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Daxos

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    Airsick lowlander
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  1. I agree to an extent, which is why I specified "in the first book". However, as I said in my other post in this thread, I feel like he redeemed himself at the end of WoR. Sometimes his bitterness, paranoia, and brooding in WoR got to me a bit as well but his character in WoK really is one of my favorites in all of fiction and therefore I was pretty tolerant and forgiving throughout the second book only to feel rewarded at the end. I'd like to think that we'll see Kaladin become more like the character we both enjoyed from the first book now that he's finally been able to reveal what he is and therefore doesn't feel like he has to go around hiding it. I think his close brush with losing Syl, his growing trust in Dalinar and Adolin, and possibly even the emergence of other Radiants may also play a role in changing him for the better. The latter might give him the opportunity to assume more of the role he took in WoK, although I think his obsessive worrying about the welfare of those under his command was a contributing factor to some of his moods. That's a heavy burden for anyone to impose upon themselves so hopefully he'll learn how to deal with it better.
  2. In addition to what Hari said, Kaladin's character resonates the most with the majority of us because he's been the one that has both initially and most closely adhered to the Hero's Journey/Monomyth archetype. He is a profoundly sympathetic character in the first book who is also it's most clearly defined and fully developed hero. Therefore it's not just total "screen time" that has made Kaladin the most appealing protagonist in SA thus far but his descent and ascent through the various stages of the archetypal journey. In fact, I'd argue that his character has followed them so closely as to be a case study. It's a tried and true formula for creating memorable, sympathetic characters and stories that deeply resonate with the reader/audience because they reflect universal archetypes and concerns that are rooted in the collective unconscious of the human mind.
  3. Ditto. I thought the title of the third book has already been decided though. Skybreaker anyone?
  4. I'm still partial to Kaladin. His character in WoK was one of my favorites in all of fiction so regardless of his "issues" I'm always rooting for him and found those efforts highly rewarded at the end of WoR. A character that I absolutely adore and who surprisingly wasn't an option in your poll is Syl. I was borderline devastated when I
  5. Unintentional click bait, folks. You can put the torches and pitch forks down.
  6. The Way of Kings had me completely riveted in a way that was unlike any book I've read in recent memory and when I finished it, there was no question in my mind that it was one of my favorite books of all time. Likewise, Kaladin's character in that book is among my favorites in all of fiction -- not just fantasy. I was a little concerned with how Sanderson could possibly follow up a book that, in my opinion, crossed the borders of perfection and made a permanent warcamp there, so when I first started reading Words of Radiance I felt a little let down. To qualify that though, I came into it with Olympian expectations and read it immediately after finishing WoK so that I was essentially (and unfairly) comparing the climax of one with the start of another. By the time I was done with WoR, however, I considered it almost as good as the first one. The last 100 pages or so were outstanding, epic, riveting, [insert litany of superlatives here]. I now have a new favorite author. I won't make this terribly long for the tl;dr crowd, and in an attempt to avoid any spoilers for those who might come across it, but I did want to add that Sanderson does a fantastic job with his characters. Based on some of the comments I've come across, I might even be one of the few that really likes Szeth. I loved his chapters in the first book and could hardly wait to get to them. One character I wanted to give a little love to as I close this out is Syl. Stormfather, is she is absolutely freaking adorable! I can't remember ever adoring a character to this extent and I have a big, goofy, child-like grin on my face right now just thinking about her. Well done, Mr. Sanderson. Well done. Now hurry up and write the next book.
  7. There's a lot of talk about Adolin and Shallan but is everybody really so certain they end up together? Shallan and Kaladin got awfully cozy in the chasms and Kaladin clearly likes her, as evinced by his reaction to her bringing Adolin into the conversation on page 851. If nothing else, it was a bonding experience and the start of a more meaningful relationship than what they had previously. I could see a potential love triangle between the three of them that keeps Adolin and Kaladin at odds or rejuvenates the rivalry in their burgeoning friendship...maybe something along the lines of: Adolin and Shallan reach a rocky point, her and Kaladin hook up in almost a purely physical way (she mentioned something about his eyes/persona being full of passion while in the chasm), but in the end it can't work out because their pasts are too similar -- that is to say, two broken people -- and she realizes just how much she cares about the junior highprince. I wouldn't be entirely blown away by a highstorm to see Shallan and Kaladin together at some point either though. Just a thought I had as I read through some of the replies here. Is that where they both get high in a non-Windrunner kind of way? That would definitely be something to see.
  8. What do bridge leaders and bridge leader food have in common? - They give you the runs.
  9. My entry. Based on a real image with some CGI thrown in. Or for the real ones... Aerial photo with highstorm A stretch but it looks cool Kaladin's view from above, captured on sprencam: http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/viki2win/viki2win0804/viki2win080400081/2837376-cracked-earth.jpg, http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AXTHVFvZmJI/URRNK7nCNVI/AAAAAAAAAJA/3SsqhZsTgqY/s1600/16429240-dry-cracked-earth-background-clay-desert-texture.jpg And if you look closely you can see the chasmfiend
  10. I guess I just feel like he's somehow much less graceful than the whirling dancing master with a spear that he was portrayed as in the first book. Killing a Shardbearer, wounding another, and pretty much wiping out entire waves of Parshendi when he bailed out Dalinar's army (what was left of it, at any rate) while being able to have arrows that never hit him or even an entire army's worth of arrows drawn to a shield made it seem like the guy was more or less invincible. I don't get the same sense of grace or invincibility in this book regardless of the quality of his opponents and it felt like his character was being forced to take a major step back. He's not a god but he was basically an invincible superhero in the first one. Maybe there's just less detail in the fight scenes this time. The other aspect of what I said in the OP that only one person addressed was in regards to his character. He comes across pretty different to me and constantly has a major chip on his shoulder as well as a stick up his butt that wasn't there in the first book despite considerably worse circumstances. There are other examples too but I'm only on a first reading of it and my ability to recall a vast array of specific examples at the drop of a hat isn't as great as it used to be. lol Too much sleep deprivation (I suffer from major insomnia). At times it's almost left me with the impression that Sanderson wrote the first book at a much earlier time and then lost touch with who Kaladin was/is when he wrote the second. That may be inadvertently contributing to my perception that he's now a weaker fighter as well. All in all though, that first book was outstanding. Easily one of my favorite books of all time. This one took me a little longer to get into (I wasn't a huge Shallan fan after the first book) but is an excellent sequel. I'll be anxiously awaiting the third book and plan on rereading 1 & 2 just prior to its release. I rarely do that but these are well worth it.
  11. I'm only about 700 pages in as of posting this and just read the "duel" chapters where Kaladin gets involved. It's been nagging at me for awhile, but this whole book his character has seemed off from The Way of Kings and he also seemed like a significantly better fighter in the first book. I kept having this vision in my head that WoK Kaladin would finally appear in the arena and basically school everyone while also revealing his Surgebinding/stormlight powers once and for all to everyone there but no such luck. Just mediocre Kaladin who showed a glimmer of his former fighting prowess only when infused with stormlight. Am I alone on this or has anyone else noticed it too?
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