WhiteLeeopard

Like it was pointed out, Shallan is wildly unreliable as a narrator. The inconsistencies I'd like to believe are on purpose but I'm a little concerned they could be editing errors. The GB so far seem to be an order to dance a lot of complex steps for little gain, a group of people convinced they are first level players when they are not even close to real power. Their biggest strength is knowledge, and they barely if ever use it. I know some will disagree with me, but you can't put Dalinar, or Navani or even Kaladin next to the GB and say the GB actually have more power over what happens in Roshar than those three characters to put out some examples. The GB's biggest claim to importance this book was: kill a has been no-one cared about, put someone to spy on Dalinar (basically everyone has spies on the KR, just the KR don't have spies on anyone since the Lightweavers are useless at it) and try to kill a Herald which after Jethrien's death is not too important at first glance (it may be important due to the stuff of BAM later on, but we'll see). However, the GB are very interesting to the readers since they bring in Cosmere easter eggs (or in this book easter mountains). Regarding how terrible Lightweavers are as spies I agree. I spent all RoW thinking the KR needed an order of spies and assasins, both to find problems and to eliminate them. Sadly if the LW are the best order they have for that purpose they may need to give up the whole area of spionage. Shallan and her group spent 1 whole year in Urithiru next to T who all the Kholins (as such Shallan by extension too) knew was a traitor, and Shallan didn't even bother to take a look at him. There were some whispers that the Dustbringers were unreliable, but again Shallan did not bother to infiltrate them nor have one of her squires do it. One whole order of KR and the king of Jah Keved were problems a little bit bigger than rusting Ialai. Knowledge falls into Shallan's lap due partly to her powers, but to say she is good at gathering information is like saying Jasnah is good at diplomacy. She does something that faintly resembles it, but at the end of the day has little clue of how to do it.

Following the thread of the Unmade, I wonder if it will be easier or harder for Sja-anat to escape Odium. Could be since T is smarter than Rayse he will be able to fully chain her. Or could be she escapes in the chaos of a new Shard. I know T will be super powered in the next book and know everything there is to know, but I'm not even sure how realistic that is. Sazed has been a Shard for much longer and he is still learning of the Cosmere and his powers. His powers can be excused since Harmony is a hard Shard which cancels itself out. But that is no reason for the lack of knowledge. Sazed did not know of Hoid till he introduced himself, yet T already knew all there was to know of him? (even before stealing his memories). The only arguments to say T knows much more is 1. Cultivation and 2. Brandon wanted Odium (enemy) to be super powerful and Harmony (ally) to be harmless.

With Shallan, nothing is far fetched. It could even turn out that her mom isn't dead and is a Herald and I wouldn't even be too surprised. I just turn off logic and disbelief with her.

Normally that would be enough evidence. Sadly this is Shallan we are talking about. She could totally have been soulcasting and then forgetting on the spot.

Something that annoys me a little bit about the direction of Kaladin's SA arc is that while he began showing both attributes (protecting and leading) it has eventually become solely protecting. Which is why in RoW he had to pigeon hole himself into surgeon although the idea didn't thrill him. It can be argued creating mental healthcare is leading in ideas and leading society towards enlightenment, but I'm not sure I see that as truly leading or simply protecting. He did fund the Windrunners, and that was leading, but he has now left that behind. Kaladin can inspire people, noble, common, scholars, soldiers etc just by walking by, yet that aspect of him has barely been used since WoR. It makes little sense to me that the Fifth Ideal would be reached without embracing both the major and minor attribute, and yet BS hasn't to my eyes developed Kaladin enough in the leadership direction. All that Kaladin has led by so far was in my opinion from charisma and innate personality, but not learning to lead, much like he has spent 4 books learning to protect. I had a vague idea before RoW of "becoming honor" (little h), much like the honorspren, which believe that since they are honor what they do is honorable, but that idea has big thorns behind it. Do we have any WoB or excerpt where any Fifth Ideal KR are mentioned? I can't remember anything straight off, and it could be the number of KR to reach that point was counted in single numbers (maybe double digits max) throughout history, as such not much thought was given to it other than as an ideal. As for the gain, maybe be able to keep Stormlight without leaking like the Fused (or so little as to be negligible)? Kaladin would probably love to be able to float all day.

