and I told him that it's a long book but the payoff at the end is worth it. That's how Brandon writes. He likes to reward the investment you put into his books. My friend later thanked me for the advice and told me that the ending was definitely worth it.

So no matter what book you choose, you may hit a point where you feel it starts to lag. I think you'll be happy if you push through and see how it resolves. He tries hard not to waste your time. (I’m a little biased because I love his books and I’ve read just about everything he’s published—a lot of them more than once.)

I agree with a lot of posters here.
• The Emperor's Soul is my favorite book by Brandon Sanderson, and it's shorter so you don't have to invest quite as much time to get to the resolution. The way he builds the world, the characters, and the situation here is so engaging to me.
• Mistborn is a great place to start if you want 3 books of more traditional fantasy. The ending of the three books is worth the time invested into it.
• Steelheart is good, but it's not one I go back to frequently. (Maybe I'll read it again—it's been a while.) It’s got kind of an interesting premise: what if people were given superpowers but weren’t good or ethical like our typical superhero comics?
• Skyward is awesome. It’s got a more sci-fi feel (lots of space travel). It’s another one of my all-time favorites.
• Elantris is a good starting point for Sanderson (it’s his first published book) and the resolution is great, but it probably does drag a little in places.
• Warbreaker is pretty good, but I like many of his others better.
• The Way of Kings is one I go back to over and over (my next favorite after Emperor’s Soul) but you have to be willing to get through 1,000 pages for it.