GrainofaRiver

I had a conversation with Peter about the kindle version. I ultimately had to contact customer support to get the update, so anyone with an American (I don't know if that extends to all of North America or just the US) version of Words of Radiance who has as of yet to receive the update, do the same. https://twitter.com/PeterAhlstrom/status/596529635984179202 The conversation in question for those who are interested - I reactivated the twitter account so it'd show up (I don't really know how to navigate/use twitter, as I made the account for the sole purpose of asking this question), so hopefully this helps some people.

The Way of Kings is much longer than any of the Mistborn books, and as it is also the first in a ten part series, it certainly has a LOT of setup to get through. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Yes - the larger setup results in larger payoff. Is there good action? No, there is fantastic action. The taste of magic? Just a taste, with so much more to come.

Although it varies greatly from author to author, I think it's for the best that Sanderson doesn't work exclusively on The Stormlight Archives. As a creative person, I can't imagine what it might be like to be locked into a single project for twenty years. I would think that after a period of time you would come to resent it. Best if you have the opportunity to stretch your creative legs, particularly after such massive books, and try new things. Then you might even be excited to come back to the massive project. I personally don't read any of Sanderson's non-fantasy works - they just aren't my thing (this includes any Mistborn book beyond the original trilogy). However I can bear the waiting, because there are people who wait for those books with the same enthusiasm that I wait for the new Stormlight book, and if waiting is what keeps Sanderson enjoying the work and producing at Words of Radiance quality (It's tied for my favourite book), then it's worth it. So yeah, 2016. That's an amazing release date - a much easier wait than other authors writing massive tomes (*cough* Rothfuss or Martin *cough*). I love seeing that other people enjoy this series as much as I do. At the same time, I think it's important to consider things from the author's perspective.

I recall reading somewhere that, at one point in the past, Sanderson was considering giving Kaladin a second book in the next set of five. I'm 95% sure the idea has since been abandoned, but it leaves me feeling somewhat comfortable in Kaladin's chances until that point. Then again, if Sanderson is even slightly the kind of man I am, he'll read this and change it so that Kaladin is a goner in book 4. That said, although Kaladin is my favourite character, there aren't any major point of view characters I dislike. Lift's chapter drove me so far up a wall (I think I understand the name now) that I actually quit reading for the day as soon as I finished it. With that exception even the interlude characters are enjoyable to read about. So while I'll be sad whenever anyone dies, I also have this really awesome knowledge that whoever doesn't die will still be interesting to read about. For all the epic fantasy I've read, only this series has managed to pull that off (although realistically there is still a long way to go). The biggest reason I am terrified of book 5 isn't so much book 5, but rather the massive wait after book 5. Sanderson has mentioned there will be a considerable gap between the arcs, and while I understand it from a writer's perspective, I loathe it as a reader. Not to discredit any of Sanderson's other efforts (I skipped a major physics test to finish the last 200 pages of Elantris), but I look forward to each installment of this series like a rabid dog.

I've been checking periodically for the kindle update, and I've noticed that some of the changes have been made while others haven't. Does this mean they update it as they go, rather than one massive change? If so I find that rather interesting. Is there anyone with more experience with ebook updates who can elaborate?

I would love to see an April Fools announcment regarding the joining of four of the greatest modern epic fantasy authors to help one another (complete with a sample chapter from each) Steven Erikson is writing Stormlight 3 Patrick Rothfuss is writing the next Malazan book George R. R. Martin is writing The Doors of Stone and Brandon Sanderson is writing The Winds of Winter

Voted Words of Radiance because: - I like seeing Kaladin as a soldier rather than a bridgeman. I appreciate what he did as a bridgeman, but stories about beaten down underdogs aren't really my thing. - We already know all of the characters, so the book can hit the ground running - I felt the climax was far more grand than The Way of Kings'. - You get to see the point of view characters interacting with eachother - It was nice to have Shallan finally in the Shattered Plains. I don't mind jumping from location to location with shifting points of view, but it's somewhat annoying when everybody else is in one place. I'm hoping that the next book has multiple characters in various parts of the world, as I currently fear the possibility of the same thing happening with Kaladin. - The characters are better developed. I like all the characters better for their growth in the previous book. and various other reasons; blah-deh-blah-deh-blah, wall of text. I will say that Words of Radiance's ending didn't have the same 'punch in the gut' revelations that The Way of Kings' did, but I have to subtract some points from The Way of Kings for punching me in the gut five times.

