Free isn’t always worth what you pay for it. In fact, I’m a fan of free – sometimes it pays off. Brandon Sanderson is a good example. Before I got a Kindle, I was experimenting with e-books, reading them on a laptop when I traveled. So, I went searching for free, new books. As I recall, Tor must had some sort of free trial thing, and I downloaded Mistborn based on nothing other than availability. Eventually, I got around to reading the book, and I was hooked. Sure, it has some weaknesses (the magic system is carefully but not perfectly thought out), but it’s a lot of fun. So it paid off for me. And it certainly paid off for Tor, since I went on to buy the rest of the series, as well as some of his other books. I’ll buy more as I get the opportunity. Sanderson isn’t the genius of language or prose that Vance and Zelazny are, but he’s clearly put a lot of thought into his books, and they’re rational and consistent – happily free of the gaping credibility flaws that bedevil much of modern fantasy. Plus, they’re fun, and the characters are believable. And his output is voluminous. Sort of an Asimov of fantasy, one might say.