I don't hate Lirin, I just don't like him. His best version was in WoK flashbacks, and even then he had some growth to do. Afterwards he just regressed further with every book. I disagree with people who say that Lirin and Kaladin are both wrong and only willing to see their paths. That is certainly the case with Lirin, but one of Kaladin's biggest issues is that he thinks his father is right. Kaladin believes his father's path is the correct one, which is where a big dose of his depression comes from, from believing he is walking the wrong path. I loved your post, since you are right and it made me think. Part of Lirin's problem is his inability to see. Lirin was a rebellious darkeyes who got beating back by the system. His son was a rebellious darkeyes who melted the system. Lirin cannot draw false equivalences between Kaladin and himself in his youth, since there is nothing similar in their experiences. If Kaladin were to ask to be trained as a general and eventually control a large swath of the coalition armies and lands he would be granted that. Kaladin has a level of power (even if he probably won't use most of it) which is only exceeded by a handful of people. As such the challanges which broke Lirin are not even an issue any more for Kaladin, and Lirin can't expect his son to end like he did because its impossible. If his son ends broken it will be by very different circumstances. Lirin realizes that when he says something like "We are little people, we can't do anything", and notices that is not true when it comes to his son, but he doesn't bother to internalize that knowledge, just continues on his way acting the same way. If I remember right Lirin says he wouldn't have let Kaladin to die, but he sort of agrees he would have brought him down and let the Fused see him. In my opinion Lirin's greatest fault (other than not emotionally supporting his son) is how naive he is is. He is convinced nothing bad will happen to the KR when they are captured by the Fused. Two elite warriors of a conflict he knows very little about. He decides that he will hand Kaladin over, assuming that he won't be killed since the other KR unconscious weren't killed. Not bothering to think that maybe they will make an exception for Kaladin, since he is not an average KR. He is the first Windrunner, he is maybe the most iconic KR of all, he didn't fall unconscious and kept sabotaging the Singer forces in Urithiru, he was being hunted by a powerful and insane Fused. Did he honestly believe "nothing bad would happen" to his son? Or did he just not care enough? Lirin's statement that Kaladin should have been a good slave was a huge slap in the face out of complete ignorance. Perhaps Lirin has the personality which would allow him to be the perfect slave, happy without rights, freedom or a voice (doubtful), but for people like Kaladin it was death as surely as a spear to the gut. Much like caging a lion. He couldn't be a good slave without eventual suicide any more that he could kill his own father. Hesina was indeed also a disappointment. Seems she used all her willpower by going against her family and marrying Lirin, and has none left over. I expected Lirin to be a problem for Kaladin since WoR, but I was sure Hesina would rise up. Alas, she did not.

Maybe the Listeners will become the first true hybrid human-singer nation, a home for all those who don't want to keep fighting the eternal war. Maybe after book 5 Kaladin will look for a home in which to have peace and be free of the reminders of war and pick the Listeners if they would accept him. Perhaps that would encourage more humans to quit, and Leshwi and Kaladin might interact as the same thing: two warriors who have fought for too long (although Leshwi for much, much more) and who have reached the point where they just want to stop and see a sliver of their peoples living together in peace, no longer caring what happens in the war. Although maybe with a slight preference for Honor's side, since Odium will with 95% certainty destroy the Listeners if he wins, while Honor maybe just 60% or so? Honor's side actions would depend much on how the war was won. I also would like to see more Fused defect in book 5, since after 7000 years, the few sane ones left must be very, very tired. And maybe the first humans to approach/join the Listeners could be simple refugees to break the ice, so it isn't soldiers themselves at first go. All speculation, but quite pleasant one at that .