I want to say first and foremost that the length of a book should never take priority over the quality of a book [in my opinion]. A book that is artifically long will gain nothing by that length [in my opinion]. That said, there are things which longer books can offer that shorter books cannot, and those are the things that I absolutely devour with childish glee. I loved what the length of books like Words of Radiance and A Storm of Swords offered (those two are tied for my favourite novel - how can I chose between two things that excell so well, yet are so different?). The extra characters, the extra world building, the extra events, the thousands of extra little details, and the way everything pushes itself forward to an equally large conclusion is marvelous. It is one of the things that books can do that TV or movies cannot, because no studio has the time or budget. So I hope Stormlight 3 is long (can we break 400k again?). I hope every book in this series is 350k words or more, because that's what I like (and given the publishing cost, there isn't a particular abundance of such works). But then again, I trust Sanderson to deliver a product in which the quality will work with length to augment the overall experience rather than diminish it. So consider this expanding on my original answer: Stormlight 3 will be as long as it needs to be.

Somewhere between 'as long as it needs to be' and 'too short'. Assuming The Winds of Winter and The Doors of Stone release in 2016, I want Stormlight 3 to be another mega-behemoth so that I can tell people I've done all my book shoping for the year... though in reality all three probably wouldn't last a month... 2016 - THE YEAR OF EPIC EPIC-FANTASY!!! (maybe....) 2016 - THE EPIC YEAR OF EPIC-FANTASY!!! (maybe....) 2016 - THE EPICALLY EPIC YEAR OF EPICALLY EPIC-FANTASY!!! (I'll stop now)

So I apologize ahead of time if this is the wrong place for this, but any ideas when the e-book will update? I'm aware there's no specific date, but I was in the middle of a re-read when this happened, and I'd like to wait for the update before continuing. I'm only asking if I'm looking at waiting for a few days or a few weeks, as if it's the latter I'll move on to something else and come back.

With regard to your second paragraph, actually do own the ebook. As much as I love having a complete set of hardbacks, carrying a 1088 page hardback around a university campus is far from ideal. So yeah, I've already paid for the book twice, which I honestly don't mind. As I've established, I really do love this series. It just means that now my collection of hardbacks has a 'wrong' book, and fixing it would require a third purchase. For me it's matter of liking consistancy. It's great that e-readers can simply update the text, but it's upsetting when you dropped $20-$35 on the hardback, especially if you only intended to purchase the book once. I wanted to emphasise this in my initial post. The result may have been misleading, and I apologize for that. Regarding the first paragraph, that's a fair point. Now that I've had the opportunity to voice my opinion, I feel far better. I still don't like the idea of changing something that has already released, but I'm willing to wait and see if this becomes a regular thing. I hope I didn't come off as irrational in voicing my disaproval, and I thank everyone for tolerating it.

I find myself really struggling with this. It's not so much WHAT has changed, more that it has changed at all. It's really upsetting to me because I'm suddenly looking at my copy of Words of Radiance differently. This isn't a simple copy edit, the actual content is different. In my version Kaladin kills Szeth, which is now canonically wrong. If I want a 'correct' version, then I will need to purchase another hardback, which isn't exactly cheap. It's also upsetting to me because I no longer have any faith in future releases. If Words of Radiance needed to be changed - if the initial version of Words of Radiance was really so wrong that it needed to be fixed - then what about the initial versions of future releases? Can I safely buy book 3, or should I wait for a year to see if a 'correct' version comes out? I've never even had to ask myself that question regarding books. I'm aware how harsh 'wrong' sounds for what is ultimately a few changed sentences, but I really can't think of a better way to put it. Clearly Sanderson felt those sentences were important enough to be changed, else he wouldn't have changed them. If the sentences are that important to him, then they are important to me. However my copy of Words of Radiance does not have those important changes. My copy of Words of Radiance is wrong. I'm really struggling with this, to the point where I made this account because I need to discuss it with other people. For me it's enough to question if I should continue purchasing these books. I love this series. I don't want to quit reading it. Yet if what Sanderson releases to us is so wrong that he feels the need to change it, I find it hard to faithfully purchase his novels. I apologize for such a negative post, but I needed to get this off my chest.