Bremen Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 After reading WoK Shallan was definitely the character I wanted to know more about. Now... I'm not so sure. Eshonai would be my choice. I really want to know more about the listeners, and why they had Gavilar killed. Szeth might edge out Shallan as well; it's been bugging me for years. what the heck was up with Tien and rocks? I really want to know more about stone shamanism obviously. I'm with others, at this point Dalinar's backstory seems pointless. What he asked the nightwatcher is an interesting nugget and could provide color to his character, but I don't see it being a huge deal compared to where he is going.
Shardlet he/him Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 Does anyone know why the flashbacks for the second arc were changed? The second arc is still fairly fluid. It was only in the last year that Brandon nailed down the flashbacks for the first arc. 1
Aleksiel Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I am not too excited about Shallan's flashbacks, but as long as she doesn't try to be witty, I'm ok with that. Though she has said she always talked back the first thing that came to her mind, so I hope Brandon has come up with some nice comebacks on Shallan's part, but that would make her funnier in the past than she was in WoK...
Shardbearer he/him Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I'm stoked to find out more about Shallan. Adolin? Renarin? Do they even have backstories?
Chlehrma Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 The flashbacks are very necessary to fully fleshing out a character. Imagine if the only thing we knew about Kaladin was that he liked to fight, protected people, and killed a shard bearer...pretty flat character topography. Add in bits and pieces of his childhood as he grew up and the character gains a semblance of depth similar to a real person. Break this history up and intersperse it within a narrative to create troughs in the progression of a story and you build anticipation...kind of like putting out a few chapters on Tor's site, then reducing the flow to a trickle before releasing the book. I did not like Shallan very much in WoK. She was just not very compelling--though I was still curious about her backstory--however, the first few chapters of the new book make her considerably more compelling. We get to see more of her flaws and an explanation for the flaws. It is the flaws in a personality that makes a character compelling. I am very much looking forward to the flashbacks in the new book. I am hoping that future books will contain flashbacks for Amaram, Gaz, Renarin, and Galivar--dead or not, they might be interesting.
18th Shard he/him Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 Would Dalinar's have his wife's name? ... 1
Awesomeness Summoned he/him Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) Would Dalinar's have his wife's name? ... I assume that if she was in the scenes, yes her name would be given. The only way her name would be missing is if the flashbacks were actually Dalinar remembering the events. The flashbacks in WoK seemed more like jumps in the story timeline rather than Kaladin remembering the events so, unless Brandon changes the format, I'm sure Dalinar would remember her name in any scenes that take place before he went to the night mother. Edited February 4, 2014 by aWESomeness summoned
Chlehrma Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I assume that if she was in the scenes, yes her name would be given. The only way her name would be missing is if the flashbacks were actually Dalinar remembering the events. The flashbacks in WoK seemed more like jumps in the story timeline rather than Kaladin remembering the events so, unless Brandon changes the format, I'm sure Dalinar would remember her name in any scenes that take place before he went to the night mother. It would be really funny if her name actually was Sshhhhhhh
Loki27 Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 Actually, the only reason I'm hesitant on having book focus on Shallan is because I'm am curious about her character, but not yet as invested in some of the other, upcoming POV characters (like Taravangian), so I'm perhaps a little worried about hitting a lull in later books. But counter to that, Brandon has time to make me more interested in those characters by the time their books come around, so I probably shouldn't worry about it. Taravangian,Dalinor, and Sveth are the ones that I want. Shallan is overhyped. 1
Draconis he/him Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I am not too excited about Shallan's flashbacks, but as long as she doesn't try to be witty, I'm ok with that. Though she has said she always talked back the first thing that came to her mind, so I hope Brandon has come up with some nice comebacks on Shallan's part, but that would make her funnier in the past than she was in WoK... Shallan vs Wit in the Battle of the Comebacks This could be a verrrry interesting scene 5
Awesomeness Summoned he/him Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 Shallan vs Wit in the Battle of the Comebacks This could be a verrrry interesting scene Nothing against Shallan, but if a worldhopping immortal, who currently goes by the name Wit, can't tromp a 17 year old girl who's been a shut in most her life in a battle of Wits, I'll be losing quite a bit of respect for Hoid. 5
EvilNuff Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I agree with the OP. Personally Shallan is my least favorite character and her backstory I have no interest in. I will still eagerly read WoR day of release but yeah I definitely would take literally any other character over Shallan for backstory. 1
IllNsickly he/him Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Nothing against Shallan, but if a worldhopping immortal, who currently goes by the name Wit, can't tromp a 17 year old girl who's been a shut in most her life in a battle of Wits, I'll be losing quite a bit of respect for Hoid. Dunno. 20 something year old heroes sure do get the jump on some ancient and immortal Bad Guys often enough that i wouldnt be surprised.. Heh...It may even end up being the most "Epic Rap Battle of History" 2
The Mad Reader she/her Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I think Shallan's flashback chapters would be more interesting than anyone else's at this point. For most of the characters, I mainly want to go forward and see what they'll do in the future, but Shallan has a lot of secrets in her past that I'd love to find out.
