Ahriman

I guess another one of my unpopular opinions is that I like the lack of humour. I just don't usually think Sanderson is that funny.

The nodes just felt like a video game to me. Too much talking about the magic and how it works. Too much cosmere stuff. The scene with Wit and Jasnah just made him look like a moron and Jasnah look like a stereotype.

Okay, I finished the book a week or two ago and I've gotten most of my thoughts together, in no particular order. First of all, I read this without having read Dawnshard, and was confused at a couple points. Those were rectified when I read it after. I had wanted to see if the novellas could be skipped, because I hadn't enjoyed Edgedancer and couldn't even remember who Rysn was, but it makes a few things a little awkward, so I won't try that again. I still felt like the characters had figured a lot out in between books, which hadn't been stated (Ba-Ado-Mishram and the False Desolation, etc). Part one did a decent job of introducing how things had changed, although I have no idea how many of the Windrunners were new characters and how many were there in previous books, because I've officially given up on keeping track. I also appreciate Kaladin's failed romance being between books, because both romance plots and Kaladin's feelings bore me. Speaking of Kaladin's feelings, I actually liked him in this book, as opposed to just tolerating him. Normally I find all the mental issues in the series a bit much, but seeing him set up a real mental health service was very satisfying and I hope that continues. I also liked seeing him constantly outwit the Pursuer, although the Pursuer himself didn't feel like a great villain to me, more of an example of how mad the Fused are. Seeing as Leshwi's whole thing in this book was just watching Raboniel, and Raboniel herself was weird, this book felt a bit odd in terms of villains. I was hoping for more Unmade. Kaladin's plot with going to find each node and break it in time felt a bit repetitive too, and a bit like a video game. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I find Sanderson's magic, along with related plots, has that feeling sometimes. Shallan was interesting, but not particularly surprising. Ialai is dead now, but I've felt like all the Sadeas-related people have just died without much resolution, so I don't have much of a response to that. Watching Shallan develop another personality and figure out that she had killed the deadeye Cryptic was, like I said, interesting but predictable. I was glad to see her have a breakthrough and turn on the Ghostbloods, and I'll save my thoughts on Kelsier potentially being Thaidakar for the end. Very happy to see her coming to terms with Veil not being real. Adolin was satisfying. I've always liked a character who's just generally a good guy and doesn't have any major issues, although I still haven't given him a pass for killing Sadeas. I had hoped to see more of Shadesmar, and when we had an entire section without him and Shallan I was in a lot of suspense. Also, seeing where they were, I had just assumed they would finish up, come out in Tukar, and help Dalinar, so good on Sanderson for subverting expectations there. Maya was excellent in the trial, although I still don't want Adolin to be another Radiant. Speaking of new Kholin Radiants, Navani's plot was interesting. I loved Raboniel as a villain, but thought it was hard to believe that Navani would have trusted and underestimated her so much. Also, and this is probably an unpopular opinion here, I didn't care that much about the science. It's interesting but not that interesting, and I've never been as into dissecting exactly how magic works and gaming the system the way Sanderson likes to do it, so I felt that bit dragged on. Her bonding the Sibling was interesting since it was mainly self-preservation for both of them, and that should be something to watch. As far as Dalinar and Jasnah are concerned, that was probably the plotline that least interested me, but I don't actually find much fault with it. I liked seeing Jasnah acting like she suddenly had to prove herself, and I always enjoy whatever Dalinar does, although I thought it was a bit silly when he was yelling at the Stormfather for being a storm. Dalinar going to meet with Ishar was great, and the dead spren were incredibly creepy (and I'm only just now realising that if Adolin hadn't stepped in, there would be one more honorspren in that mix). Wit and Jasnah's relationship surprised me, and I thought the scene made Wit look surprisingly dumb. Also sure, I guess people like representation, but of all the characters, it's the cold, logical one who doesn't care about people's feelings who ends up being asexual? That seemed like a bit of a stereotype, as much as I love Jasnah. Taravangian becoming Odium was so sudden that I had to reread the scene. That was the one plot development that really surprised me. I'll find out how I feel about that in the next book. Moash sucks. Finally, Cosmere stuff as a whole. I didn't expect to find out four new Shards in one book, and Valor surprised me most of all of them. That was really interesting. But it's starting to feel like you need to have read other books to know what's going on in Stormlight, and I don't like that. I'm not the type to notice people from other planets or books, although I have read most of his other books. Kelsier being Thaidakar, which seems to be the case, really bugs me for that reason. I'm also a bit tired of him showing up anyway, but that's just me wanting people to stay dead. Also, Wit casually revealed that dragons existed, and that was a big surprise to me as well. Not part of the complaint, just something that threw me.

