Words of Radiance Reactions (SPOILERS)

[FeatherWriter]

@Lummi. You're on! I will defend the honor of non-Shalladin ships against you!

[lummi]

@FeatherWriter Bring it !  
btw. wanna hear your reactions to Shalladin moments

Edited March 6, 2014 by lummi

[EC11]

Just finished it. Loved it, an easy 9/10 for me!

 

Overall I fell in love with Shallan, she is an amazing character! Her growth was just fascinating and I was quite pleased to see the direction her character took.

 

I liked Kaladin's final evolution (and his decision to finally become a Radiant  )

 

The fleshing out of Adolin was pretty fun too, he's a sturdy character, but his ruthless streak is something that's going to have to be explored...

 

The only thing I was disappointed by was the lack of Dalinar in this book. Oh well makes me look forward to book four!

 

The revelations which floored me most:

-Parshendi are really voidbringers! (this raises the question of whether they have to have voidspren transform them and whether they can hide from the transformation storm)

-Jasnah's 'death' and her sudden reappearancewith Hoid   I'm looking forward to what those two get up to

-Amaram's activities which apparently involve the Church

-the Nature of Mr. T's gift (I knew it was a boom from the Nightwatcher)

-The Ghostbloods, still more not revealed about them

-Shallan having access to Pattern since youth (I'm assuming either her mother was a Ghostblood or a member of Naln's faction)

-Naln being around (if that's really who Darkness is, but whoever he is he is cosmere savvy)

 

 

Things really have seemed to speed up though, I mean its book two and already the Everstorm comes? How is this gonna stretch into 10 books I'm forced to wonder.

[Walker]

I have a meta-reaction.  A reaction to the reactions. I am very unhappy with the people that think Brandon has become Jordan and is "unwilling" to kill off major characters. 

 

First of all, character death has too often become a cheap gimmick for character growth.  You kill character A so that character B will grow and improve.  But there are things you can do other than death than are far more powerful.  Exhibit A: Hobber.  Bridge 4 has become the go-to for character deaths.  We have even had characters more significant than Hobber die.  But what happened to Hobber is more powerful than any of the other Bridge 4 deaths.

 

I also think that Moash getting away (and immediately regretting his decision) is more powerful than if Kaladin killed him.  It is the losses to factors other than death that are having the most emotional impact.

 

Another reason for character death is to show how high the stakes are.  But that is the problem: all of the main characters have superpowers and Odium has not even pulled out the A team yet.  It makes absolutely no sense for any of these characters to have their lives threatened in any way; no one other than Szeth is a credible threat.  The lives of loved-ones, yes.  But if those deaths are going to be meaningful, that means they have to be characters that we have already know.  In other words, Bridge 4.  See above.

 

There are only two main character deaths that could have possibly made sense in this novel: Adolin and Szeth.  Adolin precisely because he is not currently or becoming superpowered (as far as we know).  But he is important to Shallan's story, and her story is not ready for his death yet.

 

Which leaves Szeth.  Bringing back Szeth is the one act that does feels like Jordan; it feels like the constant resurrection of the Forsaken.  The problem with that was not the resurrection itself. It was that Jordan did it such a lazy way.  Characters did not really grow or change when they were brought back.  Szeth's resurrection was clearly different, and I am willing to see where it goes before I pass judgement.

 

If there are no deaths by the time the Unmade are all revealed, I am willing to start complaining.  But not before.

[junior]

-Parshendi are really voidbringers! (this raises the question of whether they have to have voidspren transform them and whether they can hide from the transformation storm)

 

It appears that they can indeed hide from the storm.  Shen/Rhail is not transformed by it.  Presumably, he was indoors when it hit (before they were all transported to Urithiru).

 

Though I suppose another possibility is that Parshendi, being more intelligent and willful, can resist a transformation that they don't want.  Parshmen, on the other hand...

[FeatherWriter]

@FeatherWriter Bring it !  

btw. wanna hear your reactions to Shalladin moments

 

Keep listening to Splintercast! You will certainly hear them!

