Is reading The Stormlight Archive worth it?

[Mckeedee123]

For me, what qualifies Epic Fantasy is this quality were we follow the same characters over multiple books and we get to see them grow/evolve. If the focus changes from current main characters to current side characters, then I may end up disinterested. Again, it may not happen, but I am deeply worried about it, even more so the character I want to read the most about is not scheduled to be one of the selected few. It is just plain cruel to start to develop a character, to lead the readers into believing he is as important as the other ones, just not as developed yet, only to perpetually keep him into the backseat, always being a plot device serving to help others grow as opposed to getting his own story arc. Worst is, as a reader, to see other currently less develop characters take the front seat, always leaving my character behind and me, to sole idiot to root for the side-kick who will never be more than a side-kick.

 

Are you talking about Szeth?

 

I so hope Szeth gets his own arc. If he gets redeemed, it would be even better the moment where the Second Ideal is stated. It would top that.

[kaellok]

Are you talking about Szeth?

 

I so hope Szeth gets his own arc. If he gets redeemed, it would be even better the moment where the Second Ideal is stated. It would top that.

For you, it would. For me, it wouldn't work. At all. But the books are so damnation good I'd keep reading and enjoying them anyway.

Knowing maxal, tho, they were referring to Adolin ☺ and I'd love to see more of him and less of Kaladin in future books.

[maxal]

A valid concern. I'm a fan of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and after the first trilogy there is a division about the quality of the books exactly because of this issue: Thomas Covenant becomes a background character in his own series! Didn't bother me, but it upset quite a few people (most famously, his then-editor Lester DelRey, who exclaimed "You don't make Jane the main character in a Tarzan story!")

 

As far as Stormlight, I imagine we will mostly follow the same characters for the first five books, at least. 

 

Whereas I did not read the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, I can understand why certain readers would have been appalled at what you are describing. Another example I may have is WoT. Book 7 (I may be getting the book numbers wrong here, so sorry) ended with Mat being scrambled under a wall... Mat was a fan's favorite and they waited for 4 years to read the follow up only to find out book 8 did not have any Mat in it..  It did not annoy me because I was not overly rooting for anyone in WoT, so I kinda liked reading about everyone AND that book was already released when I started the series, so I did not have to wait for it.

 

But I feel their pain.

 

As for SA, no we may not follow the same characters. 

 

 

Are you talking about Szeth?

 

I so hope Szeth gets his own arc. If he gets redeemed, it would be even better the moment where the Second Ideal is stated. It would top that.

 

 

For you, it would. For me, it wouldn't work. At all. But the books are so damnation good I'd keep reading and enjoying them anyway.

Knowing maxal, tho, they were referring to Adolin ☺ and I'd love to see more of him and less of Kaladin in future books.

 

As Kaellok said, perhaps for you it would work and perhaps it would work for many fans, but I personally do not like reading Szeth. I find his chapter boring and his character does not interest me much. However, I would have NO quarrel reading more about him and learning to connect with him (or any other character), IF I had a guaranty I would also get to read about Adolin.

 

Kaellok nails me. Brandon kinda said lately he re-wrote Adolin's entire story arc to give him a bigger role than he initially planned because the character worked well. Whereas bigger role certainly sounds good, it also means "not one of the main protagonists", hence my dispirited attitude. After reading WoR, I was convinced Adolin would end up being as develop as a character as Kaladin and Shallan. Also, since he had quite a lot of POV it was logical to think he would get his own book as well as Kaladin/Shallan got a book and Dalinar was getting one. Alas, he isn't. This is just cruel. Why give POV to a character, why make so endearing and likable only to keep him in the backseat while EVERY SINGLE OTHER named character gets to be promoted to main protagonist? Even character with no POV and barely no appearances at all? WHY?

