things you never noticed

[king of nowhere]

I just noticed a juicy detail on a reread, and I have to post it. Not finding a proper thread, I made one

So, I started rereading aloy of law. In the prologue, vax and lassie are talking during a pause in the fight. Vax remarks that lassie shot a toe out of a bandit, so he had a good reason to hold a grudge. Lassie replies “You don’t need ten,” she said.

Quote

“I have a cousin with four. She does just fine.”  “Of course, she does look kind of ridiculous."

Knowing now that she is a kandra, I realized that the four toes are horse's hooves, because a felllow kandra of her is impersonating a horse, and she does just fine, because the horse is fine with 4. Of course she looks kind of ridiculous, because she's a horse.

And this is probably a reference to the short scene brandon wrote with horse!Melaan

 

Post your own hidden gems. Or, if there is already a thread for it, point me there

[king of nowhere]

in chapter 9, wax told wayne that there is bendalloy on the desk, amid the metallurgical apparatus. wayne is reluctant to get it, because of an old accident with a similar apparatus, and comments to wax

Quote

The most innocent-looking of things have a tendency to explode around you.

One page and less than one minute later, the tea tray explodes.

Nice foreshadowing

 

EDIT: I found another nice piece of foreshadowing in the following chapter

Quote

 

“He was honest,” Wayne said. “I got a sense for that sort of thing.” He sneezed.

“You believed that Lessie really was a dancer, the first time we met her,” Waxillium said, rising.

“That’s different. She was a woman. Good at lying, they are. The God Beyond made’m that way.”

 

Of course lassie was good at lying, not for being a woman but for being a kandra. of course if she pretended to be a dancer even wayne would fall for it.

I wonder how many of those little tidbits are planned and how many are accidental.

Edited October 4, 2018 by king of nowhere

[Shaukan-son-Hasweth]

After reading "Edgedancer" on a very long train ride today i noticed that Lift insisting that Wyndel is a caputred voidbringer most likely isn't just her usual nonsense talk.

The concept that you can capture a voidbringer and make it serve you, could stem from the enslavement of the parshmen.

[Blightsong]

In the WoK, Hoid tells the story of a group of people who committed horrible things under the orders of a king only to discover that that king had been dead for years, and that they were responsible for their horrible actions. The dead king is discovered in the passage below:

“Derethil and his men came out of the tower a short time later, carrying a desiccated corpse in fine robes and jewelry. ‘This is your emperor?’ Derethil demanded. ‘We found him in the top room, alone.’ It appeared that the man had been dead for years, but nobody had dared enter his tower. They were too frightened of him."

In the final chapter Dalinar finally realizes that the Almighty hadn't been talking in response to him, that he hadn't been following orders but had been misinterpreting the visions. He then learns that the Almighty is dead. The title of this final chapter?

In the Top Room.

[king of nowhere]

Warbreaker, chapter 25: "[Clod] stood as still as one of the d'denir statues".

Of course, since the statues are lifless themselves!

[Hbal]

Just recently noticed that a city was described in detail by Kaladin in Way of Kings, I think it was Akinah because of Oathbringer Interlude and storms movement. What Kaladin describes is so interesting but we are in all certainty years away from an definite answer/explanation. 

Edited December 7, 2018 by Hbal
Error

[Nightblade]

On 11/18/2018 at 6:23 PM, king of nowhere said:

Warbreaker, chapter 25: "[Clod] stood as still as one of the d'denir statues".

Of course, since the statues are lifless themselves!

you know who clod is right?

[king of nowhere]

49 minutes ago, Nightblade said:

you know who clod is right?

arsteel.  but he's a lifeless at the moment, and that's what relevant for the quote itself

[Borio Singaldi]

In the Lift interlude in WoR, we hear that the viziers of Azir are praying to Yaezir to save them from their perilous situation of the past two Primes being killed. Thing is, it was Yaezir's own Blade that killed those Primes.

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

I was re-reading Mistborn over the summer and I found this.

"Kell," Dockson said, "do you have to stand o the ledge like that? Our plans may be a bit crazy, but I'd rather not have them end with you splattered on the cobblestones down there."

And I realized. Dox... that's exactly how they end!

[AonEne]

I believe it's at the end of the first Dalinar flashback when Sadeas mentions that he isn't sure if even a rockfall (or avalanche or something to that effect, but I think it was rockfall) could kill Dalinar now.

And guess what happens later on in the flashbacks, surprising the Rifters? HMMMM. Nice going, Brandon.

[Kramerfarve]

On re-read I paid attention specifically to renarin. Every passing comment is foreshadowing, and its great. 

[Odium's_Shard]

On 2/6/2019 at 3:53 AM, Kramerfarve said:

On re-read I paid attention specifically to renarin. Every passing comment is foreshadowing, and its great. 

Hmmm, doesn't Brandon know that foreshadowing is of Odium...

[Bigmikey357]

On 2/7/2019 at 7:48 PM, Odium's_Shard said:

Hmmm, doesn't Brandon know that foreshadowing is of Odium...

