167 replies to this topic

[zas678]

Hey! So I thought that it would be a good idea to have a thread that was open to any question about Brandon Sanderson's work. Doesn't matter if it's been asked 1,024 times, or if it's the first time it's been asked. We'll attempt to answer it. It can even be a question about a quote (like has Brandon ever said anything about splinters).

For clarification- the Ultimate List of Questions is generally for questions that haven't been asked before, for questions that we want Brandon to answer. These ones will be answered by us.

So go ahead! Ask who Hoid is. Or what a Sliver is. Or what these Shard thingys are. We'll answer! Though if those are your questions, take a quick look at the Cosmere 101 thread. But we'll explain more if you still want more information.

This is going to be a spoilery thread though, so be careful if you don't want to know about endings and such.

EDIT- We can even answer about specific Brandon questions. Like "What was his response when Harriet called him?" or "What books does he like reading?" or "Which does he prefer, Mac or PC?"

[lil_literalist]

I've been looking around for information on Hoid for awhile, and I've found some interesting things. He was there when Adonalsium splintered. He probably wrote the letter in WoK (which would also imply that he knows most of the Shardholders personally). He uses Shadesmar to travel between worlds. And now, recently, I've learned that he has slight precognitive powers. This all seems to point to one thing, but I haven't seen anyone mention it yet.

Is there any reason why Hoid couldn't be a Shardholder?

Edited by lil_literalist, 26 April 2012 - 11:22 AM.

[Lantern13]

I believe that we have WoB saying that Hoid isn't a shardholder. And I saw one thread that someone popped out and said that Hoid had precognitive powers without giving any backup (unless some has been given today). Where was that idea gotten?

EDIT: ok. I found two quotes.

Question

How does Hoid know where to go when?
Brandon Sanderson

Alright, who does not know who Hoid is? If you want to know about Hoid, the 17th Shard, which is the official fansite for my works, has some great information about him. There is a character who showed up in Elantris, who showed up in Mistborn, who showed up in Warbreaker, who showed up in Way of Kings. All with the same name, the same person. So there�s lots of theorizing about it. How does he know? He has his ways! (general groans) So a little bit more? Just a little bit more? He may be capable of a little bit of foreseeing of certain events, not what�s going to happen, but he may need ot be in a certain place in a certain time.

Chaos

Long, long ago when Hero of Ages came out you listed four Shards other than Ruin and Preservation. You said we interacted with two directly. One is a tough call, we've never met the Shard itself but have seen its power. The other one we've not met directly but have seen its influence. My questions:

-Is the Dor the "tough call" one?

-Do you count Hoid in this list of four shards? It makes a difference for the theories, Brandon! You don't even need to say if he is bound to a shard, rather just if you consider him in this list.
Brandon Sanderson

RAFO, and no, Hoid is not included in the list. (Still not sure if he has a shard or not)
Footnote
This refers to the quote made by Brandon in the Hero of Ages Online Q&A on Time Waster's Guide.

So Hoid *might* be able to see slivers of the future, and Brandon doesn't know if Hoid has a Shard or not (at least back at the time when the questions were asked/answered. things might have solidified since then)

Edited by Lantern13, 26 April 2012 - 11:47 AM.

[lil_literalist]

Hm, this is just piquing my curiosity even more. Thanks for the research!

[CrazyRioter]

I believe the "still not sure if he has a shard or not" bit was annotated by the person transcribing the interview, and Brandon has since said Hoid does not have a Shard.

[Lantern13]

I believe the "still not sure if he has a shard or not" bit was annotated by the person transcribing the interview

that makes sense.

[Commander Spoonface]

Was Hoid's presence in multiple books mentioned by Brandon before or after readers noticed it?

[zas678]

After. Let me pull the quotes up.

Hoid was mentioned once by a member in TWG (Natalia), but the topic died before any real discussion began on it.

But it was pointed out again in the Hero of Ages Q&A on TWG by Chaos who said:

Also, this one is not a question, but nice Hoid reference in there. I especially like it how the Ars Arcanum refers to Slowswift as "bears a striking resemblance to a well-known storyteller." I'm on to you...

Someone then asks if Slowswift is Brandon, to which Chaos & Brandon reply:

I'm pretty sure Slowswift is Hoid. The Ars Arcanum says he "bears a striking resemblance to a storyteller", which I take to mean Hoid.

Hoid appears in that same chapter, but Vin doesn't meet him.  Something he does spooks her.  She's just too darn observant for her own good.