[Guest Shash]

As far as ships go, these are mine:

Dalodin. Renarallant (Renarin and Gallant). Shallaz. Pattephrena. Jashokar. Hoidium.

I'll think of more later. Maybe someone should make a thread for shipping? "The Shipyard." sounds like a pretty fun idea lol

[lummi]

Keep listening to Splintercast! You will certainly hear them!

 

I will!  Airsick lowlander doesn't appreciate Shalladin .

[FeatherWriter]

As far as ships go, these are mine:

Dalodin. Renarallant (Renarin and Gallant). Shallaz. Pattephrena. Jashokar. Hoidium.

I'll think of more later. Maybe someone should make a thread for shipping? "The Shipyard." sounds like a pretty fun idea lol

 

Excellent. I am appreciate. Good ships. Very good. Yes.

 

(And I actually did have a shipping thread around here somewhere, but it's been buried. I ought to dredge up the link again.) I wonder if we should get a thread specifically for Stormlight ships though. Could be a fun topic...

 

I will!  Airsick lowlander doesn't appreciate Shalladin .

 

Briiiiing it, shellmuncher.

[blackmagic3]

My reactions to the book can be divided into 3 categories:

 

• The Underwhelming
  • Taln, I thought Talenel would have played a much larger role in the book but instead he was just a crazy dude in a room used for intrigue. Whatever happened to his Honorblade?
  • Kaladin's self pity and hatred towards lighteyes, serves him right to become one.
  • I thought Hoid epilogue was good but the on epilogue of The Way of KIngs was much more poignant.
• The Hilarious
  • The whole pooping in Shardplate conversation just cracked me up I couldn't stop laughing.
  • This passage from Hoid literally had me on the floor "A bunny rabbit and a chick went frolicking in the grass together on a sunny day.” "A chick . . . baby chicken?” Kaladin said. “And a what?”“Ah, forgot myself for a moment,” Wit said. “Sorry. Let me make it more appropriate for you. A piece of wet slime and a disgusting crab thing with seventeen legs slunk across the rocks together on an insufferably rainy day. Is that better?"
  • Sebarial, sitting eat while his mistress reads a novel while being attacked by voidbringers and the Everstorm is approaching. Needless to say Selabrial is my favourite highprince at the moment.
• The Awesome
  • ​Shardbearer Battle Royale
  • Kaladin's arrival to the fight against Szeth
  • Shardspear
  • Nightblood
  • Bridge 4 becoming Kaladin's squires, evidence "There came also sixteen of the order of Windrunners, and with them a considerable number of squires, and finding in that place the Skybreakers dividing the innocent from the guilty, there ensued a great debate."

I am really looking forward to see more of Eshonai and Lift who I hope will meet up with Dalinar and crew. Nalan was Darkness I was wrong, but why was he killing surgbinders before the Desolation now that its come he is recruiting them with Nightblood.

Edited May 3, 2014 by blackmagic3

[kylemb83]

ok thanxs to #108 i get what a "ships" is, but does it stand for something? how did it come about?

[FeatherWriter]

Hehe, it's short for "relationship"!

[Guest Shash]

Excellent. I am appreciate. Good ships. Very good. Yes.

(And I actually did have a shipping thread around here somewhere, but it's been buried. I ought to dredge up the link again.) I wonder if we should get a thread specifically for Stormlight ships though. Could be a fun topic...

Briiiiing it, shellmuncher.

Wait...seriously? Those are all terrible ships. A gay incestuous relationship?! A gay bestial one?! You must be pulling my chain, because NONE of those were serious. I was poking fun at some of the absurd ideas some people come up with. I mean...Shalladin is one thing, Jashokar is purely absurd.

[Morsk]

ok thanxs to #108 i get what a "ships" is, but does it stand for something? how did it come about?

"Ship" stands for "relationship" and it has a long history in fandom. It used to be more underground, but Livejournals and Tumblrs started making it more popular.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipping_%28fandom%29

[PorridgeBrick]

Wait...seriously? Those are all terrible ships. A gay incestuous relationship?! A gay bestial one?! You must be pulling my chain, because NONE of those were serious. I was poking fun at some of the absurd ideas some people come up with. I mean...Shalladin is one thing, Jashokar is purely absurd.

