Nuatoma

A sad scene for me is the Shallan flashback where she kills her dad.

This was tough. I recently read them the last year and should have ranked them as I read them. Instead, I've spent an hour and a half going through them and trying to remember all that happened. Here is my ranking with key plot points (tried to limit my commentary): Towers of Midnight (13): Perrin vs Whitecloaks and Slayer, World of Dreams battle, Egwene and Gawyn awkward dance, Mat finally kills Gholam, Mat, Thom, Noal finally go to rescue Moiraine in Tower of Ghenjei The Shadow Rising (4): Together in Tear, Eelfinn and Aelfinn, Aiel Waste, Shaido intro, Two Rivers, Tanchico, White Tower split A Memory of Light (14): The Last Battle, enough said. The Great Hunt (2): Hunt for the Horn, intro of Amyrlin and Tar Valon, Black Ajah and Seanchan, Padan Fain grows, Salene, Cairhien and the Game, Horn is blown, White Cloaks, Ingtar! Knife of Dreams (11): Elayne gets throne (finally) after being captured by Black Ajah - Birgitte is real star, Rand escapes Semirhage trap and loses hand, Perrin defeats Shaido, Mat finally flees Seanchan territory and meets back with Band, Rand prepares for Tarmon Gai'don and makes truce with Lews Therin, Aram finally dies The Gathering Storm (12): Rand in Arad Doman, meets with Tuon in Falme and balefires Graendal's hiding place; Egwene undermines Elaida; Seanchan attacks White Tower; Verin reveal; Rand transformation on Dragonmount The Eye of the World (1): Introductions, it begins. Lord of Chaos (6): Rand lounging around in Caemlyn/Cairhien, Bashere, Rand in the box; Dumais Wells; Mat --> Salidar --> Ebou Dar; Perrin/Faile/Berelaine triangle; Egwene is Amyrlin Fires of Heaven (5): Chasing Shaido and battle; Moiraine death; Nynaeve and Elayne travel chapters; Moghedien capture; no Perrin The Dragon Reborn (3): Rand to Tear, followed by Moiraine and crew; Faile failed introduction; Nynaeve and crew sent to hunt Black Ajah; anticlimactic Belal and Baalzamon scenes, Aiel intro. A Crown of Swords (7): Ebou Dar - Kin - Gholam - Bowl of Winds; Lan finds Nynaeve and Nynaeve breaks her wall; Rand in Cairhien, finally moves against Sammael Winters Heart (9) - Fingers are hurting now Path of Daggers (8) - Fingers are hurting now Crossroads of Twilight (10) - Fingers are hurting now

