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rafikki posted:I mean honestly, shardplate is almost there anyway actually now that i think of it kaladin could conceivably make a primitive shardplate mech in the next book……going of course by the loose “attack on titan is mecha” interpretation
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Aug 5, 2023 00:57
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mewse posted:yeah but when do the mecha show up quick somebody make some mecha Elden Ring DLC so Sanderson gets inspired.
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Aug 5, 2023 02:16
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His Divine Shadow posted:Another reason I like WoK is how sparsely the magic was used. Really gave it a different feel. I'm super glad WoK was my first Sanderson book, because it's very very likely I would have been put off by shitloads of magic going on from the get-go. Getting to know the characters and the world deeply before magic becomes a central feature is one of the best parts about that book IMO. It is indeed a slow read, and if you're not a person who deeply identifies with depression then Kaladin's chapters will definitely be pretty hard to get through. As someone who has dealt with a lot of depression, they were hard to read not because they were boring, because of how exceptionally relatable his immense apathy, hopelessness, and suicidal behavior were. But they payoff for all of that is absolutely worth it - most people say that book 3 has the most incredible ending (for good reasons), but the deeply personal nature of Kaladin's arc in book 1 puts it at the top for me.
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Aug 5, 2023 03:45
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I thought Aether's were the universalnanomachine-mecha equivalent? Also it pays off to stick with WoK, a ton of the fun of the books is how they shift book to book. If anything people seem to find the 4th book to have a little too much magic if anything.
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Aug 5, 2023 03:59
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Louisgod posted:There's a reason why many of us crave and enjoy the updates becaue if you stick with SA you will absolutely be awarded. Yes, it's a slow burn, but most "epic" fantasies are. I'm extremely jealous you get to experience this for the first time. For me, I feel like I have a "time to anime" vibe with a lot of Sanderson's stuff. The more intense and more frequent, the better. Though... you could argue that Way of Kings actually has the highest anime frequency in just the world building. Here are some anger spren  A shocked spren has appeared next to this person  And with this character, some lust spren have appeared  And this person is affected by some confusion spren 
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Aug 5, 2023 04:17
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I just went to finally listen to the latest audiobook on that awful Speechify iOS app and it seems the latest update a few days completely broke the audiobook support, which seemingly was hacked in to begin with. Kinda disappointing that Brandon paired with a company that doesn’t want to be in the audiobook business, which (poorly) added support for his books alone just so people might subscribe for their $140/year service
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Aug 5, 2023 04:40
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Regarding magic — it’ll come. It may be there already. You don’t know what to look for yet. That said, there’s a reason why I disparage TWoK as being an overgrown prologue for WoR and the fact that NOBODY GETS THEIR GODDAMN SUPERPOWERS UNTIL THEN is a big part of it.Mordiceius posted:For me, I feel like I have a "time to anime" vibe with a lot of Sanderson's stuff. The more intense and more frequent, the better.
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Aug 5, 2023 04:40
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CapnAndy posted:Oh, God, that’s actually a really good analogy. (Sanderson has spoken about one of the challenges in adapting Stormlight being “how do we keep the spren from drifting us into Looney Tunes territory”.) I don't think you can. Spren are goofy AF.
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Aug 5, 2023 04:47
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Slanderer posted:I just went to finally listen to the latest audiobook on that awful Speechify iOS app and it seems the latest update a few days completely broke the audiobook support, which seemingly was hacked in to begin with. Kinda disappointing that Brandon paired with a company that doesn’t want to be in the audiobook business, which (poorly) added support for his books alone just so people might subscribe for their $140/year service Weird it's on google play with proper audiobook readers/controls.
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Aug 5, 2023 05:09
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Mordiceius posted:Though... you could argue that Way of Kings actually has the highest anime frequency in just the world building. I appreciate this comparison. If it wasn’t a conscious decision by Sanderson, it’s certainly a case of convergent evolution.
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Aug 5, 2023 05:59
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mewse posted:yeah but when do the mecha show up The next logical extension from this is Voltron, Defender of the Cosmere.
