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Introducing my Sister to Mistborn


Celairiel

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The first half of this conversation happened Tuesday. After which I had to call her and get her to give me more context as to where she was so I knew whether or not Kelsier was going to die yet. The second half is from Friday. Moments like this are priceless. I then explained to her the concept of the Sandersavalanche and encouraged her to finish The Final Empire today. It's so amusing watching her react, I thought it would be fun to share some of the best here. 

Now, opinion question. Should I take her straight to Stormlight next, or somehow get her a copy of Secret History before starting WOK? She read Warbreaker first, she's going to finish Era 1 next, and she's hungry for more explicit Cosmere stuff, so I'm planning Stormlight next of the major storylines. That way she'll have Era 2, Elantris, and the Arcanum Unbounded to enjoy once she's caught up on Stormlight. But I'm now debating whether it will be more fun to give her Secret History so she knows about Kelsier's cognitive shadow before reading Stormlight. 

Kel is dead.png

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I also agree - Era 2 before Secret History.  And not JUST because that's the order I had to read them in!

I think it's important for the reader to take in how modern Scadrians view the Survivor, and how Brandon describes the religion of Survivorism... BEFORE finding out Kelsier is still "around".

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Thanks for the suggestions! I had planned to have her wait Era 2 until the last book was out, but the point about finding out about Kel less immediately is smart. Plus, I'm introducing my dad at the same time since they share an Audible account, and I think he'll really like Era 2. :)

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On 1/30/2021 at 11:19 AM, AquaRegia said:

I also agree - Era 2 before Secret History.  And not JUST because that's the order I had to read them in!

I think it's important for the reader to take in how modern Scadrians view the Survivor, and how Brandon describes the religion of Survivorism... BEFORE finding out Kelsier is still "around".

Admittedly, I’ve known that since HoA. And the annotations confirmed that guess. And then I guessed certain other things quite early (cough... 2014... cough). And figured out the Sovereign halfway through BoM. (And promptly dropped my kindle and did a happy dance.)

It was still jaw dropping and chilling to see that Coppermind memory. And then to discover Secret History existed? That was just the icing on the cake.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pardon the spelling - she's listening to the audio books. She's at the end of WoA and she's determined that Sazed is the Hero of Ages. And I can't tell her how proud I am of her, because she has an entire book left. I definitely didn't catch on that quick on my first read. Looking back, the foreshadowing is all there. When did everyone else figure out who the real hero was? For me, it was somewhere midway in the third book. I figured it out before Sazed did, but not too terribly long before. Long enough that I was confused when Vin ascended and was worried that would mess things up, but not long enough that I was frustrated by NO ONE realizing the answer. 

Sazed Guess.png

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Same for me - I got it just slightly before Sazed gets it.  Kudos to your sis for her amazing SanderSkills!  It's gotta be frustrating to have another whole book to wait before you can really talk to her about how awesome she is LOL

I'm looking forward to hearing how she does on Era 2 reveals... because some of those blew my rusting mind.

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On 2/14/2021 at 2:19 PM, AquaRegia said:

Same for me - I got it just slightly before Sazed gets it.  Kudos to your sis for her amazing SanderSkills!  It's gotta be frustrating to have another whole book to wait before you can really talk to her about how awesome she is LOL

I'm looking forward to hearing how she does on Era 2 reveals... because some of those blew my rusting mind.

Yes. And it just keeps getting more frustrating. She's a phenomenal sleuth. So much so I boasted to my mom about it - who doesn't read the Cosmere. And I'm glad someone else is interested in watching her progress. I love watching people discover things I like and I'm really excited once she's fully caught up to let her read over this thread. :)

In her most recent update to me, she's drawn the connection between Kel and the mist spirit. And also misinterpreted Spook's extra powers. I corrected her when she later guessed Feruchemy and pointed out to her that he doesn't have to store power up. I'm very interested to see what she thinks of Hemalurgy. 

