[OB] Who is the author of Oathbringer?

[Andy92]

I personally think the new chapters helped put Dalinar back into some consideration, given the ardents are starting to label him a heretic. 

[DiamondMind he/him]

17 minutes ago, Andy92 said:

I personally think the new chapters helped put Dalinar back into some consideration, given the ardents are starting to label him a heretic. 

My problem with that the writing just does not sound like Dalinar, plus he probably hadn't had the ideas in the book since his youth.

[teknopathetic he/him]

I feel like it SHOULD be Sunmaker, since the book is named after his sword. 

[Brachyura]

What about Shallan? I still think Jasnah has the best odds, but  really wanted to second Shallan and put her back into contention after this and last weeks chapters.

The confessional nature of the book so-far is very reminiscent of the importance of speaking/writing truths to Lightweavers. My bet would be that writing Oathbringer serves as vehicle by which Shallan fully develops as a Radiant and fixes her relationship with Pattern.

I’m certain some will feel threatened by this record. Some few may feel liberated" - truth can be both threatening and liberating, again the central tension for Lightweavers.

"I needed to write it anyway." - Based off of Shallan's PoVs so far,  the story seems to be moving towards a point where she will need to fully accept her parents' deaths and whatever other shenanigans her deceptions cause in this book.  In this case, the author “needing” to write the book would be not just for the general world’s benefit, but because it’s required by her order and for her personal sanity.

"I ask not that you forgive me. Nor that you even understand." – i.e. the author doesn't care as much if you understand the content or reason for the book, more so that s/he can be honest. 

"In this record, I hold nothing back. I will try not to shy away from difficult topics, or paint myself in a dishonestly heroic light." "I will express only direct, even brutal, truth." -- her new Brightness Radiant persona is the LITERAL incarnation of "painting" (*cough, weaving*) oneself "in a dishonestly heroic light."  Plus, avoiding difficult topics is Shallan's MO. If she's the author, these sentences themselves would be a type of acknowledgment of her habits as opposed to just a general disclaimer to hype up what the author knows. 

Asides from references to truth telling –

-          "I can honestly say this book has been brewing in me since my youth" / "Perhaps my heresy stretches back to those days in my childhood, where these ideas began." -- Shallan's childhood and the origin of her bond with Pattern is the only blank left in her backstory. I can’t think of any other character – that we know of – whose childhood/youth has such a central role in their life.

-          She’s already a scholar, her sitting down and writing a book after the big plot points of OB part 1 would fit her character.

-          Shadesmar: Pulling this idea from a different thread, but it seems likely that Shallan will develop her soulcasting skills more this book since that particular aspect of her order hasn't been touched on as much. Out of any of the characters, Jasnah and Shallan have the best reason for a brush with Shadesmar and it’ll probably be particularly dangerous for Shallan given her inexperience.

-          “You cannot have a spice described to you, but must taste it for yourself.” Potentially a nice call back to Adolin making Shallan try spicy food and her ruminations this week about how you need experience to draw from when acting. --> [“I’m not going to be able to imitate this, she thought, leaning against her box, until I’ve lived it. No more than I could draw their lives without having walked among them.”]

-          Title of the book: for a modern character, Oathbringer” is probably a reference to the sword or maybe the oaths of a Radiant – preferably both. This works best for Dalinar, but you can make it stretch for Shallan – she’s currently investigating the death of Sadeas, Oathbringer’s last owner, while being engaged to the murder who himself hid the sword in question. Plus, supposing that the book is intended as a confession for Shallan to keep her lightweaver "oaths," then the book would literally bring her oaths to fruition. [although that pun’s pretty bad so I almost hope not]

-          But isn’t Shallan fairly devout??  Whether Shallan is viewed as a heretic or not could easily change other the course of the next chapters. Her relationship with Jasnah, breaking gender norms by welding a Shardblade, and simply being a Radiant, particularly under Dalinar, all would make her seem pretty heretical to society.

Hope that all made sense. This became slightly longer than intended. (Now someone just needs to grab some more tinfoil to make a rational for Kaladin and we'll have all the main characters covered.)