Ships can be platonic, though they usually are associated more with a romantic side. And I'm pretty she was just going along with your joke, being no more serious than you were.

[Guest Shash]

Ships can be platonic, though they usually are associated more with a romantic side. And I'm pretty she was just going along with your joke, being no more serious than you were.

I hate the taste of my own medicine.

[TheOneKEA]

I have a list of sentences as reactions from when I read them. Full book spoilers, obviously, and warning for excessive caps and boldness.

Sooo, I didn’t start transcribing until chapter thirteen, where Pattern mentions spren…of him. I went, out loud no less, “woahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoah.”That’s… Woah.

HAHAHAHA Shallan has to milk Knobweeds now whilst Kaladin just buys the sap. Irony!

Oh Pattern’s a recording device kthxbai.

AWWWWW YEAAAAAAAAAH. Kaladin decides to stick Amaram with a spear HECK YES. Wait, cancel that, a knife so he feels it going in. YEEEEEEEEAH.

Kaladin accepts Dalinar as honorable? YEEEEEEAH.

ASKDHVNEKVAWEKVNWEKNVAWEKVNAWKNKWEF SUCH CASUAL REVEALS! THE SHARDS WEREN’T ABOMANATIONS WHEN THE RADIANTS CARRIED THEM! THERE ARE MAYBE NO RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THEM ANYMORE MAYBE THERE NEVER WERE AIODFNJKF.NK;LGNFAJK;VN

SJLGHSJKDFBVFHLAKJCVH,BFL WHEN ONE PAGE LATER DARKNESS ARRIVES AJSDFHJK.DFHAK.JDFHASDJK.F HE HAS A SCAR ON HIS CHEEK AND IS WATCHING ADOLIN AND RENARIN AKGBVHJAEK.JFGHAJK.GHJ.AKSGHJK.ASGH when suddenly I found out he’s not planning to hurt them, unless he’s lying. Huh. Oh his name’s Zahel. Oh. He might not be Darkness….but they specifically mention the cheek scar, Kaladin can’t figure his age but thinks seventy is too young. Huh.

Renarin has to be chosen by a master. Please, Kaladin, take him and have him learn the ways of the spear and be buddies. /dreamswithnochance

Hahaha Rock’s the only one not strange. WOAHAOWAHWOAHOWHAofhiohoawefhakusdhfauk.fhawe.ufhUSILHGLUFHLIAUFHAWEUILFHLAWUI EFHAWKHTF,WUFHUAWEJ,FHAWEFWEAWE,FAWE,UFH SYL ADMITS SHE’S A PIECE OF A GOD SO VERY, VERY LIGHTLY BRANDON WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME AAAGH,A,JKSHGSGH,SDJFGH

You know, there’s a strange feeling of my chest. It’s kinda like dreams being crushed, and it’s not even about anything specific. Just the casual way in which all the reveals are given.

Darkness – Zahel took on Renarin. Interesting.

DKLBUHJSDFKBVHJKSFDBHSDJKFLBHSDFKLBHSDLFJBHSDFJKBHSLDFJK BRANDON NO BRANDON I LITERALLY JUST BANGED MY HANDS ALL OVER MY TABLE LIKE A KID HAVING A FIT, AND THEY STING SOMEWHAT. GAZ DESERTED THE ARMY. BRANDON WHY ARE YOU SO FLIPPANT WITH YOUR REVELATIONS!

Oh yeah, this should be before the last one chronologically, but he took Kaladin on too. Plus, he says they don’t have the right metaphors. Iiiiiinteresting.

AWWWW KALADIN’S TALKING TO DALINAR ABOUT AMARAM YEEEEEEAH.

Aaaand Dalinar didn’t listen so Kaladin’s going Vigilante. And I’m actually OK with this somewhat.

NIGHTFORM PREDICTING WHAT WILL BE…THAT’S WHERE THEY HAD VOIDBING=FUTURE TELLING OHHHHHH

Also I love how Elokohar loves Kaladin so much, haha.

The rail pulled free of the mountings…like they were falling up…

OK never mind mortar chipped at, carry on.

