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Brandon Sanderson AMA 2015


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I suppose I might as well paste the answers to my questions here, though only the second one is slightly interesting.
 

QUESTION

- If a Misting burned the correct alloy of Lerasium and their metal, would that be akin to them becoming a Savant?

- Is the reason why Allomancy creates allomantic pulses visible to Seekers because it is an external magic drawing upon Preservation's power? In other words, is the reason why Feruchemy is much, much harder to detect by burning bronze because it is an internal magic?

And lastly...

- Any hints on Duralumin's effect on Gold and Electrum?


BRANDON SANDERSON

No.

 

Yes.

 

Nope. :)

(source)

Edited by yurisses
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Q: With the second draft of Calamity done and awaiting editor revisions, I thought I'd take this opportunity to re-approach a very common fan question. Do we learn Regalia's weakness in this novel, and if not, would you mind telling us what it is here?

A: Boy, I do get this one a lot. I'm wary of saying anything until Calamity is out, not because Regalia's weakness is specifically relevant, but because I've found that even the most innocent of things I say can sometimes lead to spoilers. The nature of the weaknesses is a big part of the three book arc of the Reckoners, so I don't want to hurt anything.
That said, as I mentioned, Regalia's weakness is not actually relevant. I've just been avoiding the question for reasons stated above.
Regalia's weakness was being proven wrong. If you could figure out something she'd done incorrectly, and prove it to her so she couldn't avoid the truth, she'd briefly lose local control of her powers. But I didn't want that book to be about figuring out/using her weakness, in order to distinguish it from books one and three, which use that as the major plot. So I avoided bringing up the idea, or really even using it in the story at all.
Q: Thank you very much for the answer! How hard would it be to trigger exactly? For example when David called Regalia to his location in the Reckoner hideout she figured out that she was searching for it in the wrong location. Is that why she took a while to appear or was there something specific about the situation that made it not count?
A: Yes. That is a time that would trigger her weakness.

Regalia's weakness up there.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crjrs6x?context=10000

 

Q: Both times when Kaladin has had to survive a Highstorm outside, he finds himself in an area of unnatural calm. Is the eye of the Highstorm not entirely in the physical realm? I've had this feeling that the calm area pulls people into Shadesmar, at least a little...

A: This is not 100% physical realm.

 
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Q: I think it is amazing that you are still working on this AMA! You confirmed at the Atlanta signing that 9-point constructions could be applied to ellipses to generate valid Rithmatic defenses. Could the same be done using open comics such as hyperbolas and parabolas? (Or do open conics become lines of Forbiddance instead of lines of Warding?) Also, the disparity in strength between the sides and points of an ellipse is attributed to their difference in curvature. Does this mean that a large circle is inherently weaker than a small circle since its local curvature is less?

A: Yes to all questions, though with a circle, there is an innate structural strength that does weaken with larger sizes, but it isn't as fast as the curvature would indicate.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crlt2ke?context=10000

 

Q: How did Hoid get to Scadrial? He didn't seem to know the location of Preservation's Shardpool until book 2, and I feel like him crawling out of the Pits of Hathsin would have created a bit of a stir... Unless he slipped out during the confusion caused by Kelsier...

A: In answer to your question, that IS a RAFO, but it's one I am planning to answer before too long.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crlt1k8?context=10000

 

Q: On Roshar, certain people seem to be able to always see spren (Rock comes to mind). Are there people who can never see them? Similarly, can people from other worlds see them?

A: Those with Listener blood are more likely to be able to interact with spren who aren't currently trying to manifest.

If they appear on the physical realm, then they're visible to all who can see.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crlsztl?context=10000

 

Q: Can you give us a rough timeline of the Kandra history, detailing when the generations were born relative to the rise of the contract system and to the Lord Ruler's Ascension?

A: In answer to your question...that's a little outside the scope of this AMA, I'm afraid. It would take me an hour or two of work to dig that out, polish it up, and present it. But perhaps it's something I can stick into a Mistborn encyclopedia someday.

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Q: To what extent can virtual objects be forced into Stephen's subconscious? Stephen says that "those who work closely with [him] know to just pantomime letting [his] mind fill in the details." Does there have to be a physical object present in order for it to interact with his aspects? JC conjures a virtual phone that clearly had no physical counterpart. Could someone lie to Stephen that they have a bazooka in a box, then pretend to pull it out and proceed to virtually blow holes in the room?