My hate and indignation for Moash peaked in WoR after he betrayed Kaladin. OB I was grimly satisfied by him, since he met all my expectations. RoW I was pretty indifferent to him, as there were no surprises there, and neither did I expect any even for a second. If anything I was amused by Moash in a gallows humor kind of way. Kaladin spoke the Third Ideal because Moash created a situation that forced him to. Kaladin spoke the Fourth Ideal because Moash created a situation that forced him to say it, when otherwise Kaladin might not have been capable of ever swearing those words. At this rate I'm going to be quite interested in Moash in book 5 to see if he again forces Kaladin to be the first KR to reach the Fifth Ideal (of this batch of KR).

While we cannot know anything for certain until BS shows us, Gavilar seems a stain worse than Sadeas and Amaram combined, or at least on par. Perhaps just as bad as the two of them but with greater capacity.

This thread has sparked two ideas in my mind. 1. Dalinar would become a Fused if he loses, with his soul belonging to Odium. Leshwi is a Fused, and she presumably swore to obey Odium, yet she did whatever she wanted and went to the Listeners without further ado. 2. Considering the idea that Odium swore to spare Kharbranth inhabitants and their spouses, why doesn't Dalinar marry (just go poly) someone from the city for the challange, then divorce them if he wants. I'm sure there is someone of Honor in Kharbranth who would be willing to do this. Running off point 2, why don't they just change laws in the city to make poly marriages legal and Kharbranth inhabitants marry hundreds of people via spanreed? Not sure if this was considered in another thread, I've been really off the forum between OB and RoW. Leshwi said she doesn't think she can bond a spren, but I think it was only a supposition. Creepy thought, and probably correct. Dalinar should make him transfer his Oath to someone else, and if he can't, order him to commit suicide upon losing the contest. But of course Dalinar would not do that. The more I think about it the more I think Honor's perfect champion would be Jasnah. She has the skills, the power, and the ruthlessness to win no matter what (so long as it is possible, ignoring posibilities like fighting a spren, or Odium himself, or Hoid).

I'm not saying he wouldn't know who Mraize is or what he is supposed to do, more that he wouldn't know the way Mraize dealt with issues on a day to day. Basically that Kelsier got the yearly reports, and ignored the daily ones. Not a nobody. Much like Leshwi said, she was part of the important Fused leaders, but among the leaders she was at the bottom. But I hear you, all 3 possible explanations are in their infancy. But what I suspect is that while Shallan and Adolin may have problems with the GB in the near future, they likely won't meet or have problems with Thaidakar for some time.

Whether Kelsier is Thaidakar I've not fully made up my mind. On whether he is the total leader of the GB if he is Thaidakar, probably yes, although the anti arguments are really good (wish I had upvotes left). I agree that Thaidakar's apparent mode of behavior for the GB if he is Kelsier are not typical of him (killing random porters, recruiting Shallan the opposite way of how he recruited Vin, etc). To this I have three different explanations to add to the brainstorming. 1. Kelsier has decided he will protect Scadrial and only Scadrial. In Scadrial he keeps to his old morals (sort of) but outside he is even more heartless than in his worst times in Scadrial 2. Kelsier is very far away from the GB in Roshar, he has probably not met most of the members, and is forced to trust that they are people who would align with him personality wise. The consequences of distant leadership is the same as distant relationships. They get jumbled and their ideals may end up differing without the leader or underlings becoming aware at first 3. Mraize is a very small potato in the GB who has been using Shallan to gain more power inside the GB and get access to more rare resources, but for some time now he was in over his head. Surgebinders are so far the most powerful magical beings in the Cosmere that a normal person can easily become (there are exceptions, but in general this is the case). The game Mraize was playing of keeping Shallan like a useful dog was always bound to fail unless he wised up fast, since Shallan was becoming more and more insanely powerful. Even if Shallan had killed Kelek and fully joined the GB, she would have just removed Mraize after learning the rules. As such the GB appear very opposite of Kelsier's modus operandi because we have just seen Mraize who does not represent the average GB at all. Are any of these explanations correct? Guess we'll have to RAFO :P.