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Aug 5, 2023 09:17
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Boogaloo Shrimp posted:The next logical extension from this is Voltron, Defender of the Cosmere. I think that's what Apocalypse Guard was/is supposed to be. I'm not sure if it's cancelled or still being reworked by Dan Wells though
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Aug 5, 2023 16:07
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Mordiceius posted:For me, I feel like I have a "time to anime" vibe with a lot of Sanderson's stuff. The more intense and more frequent, the better. Stormlight Archive has some real anime vibes, that's true. Did you think about the descriptions of Adolin? He has the typical Alethi black hair, and also gold hair! And not in some kind of blended form, but instead like an anime character. Think this, just without the purple and blue: 
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Aug 5, 2023 16:23
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I really like how in Warbringer everyone's running all these plots within plots about the evil empire and their devilish god-king and the despicable rebels in the mountains. Meanwhile, Lightsong is just like, a kinda bored dude getting yanked around by his attendants who are trying to read meaning into his every action, and Siri is just a terrified tomboy who's got no idea what she's doing.
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Aug 5, 2023 16:54
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@Mordiceius Just wanted to chime in with everyone else to encourage you to stick with it. After I read WoK, I basically sat on my partner and forced him to start reading Sanderson. Where I am a lifelong fantasy reader, he is very much not, and the Proper Noun Multi-Course Prix Fixe Menu was just not something he was at all accustomed to. For nearly the entire first half of the book he kept telling me that he couldn't keep track of what was going on without listening to chapters multiple times. He felt overwhelmed, and like there was both too much happening and also nothing happening. Adjusting to this style of writing is a skill. My own ADHD often dissuades me from keeping at activities unless I am immediately good at them due to Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, which makes failing at something almost physically painful. I only bring this up because you mentioned it as a factor in your enjoyment of reading, and because I want to really emphasize that you will be rewarded for persistence in sticking with this series. Pacing is probably Sanderson's weakest aspect, and WoK is probably one of the lowest points of his body of work on that front (post-Elantris). I had already been through literally hundreds of fantasy novels, good and bad, so it wasn't a problem for me by the time I got to WoK - though it should be noted that if you hand me a Hemingway or a plain old NYT bestseller fiction novel I will be asleep by page 10. I can promise you, with near-perfect certainty, that by the end of this book you will be in this thread yelling holy storming shitballs at the top of your lungs while WoR is downloading. You are being forced to carefully and slowly open several nested but increasingly-tempting cardboard boxes to get to the birthday gift you've been dying for, and it can be frustrating when you have a brain that doesn't reward you for making incremental progress AND you're used to being able to rip off the wrapping paper and the box at the same time with your teeth after having already read the card that tells you what's inside. Trust in Sando, he hasn't led you wrong yet and he won't with this one either.
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Aug 5, 2023 19:35
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I liked Elantris  Edit: I know you don't mean that it was bad, I just don't see what the big fuss is over it. He has a few quirky things here and there, and the strict 1-2-3 POV order didn't land totally, but it was a fun story with a simple entry magic system pik_d fucked around with this message at 19:51 on Aug 5, 2023 |
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Aug 5, 2023 19:43
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CK07 posted:like there was both too much happening and also nothing happening. Thanks for your words. This sums up pretty much my feelings so far. There is a lot being said but a whole lot of nothing has happened, relatively speaking. I plan on sticking with it as Stormlight is pretty much all I have left to conquer for Sanderson. pik_d posted:I liked Elantris My distaste of Elantris comes down to a few different aspects. - The audiobook narrator is so bad. He has like this sing-song aspect to his reading - like he is reading every line with a smirk on his face and is telling a joke. - The pacing is exceptionally bad. I love spending an hour on a Sarene chapter followed by a 5 minute Hrathden chapter. - Raoden... is not that interesting of a character. He doesn't have a personal internal struggle. He never really doubts himself. All of his struggles are external. - Characters just completely disappear from the book. I can't remember the character's name but it was with that group of rebels with Sarene - one guy complained about the land and then just... leaves mid-way through the book. - Entire plot threads go nowhere. Sarene teaches the women fencing... and that amounts to nothing. During the final attack, the bring out their weapons and are immediately swept aside. So glad we spent hours on Sarene's working on that. - My most controversial take that many people in this thread got really mad about me saying: Raoden does blackface
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Aug 5, 2023 20:44
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Warbreaker: Oh man the God King is actually a super adorable and innocent baby in a 7-foot tall statue of a man's body that they mutilated. I didn't expect that. Nitrousoxide fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Aug 5, 2023 |
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Aug 5, 2023 23:21
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Nitrousoxide posted:Warbreaker: The most literal manchild. But like not his fault at all. You really gotta feel for him.