I think it's interesting that you've formatted this as a letter to Sanderson, although I doubt he'll read it here. Maybe you could find an email address to send it to if you want him to see it, or if you want to start a discussion that's fine too. I'm not sure what you mean by abusing readership, though. Most people don't tend to be personally hurt or affected by something that happens in fiction, and I wouldn't equate having a few unpleasant scenes, a quick character death, and main characters who hate themselves with Martin's work which, although I admit I haven't read it, certainly has a reputation for much more darkness and violence than is present in this series or any of Sanderson's works. I can see saying you don't care what happens if it's just going to be miserable no matter what, although I tend to find it quite an optimistic series, but it seems like you've taken some sort of personal offense from it. If I'm misreading what you said, I applogise, and I blame the hazy state of mind the holidays have left me with, but I fail to see how frequently making Kaladin miserable is abusive or detrimental to the readership in anyway. Also, have you finished Oathbringer? There are one or two things I want to mention, but they happen after that chapter. I don't want to spoil anything if you've only just read it and wanted to share your thoughts immediately.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It'll probably happen, but I really don't want to see Adolin become a Rediant.

I finished Starsight the other day, and the revelation about Doomslug and its species was pretty much what I expected. But at one point, I think when they were just going to Starsight for the first time, something weird happened. Spensa said "By who," and Doomslug responded by saying "Whom!" I took that as an indication that Doomslug could actually speak the language, but it hasn't been followed up on. What does everyone else think? Is it a typo, or something I've missed? Am I making a big deal of nothing? Or is there something else about the slugs? Maybe you really do have to be sentient to be cytonic.

I'm hoping for one of thr Windrunner squires to pass Kaladin in the oaths. I think it would be fascinating to watch Kaladin respond to Teft or someone else supplanting him. I'm also hoping for Dalinar to do something awesome and to see more of Cultivation, or at least her plans. And I'm hoping to watch Shallan's mental state continue to deteriorate, because it's really interesting to watch. And less puns.

I don't think so, seeing as I've gotten the implication that he was named Truthless because he said he was bonding a spren. But could the Shin have access to a diffferent magic system? The phrasing there makes it sound like he's listing the Shin as equivalent to the Knights Radiant and the Voidbringers.

I reread his stuff for the same reason, but there are some of his books I can't reread. It's mostly a humour thing, I just have a very different sense of humour than he usually does and it can grate on rereads. I reread Jordan a lot though, it's the only series I have on audiobook. I can jump into any given Wheel of Time book and orient myself quickly, because I spent so much time reading them when I was a teenager. With both authors it's amazing to see what they weave in, and you can learn a lot about how to tell a story.

We do know that, because Taravangian's mental state has only been so erratic for a few years. I think at some point they mention he had his faked illness shortly after the assassination. I always assumed Cultivation set up the Diagram. I neither know nor care if that's good or bad, but it will be fun to watch.

Was that confirmed? I know she thinks she met the Nightwatcher, and may have met both of them the way Dalinar did, which would mean that just asking if she met the Nightwatcher could be answered with a yes. I remember her mentioning that Dalinar reminded her of the spren that had given her her wish though, and the Nightwatcher didn't really touch him.

We're all just repeating ourselves at this point, and it's clear that nothing is going to change. My final comment is that no matter how much you insist that the actions taken at the Rift are ignored or treated like they aren't a big deal, the fact remains that they are a big deal, unless I hallucinated the part where Dalinar had a complete breakdown when he remembered what happened. And as far as unpersuasive arguments go, I can't top claiming that Sanderson writing his story the way he wants is a bad thing.