Mraize came off to me in this book like a very little pawn, who believes himself to be important but has little true power. And what we've seen in the past reinforces this. What are the GB's greatest actions when it comes to Mraize? Killing a bunch of random porters, grabbing Shallan's brothers from the middle of nowhere. Oh! And capturing a 13 year old girl without Stormlight! Yay, powerful Mraize, totally. Iyatil seemed a bit more interesting, she could be a good person (don't know as haven't seen her enough). But Mraize always seemed a black hole with big aspirations and little power.

As soon as it happened I thought that they should begin looking into how to break their word in 10 days time. Whether that would harm the spren of Honor, or they could simply stop this by killing Dalinar, perhaps with Nightblood. I've always been very given to drastic measures, but I truly think its better for Dalinar, Roshar and the Cosmere to destroy Dalinar than to let him fall into T's hands. Maybe when Dalinar dies during the duel Szeth could be waiting in Shadesmar to destroy him completely with NB before T can capture him. But we all know that is most likely not going to happen. Right now Cultivation seems to have set up T to become Odium and somehow Dalinar to become Honor. I would much prefer to see Dalinar take both Shards and become War. Odium seems to be a very unstable Shard (all are unstable, but Odium seems extra dangerous with no equilibrium whatsover). War is not a lovely Shard, but there is already constant war on Roshar anyway.

After sleep and having read the whole thread I have some thoughts to add. I read Sanderson partly because I want to see happy endings and optimism prevail. I have absolutely zero desire to read a BS book which ends badly when I KNOW it will take 3 years (at least) for the next one. And if book 5 is the one to end badly that could well be 5 years or more of wait. I have ended up having a great deal of resentment for series which do that, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth for years, and its one of the ways to make me give up on a series. Of course, everyone is different and enjoys different things, but that is how I feel. I have some issues with Kaladin but overall he is my favorite main character of SA. Some people were saying that he no longer has a purpose or that he is too linear. I agree he is too linear, and I'm not sure BS is completely sure what to do with him next, but Kaladin has a purpose which I don't think I have seen mentioned in this thread. Kaladin represents hope. He is the perfect hero in the eyes of the people, the perfect KR, the perfect watcher on the rim. When the civilians and the common people get in the way of a blade to protect others they don't do it for Dalinar, or Jasnah, or Shallan, or Navani. All of them are too high up in their towers, they people see them with respect and awe, but keep their distance. Kaladin is a huge part of the reason why people have embraced the KR as heroes when 2 years ago they were seen as monsters. That may seem stupid, but as was pointed out during the Jasnah and monarchs conversation, hope is the most important thing. You give up hope and you have lost. The civilians are not the most vital part of SA since they don't have the power to do much, but they are nevertheless the reason why they all fight. Much like the Fused for the Singers. A long time ago BS said he had a list of main characters for the main books. I think he was hesitating between Ash and Navani. Eventually he picked Ash, but in this book I think he changed his mind and swapped Eshonai/Venli for Navani. I'm okay with that, but it makes me wish we'd had Navani flashbacks so this book were fully hers. T is going to be a complete disaster. I know many people in this fandom liked T. I never did. When you steal something because your sick mother needs medicine your intention matters. When you murder someone because your sick mother needs medicine, your intention matters little. There comes a point where they "why" is a lot less important than the "what". It absolutely does not matter T claimed he wanted to save the world, what matters is what he did. On the little things you can take a shortcut. On the big things, you either walk journey before destination or you lose before you arrive. On Ranking the books for me: WoR, WoK and RoW tied, and OB last.