And then, Peter said

Yeah. My thought when Brandon said only two of the Shards were on the planet at the time was—which other planet of Brandon's ARE they on right now? I assume Hoid ties into this. I once asked Brandon what the heck was up with Hoid, and he said, "You don't really want to know," and I said, "You're right. I don't." (Meaning that I want to RAFO because it wouldn't be as fun any other way.)

That's pretty much the discovery of Hoid. There's some discussion (and discovery) about Hoid (where he is in the other books for example), till Brandon says this near the end:

Ok, I am new write and reading forums, so I'm a little slow on it, so please be kind.....

2.) Who is HOID? I have read Elantris and all 3 Mistborns but don't remember the name, am I missing something?


I would be glad for someone to eliminate my ignorance on these matters....

Hoid is a mystery which I cannot speak on other than what has been written in the text of the novels.

However, I'm sure that others have explained it by now.

[Joe ST]

At what point, in the publication cycle, did Peter join Brandon as an employee?

[Dros]

I would love to know if anyone knows or has a theory about who or what spoke to Kaladin right before he spoke the first part of the KR Oath. Syl pleads with him to say the words and then a voice, written in all caps, told him to speak the words, as well. I have my own thoughts, but I was wondering if there were others who have thought on this. I remember seeing something on it a while ago, but I've been unable to locate where I saw it. So was it a Shard of Andolasium? Jezrien? A figment of Kaladin's imagination?

[lyssie95]

What is Brandon's favorite color?

[mycoltbug]

At what point, in the publication cycle, did Peter join Brandon as an employee?

It was right around the time that he took over WoT.

[zas678]

At what point, in the publication cycle, did Peter join Brandon as an employee?

May 2009 at the latest. Brandon first announced it here, but it was old news to us by then. Here's where he talks about how Gathering Storm is coming out, and how he's going to revise it as he's writing Way of Kings.

As I said above, writing and revising take different parts of the brain. I can only write new material for a certain number of hours a day, usually around four or six. But I can revise all day long. Perhaps it's the difference between mental heavy lifting and mental long-distance running. Either way, in order to give this a try, I've hired a full-time assistant, Peter Ahlstrom, to do all the things in a day that normally take my time away from writing/revising. Usually, when I'm not revising, the 'non-writing' hours of the day are spent doing all kinds of tasks associated with being self-employed. Peter is going to be handling all of this, theoretically freeing up a few hours each day during which I can revise THE WAY OF KINGS.

Here's Peter's post about getting hired on April 5th:

Well, I am no longer looking for a job. As of May 1st (or earlier if I can get out there before then) I'll be Brandon's assistant and extra brain. This is going to be interesting.
Source

I would love to know if anyone knows or has a theory about who or what spoke to Kaladin right before he spoke the first part of the KR Oath. Syl pleads with him to say the words and then a voice, written in all caps, told him to speak the words, as well. I have my own thoughts, but I was wondering if there were others who have thought on this. I remember seeing something on it a while ago, but I've been unable to locate where I saw it. So was it a Shard of Andolasium? Jezrien? A figment of Kaladin's imagination?

I think it's the Stormfather, whoever that is. It might be Jezrien? I don't know. But the Stormfather is the name I associate with it. It also could be the shattered remnant of Honor's mind (like the Pool in Elantris has a remnant of intelligence with it, which I assume is the shattered remnant of Devotion).
So the Stormfather, who is either what's left of Honor, or Jezrien is what I think.

What is Brandon's favorite color?

There's this quote from a Gathering Storm Report

BRANDON SANDERSON

Brandon's favorite color is maroon. Green shirt says so!

Source

[Commander Spoonface]

What was the process involved in Brandon being chosen to take over WoT?

[Windrunner]

Here you go:

QUESTION
The Big Question most fans probably have is: "Why Brandon Sanderson?" What are your thoughts on this?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I've thought a lot about this over the last year. I've spoken to Harriet and considered. I've come to discover a little more about the process behind how I was chosen.

Why me? I think foremost, because Harriet liked my work. But she'd also read the thoughts I'd written on Mr. Jordan's passing. She knew I had been heavily influenced by the series that is The Wheel of Time. These aren't just books. There's something about them, something endearing and enduring. Something that draws people into fan communities and makes friends talk with friends about them. There are a lot of bestselling series out there, but there isn't a single one in my knowledge that has prompted the level of passion from the readers that these have.