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Aug 5, 2023 23:25
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pik_d posted:I liked Elantris I liked quite a few things about it too, my major thing with it is that's it's just clearly a first novel written by an excited young person who doesn't know all that much about people or the world yet. Also the 1-2-3 thing was completely pointless and he knows that now. Also also, the attempt at romance is radioactive-level cringy, but I've posted a lot about my feelings on that topic before. Look, the bones are still better than 90% of what's published today, it just needed some more shaping and tending. Mordiceius posted:Thanks for your words. This sums up pretty much my feelings so far. There is a lot being said but a whole lot of nothing has happened, relatively speaking. I plan on sticking with it as Stormlight is pretty much all I have left to conquer for Sanderson. Anytime, bud. I just didn't want you to feel crazy for feeling like the only person it wan't hitting for. I fell so in love with the characters by the end of WoK that I would read much worse prose and pacing just to find out what happens.
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Aug 5, 2023 23:32
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Stormlight WoK chapters 29-42 (first ~half of Part 3) So after the "Last words" of Part 1 and the missive (from Hoid?) in Part 2, Part 3 is Jasnah collecting various important pieces from old text describing some of what happened pre- or during the Desolation, and things that are impossible today like fast travel. Also a mention of a future book name, Dawnshard! I have to admit, I first thought these were Shallan taking notes, either for Jasnah, or on her own after having drawn that Voidbringer for Dalinar. Jasnah has become more and more interesting to me. She was always interesting, but twice now people have pointed out how she doesn't use the Fabrial conventionally, so I'm not suspicious that she's actually directly using the spheres. This would make her the third direct Stormlight user after Szeth and Kaladin. This is a very long stretch given that I, the reader, have literally no idea how Fabrials actually work. I also want her to catch Shallan, I feel like she knows more of what Shallan is plotting than she's letting on. Jasnah dropping the word "Cosmere" was also a bit of a shock but then I realized that's just what they call their cosmos and probably why WE call it the Cosmere. Shallan has been frustrating. I'm sure this is intentional. She's stuck between her family and the fact that she's fallen in love with her new life. She clearly wants to learn from Jasnah, and she should. I cannot bring myself to give a poo poo about her brothers given how little we've seen of them, so I want her to find any reason to stay with Jasnah. I think it'll be important later with potentially world ending events coming up. I may be biased, but I think she will end up abandoning her family to focus more on more important stuff like the Desolation and Voidbringers. I REALLY want to see the drawings of the linehead men, I was disappointed when she didn't show that to Jasnah. I'm also confused about her other drawing, the well dressed man in a pool of his own blood, that wasn't how any of the four guys died, so was that just guilt? In Shallan's most recent chapter she heard a strange voice asking her “What are you?”. My first assumption is that this is the Fabrial, the only other thing I know of is a spren of some kind, but they don't get italics text, per Syl. I don't think I like the hot priest, but that might be because I really want to see where Jasnah's going with her story. Kaladin continues to go through it, continues to not know what he's doing with Stormlight, and continues to be stressy and depressy. Not that I like the casual death of hundreds, but him loving up Sadeas' run was pretty great, until he realized how bad he hosed up. Honestly anything loving up Sadeas seems generally OK for now, despite Dalinar being told to trust him. The man is a walking warcrime machine. And while Kaladin doesn't understand his Stormlight ability, Teft definitely knows, I just wish he'd tell Kal already. Teft seems worried about what Kaladin is, and having failed the "Envisagers", whoever they are. Syl has been relatively quiet, really only being involved during the Highstorm, and she's been absent a few times without explanation. She's been growing into more and more of an individual, though she'll lose herself if she's away from Kaladin for too long, so I'd like to see more of what's going on with her. I've not paid that much attention to Kaladin's flashbacks, but it feels very much like Roshone is going to blame Lirin for the death of his kid Rillir. That'll push him over the edge and have Lirin and Hesina killed, which is why Kaladin ends up taking Tien with him to be a soldier. Alternatively Laral won't forgive Lirin and Kaladin for failing to save her new boyfriend, but more likely the father seeks revenge. I do have a theory about these powers. With the upcoming Desolation, I think the Heralds are returning in people like Szeth, Kaladin, and maybe Jasnah. Since there were ten Heralds I think that's the limit to how many people can naturally use Stormlight. Knights Radiants seem to just be Shardbearers but more, maybe just better training? I also think there's a chance that Talanel, the one Herald who died in the prelude, may return and be absolutely pissed that he was left behind. Progress so far: 
pik_d fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Aug 6, 2023 |
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Aug 6, 2023 05:20
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pik_d posted:Stormlight WoK chapters 29-42 (first ~half of Part 3) First, and most importantly,  Second, you should know that you are sharp as hell and taking what I think is the intended approach to these books (no shade to Mord, intended is not necessarily ideal for all readers). I'm not saying that everything, or even anything, that you're predicting is correct, but you're paying attention to the right things. Third, the art you want to see, you will get to see, and it's cool. Finally, I assume you're consuming the physical book rather than than the audiobook based on your ability to spell everything. I don't think anyone has mentioned yet but there are quite a few names that will not be pronounced and/or stressed the way they would most sensibly be by a native English speaker, so just be prepared for that. Jasnah starts with a Y sound, for instance. Love Sando but the man does not seem to understand how letters are supposed to become sounds. "Aon" (rhymes with "hay-own") and it's kin being the most egregious offenders, to my mind.
