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Walh Hara
May 11, 2012

omnibobb posted:

So, if we've seen all of the Heralds in book 1, who do we think they are? I hope Gaz and that's what happened. He got called to Herald it up.

Some popular theories/guesses. In all of these the herald icons each chapter have are used as evidence as well. Sanderson has also stated that many clues are red herrings. Spoiler for people who didn't read the book yet or want to think of theories/want to find it out themselves.

- From the prologue in TWoK: Elhokar, the king’s son and heir, sat at the high table, ruling the feast in his father’s absence. He was in conversation with two men, a dark-skinned Azish man who had an odd patch of pale skin on his cheek and a thinner, Alethi-looking man who kept glancing over his shoulder. There is a dark-skinned azish man with an odd patch of pale skin in several of the preview chapters for The Word of Radiance (jashan prolgue, ym interlude, lift interlude) and in those he shows signs of the attributes just and confident (in a corrupt/exaggerated way), so one theory goes that he's Nalan. The Azish man might very well be a herald as well then.
- From Axies the Collector's interlude: the old beggar in the street who built a town from rotten vegetables shows signs of the attributes "building" and "confident" (in a corrupt/exaggerated way), which is apparantly enough for some people to think he's Kelek.
- The old lady in the library in one of Shallan's chapters could be a Herald, simply because she get's a big amount of attention. In that case she could be Palah (learned, giving) or even Battar (wisdom, carefulness).
- The nurse in the Taravangian's death room might be Vedeledev (loving, healing).
- The drunk guy Seth meets in the prologue that asks "have you seen me?" might be a herald because he spoke in gibberish and was next to the statues of the heralds.

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Democratic Pirate
Feb 17, 2010

That's it. I'm on Christmas break in two days and it's time for me to break out a WoK reread. Probably with the coppermind wiki up since I didn't even know the Herald's attributes.

Fezz
Aug 31, 2001

You should feel ashamed.
I suggest you all go to tor.com and check the posts in the reread if you haven't already. The authors as well as the commenters usually do a good job of posting all the cosmete stuff and other references.

calandryll
Apr 25, 2003

Ask me where I do my best drinking!



Pillbug
Tor put up this image: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/12/words-of-radiance-manuscript It looks like a freakin' beast. I wonder what WoK looks like in comparison.

RC Cola
Aug 1, 2011

Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
That was amazing. I'm still confused about all of the orders. What does he mean I wasn't sure which one you'd be? When he said she was an edge dancer. Does that mean each spren has two orders bound to it?

veekie
Dec 25, 2007

Dice of Chaos
More like each spren manifests as a pair of forces. One spren to an order. Two forces to an order. Two orders to a force.

New Yorp New Yorp
Jul 18, 2003

Only in Kenya.
Pillbug
I'm actually having trouble believing he wrote that. That section must not have been edited yet. There are tons of things that pop out as weird or inappropriate.

Two examples:

Something described as happening "super-fast"
The phrase "...then summoned her awesomeness"

I think he's trying to write "in-character" for the character, but he's doing a really bad job.

veekie
Dec 25, 2007

Dice of Chaos
Pretty sure it's pre editing.

M_Gargantua
Oct 16, 2006

STOMP'N ON INTO THE POWERLINES

Exciting Lemon

veekie posted:

Pretty sure it's pre editing.

Now Im just imagining him submitting the most ridiculous stuff. "Vroom! Crash! Then the box thing exploded, but He used his sweet powers to block it" And his editor just nodding politely before it gets passed off to an interpretation team to make somehow publishable.

MartingaleJack
Aug 26, 2004

I'll split you open and I don't even like coconuts.
Brandon's early drafts are always terrible. I think that's how he managed his ludicrous speed. He literally just bangs it out and then later edits the thing to be good. I can't fathom being able to shut down my internal editor like that.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X

api call girl posted:

I'm trying to figure out if Prof's been "outed" to the rest of the cell.

I can't remember exactly where in the short it was, but I'm like 98% sure it's made clear that he has.

Most (all?) of the cell saw Prof fight Steelheart; pretty hard to come up with any explanation for how he hung in against him for so long other than "he's an Epic."

veekie
Dec 25, 2007

Dice of Chaos

BananaNutkins posted:

Brandon's early drafts are always terrible. I think that's how he managed his ludicrous speed. He literally just bangs it out and then later edits the thing to be good. I can't fathom being able to shut down my internal editor like that.

Probably just to get the ideas out as fast as they can come. First pass for consistency, second pass for flow, third pass before actually fixing the language?

