greenturtles6 Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 David would have actually gained Epic powers? I was so excited when he was up there with Calamity, but a bit disappointed when he managed to get away. I think the story would have been a lot cooler if David had forcibly gained Epic powers... we would actually have gotten to see what was going on inside an Epic's head, and it would have been really cool. Plus, then the climax would have been David finding a way to overcome his fears/weakness, and Megan saving him and overcoming hers, because then they both would have Epic powers to work to stop together Prof. The rest of the plot would have been about the same, but, I'm sorry... I was waiting half the book for David to get Epic powers after hints were dropped about people being turned into Epics, and I was disappointed that he got away so easily. Do you agree? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragsiez Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 That'd be like an easter bunny joining a villian, like Bizarro (Anti-superman) because the bunny wants to be evil. But yes, I admit. It would be very cool if he DID get powers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 It could have been cool, but it also would have removed the underdog element from the story. Giving David powers would have placed him on a more even keel with Prof and other Epics (unless he got really lame powers like Curveball's, but since it was Calamity himself giving the powers, that seems unlikely), and in doing so it would have made the rest of the series less thrilling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vision Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 It could have been cool, but it also would have removed the underdog element from the story. Giving David powers would have placed him on a more even keel with Prof and other Epics (unless he got really lame powers like Curveball's, but since it was Calamity himself giving the powers, that seems unlikely), and in doing so it would have made the rest of the series less thrilling. Pretty sure his powers were going to be a repeat of the spyril powers. Meaning he'd be pretty underpowered compared to most when not in Babilar. But, I get the point. So... overcoming a fear allows you to become sane if you're an epic, and allows you to reject becoming an epic if you're not. And since David would have gone all 'the Rending' on his friends if he accepted, the only choice was to reject the powers before testing them. So how does the transition from chapters 41 to 42 work? He literally says that he's become an epic, but because he doesn't test his powers first, he's allowed to reject them? Could he now have latent epic powers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasimir Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) I admit that it would be cool, and that was kind of my reaction, but past that initial gut response, I prefer that he doesn't. It would have been interesting, don't get me wrong, and it would've been especially interesting, I think, as an extension of the "Well, are there better ways to handle Epics? Do we just kill all of them? What do we do about Epics, really?" questioning that David is going through, courtesy of Megan and the fact that Steelheart is dead. And yet at the same time, it doesn't really fit as well. For one, the whole selling point of David and the Reckoners--at least the way it hooked me was as a telling of the Badchull Normal. For another, if David was someone who thoroughly hated all Epics, a lot more strongly than he does, then yes, we could've gotten an interesting tension if he'd become one. But David's position on Epics had become (if it ever shifted from the beginning) more nuanced than that. I enjoyed the repeat of what David's father said: "Sometimes, you have to help the heroes along." It's got a pretty promising angle, in how it shifts the light in which David regards Prof and Megan. But there's also a second (to me, underlying) idea there: maybe he's looking in the wrong place for heroes. Or rather, the heroes are everywhere. Including, it seems, in David himself. (And in that sense, his father did help the heroes along.) tldr; it would gel with the first reading of that theme, but it wouldn't work so well with the second, which is that you can find heroism in the mundane. Edited January 11, 2015 by Kasimir 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 Who is to say that David did not gain epic powers from Calamity? Sure, he didn't ever use them. But how do we know that he doesn't still have the potential to do so? Perhaps if he is overly tempted? Are we so certain it was a one-shot deal? Along these lines, do we know whether people can refuse giftings from other epics? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlucill Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 I got it on audiobook so i don't remember the exact quote, but regalia said something about "fitting powers." What did she mean by that? Fitting given his fear of water, fitting given his status as steelslayer, fitting given his proclivity for bad similies? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vineyarddawg Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 Regalia said that Calamity promised that David's powers would be "thematically appropriate." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaa Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) David's fear was water, so even if he did become an Epic, I don't think Calamity would give him water powers (regardless of Regalia's request) because water would have been his weakness. He'd have received a different "thematically appropriate" power. Given that he already conquered his fear, a hypothetical Epic David would be immune to the Rending. So, is it possible that David did become an Epic, but has yet to discover his powers since he did not go on a crazed power-wielding killing-spree? There is evidence to the contrary: Prof was still able to Gift him shielding and healing powers after his experience with Calamity, and I believe it was said that an Epic can't receive powers through Gifting. I'm assuming that this restriction still applies to "sane" Epics, though, which might not be the case. Also, it's possible that David's Epic power is the ability to absorb some of the Epic energy (I almost said "Investiture" ) from another Epic, kind of like a reverse-Gifting effect, such that what we thought as Prof Gifting David was actually David taking from Prof. In other words, David may or may not be an Epic now. I hope he is. He'll need all the help he could get to survive the war against Prof and the other insane Epics, especially now that he no longer has access to Prof's gifts. Edited January 12, 2015 by skaa 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junior Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 David felt something even before Calamity spoke to him. He *knew* that he'd been granted epic powers. Presumably he no longer feels that "something", and this is one of the reasons why he believes he no longer has whatever Calamity offered him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerhumXen Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 I still think he became an Epic and I'm going to ignore the whole gifting thing. I don't think it would have been what Regalia was expecting though. His nickname is now Steelslayer and I think the theme might revolve around that. At the beginning of chapter 42; "Hand on the surface of the water, I peered into those depths. Just beneath me was an ancient steel bridge cluttered with a line of rusted cars. A window into another world, an old world, a time before." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natc Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 What if he has the power to hurt invincible Epics? Slayer and all. But honestly it would suck unless he stays the underdog that relies on quick thinking and prodigious amounts of improvising to win. It's what the series is about, he's the guy that kills people with superpowers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taveren Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 maybe he could control metal now if only there was a cool name for someone with magnet powers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfather Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 David also says he turned down the Epic powers, so I think and hope he is not an epic. I honestly almost put the book down right away when I got to that part because it would have changed everything of who david was in the series, a normal person that fought powerful people. For me, making David an epic changes it too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 I still think he became an Epic and I'm going to ignore the whole gifting thing. I don't think it would have been what Regalia was expecting though. His nickname is now Steelslayer and I think the theme might revolve around that. At the beginning of chapter 42; When I was listening to the book I totally thought David was going to lift that bridge out of the water with magnetic powers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Has anyone had the gumption, temerity, or just down-right awesomeness to ask Brandon what David's power would have been if he had accepted it?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulcastJam Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 (edited) David also says he turned down the Epic powers, so I think and hope he is not an epic. I honestly almost put the book down right away when I got to that part because it would have changed everything of who david was in the series, a normal person that fought powerful people. For me, making David an epic changes it too much. Show some faith man! Besides, when has someone actually put down a Sanderson novel after starting. =) Has anyone had the gumption, temerity, or just down-right awesomeness to ask Brandon what David's power would have been if he had accepted it?? I'm pretty sure this is a RAFO. If he answered then there's no question of whether David actually has power and hasn't used it or will get it in the future. Edited January 28, 2015 by soulcastJam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Star Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 David not getting powers rubs me the wrong way. An epic who faces their fears possibly becomes more awesome by eliminating their weakness, or at worst, keeps their power and weakness and isn't forced to be evil anymore. David is able to face his fear WHILE TALKING TO CALAMITY, and possibly gets nothing. That just seems... underwhelming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaa Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) David not getting powers rubs me the wrong way. An epic who faces their fears possibly becomes more awesome by eliminating their weakness, or at worst, keeps their power and weakness and isn't forced to be evil anymore. David is able to face his fear WHILE TALKING TO CALAMITY, and possibly gets nothing. That just seems... underwhelming. Reminds me of the Rithmatist. Is Megan going to be David's Melody? Will Joel and David get powers in the end? Will Calamity turn out to be Legion all along, and will the Smedrys be able to stop Prof who, surprise surprise, becomes the leader of the Librarians?! Sorry, I got a bit carried away. Edit: Just an aside, I noticed that someone negated the upvote in my previous post in this thread. Not cool, man. But hey, it's your right. I just don't know how that post could have possibly been offensive. Update: And now a kind soul has upvoted that post. You're awesome, whoever you are. Edited February 1, 2015 by skaa 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Reminds me of the Rithmatist. Is Megan going to be David's Melody? Will Joel and David get powers in the end? Will Calamity turn out to be Legion all along, and will the Smedrys be able to stop Prof who, surprise surprise, becomes the leader of the Librarians?! Sorry, I got a bit carried away. If I had to put money on it I'd say Joel yes, David no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Arum Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 maybe he could control metal now if only there was a cool name for someone with magnet powers Controlling metals doesn't mean magnetic powers. But, there is indeed a name for someone who can control/use metals: Allomancer. Read Mistborn,and you'll understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 I think he was talking about Magneto. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kage Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 David would have actually gained Epic powers? I was so excited when he was up there with Calamity, but a bit disappointed when he managed to get away. I think the story would have been a lot cooler if David had forcibly gained Epic powers... we would actually have gotten to see what was going on inside an Epic's head, and it would have been really cool. Plus, then the climax would have been David finding a way to overcome his fears/weakness, and Megan saving him and overcoming hers, because then they both would have Epic powers to work to stop together Prof. The rest of the plot would have been about the same, but, I'm sorry... I was waiting half the book for David to get Epic powers after hints were dropped about people being turned into Epics, and I was disappointed that he got away so easily. Do you agree? I suppose it would have been a little bit more interesting, but I actually like how it turned out. I mean, David overcame it and that is a good thing. He never wanted to be an Epic. I believe it worked out fairly well and him getting powers wouldn't have made it much more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 David not getting powers rubs me the wrong way. An epic who faces their fears possibly becomes more awesome by eliminating their weakness, or at worst, keeps their power and weakness and isn't forced to be evil anymore. David is able to face his fear WHILE TALKING TO CALAMITY, and possibly gets nothing. That just seems... underwhelming. David doesn't "get nothing." He becomes the first and to date only person to be offered powers while in a position to face the rending and to turn it down. It's actually a really great character moment for David that he turns down the powers. Making it through that challenge without killing anyone is David's reward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Star Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 David doesn't "get nothing." He becomes the first and to date only person to be offered powers while in a position to face the rending and to turn it down. It's actually a really great character moment for David that he turns down the powers. Making it through that challenge without killing anyone is David's reward. Yeah, and without the Spyril, Regalia would have crushed him like a bug. He gets nothing but assurance that he won't turn evil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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