Well, I did it, I finally did it. It took me 13 months and it feels like I can breathe again haha. While it's fresh, I thought I'd try and get down some of my thoughts. Overall, it was a very enjoyable series. Intriguing plots, characters and magic were all delightful. It was a daunting task to start though, knowing there were 14 large books (no, I haven't read New Spring yet, I didn't want to get sidetracked after book 5). After several of the middle books I would come up for a breath of air and think, 'Wow, I've finished 8 books, awesome! But I still have 6 more to go!' Glad I finished though, and that I started this when all the books were finished, because if they weren't I could see how it'd be difficult to continue after some of them. That being said, the 'slog' for me wasn't too bad. Some of those were a little bit boring, but knowing I could finish and start the next book right away made it bearable. I will try and point out things I like, but I feel like it's easier to point out things I didn't like. When I do, I don't mean them to be harsh criticisms of the series, but things I just think of. I realize that if my thoughts dictated the book, it likely would not have been as great a series as it was. Characters: A general critique I have is that there were just soooo many named characters. While this gives the books a lot of flavor and I'm sure it's easier to keep track of as books are reread, on first read I thought many times, 'Who dat again?' When obscure Aes Sedai or noblemen from various cites were listed out I pretty much gave up trying to remember who everybody was. Favorite characters: I might cheat here and list secondary characters, because at one time or another, most of the characters bugged the storms out of me. Rand, Perrin, Mat (I list them all together because I did enjoy them and their plots, but I have to say there were definitely large swaths of books where they all bugged me) Nynaeve Thom Tam Lan Graendal - Kind of sad she was made ugly. Only really hated her at the end when she took pets. (Thinking of Rhuarc alone makes me want to drop her from this list) Top Annoying Characters: Trakand family, minus Galad. Something in their blood just makes me want to rip my hair out. None of them seemed very good at critical thinking. Egwene - She had such awesome scenes and was so storming awesome for a lot of the books, but just the way she treated people when she gained power was annoying. Tuon - bleh Cadsuane Top Hated Characters: Child Byar and Eamon Valda - I'd almost lump all White Cloaks in here until I realize there are some good ones... Much better once the leadership changed. Padan Fain - Such a good villain. Such a sad ending. Daved Hanlon - His death wasn't satisfying enough Masema Shaido - I think I'm good lumping them all together. Not sure if the Brotherless count. They are not included in hated, but still annoying because could have helped more. Characters I Hated But Now Feel Sorry For Galina Elaida Moghedien (not hated, but same circumstance) One of the worst parts of the series in my opinion. There are characters that I really disliked and was so looking forward to seeing them be pulled down. However, the manner in which they are pulled down quickly took the joy out of it. I can't feel good about people being made slaves. Such a bummer when I should've felt happy. Somewhat related, I am sad to see that the Seanchan slavery was never resolved. I guess I can imagine that Mat helps them get over that, but that doesn't give me much hope. Mat vs Perrin As I got in the story I would read things on the internet (I don't really shy away from spoilers; makes me more eager to read what's coming). One thing I read was how boring the whole Perrin rescuing Faile arc was. Another was how awesome Mat is. I'm more in the middle ground on both of these. Didn't find Perrin too boring, or Mat too great. It seems there are a lot of parallels between them, that from my perusing of the internet don't seem to be connected much. For example, just as many people found Perrin chasing after Faile and getting her back at all costs grating, I found Mat's escape from Ebou Dar all the way to Caemlyn equally boring and drawn out. Seriously! I think that trip took Mat longer than it took Perrin to get Faile! Maybe Mat's just funnier than Perrin, but that plot dragged on and on for me. I wanted Mat back where he mattered. I know there are some ramifications for Mat's time, but still. Another thing, Perrin always thought 'Oh, I'm not a leader, don't follow me to your deaths'. Dumb, I agree. Step up and get over yourself Perrin. Similarly was Mat's constant mistrust of Rand, Aes Sedai, and nobles. Constantly bemoaning his responsibilities. C'mon. Other Random Thoughts Rand/Mat/Perrin: They go through enormous stretches of books without talking with one another. I don't know how many things could have been resolved or figured out if they would talk with each other. Early on, Rand discovered how to Travel. How hard would it be to just meet once a week with his childhood friends and have a quick huddle. All three of them together. Find a secret underground cavern or something. Seems like they could have saved themselves a lot of angst. The Last Battle: Whoa! A two hundred page chapter! It didn't disappoint. I was trying to think how they could create an exploding gateway in the middle of the enemy though. Seems like that'd have killed a lot of them. After thinking some about it, it seems like it would be hard to do without taking some losses yourself, but seems this should have been explored more as they were so vastly outnumbered. Logain: His 'glory' that Min foresaw was pretty meh for me. I'm glad to know he took petty on refugees being slaughtered after his men begged him to help. Wish he had more screen time and more glory. I was rooting for him but he seemed kind of left to the side. Olver: Loved him! One of my favorite moments when Noal came back for him. One thing I don't understand, at the end of the book Birgitte told him to throw the Horn into the ocean? I really don't understand that. He gets a friend back, and heroes of the Horn established very recently that they couldn't come back and fight for the Shadow. They only fight under the Dragon's banner. What am I missing? Forsaken: Were pretty blah. I wish they were worse baddies. Other normal darkfriends or misguided allies earned more of my hate. Not sure if there's anything wrong with that, but it seems like at least a couple of the Forsaken should have made my 'Most Hated' list. The Black Tower: I'm pretty sure everybody agrees Rand dropped the ball on this one. C'mon Rand. You should know not to leave the farm under the supervision of a very suspicous, powerful guy. You'd risk a very powerful army with a guy like Taim? How Rand Lit his pipe: Didn't know this was a thing until I finished. Apparently there is controversy on how this happened? My thought was when he thought hard about lighting it, his three wives noticed and lit the pipe for him. I thought it made sense since he thought of them immediately after thinking about his pipe lighting. I'm sure there's a bunch of things I missed, but these were top of my mind now.

Kind of let slip in the newsletter today that they will be doing a two day Dragonsteel mini con November 22-23. No other details in the newsletter. He also confirmed he'll be at FanX, which I've also never been to so guess now I should decide if I should get to at least one of these events this fall.