Just finished and going to just throw out all my random thoughts. They are so monumentally, colosally screwed. From the start I thought that if they lost Urithiru that was it, they would lose the war. Now I would prefer a million times over to have lost Urithiru rather than to have changed Rayse to Taravangian. T is one of the most disgusting, selfish and petty characters in the whole Cosmere. Why? Because: 1. He pretends to be good 2. He fools millions, including very smart and good people (main characters, not just the masses) that he has a good core. In this book the main characters knew T was a traiter from the start and Dalinar still didn't kill him, convinced there was good in T. 3. He actually believes himself that what he is doing is good, failing to realize that journey before destination is the most important Oath of all, and not for the KR but for any sentient being The only way to know you are doing the right thing is when your mind and heart are aligned. T did every single action against his heart. What is worse? A person who doesn't care he is doing something wrong, or someone who knows they are doing something wrong and does it anyway? The second by far. I thought that Sanderson would leave us the end of book 5 with a reasonably happy ending to tide us over for the years in between. After this, I don't see how. Best case scenario Dalinar will lose the duel and be enslaved to T. Worst case scenario T will turn most of Roshar into mindless slaves with as little willpower as the parshmen. Its possible Dalinar may ascend and become Honor, and T and Dalinar can play friends forever, but I hope not, Dalinar deserves better than to be stuck forever with odious (never said better) T as a companion. The other better alternative is kill T, Dalinar takes up Honor and Odium and forms War. Cultivation's grand plan has to my eyes proven to be the most stupid plan to ever be formed. Like stopping an enemy with a knife to give him a gun. There was a lot of good in this book, but a lot of bad as well. Why was Szeth locked up at the start? They had two nuclear bombs in Szeth and instead of exploiting them they threw them in the basement. A chance to create a splinter group of the Skybreakers loyal to Honor and Nightblood. Why did no-one try to fix Szeth's mental state in the year they had? If they had perhaps Szeth would have told someone when T began plotting, and the mess at the end could have been avoided. I can understand why Renarin said he doesn't say what he sees since it may change things for the worse, but right now Renarin knows Odium is T and I bet he will not tell anyone about it. Quite stupid when believing Odium is Rayse when it is really T will only end in tears. You cannot prepare for an enemy and win when they turn out to be someone with a whole other personality. El is a question mark and sounds quite dangerous, but also a bit delusional since the future is never set, and he sounds very certain. Now to the good. Shallan was a good surprise. Although I'm curious, when she broke her Oaths did her dead Shardblade stay stuck in her father's vault until know? I had zero hopes for Shallan this book. Every single book she gained more power but devolved instead of evolved at least partially. Possible exception was book 2, and even there there were issues. This book began with Shallan been as small as expected, completely under the GB thumb for reasons that escaped me. Then she showed true strength and in my opinion her first true step fully forward. Before she did 1 forward, 2 back. In this one she regained all she had lost and went even further. Adolin was as great as I expected. I'm so happy to see him help fix Maya, and start to become as respected as he likely will among all spren. Rlain was also beautiful to watch. I'm also very fond of Rlain, was sad and angry to see him rejected by honorspren but happy when the Sibling considered him worthy and a Sja-nat spren embraced him. Its good to see Rlain accept he belongs no-where and everywhere. He is truly someone of two worlds, who can find home and love with individuals but not with an entire people. It is a bit melancholic, but there is always something good about seeing things slide into place. Kaladin, -sigh-. I already knew what the Fourth Oath was, since it became obvious after Elhokar's death (one of the many theories already figured out correctly in the 17th Shard). So knowing what the Fourth Oath would be I was kind of agreeing with him at the start that he wouldn't be able to say it. When Urithiru fell I knew there were only two ways to save it before it was corrupted and the war lost forever. Kaladin saying the Oath or Navani bonding the Sibling. I lay higher odds on Navani. Surprisingly when Kaladin was sneaking about in Urithiru he was more solid than when he was supposedly safe. He ended up pulling together, but only with a lot of help from Dalinar, but that is not bad, after all the Bondsmith is about bonds and leading. What better way to lead than by helping his men through difficult obstacles? Jasnah and Wit, I wasn't expecting them but they fit perfectly. I didn't expect it since I didn't think Wit would ever bind himself to anyone or anywhere. But that is a bit unfair to him, as everyone, even Hoid, deserves happiness. Design is delightful, a spren who can give Hoid a run for his money, . Wish to see more of Design, she is perfect even after a few short pages. Jasnah was good but didn't appear much. The secret societies made me very contemptous on this book. All the happy plotting is okay when things are peaceful. Sadly, secret societies can be annoying and throw thorns on the way, but they are no-one at the end of the day. Secret societies in Roshar all liked to pretend to be in charge and have power, but when the Storm really starts, power is in the obvious places and nowhere else. Secret societies could press a finger here or there, but are empty by themselves. The only dangerous one this book was the Diagram because T was ruling Jah Keved. SoH irrelevant from the first page. GB annoying and I wanted to kill them when they captured Lift (strange, since I didn't use to like Lift, but she seems to have snuck into my heart). But ultimately, the GB were just an annoying buzz. They could annoy, but only by the support they could give Odium, by themselves they were worth very little. Good for Shallan for picking true strength over the empty weakness of the GB (in Roshar at least). Another sign of how useless societies are, is that they seldom create anything by themselves. They almost always have to steal what they want. They have an idea and some secret information and run with it even though they only have the ability to destroy and steal, but not make things themselves. Possible exception SoH and likely only because Kalak was around. Rock...I haven't read Dawnshard so I may have missed something but if Rock truly was killed for saving Kaladin's life because of laws of inheritance then the Horneaters maybe need to be scrapped and reformed. Moash as much of a mess as he's been since...always. Didn't like him in book 1, hated him in book 2, hated him in book 3, so he fulfilled my expectations in book 4. Saying he was similar to Kaladin has always been an insult, since they were not ever anything alike. And then the true star of this book: Navani. I was completely indifferent to her before, but she proved her stripes many times over in this book. I was ready to kill Gavilar after the prologue, and I was very grimly satisfied as she overcame her chains of the past. Navani ensured she will end up in the history books, regardless of who wins, as the person who changed the eternal war forever, and possibly made a revolution in the Cosmere. She made mistakes, but she got back up almost inmediately. I need another thread in which to properly talk about her. There were some conflicting signals with the Sibling, at first I thought they would bond Navani, then Dabbid, then Rlain, then Navani again. When the Sibling dared to say to Navani she was not "worthy" I knew it was Navani who was bonding them for certain. Venli was a petty, small person the first three books, and sadly I'm not sure she can ever be much more. She may be an okay KR, but I can't see her be a brilliant KR like Kaladin, Jasnah and Dalinar. It makes sense in these massive books to see all typed of KR like Timbre said. The amazing heroes that others die for with a smile in the faces knowing its the right thing to do, the everyday people, and the cowards that don't intrinsically want to do the right thing but end up doing it anyway. Radoniel ended up been an amazing character, I wanted her to survive. I thought maybe she would live and she and Navani could converse over spanreed even while the war raged around them. It was so touching, although predictable, but nevertheless amazing how humanity rallied around Kaladin while Urithiru was occupied. They knew they might/would die, but they did it anyway, because they had to, because the alternative was worse, because they choose to. p.s. I knew it would be a long post, but wew, if anyone reads it fully kudos