MartingaleJack
Aug 26, 2004

I'll split you open and I don't even like coconuts.

veekie posted:

Probably just to get the ideas out as fast as they can come. First pass for consistency, second pass for flow, third pass before actually fixing the language?

He's posted a breakdown on his website before. I think he usually goes through about 6 drafts total. The Warbreaker series of drafts he had on his website was a really cool way to see his process.

I was lucky enough to attend a retreat with Brandon earlier this year, and some of his talks helped me adjust my writing style for swiftness of completion. He's a cool guy, less artistic and more pragmatic about writing.

A few nights I decided to stay up and get some extra writing done, and Brandon was on the couch next to me finishing up draft 1 of WoR. Pretty humbling.

Yarrbossa
Mar 19, 2008
Just finished Elantris. I love that Hrathen finally came around and got the nice final moments doing what he felt was right, versus what his religion dictated. Overall, a good book. I can see where his writing has improved quite a bit.

Reading his books and reading about his writing process makes me want to write a book for some reason, but that's got to be the stupidest idea that's ever gotten into my head. I doubt I could write a short story let alone an entire book. I think I'll suffice for just reading his works, because he releases them so quickly that I'm never left waiting for more.

Democratic Pirate
Feb 17, 2010

I'm liking the idea that if you give Sanderson a day or two, he'll write you a story with a tight plot and good writing. Whereas if you ask him to tell you a story off the top of his head, you get stuff like "Kaladin flew around like whoah and there was some whiz whoo blammo pew pew pew until the smoke cleared and everyone was like "whaaaaaaaaaat""

Drunk Tomato
Apr 23, 2010

If God wanted us sober,
He'd knock the glass over.

BananaNutkins posted:

He's posted a breakdown on his website before. I think he usually goes through about 6 drafts total. The Warbreaker series of drafts he had on his website was a really cool way to see his process.

I was lucky enough to attend a retreat with Brandon earlier this year, and some of his talks helped me adjust my writing style for swiftness of completion. He's a cool guy, less artistic and more pragmatic about writing.

A few nights I decided to stay up and get some extra writing done, and Brandon was on the couch next to me finishing up draft 1 of WoR. Pretty humbling.

I'm seriously considering this retreat for next year. It sounds so amazing, since I love BrandSand and the WE group and who knows how long this opportunity will last

thespaceinvader
Mar 30, 2011

The slightest touch from a Gol-Shogeg will result in Instant Death!

BananaNutkins posted:

He's posted a breakdown on his website before. I think he usually goes through about 6 drafts total. The Warbreaker series of drafts he had on his website was a really cool way to see his process.

I was lucky enough to attend a retreat with Brandon earlier this year, and some of his talks helped me adjust my writing style for swiftness of completion. He's a cool guy, less artistic and more pragmatic about writing.

A few nights I decided to stay up and get some extra writing done, and Brandon was on the couch next to me finishing up draft 1 of WoR. Pretty humbling.

You went to Out of Excuses? How was it? I've been listening along to the podcasts they recorded there, it sounded fun.

MartingaleJack
Aug 26, 2004

I'll split you open and I don't even like coconuts.

thespaceinvader posted:

You went to Out of Excuses? How was it? I've been listening along to the podcasts they recorded there, it sounded fun.

This is gonna sound fan-boyish and gushy, but it was one of the best weeks of my life. Met a ton of people who write and love fantasy and sf. Hung out with the cast, all of whom are friendly and accessible.

Played cards with Brandon. Stayed up late in rocking chairs on Mary's porch just hanging out with Mary or Dan or Howard. Learned some stuff, mostly about the business side of writing.

I was in Brandon's breakout group, so he read through the first section of my novel, and he was cool enough to let me record it.

If you are seriously interested in writing fantasy, definitely go. It sold out in seconds last year, so be ready to spam the ticket website and hope you get lucky.

thespaceinvader
Mar 30, 2011

The slightest touch from a Gol-Shogeg will result in Instant Death!
I'm not, I just like listening to the podcast and dreaming D: (I used to be)

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X

Drunk Tomato posted:

I'm seriously considering this retreat for next year. It sounds so amazing, since I love BrandSand and the WE group and who knows how long this opportunity will last

I was looking at this also--with 24 seats at a way-too-cheap price (they're selling for $750 what they could easily get $3000 for given the tiny supply) and far more people aware of it than last year, those 24 seats are going to go to the 24 people with the fastest internet connections in about 15 seconds. I'm going to try to sign up but I'm not optimistic, because I'll be at work at the appointed time and the internet connection there sucks.