 

Imo, I do not mind reading about anybody, but THIS may cause me to disengaged from SA in the long run, because Brandon gave me a character to root for and then drop me by developing every single other character. So for me, this is real danger, but again, this is a highly personal issue which I doubt is shared by numerous fans. Each time I hear Brandon named all of his protagonists is like having a knife planted into the heart. It just hurts. So yeah, I do wonder why I ended rooting for THE character that won't be getting a spotlight. After WoR, he did seem important enough for it.

 

If this is what happened with Thomas Covenant (which I haven't read), then I feel for those fans.

 

Edit: Kaellok, I doubt we are getting more Adolin and less Kaladin. We may be getting less Kaladin, but I suspect we are going to get more Renarin and less Adolin by virtue of the former being one of the main protagonist and the later not being one. The sad thing is I am convinced Adolin is a rather popular character among those who do not dwell on the fandom, among the thousand of buyers of SA that don't express their voice, but love the books. Adolin in book 3 will be a plot device to fuel growth into Dalinar and Renarin, nothing more, nothing less.

Edited June 8, 2015 by maxal

[DreamEternal]

We just need less Kaladin and more Szeth/Adolin/Eshonai. He has already gone through most of his development and meeting his parents will be a good wrap-up for his plotline. Then he can stay somewhat in the background to open space for the development of future main characters so the switch will be smother.

Edited June 8, 2015 by CognitivePulsePattern

[maxal]

We just need less Kaladin and more Szeth/Adolin/Eshonai. He has already gone through most of his development and meeting his parents will be a good wrap-up for his plotline. Then he can stay somewhat in the background to open space for the development of future main characters so the switch will be smother.

 

That's the conundrum of my pain: we are going to get more Szeth/Eshonai, they have been pointed out as future main protagonists. However, we are probably not going to get much more Adolin because he is not one of the main protagonist and every single WoB on the matter I was able to gather confirms it. Why did he have to be the currently important POV character not getting any future spotlight or special treatment? That's a question only Brandon can answer, but as of today, he has not planned into making him one of the main guys or if he does, he is withholding this information. He is giving a more important role than initially and since he was not a POV character first, I'd wager his initial role was rather small.

 

I do not want anyone to think I do not want to read about Szeth or Eshonai or any of the named characters: I do even if I don't feel for them. I am sure Brandon will manage to make me enjoy their plot line just as he made me enjoy Shallan's story arc in WoR.  However, the thought they are getting their own story arc, flashbacks and featured book while Adolin doesn't make me unable to root for them in any sort of way. So for me, danger is to lose my attachment and my passion for SA because of the disappointment of not seeing number 4 POV character make the cut to main, which would not be so terrible if a horde of currently lesser characters were not getting their shots.

 

I agree we should get a bit less Kaladin now his story arc is wrapping up, but for most readers, he is the main protagonist of the story. I am thus confident he will get a decent slice of upcoming book 3, perhaps not as big, but significant nonetheless.

[Mckeedee123]

We just need less Kaladin and more Szeth/Adolin/Eshonai. He has already gone through most of his development and meeting his parents will be a good wrap-up for his plotline. Then he can stay somewhat in the background to open space for the development of future main characters so the switch will be smother.

 

We should probably start discussing this in spoiler tags 

I'm pretty sure that starting in Book Three, Kaladin will be transitioning from the Windrunners' primary attribute (protecting) to their secondary attribute (leading.) He now trusts Syl pretty much absolutely, so doing the right thing shouldn't be a problem, but Alethkar needs a leader right now and I can't see the riots in Kholinar and Kaladin's journey happening at roughly the same time being a coincidence. You may not have liked WoR Kaladin, but that's because he spent most of the book being acted upon by other characters (the opposite of WoK, where he had to make things happen on his own.) Stones Unhallowed will probably put him into a pragmatic situation once again, so there's still plenty to delve into there.

Edited June 9, 2015 by Mckeedee123

[DreamEternal]

Maxal, one does not need to be one of the big ten viewpoint characters to get attention. I believe Adolin will keep being an important viewpoint character for the first five books, and the last five should be treated like a new book series instead of the same as the first five, in terms of characters

[XenosHg]

Oh! I'll ask you here. So, there are 4 main protaginists in Stormlight thus far: Kaladin, Shallan, and 2 others I haven't seen yet (in part 1)

And each book is mostly focused on one of them.