So decayform is like the lethal temptress….

Gaz spent some time around a lumberyard is all…huh…

This lot is crem, huh…bridgemen were crem…look where they got with a radiant leader.

What if there is something in Gaz’s darkness…

THERE IT IS AGAIN “’Spren are . . . power . . . shattered power. Power given thought by the perceptions of men. Honor, Cultivation, and . . . and another. Fragments broken off.’ ’Another?’ Shallan prodded. […] ‘Odium’”

Huh, Cusicesh and the Nightwatcher are both considered spren. The Nightwatcher certainly isn’t, she’s Cultivation. I kinda like the theory that Cusicesh is an Adonalsium spren…

AHAHAHAHA Kaladin is more nervous getting on a horse than charging a shardbearer. YES.

Moash…guarding the balcony….Brandon!

Woah, slow down there epigraphs. Our gods were not who shattered these plains? Huhhhh….HUH…..

Huh, Eshonai is out on the plains…

I shouldn’t be drinking water whilst reading this, I almost spewed it out. The plain looks almost man-made…It IS…

WOAAAAAAH THERE. SHALLAN IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN SEE THE LIGHT AND IT’S HER MOTHER’S SOUL

SHALLAN MEETS BRIDGE FOUR LOL

KALADIN’S THERE YEEEEAH

SADEAS VIEWPOINT I SHOULD REALLY STOP WITH THE CAPS NOW.

Sadeas is going Mr. T here…

Hey Gaz is in this drawing.

400 or 500 pages later when I couldn’t record, here’s an overview:

IT’S SZETH AND HE’S ATTACKING AND KALADIN’S ARM NO NO NO NO NO HE HEALED IT! HE HEALED IT! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH

Shallan, give the man his boots back. Now.

YOU CAN MAKE NEW SHARDBLADES. WHAT. WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH.

(One fight against four shardbearers later)

AMARAM LEADS THE RADIANTS. HECK NO, HECK NO, HECK. NO.

ARRESTED!?! YOU. NO. NO NO NO NO. KALADIN, YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION FOR VENGEANCE.

…That fleet story. THAT FLEET STORY. I KNEW there was a reason I liked Wit. I KNEW IT! THAT WAS AMAZING. IT’S….AMAZING.

I…I didn’t mean against Elkohar. Uhm…I don’t know…

You know, I always hate going back to Shallan chapters, my chapters right now are Kaladin > Adolin > Interludes > Shallan > Shallan flashbacks. I didn’t really like Shallan chapters in WoK either.

This interested in a madman…This interested in…Taln?

Also, I forgot, Kaladin mentions that the Braize is indeed that place…

Also, Eshonai’s interludes remind me somewhat of Marsh.

And now, at page 1015….

I…I…I…I…I…I have no words for this. It’s beyond bold, italics, caps, and even underlining. Brandon made the first ideal just so appropriate, and the second is just SO. DANG. GOOD. I mean, rivaling when Kaladin speaks the first ideal, it’s THAT GOOD. That shardblade summoning? MY WORD. Brandon. I literally clapped out loud when I read this. I….can’t even. OH man, OH man, OH MAN. I AM JUST…WOAH.

THE SHARDBLADES ARE SPREN! THE SHARDBLADES ARE SPREN, AND KALADIN’S IS SYL AND SHE JUST TURNED HERSELF INTO A SHARDSPEAR! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!

IT’S A SHARDSHIELD! YES YES YES YES YES! I KEEP RUNNING OUT INTO THE KITCHEN AFTER CLOSING THIS DOCUMENT ONLY TO RETURN A FEW PAGES LATER!

I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON I KEPT THIS DOCUMENT OPEN. I KNEW IT. KNEW IT. I’M SITTING HERE, BLANKY LOOKING AT THIS SCREEN AS I TYPE. DARKNESS HAS NIGHTBLOOD. NIGHTBLOOD. I’M STARTING TO THINK WHAT’S-HIS-FACE THE TRAINER…ZAHEL…ISN’T DARKNESS. MY WORD, BRANDON, MY WORD. THIS IS…THIS IS…I…WOOOOOAH.