[Ansalem]

46 minutes ago, DiamondMind said:

My problem with that the writing just does not sound like Dalinar, plus he probably hadn't had the ideas in the book since his youth.

Well, if Dalinar is the author he's probably not actually writing it himself. When women scribe books for their husbands, they kind of... fancy it up. Navani has already been shown to do this with a book she scribed for Gavilar in WoK. She made him sound more scholarly than he really was. If she's scribing Oathbringer for Dalinar, then there's a good chance she's doing the same thing for him.

[Andy92]

18 minutes ago, Ansalem said:

Well, if Dalinar is the author he's probably not actually writing it himself. When women scribe books for their husbands, they kind of... fancy it up. Navani has already been shown to do this with a book she scribed for Gavilar in WoK. She made him sound more scholarly than he really was. If she's scribing Oathbringer for Dalinar, then there's a good chance she's doing the same thing for him.

My thoughts as well. I'm not 100% sold on Dalinar being the author, but I think today's chapters helped the cause of it being him more. 

[+Wax he/him]

The spice reference in 20/21 chapter today made me think it was a woman who wrote it.  And definitely Alethi with their men’s food or women’s food definitions.

So, increasingly thinking Evi... until I get proven wrong next week

[Wreith he/him]

There are at least two Alethi women we have seen eat "men's food", Ialai and Shallan.

It's safe to assume Jasnah has and I suspect Navani trying it is also a safe assumption.

As well as any ardents anywhere, but none of them have currently been prominent enough I wouldn't think.

 

Is there any possible way it's Kadash? Currently he's still devout, but that could be changing.

Additionally, he was the one that told Adolin that additional ardents were going to train on their soulcasters. If he was one of them, he might glimpse or have already glimpsed Shadesmar.

[Aleksiel]

The Sunmaker was mentioned again and in the context of uniting, which Dalinar is trying to achieve. Perhaps he'll end up having Navani read him a book written by his predecessor - the Sunmaker. 

 

[Subvisual Haze]

Quote

"I thought that I was surely dead. Certainly, some who saw further than I did thought I had fallen."

This line to me severely limits the chances of almost any modern day author.  The blurb about those who can see further than the author implies that this event occurred during a time when others were actively trying to glimpse into the future via the non-physical realms.

As Sunmaker was responsible for the downfall of the Hierocracy, I think he is the strongest candidate.  He doesn't ask to be forgiven (for causing a great war), and acknowledges that many will see him as a heretic (not surprising for bringing down a theocratic government).  Referring to women reading his book is a deliberate insult to Vorinist enforced gender roles.

It's possible Oathbringer itself is a secret and highly suppressed biography writing by the Sunmaker regarding the true failures of the Hierocracy (which are currently incredibly vague when described by in universe characters).  Perhaps it holds "the secret" that can destroy the Knights Radiant and Taravangian is planning to personally deliver it to Dalinar.

[Shadowfax]

Late to this game, because I've been holding out on forming an opinion, but I'm tossing Adolin's name into this mix.

[Subvisual Haze]

This week's additions are incredibly modest regarding the writer's intelligence.  There goes Jasnah as a possibility

[Aleksiel]

So the author emphasizes they aren't a philosopher or a poet, I think we can scratch scholars and artists in general.

[CodeMnke she/her]

Has anyone seriously considered Evi? Though my biggest doubt there is I would assume there would have been some mention of that in regards to his wife by now. I mean everyone considered her "not bright" would have expected it to be remarked upon if she had written a book.

 

Course even that. If everyone had thought she died, but she had not and THEN wrote the book.....

[bo.montier]

1 hour ago, CodeMnke said:

Has anyone seriously considered Evi? Though my biggest doubt there is I would assume there would have been some mention of that in regards to his wife by now. I mean everyone considered her "not bright" would have expected it to be remarked upon if she had written a book.

 

Course even that. If everyone had thought she died, but she had not and THEN wrote the book.....

I don't get where there is any evidence of Evi not being dead. Where does this theory come from; is it just because of Dalinar not being able to remember, or is there something more that I'm just missing?