So there are 4 protagonists in 5 future books. Who's gonna be main in final part 5?

 

(Also, are names Kalad|Warbreaker and Kaladin related somehow?)

[maxal]

We should probably start discussing this in spoiler tags 

I'm pretty sure that starting in Book Three, Kaladin will be transitioning from the Windrunners' primary attribute (protecting) to their secondary attribute (leading.) He now trusts Syl pretty much absolutely, so doing the right thing shouldn't be a problem, but Alethkar needs a leader right now and I can't see the riots in Kholinar and Kaladin's journey happening at roughly the same time being a coincidence. You may not have liked WoR Kaladin, but that's because he spent most of the book being acted upon by other characters (the opposite of WoK, where he had to make things happen on his own.) Stones Unhallowed will probably put him into a pragmatic situation once again, so there's still plenty to delve into there.

 

That makes perfect sense. Brandon is not one to let an issue dwindle overly, so I do not expect to read about Kaladin pouting over not having protected some people. Imo, he will always be bummed when facing failure, but I do not expect it to be part of his main story arc. Logically, it should be about leadership.

 

 

Maxal, one does not need to be one of the big ten viewpoint characters to get attention. I believe Adolin will keep being an important viewpoint character for the first five books, and the last five should be treated like a new book series instead of the same as the first five, in terms of characters

 

But the ten viewpoints get awesome flashback and a LOT more attention... For example, have you noticed that Brandon rarely writes a scene featuring Kaladin where Kaladin is NOT the POV character? In the case of Adolin, he never gets a POV whenever he is around either Shallan or Kaladin. His struggles with courtships have been broached and yet we did not get one single POV of Adolin while being with Shallan. On the other side, we have gotten three chapters of Kaladin being in prison... We have gotten how many chapters of Kaladin and Shallan trecking in the chasm while we had not gotten even a paragraph on how Adolin dealt with having let his fiance plunged towards her death mere minutes after he heartily admitted he loved her. Had it been Kaladin instead of Adolin, we would have gotten three chapters on the matter.

 

This is the difference between a main protagonist and a side-kick. Kaladin is the main protagonist, so pretty much every scenes are told from his POV. Every single thing that happens to him is widely described and fully exploited. Adolin is not, so the only time we get his POV is whenever he is alone... Have we gotten one single Adolin POV when he is around any other character? Not many... 

 

Main characters have more development, coolest plot arcs and are just more present. A secondary character is always unfinished... A secondary character's main purpose is to highlight the main characters, which is essentially what Adolin is. His only purpose in WoK was to emphasis Dalinar's dilemma. His only purpose in WoR was to fuel Kaladin's hatred of lighteyes. I'd wager his purpose in book 3 will be to fuel character growth for Dalinar and Renarin, but him? We are probably not going to get much more development for him.

 

Also, for me, having other characters talk about Adolin is not the same as having his POV. Besides, the fact the number of main protagonists is set to increase in the next book, it can only come at the expense of the other characters. Since Kaladin and Shallan are the heroes of the story and Dalinar, despite not having many POV is a very important character established as major, then it can only mean Adolin won't get many page time.

 

So from my point-of-vue, I do not understand why Brandon would give Adolin so many POV if he did not intended to make him as one of the 10 viewpoints. Right now, I wished he just had not written the character, because I failed to see why half the list of the 10 viewpoints have to be more important than him. They hardly play a role in the current story, so this is painful.

 

I understand most forumers do not mind these things nor do not agree. I will again state this is a highly personal issue I have with SA and it is because I love these books so much and I feel so much for some characters this is so hard. I do not expect anyone to understand, but thank you for reading.