Only if done poorly

[+TheFoxQR]

Not sure if this counts, but here we go. I was raised in a mostly atheist family, and as such, did not have much contact with scripture. So this kinda intrigued me. I was reading an English translation for Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary recently, and came across these passages:

Quote

But what we shall perhaps find more instructive is the fact that one of mankind’s first notions has always been to place intermediary beings between divinity and us.

Quote

The ancient Jewish tradition, according to Maimonides, acknowledges ten degrees, ten orders of angels: 1. The chaios acodesh , pure, saintly, 2. The ofamin , swift. 3. The oralim , the strong. 4. The chasmalim , the flames. 5. The seraphim , sparks. 6. The malachim , angels, messengers, deputies. 7. The eloim , the gods or judges. 8. The ben eloim , children of the gods. 9. cherubim , images, 10. ychim , the animated.

I'm pretty sure Brandon either consciously or unconsciously drew on some version of this to form the Knights Radiant. The fact that they call Honor "Almighty" kinda corroborates that.

[Lunamor]

I don’t know if I am reading too much into this, but in Warbreaker Lightsong is talking about how almost all of the Returned were at the court of the gods, and he says something along the lines of “Weatherlove was not there yet, but he was often unpredictable”. Get it? Cause weather is often unpredictable, and his name is Weatherlove. I got you Brandon, I got you.

[Gray to]

One thing I just noticed was the "shift in scale of their problems" (i dont know how to phrase it right) in Stormlight so far. Basically what i mean is that in WoK and WoR, Sadeas was the threat that every character focused on. Even as the reader, I kept thinking about Dalinar's political plans and how those clashed with Sadeas'. It seemed like the most important conflict occurring in the book. Then, Oathbringer came and the conflict shifted from political strife in a kingdom to a GOD is going destroy the world and all countries must unite to fight it. It made every problem with Sadeas seem so small and stupid. Somehow I went from "Oh man what's Sadeas planning and how can Dalinar counter it?"  to "Please go away Ialai. Nobody cares that you object. We've got real problems to deal with." Somehow I never realized that I had made this transition until I reread WoK after OB and kept thinking how trivial Sadeas seemed when compared to the crem we've got to deal with now

[Helwar]

8 hours ago, Gray to said:

One thing I just noticed was the "shift in scale of their problems" (i dont know how to phrase it right) in Stormlight so far. Basically what i mean is that in WoK and WoR, Sadeas was the threat that every character focused on. Even as the reader, I kept thinking about Dalinar's political plans and how those clashed with Sadeas'. It seemed like the most important conflict occurring in the book. Then, Oathbringer came and the conflict shifted from political strife in a kingdom to a GOD is going destroy the world and all countries must unite to fight it. It made every problem with Sadeas seem so small and stupid. Somehow I went from "Oh man what's Sadeas planning and how can Dalinar counter it?"  to "Please go away Ialai. Nobody cares that you object. We've got real problems to deal with." Somehow I never realized that I had made this transition until I reread WoK after OB and kept thinking how trivial Sadeas seemed when compared to the crem we've got to deal with now

To me that was a very big dejabu (however that is spelled) from Song of Ice and Fire. People too focused on their mundane problems while the world is about to crumble around them. Thankfully Sanderson did it way better than Martin (IMO) and most of the major political powers are also aware of the impending doom one way or another, and their squabbles have a larger purpose. Everyone except Sadeas. 

So, while yes, there is a scale shift, I feel it's natural. It's not like they have dismissed petty squabbles yet. One of the major concerns is forging a coalition, or avoiding the creation of one (depending on who's point of view you consider) rather than fighting an irascible godling. 

[Gray to]

One thing I just noticed was the "shift in scale of their problems" (i dont know how to phrase it right) in Stormlight so far. Basically what i mean is that in WoK and WoR, Sadeas was the threat that every character focused on. Even as the reader, I kept thinking about Dalinar's political plans and how those clashed with Sadeas'. It seemed like the most important conflict occurring in the book. Then, Oathbringer came and the conflict shifted from political strife in a kingdom to a GOD is going destroy the world and all countries must unite to fight it. It made every problem with Sadeas seem so small and stupid. Somehow I went from "Oh man what's Sadeas planning and how can Dalinar counter it?"  to "Please go away Ialai. Nobody cares that you object. We've got real problems to deal with." Somehow I never realized that I had made this transition until I reread WoK after OB and kept thinking how trivial Sadeas seemed when compared to the crem we've got to deal with now

Edit: How can I delete this? I don't know how this posted twice 

Edited February 14, 2019 by Gray to

[Gray to]

2 hours ago, Helwar said:

To me that was a very big dejabu (however that is spelled) from Song of Ice and Fire. People too focused on their mundane problems while the world is about to crumble around them. Thankfully Sanderson did it way better than Martin (IMO) and most of the major political powers are also aware of the impending doom one way or another, and their squabbles have a larger purpose. Everyone except Sadeas. 

