darkanimereal1

Has anyone seen this video yet? Highstorm sighting in Wyoming.... http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/19/313968112/whoa-watch-a-spectacular-supercell-take-form-in-wyoming?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140519

She's witty enough.

Huh, this is probably completely unrelated, but I find it interesting that the idea of "immense gravitational pull" could apply to Roshar, which actually has a lower gravitational force than Earth.

If Roshar is upside-down, then it would be rotating clockwise (with regard to the sun--it'd still be rotating counter-clockwise with regard to its poles). But then the sun would still rise in the west, which it's not doing. (Unless they call "down" north? I don't know, that seems a little too far fetched.) Right? I could be visualizing this wrong. I was using a pen to try to imitate the rotation of Roshar and then figure out its orientation with regards to the sun, so I could have messed up somewhere. I know a lot of people have mentioned this, but the rotation of the landmass is weird. If you look at a picture of a hurricane in the northern hemisphere (like Katrina), it rotates counter-clockwise. Roshar (the continent), however, also rotates counter-clockwise, despite being in the southern hemisphere. So there's something really weird going on there. Also, I find it really strange that the highstorms are one gigantic wall (gigantic enough to cover at least half of the globe--the southern hemisphere--in one sweep) rather than being a swirling shape like a storm on Earth. I wonder what a highstorm would look like from a satellite image...

So that begs the fun question: how do shardpools manifest themselves in Shadesmar?

Dude, I totally hear you. Honestly, I think I was rather harsh on Adolin after I first read it too. Because it's like, SHALLAN AND KALADIN ARE SO AMAZING. Hahaha. But I've had a solid week to let it all simmer and stop obsessing over them, plus to read through twenty pages of other people's opinions, so I've gone a bit softer on Adolin since then. Def not trying to rip you down, just wanted to throw my own thoughts in I hear you on this, too. I'm totally not disagreeing. The vast majority of their relationship is built on physical attraction. Which isn't wrong, and there are other parts to it as well (like I pointed out). Still, I agree that I don't see enough depth in their relationship to indicate that they have enough to make a long term thing out of it. I mean, who knows. Could change in book three. But I do agree here, too Actually, when I said "Shallan knows all too well what it’s like to kill someone in the moment," I was actually referring to her killing her mom. I agree that there are major differences between Sadeas' murder and the murder of both of Shallan's parents. In fact, there's major differences between the murder of her father and mother as well. Adolin killed Sadeas in cold blood. Shallan killed her mother in (what I assume to be) unthinking, reflexive self defense. But Shallan had quite a bit of time to coolly assess and then execute her father's murder (this time not in self defense, but to protect her brother). I guess what I'm saying is that, although I really don't think that Shallan will be in any way okay with Sadeas' murder (to the contrary--the fact that Adolin killed him in rage actually seems very similar to Lin Davar's problem. Lin killed his second wife in a moment of pure fury, and I doubt that Shallan will be able to sympathize with that in any way, shape, or form), she at least knows what it's like to kill someone in a moment without really thinking it through: her mom. Again, the murders were fundamentally different, but I guess all I'm saying is that she at least has a similar situation. I'm not sure exactly how that will translate into their relationship, but I do think it will become important. Haha, I guess what I'm saying is that I agree with you, but for different reasons? Oh well (I think I just enjoy discussing the romantic subplots way too much and am finding any excuse I can to continue to rant about them. Because I'm a hopeless romantic, and Brandon did not disappoint, in my eyes. There is so much complexity and detail worked into the relationships--not just romantic, but all of the character relationships--and having been an English major I'm just reveling in the chance to get to do some high profile analysis of this type of thing on my favorite fantasy series )