[Crazy Mraize]

Frankly I'll say this.  It's quite slow to start.  By the end you won't regret going through it.  I don't think I would have loved the last third of the book as much if I hadn't slugged through the first half.  By the time I finished the book I thought it was one of the best I'd ever read.

 

It's not often the hair on the back of your neck rises while reading a book.  I'm pretty sure I cried like a girl at some portions and then was jumping up and down in excitement at others.  

 

But the truth is, you feel like you REALLY know these characters when you get through with it.  Then you get into WoR... ay ya ya, I lost many nights of good sleep to these books.

[Maple Duke]

When WoK was free on ibooks a while back i literally forced every person I knew to get it   . It was that good, even if the beginning is kind of slow.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Maple Duke

[Orlion Blight]

The way I look at it is that calling someone a "POV character" is misleading... I can't think of a better term right now, but it might be good to think of something else.

 

All these characters have complex and mysterious pasts (sure, that wasn't clear with Shallan to begin with, but that's because she's a liar!) They also seem to focus on different cultures/countries. With Dalinar being a... *sigh* POV character, it would defeat the purpose of that second trait to have Adolin or even Jasneth as a main POV Character. And frankly, Adolin's past does not seem all that interesting... or rather, is character development is stuck in the present. 

 

And, if I can be frank,

 

I think you should worry more about Adolin becoming a servant of Odium. He certainly gave into his hatred at the end of WoR.

 

 

[Bort]

I'd wager his purpose in book 3 will be to fuel character growth for Dalinar and Renarin, but him? 

 

 

I never made the connection before, but you are most likely right.

 

 

WoR Spoilers

Adolin kills Sadeas, then tries to hide the face. Renarin is Truthwatcher. It's a good starting point to develop Renarin more, because will he be able to see what Adolin has done, or even that he is lying when he says he has no idea what happened to Sadeas.

[Haelbarde]

If you've read other Brandon Sanderson stuff, the nice thing about the Stormlight Archive is that it starts to weave the Cosmere more directly into the story. While all the other books hint at something else, and we can use information from one book to inform a theory from another, the Stormlight Archive starts to reference things in more meaningful ways. 

 

In regards to length, yeah it can be long. I personally didn't find Shallan's story line in The Way of Kings engaging, but the others were real page-turners. In some ways, you could almost skip the Shallan stuff (apart from the fact it helps inform the reader about some major things) in the first book. It's more in Words of Radiance that Shallan starts to be become truly relevant (in my opinion).

 

I will say this - if you've ever attempted to read The Eye of the World (first book of the Wheel of Time series), got a half a dozen chapters in, and then put it down (my first attempt was exactly that), then you have nothing to fear from Way of Kings.

[maxal]

The way I look at it is that calling someone a "POV character" is misleading... I can't think of a better term right now, but it might be good to think of something else.

 

All these characters have complex and mysterious pasts (sure, that wasn't clear with Shallan to begin with, but that's because she's a liar!) They also seem to focus on different cultures/countries. With Dalinar being a... *sigh* POV character, it would defeat the purpose of that second trait to have Adolin or even Jasneth as a main POV Character. And frankly, Adolin's past does not seem all that interesting... or rather, is character development is stuck in the present. 

 

And, if I can be frank,

 

I disagree. I fount there is much more interesting things going on in Adolin's past than Renarin or Jasnah. After all, he did start of training years before most kids, he lost his mother, he won a Blade at 16 and earned a Rhysadium not long after. As a teenager he was a fop nobody took seriously until he won a hopeless duel and joined his father in the war. No to mention the years where he had to deal with his depressed father that lead him to become a soldier, a position he did not want. Oh and he was tutored by Zahel... He is widely interesting and rather fun to read. Renarin's flashbacks, in comparison, do not strike me as too interesting as it will most likely consist of him feeling useless as he was a sick child... Two or three chapters should be enough to cover it, but a whole book? However, in his case, since his book is scheduled in the second half, it may broach the gap in between books. in any advent, Adolin's flashbacks are full of actions and should be very entertaining.