Chrono she/her Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Shallan flashbacks were half the reason I wanted this book! I'm very curious to see what exactly she did as a child, i.e the reasoning for killing her father, what happened when Nan Balat's leg was broken, dat safe... Shallan is a very mysterious character. How did she get her shardblade? Why is she running away from her past? Is it because of guilt or is it because the memories are just too terrible? Shallan seems to have a panic attack when she Lightweaves a scene from her home. Why is that? There are all these questions that are unanswered. I have the feeling that Shallan is hiding some rather shocking things from herself and from us. Let's see if she's really as innocent and naive as she presumes herself to be.
Elbereth she/her Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I am very excited to see Shallan, though I would prefer Szeth. As someone else said, information is key. I have a feeling Szeth will have the greatest importance for a while, though Dalinar's vist to Nightwatcher might be useful too.
JoeAgain he/him Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I love Shallan as a character, but even the backstory of a character I disliked (*cough cough* Szeth) would be interesting to me!
Looter he/him Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 I have to agree with the OP on this one, while Shallen is ok and I love some elements about her she was pretty meh to me. I mainly read her POV for Jasnah info. Even her secrets seem kind of forced. I just don't relate to her. Most of the time she is living a lie or concealing things about herself, I will probably like her more then crappy elend from mistborn but not much. Why all the dislike for Kaladin flashbacks, his are about the only flashbacks of main fantasy characters with fairly relatable childhood instances. They are one of the best parts about kaladin, everything he does is based upon his early life and the hard work he has put in because of the type of childhood he had. If Shallen is half as developed and have family nearly as great she will be great. 2
Alice Rose she/her Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 I'm glad the flashbacks are Shallan. I have the most questions about her and Szeth's past. But I would trade her flashbacks for Taln flashbacks in a heartbeat. I can't imagine a moment of his flashbacks that wouldn't tell me something I want to know now.
Dawnshard Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 I think one of the later books, four or five, might be galivar. That would be really interesting. My fav would be Szeth though. I am super interested in his backstory. Also didn't someone mention one of the Parshendi might have a flashback.
Awesomeness Summoned he/him Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 Eshonai's flashbacks will be book four if I recall correctly
loke13 Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 Why all the dislike for Kaladin flashbacks, his are about the only flashbacks of main fantasy characters with fairly relatable childhood instances. They are one of the best parts about kaladin, everything he does is based upon his early life and the hard work he has put in because of the type of childhood he had. If Shallen is half as developed and have family nearly as great she will be great. While I can't speak for everyone else I enjoyed Kaladin's backstory some aspects were a bit boring you kinda knew the broad strokes of his past early on in the book which made it a bit of a slog to get through for me. Shallan was my favorite character in WoK I loved her wit and sarcasm so having her backstory explained as well as getting information on her mother and father's mysterious deaths has a certain appeal to me that Kaladin's just never offered.
Swimmingly he/him Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 Reading this, I'm realizing that everybody likes something different in their fiction - and Brandon's books have it all 1
flinn Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 Shallan is far from my favorite character but no doubt she has a lot in her past that I am very curious about.
GreyPilgrim he/him Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) I am pretty excited to see Shallan's history. I feel that the climax of her story in WoK leaves us wanting her story the most.While characters such as Szeth, Dalinar, and Eshonai are still very mysterious in their pasts (we know very little about the specifics, barring Dalinar), we have a lot of direct questions for Shallan's history. What is up with the Ghostbloods? What is her family's involvement? What happened to Helaran, and basically all of Shallan's brothers? How did she get her Shardblade? Why did she kill her father? Et cetera.Shallan's story requires the backstory more than anyone else at this point in the narrative. If the blanks are not filled in, I feel that we will undergo a disconnection with her. Though we have questions about Szeth, he is still a relatively minor character. The tension surrounding him needs to build before we see what is up with him. Same for Eshonai, a common name here on 17th Shard, but a character whom the casual reader will not even know exists until she is introduced formally in her interlude. As for Dalinar, while we all want to know what is up with his visit to the Nightwatcher, his present story does not yet need the backstory to be fully experienced.I personally feel that Shallan's characterization in WoK was relatively weak, at least compared to those of the other wonderful characters (Kaladin, Dalinar, Jasnah, Navani, Renarin). In fact, of major characters, I felt her characterization the most lacking except for Adolin. Hopefully her flashbacks as well as her extended time in the main narrative will make up for this and flesh her out into the character we all know she deserves to be.In all honesty, I have wondered many times about the intelligence of Brandon's decision to give us flashbacks instead of developing backstory in the normal way writers do. I fear that what I described above could happen with other characters. A balance needs to be achieved between the present and the past, lest the characters begin to feel shallow.That aside, in summary, give me Shallan's flashbacks! Edited February 8, 2014 by GreyPilgrim 2
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