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Bliev

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  • Member Title
    God-Queen, Mother of Larkins
  • Gender
    Female
  • Location
    USA
  • Interests
    Professoring. Parenting. Reading (lol). Dancing. Weightlifting. Sleeping (also lol because children). Edgedancer.

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  1. I thought Defiant was a satisfying end to this series, and wrapped it up in a very YA/Sci-Fi way, which I personally really really enjoy. Spensa's hero journey ended where it should--her finding herself, then worrying about losing her sense of belonging, then finding comfort in others was exactly where her arc needed to go, and I really enjoying that Brandon gave us a little Cyto-Sanderlanche with multiple perspectives which isn't as common in YA as it is in his high fantasy novels. Much much appreciated, because boy did I enjoy those slivers of perspective! I really liked the Brade twist, and I LOVED the "little delvers" reaction, so so great. And I have to say that I have never found anything half as adorable as the concept of the slugs. (And I can't believe that Brandon has made me find the idea of slugs adorable. Who am I now?!?) Did I find much of Spensa and her friends' arc "predictable"? Yeah, but I think that's the type of series it is, and I knew that coming in. I actually find these books super enjoyable reads for that reason--Cytonic as a tone shift was interesting, and not my favorite, but I liked it way more on re-read with the rest of the companion novellas, and I thought this finale brought it home really nicely. Finally, loved the easter eggs for future work--more humans, Old Earth, slug power? YES! 9/10. Will definitely read again!!
  2. Yeah, I hope that too! I wondered if the audience was dusk himself, as he embarks on his journey that he starts at the beginning of the sequel chapter. After all, the lesson fits--have to learn to ask for help if you want to be a hero, has to be a team--kind of the lesson Dusk always needs to learn because his culture (and personality) is so independent and solo-effort-focused. But that may be a stretch!
  3. Great point. I didn’t give it enough theory-level research/thought obviously b4 posting. :-) Thanks for this!
  4. I am thinking about this timeline more--and I wonder if the migration was a long time coming. So for instance (totally made up times): Year 0: Ashyn begins to fall bc of surgebinding/Odium. First refugees from the first fallen city flee to Roshar and are given Shinovar. Year 50: More cities fall, more refugees to Shinovar. Now there start to be warring factions sharing the Shinovar space. Year 75-100: Human refugees/explorers begin to leave Shinovar, mixing with the Singer population (which would become Herdazians, etc.) Year 150: Final group of refugees make it out of Ashyn, with Jezrien (and the royal family in Ashyn) organizing the final pull out. (while the refugees who left earlier are beginning to skirmish with Singers and to leave Shinovar at greater rates). Year 155: Odium, angry at the people who have left, finds out how to "unmake" the spren of the land and creates the unmade, who spur the growing war. Year 165: Angry cognitive shadows of dead Singers linger enough in Shadesmar and connect with Odium enough for him to offer them a gift--powers and eternal life (rebirth) in exchange for servitude (and, for Odium, a greater connection to Roshar, even though he is bound to Ashyn for some reason). FIRST DESOLATION Year 167: Heralds approach Honor with the Oathpact. Could explain the timeline. I have always through it strange that all the refugees from Ashyn--all of them--would travel together at the exact same time. Waves of refugees seem much more likely. As each city falls, more refugees leave. And of course, a wise king would be among the last to leave.
  5. I love that Brandon tries such different genres and tones in his work. The jarring differences between Era 1 and Era 2 aren't everyone's cup of tea, but as someone who likes everything from Regency Romance to social satire to epic fantasy to murder mystery, I love that there's a Brandon book for all my ephemeral moods! lol I will admit that coming into Alloy directly out of Era 1 was jarring. And it wasn't until I re-read Era 2 a couple years later, back to back, that I truly fell in love with it. Now I think the characters are some of my favorites and it's a much more light hearted, easier read for me, and sometimes that's exactly what I need.
  6. I always felt that because Kel was so little connected to Preservation that he had difficulty controlling the power--not that he couldn't use it to destroy bc of its intent but he really couldn't control it at all. I think that Taravangian being a new host will help him to control the power better in these early stages, and my guess is that this is cultivation's aim--shake things up temporarily and give her plan a chance to develop and grow, knowing that the Odium power will take anyone over eventually, but by then, her plan will (hopefully?) be in motion?
  7. They may well have renounced Odium, but honor and cultivation may not have realized that Odium could create the unmade, and then "poof" the Thrill. I wouldn't be surprised if the war was facilitated by the Thrill--which is why it happened so fast.
  8. Because of the age of the actors, every year that goes by, we get new options as new teen actors emerge. By the time this happens, all of our options will be their Back Five ages lol. BUT, I never let pragmatism get in the way of a good speculation hehe I kept thinking of HoYeon Jung (from Squid Game) as Shallan, particularly this photo:
  9. Well I have all three already, but you know I'll have to get the omnibus too. Luckily, we've now entered an era where my daughter is into graphic novels, so I can use that as an excuse to purchase it. lol
  10. ARGH. But I will say that Mistborn was *satisfying* and I hope this one will be too. That it won't be GRRM grim dark, but will end with a satisfying hopefulness, even if I'm racked with sobs throughout the entire denouement.
  11. Good find. I think many of us had thought "Killer of" or "Knights of" were likely "K" words, but it's good to see that Knights is settled on. I don't know how I feel about "woeful truth" but my guess is that it will fit the inworld book quite well, but boy it does NOT bode well for our heroes. "Woeful Truth" just...does not promise a very happy ending. lol
  12. I am loving this thread. SO much to think about. I think Dalinar's power is going to end up being insanely powered up, and it will be limited only by his Intent and his ethics, which is the difference between him and Ishar. Ishar's powers are not "greater" than Dalinar's, they are just better known to him, and are magnified by how his insanity affects his Intent. There's going to be a "with great power, comes great responsibility" moment, which is what Honor's rules were meant to externally impose on the orders. What I want to know is how Cultivation feels about all of this. She played the long game with Taravangium and Szeth to get rid of Rayse. She set Dalinar up to be able to make the choice he made in Oathbringer. What is she after? I am certain she knows exactly what Dalinar will be able to do with his powers, and her future sight is likely pretty good. So where does she come into play? She's not an antagonist. But she's not a protagonist either.
  13. This timeline suggests that W&W is about 9 years after RoW/SA Book 5. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JJtJhHwpKdow01n2-bsT3scVvqJd6lZh4uvpNwcslv8/edit#gid=0 It's a fairly well-researched theorizing, although not canon.
  14. I don’t think that walking down the street should count as provoking violence. And while she knew she could protect herself, the criminals do not. I don’t see how that matters. I think it’s okay to expect Jasnah to show them mercy. I also think it’s okay that she didn’t. This is not our society—where there is a criminal justice system of any sort. Or any sort of rule of law or accountability. In fact, that’s a key component of my reaction. It’s not even Batman-esque in that there is a whole Gotham police force that she could call in to do the job. This was not just a failure of these individuals, but a failure of the system to keep its people safe. So she did it. I think it’s fine that some people are really uncomfortable with this! It’s really a fascinating philosophical debate. But that’s why I shared my perspective. Which is odd because I’m a Shallan super fan, and a super-pacifist irl, so perhaps I’m an odd choice to completely understand (and kind of agree with) Jasnah’s actions here.
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