I've gotten as fed up with Kaladin in this book so far as I was on the previous one with Shallan. At this point if a Fused killed him at least I wouldn't have to read him again complaining about doing nothing while doing nothing. At first I was shipping Leswhi and Kaladin, at this point I want him to evolve or die. Unfortunately I fully expect crying I'm a bit annoyed about how incredibly predictable in a bad way everyone is been so far. Shallan shattering apart and allowing herself to be played by the Ghostbloods like a fiddle. Kaladin moaning. T crying while continuing his plans. Venli wringing her hands while continuing as she always has been as a good little pawn. Pattern...yeah, really nasty surprise there. The only pleasant surprise in this book of a character so far rising above my expectations is Navani. I was ready to give her a lot of love after reading the prologue. But not only has she gone past her pain of her past choices but she is evolving like crazy and becoming a true Queen! Before she was a queen as that was her job, but in this book she is becoming a Queen. And Navani was always a character that didn't run either hot or cold for me, she simply existed. Btw, good thing they took Gavinor away! Poor child doesn't need to experience this rust again. Edit: The Ghostbloods are so mind-numbingly stupid that they make me wish Odium would win so the poor dears could realize their plans are worth rust if their gold mine is taken over an evil controlling god, because they are so busy thinking of their future corporate profits that they keep tripping the defenders of roshar just to feel important.