Harry Potter would beat Rand. He beat the darkest and most powerful wizard of all time despite being Harry Potter! Doesn't matter that he's not as powerful as Rand. He's Harry Storming Potter!

I just recently read this book too, and yeah, I was kind of disappointed we didn't see this happen.

To be a voidbringer, one must think like a voidbringer. To think like one, would mean to post like one. Thus bringing a halt to your rep. This is the way.

Star sight next isn’t exactly news. He’s been pretty clear on this since the summer as he was finishing RoW. What caught my attention was that it seems the break between SA 5 and 6 won’t be as long as I thought before. Must be serious on the opportunity costs and pushing to finish like he said in his RoW release party.

As far as champions, this is my theory that I just posted in the Rhythm of War reactions thread: My theory is that Taravangian get's Nale to be his champion. We see how good Ishar was as a fighter, and the Stormfather calls him average for a herald. I would imagine that Nale would be one of the top herald fighters. Given that Nale is crazy and on Odiums side, seems like he would be by far the best fighter for his team. No other non Herald would be able to beat him. Which leads to my other probably wrong theory: Taln as Dalinar's champion. Who was the best fighter? Taln. Who can't go the whole 10 book series as being crazy? Taln. If this is a battle for the hearts of men, who has the biggest heart? Taln. Who is trying to restore his mind by going after Ishar? Dalinar. Hopefully this happens soon (within 10 days!). This would make me the most excited in book 5. Big reason why this might not happen? Dalinar has said he would be his own champion already and book 5 will be Dalinar intensive. I can only hope this means it will focus on him and his powers as he prepares Taln to be his champion!

I'm finally get around to posting my questions and musings about the book. I finished it last week and felt like I needed a bit of time to digest it all. Knowing that this was the fourth book of five in the set, my expectation going in was that some bad stuff was going to happen to set up for an exciting finale. And I was not disappointed in this expectation to say the least haha! At the end of part 2 when the Urithiru was captured and the resistance broken I was super anxious. Needed to find somebody to talk to. I had a similar feeling at the end of part 3 (I think that was when another one of the nodes was destroyed? I forget). I think from all this anxiety filled build up for me, the last parts didn't totally make up for it and I wasn't as satisfied as I was reading. However, during this week of thinking about the book, I have grown to appreciate and like the ending that much more. I've started a reread and am excited to read it knowing the good that will come. The whole book I was hoping that Rlain would become the Sibling Bondsmith. I'd rather him be that than a c. Truthwatcher. Hopefully this will be interesting. I wasn't really wanting to see the Kholin family become even more essential and powerful. Good for Navani though I guess. She was and is likable. I also wasn't certain if Kaladin was going to swear 4th oath this book. I'm glad he did; this is the part I am most looking forward to rereading, because as I mentioned before, I was a little too anxious on first read. Here are some questions that I had when I finished: Did we ever find out who the spy was that the Sons of Honor had close to Dalinar? I understand it was Radiant who killed Ialai, but I don't think Shallan was the actual spy for them, right? Maybe I'm just off, but I don't think I understood that if it was the case. Do we know why Kaladin is so highly invested? Or any theories? I thought this was interesting. Why was he able to function in Urithiru when all other radiants were out? Theories I had while reading, and now I know are wrong: I thought for sure after part 2 and the following Vyre Interlude that it was foreshadowing Moash ascending to Odium. I thought the power would want Moash as a vessel instead of Rayse. I thought this would happen in part 5. Then I read about Taravangian. Crap. Theories I like that might be wrong, but only probably: My theory is that Taravangian get's Nale to be his champion. We see how good Ishar was as a fighter, and the Stormfather calls him average for a herald. I would imagine that Nale would be one of the top herald fighters. Given that Nale is crazy and on Odiums side, seems like he would be by far the best fighter for his team. That leads to my other theory, which is more likely to be wrong. Taln as Dalinar's champion. Who was the best fighter? Taln. Who can't go the whole 10 book series as being crazy? Taln. Who is trying to restore his mind by going after Ishar? Dalinar. Hopefully this happens soon (within 10 days!). This would make me the most excited in book 5. Big reason why this might not happen? Dalinar has said he would be his own champion already and book 5 will be Dalinar intensive. I can only hope this means it will focus on him and his powers as he prepares Taln to be his champion! haha Just some crazy wondering: Why no 17th shard since book 1 Speaking of them, and knowing about Kelsier being Thaidakar (btw,!!!) wonder what Kelsier's relationship with Demoux is now. I find this interesting because Demoux basically worshipped the Survivor. Now he is in a seemingly opposing secret society. No Thunderclasts. Guess Odium really wasn't serious about winning. Wonder where all the shardblades and shardplates that the Fused started hording went off to. I can only guess these will be used in the Last 10 days.

