Firstborn: A Tor.Com Original

I am a fan of Brandon Sanderson, so having him go into the Sci-Fi world is pretty awesome. Keep in mind that this is a short story, so the characters and the motivation is not as fleshed out as a typical Sanderson novel. It is fast paced and fun, and it has a good ending.

I see this as a great midnight snack while waiting for Way of Kings II to come out.

Sibling rivalry is brought to a new level in this story. How damaging can it be to have the perfect hero for an older brother? In this case it leads to a history of failure. The main character is brought to face his failures and his brother in a story with several twists and excellent writing.

Took a lot of concepts from normal sci-fi and kinda the ender's game "the leader makes the army" concept and then twisted the plot and feeling in a creative way that I appreciated. By the time the ending was rolling around I could see it coming, but there were some surprises along the way.

I love this book. It draws you into a science fiction world of space battles and living in an older sibling's shadow. Sanderson has this fantastic writing style that makes this whole story seem so real, even if it is a quick read.

Everything about this book, every page every paragraph was captivating. I could not have asked for a better ending, this book is the reason to read Brandon Sanderson, the man is one of the great authors of our time.

A short but decent read with an unexpected and abrupt ending. The story was pretty barebones on the plots but the writing was ok. I couldn't say that I cared about any of the characters per se - it is almost like this story could be the backbone for a great novel if the world were fleshed out more, and more action, and the ending was not so abrupt. For a dollar, it was worth it pass the time in a waiting room.

Well written science fiction story, featuring a younger "brother" who just doesn't live up to the expectations of the government and military for an officer-primarily, because his older brother is a tactical genius. The ending for me was a bit of a surprise, but I think I have to give the author credit for a bit of cleverness and use of irony, that the end was something neither the reader nor the characters ever expected.

This short story was really a great read. My only complaint is that it is a short story and not a full novel. I loved it. I was very disappointed when I got to the end. I wasn't ready to leave that world yet and I hope that Brandon Sanderson will let us glimpse into it again very soon.

I'm a fan of Brandon Sanderson's work. I have not read all his work yet (Elantris and Way of Kings is still on the "to read" list). I normally don't read short stories. I thought this story had a solid beginning and middle but then it just seemed to end when it was getting exciting. Sanderson built up the character personalities and conflicts and background and then, all of a sudden the the story just ended.

Pros:
Good characters
Good backgrounds
Had a shocking twist

Cons:
Ending was a bit on the unsatisfactory side.

This Short Story (mini book?) was really good. I normally don't like books about space, I prefer the exact opposite - swords, magic and the like. But I downloaded this one to my kindle, and then didn't stop reading til I was done. I loved it.

I love this authors stories. His writing is excellent and always entertains me. My favorite is his mistborn trilogy and elantris. This short story was entertaining and one of the many Tor.Com originals I have purchased and enjoyed. I was glad that Tor had started marketing short stories from some of my favorite authors as it seemed that a publishing house was finally beginning to utilize electronic publishing to get more stories out to the kindle fanatics. However, I wasn't aware that all of the Tor.com originals I've purchased were available FREE at the [...] website.

Being a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan, this author was recommended to me by a fellow reader. I gave this one a shot, even though I do not care for short stories.

This story has huge potential as a novel. I was extremely disappointed in the depth that was lacking due to it being a short story. The narration seemed a little amateurish to me, but the plot is original and could really go places with more room to expand.

So far, I haven't read anything else by this author, but will definitely give him another chance. I really hope to see this story developed into a novel in the future.

There are a few hallmarks of great stories, at lease in my opinion. One of the big one's for me is does the story stay with you. I finished this story about a month ago and yet it keep's coming back to me. I have now reread it. My first impressions were 'What an Incredible story!'. And that feeling has only intensified. This is likely the best science fiction short story I have ever read and to be honest probably the second best short story I have every read.

Two brothers who have never really met, Varion the greatest warrior the empire has ever known, and Dennison his younger brother, born while Varion was away at war. Varion who has never know defeat and Dennison who has never known victory.

This was an amazing story that really has stuck with me. I highly recommend it. Great writing, excellent characters and break neck pace. My only regret is that it is a short story. I would love to read longer versions of this story, or more stories with these characters.

I had planned on dropping the $0.99 on the Kindle version of this story when I realized that it was free on tor.com! Bonus.

This is what short stories are all about. Just enough description to paint a vivid picture. Enough characterization and personality for the reader to relate to and get caught up in the protagonist. Twists and turns that one can see coming, but not too far ahead. A reversal of fortune through ingenuity and NOT through deus ex machina. I especially liked my mental image of the ceremonial medal scene and the High Officers' set-apart walkway--great imagery.

Anyone who likes sci-fi and anyone with a few minutes to spare ought to look this one up and read it.

This was a great little sci-fi story, with some interesting ideas. I really enjoyed it, and even though the end was very abrupt, it was very fitting. I love how Sanderson examined what could happen in a clone's life that would result in a completely different person. If one had always won and never lost in his life, how would he react when he looses, and how would a version of the person who had always lost in his life reacted if he won once. It's a great concept and it's very well done. For the actual science-fiction elements of the world, it's relatively hand-wavy, nothing is really explored. However, what's there is done well and creates an effective futuristic world. Overall, I don't know if I'd advise buying it, but this was a great free read that you can find on [...]

Brandon Sanderson quickly became one of my favorite fantasy authors when I read the Mistborn Trilogy as his fantasy was so creative and fresh. I was immediately curious to see his vision in a science fiction setting and Firstborn does not disappoint. Firstborn is a quick and dirty space war with some character and family development in the delivered setting.

This story is fully worth the one dollar current price tag. I wish Sanderson would produce more of these short stories.

Good reading,

J.Stoner

The thing I hate about short stories is that they don't leave enough room for development. I would have loved more descriptions of ships and locations used in this story, but I got enough to follow. I wish there had been more interaction between the main character and the villain, however. They only had one scene together.

If you haven't picked up a Brandon Sanderson book yet, this short story is an excellent introduction to his work. For 99 cents (or free on Tor.com) you have the chance to sample plot twists, world building and character evolution that are all highly representative of the way Sanderson writes and spins his tales.