[+Wax he/him]

23 minutes ago, bo.montier said:

I don't get where there is any evidence of Evi not being dead. Where does this theory come from; is it just because of Dalinar not being able to remember, or is there something more that I'm just missing?

Um... Jasnah was dead, but came back.

So, until we see the body proof like Gavilar, we can’t discount the possibiliy.

[bo.montier]

Just now, axcellence said:

Um... Jasnah was dead, but came back.

So, until we see the body proof like Gavilar, we can’t discount the possibiliy.

Right, you can't prove a negative. That's not my question; my question is what evidence is there FOR her not being dead?

I'm not, personally, going to subscribe to a theory of "well maybe so and so isn't dead because...You never know..." without some reason behind it. 
To be clear, I would have said the same thing through the whole of WoR until Jasnah showed back up. I was shocked, but thought Brandon had pulled a George RR Martin on us. 
I'm not saying these theories are wrong; I'm genuinely curious what the reasoning is, and if there is any evidence to back it up.

[+Wax he/him]

28 minutes ago, bo.montier said:

Right, you can't prove a negative. That's not my question; my question is what evidence is there FOR her not being dead?

I'm not, personally, going to subscribe to a theory of "well maybe so and so isn't dead because...You never know..." without some reason behind it. 
To be clear, I would have said the same thing through the whole of WoR until Jasnah showed back up. I was shocked, but thought Brandon had pulled a George RR Martin on us. 
I'm not saying these theories are wrong; I'm genuinely curious what the reasoning is, and if there is any evidence to back it up.

There is no positive evidence. All of us learnt her name 5 chapters ago, so looking for positive evidence is ambitious.

Circumtantially, a supposed dead person came back at the end of each book. Taln and Jasnah.  So, there are some views (particularly mine) that Evi is a prime candidate.

The other is a epigraph here saying “ some thought I had fallen,..”.  Again, this suggests someone thought to have died but hadn’t.

Edited October 17, 2017 by axcellence

[bo.montier]

1 minute ago, axcellence said:

There is no positive evidence. All of us learnt her name 5 chapters ago, so looking for positive evidence is ambitious.

Circumtantially, a supposed dead person came back at the end of each book. Taln and Jasnah.  So, there is some views (particularly mine) that Evi is a prime candidate.

The other is a epigraph here saying “ some thought I had fallen,..”.  Again, this suggests someone thought to have died but hadn’t.

Cool, just wanted to make sure I understood.

And yeah, that quote does lend itself to such an understanding.

Thanks!

[CodeMnke she/her]

Yeah, I have no evidence just as i was commenting on Evi (since i was starting to consider her as a possible candidate for the preface). The thought that the author of the preface was thought to have died but did not popped in my head.

[Aleksiel]

20 minutes ago, axcellence said:

Circumtantially, a supposed dead person came back at the end of each book. Taln and Jasnah.  

Nobody thought Taln was dead, though. People believe the heralds are in the Tranquilene Halls fighting. 

[Subvisual Haze]

1 hour ago, axcellence said:

Um... Jasnah was dead, but came back.

So, until we see the body proof like Gavilar, we can’t discount the possibiliy.

I am starting to enjoy the crackpot Evi theories.  What if Evi was a Herald?  Or Vivenna?  Or isn't dead?  Or was the avatar of Cultivation?  Or wrote Oathbringer?  Or is the champion of Odium?  Or came from Nalthis?  Or sunny side of Taldain?

The total amount of information we know about Evi could fit in one sentence, but the poor lady is already being shoehorned into every possible theoretical role in the cosmere.

[The Invested Beard]

I think Evi was on the grassy knoll.

[aemetha he/him]

Has anyone suggested Heleran? There are lots of theories that he's not as dead as he appears, and with Mraize name dropping him, seems like a possibility to me.

[+Wax he/him]

2 hours ago, Aleksiel said:

Nobody thought Taln was dead, though. People believe the heralds are in the Tranquilene Halls fighting. 

Ok - cosmere terminology then.  Hoid was present in two epilogues to receive persons who were not present in the physical realm of Roshar.