A: The object does not have to be present, but his subconscious has to see an idea as part of his psychosis for it to appear.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crn3oxc?context=10000

 

Q: So when the first mistborn trilogy ended, you did a great Q&A session and answered a lot of questions from those books. Do you plan on doing something like that for the Reckoners Trilogy?

A: I could see myself doing one.
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Q: On Roshar, certain people seem to be able to always see spren (Rock comes to mind). Are there people who can never see them? Similarly, can people from other worlds see them?

A: Those with Listener blood are more likely to be able to interact with spren who aren't currently trying to manifest.

If they appear on the physical realm, then they're visible to all who can see.

 

 

Hmm, then I suppose if Syl wants to pick something up/carry something or generally effect something in the physical realm in any meaningful way she will become visible to anyone.
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A commenter below mentioned that perhaps the mysterious "Lutha" might be a child, rather than a love interest (which is what many people assumed, especially after reading samples from Final Empire Prime).  

 

The question is did he have a child before who he turned into a mistwraith?  Or, did he have a relationship after becoming the Lord Ruler (perhaps with this "Lutha" person if that was not the name of his child), and have a child whose life he had to end to preserve his eternal rule.  

 

OR, third option: in my copy of Alloy of Law, Brandon wrote that the Lord Ruler once tried to give up the final empire.  What if this child was part of his attempt?  

 

My brain is buzzing like crazy over this.  I might need to start a topic, haha.  

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A commenter below mentioned that perhaps the mysterious "Lutha" might be a child, rather than a love interest (which is what many people assumed, especially after reading samples from Final Empire Prime).  

 

The question is did he have a child before who he turned into a mistwraith?  Or, did he have a relationship after becoming the Lord Ruler (perhaps with this "Lutha" person if that was not the name of his child), and have a child whose life he had to end to preserve his eternal rule.  

 

OR, third option: in my copy of Alloy of Law, Brandon wrote that the Lord Ruler once tried to give up the final empire.  What if this child was part of his attempt?  

 

My brain is buzzing like crazy over this.  I might need to start a topic, haha.  

 

You might find this thread interesting.

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For searching purposes:

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crpb8mn?context=10000

 

Q: I don't think I've seen this asked before, but... Did the Lord Ruler have children? Either as Rashek or as the Sliver of Infinity?

A: Yes.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crpbc8t?context=10000

 

Q: We've seen the drawing of a gigantic greatshell towering over a city in Way of Kings. Jasnah's book called it a voidbringer. How big was that compared to the Reshi islands greatshells? Do they look similar (proportions, etc.)? Are the Reshi islands greatshells really-really old? So old that someone pretentious enough to speak in all-caps could call them 'ancient ones'?

A: That picture is very, very inaccurate--by design. However, the Reshi Island greatshells were one of the models this illustrator in world used to create his fanciful drawing. They are, indeed, very long lived.
Q: If someone used Hemalurgy to give Lift from Words of Radiance the ability to use Bendalloy Feruchemy, could she convert the nutrition she gets out of Feruchemy into stormlight?
Two is theoretically possible, I suppose.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crpdsj8?context=10000

 

Q: In mistborn you can't access someone else's feruchemical stores. However, what if feruchemist A stores something, and then hemalurgy is used to take A's ability and put into person B. Can person B use A's stores?

Also, what happens when someone burns metal with a hemalurgic charge? Or stores/retrieves something in a spike using feruchemy?
A: All RAFOs here, I'm afraid.

 

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crstvds?context=10000

 

Q: This is involving gemstones and their properties on Roshar. Given that Sapphire and Ruby are actually the same crystal - corundum - differing only in their impurities - how would you explain the differences in their properties, with respect both to their essences and their function in fabrials? For example, I am assuming that two identical fabrials, one made with a sapphire and one made with a ruby, would not function the same. To take it a step further, any corundum that is not ruby red is simply called a sapphire of whichever color it happens to be (blue sapphire, green sapphire, colorless sapphire, etc.). How does this play into things; would a blue sapphire have different properties than a green one or a colorless one?

