Stitof Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Is there a character that you didn't like/care about at first, but has grown on you as the series went on or on re-reads? Who and why? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Use the Falchion Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Probably Shallan. In TWOK, I found her sections to be distracting on my first readthrough. WoR made me like the character. But the Oathbringer came out, and I was...confused. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it. After giving it some thought, hearing some WoBs, and thinking about it some more (along with a later reread), I've come to like and respect Shallan's arc in that book. Rereads - and the right music choice - have also made Shallan's arc in TWOK more interesting as well. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedBlue Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Nale. When he first appeared as Darkness in WoR, I wasn’t on board. He came across as flat, almost cartoonishly evil, and I found the whole ‘Darkness’ aesthetic corny. After we found out more about him as the story went on, I got very interested. The fact that he used to be genuinely heroic, and has wound up like he is now by trying to do the right thing while having warped judgement, has me very excited to see where he goes from here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karger Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 (edited) Navani. She was just there for a while but as we learned more about her she became a fun character. Edited August 31, 2021 by Karger 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyJim Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 (edited) Didn't care for Moash on my first read of the series. I didn't hate him, I just didn't think much of him. I knew he was the guy everyone hated before I read Oathbringer, but once I actually read it I kinda thought "is that it?". He just felt like a fairly standard villain and didn't really prompt any strong reactions from me (It didn't help that his relationship with Kaladin was very "tell don't show"). It's kinda hard to explain the exact process of what happened next, but after another reread or two, he became my second favorite character in the series *behind Adolin) and I felt he could easily take the top spot depending on how RoW went. Then RoW was actually published, and I haven't been okay since. Anyway, Szeth has been kinda growing on me lately, I guess. Edited August 31, 2021 by LuckyJim 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspiring Writer Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Lift. I had skipped her words of radiance and novella, first reading her I Oathbringer, where I was taken aback about who this random character was. I didn't dislike her, but didn't care for her either. Then I read the WoR chapter and novella and found her frustrating, but with the new context, I liked her more in Oathbringer and found her to be a breath of fresh air in a fairly stoic set of characters, which is why I came to the conclusion that she's the type of characters that needs other characters, with presence, to bounce and contrast of off and doesn't work in a vacuum. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frustration Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 (edited) I don't have a character that exactly fits the criteria but here's Shallan's progress for me. WoK: Worst thing to exist, ever, period. I cannont itterate enough how bad Shallan is in WoK, and she should have been put on hold until WoR if not cut from the series entirely. WoR: Still my least favorite character by far, but I no longer groaned and wished for her death when I saw she was the PoV. OB: Only a small dislike, a bitter after-taste left from WoK, but she wasn't as disliked compared to other characters RoW: Finally a book that knows what to do with Shallan, I have nothing negative to say about Shallan in RoW. Edited August 31, 2021 by Frustration 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorless Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Adolin, I found him annoying and obnoxious throughout the first two books. Really him & Shallan made WoR as bad as (Mistborn) Spoiler Zane made WoA for me. I just hate romantic subplots in general and the way they interacted with Kaladin did not help their case. I started liking Adolin only after the OB Shadesmar sequence. And I like him even better in RoW. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScadrianTank Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Didn't care much for Jasnah in the WoK. I read her as Marry Poppins kind of character who knew everything and could do anything while at the same time being a pretty princess. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quantus Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 If it counts: Azure by a mile. From the actual main cast, Shallan started ok, dipped low in her initial Veil time (the unearned mask never quite fit, as she realized), then has gotten a lot better since. I was pretty much on board with all the other POV characters, or else at least intrigued by their arcs. She was the only one who's ratio of off-putting to interesting tipped the wrong way on my first read. On rereads she's better because I know more of the secret context. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WandererNearby Posted September 1, 2021 Report Share Posted September 1, 2021 Unquestionably Dalinar. When I read the first chapter of his for the first time I was like "huh, interesting character" and now he's probably my favorite character in all of fiction. At the very least in my top three. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspiring Writer Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 On 8/30/2021 at 10:14 PM, Frustration said: WoK: Worst thing to exist, ever, period. I cannont itterate enough how bad Shallan is in WoK, and she should have been put on hold until WoR if not cut from the series entirely. 0.0 I'm sorry, I have to ask, why? You and I have the complete reverse order with Shallan, with my being frustrated with her in RoW and like her in the previous installments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frustration Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 2 hours ago, Aspiring Writer said: 0.0 I'm sorry, I have to ask, why? You and I have the complete reverse order with Shallan, with my being frustrated with her in RoW and like her in the previous installments. Two main reasons because of Shallan WoK feels like an odd hybrid of a war novel and Jane Austin. Guess which one I prefer. We go from Kaladin doing something intresting to Shallan doing the same thing she's been doing for the last 300 pages In the entire book what does Shallan do? She becomes Jasnah's ward, the same thing she did in the first 100 pages. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushu42 Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 Pattern. He was already developing some personality in Oathbringer, but it wasn't until RoW that I realized he was an interesting character beyond just giving Shallan magic powers. I love his sense of humor so much. And I have to give a shoutout to my now favorite character, Navani; I didn't like her much when she was first introduced, since I really wasn't a fan of her attempts to force a romantic subplot on Dalinar. Until RoW everything we knew about her was just seen in relation to Dalinar (which is a personal pet peeve for poorly written love interests), but as soon as you took him out of the picture she was a fascinating, awesome character who I really related to. I'm so glad Sanderson decided to flesh her out. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woefulleaf Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 I have two characters that I immediately thought of. Dalinar- I didn’t love him in TWoK. Initially, I just felt like he was a subplot. It wasn’t until later into the books that he really came together in terms of plot. He felt kind of pretentious to me at first. He just seemed like some lighteyes with a stick up his ass. But now he is one of my favorite characters. His arc was so impactful to the story and I absolutely love him. Navani- when navani was first introduced I thought it was unnecessary. I also was weirded out by the fact that she involved with dalinar even though she had been married to Gavilar previously. Now I understand that was strictly a political marriage and not because they loved each other. It wasn’t until WoR that I really loved her. She had a huge impact on the story and really is a wonderful character. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psykopathic Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 So I will mention 3 characters. Adolin I always liked. But he grew on me more and more until now he is one of my absolute favorites. Vinli I never liked. I'm still not sure I like her that much. Before I used to just want to skip her chapters and now they are fine. In the reverse.... I loved Syl at 1st but I find her annoying me more and more as the story progresses where I fall further in love with the little nitwit cryptics every time I listen to the book again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Harrycrapper Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 Rysn. She seemed really petulant in WoK, stupid in WoR, and too self pitying in OB. But, I like her in Dawnshard and what little we got of her in RoW. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElMonoEstupendo Posted September 3, 2021 Report Share Posted September 3, 2021 (edited) Definitely Adolin, but not so much because he changed - just that as the books go on you can appreciate him more and more. At first he seems an over-confident, foppish, privileged pretty boy. You get hints early on at what a good leader and overall person he is, but he's in constant conflict with Dalinar and Kaladin and it kinda clouds it. On 02/09/2021 at 5:47 PM, Rushu42 said: Pattern. He was already developing some personality in Oathbringer, but it wasn't until RoW that I realized he was an interesting character beyond just giving Shallan magic powers. I love his sense of humor so much. And I have to give a shoutout to my now favorite character, Navani; I didn't like her much when she was first introduced, since I really wasn't a fan of her attempts to force a romantic subplot on Dalinar. Until RoW everything we knew about her was just seen in relation to Dalinar (which is a personal pet peeve for poorly written love interests), but as soon as you took him out of the picture she was a fascinating, awesome character who I really related to. I'm so glad Sanderson decided to flesh her out. To be fair to Navani, she wasn't forcing too much. Dalinar literally couldn't concentrate if she was in even the corner of his eye - dude stared straight at the sun to contain his horniness. All she had to do was exist nearby and that dam would break eventually. I'm not sure she was only seen in relation to Dalinar, though. In WoR she is, if anything, only seen in relation to Shallan and Jasnah, and as an artifabrian. Edited September 7, 2021 by ElMonoEstupendo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushu42 Posted September 3, 2021 Report Share Posted September 3, 2021 6 hours ago, ElMonoEstupendo said: To be fair to Navani, she wasn't forcing too much. Dalinar literally couldn't concentrate if she was in even the corner of his eye - dude stared straight at the sun to contain his horniness. All she had to do was exist nearby and that damn would break eventually. I'm not sure she was only seen in relation to Dalinar, though. In WoR she is, if anything, only seen in relation to Shallan and Jasnah, and as an artifabrian. Fair point, I had forgotten about her dynamic with Shallan in WoR. Still, I think it's fair to say that she's not really seen as a character in her own right until RoW. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanLemon Posted September 11, 2021 Report Share Posted September 11, 2021 Lift, I didn't like her at all in her first appearance other than when she went to go heal her friend. I didn't really like her in Oathbringer when I first read it either. I didn't get a copy of her Novella until after I read Oathbringer but that warmed me up to her considerably and when I reread her parts I had a new appreciation for her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maffe Posted September 11, 2021 Report Share Posted September 11, 2021 On 2021-08-31 at 4:15 AM, Karger said: Navani. She was just there for a while but as we learned more about her she became a fun character. Im starting to like Navani more and more as i am reading RoW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apepi Posted September 12, 2021 Report Share Posted September 12, 2021 How about...Wit? Not that I disliked them, but I don't think we have known that much about them. But now? We have seen that they have flaws, they are scared of things. We have seen him want things and people who they like and dislike. We knew Wit before even Stormlight began, and he has grown much from the start of the first book. From a guy who just told stories to a guy who has now has a girlfriend(?) and we know that the mysterious bard can be afraid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frustration Posted September 12, 2021 Report Share Posted September 12, 2021 2 hours ago, apepi said: How about...Wit? Not that I disliked them, but I don't think we have known that much about them. But now? We have seen that they have flaws, they are scared of things. We have seen him want things and people who they like and dislike. We knew Wit before even Stormlight began, and he has grown much from the start of the first book. From a guy who just told stories to a guy who has now has a girlfriend(?) and we know that the mysterious bard can be afraid. I'm going to be real, I think that's one of his weaker points 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Inkspren Posted September 13, 2021 Report Share Posted September 13, 2021 (edited) On 30/08/2021 at 11:31 PM, Aspiring Writer said: Lift. I had skipped her words of radiance and novella, first reading her I Oathbringer, where I was taken aback about who this random character was. I didn't dislike her, but didn't care for her either. Then I read the WoR chapter and novella and found her frustrating, but with the new context, I liked her more in Oathbringer and found her to be a breath of fresh air in a fairly stoic set of characters, which is why I came to the conclusion that she's the type of characters that needs other characters, with presence, to bounce and contrast of off and doesn't work in a vacuum. Just out of curiosity... How did you skip her WoR chapter? Did you skip all interludes or just that one? Edited September 13, 2021 by An Inkspren 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Inkspren Posted September 13, 2021 Report Share Posted September 13, 2021 I think Shen/Rlain has improved so much from book 1. He's pretty epic in RoW 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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