Spook and Mist Spirit.png

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2 minutes ago, Celairiel said:

Yes. And it just keeps getting more frustrating. She's a phenomenal sleuth. So much so I boasted to my mom about it - who doesn't read the Cosmere. And I'm glad someone else is interested in watching her progress. I love watching people discover things I like and I'm really excited once she's fully caught up to let her read over this thread. :)

In her most recent update to me, she's drawn the connection between Kel and the mist spirit. And also misinterpreted Spook's extra powers. I corrected her when she later guessed Feruchemy and pointed out to her that he doesn't have to store power up. I'm very interested to see what she thinks of Hemalurgy. 

Spook and Mist Spirit.png

Kelsier did the actual French Revolution. Quellion is doing the Committee of Public Safety (best known for the Reign of Terror). Elend is doing Napoleon. Between them you have three different elements of that Revolution. 

The French Revolution was not the Reign of Terror!!!! A lot more happened than just the guillotine!! 

As you can see, I have... opinions on this subject. Mostly regarding the inadequacy of a lot of historical education...

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1 hour ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

Kelsier did the actual French Revolution. Quellion is doing the Committee of Public Safety (best known for the Reign of Terror). Elend is doing Napoleon. Between them you have three different elements of that Revolution. 

The French Revolution was not the Reign of Terror!!!! A lot more happened than just the guillotine!! 

As you can see, I have... opinions on this subject. Mostly regarding the inadequacy of a lot of historical education...

She's actually the sort of person who will appreciate that distinction. Once she's done with the book, I'll have to point it out. I hadn't drawn the Elend/Napoleon connection myself. Thanks!

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On 2/14/2021 at 3:55 PM, Celairiel said:

Pardon the spelling - she's listening to the audio books. She's at the end of WoA and she's determined that Sazed is the Hero of Ages. And I can't tell her how proud I am of her, because she has an entire book left. I definitely didn't catch on that quick on my first read. Looking back, the foreshadowing is all there. When did everyone else figure out who the real hero was? For me, it was somewhere midway in the third book. I figured it out before Sazed did, but not too terribly long before. Long enough that I was confused when Vin ascended and was worried that would mess things up, but not long enough that I was frustrated by NO ONE realizing the answer. 

Sazed Guess.png

Actually this may be even more delicious in the end, because at this point I also had thought it was possible Sazed was the HoA because (a) he was Terris, and (b) how the mist spirit acted.

But after Vin released Ruin, and we learned more about the original prophecies about Ruin and the true nature of the Well being a prison for him throughout the book actually titled "The Hero of Ages", wherein Sazed himself finds many good reasons to assess Vin as the HoA... Including the fact that Vin alone had been able to "draw upon the mists"... And then she actually Ascended... Why would I doubt that?

Though if she's doing the audiobook thing, a bigger tell would be if the voice of the chapter epigraphs in HoA are read in Sazed's voice ("I am, unfortunately, the Hero of Ages"). That'd almost be too bad.

Edited by robardin
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  • 3 weeks later...

After a week-long decompression from the end of HOA, she has now begun Era 2. I worried she wouldn't forgive me that so many people died, but she is willing to read onward. She was delighted by the place-names honoring the Era 1 heroes. Additionally, she has developed a healthy sense of skepticism from her reading so far. Denth and Tonk Fah really made an impression.

Wax and Wayne 1.png

Wax and Wayne 2.png

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17 hours ago, AquaRegia said:

I'm so jealous that I can never again read Alloy of Law for the first time LOL

There are so many juicy surprises in there... please keep us updated!

Ah yes, my First Ever Cosmere Book.

Nope, not a joke. I was that smooth-brained that Alloy was the first book authored by Brandon that I read.

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20 hours ago, AquaRegia said:

I'm so jealous that I can never again read Alloy of Law for the first time LOL

There are so many juicy surprises in there... please keep us updated!

I'm so glad people are enjoying watching her progress as much as I am! She's really excited to come back and see how the community reacted to her reactions once she's all caught up. :)

2 hours ago, Frustration said:

DESCRIBE EVERYTHING!

Agreed! I'll also be reading this. That's a unique starting place.

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7 hours ago, Halyo_Alex said:

Ah yes, my First Ever Cosmere Book.

Nope, not a joke. I was that smooth-brained that Alloy was the first book authored by Brandon that I read.

Bah!  Airsick lowlander.  Not how this thing is done.

Most importantly, what was it like to read Era 1, already knowing how lots of things would end up?  Seems AWFULLY spoilery.

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