 

People will argue Renarin and Dalinar's flashbacks would cover Adolin's but it is not the same. I want to read them from his POV, not someone else.

 

As for the last bit you put in spoilers, not going to happen. Brandon did confirm Adolin was not acting under the push of Odium and he was not going evil. 

 

I never made the connection before, but you are most likely right.

 

 

WoR Spoilers

Adolin kills Sadeas, then tries to hide the face. Renarin is Truthwatcher. It's a good starting point to develop Renarin more, because will he be able to see what Adolin has done, or even that he is lying when he says he has no idea what happened to Sadeas.

 

This is greatest fear... What if Brandon does not write the aftermath of murdering Sadeas from Adolin's POV? What if he completely overlook Adolin as a character to favor Renarin or Dalinar? This would be a disaster for me as the murder should impact Adolin the most, so we should read it from his POV, his internal dilemma, his inner turmoil... He should be the main actor of this plot line, but I am deeply afraid Brandon will turn it into a plot centered around Renarin or Dalinar.

 

This, this may make me disengage from SA.

Edited June 10, 2015 by maxal

[sun tzaro]

Since this is a subforum that only fans of the series visit regularly, you're not going to find any dissenting opinions.

 

I bought WoK and WoR and shipped them to a friend who is a frustrating cynic, and he didn't get more than halfway through WoK, as he found issues with every character and nearly every scene. 

 

I bought WoK and WoR for my grandmother, who did finish (and at least mildly enjoyed) both. No doubt part of the reason that she was willing to stick with them was because they were given to her by her grandchildren, and as a loving and caring person with a strong sense of filial loyalty, she probably felt that she had to finish them.

 

Frankly, I'm baffled how the third book can be anything approaching what we who treasure this series would want... The POV is going to be largely focused on a character that we don't really want as a protagonist, and, again, the pace is so frantic at this point that I am hesitant to recommend this to people until the third book comes out.

 

I, personally, can't for Szeth to cleanse Shinovar with his new best friend.

 

I agree that the expectations we all have for the third book will be difficult to match. I'm not so worried, though - after finishing Firefight (a pleasant improvement over the first), I'm certain if Sanderson keeps up his upward trajectory in the forthcoming Mistborn books, he'll be able to write a beast for the third book. 

 

 

My main issue with SA and calling it Epic Fantasy is the fact Brandon kept on telling the book structure calls for one character to be prominently featured with additional flashbacks from another character, both can be or not be the same. This I am deeply annoyed by because it also means the current characters of SA may not have a large role to play through out the course of the series.

 

For me, what qualifies Epic Fantasy is this quality were we follow the same characters over multiple books and we get to see them grow/evolve. If the focus changes from current main characters to current side characters, then I may end up disinterested. Again, it may not happen, but I am deeply worried about it, even more so the character I want to read the most about is not scheduled to be one of the selected few. 

 

That's not something I would worry about. WoR was Shallan's book, and we still saw plenty of Mr. Mopey. Same with Adolin - just because we haven't very many chapters from his point of view doesn't mean that he hasn't been relevant for the last two books. 

 

My personal opinion is that as long as the character is doing something and participating in the plot somehow, it's acceptable if we don't get so many chapters from said character's POV.

[Mckeedee123]

Frankly, I'm baffled how the third book can be anything approaching what we who treasure this series would want... The POV is going to be largely focused on a character that we don't really want as a protagonist, and, again, the pace is so frantic at this point that I am hesitant to recommend this to people until the third book comes out.

 

 

I've never understood it. A little bit after I started reading these forums, I asked all of my friends, independently, for the first time, what they thought of Szeth, and they all said he was one of their favorite characters. I don't mind him too much myself, and he definitely deserves redemption. I'm forced to assume that all of the haters read Mistborn first or something, since that seems to be common ground for 17th Shard Stormlight haters.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Mckeedee123

[maxal]

I, personally, can't for Szeth to cleanse Shinovar with his new best friend.

