Jerich

I am not sure how outlandish this is, but I have a small theory. What if the world of Skyward has been set up specifically to create a race of super pilots? Krell would be humans or AI designed to provide conflict and incentives to train. The machinery was created so that they had training materials. Spensa’s father graduated out of the program and was taken to be a pilot by the “Krell.” Do you all think this trope is too common for Brandon to have picked it? - Jerich

I think Shallan has summoned plate in the past and has shut out the memory... From page 160 of OB...

The Roshar year is longer than the earth year. She’s almost 40.

Right now, I don’t think there is an age appropriate main character for Kaladin that is out of the creepy zone. I’ve heard that a general rule of thumb is that the youngest you can date and not be creepy is your age / 2 + 7. (Assuming year at the end of Oathbringer is 1175 and Roshar year is 1.1 Earth years), here are the ages of our main radiants and their min max non-creepy dating range. Kaladin 24 (19 - 34) Jasnah 40 (27 - 66) Lift. 16 (15-19) Adolin 27 (21 - 40) Shallan 21 (17-28) Shallan is on the lower edge of Adolin’s range but acceptable. Lift is too young for Kaladin. Jasnah is too old. Six years from the end of Oathbringer, things change some. Kaladin 30 (19 - 46) Jasnah 46 (30 - 78) Lift. 22 (18-30) Adolin 33 (21 - 30) Shallan 27 (21-40) Kaladin can now date either Lift or Jasnah without it being creepy. Lift is on the low end of his range and Jasnah is on the upper end. Maybe Kaladin should stay single for a while?

Are we sure that Shallan’s flashbacks were reliably narrated? What if the Shallan persona is just one layer of the onion and the real Shallan is buried several identities deep? Is it possible that she could be someone who used illusion to take over Shallan’s identity or even be something else like a Kandra, a world hopper, the leader of the ghost bloods, or even Shalash? Perhaps the narration is reliable, but incomplete and Patterns real crime is that he convinced a light weaver to assume the identity of young Shallan and use light weaving to conceal the switch until she had grown old enough for looks to diverge. Perhaps Shallan’s Mom attacked her because she realized the switch? Anyway, that’s probably too crazy a theory:)

Nightblood: Do you to slay some evil today? Ym: No, I thought we could heal some urchins. Nightblood: Dammit Ym! I'm a Sword, not a Doctor!

That argument applies to common troops, but half shard Lords would definitely spring for aluminum plating on their armor if it gave them a fighting chance against full shards... That this is never mentioned as an alternative along with the fact that even a provincial daughter of a minor noble like Shallan knows what aluminum is, means that shard blades can cut aluminum. The guards could, though, be made of some aluminum alloy unknown on Roshar... Perhaps duraluminum?

My guess is that she will turn out to be a dustbringer considering she takes her bravery / obedience to extreme levels. I think she will be paralyzed, but stormlight will eventually heal her.

The second time Adolin meets Szeth, he hears a voice telling him to duck. Was it his sword or just self talk?

Lift and Shallan have been bonded for much longer than Kaladin. I think that is the biggest difference.

What if the next truth Shallan says to level up her raidiant powers is a proclamation of her love for Kaladin? Perhaps she is fighting alongside or Adolin or Kaladin and needs the extra oomph to save the day?

I'm new here so this may have been discussed before, but one of the things I am most curious about is how the different Spren in the book will get along. Will they become friends, rivals, something more...? Here are some of my thoughts. Syl Pattern Glys Ivory Wyndle Stormfather Nightwatcher How do you think these Spren will respond to each other? Do you think we will have a Spren POV in the next book?

Thank you for putting these out. I find it fun to hear your reactions. They actually help me understand how I feel about particular chapters more.

Thank you all for the warm welcome! @Morsk - I apologize for not explaining that term and just assuming everyone knew it. I should have just typed it out in the question even though I said MP to Brandon. I interpreted his reply to mean that the purpose of the Skybreakers is to watch the Knights Radiant and to make sure that they are living within the bounds of law. They are the people that protect the rest of humanity from corrupt KR.

I think that the world/religious view of any author act as a filter through which the story is navigates from potential to written form. Both the untapped potential divinity of the human spirit and sacredness of human relationship struck me as themes that are also central in the LDS church the first moments I started reading Sanderson's. Brandon also writes spiritual experience well. This is something I find many authors fail at. That being said, the same themes are also prominent in Baha'i, Mystic Christianity / Islam / Judaism, many strands of Eastern faiths and New Age / Neo paganism. I think one of the beautiful things about good fantasy is that it transcends religious boundaries and evokes something primal in the human spirit. I think it takes a special open-mindedness of belief, a great deal of empathy for others, and a strong connection to mystery of life to be a great fantasy author. Luckily, Brandon seems to have this. - Jerich