of time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon...

Is he the James Patterson of Fantasy?

I worry when authors release a lot that they are working to a template and get too predictable and boring (see James Patterson)

[Rob, Roberator]

FWIW, I've given all three books 5 stars. Although I think Way of Kings is the best of the three.

I do feel like some of his other work has declined the last few years, but not his Stormlight books. The guy does put out a ridiculous amount of words every year though.

I've decided to stick to just his Cosmere books moving forward.

[Melanie]

Yeah, I'm that one person voting for All the Crooked Saints.

[Mark]

Melanie wrote: "Yeah, I'm that one person voting for All the Crooked Saints."

Make that two. All the Crooked Saints looks entertaining to me.

[Jessica]

I read All The Crooked Saints and it was pretty amazing! My non-spoilery review, for interested parties, is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Caitlin]

Melanie wrote: "Yeah, I'm that one person voting for All the Crooked Saints."

You aren't alone!

[Tom, Supreme Laser]

Sanderson v Stiefvater is not the big blowout. And three of these races are almost 50-50. This is going to be tight!

[Adam]

I am finishing Wheel of Time this month after having read all 14 in the last year....Bring on the Sanderson (Still?) Which I have wanted to read, but have been distracted. Lets keep the 1000+ page train rolling, I don't need to spend any time with family or on any other hobby....

OH, figured my thoughts on voting to be shared...Want to read > Have read> not on my list This wasn't a hard round for me based on that voting criteria. Every round but two had a want to read as one of the books, the two were a round were I had already read both, and the other neither was currently on my list. After March Madness I add all the not on my list to my list and start praying for more time and to need less sleep.

[Ruth]

I’ve voted against The Way of Kings purely because I’ve already read it and would much rather try something new!

[Paulo]

Adam wrote: I am finishing Wheel of Time this month after having read all 14 in the last year....Bring on the Sanderson (Still?) Which I have wanted to read, but have been distracted.

That is pretty much my case. I spent nearly 20 years following the Wheel of Time series, and suffered (as all old time fans) when Robert Jordan passed away. The fact that Sanderson was chosen to finish his work (and how well he accomplished the deed) was the reason I decided to make "The Stormlight Archives" my project for the following 20 years.

The only bump in my plan is that, considering Sanderson's writing speed, it will probably take less than ten to get it done.

[Rob, Roberator]

It won't be less than 10 years. He's going to write 10 books and plans to take a break after book 5.

So far he's averaging a little over 2 years between books, but he also writes like 2-3 other books in between each Stormlight book.

[Rick]

Tassie Dave wrote: "How does Brandon Sanderson find the time to write everything he does?..."
Brandon Sanderson is the name of a secret clone army of writers.

[[deleted user]]

So... I've already voted AGAINST the book I nominated. I don't know what kind of sadistic bastard puts Atwood up against Vonnegut in the first round (I'm looking at you Tom!) but this is 'Sophie's Choice' territory right here. And so it goes...

Kudos to our benevolent dicators and the esteemed Roberator for putting this all together. I think this is going to be a particualrly scrappy year.