Maya

So, overall impressions ... Skyward still stands as my very much favourite but I'm happy to say that I liked Cytonic more than Starsight. The Setup: I love the Nowhere. I mean, fragments of various worlds with all kinds of life and structure? It's like every planet send a sample of itself there for intrepid adventurers to explore. I totally get Spensa's rising spirit and enthusiasm because I felt exactly the same. It was contagious. Add to that the Elder's Quest and the mysterious ways the place affect people (no need to eat, sleep, the time slip, the memory loss - almost like it turns you into a ghost The Characters: Spensa's growth here was very well built I think, mostly because it wasn't just a personal growth, nor gaining few levels in power but both together - you need to accomplish one to achieve the other and then that leads to new insights on the first, etc. Very nicely intertwined. I also liked her interractions with Jorgen. Chet is difficult to comment upon given what it turned out to be (because while it was obvious something weird was up with him I very much didn't get what exactly up until the end). Mbot was adorable, but then he always is, and I loved his development and hopefully we'll see him again SOON and not at the very end of the series. Peg and the Broadsiders were nice addition and honestly it was refreshing to see Superiority citizens with a little more determination and open mind. Pitty they had to be exiled first but then again one's perspective on society is often most clear when one steps outside of it. Hesho - now, I don't usually like resurrections, they tend to backfire on the plot, however if there was ever a place where that would feel natural, it will be in the Nowhere. Where else could you meet a ghost but in a place that is half real If I have any problem with the book at all, that will be the ending and mostly because I was impatiently waiting the reveal of the final portal and it turned out to be .. not that revealing, I already guessed the most important parts of it. I think that is mostly my own problem though, I've become spoiled by Sanderson to always expect some giant, shocking twists and turns and when I don't get them, it feels underwhelming.

I always thought he was one of the Sleepless. I mean, in Dawnshard, they themselves admit that most of them are awful in blending in as people. And, in a way, they are numbered, 1 to 24 depending on hordling age, If I remember that correctly.

That is more or less what I expect too. Besides, 10 days can pack a lot of action if properly structured (sort of like 24 season). For example, If the contest will settle the borders between both parties to just what they are right before the beginning of the duel, well then that means everybody will have 10 days to go on the offensive and conquer as much as they can - the possibilities for clashes are many.

I've been re-reading everything Stormlight related in preparations for RoW and once I finished it, I found my impressions too jumbled so I decided to give it a week to settle. Here we are now and the reactions are mixed. Things I expected: Kaladin - his arc, while not easy to read, was engaging and consistent. I've noticed now (I haven't before) even in the book 1 flashbacks we can see the first hints, days when he's feeling down, days with darker thoughts, and it's really no surprise after all the crap he went through later that it progresses to full blown depression combined with PTSD. The way Sanderson expanded on that with all the other mental cases in the tower, the feeling of how all this sets them apart, alone, was really well done and Kaladin's path to help them and in the process to help himself. Rlain and Dabbid were great additions. Shallan's DID follows its more or less classic development. After all, the 2 pillars of mental health have always been Reality and Identity. You have a problem if you have even one of them shaken up. In Shallan's case, her specific childhood circumstances and the nature of her powers, create a perfect storm that collapses both her pillars, only on their way down they cross and balanced each other in a weird new mental equilibrium. I'm glad that the fragmentations of personality did stop in this book and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she will become once she's complete. Thaidakar's reveal - I'm so satisfied on that front because I called this one ever since mid Book 2 once I saw how the Ghostbloods operated. It very much reminded me of Kell's use of separate groups, gangs and so on in the Final Empire to execute specific tasks, only here we don't see from the perspective of the inner circle but from the end cells. Things I didn't expect: Taravangian and Cultivation - what is that woman thinking?? It makes me wonder what exactly was her role in Tanavast's dead. I very much hope the Odium gambit doesn't bite her in the ass. Things I didn't like: LIFT - I love Lift. I want more of Lift! Why was there so little of her?? Seriously, there better be more of Lift in the next book or else. Especially now that she has an Aviar too Venli's flashbacks - so completely unnecessary. Of all the boring chapters we learned exactly 2 new things - that there was a Terisswoman involved and Nale's input into Gavilar's dead. Everything else, from the characters and motivations of both sisters and their interpersonal dynamic to the Parshendi's ways in general - we already knew. We could cut 100-200 pages and not lose a thing. Very little of the war in the Rhythm of War - the world is already a year into a Desolation but we see none of the global effects and actions that are supposedly happening all over Roshar. Lirin's ridiculousness - Strong convictions are one thing but to the point of turning your son over to the enemy to a very likely execution? I think Sanderson pushed this a little too far. The fabrial mechanics - well, no thank you. I can't believe how many pages, whole chapters went into explaining how things doesn't work and then how they do. All of this could of been said in a couple of pages, conjoined gems and energy transfer for vertical motion with added special metal for lateral movement. Flaying ships, lifts, and then even a few chapters of explanations for Kaladin's flying glove which he used in what, 2 occasions? Things I did like: The Study of Lights - now this is my kind of science and it was not only interesting but actually relevant to the world and for the current and the future plot. Not to mention that it provided a great window for Navani's character development (this was very much her book despite the flashbacks) and It also introduced the Sibling which i find fascinating and want to see more of. Raboniel deserves a separate mention. The complexity in her person alone and then her dynamic with Navani were probably my favorite arc in RoW. Ishar's crazyness and his creepy evil spren experiments added a real spice to the ending. Can't wait to see more about this. Adolin and Maya - to say adorable will be understatement. Adolin doesn't need a shardblade or a plate to kick ass and even in self doubt he manages to be a truly decent person. His arc was not long enough. Oh well. Maybe in Book 5. I very much expect Ishar's Tukari to appear in Shadesmar close to Lasting Integrity, attack the fortress in attempt to kidnap more Honorspren for whatever it is they are trying to do, and then we will get to see more of Adolin