I JUST RE-READ THAT. I RE-READ THAT. HE GAVE SZETH NIGHTBLOOD. HE GAVE SZETH NIGHTBLOOD. SZETH HAS NIGHTBLOOD RIGHT NOW.

I thought it wouldn’t get crazier. I was wrong. Adolin KILLED SADEAS.

Also, the parshmen are the voidbringers, regardless of whether they want to be or not. I like how he made it one of their forms…

DALINAR JUST BONDED WITH THE STORMFATHER…HE DOESN’T HAVE A BLADE, BUT STILL!

TRUTHWATCHER IS THE FOURTH RADIANT ORDER. IT’S RENARIN. FEATHER IS HAVING SUCH A GOOD TIME RIGHT NOW!

YESYESYESYESYES HOID EPILOUGE YESYESYESYESYSE

JASNAH LIVES!?!?!?!!? WHAT!?!?!?!?!

THEY’RE WORKING TOGETHER WHAT!?!?!?!?!?

This. All of this. ALL OF THIS, EVERY TIME.

SHARDBLADES ARE MADE OF SPREN! SHARDBLADES ARE BRAIN DAMAGED SPREN TRAPPED IN AN UNDEAD HELL, SEVERED FROM THEIR RADIANTS AND USED TO DESTROY THE SPIRITS OF ALL THINGS! I was so certain that we would find out the true nature of Shardblades and I literally danced with joy when Syl transformed!

[SmurfAquamarineBodies]

Pattern 'nuff said

[EvilNuff]

So I obviously had a pretty different reaction from most of the forum.  I hated this book.  Brandon is my favorite living author and I have thoroughly enjoyed everything else he has written.  However, WoR just didn't do it for me.  Spoilers follow but I won't use the spoiler tag as the first post and subject point that out.

 

First, Jasnah's death.  No, not that she "died" but the way that it was written.  You don't create and build up a character that important and then just kill her off, almost offhandedly at the start of a book.  That death scene belonged at the end of Way of Kings not at the start of WoR.  At worst it would have been better later in WoR.  The problem with how it was written was it meant that either a) Brandon just did a poor job of writing there or she wasn't really dead.  Either way, I hated the way it was written and frankly think it was just poorly done.

 

Next, the characters throughout the first 80% were (for my personal taste) *all* un-likable with the exception of Syl and Adolin.  I personally have to like at least one major character to enjoy reading a book.  For me, WoR was a chore and I had to force myself to read it because all of the major characters were behaving either like idiots or spoiled brats (and I do not mean the Highlords who are supposed to be acting like brats).  

 

Next, Kaladin.  Seriously, did he learn nothing from the last book?  His journey in this book just felt completely out of character to me!  Star Wars original trilogy are my favorite movies yet when the Timothy Zahn books came out I hated them.  Why?  Because the characters as written did not feel the same to me as they did from the movies.  I felt the same thing here with Kaladin, it was almost as if a different author wrote the two books to me.  

 

Finally, Shallon.  I disliked her in Way of Kings.  She was actually my least liked part so going in I knew I would be less interested in her flashbacks than Kaladins.  At the end, how did her flashbacks help define her character?  Really I felt that she would be exactly the same character without the twist of her being her Mother's killer.  That foreshadowed revelation had no impact on the character development.

 

Now with all that whining I did quite enjoy all the battles.  I loved finding out more about the Radiants.  And I thoroughly enjoyed Sadeas getting what he deserved.

[FeatherWriter]

Wait...seriously? Those are all terrible ships. A gay incestuous relationship?! A gay bestial one?! You must be pulling my chain, because NONE of those were serious. I was poking fun at some of the absurd ideas some people come up with. I mean...Shalladin is one thing, Jashokar is purely absurd.

 

Ships can be platonic, though they usually are associated more with a romantic side. And I'm pretty she was just going along with your joke, being no more serious than you were.

 

I hate the taste of my own medicine.

 

Hehehe. Yes, I was joking. Though really, once you've seen Vin/Human crack shipping everything else just starts to look normal.

