My eyes are bloodshot and my mind groggy after staying up until 9 a.m. today trying to meet a work deadline. Of course, that would not have happened if I’d put the book I’d been reading aside instead of making up my mind to finish it because supposedly I could not focus until it was over. Before I knew it, the clock struck midnight and I had over 10 pages to translate and 30 to edit.
I usually am able to curb my book hunger, but last night was just impossible. I was reading the third book in the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson – The Hero of Ages. I don’t often review books on my blog unless they’re indies, but this one series had such a profound impact on me that it really does deserve a mention. I’d never before come across a book with a political and magic system so extensive and complex, or one with so many vibrant characters, where every single person had a part to play. The story had so many twists and turns that I could never, not in a million years, see coming. After every book I sat down in awe of the sheer brilliance of the author and his ability to keep his characters alive in my head long after I’d replaced his books on the shelf.
However, his last one was something else. It left me reeling, overwhelmed with emotion to the point where I shed tears. There aren’t many books that can get me to do that. At some point during frantically flipping through the final pages, I gasped, I shook hard, I smiled, I cried… and then when I turned the final page, I felt empty.
It was over.
I tried to write a review for it while it was still fresh in my mind, but I couldn’t form the words. And then I tried to start a new book, as is customary for me, and I picked one with a much lighter tone, Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, another of my favourite authors. However, I had to put it aside a couple of pages later because my heart wasn’t really in it and I was just reading for the sake of reading. That wasn’t right. Instead I reached out for The Hero of Ages and read through the ending again, and once again was overcome with an overwhelming sense of emotion.
Well it was obvious to me what was going on here. I had a severe case of book hangover. Now I don’t remember this happening to me before, or at least not to the extent where I can’t enjoy another book because of the way another one influenced me. I feel like all I can do now is read reviews by other people and nod in vehement agreement at everything said about the books, and haunt message boards to read discussions about it. There was a point in my life I would’ve written/read fanfiction to counter the effects of my hangover, but I have more pressing things to write these days.
Of course I know I will get over this soon. But until then I will keep thinking of those characters I accompanied throughout a total of 2,130 pages and come to love so dearly. I will seek out other books by Brandon Sanderson (thankfully he’s very productive!) and I will hope that someday, I can write something that will make people care about my characters and my words as much as I’d care about his.
I will also recommend this series to everyone I see. EVERYONE. Including you, my dear readers. And maybe invest in this necklace below.
When was the last time you suffered from a book hangover? What book caused it, and how did you deal? Has any of you read the Mistborn trilogy?
Zen Scribbles 
I haven’t read the Mistborn trilogy, but obviously I should. I just came off the Wheel of Time series, and I really enjoyed Brandon Sanderson’s finale of that. The last book especially, when one particular character died after having a particularly epic moment…. well, my goodness. I wasn’t sure if the Mistborn series was concluded or not; now I know!
I just realised that he’d written the finale! He really is incredibly productive. This gives me more incentive to check it out in the future! As for the Mistborn series, the first three books are a trilogy on their own, but he wrote a 4th set in the same universe hundreds years later. You don’t have to read it to reach the conclusion of the first three books, which by the way is completely epic too. =D
Hmmmm he finished my favorite author’s series, Robert Jordan. I was disappointed, but those were large shoes to fill and honestly finishing someone else’s story is near impossible. I am glad to hear you enjoyed his books and I may check out HIS stories and give him a fair go.
I read that Robert Jordan’s wife was the one who asked Sanderson to continue the books since she liked his work, but yeah, I bet it was difficult for him to fill his shoes. I do recommend you check out his series though. I’m definitely moving on to his other books soon! 🙂
Yes she did and he did as good a job as could be done I think.
I’m intimidated by the size of the series but I think I’ll probably end up giving it a go, if only because of him.
I think I get a lot of book hangovers, especially ones I enjoy, because then I start daydreaming about them endlessly to the point where I’m almost tempted to write fanfiction again just to get rid of the random stories in my head that continues from the canon. I finished Mistborn last week, so the characters and world are still fresh on my mind, but I’m also nursing a Patricia Briggs hangover, because I’m completely in love with the pairing in her Mercy Thompson universe. Eventually my random stray daydreaming did get me thinking up of ideas for my own stories, so there’s that. Yay inspiration!
Mistborn was definitely <3. And don't fret, I'm told Sanderson's continuing to write about the world and the Allomancy in his Wax and Wayne trilogy (one of which is out already, with the second coming out soon). I'm not sure if I want to pick that up first or start The Way of Kings from his Stormlight Archive series, which has been getting quite a bit of praise as far as Sanderson's concerned, even though it's only at 2 out of 10 books so far.