Edit: would this have anything to do with their identity in the cognitive realm? After all, identical twins can and do perceive themselves as individual people with unique properties (which they are), despite being similar genetically. So, a ruby could say "I am a ruby!" in shadesmar, and a sapphire, "I am a sapphire!" Or they could both say, "I am a corundum!"
A: This was a big part of the magic for me in working on Roshar, as I wanted the gems to work differently from Scadrials metals in order to avoid repetition. The fact that many gems are basically the same thing was one of the launching points actually. Let me say that you are on the right track.
On Roshar, color of the gem is more important than actual crystalline structure.

 

 

(This is not from the AMA)

http://www.reddit.com/r/whowouldwin/comments/37yn6r/a_full_shardbearerstormlight_vs_a_space_marine40k/crstw70?context=10000

 

Q: Paging /u/mistborn, would you like to weigh in on this? Who would win in a fight between a Full Shardbearer and a Space Marine?

A: I don't know 40k well enough to say. But you will see Shardbearers in space some day.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crstwpm?context=10000

 

Q: My question for you is this - I got the heeby-jeebies when Shallan heard about Amaram's collection of flutes within just a few pages of Wit bringing up the flute Kaladin lost?

All I can think of is that either: A) Wit's flute will end up among Amaram's collection to resurface later or B) In his work with the Sons of Honor, Amaram or his fellows have stumbled across some flute-related magic or splinterization and his flutes are the brethren and sistren of Wit's flute.
Is either of these the case? Or is there some other significance to Amaram's collection of nigh forbidden flutes?
A: It is significant. It is not a huge deal, but it is significant.
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A: This was a big part of the magic for me in working on Roshar, as I wanted the gems to work differently from Scadrials metals in order to avoid repetition. The fact that many gems are basically the same thing was one of the launching points actually. Let me say that you are on the right track.

On Roshar, color of the gem is more important than actual crystalline structure.

So it has more to do with how the physical structure of the gem effects light I guess. Which actually seems to fit well with Stormlight.

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Amazing how many things make sense in retrospect, eh? :D

 

There is somebody here losing their !@#$ over Shardbearers in space, and it's the most wonderful thing I have seen all morning. It's all fun, but the relevant bit is:

http://www.reddit.com/r/whowouldwin/comments/37yn6r/a_full_shardbearerstormlight_vs_a_space_marine40k/crthm7h?context=10000

 

Q: here's a question: how are cross world magics gonna work? Let's say a space freighter powered by fabrials enters Scadrial space. What happens to those fabrials?

A: Most of the magics are unaffected by being taken off world, though still subject to their own inherent flaws. Stormlight seeps out. Sand loses its glow. Metal can only be used by one with the right genetic code. Note that the magic from Sel is different, and is location dependent for reasons I don't think fandom has quite teased out.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crthplt?context=10000

 

Q: Are there non-Invested (or at least not heavily Invested) objects that cannot be cut by Shardblades, or that offer more resistance than what we see in The Stormlight Archive?

A: You're unlikely to find anything without high investiture that can resist a Shardblade. By definition, to stop one, you're going to need something with a powerful spiritual component to it.
Q: Unrelated to the previous question, but I just thought of something. In The Hero of Ages, there is a scene where Spook wonders why Clubs spent all that money and traveled all that distance just to save him (Spook) from likely death at the hands - or foot, as it is - of his father. Why did Clubs do it?
A: Clubs had his reasons, not all of which were altruistic.

WHY IS HE BEING TIGHT-LIPPED ABOUT CLUBS, MY CONSPIRACY SENSE IS TINGLING

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crthqu7?context=10000

(This one makes sense only if you look at the attached image, but it's about the Ghostbloods' symbol)

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crthrco?context=10000

 

Q: Have you ever written yourself into a novel as a character?

A: Not yet. Maybe some day.
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The biggest thing I am perhaps incorrectly extrapolating from that one on fabrials:

 

Metal fabrials cannot function on their own! You need the right genetic codes. That definitely blows a hole in a number of my theories, but makes sense. I think. Fabrials powered by the mist probably shouldn't need that, though, or so I thought?

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@Moogle

 

I'm going to bet on you incorrectly extrapolating from that one. I read that very clearly as Brandon talking about Allomancy/Feruchemy, as he was making the rounds of the various magic systems.

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@Moogle

 

I'm going to bet on you incorrectly extrapolating from that one. I read that very clearly as Brandon talking about Allomancy/Feruchemy, as he was making the rounds of the various magic systems.