[Trickonometry]

HOLY CRAP.

 

SO.

 

GOOD.

 

 

Edit: Okay, so, now that I'm breathing at a slightly slower rate, I may be able to form sentences that don't involve the shift key.

 

First of all, I think that it needs to be said that Brandon Sanderson did a damnation good job of delivering disgusting amounts of endorphin and dopamine rushes to his dedicated fans right at the end. I mean, we got some Wit/Hoid stuff (more on that in a moment), we got names for new orders, and we got FREAKING VASHER AND NIGHTBLOOD. HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP. I know that I'm offering nothing new to discussion about Vasher and Nightblood, but I, like many others, thoroughly lost my $#!% when Nightblood was given to Szeth. I mean, the book was great, but WOW does Brandon know how to finish strong.

 

Now for impressions of the book, the story, and characters:

 

The Book: WAS GORGEOUS. The art was truly impeccable. I know we had seen some images of the inside art, but it really can't be properly summed up by just looking at it on a computer screen. Really beautiful design, hats off to all artists involved in the making.

 

The Story: One of the things I have to give major credit to Mr. Sanderson for is doing such an excellent job of presenting challenges and progress so consistently well throughout. Every character was engaging for me - I never got the feeling of, "Oh crap, another ______ chapter? Can't we just hurry up and get to the next Kaladin chapter?" And, to be honest, I felt that sometimes while reading tWoK. When one section ended, no matter how engaging it was and how much I wanted to keep that storyline moving, it always moved onto another storyline that was just as important to me and kept me satisfied. For being a book that is over 1k pages, it clipped by at a heart-pounding pace. What I found most impressive, though, was how well the feel of the book, while epic in its own right, still felt properly in place as number two of ten. If anyone other than myself is familiar with opera, this book paces like Die Walkure from Wagner's Der Ring des Niebelung - in other words, it is a masterwork in and of itself, but it definitely has the proper feel of being part of something much larger than itself. Hats off to Brandon, he is really starting to hit some virtuosic writing, and I'm very excited to see where we go from here.

 

--Characters I Loved (not in any other order than as I think of them)--

 

Lopen!(and family): Really some of the best comedic writing Brandon does, in my esteem. God I laughed hard when Lopen's mother was babying Elhokar. And I actually fist pumped when he started taking in storm light. THE BEST.

 

Wit/Hoid: So, anybody else pick up that Hoid might not even be Hoid's name? There was a point at which it was mentioned something to tune of, "not having to use your master's name anymore." Brings lots of questions. But, beyond that, I LOVED his speech to the ugly rock-crab-thing at the end. Sanderson really exposed some vulnerability as a writer there, and, if he ever gets bored, decides to read through this thread, and then makes it this far, I just want to say to you, "Thank you for being a writer that cares. We know the expectations are high for you, but you manage to keep fulfilling and exceeding our promises. We know that adds just that much more pressure in the future, but it is that pressure that is crafting you into the finest fantasy writer of the post-Jordan generation.

 

Shallan: What a dark young woman we have in front of us. I'm fascinated by her character, and I am terribly interested to see where she goes from here. A lot of people seem to have some gripes about her, but I would daresay she is the most human of characters we've seen Sanderson right, and, because of that, I think that a lot of people become uncomfortable with the reflections that she might cast on us. Her conversations with Pattern are deeply insightful views into the psychology of truth and perception. This is a messy subject that could have been handled TERRIBLY, but, as we are seeing more and more from Sanderson, he has a skill for exploring the subject in depth while at the same time never slowing down the pace of his narrative. Fantastic stuff. Also, she's witty as hell and has cool frickin' powers! I plan on starting a thread soon to theorize on the different ways she could use her powers. Anybody thought about gamma waves? Brain waves? Probability waves??? So much fun in store for our little redhead...

 

Kaladin: Anybody else get the POWER LEVEL OVER 9000!!!!/Super Sayian feeling when Kaladin went Radiant? Not a complaint, btw. Totally epic fight. And I turned into a little school girl the first time Syl changed into a Shardblade. And then I turned into a little school girl at an N'Sync concert when she turned into a SHARDSPEAR. And there was fist pumping. I mean, I could go over a lot of things with him, but I'm just gonna level with you, after finishing the book less than an hour ago, I don't have a lot else to say - maybe I will as I'm able to separate my excitement about him being a full Knights Radiant Windrunner from the rest of the book.