Seems like an odd way to parcel them out to me; I'd just make everyone interested pay the $750 up front, randomly select 24 lucky winners, and then return everyone else's $750 the next day.

MartingaleJack
Aug 26, 2004

I'll split you open and I don't even like coconuts.

Eric the Mauve posted:

I was looking at this also--with 24 seats at a way-too-cheap price (they're selling for $750 what they could easily get $3000 for given the tiny supply) and far more people aware of it than last year, those 24 seats are going to go to the 24 people with the fastest internet connections in about 15 seconds. I'm going to try to sign up but I'm not optimistic, because I'll be at work at the appointed time and the internet connection there sucks.

Seems like an odd way to parcel them out to me; I'd just make everyone interested pay the $750 up front, randomly select 24 lucky winners, and then return everyone else's $750 the next day.

There's also a writing contest to win a seat. Not sure if they have posted the rules yet.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Dude, if I could win a writing contest I wouldn't need the seminar! :v:

Drunk Tomato
Apr 23, 2010

If God wanted us sober,
He'd knock the glass over.
The writing contest is for people who need financial assistance though.

Grundulum
Feb 28, 2006

Eric the Mauve posted:

I'd just make everyone interested pay the $750 up front, randomly select 24 lucky winners, and then return everyone else's $750 the next day.

Try sending an email and suggesting it. It's entirely possible that your idea (which seems much fairer!) never occurred to the people organizing the workshop. Worst that happens is nothing.

Drunk Tomato
Apr 23, 2010

If God wanted us sober,
He'd knock the glass over.
Hey, just putting it out there: I really really really want a spot. I'm going to do my darndest to get one. And I hope some of you goons get in, too.

But if any of you do get a spot and decide to back out, I'd like to put my name in first on the transfer list :unsmith:

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
I'd assume the seats are nontransferrable except in extremely unusual circumstances. Otherwise I'd try to buy all 24 seats and sell them off at like a 400% profit.

Seriously though the demand is going to be extreme and even while bitterly disappointed I'm going to have no choice but to laugh when I get all my information entered in 20 seconds and am told sorry, sold out.

There's also the matter of the on-campus housing. I see they have it set up as something you can buy separate from a ticket only reservation, but there's only one of each. So trying to reserve one of those is a real gamble; if you go for one of them and someone beats you to it, then you're hosed, all the ticket-onlies will be sold out before you even start to try to buy one. I am definitely not going that route.

Eric the Mauve fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Dec 19, 2013

MartingaleJack
Aug 26, 2004

I'll split you open and I don't even like coconuts.
There's no entering information on the ticket sales website. Last year, it was just a single click add to cart. Then you had 15 minutes to enter your information afterwords.

Yarrbossa
Mar 19, 2008
I started listening to Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians in the car, and holy poo poo this book is hilarious. It's so lighthearted and fun, and the guy reading it has to be among the best I've heard.

Also started reading Alloy of Law finally. I set it aside so I could come back to that world later on, and it has not disappointed so far. I just can't get enough of that setting, it's so awesome.

I think I may have a Sanderson addiction.

Democratic Pirate
Feb 17, 2010

Yarrbossa posted:

I think I may have a Sanderson addiction.

Looking through my kindle, the listing of books I have read recently is in order of:

"Sanderson, Author x, Sanderson, Author y, Sanderson, Sanderson, Author z"

The dude just writes so drat much and I enjoy reading all his works.


What are some similar books/series to Sanderson's works? I told myself that I'd pick up some interesting non-fiction books over christmas break, but I'm about to start studying hardcore for the CPA exam and want to relax in fantasyland for these next few weeks.

ConfusedUs
Feb 24, 2004

Bees?
You want fucking bees?
Here you go!
ROLL INITIATIVE!!





Democratic Pirate posted:

Looking through my kindle, the listing of books I have read recently is in order of:

"Sanderson, Author x, Sanderson, Author y, Sanderson, Sanderson, Author z"

The dude just writes so drat much and I enjoy reading all his works.


What are some similar books/series to Sanderson's works? I told myself that I'd pick up some interesting non-fiction books over christmas break, but I'm about to start studying hardcore for the CPA exam and want to relax in fantasyland for these next few weeks.

Promise of Blood is a new book that is built on Sanderson-like lines in terms of worldbuilding and magic. It's also quite a bit more modern than most fantasy, something akin with Age of Sail/British Empire/1600s-1700s technology (single-shot pistols, rifles, etc).