 

This is the only way I can interpret his answer.

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Q: Would Ralcolist (the unforgeable metal) be at all resistant to a sharblade given its proven resistance to other forms of investiture?

A: That's a RAFO, but is a question you should be asking.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crupci6?context=10000

 

Q: Shai mocks the Rose Empire's belief that a new sun rises every day for a set number of days. Is the reason Sel is difficult to travel to related to the religious notion that Sel has many MANY suns in their Shadesmar equivalent?

A: Good guess! But no. (Sorry.)
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I got my question from this morning answered! http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crwx3j1?context=3

1. Did the Lord Ruler's children have something to do with the Lord Ruler's plot to once "give up" in the Final Empire?

2. Is Adonalsium and the "power of creation" synonymous?

3. You have once said, with regard to a question about Shards being the most powerful thing in the cosmere, that some would say that other "subtle forces" are being manifest. Are these subtle forces related to Adonalsium's opposition?

Answers:

1. Yes.

2. In some people's usage.

3. There is belief in a God who is not one of the Shards.

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With the text:

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crwabx4?context=10000

 

Q: Is the silver on Threnody imbued with investiture? The presence of a silver knife in Stormlight leads me to believe Threnodoic Silver is actively different than average silver and Threnody's silver could be used off-world in a way - say - Sel's silver couldn't.

A: I'm RAFOing most questions about Threnody for multiple reasons. It's a RAFO you shouldn't read too much into, however.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/whowouldwin/comments/37yn6r/a_full_shardbearerstormlight_vs_a_space_marine40k/crwac1k?context=10000

 

Q: I assumed the shard Dominion was the reason why magic's are geographically and/or geopolitically based. Is there a different, essentially unrelated reason?

A: Yes, there is a different reason.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crwaeeh?context=10000

 

Q: I'm thinking there's a connection between 'shadows of self' and the 'approximations of identity' that seem to be possible through aluminum feruchemy. After all, if aluminum can store identity, wouldn't that potentially leave one only a shadow of themselves or - perhaps more curiously - able to become a shadow of another (such as by storing all of their ID, 'downloading' the sDNA of another, etc) and then use his/her metalminds? TLR's metalminds?

A: Good theory. :)

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crwaeso?context=10000

 

Q: I've been listening to the Graphic Audio The Hero of Ages and just got to the point where Vin meets with Slowswift. While the meeting itself revealed nothing knew, the events after it made me wonder about something. When Vin leaves Slowswift, she burns her bronze to check whether the informant is an Allomancer, and then heads off to meet with Hoid - where, of course, something makes her turn away. Was she still burning bronze at that time? Was Hoid maybe manipulating Investiture in a way unfamiliar to Vin, so her bronze alerted her of something, but because it was such a foreign experience to her, she didn't recognize it for what it was?

A: I have to RAFO this one. It's been hard not to spill the beans here, as it's such a small thing, but it has important ramifications. You will have an answer eventually, I promise.

I didn't really expect an answer here, but it's good to know that we'll find out. Though revisting this meeting in-world would be... interesting.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crwafnh?context=10000

 

Q: If Investiture can neither be created nor destroyed, and Feruchemy is all fueled by the Feruchemist himself, then how do metalminds end up being invested without Feruchemists seeming to suffer any long-term loss of Investiture? If they're not "creating" the energy that's going into the metalminds, then where's it coming from?

A: The cosmere takes physics from our universe, and adds additional layers to it. Where we have energy and matter (simplified), the cosmere has additional building blocks that make reality. Investiture is one of these. It IS possible to change matter, to energy, to investiture, and back.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crwah70?context=10000

 

Q: Does Hoid prefer hamburgers or hotdogs (or the Cosmere equivalent to Chicago Coneys, yummy...)?

A: Hoid enjoys a nice steak more than anything else. Preferably wrapped in bacon.
Q: Some of the characters (I think it was Sarene) in Elantris mention that the constellations in their part of the world look like Aons. This seemed kind of odd to me. How significant is this, and does it play a role in how accessing the AonDor works (or do they just love astronomy)?
A: The characters in Elantris claiming that constellations look like Aons is mostly akin to us thinking that constellations look like animals--if you're looking for patterns, you'll find them.
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