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2017-02-17 Boskone 54 - Boston, MA


BeskarKomrk

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20 hours ago, Ironeyes said:

One great way to contribute is to find a question nobody has asked before, and ask it! There's a thread full of them here.

I'm planning to ask about a theory @Pagerunner came up with regarding Ettmetal, and if I have time @ccstat lent me some other Scadrial-related questions. 

Thanks, I have been making my own list but I'll take a look at that thread and requests before the event.

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2 hours ago, The Flash said:

I AM ATTENDING this is my first Brandon sanderson signing so I have plenty of questions to ask. But I am curious how to then record and file all those WoBs. Any help on that?

Hopefully, someone will have a recorder. Otherwise, we're going on your memory, so I'd suggest writing down the gist of your answers sooner rather than later.

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17 hours ago, Pagerunner said:

Hopefully, someone will have a recorder. Otherwise, we're going on your memory, so I'd suggest writing down the gist of your answers sooner rather than later.

I might be able to find an older cell phone to use per @ccstat's idea back on page 1.  I'm assuming Q&A's can just be recorded from your seat, but what do you guys do about signings?

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2 minutes ago, DAdam said:

I might be able to find an older cell phone to use per @ccstat's idea back on page 1.  I'm assuming Q&A's can just be recorded from your seat, but what do you guys do about signings?

You ever seen Mission Impossible?

If you don't have the appropriate set of ropes and pulleys, Brandon is okay with someone leaving a recorder running on the table near him if you ask. I haven't personally brought a recording device before, but you can look through older signing threads to see who has posted recordings, and they'd probably be willing to give you some more specific advice on the matter.

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22 minutes ago, Pagerunner said:

You ever seen Mission Impossible?

If you don't have the appropriate set of ropes and pulleys, Brandon is okay with someone leaving a recorder running on the table near him if you ask. I haven't personally brought a recording device before, but you can look through older signing threads to see who has posted recordings, and they'd probably be willing to give you some more specific advice on the matter.

Nothing fancy to it. You ask Brandon if you can record him (out of politeness, not because he might deny your request), he agrees, you start your recorder/phone, leave it on the table, go back to your seat, and pick up your recorder whenever. It's nice if you can also lurk nearby (so you can pause the recording if he asks you to, and so you can maybe peek into people's books and see if he answered any questions there), but that's not always an option.

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1 hour ago, Argent said:

Nothing fancy to it. You ask Brandon if you can record him (out of politeness, not because he might deny your request), he agrees, you start your recorder/phone, leave it on the table, go back to your seat, and pick up your recorder whenever. It's nice if you can also lurk nearby (so you can pause the recording if he asks you to, and so you can maybe peek into people's books and see if he answered any questions there), but that's not always an option.

Thanks, sounds pretty straightforward.  <reluctantly cancels pulley order>  I'll see if I can lurk after I have my books signed.

I don't think I'll be there until after Friday's book signing, but I plan on trying to get into all his subsequent events.

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I might actually be able to go to the Friday signing, depending on what time I get out, my first Sander-signing. What's the format for all of this? He does a signing line where you can ask as many questions as possible while he signs and then he does a general Q+A with three questions per person? I think I saw that somewhere, but correct me if I'm wrong, either in general or for Boskone

 

I hadn't expected to be able to go, so I only have one (or two) questions prepared right now (both of which are about Shards, so I fully expect RAFOs), so if anybody wants to shoot me a few to ask on their behalf, let me know. 

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1 minute ago, Bromo_Sapien said:

I might actually be able to go to the Friday signing, depending on what time I get out, my first Sander-signing. What's the format for all of this? He does a signing line where you can ask as many questions as possible while he signs and then he does a general Q+A with three questions per person? I think I saw that somewhere, but correct me if I'm wrong, either in general or for Boskone

 

I hadn't expected to be able to go, so I only have one (or two) questions prepared right now (both of which are about Shards, so I fully expect RAFOs), so if anybody wants to shoot me a few to ask on their behalf, let me know. 