@Lamora Okay, I'm a rather big Shalladin fan (just wanted to point that out as context for this post). That being said, I think that there are a few things you're misreading about Shallan's relationships. I think the general picture you have is pretty much right, but some of the details you pointed out I don’t agree with. First off, although I do agree that Shallan was far more honest with Kaladin than she ever was with Adolin, I wouldn't go so far as to say that that's a deal breaker. I mean, I’m fairly certain that this will be the case: I really don’t picture things working out between Shallan and Adolin. However, one of the things that I love about Brandon more than anything else is his ability to take my expectations and completely shred them to pieces with fantastic twists. Interestingly enough, one of the biggest twists in WoR (for me personally) was the development of Shallan’s relationship with Kaladin. Based on TWoK, I did not expect this. However, it was hinted at in WoR even before the two of them met (see my earlier post about the horses), so I wasn’t very surprised by the progression of their relationship as the book went on. Honestly, this kind of bummed me out, I think mostly because I was taken off guard. I was expecting not to be able to see where his plot was going, and there were a lot of things that happened in this book that were obvious from early on (not all, but a lot). That being said, I don’t think we should be lulled into a false sense of complacency. Just because Adolin and Shallan’s relationship has been very shallow so far does NOT mean that there is zero chance of them staying together for the long run (which, from your wording, is what you seem to be implying). Both Adolin and Shallan have a lot of character growth to do (Adolin in particular), and we know for a fact that Brandon is “fond of conflict in relationships.” (That is word for word what I overheard him telling the person in front of me at the signing ). Based on all of this, even though I agree that it is highly unlikely that things will work out between Adolin and Shallan (due to their rather shallow relationship and Shallan’s inability to be truthful with him so far, as well as a myriad of other reasons), I wouldn’t quite write it off just yet. I highly agree with what you said: Sanderson knows how to surprise. Now that I have that generalization out of the way, I also wanted to comment on a few little things. I actually disagree with this. True, the vast majority of Shallan’s thoughts about Adolin (particularly from her PoV) are physical and very shallow. But you’re forgetting a key part of the scene when Shallan defended Adolin while talking with Kaladin. I don’t have my book on me, so I can’t quote it, but I think Shallan does admire Adolin. He’s very genuine and makes people feel at ease (Shallan points out him playing around with the others--I think they were kids?). She’s rather sarcastic when she tells Kaladin, “Oh yeah, Adolin is so hard to get along with.” I think this is one of Adolin’s traits that Shallan is really drawn to. Adolin is very personable and friendly. So even though Shallan tends to focus on the physical attributes, I think she’s well aware of his other ones as well. Okay, I have mixed feelings about this. You make a good point when you point out that Shallan probably won’t find Adolin a match for her intelligence-wise. This has been discussed at length in the thread already (I mean, what hasn’t? We’re at almost 20 pages now. Lol). This is one of the biggest reasons I’m fairly certain that Shallan will wind up with Kaladin and not Adolin--Shallan and Kaladin have the same kind of intelligence, and they’re both very witty and quick with quips. The quips, in particular, are key. Since her mother’s death, quips have been the way that Shallan shows her love and affection for those around her (starting with her brothers). The fact that Adolin doesn’t get this and Kaladin does (or at least seems to) indicates to me which one will win in the end. HOWEVER. (…Yes, the caps are necessary.) I don’t think Adolin is pathetic, and I don’t think Shallan does either. Kaladin was purposely speaking in a roundabout fashion so that Adolin wouldn’t realize he was being insulted. That’s a pretty sly way of insulting someone, and not particularly nice. How can someone defend themselves if they don’t realize they’re being attacked? In fact, based on Shallan’s reaction, she seems to think that it’s Kaladin, and not Adolin, who is pathetic in that situation. And I agree. Beyond that, Shallan points out at least once (I think a few times) that Adolin is not stupid. Because he isn’t. He’s very smart, just in different ways. Just like Kaladin and Shallan are both strong people, just in different ways. There isn’t just one kind of “smart,” and then you’re either intelligent or you’re not. And Shallan gets that. However, like I said, I think Kaladin has the same kind of smarts as Shallan, which makes them fit together more nicely. As for Adolin killing Sadeas. Um, not quite sure I agree with your assessment. I think it will definitely throw a wrench in Adolin and Shallan’s relationship. However, Shallan knows all too well what it’s like to kill someone in the moment. For different reasons, yes, but she still knows. So I’m not quite sure that what you’re assuming will be true. And her family… I have mixed feelings on this (not just what you said here, but what a lot of people have said). Shallan’s family is very tattered, and I also think they’re very vulnerable. I wouldn’t be surprised if they play a much bigger role in Shallan’s relationships than everyone here seems to assume. Just because her family is currently promised to arrive safely at Urithiru doesn’t mean much. I mean, it’s Mraize who made that promise. Mraize. I have a feeling there’s going to be a catch. All of this being said, I completely agree with your very first point: I think if anyone can pull of a love triangle (in any form), it’s Brandon.