I enjoyed it quite a bit. Warning: the prose isn't great, and there's more than one awkward sentence. It's no different than Sanderson's early work in that regard.

Drunk Tomato
Apr 23, 2010

If God wanted us sober,
He'd knock the glass over.

Eric the Mauve posted:

I'd assume the seats are nontransferrable except in extremely unusual circumstances. Otherwise I'd try to buy all 24 seats and sell them off at like a 400% profit.

They are transferable. From the bottom of the registration site:

quote:

REFUND POLICY
We will offer a full refund if there is someone to take your slot. (You may also transfer it to someone else if you wish.)
If not then:
Full refund until April 1st
75% refund until June 1st
50% refund until August 1st
No refunds after September 1st

But you can't resell them, A) because I really doubt demand is as high as you think it is, and B) because they would obviously see you doing it (since there are only 24 spots) and they would notice.

MartingaleJack
Aug 26, 2004

I'll split you open and I don't even like coconuts.

ConfusedUs posted:

Promise of Blood is a new book that is built on Sanderson-like lines in terms of worldbuilding and magic. It's also quite a bit more modern than most fantasy, something akin with Age of Sail/British Empire/1600s-1700s technology (single-shot pistols, rifles, etc).

I enjoyed it quite a bit. Warning: the prose isn't great, and there's more than one awkward sentence. It's no different than Sanderson's early work in that regard.

I bought this and have regretted it. The prose is terrible. Basically unreadable for me.

bowmore
Oct 6, 2008



Lipstick Apathy
I thought Promise of Blood was pretty drat good!

cryptoclastic
Jul 3, 2003

The Jesus
I enjoyed Promise of Blood as well. There were bits where it was slow going and a little weird, but in the end I really liked it.

Also wondering about other good stuff that a big Sanderson fan would like. I could read Warbreaker, but that's the last novel of his I have yet to read so I'm saving it for a special occasion.

Luminaflare
Sep 23, 2010

No one man
should have all that
POWER BEYOND MEASURE


cryptoclastic posted:

I enjoyed Promise of Blood as well. There were bits where it was slow going and a little weird, but in the end I really liked it.

Also wondering about other good stuff that a big Sanderson fan would like. I could read Warbreaker, but that's the last novel of his I have yet to read so I'm saving it for a special occasion.

I really like Brent Weeks's work, the current series he's writing has a pretty cool magic system based off of the colour spectrum. First book is called The Black Prism.

Narmi
Feb 26, 2008

Democratic Pirate posted:

What are some similar books/series to Sanderson's works? I told myself that I'd pick up some interesting non-fiction books over christmas break, but I'm about to start studying hardcore for the CPA exam and want to relax in fantasyland for these next few weeks.

I've heard good things about The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and people who have read it say it's similar to Mistborn.

Also, Promise of Blood was really enjoyable and similar to Sanderson's style (I think Brian McClellan, who wrote it, studied with/under Sanderson too).

New Yorp New Yorp
Jul 18, 2003

Only in Kenya.
Pillbug

Narmi posted:

I've heard good things about The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and people who have read it say it's similar to Mistborn.

Here are the similarities:
  • They're both written in English
  • There are swords

Don't get me wrong, Scott Lynch's books are awesome and you should read them. But they're not similar to Mistborn.

ConfusedUs
Feb 24, 2004

Bees?
You want fucking bees?
Here you go!
ROLL INITIATIVE!!





Ithaqua posted:

Here are the similarities:
  • They're both written in English
  • There are swords

Don't get me wrong, Scott Lynch's books are awesome and you should read them. But they're not similar to Mistborn.

They're both heist novels (at least the first Mistborn is).

Narmi
Feb 26, 2008

Ithaqua posted:

Here are the similarities:
  • They're both written in English
  • There are swords

Don't get me wrong, Scott Lynch's books are awesome and you should read them. But they're not similar to Mistborn.

There are major differences, but from what I understand they both feature a group of thieves/con men who pull off heists, and the main character is the (star) pupil of the group's leader. People who have read the two also say some characters share similar traits, though this might just be hearsay.

Narmi fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Dec 19, 2013

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MartingaleJack
Aug 26, 2004

I'll split you open and I don't even like coconuts.
Despite both being heist books, Lynch has much more in common with Abercrombie's books than any of Sandersons.

The focus on good prose is much higher, and Sanderson's world outlook is generally positive, Lynch is typically sarcastic and jaded. And Lynch doesn't mind doing horrible things to characters like drowning them in barrels filled with horse piss.

Didn't think the last book was that hot, but I recommend him.

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