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Aug 6, 2023 07:41
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When I first did Stormlight I had a friend who was doing the same, he read all the books I did all the audiobooks, he could spell it all I could pronounce it all, made for confusing conversations for a bit.
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Aug 6, 2023 07:51
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socialsecurity posted:When I first did Stormlight I had a friend who was doing the same, he read all the books I did all the audiobooks, he could spell it all I could pronounce it all, made for confusing conversations for a bit. Lol it's the same with me any my father, he can pronounce the names, I can spell them. He's slightly dyslexic, so that approach makes sense. CK07 posted:First, and most importantly, Yeah, I continue to be amazed by pik_d's ability to often enough ask the right questions.
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Aug 6, 2023 08:04
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CK07 posted:First, and most importantly, You're telling me (about not always being right), just read through WoK Chapter 45 last night and two predictions are instantly down the drain. The army comes recruiting and Roshone gives them Tien's name, causing Kaladin to volunteer as tribute, full Katniss style. This makes a lot of sense, AND it means that Kaladin's parents are probably still alive. Roshone wants them to suffer like he did, and Kaladin never thought about them being dead. Secondly, the voice Shallan heard was the linehead guys, not the fabrial or spren, unless the linehead guys are somehow one of those. There was that one "last words" epigraph about the linehead guys, I wonder if anyone else alive has any contact with them, given Shallan's odd way of discovering them. CK07 posted:Third, the art you want to see, you will get to see, and it's cool. Yeah, this is the thing I'm least worried about, but most ready to just see. All of her artwork. CK07 posted:Finally, I assume you're consuming the physical book rather than than the audiobook based on your ability to spell everything. I don't think anyone has mentioned yet but there are quite a few names that will not be pronounced and/or stressed the way they would most sensibly be by a native English speaker, so just be prepared for that. Jasnah starts with a Y sound, for instance. Love Sando but the man does not seem to understand how letters are supposed to become sounds. "Aon" (rhymes with "hay-own") and it's kin being the most egregious offenders, to my mind. Yeah, I read everything via ebooks. I have also decided to largely ignore Sanderson's intended pronunciation up until the point where he actually puts out any movies or shows. I just cannot be bothered. I understand that Jasnah makes a little more sense as a (WoK general, I do not know if this is even really a spoiler) near-palindrome if the J sounds more like a Y or an H, but gently caress it, I just don't care.
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Aug 6, 2023 15:42
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Yeah pik_d, you’re picking up on things, or at least hypothesizing, super well in that you infer what Brandon’s throwing down though still expect to be very surprised. Personally I feel you absorb so much more by reading the books since you can both take your time and reread sections if needed. I remember with WoK I’d try not to guess too much of what was going on and instead just went along for the ride, accepting my temporary ignorance, and feel it made the overall story more enjoyable. Some Sanderson books have an obvious route (felt that way with most parts of era 2) but Stormlight is excellent at keeping you guessing.
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Aug 6, 2023 16:22
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Slanderer posted:I just went to finally listen to the latest audiobook on that awful Speechify iOS app and it seems the latest update a few days completely broke the audiobook support, which seemingly was hacked in to begin with. Kinda disappointing that Brandon paired with a company that doesn’t want to be in the audiobook business, which (poorly) added support for his books alone just so people might subscribe for their $140/year service Update: the audiobook functionality is busted in the Speechify app, but apparently it now (or maybe always did?) work in their "Speechify Books" app instead. I can't tell what change or when because they screwed up the release notes for Speechify and barely put out any for Speechify Books. The app is still bad, however.