I've never paid much attention to other people's feelings on the matter, but I dislike Moash more than anyone else because he's just as whiny and self righteous as Kaladin without any of the redeeming qualities. My hope is for a good part of the series to consist of those two torturing each other.

You could hypothetically have a survivor as a main character later, but there are already a lot of main characters, and I'm pretty sure there's a plan for each flashback sequence already. And it doesn't need the perspective of a victim to make readers feel that it was a horrible crime. I know you've said you feel like it's being completely ignored, but plenty of people here have shared their reactions to it and pointed out that it isn't being ignored, and the next book will likely deal with major consequences of it. Why judge a story before it's done? You keep bringing up Dalinar not killing the kid, almost like it was wrong of Sanderson to not tell the audience. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting you, but I don't see where you're coming from on that. It's just Sanderson being good at suspense, and it has an impact when we find out the truth. Part of that impact is to make his massacre more intense. And again, nobody is ignoring it. I have a hard time believing it will be treated as lightly as Adolin's murder of Sadeas. I'm still not sure why you're making judgements based on a plot that has yet to be resolved. As far as Dalinar being indispensable, he is. Whether or not the author could turn around and kill him off is irrelevant, and being indespensable to the war effort doesn't mean he can't die anyway, but there would be very few people who wanted to win against Odium who would sanction any action against him. I could see Taravangian manufacturing a survivor and presenting the same situation you have, as a way to try to turn them against him and undermine the alliance. Keeping him around wouldn't be a decision based on morality, but on practicality, since not being destroyed by a vengeful god is more important than enacting punishment on one man. Dalinar is the only one of them who seems to really understand the struggle against Odium, because he's the only one who's met him. Besides, putting him in the position he has doesn't mean he's considered exceptionally moral, it just means his current values align more with a specific Shard. Shards aren't necessarily good or evil, so why should anyone being a Shard's champion inherently involve a moral assessment of their character?

Nobody really gets absolution in this. I had no sympathy for him, but any culpability of his isn't important now. And given that Odium's whole thing is getting into people's heads by having them foist blame onto others, I just don't see a point in assigning blame. Especially with him being dead and all.

1. I think we can all agree that there is no objective measure of self-redemption. Given that, many, if not most people find repentance to be the most important part of it. That's clearly present. 2. A scene from the perspective of a victim during the fire wouldn't have worked with the flashback format, since we were reading things as Dalinar was remembering them, and he wouldn't have anyone else's memories. And many people, including me, were disturbed by his actions, but those don't immediately disqualify him from changing. I'm curious what you think the line is between redeemable and irredeemable. I know that's a loaded question, and probably impossible to answer, but what's the worst possible thing that you would be willing to forgive him for having done instead of that, assuming everything else from the books was the same? 3. No arguments here, shifting the blame means nothing. The whole point is that it was his failt. 4. As people have already said, plenty of readers would be against executing Dalinar. I would be, for several reasons. That would be nothing but revenge, and it would be incredibly shortsighted to even attempt. Dalinar is the head of the good guys because he's the only one who can lead them. Sanderson didn't sweep anything under the rug, we've seen the feelings of other leaders and soldiers who were with him at the Rift, and we'll likely see reactions in the next book. But Dalinar is bonded to the Stormfather, knows how to run a war, and at this point basically exists to unify people. None of his allies in their right minds would want him removed, and definitely not executed. More importantly, he doesn't see himself as redeemed or completely absolved. Someone would, in your hypothetical, probably have to talk him out of submitting to the execution, because he would feel compelled to atone directly and that would cripple the war effort. The good guys don't have to be perfect, or even that good. They just have to be the people that are needed right now, doing the things that are needed. And I certainly wouldn't say Sanderson messed anything up by doing it this way. He's going to write his books however he wants. I don't think the parts I disagree with are mistakes.