I can only speak for the signings I have gone to (plus a few others), but the format is generally

  • Lecture - Brandon usually opens with a 10-15 minute talk about something he finds interesting and/or relevant
  • Reading - after the talk Brandon usually reads from an unpublished novel
  • Open Q&A (ideally, spoiler-free) - Brandon takes questions from the audience for about 15 minutes
  • Signing line - this is when everyone gets their books signed (there might be a limit on how many he will sign the first time around, but usually not) and personalized (there is usually a limit on how many you can have personalized the first timer around). You can chat with him and/or ask questions while he does all this - but you are holding the line, so I try to keep my chat under 2 minutes. You usually also get a photo with him. 

Now, every event is different, and cons are even more so. But this is his book signing routine. 

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For Boskone specifically, the signings are scheduled such that multiple authors all share one a large room, which also hosts booths by various dealers. It is certainly possible that Brandon will do his usual reading and/or Q&A, but since he is sharing space with others he may skip straight to the signing line.

________

On a separate note, I have been looking over the participant list. I am excited to see that Max Gladstone, Jo Walton, and Jane Yolen will all be there, though sadly Tamora Pierce has cancelled. I feel like I should recognize some of the other names as well, but I'm not very familiar with their work. (For example, I've gotten several recommendations for Scott Lynch's work, but haven't actually read his books yet.) Are there any of the other authors/artists that you are excited for or think that I should make a point to see?

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14 minutes ago, ccstat said:

For Boskone specifically, the signings are scheduled such that multiple authors all share one a large room, which also hosts booths by various dealers. It is certainly possible that Brandon will do his usual reading and/or Q&A, but since he is sharing space with others he may skip straight to the signing line.

The schedule on Brandon's site says that he is doing a reading and Q&A on Sunday

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  • 2 weeks later...

@yulerule Not really. Talking to other fans in the signing line is fun, and it gives you the opportunity to ask questions or take pictures, so there are definitely things to get out of signings besides a signature. However, there is a good chance of meeting Brandon at other times in the convention, so if you have other authors to see or panels to attend, the signing line may not be the best use of your time.

Edited by ccstat
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3 hours ago, yulerule said:

I'll be there for all three days. Does it make any sense for me to go to all the signing events? (Especially as I don't have any physical copies of his books.)

I once went to a regular signing but had only one unsigned book, so I asked him to sign a bunch of my already signed books again. Another time I bought $100 worth of books (different editions of books I already owned) and handed them for signing. 

So what I am saying is, do what you want, Brandon's seen weird before :P

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FYI Michael Whelan, the cover artist for WoK and WoR, is a late addition to the program. He will be on Brandon's Saturday 1pm panel, as well as several panels off his own. If you aren't coming to the Rithmatist Q&A, you can try to sign up for the small group "kaffeeklatsch" with him.

(Also, I just ran into @Kaladin_Stormblessed in amazing bridge four cosplay.)

Edited by ccstat
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7 minutes ago, yulerule said:

Re: ccstat, sorry I forgot. I don't have it. 

Don't worry. The con staff picked up the recording device. I'll get it from them tomorrow.

Preliminary report from Day 1:

Brandon started his signing almost an hour early, which was perfect for me because I had to leave shortly after getting my books signed. Hopefully I'll get more chances to interact with him tomorrow. I had fun talking to other fans in line and handed out about 150 business cards directing people to the 17th Shard. Probably 10% of those acted like they might join, so I'm hopeful that we'll get some new members and maybe induce some of the lurkers (I met quite a few) to make accounts. I also got to present Brandon with a copy of my Seusslight Archive fanfic. I'll post images over here later tonight.

The signing line was recorded, and @yulerule was standing by the table to listen to all the questions being asked. If the recording is unclear, she may be able to clarify or add context.

I got several questions answered. Wording is from memory, but should be pretty close.

(book photo in spoiler)

Spoiler

BS_signing_Jak.jpg

 

Q. What Radiant order would accept Allomancer Jak?
A. [written] It would depend on the spren, but possibly. There are a few that would have liked him once... 
A. [verbal] There is some portent in that answer.

Note: There are several ways you could interpret that, but I took it to mean that the spren who would be attracted to Jak were killed or estranged during the Recreance and would be unlikely (or unable) to bond with him now.