So, I remember Brandon saying somewhere that "Stones Unhallowed" as an in-world book is a very different kind of book. He didn't say much else, but hinted that it wouldn't be like other in-world texts. Of course, now I have to try to remember where I heard that (I've been listening to a lot of his readings/general Q&As from signings in the last week). If I can find it, I'll post a link.

Eh, I'm not so sure about this. My first reaction is to feel the same way. But one of the things I love most about Brandon's writing is that his characters all develop in such amazing ways, which often are unexpected. Shallan's development, especially, in WoR was just wonderful. I think that the fact that Jasnah is so completely removed/seen as "above" all this is a good indication that we'll get some major character growth. I'm not saying this will 100% come in the form of a relationship (although considering how many times Shallan has expressed the fact that Jasnah never seems to notice men's eyes on her, this could very well be the case...). However, the small hint of "Jasnah's weakness" that we got in the chapter right before the Ghostbloods attempted to murder her on the ship indicates to me that we have a lot more to see in the way of growth as far as Jasnah is concerned. For starters, she needs to learn how to ask for help when she needs it, which in turn also has to do with being able to trust in and rely on others (both of which are hugely important things to learn in a relationship). So I wouldn't rule this one out yet.

Okay, one more thing I noticed. If you look at the KR surges chart compared to the (what we think is) the voidbinder surges chart, the glyphs representing the surges are all very similar. KR: http://coppermind.net/wiki/File:TWoK_Front_Endsheet.jpg Voidbringer: http://coppermind.net/wiki/File:TWoK_Rear_Endsheet.jpg The KR glyphs are symmetrical across the vertical axis, whereas the void surge glyphs are the same basic shape symmetrical across a diagonal axis. It just made me really question the shape of Roshar, which is symmetrical diagonally. I'm not exactly sure what it could mean, but I found it really interesting.

Okay, we know a few things about the highstorms. They take about one day to move all the way across the the continent. We also known that they generally come about every five days (once a week). Also, they have a list of what they think are predicted Everstorm dates from the epitaphs in WoR. Let me go find the link and I'll post it

At the Dayton signing, Brandon talked about this. I have it recorded, although I haven't been able to write up a transcript of it yet. Basically he said something like this: There WILL be a time gap between books, but not so long that the characters from the first arc will be gone. They WILL be in the second arc. Also, from a different WoB, we know that the Heralds will be more prominently featured in the second arc than the first.

I don't think we have proof yet that Cryptics are "Cultivantiony" (although I do tend to think they are). However, we know that Wyndle is closely related to Cultivation (he calls her Mother in a similar way to how Syl calls the Stormfather her father). We also know that Wyndle does care quite a bit about how Lift acts. Most of the time he's just fretting and complaining, but she also acts very closely to her oaths, particularly when helping out the new Prime. So I don't think that Cultivation-related spren care less about how the person they bond with acts. I think they just care about different attributes.

I just had a thought. What if the "skill" that Peter mentioned was knowing a foreign language? I know that Brandon has said that since Scadrial is his "Earth analogue" it had a lot that was familiar to our world. Roshar tends to be far more alien, so this may not transfer as well in this case (since Roshar has much less in common with Earth). However, what if one of the names on the map has some other meaning in a foreign language? Or even just sounds like a foreign word. In that case, it wouldn't be anything cosmere- or plot-shattering, but it still would be pretty cool, and may make sense why they were surprised no one had noticed it yet. For instance, we know that Elend's and Straff's names have Germanic roots. In fact, "Elend" in German means "misery"--or, as an adjective, "forelorn, miserable, woeful, etc." (I had long been hoping that this was just a coincidence, but it now looks like that was on purpose.) "Straff" means tense/firm. Maybe one of the names of the places is a little detail like that?

Have we? I don't think this is the case. It's been a while since I read TWoK, so I could be remembering wrong, but I don't think we ever actually see a "Symbolhead" in the physical world in TWoK. Only in Shallan's drawings. Pattern is the first Cryptic we see in the physical world. Also, Pattern looks different in Shadesmar--how he looks there resembles the Symbolheads Shallan sees in TWoK.