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Aug 6, 2023 16:41
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Lightsong calling a criminal investigator a "sheriff" seems weirdly setting inappropriate. Not sure Sanderson picked the right word there.
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Aug 6, 2023 16:44
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Louisgod posted:Yeah pik_d, you’re picking up on things, or at least hypothesizing, super well in that you infer what Brandon’s throwing down though still expect to be very surprised. Personally I feel you absorb so much more by reading the books since you can both take your time and reread sections if needed. I remember with WoK I’d try not to guess too much of what was going on and instead just went along for the ride, accepting my temporary ignorance, and feel it made the overall story more enjoyable. Some Sanderson books have an obvious route (felt that way with most parts of era 2) but Stormlight is excellent at keeping you guessing. Yeah I'm definitely spending more time thinking about this series than I would have 10-20 years ago. It helps to take notes (both my own thoughts and the epigraphs) to consider current chapters with previous stuff. It also probably helps that I'm consistently reading about an hour a night. The story is always fresh but I'm not binging too much to where it all mashes together.
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Aug 6, 2023 18:45
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I should clarify that when I said “though still expect to be very surprised” I meant that despite the hypothesizing you’re still gonna be pleasantly surprised in general. Finishing WoK makes reading and understanding WoR and Oathbringer so much more enjoyable as you’re not really worrying about not knowing what the hell the world is about.
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Aug 6, 2023 19:05
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Nitrousoxide posted:Lightsong calling a criminal investigator a "sheriff" seems weirdly setting inappropriate. Not sure Sanderson picked the right word there. There's a whole planet besides just hallendren, there are probably sheriffs out there. It's an old term. Brando starts using "lawman" so extensively you'll be wanting sheriffs back
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Aug 6, 2023 19:09
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pik_d posted:You're telling me (about not always being right), just read through WoK Chapter 45 last night and two predictions are instantly down the drain. The army comes recruiting and Roshone gives them Tien's name, causing Kaladin to volunteer as tribute, full Katniss style. This makes a lot of sense, AND it means that Kaladin's parents are probably still alive. Roshone wants them to suffer like he did, and Kaladin never thought about them being dead. Secondly, the voice Shallan heard was the linehead guys, not the fabrial or spren, unless the linehead guys are somehow one of those. There was that one "last words" epigraph about the linehead guys, I wonder if anyone else alive has any contact with them, given Shallan's odd way of discovering them.
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Aug 6, 2023 19:32
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It’s a lot of fun getting the thoughts of first-time readers. I personally am terrible at pacing myself with new series, at taking the time to make predictions, and at writing them down for later comparison. Thanks to both pik_d and Mordiceius for letting us share their ride.
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Aug 7, 2023 01:14
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While listening today, I came to a realization. Shardblades are Brandon's version of keyblades. I assume that shardblades used to be more prominent back in the before-times. When are we going to the Shardblade graveyard?
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Aug 7, 2023 17:52
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Mordiceius posted:When are we going to the Shardblade graveyard? How far along are you? Do you actually want to know anything about this?
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Aug 7, 2023 17:59
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Potato Salad posted:How far along are you? Do you actually want to know anything about this? I was completely saying that in jest. If that is true, then I'm laughing. I'm barely into part 2 of WoK (the fight with the chasm fiend)). During that fight, my brain made the connection with shardblades. Mordiceius fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Aug 7, 2023 |
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Aug 7, 2023 18:03
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Nobody tell him about [spoiler]Xaladink[/spolier]
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Aug 7, 2023 18:16
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The important thing to keep in mind is that Brandon started with the notion "guys swinging impractically huge swords around is cool" and worked backwards from there
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Aug 7, 2023 18:29
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Two different spoiler tag fails in a row  Slanderer posted:The important thing to keep in mind is that Brandon started with the notion "guys swinging impractically huge swords around is cool" and worked backwards from there The covers of Hero of Ages do loving own though
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Aug 7, 2023 18:30
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Tunicate posted:Nobody tell him about [spoiler]Xaladink[/spolier] We're all Norted down here.
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Aug 7, 2023 18:47
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