I just started reading the first Mistborn book by Brandon Sanderson and I must say that I am a bit disappointed by it. This led me to notice that I have been disappointed by quite a lot of fantasy books recently. I had a friend at work who said The Night Angel trilogy was by far the greatest fantasy series ever written. This friend of mine reads a lot of fantasy (pretty much the only thing he reads) so I gave it a go and managed to finish all three books. I did not like them. I found the main character to be far too powerful to make for an interesting read.

From there I moved on to Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson and I did not enjoy that book either and I can say with confidence that I will not read the rest of them (when they come out). My Friend said that Steelheart was probably Sanderson's worst book so to clear my reading palate I re-read The Count of Monte Cristo and the first three Harry Potter books. I jumped into Mistborn then and at first I thought I would like it but alas, every character in the book so far has raised his or her eyebrows at least a dozen times and I am only six chapters into the book. Mr. Sanderson, please find a different way to convey a feeling of surprise or inquisitiveness.

I guess I just don't like fantasy books which contain characters that are outlandishly powerful. For instance, in Mistborn, the main character comes across eight soldiers that are specifically trained to fight someone exactly like him and he defeats them all without much of an issue. Also, the steel inquisitors are supposed to be as powerful as 1,000 soldiers? Really? Then I came to the sentence that said "they did not associate with her lest they be found guilty by association" and I just had to shake my head.

I couldn't finish the third book in The Wheel of Time either because every scene that had Nynaeve in it she was constantly tugging her braid and smoothing her skirt. It baffles me that these things can get past the writer in a proof read and an editor that is paid to catch stuff like this. I will finish this first Mistborn book because I hate not finishing a novel that I start but I do not think I will be reading any more of the series.

TL;DR - I need a good fantasy book recommendation. Or even just a good book in general.

EDIT: I for got to mention my prediction for the Mistborn series. I think the Steel Inquisitors have steel spikes in place of eyes to keep them from rolling their eyes all the time, which is another thing these characters do a lot of.

Well Sanderson was the successor to the braid tugging, shawl twitching Wheel of Time series, maybe that quirk is how he got the gig? (I think Jordan's wife selected him).

And yeah, superheroes don't really do it for me, glazed over through most of the Pug/Macros the Black stuff in the Riftwar series.

That is exactly what I was thinking when I read the eyebrow raised/eye roll description for the thousandth time.

I'm working on it, been a life long passion of mine. It's getting close to completion, but I'm a fairly slow writer. Like GRRM kind of slow. It's not the plot or writing that gets me, it's the editing. I would much rather just write the story, have someone edit it and bam. Except I don't have the cash for that. I also wouldn't trust them with keeping things exactly as I envisioned it, and sometimes I make tiny little micro refinements that only I can keep track of. I think anyone else would get lost. It's getting to be over 500 pages right now. Opens in a lush forest setting with a group of people all facing major crisis in their life. From the loss of family, all the way to exile. Some are young advlts and some are much older, but the one common goal they all share is that they are hoping magic is a solution for their many problems.

All being exceptional individuals they are being accepted into the only magic academy on the continent. It proves to be a fatal journey even getting to this academy let alone surviving in it. Along the way there will be culture clashes as the strange and different clashes with their world view. Meanwhile far away on the coasts trouble is starting to brew as mysterious disappearances happen. If things can't get any worse the Empire is starting to look for any reason to go to war with the Dominion of Magos and sweep the last bastion of magic off the face of the planet like it did with the elves so long ago. It's an epic struggle about people first and foremost. Soon they will all get drawn into their own plots and intrigues and strain their groups already tenuous alliance.

I've spent my life researching various cultures to incorporate into this. However it starts with a more familiar land, and slowly the strange and exotic is introduced until your in quite a strange land. It's high fantasy, but.... in a different way. I've brought this high fantasy very down to earth in the way people live and react in this universe. What would the implications of having an entire populace who can practice basic magic be? Well for starters they don't need any sort of animal to plow their fields, they can just push the plow with their magic. A vast industry has appeared around the design of techno magic since it's by far the most useful application. The best way to clear the vast forests being huge automatons with saw blades.

So yea... that's a synopsis. Hopefully it's done someday.

Edit

Some of the cultures American specifically their expansionist past, Aztec, French Canadian, French, some English, general history here and there, Ojibwe, Iroquois, Anasazi, dorset culture, potawatomi, odawa, blackfoot, mi-kmaq, maliseet, native american mythology, and Mississippian Culture (mound builders). I'm sure many more I can't even recall or find in the notes.

It's not going to be a history fantasy book, but I clearly wanted a lot of real world inspiration.