I thought the only people to have such strong emotions on the subject would point to a spren. Which got me thinking about the Sibling because I don't know why another random spren would be brought into the storyline when the Sibling is already mysterious enough and knowing the Sibling will be somewhat part of the plot. We don't know much about the sibling, there are cryptic clues that have led to some theories documented on the Shard though. What if this spren is called the 'Sibling' because it considers itself a sibling to all spren. This would give it the motivation to not like Navani and her work. The Sibling slumbered because so many of its brothers and sisters lost their minds during the Recreance and it was too painful for the Sibling, hence why the Stormfather wants humans to let it rest. This is the beginning of Navani's interactions with the Sibling, eventually leading to her bonding it.

It took me awhile to figure out who she was talking about when she mentioned the Three. Cool nickname she gave herself. At least she didn't go with the Trinity. And yeah, now I am super interested in what the Sons of Honor know and what the Ghostbloods are hiding. I have a feeling this information will continue to be dragged out... Nooooo!

Some impressions I had; Radiants seem to deal with Fused easily enough; even when they’re at 3rd ideal. I feel like once they get their Plate they’d have absolutely no problem. They wouldn’t be hit by the Light eating fabrial as much, and the teleporting Fused would have a much tougher time stabbing a Plate Radiant in the back with his carapace knife. I wonder if Fused can advance and get more powers. Otherwise, they goners. Amaram must’ve only been head of one group of SoH, and Ialai took his place. Because Restares is still out there and obviously ahead of ialai and amaram. And SoH are fools. To be so full of themselves to think they are directing things. Gimme a break Can’t wait for adolin to come rushing in to save his wife lol

Aside from who the lady is... what intrigues me in this art are Dalinar's arms. In particular, a quote from one of his flashbacks comes to mind where he states something like 'I'd check the guys eyesight for not knowing how big my biceps are' (totally butchered, but you know the one). And yeah, I'd need to get my measuring tape out, but the circumference of his biceps looks bigger than that of his head!

My first thought was she looked like Ash... but that doesn't jive with the Bondsmiths description.

@HonorlessWhoops, thank you. That was very honorable! I'm pretty sure it is confirmed that Sadeas wasn't a radiant. If he was, i'm not sure I'd paint him as a willshaper though. The uncut gems were more to taunt Adolin because he was going on unauthorized chasmfiend hunts and flaunting the gems he gained.

Here are my most terrifying characters: Scadrial: Has to be the Steel Inquisitors. Even on rereads they give me the willies. Raging Koloss get an honorable mention. Roshar: I'd be most terrified being tied up and facing The Hog. Or being in a chasm with a chasmfiend snooping around. If we only want real characters; has to be insane Szeth Other mentions go to Dilaf, Shades, and nightmaws. All of Patji sounds like the King Kong island. That movie gave me nightmares lol. Edit: Upon reviewing, it would seem I am most terrified of crazy things/people that can't/won't be reasoned with.

I keep seeing people complain here that we are only comparing one magic system to another. I've always been under the impression that surgebinding is a combination of two magic systems (Honor + Cultivation) From the Coppermind:

You also can't forget the scene where

Wow, did you read the last 2.5 parts in like 4 hours? Geez, I need to start storing up some zinc for RofW I guess so I can read that fast too!

I'm not sure this is explicitly saying that Jezrien is only 30. Kalak is saying that Jezrien looks young, like a man barely in his thirtieth year. It is quite possible he is in his forties but just looks younger.

I've just seen the ones posted on 17th shard. Here: https://www.17thshard.com/news/brandon-news/bridge-four-poster-steel-alphabet-bar-pendants-and-yallfest-keynote-r547/ Below 'Bridge Four' it says 'Starring...' and then lists the names going clockwise from Kaladin. Also, Moash doesn't have a tattoo or scar on his forehead like the others.

He's the one with the shardblade, right above Kaladin's left shoulder. The names at the bottom make it kind of clear.

I just can't get over the little 'shimmy' dance move that Rock appears to be doing haha.

I wonder why they didn't put Drehy in. I'd imagine him before Hobber and maybe Leyten.