This theory doesn't quite click with me, but I also won't be completely shocked if it happens. My prediction for book 3 is that the Delvers are actually the cytonics of old, who eventually advanced so much they either got stuck in the nowhere or willingly went there to have peace from the world. Maybe at first they remembered pieces of who they were and with time became completely other and forgot everything. My crazy theory is that Spensa will end up transforming into a Delver, the question is if she will return to human or stay a Delver and leave for the nowhere as well.

Brade is a whiped dog. She will always be loyal to her master, she will always fight for her master, she will always attack whoever her master siccs her on and she will always bite the kind hand that tries to adopt her into a healthier environment. The moment she first appeared in the book I knew she would destroy everything and everyone if she got the chance, and she fully met my expectations. If anyone wants to mourn Brade after she dies it would be for the Brade that was killed years ago, because this Brade is and has been for a long time nothing but a rabid animal on a leash for her owner. This is my opinion, and I may be wrong since Brandon often likes to redeem characters, but even if he tries I doubt it will seem believable. Brade had a very thin line of salvation until she summoned the Delver. Even then it was nearly impossible, since she didn't seem to have the mental fortitude and resilience to think for herself. Once she got the Delver her possible redemption was done and there were no more paths for her. One you do the equivalent of destroying a planet and an entire race (YOUR OWN RACE) you have to believe that your place as a slave is a good one, and you are happy as you are, because to later find out that you were wrong, that your race is good and that you tried to destroy it would leave someone completely insane. Brade will continue being the Krell's dog, because she can't do anything else at this point even if she wanted to.

Most, if not all, of Sanderson's main characters are intelligent in one way or another. Some are capable of learning very quickly, others are worldy, others are inventive, others are natural at a great deal of things, others have a high emotional intelligence. In Kaladin's case I think the most important feature of his intelligence is his inventiveness. Making ingenius solutions with limited resources (seen constantly, but specially with the bridges, the learning of stormlight, the way he uses stormlight, etc). He is also naturally good at tactics, strategy and other things, not as good as someone who has been studying it for years, but good enough to keep up and make some quick plans if needed. He can also learn quickly and there have been no topics on which he struggled to keep up. Lastly, I'm not sure whether it should be called emotional intelligence in his case or charisma, but he can bring people to him and keep them together, which also requires some brains to handle. I think Kaladin is one of the most intelligent people in SA.

Honestly, I think Moash just went with Odium and the Fused because he likes been told what to do. He doesn't want to be mistreated or hurt, but he likes people telling him what to do, what to think and taking all those pesky decisions of what is right and wrong out of his hands. In a way he is the perfect slave, or perhaps hound. Treat him well and he is yours, so long as you don't let his leash get too long, or he will feel restless and snap at you. I think Kaladin's problem is that he gave Moash too much freedom. I expressed myself badly when I said Moash didn't owe his life to Kaladin. Obviously he did. What I meant was that Moash didn't have to become Kaladin's yes man for the rest of his life because Kaladin saved him from certain death. Moash was free to disagree, but from disagreeing to completely disrespecting and turning on Kaladin there is a very big leap.

