#the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england

[onlycosmere]

Questioner: What inspiration was there for Johnny's character in Frugal Wizard?

Brandon Sanderson: What an excellent question. 

So his character in Frugal Wizard - I kind of wanted to do a story about the anti-Kaladin, in that we do a lot of books - not aimed at Kaladin in attitude - but we do a lot of books about people who kind of have a natural aptitude. It's fun to write and read about people who are just good at some things.

Everyone needs to have flaws, and things that are holding them back also, but y'know, I feel a little like Kaladin in that once I started writing, I took to writing really a lot. I may not have been good at it at the start, but I took to it, and I found it, and I loved it.

What about that person - I remember going - it's actually Ben, from "How's That Ben" - I went and was chatting with him one time when he was my roommate, and talking about my writing projects, and this is before I was published, right? But I was so passionate about writing, and he's like, "Y'know, it's interesting, I've never had something like that in my life," Ben said. "Nothing I've ever been super passionate about, other than like, enjoying video games," which he really does enjoy.

So, it's not like Ben's a bland person, he's a very interesting person, but he never had - he's surrounded by people like me and Dan, who let their entire lives get consumed by one all-powerful passion. And I thought - what about the people that can't find that? That was Johnny's inspiration, was the - "I can't find this thing that, everyone else around me seems to have an all-consuming passion in life." And he just kind of floated from job to job, and was okay at them, but never great at anything. And that's a more challenging character in some ways to write, and I wanted to do that character because it was more challenging to write.

#the stormlight archive #the way of kings #brandon sanderson #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #cfsbf #root #wob #branderson

[themelodyofspring]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge

August 13, 2023 - Published This Year

#jompbpc #justonemorepage #secret projects!! #I'm so happy to be getting them #one more to goooo #tress of the emerald sea #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #yumi and the nightmare painter #brandon sanderson #cosmere #booklr #mypics #books #books and flowers #bookblr #read #ssp1 #ssp2 #ssp3

[elmaxlys]

people are making meta posts about the SSPs and the themes they share and stuff and I'm like "huh. all the main characters changed their name for an aspect of who they are, tress for her hairstyle, runian for his job, painter for his job, nomad because he's constantly moving. what's up with that. #transsubtext"

#i'm not yet halfway through the sunlit man so please no spoiler >< 🙏 #sanderson secret projects #tress of the emerald sea #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #yumi and the nightmare painter #the sunlit man #cosmere

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Having started The Sunlit Man, I’m feeling like all four of the secret projects are in their own ways about regaining hope in your own ability to do good, to make a positive difference, after you’d given up on either yourself or on the possibility of the world being better. Painter, the protagonist of Frugal Wizard, and the protagonist of The Sunlit Man all fit this. Initially I thought Tress was the outlier as this doesn’t apply to either Tress or Charlie so much, but then I realized that it does fit the crew of Crow’s pirate ship, who don’t want to be robbers and killers but can’t find a way out of what their lives have become.

#sanderson secret projects #brandon sanderson #tress of the emerald sea #yumi and the nightmare painter #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #the sunlit man #the sunlit man spoilers

[gollancz]

don't mind me just casually justifying the purchase ten years ago of a vintage raygun, like I had any idea this situation would present itself.

#the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #Brandon Sanderson #Super Secret Project 2 #gollancz blogging #fantasy novels

[thehalfbloodfreak]

New threat unlocked?

#ssp2 #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #brandon sanderson

[lifblogs]

I am absolutely losing it from this quote.

#the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #brandon sanderson #whump #whump meme

[dawn-the-rithmatist]

Okay spoilers for ssp1 and ssp2 here, so if you haven’t read them both and want to avoid spoilers, keep scrolling (and also blacklist the tags if you want to save yourself spoiler pain in the future!)

It’s fascinating to me how obviously these books were written in a global pandemic. Like, obviously we knew that, but I’m so interested in the way that influence is showing up in the books.

In Tress of the Emerald Sea, we start the story with a girl who Does Not Leave Home, under order of the government. Breathing the air outside of her home is Definitely Fatal, and there are many variations on the Very Fatal Things you could inhale. People wear masks to protect themselves, but it’s hardly exact protection. You’ve even got people with a long-term version of the spores living under their skin until they die, in the form of the aethers. Tress is a pandemic novel, where the spores are covid, and someone is risking exposure for the sake of someone they love.