Oh, and thanks for the follow! 🙂
Oh things were simpler when there was time to write fanfiction! I just looked up the Mercy Thompson books… why oh why do these series all have so many books? I am always intimidated by the number of books I have to read and end up staying clear off! 😦
I heard about that too! I am definitely picking it up soon. However, I already have the two Stormlight Archive books as well as Steelheart, so I’m debating which to start next!
I should thank you for the follow too! 😀
I totally breezed through four Mercy Thompson books in a weekend because it got addicting for me, but I understand how intimidating it can get with huge series. Which is why I’m still iffy about starting The Wheel of Time, which is 14 books of about 1000 pages long.
Steelheart’s also on my list. Actually, everything Sanderson is (maybe except Elantris, because I tried that one and didn’t like it so much).
I’m in the same predicament about The Wheel of Time! I keep hearing good things but then I see the sheer volume of these books and I balk. D:
Oh really? I only recently discovered Elantris. I read the synopsis but something about it seemed iffy. Of course, just because it’s by Sanderson, I will end up giving it a try. xD
I liked Elantris on the male perspective, but as much as I tried to like the main female, her tendency to be all Mary-Sue-ish mostly annoyed me. The third perspective was a love/hate affair for me, and in the end, I realized I wasn’t much compelled to find out what was going to happen to any of the characters, so I just stopped reading it, lol. My friend, on the other hand, LOVED Elantris, and I respect his opinion on high fantasy, but yeah, it wasn’t my favorite thing in the world.
I had promised to crack open the first book of The Wheel of Time after Mistborn, so I’ll probably end up reading during my commute to work *nods*
Ahh… yeah, Mary Sues are annoying. That’s surprising, though, because Vin does not have any such traits. I will at least check out the first book to see how I like it. 🙂
Haha, good luck with that! I saw them at the bookshop the other day and their size was pretty scary!
There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get after finishing a book and not being able to get it out of your mind. It’s wonderful but also bittersweet because you never wanted it to end. Books that have left me hungover are: A Fine Balance, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Midwives. I’m sure there are others, but those three come first to mind.
By the way, I love the term “book hangover.” 🙂
I quite agree. While it’s nice to finally have closure, I miss those books already. A Fine Balance is on my to-read list now thanks to you! 😉
Haha, same here! Best kind of hangover. =D Or rather, the only good kind of hangover.
I recently suffered book hangover after finishing the “Night Angel” trilogy by Brent Weeks. Fantastic world, characters, and magic system and a wonderfully massive ending. But the biggest hit was that I read the e-version, which had some extras in the back, so I didn’t know I was at the end until I suddenly saw, “Epilogue.” Then, the final words just happened to fill out the bottom of the page, so I didn’t know it was over until I hit the “forward” button and saw blankness. “Wait…it…it’s over??”
I’m eager to read Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy. Have you read Steelheart? Great superhero take and the sequel comes out in January.
Oh wow. I love the sound of that trilogy. Tentatively added the first book to my to-read list for now. When I will get around to reading it, however, is a different story.
I had the same reaction with the Mistborn trilogy. Sanderson had me going, “WHAT” for the last few pages. I couldn’t believe what was going on. The book’s on my shelf waiting to be read! Though, I think I may take a little break from high fantasy once I get back to reading. My heart can’t take it!
Book hangover…love it! I’ll have to check out these books in the future. Obviously, I need to get through more of my “to-read” list before I add a trilogy! Haven’t had any book hangovers lately, but a year ago “Atonement” did me in. : )
Isn’t is awesome? 😀 You know, I’m trying to do that too. Every time I see a book I check if it’s part of a series or not so I’m sure I’m not committing myself to something toooo long, but some series sound too good to pass up!
I should search up what it’s about.
Oh definitely! If you’re a fan of high fantasy and completely new magic systems, I’m sure you’ll love it!
That’s great then! I am a fan of those =)
Love, love, LOVE this post. Isn’t the power of books amazing?! I’ve been meaning to read some Brandon Sanderson for ages now but I never seem to get around to it. This might give me the push I need. I do own Elantris (I think it’s called) so I’ll probably start there first. 🙂
I’ve also had a really bad book hangover this year courtesy of Trouble by Non Pratt, I couldn’t read anything else for 2 weeks. I haven’t even been able to write a review of it yet because I don’t know how to express how it made me feel!
I’m glad to hear that! It is quite amazing. I’m not sure if I would recommend Elantris for a starting book. From one comment above and other reviews I’ve read, it seems like Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive are in a different league from that book.
Oh I think I’ve seen your comment about that on Goodreads! I’ll have to wait and read your review to see if I should pick it up! 🙂
A book hangover! I never heard that phrase before, but I’ve experienced it for sure, haha! I can’t remember what books now though. In a way it’s great when it happens but not when you have work to do afterwards – poor you! You must have been so tired the day after. A good reason though 🙂
It’s my new favourite phrase! 😀 And I was incredibly exhausted. Kept dozing off in my seat, haha. But it was so incredibly worth it.