(book photo in spoiler)
 

Spoiler

 

BS_signing_Oathgates.jpg


 

Q. Do oathgates obey physical realm speed-of-light constraints?
A. [written] Nope! Good question.
A. [verbal] We are playing fast and loose with causality

Q. Nalthis has 5-centric numerology.
A. Okay...
Q. Do regular humans count as the fifth type of biochromatic entity?
A. I'm going to RAFO that for no good reason, but for lots of good reasons.

Q. We know that recording things can lock spren and cognitive elements into certain states. Does the existence of the written Diagram have a Realmatic effect?
A. [cautiously]The written Diagram does have a Realmatic effect.
Q. Did Taravangian know that when he wrote it?
A. Define "know." In the sense that a table knows it is a table, yes.

Note: This response didn't make a ton of sense to me. Maybe the transcript will clarify things, but his hesitancy and body language made me think that my theory in this vein is mostly not correct, even if some pieces of it are.

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It would be interesting if the future  is more determined when someone predicts it. Vorinism would shy away from self defeating proficies sent from the unmade since believing in those proficies gave them more power in the cognative realm. Even if Truthwatchers had forsight, the Unmade may have caused too much trouble with their visions and rattles. I never liked trusting info sent by the Unmade. 

 

Maybe the Diagram wasn't so much a presictive masterpiece so much as it caused certain possibilities to crystalize. Overtime people would begin to doubt predictions. As people start to doubt the diagram, the diagram becomes less powerful realmatically, perhaps.

Edited by teknopathetic
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1 hour ago, DAdam said:

My first thought was that something happened to Jak

That was also my first thought, but why would that justify the "portentous" verbal comment? It seemed like he was hinting at something more important. I may have misinterpreted though.

If it is something to do with Jak himself, my best guess would be hemalurgy, since we have WoB that being spiked makes you repulsive to (most) spren. Pits of Eltania suggest that Jak is a Survivorist not a Pathian, so it is unlikely he would use an earring or something similarly "benign" on purpose. Why would Jak getting spiked be a big deal? I'm probably reading way too much into it, but I immediately start guessing at Secret History sorts of implications.

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I was there for about half an hour but I did manage to get one question in. Wish I had gotten there earlier.

My general remembering of my question:

Q: In the Stormlight Archive, there's a relationship of some sort between the Chasmfiends and the thunderclasts (Brandon generally agrees here). Is there a similar sort of relationship between white spines and the Midnight Essences?

A: Yes, but it's a more tenuous one. The Midnight Essences imitate whatever's around them.

I interpret this to mean that the Midnight Essences were imitating whitespines during Dalinar's vision, but that there isn't necessarily a deeper relationship there.

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6 hours ago, yulerule said:

So I was there from the very beginning of the signing to the end. I got a book plate with, "You insisted on being last!"

Ah, a lady after my own heart :)

5 hours ago, ccstat said:

Q. What Radiant order would accept Allomancer Jak?
A. [written] It would depend on the spren, but possibly. There are a few that would have liked him once... 
A. [verbal] There is some portent in that answer.

Note: There are several ways you could interpret that, but I took it to mean that the spren who would be attracted to Jak were killed or estranged during the Recreance and would be unlikely (or unable) to bond with him now.

This is interesting because it suggests spren of the same type have potentially drastically different personalities. I now imagine that not all honorspren are as playful (and, let's face it, as cool) as Syl - some might be a lot more righteous, for example.

25 minutes ago, BeskarKomrk said:

Q: In the Stormlight Archive, there's a relationship of some sort between the Chasmfiends and the thunderclasts (Brandon generally agrees here). Is there a similar sort of relationship between white spines and the Midnight Essences?

A: Yes, but it's a more tenuous one. The Midnight Essences imitate whatever's around them.

Interesting. I've theorized before that the powers of voidbinding, what I call the voids, are similar to the Surges, but twisted in a way. A different take, if you will. In this context, the Midnight Essences could be utilizing Illumination's counterpart from voidbinding, perhaps something to do with illusions and/or imitation. The Listeners' smokeform also sounds like a form of power that allows them to change their shape and blend in with humans. This connection is strengthened by the fact (and someone fact-check me on this) that the Essences "bleed" smoke when their surface is punctured. In fact, as I think about smoke, my thoughts drift towards obscurity and hiding - concepts very much related, but opposite, to illumination...

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