So, while yes, there is a scale shift, I feel it's natural. It's not like they have dismissed petty squabbles yet. One of the major concerns is forging a coalition, or avoiding the creation of one (depending on who's point of view you consider) rather than fighting an irascible godling. 

Oh I didnt mean that it felt unnatural. I was trying to say that it happened naturally, so I never noticed that there was a shift. When I did, it shocked me

[Helwar]

14 minutes ago, Gray to said:

Oh I didnt mean that it felt unnatural. I was trying to say that it happened naturally, so I never noticed that there was a shift. When I did, it shocked me

Well then we agree on that

I actually meant that me, as a reader, always cared about the impending GOD of doom, and felt like the politicking and more mundane issues in the first books were CONNECTED to that, even if it wasn't it's main focus. That's why I compared it to ASOIF, where yes, there is interesting intrigue happening while some old horror is stirring, but the two are so disconnected that could be two totally different stories.

Really none of the characters has changed their objectives, just the scope of them. Dalinar thought he had to unite Alethkar, now he's not sure if he has to unite the world, the Radiants, or what the heck, but it is much more than just a country. Kaladin started saving himself, then saving those near to him, and now has expanded into saving even the enemy if possible. Adolin was purpose-less, mere moving with the flow, and then decided to defend the Kholinar house. First against his father, then against Sadeas. Now against a god.

 

To answer the topic question: I never noticed that to have a Nahel bond, Shallan had to be broken even BEFORE what happened with her family. And she was so little... What did break such a young person in an at the moment peaceful household? Her father didn't have the "darkness" yet and while her mother had an affair, it's not something such a young girl would really understand, not enough to break her, I think. So... Hum...

[Zelly]

I am rereading Oathbringer and in chapter 104 Navani is thinking to herself about Jasnah.

 "There was no arguing with Jasnah, any more than there was arguing with a boulder. You just stepped to the side and went around."

This struck me since Wit had his whole metaphor about the 3 kinds of important men and how they deal with "boulder of time".   Wonder if may be foreshadowing about Jasnah's upcoming rule of Alethkar.  Or maybe a nod to Navani being that rare 3rd kind who knows how to study and nudge people subtly. 

 

Edit:  The more I reread the more metaphors of boulders I find.  Navani is described as one also, and Dalinar as being crushed under one.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Zelly

[+TheFoxQR]

On 2/13/2019 at 10:55 PM, Zelly said:

I am rereading Oathbringer and in chapter 104 Navani is thinking to herself about Jasnah.

 "There was no arguing with Jasnah, any more than there was arguing with a boulder. You just stepped to the side and went around."

This struck me since Wit had his whole metaphor about the 3 kinds of important men and how they deal with "boulder of time".   Wonder if may be foreshadowing about Jasnah's upcoming rule of Alethkar.  Or maybe a nod to Navani being that rare 3rd kind who knows how to study and nudge people subtly. 

If anything, that's a hint to how she soul casts. Unlike Shallan, she doesn't convince things, she demands them to change with sheer willpower.

I always took Wit's three kinds of men story to be allusions to the three Rosharran shards. The first one is Honor, who died standing against the boulder. Then Odium - the void who asks people to do terrible things in his name by telling is the one who makes them do it. And the third, Cultivation, quietly studying and nudging events from the shadows.

[SwordNimiForPresident]

On 2/12/2019 at 9:51 PM, Gray to said:

One thing I just noticed was the "shift in scale of their problems" (i dont know how to phrase it right) in Stormlight so far. Basically what i mean is that in WoK and WoR, Sadeas was the threat that every character focused on. Even as the reader, I kept thinking about Dalinar's political plans and how those clashed with Sadeas'. It seemed like the most important conflict occurring in the book. Then, Oathbringer came and the conflict shifted from political strife in a kingdom to a GOD is going destroy the world and all countries must unite to fight it. It made every problem with Sadeas seem so small and stupid. Somehow I went from "Oh man what's Sadeas planning and how can Dalinar counter it?"  to "Please go away Ialai. Nobody cares that you object. We've got real problems to deal with." Somehow I never realized that I had made this transition until I reread WoK after OB and kept thinking how trivial Sadeas seemed when compared to the crem we've got to deal with now

The shift from Well of Ascension to Hero of Ages was pretty similar. Thing go from “oh no, we’re at war” to “the sky is literally falling” in just one scene.

[Lidolas]

I'm re-reading WoKs now.  I just got to Chapter 12.  It's when we are introduced to Dalinar.  The title of the chapter?  Unity

Edit:

I just finished the chapter when Kal is left out in the highstorm.  At one point he notices

Quote

Syl standing in front of him, her face to the wind, tiny hand forward.  As if she were trying to hold back the storm and split the winds like a stone dividing the waters of a swift stream.

I wonder if that's what gave Kal the inspiration for blocking the storm in OB, or if it was Brandon's way of foreshadowing that scene, or both.  

Edited February 25, 2019 by Lidolas