This is a sentence I didn't think I'd ever type for the sheer ridiculousness of it, but: I hated Moash before it was cool. Lol, the stormlight fandom is generally nice, but sometimes there are things in it which get on my nerves; like the stick, of which I got so fed up I promised I wouldn't answer any post that mentioned it or write that word in a post of mine ever again. Now, two years have passed since that promise...so I'll call it good for now. Clearly I'm not Windrunner material though, if I consider a promise done after 2 years! Back to the topic at hand, I wrote off Moash in WoR. Oathbringer was simply confirmation for me of all my reasons for hating him when WoR ended. I didn't read O in horror at his actions, I read it with grim satisfaction at knowing I had been completely right about him. I think my first Moash hate post was written a year before Oathbringer was released or so, I guess I could check back on my posts if needed. In fact I think I said something like "I hope he falls off a horse and breaks his neck since he deserves an ignominous death that no-one even remembers". Why did I hate Moash already before Oathbringer began and see him as a lost cause? I never liked him. In tWoK he was a pain in the behind from the moment he appeared till the end. Yes, the bridgemen were not at their best, but he took been hateful and a spoke in a wheel to extremes. Many bridgemen took what happened in bridge 4 as the end of a life and the beginning of a new one. Except Moash, the first thing he did when he was free was go stir up trouble. Now, if he is just frisky, fine, whatever, they are free to do some mayhem and his reasons for wanting Elhokar death were good ones. What was the problem then? Kaladin. Kaladin got Moash everything Moash ever wanted. His life, respect, men serving under him, been a soldier, friendship, camaradie, even a storming Shard set. Moash owed Kaladin everything he had and everything he was. More than that, Kaladin was his friend. Moash didn't owe his life to Kaladin, but he did owe him enough respect to not turn on him. It was bad enough that if Moash had been succesful in assasinating Elhokar Kaladin would have been held responsible for failing to protect Elhokar, which is not something which you do to a friend to who you already owe everything. But then Moash was fully lost to me when he tried to kill Kaladin while Kaladin didn't even have stormlight because he had broken his bond with Syl. People can all have their own opinions, but for me there is not a single thing which you can do which is worse than betraying a friend. You can betray your country, your commander, your family, because many of those people don't have your best interests at heart. But you never betray a friend. Not a friend that has always stood by you and given you absolutely everything you ever wanted and never raised a hand to hurt you or your loved ones. It isn't a matter of what you owe, it is that your friend has earned yout loyaly, by proving how much they care for you. If you betray a friend that has never made a single move against you, when everyone else has abandoned you, what do you fight for? Revenge? Justice? Power? My answer is: love. And the love of a friend is much greater in my book than the love of a lover. If you are willing to toss away a true friendship for your goals, then you are scum to me, because nothing can ever be more precious than what you threw away. And that is why I hated Moash long before Oathbringer was even confirmed as the title of book three and all those Moash threads became popular. When I opened Oathbringer I did it with the knowledge that nothing on it would change my view of Moash, because he had already shown his true colors. Everything that happened in book three was simple confirmation of what I already knew. Too bad that my old idea of falling off and breaking his neck in an accident does not seem possible anymore with the stormshadow powers that he will gain.

If you aren't hooked by the end of The Eye of the World, the wheel of time may not be for you. The first 5 books are the most dynamic, then there is a slog for a few books. Although in the Eye of the World its true that there is a slowdown halfway through the book, but then it picks up again.

Moash could single handedly achieve peace on Roshar, unity between humans and parsh, and defeat Odium and I would still cheer when he finally died. I've wanted him dead since book 2. Then again I'm a bit vengeful when it comes to betraying friends. If there is one thing book 3 clarified is we know nil of who will live and who will die. Putting soft predictions out there: a herald, one of the family Davar (or all of them except for Shallan), a Ghostblood or three (was that their name? I've been out of touch of Sanderverse for a while), Mr. T as I wouldn't be surprised if the Diagram came to a head on this book.

So, was your hamburguer a normal hamburguer or was it made of "chicken" to inspire your Roshar thoughts? Honor+Odium sounds even more terrifying than Odium by itself. It sounds like every religious fanatic that ever existed, not only are they full of hate for everyone and spread division but they also are full of the self-rightness of their own mission. Adding Cultivation doesn't honestly fix things enough imo. Religious fanatic that learns, plans and wants to make people grow...probably according to their image? Ehhh, not a huge improvement here.