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook For Surviving Medieval England is a mouthful of a title. BUT it also has some really interesting influences too! Right at the start of the book, we learn that the main character is a cop- and we learn it in the most copaganda series of sentences I think I’ve ever read. Then later, we learn he is not a cop, but his friend is, and that friend is subsequently portrayed as Absolutely Perfect Person Arbiter Of Justice. Then later, we see that the cop-friend is just a bastard in so many ways. Through Ulric and the whole idea of buying dimensions, we see capitalism ruthlessly profiting off of people who have no say, usually making their lives actively worse for money or entertainment. We see medical tech that can protect you from terrible diseases, and we get hints of people who refuse to use it.

To me, ssp2 (NOT typing that title again) shows so much of what was happening culturally during lockdown. ACAB, with a bastard cop character throwing locals and “losers” in harm’s way, when the other characters want so desperately to believe that there is someone doing actual justice in a fucked up world. Vaccines, and antivaxxers. Killing entire dimensions of people who don’t have a say for the sake of a profit SURE SMELLS LIKE THE WAY ESSENTIAL WORKERS WERE TREATED.

Idk, I just think that it’s very fascinating to see the way that the pandemic is so present in these novels if you scratch even a little bit beneath the surface

#ssp2 #ssp1 #ssp #tress of the emerald sea #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #ssp1 spoilers #ssp2 spoilers #more thoughts to come on ssp2. specifically ryan and the copaganda #Sanderson added some loaded things in this one and I will be dissecting them live on my blog at a later date #book babble #dawn speaks

[does-it-have-talking-bananas]

Title: The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Does this book contain talking bananas?: No. It talks about hypothetical sentient talking bananas and it contains images that depict said hypothetical talking bananas, but when it comes to the real thing, actual talking bananas? None.

Score: 1 out of 5 🍌

#secret project 2 #ssp2 #The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England #the frugal wizard's guide for surviving medieval england #brandon sanderson #🍌

[probablycatastrophic]

#brandon sanderson #non cosmere #frugal wizard #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #polll #put more detailed opinions in the tags if you have them!

[invested-in-the-cosmere]

Wait. I'm not done yelling about Little Guy In A Hat yet. His name is Mervin. I love him. He's my favorite character in the book regardless of who else I encounter.

If you don't already love him, please allow this sample collage to change your mind:

#sanderson secret projects #ssp2 #secret project 2 #brandon sanderson #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #ssp2 spoilers #non cosmere

[onlycosmere]

Humans, when they learn they weren’t native to Roshar:

#the stormlight archive #oathbringer #cfsbf #Brandon Sanderson #cosmere #root #cosmemes #ssp2 #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england

[themelodyofspring]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge

April 23 - Spring Time

#jompbpc #justonemorepage #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #brandon sanderson #booklr #mypics #books #books and flowers #bookblr #books and plants #ssp2 #tbr #steve argyle

[taravangians-storming-balls]

Wait was the whole 'John's gf isn't actually dead' thing in frugal wizard supposed to be a purposeful subversion to brandon's trope of killing wives

#like did brandon do that on purpose? #like he thought she was his wife #and then he remembered it was just a girlfriend #and then it turns out she isnt even dead she just faked it to go be with his friend #ssp2 spoilers #ssp2 #frugal wizard #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #frugal wizard spoilers #secret project 2 #secret project 2 spoilers #brandon sanderson

[wizardsimper]

Reading The Frugal Wizard's Handbook to Surviving Medieval England is going from "wait is this copaganda?" to "oh thank fuck"

#the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #brandon sanderson #booklr #honestly really enjoyed it #felt like reading a discworld novel #five stars for subversion

[onaslansside]

Since I haven’t seen anyone else on tumblr point out this thing about the dimension in Frugal Wizard’s Handbook ... okay, so, the only place nearby that might have stone fortresses is

which seems to be Wales

where there was a kingdom established between the Roman and Norman invasions

One that bitterly opposed the invading Anglo-Saxons

Guys, do you remember that the name Arthur probably means Bear? And that the earliest stories about him come from Wales?

I mean, this universe’s version seems a bit *dark* but uh

That's the Welsh spelling of it all right.

I waited for several chapters for a plot twist to reveal Mordred.

And this is where I *knew* I wasn't imagining things because “the Battle of Badon” has a Wikipedia page.

"It is chiefly known today for the supposed involvement of the man who would later be remembered as the legendary King Arthur;"

AND. THAT LINE ABOUT THE BATTLE OF BADON. IS SANDWICHED BY TWO PAGES WITH DOODLES. OF A LADY COMING OUT OF A LAKE WITH A SWORD.

In conclusion, this dimension features a King Arthur who has used dark magic to fight Norse gods.

#guys this hurts me so much #I love #Arthurian legends #why must he be evil in this dimension #ssp 2 #the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval england #Brandon Sanderson