More Polls: Prologues, Epilogues, Whelan Covers

[Elegy]

(Here's part 1:)

I initially wanted the Wit tales to be the third poll, but then I decided that I'll do that one separately eventually, once the spoiler policy changes, so I can include the non-Stormlight story as well! I went for the Whelan covers instead. These are the paintings in question (spoilered for size):

Spoiler

Also, as a reminder, here's links to the summaries of the prologues (Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War) and epilogues (Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War).

I also took Keteks and the Sleepless prophecies on the back covers into consideration, but I didn't think readers have strong opinions on those. Let me know if you think otherwise! 

These are my personal picks:

Prologue: Way of Kings for me, easily, because Szeth.
Epilogue: This one's a bit tricky for me, but I'll go with Oathbringer. Seeing Wit openly use a magic system from another series is neat, and him bonding a spren was such a nice surprise.
Cover: Rhythm of War - I love the sense of space in this painting, as well as the moody colors. I love Way of Kings and Oathbringer as well. Words of Radiance is also good, but I don't like the colors quite as much and the poses of the characters look rather unnatural to me. Still a good cover, but I don't like it as much as the rest. The color combination of Way of Kings is so beautiful to look at, by the way.

So . . . what do you think? 

Edited January 25, 2021 by Elegy
Changed the Words of Radiance cover to the revised one.

[Honorless]

Prologue: I remember how confusing it was to read Szeth's attack the first time, it was cool though. Jasnah's prologue was also interesting. So it's between Navani and Eshonai... I'm choosing Eshonai. Seeing the reasons behind the assassination was very illuminating.

Epilogue: Taln's return, Jasnah's return, Wit Bonding a Cryptic, Wit facing the new Odium. Taln's return was foreboding but expected. I was not among the ones who successfully deduced that Jasnah was still alive, so WoR epilogue was a happy surprise to me. Hoid becoming a Radiant was very unexpected, I didn't really expect him to get involved in the conflict to that degree. Hoid's memories getting tampered with... damn... I really expected Hoid to remain untouchable till like, Mistborn era 4. Brandon's cheek in that one! Hoid talking about storytelling, "get your readers to brace for the expected hit, then hit them where they aren't prepared" advice. Then that happens! I'm still wondering if that was a grander misdirection by Hoid... but immortals aren't infallible is such a big part of this book! Grrr! Okay, I'm going with RoW on this one.

The Way of Kings cover is very beautiful imo. WoR looks a bit silly imo. OB and RoW are also great though.

Hoid's stories: Fleet Kept Running, the Girl Who Looked Up, Queen Tsa and Mishim, Derethil and Wandersail, the Dog and the Dragon... Fleet and the Dog and the Dragon hit me the hardest. The Girl Who Looked Up and Wandersail has really thought-provoking messages behind them. I... can't pick

[yulyulk]

The Taln epilogue makes very sad, so I picked that one. Seeing Wit treat him so delicately was a punch to the gut, too.

Sanderson always mentions how grateful he is that Michael Whelan paints the cover art but I have always found them underwhelming oops. (Maybe because I'm not much of a high-fantasy reader?) But I like the Rhythm of War one due to its superior color scheme.

[CosmicSieve]

Dang, I messed up by voting for the RoW cover. I was thinking that it is the prettiest of the covers, but after I hit submit I realized that TWoK is the most intriguing and ambiguous cover, and much preferable to me as a book cover rather than art. It makes the book look interesting without being spoilery at all, because really, who are those people? Cool terrain, though. (WoR and Oathbringer are automatically disqualified for me because they are so spoilery--- here, let's take something that happens at the end of a book and slap it on the front cover!/s)

[KSub]

My vote:

1. Way of Kings. They are all pretty good but this is the one that starts it all.

2. Oathbringer. WOR is the only one that wasn't surprising for me but this is our most Witty Wit epilogue. 

3. Rhythm of War. Way of Kings looks great and its interesting but I'm still not sure who it's supposed to be. With the other two, the characters look good but there's not much to the background. Default!

[AquaRegia]

Prologue:  The Way of Kings.  Love them all, but the one that started it all has never been topped.  The way the mood is set, the way the Palace and guests are described, our first look at Surgebinding, the start of so many mysteries... and I will never stop loving Szeth as a character.

Epilogue:  Oathbringer.  I loved the insults, followed by the realization - "you don't speak Alethi, do you?"  I think it's one of the most enjoyable insights into Hoid's true character.  And seeing him find and bond a Radiant spren was VERY unexpected and awesome.

Cover:  The Way of Kings.  Just LOOK at it!  They are all artistic and impressive... but tWoK is STUNNING.  Head and shoulders above the rest.  The way our view is drawn to the distant horizon gives a breathtaking feeling of the vastness and emptiness of the Shattered Plains; it's like the feeling you get at the edge of the Grand Canyon.  Sunset is the most emotion-laden time of the day for me.  The clouds, the light, the rockbuds, the mist in the chasms - everything about this cover just looks more REAL than the others.  I also agree that the others are a bit too spoilery.  Honestly, RoW is my least favorite cover so far - Shadesmar looks a bit cartoony and Shallan looks both too young and too... umm... topheavy.

[Sara Stormblessed]

My votes:

1) Prologue: Way of Kings: Szeth was just the perfect introduction to this series. I was very impressed by the writing in Navani's, but it was extremely painful to read, too real.

2) Epilogue: Oatbringer: This one makes me cry every time. 

3) Cover: Word of Radiance: This is one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. 

[Frustration]

WoK prolouge 

RoW epilouge, one of only three times in the entire cosmere I've actually felt fear.

WoK cover

Can someone please Exsplain the RoW cover love?

[Dracnor]

WoK prologue. The old magic unleashed, the fights, but also the introduction to the Alethi culture and some of the lore... I loved it.

WoK epilogue. Taln comes back, with a dramatic comment from Wit. And there was the novelty of those epilogue were Wit does a small pseudo-dissertation waiting for an event to happen. RoW was awesome but... only because I know so much about Hoid. And it was a hardfan pleasure, seeing the secretly OP character being fooled. Not the genuine pleasure of reading Taln arrival, marking the beginning of the end.

 

Cover... WoR for the open space, but I'm not really a fan of US covers (especially the last one).

[Frustration]

@Elegy can we add a best last chapter? Not prolouge up chapter.

And maybe interludes?

[Elegy]

17 minutes ago, Frustration said:

@Elegy can we add a best last chapter? Not prolouge up chapter.

And maybe interludes?

3 polls is the maximum for one topic, sadly - that's why I split this one into two threads. So I can't add any more for this one . . . If I get enough ideas for 3 more polls, I might do a third part. Last chapter is a good idea, I'll keep it in mind! I did interludes (per book) in the first thread (along with epigraphs and flashbacks):

 

[+Child of Hodor]

Rhythm of War is my least favorite of the SA books (still really enjoyed it), but I voted for it all three times here. 

Prologue - This has the most emotional punch to me and seeing Gavilar with the Heralds was great. Szeth's is probably #2 because of the cool cryptic ending talk with Gavilar and Szeth showing off his powers. "Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king." is a GREAT opening line.

Wit Epilogue - Anything with Design must be #1 . Plus we see him interact with a god and someone finally gets the better of Wit, which is refreshing and scary. 

Cover - RoW or WoK, but they are all close to me. I guess I just like the alien landscape of Shadesmar a lot.  I love how the WoK cover uses orange and blue though. Let's gaze at it.

Edited January 26, 2021 by Child of Hodor