The first thing I expect to see in Book 5 is Ishar's Tukari attacking Lasting Integrity. Considering that his study determined the Honorspren to be the best match for whatever he was trying to do, the attack his minions carried to capture Notum and the placement of his camp in Tukar, where he opened the perpendicularity, is suspiciously close to where the Honorspren fortress is on the other side, in Shadesmar - it will suggest this as a likely move. I also expect to see more of Rock and some serious action near Cultivation's perpendicularity. Shinovar, Szeth flashbacks, the real reason for the Recreance and its consequences, and a lot more merger of things that used to be decidedly separated such as various Lights, spren, singers/humans and their powers, etc.

Read it. And liked it - but on entirely different level than my usual likes of Brandon's works. Balanced, layered, well paced - and this applies not just to the plot but the feel you get from the story. The investigation and the interpersonal dynamics of Davis/Chaz move along together without one taking over the other, your attention on the plot doesn't flight with the feel Davis' POV brings. The tone of it all is darker, sure,but above all else, introverted - underlined by the snapshot's concept itself. I get why some traditional Brandon's fan will have troubles taking it in - I find the characters very real and very well written - but of course that's not the same as when you jump on the couch and cheer when your hero destroyed a dozen of enemies in a blast of awesome powers ... I was very glad i saw the reality badge The dreamer thing - I didn't much focus on it while reading but I can feel it starting to bug me now and soon i'll be in curiosity crises ..

It was said pointblank It's all the same - the lerasium pieces, the mists, the liquid in the Well (which does regenerate, even if it takes centuries after being used till the Well is full again ).

I've had this theory myself as well, ever since this "Intent" term kept rubbing in my mind. I mean, why Intent of all words - there are so many other words that could be used to describe it - essence, nature, core, etc - but it seems they were not accurate enough. And later Khriss just hammer home the point with: pretty much confirming that the Shard's Intents mirror the motive, the state of being, of every person of the original 16 at Adonalsium's shattering. Thus if other group of people had done it, the shards would've been different. Why they felt they have to do that, (the power hungry aside) is entirely different matter, one i can't wait to discover and i suspect we'll learn a lot about Hoid's Intents around it too.

It is suspiciously close - although it doesn't need to be exact. People's beliefs tend to change over time. It wouldn't be too surprising a piece of knowledge of once existing God shattered into 16, to evolve with time and with added some mysticism, couple of parables, etc - to re-emerge as a new belief system.

To be honest, when i read this, it never occured to me that it might be a result of emotional allomancy. Seems kind of obvious when you put it like that now, especially after we saw Hoid stealing the Lerasium piece at SH.

I get that. We read words on paper and then we have characters becoming alive and very real in our minds. I just wanted to point out that when it comes to Hoid, good or bad are not the summaries that I'd choose first to define him. No, the first i see is aim, purpose, goal. I'm trying to imagine how one lives for thousands of years and doesn't go insane. One who's been around even before Adonalsium was shattered. Sure, we have also the 16 who did it (some of them anyway) but there is impossible to separate the person from the Shard. The very power they hold molds and defines them, gives them both the means and the meaning of their interractions with life and worlds. So what does Hoid have that could carry him through the ages, what is this goal that is so powerful that not only sustains his existance but drives him to be so very active (because he has been very active on so many different places), pushing at the right moments people and events towards yet unknown end. My curiosity would have a field day with his backstory (wishful thinking here )

See, you have your answer and anything else would have been out of character. I believe i understand where your annoyance comes from. I've had the same sense of closure at the end of SH. Kelsier fought befind the scene - met gods, people from other worlds, held the power of a shard himself - and after all that he will just go back to be a normal guy and maybe go help building the new world with Spook? Please. No, Kelsier didn't belong on Scadrial's day to day events anymore, I kind of felt the place too small for him now (enough to be in serious danger if he went on meddling in it). But he never thought of doing so himself either. No, he saw much bigger game - other worlds, other people, other powers - that he knew nothing about. Imagine what influence this will have on a character like Kerlsier, almost irresistible challenge. So, what would Kelsier do? Sure, he may stick around, mostly till he solves some practical problems with his own physical body and if possible restoring some of his lost powers through the metallic arts (even helping some people in the process) and he will plan and scheme and so on but his focus will never again be towards the internal events. No, his game will be out there.

He said that? That Allomancer can operate on other planets? Then i guess Landis might be right up there and the local aspect is limited only to those power infused metals like Lerasium and thus the people (or their descendants) whose "spiritual and genetic codes" are imprinted by it.

I'm inclined to side with the "local Scadrial metal only" theory. It does make sense on different worlds with different shards, the power to find it's own specific way to infuse the life there - Roshar has it's stormlight, AonDor is definitely local occurance on Sel, Naltis has the breath (and these rare flowers, I forgot the name) so it seems only natural on Scadrial to be the metals.

I don't get this "Is he good or bad" obsession here. Especially when it comes down to Hoid. We have a guy who witnessed (if not involved) the takedown of a God, the rise of 16 smaller gods, hops from planet to planet or from one realm to another and lived thousands of years. Talk about oversimplification. Not to mention that what's considered good and bad on one place may not be the same on others and it also changes with time so whose understanding of moraility can be applied to a guy moving through worlds for ages?