The fans have been waiting for a long, long time to get this book. I've been waiting a long, long time. I was a fan from the get-go; I read The Eye of the World when it was first released. I think that in order to get this book done in a reasonable amount of time, they needed to pick someone who was already familiar with the series. Someone who knew their Aelfinn from their Eelfinn and who could explain Rand's family tree. (At least on a good day. It still makes my brain get in a knot when I think about who Slayer is and how he relates to the various characters. . . .)
Source

And this is a good one too.

ALEX C. TELANDER
It's a great honor to be chosen to complete Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, it is.
ALEX C. TELANDER
How were you chosen?
BRANDON SANDERSON
How was I chosen? I got up one morning, and there was a voicemail on my phone from someone that said, "Hello, Brandon Sanderson. This is Harriet Rigney, Robert Jordan's widow. I'd like you to call me. I have something I want to discuss with you."
ALEX C. TELANDER
Had you ever met her before or anything?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I'd never met her before. I had seen Robert Jordan once at a convention, been too embarrassed to go up and talk to him. I had not applied, or asked my agent to apply, or anything like this. I was known at Tor as a big fan of the series. I had also written on my web site some thoughts about what Robert Jordan's books had meant in my life. But none of it was really an attempt. . . I assumed somebody had already been chosen.
ALEX C. TELANDER
Right. Do you know if you were the only one on the list?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I know there were others on the list. I am not at liberty to say who they were. But, that first call was just a 'would you be willing?' And so I said, yes, of course. Well, what I actually said was, "aabbl, aabbbl, aabbbl. . ." I actually sent her an email the next day saying, "Dear Harriet, I'm not an idiot. I promise." I was just so surprised. And so, she then read Mistborn. She later told me, she said, "I got just 50 pages into it and I knew." But then she kept reading to make sure. She thought about it for about a month, she called me back. As I understand, she didn't ever look at any of the other people who were being considered, she just went with me. She really, really liked Mistborn.
ALEX C. TELANDER
That's pretty great!
Source

I hope this helps.

[Tulir]

Is Cusicesh singular, or are there other spren like him? I don't know if this has been answered so I put it here.

Edited by Tulir, 06 May 2012 - 03:59 PM.

[Windrunner]

As far as I can tell from the interview database Brandon has never mentioned Cusicesh in an interview, however this comes from TWoK

They called it by name, Cusicesh, the Protector. Some worshiped it as a god. Most simply accepted it as part of the city. it was unique. One of the few types of spren he knew of that seemed to have only a single member.

So the foremost expert of spren in the world seems to think its the only one of its kind. He could be wrong however. Its interesting to note that it seems there are other spren with only one member.

[Barradorn]

Hi all,

Apologies if this has been asked / covered somewhere else in the forums but I've had a look and can't seem to find it anywhere.

I've recently read AoL and something struck me about the description of the earring used in Pathism (I've only got the paperback version of AoL so the page reference is to that).

It was a simple thing, stamped on the head with the ten interlocking rings of the Path

Now I know both 16 and 10 are significant numbers within the Cosmere and that Sazed as Harmony (by the time of AoL) is assumed to have encountered some of the other Shards, but I think I am right that 16 has the higher significance on Scadriel. So......

Are the ten interlocking rings a reference to the 10 Shardworlds?
If so is it a clue to the people of Scadriel that they are not alone in the Cosmere?

[ReaderAt2046]

Hi all,

Apologies if this has been asked / covered somewhere else in the forums but I've had a look and can't seem to find it anywhere.

I've recently read AoL and something struck me about the description of the earring used in Pathism (I've only got the paperback version of AoL so the page reference is to that).



Now I know both 16 and 10 are significant numbers within the Cosmere and that Sazed as Harmony (by the time of AoL) is assumed to have encountered some of the other Shards, but I think I am right that 16 has the higher significance on Scadriel. So......

Are the ten interlocking rings a reference to the 10 Shardworlds?
If so is it a clue to the people of Scadriel that they are not alone in the Cosmere?

I think the ten rings are the ten that Sazed used in the battle with Marsh.

[zas678]

They could be. I wouldn't be surprised if someone from the Seventeenth Shard (or Hoid) had appeared on Scadrial, and Sazed took notice and realized the other planets. He wanted to give the people a clue, so he nudged them with the rings, which most people believe either has to do with the above 10 rings, or possibly 10 pathist ideals, or something else that's 10.

But we don't know for sure. That's a good question.