 

I agree that the expectations we all have for the third book will be difficult to match. I'm not so worried, though - after finishing Firefight (a pleasant improvement over the first), I'm certain if Sanderson keeps up his upward trajectory in the forthcoming Mistborn books, he'll be able to write a beast for the third book. 

 

 

It seems we all have different expectations. For my part, as long as Adolin has a strong part to play and keeps on being more and more fleshed out as a character, I will be happy. Since I am theorized it won't happen: I fear book 3. However, not getting his flashbacks is hurting me: there is so much I wanted to know.

 

 

 

That's not something I would worry about. WoR was Shallan's book, and we still saw plenty of Mr. Mopey. Same with Adolin - just because we haven't very many chapters from his point of view doesn't mean that he hasn't been relevant for the last two books. 

 

My personal opinion is that as long as the character is doing something and participating in the plot somehow, it's acceptable if we don't get so many chapters from said character's POV.

 

 

Mr Mopey still is the story main protagonist so it is safe to assume he will keep on getting playing a large role. The problem with Adolin is not so much his parts in WoR, but the fact Brandon has blatantly stated Adolin was not one of the main characters which implies very limited character development, it deprives him of beautiful flashbacks and it makes him a spectator to his own story arc. This is not where I expected his character to go after WoR: I expected him to grow some more and become as important as Kaladin/Shallan/Dalinar.

 

Whereas I do agree with the last statement, I cannot help being ragging insane mad Adolin has to be the ONLY important POV character we have had so far that does not get to be promoted to main character. Why not him? Why everyone else but not him? Why Brandon does not want to write him as a main protagonist? I get it, this is not the story he wants to tell, but it is the story I thought I was reading, up until I read those dreaded WoB.

[DreamEternal]

Main character≠focus character. We may not get an Adolin book, but we may still get some character development from him. I hope. I am starting to be worried, and it is your fault Maxal. Still, I don't think he needs to be a focus character.

Him not getting flashbacks or being seem throught the eyes of other characters is not so big a problem when you notice one thing: Adolin is honest, direct and genuine. He is not a man who questions himself at every step like Dalinar, or speaks of nothing he does or sees like Renarin, or someone living a lie, like Shallan. If you want to know how he feels, he shows it. If he has a deep concern, he tells it. So he doens't lose as much as other characters from being show by other people's eyes.

I just hope the recent turn of events makes he become more than Dalinar's sidekick or Kaladin's foil, because I agree with you that sometimes it seems he is there to just develop other characters.

Edited June 11, 2015 by CognitivePulsePattern

[Orlion Blight]

 

 

 

 

I've never understood it. A little bit after I started reading these forums, I asked all of my friends, independently, for the first time, what they thought of Szeth, and they all said he was one of their favorite characters. I don't mind him too much myself, and he definitely deserves redemption. I'm forced to assume that all of the haters read Mistborn first or something, since that seems to be common ground for 17th Shard Stormlight haters.

 

In regards to your spoiler, I read Mistborn first and I loved Szeth. He's a plot mover, if he shows up, you know the over all plot is going to march forward. It's like Quinn from The Night's Dawn Trilogy: He is a terrible, awful, repugnant human being... but nearly every time he showed up in that bloated trilogy, something actually happened relevant to the plot!

[Bort]

Unless I've missed something incredibly huge, Szeth isn't in Mistborn.

[DreamEternal]

Szeth... in mistborn? I think he meant he read mistborn first and liked Szeth in SA. But I find him more pitiable than despicable, he is just too weak of will for me to see him as guilty of obeying. The shin fanatical following of stone shamanism turned him more into a tool than a person, and I have a hard time hating someone for their weakness.

[Bort]

I think he did too. That'll teach me for not reading the quote properly.

[maxal]

I accidentally downvoted CognitivePulse... Can someone fix it? It is my stupid touch screen new laptop.... I am truly sorry, especially since most people know how I feel about downvotes. I truly was a mistake. I wanted to press "quote" not "downvote".