I don't mind rebuilding an order or ideal, but I really am tired of people, entities, whatever you want to call them not staying dead. I don't think it's entirely about resurrecting the old ways though, this is a world that has made too much progress for that to be possible. Things are going to change, and I expect that even if they take the old names and something of the structure, they will be more something new than they will be the old orders. I'd be surprised if Sanderson played the old fantasy trope of everything ancient being better, especially since he's had Taln point out that giving Roshar time to progress and build is imporant. But this has gotten pretty far off topic. In regards to dead spren, Sanderson will (and should) do what he wants and I'll enjoy most of what he does regardless.

I know, but it would still essentially be resurrection, which I don't have much patience for in fiction.

I don't want it to happen at all. Let him keep a blade that's almost conscious if he must, but I have no interest in seeing anyone come back from the dead. I also don't want Adolin to be anything approaching a Knight Radiant.

Szeth did choose to do that. At any point, he could have just decided to walk away. It would have been hard for him, and it would have flown in the face of his culture, but he was still choosing to do horrible things that also flew in the face of his cultural values. I don't think he's any less redeemable than anyone else, but he is responsible for his own actions and I'm sure he'll deal with the consequences in some way. That's a very good point, and I'm not sure why I haven't heard it before. I find it interesting that even though I don't believe anything makes you completely irredeemable, I find the idea of such an absolute good action to be even more ridiculous. It might just be that good is a difficult concept to define, while we have an instinctive response to abhorrent actions, but the argument is definitely logical. I'm going to use that from now on.

This is very true, speaking from my own experience as a writer as well as my own religious beliefs. You give them a redemption arc if it will make the story better, and this one certainly has. More accurately, if Dalinar didn't have this redemption arc we wouldn't have much of a story at all. Now, one of the most important parts of a good redemption arc, in my opinion at least, is dealing with and accepting the consequences of your actions. If you have a repentant serial killer, for instance, he will still go to jail without resisting. Dalinar faces no legal consequences like that, however, because he committed no crimes. It was a war, and it was an Alethi war, sanctioned by the state under Alethi laws. It wasn't a war crime, because those don't exist in that world. It's a fairly new concept in our own world, not without its own brutality, and even here it's pretty subjective who gets charged. As for the religious part of my statement, which I think is fairly close to the beliefs Sanderson's religion has on the matter, no character inherently deserves redemption because no person ever deserves redemption. But the fact that nobody deserves redemption doesn't stop it from being given out to those who seek it, which is what we see an example of. If my family had been at the Rift I might not be able to forgive Dalinar personally, but that wouldn't affect his own redemption from that point of view. It would be my personal struggle. I think what makes this one of the best redemption arcs I've seen in fiction is that it generates discussions like this. We definitely wouldn't have as many people on his side if we had started with his violent, drunken, explosive temper. Maybe another question we could ask ourselves is if Sanderson fooled us by showing us the new noble Dalinar, seeking after honour and truth, or if he did us a favour by letting us look at the man without regard to his actions earlier in life.

Personally, I have no problem with Dalinar's narrative. That's because I categorically reject the idea of anyone being irredeemable. However, I suspect his kids would have a problem with it, despite Alethi culture supporting his actions and the truth only being a little different than what they were told. Nobody likes being deceived, least of all important people who are regularly privy to state secrets. And when people's mothers' deaths are involved, they wont think objectively, because of course they love their mothers. Given that Adolin has had a fairly unhealthy obsession with making his father proud of him, I can see that really shattering his respect for a while. Not forever, but maybe for a book. Come to think of it, finding out about all Shallan's secrets too could give the guy some serious trust issues.

I hadn't thought of that. I looked it up and the feminine form of the title is Ba'alah. That seems very similar to me, but there could be something else.

Could Ba-Ado-Mishram be from Ba'al? Also, why did I only just notice that the more intelligent an Unmade is, the more hyphens they get?

I don't know if it's been confirmed or not, but I'm 100% certain he included that in the book. I'm sure that he'll tell his family and inner circle ahead of time, cause you don't make your kid hear about that in the news, but he wants to clear the air. Dalinar doesn't go for half measures. And yes, I'm excited to see the impact it has.