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One of the reasons why Olli and I couldn’t stand one of our art teachers in high school was because he was very pretentious. The fact that he was an asshole was something we were very able to handle, but once he uttered the legendary words: “I as artist…” he kind of cinched it for the both of us. We just shared this look in that understanding that we sometimes have, and that was it. In that rebellious way that we had as teenagers (and sometimes still) we decided that we had no more respect for him, ever.

I detest that kind of pompousness. It’s one of the very reasons probably why I’ve always been so very very careful with calling myself a writer. Of course once you get down to it, when you write stories, you’re a writer. When you spend thought on how to write stories in the most pleasing way possible, you’re a writer. Why not call yourself one? Well, because I don’t want to be a pompous arse, I suppose.

Oh well, pompousness notwithstanding, there’s something I’d like to share tonight. Soaking in my bathtub tonight (with a Lush bathball that was a bit too glittery and gold for my taste) I’ve been reading Brandon Sanderson’s The Hero Of Ages. And holy shit people, THIS man can write. I know I said a little bit about his Mistborn trilogy earlier, but the third book is kind of blowing my fragile little mind.

(Here comes the pompous remark, people)

As a writer, I really fucking enjoy well-crafted stories. (*waits for everyone to stop booing and hissing on that remark*) But the point is, I really do. Maybe it’s because I’m attempting the craft itself, but I love seeing how a story comes together. Those little details, those clever hooks in the story. The pieces of dialogue that must have made the author gniffle while s/he wrote them out. The beautiful set-up, the twists and turns and the intrigues. I honestly adore it.

The Mistborn series has a lot of things going for it. A nice twist on the standard fantasy setting, an intriguing magic system, a BEAUTIFUL twist on the good and evil balance, sympathy for the devil, and nice & well-rounded characters. There’s this tiny little plot twist that I see coming that would be beautiful if it would indeed play out the way I think it will. But even if it doesn’t, it’s very clever, engaging, and a wonderful story. Kudos to you, mister Sanderson. As Perine already stated – he did great work with finishing up Wheel of Time for Robert Jordan (for which I appreciate him muchly) but please let’s give him kudos for Mistborn as well. Because it ROCKS.

In other news, another thing I was very pleasantly surprised about in recent weeks (next to the hilarious and engaging Misfits) was Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Yeah, colour me surprised as well. I didn’t see that one coming. I kind of half-saw the show while Olli was watching the episodes, but the incredible amount of blood that splattered over the screen and the random nakedness kind of put me off.

I mistakenly assumed that the blood and soft-porn was just the plot itself, but now that Olli got me to actually watch the series, I now realize this is not the case. HOLY SHIT this series is actually intelligent! The plot is riveting and all the intrigues and politicking is beautiful! It’s so exciting that I can’t wait for what’s coming next. I loathe half the characters, but I can’t wait to see what they do next. And well, what’s wrong with random nakedness anyway?

Everyone needs a bit of (naked) Gannicus in their lives!