 

Main character≠focus character. We may not get an Adolin book, but we may still get some character development from him. I hope. I am starting to be worried, and it is your fault Maxal. Still, I don't think he needs to be a focus character.

 

Sorry I caused you to worry  The thing is I want Adolin to be a focus character because he is simply awesome and there is so much to tell about him... The little Brandon has hinted about him opens a wide array of possibilities... There is also the fact he is widely different than the other main protagonists... Have you noticed most of them dwell on the introversion side of the personality test? Every single male character of importance is deeply introspective... Adolin was a sharp contrast with everyone else and I feel he just deserved better as a character: he deserved a beautiful book. 

 

 

Him not getting flashbacks or being seem throught the eyes of other characters is not so big a problem when you notice one thing: Adolin is honest, direct and genuine. He is not a man who questions himself at every step like Dalinar, or speaks of nothing he does or sees like Renarin, or someone living a lie, like Shallan. If you want to know how he feels, he shows it. If he has a deep concern, he tells it. So he doens't lose as much as other characters from being show by other people's eyes.

I just hope the recent turn of events makes he become more than Dalinar's sidekick or Kaladin's foil, because I agree with you that sometimes it seems he is there to just develop other characters.

 

Adolin is honest, direct and genuine, but Adolin has also walled himself in by not letting people see his true self. He hides behind an outgoing, ever smiling and over-confident persona, but on the inside, he is caring, sensitive, smart and not so sure of himself. He doubt a lot, but he never shows it. Nobody has any idea how affected he is by his long trail of failed courtships. Why? He does not let it out. He does open up to people: he talks a lot, he is very social, but he never talks about the things that matters the most. So I disagree there is nothing more to Adolin than we have seen. The little POV we have had of him were quite telling and made me yearn for more.

 

I too hope he becomes more, but the sad truth is I now have a hard time seeing him as something more than a plot device and I have yet to find any evidence from Brandon this is not where he is going with him. I doubt secondary characters will get much development, not when we have 10 protagonists to explore... So Adolin not making the cut means Adolin is not relevant to the story and it is a huge shame as he was such a good character. He could have been so much more 

[Slater]

I accidentally downvoted CognitivePulse... Can someone fix it? It is my stupid touch screen new laptop.... I am truly sorry, especially since most people know how I feel about downvotes. I truly was a mistake. I wanted to press "quote" not "downvote".

 

 

Sorry I caused you to worry  The thing is I want Adolin to be a focus character because he is simply awesome and there is so much to tell about him... The little Brandon has hinted about him opens a wide array of possibilities... There is also the fact he is widely different than the other main protagonists... Have you noticed most of them dwell on the introversion side of the personality test? Every single male character of importance is deeply introspective... Adolin was a sharp contrast with everyone else and I feel he just deserved better as a character: he deserved a beautiful book. 

 

 

 

Adolin is honest, direct and genuine, but Adolin has also walled himself in by not letting people see his true self. He hides behind an outgoing, ever smiling and over-confident persona, but on the inside, he is caring, sensitive, smart and not so sure of himself. He doubt a lot, but he never shows it. Nobody has any idea how affected he is by his long trail of failed courtships. Why? He does not let it out. He does open up to people: he talks a lot, he is very social, but he never talks about the things that matters the most. So I disagree there is nothing more to Adolin than we have seen. The little POV we have had of him were quite telling and made me yearn for more.

 

I too hope he becomes more, but the sad truth is I now have a hard time seeing him as something more than a plot device and I have yet to find any evidence from Brandon this is not where he is going with him. I doubt secondary characters will get much development, not when we have 10 protagonists to explore... So Adolin not making the cut means Adolin is not relevant to the story and it is a huge shame as he was such a good character. He could have been so much more 

That logic doesn't hold up much considering Adolin got plenty of character development already in two books where he is a supporting character. There is a difference between not being relevant and not being as relevant as you personally want them to be. Nobody read the end of WoR and thought Adolin isn't going to have a part to play that's important.