 

Adolin: I'm on team Shadolin. His dueling was epic, I love who he became throughout the course of the book and I can't wait to see what happens with him. And hell yeah you kill Sadeas - Sadeas doesn't deserve a longer death, he deserved to be a dead mutha-shut-yo-mouth.

 

Dalinar: Bondsmith FTW. Oh, and go him for listening to Kaladin about A-hole.

 

Navani: Sweet awesome inventor-ness. Total geeky goodness. I can't wait to see what she does with Fabrials.

 

Jasnah: I saw that coming on both sides; she needed to die for classic reasons, and I also never worried that she was really out of the story. Even if she wasn't brought back at the end, I would've expected to see her in a future book. Well done, and I'm looking forward to hearing her tale in a later book.

 

Eshonai: Tragic, wonderful storytelling.

 

Vasher: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Szeth: I know he's so detestable, but god I felt bad for the guy. He's gone through hell simply because he has been more dedicated than anyone else would've been willing to. Doesn't excuse him from doing what he did, but holy crap what an interesting character. And now he is with our favorite sociopathic sword...

 

Nightblood: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not to mention, F#@& YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And, as a side note, if someone is reading WoR and isn't familiar with Sanderson's other books, they are probably completely confused after they read that. But who cares. SO MUCH WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!1one!i!i!i!

 

Maybe I'll post more later, but those are my initial thoughts.

Edited March 7, 2014 by Trickonometry

[Stormcage Cotto]

Wit's monologue at the end basically sums it up. It was spectacular. But this is Brandon Sanderson. Spectacular doesn't cut.

 

Chapter Seven... I loved it. I hated it. But it was so completely right. Over a thousand pages into the series (Part way through Return of the King for comparison.) I was invested. I expected more than a cheap fake out at the end that I half knew from the moment it happened was coming. Yet I let myself hope against hope that it wouldn't. Why? Because this was Brandon Sanderson. He doesn't take the Shardblade, he takes the hard, stupid, awesome way instead and meets up with Lopen. And yet it had to be this way. That's how the story goes. So I go on hating it. And loving it. Because Brandon proved once again that he could make me care.

 

In the end it could have been better. A lot was forced, too slow, too rushed. And it was still amazing because he's a freaking genius whose skill in writing is nearly a quarter as awesome as Lift's awesomeness.

 

As long as this isn't setting up a love triangle it was a good book.

 

And this would probably work and sound better if I didn't just stay up till five am reading it...

[DoctorWh0m]

Everyone else has pretty much said what I wanted to say, so I'll just go with saying that when I got to the end of Chapter 88, I was running around, jumping up and down and cackling maniacally. Nightblood! NIGHTBLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

 

Also, I'm really getting a 'Marvel-end-credits-scene' vibe from Hoid's bits at the ends of the books.

[Carfax]

Whether this book met our expectations or not, no one could really deny now that this man is one of the greatest fantasy writers ever. Alive, dead, Not born.  He'd always be in that top 10.

 

The book itself? Well ..... Lots of mixed feelings. Mr Sanderson dropped a little one there at the end for us, I'm sure..... "Give me an audience who have come to be entertained, but who expect nothing special. To them, I will be a god. That is the best truth I know.”

If you've read all the previous books, there's no way you'll come here expecting nothing special. Hence a few disappointments, but overall, it was an awesome book.

 

Kaladin's character has always been confused. I guess he's bound to be one of those terribly moral characters who'd never do anything for "the greater good" so you can expect him to be the perfect Radiant. Man, he couldn't even kill Moash and Graves(At this point, i don't mind BS killing him, But you can trust he's no GRRM).

 

Shallan. Sweet Innocent Shallan. Wow... What did it for me was her calmly singing her lullaby while strangling her father. And thats just after paralyzing him. Slowly strangling someone who isn't struggling? This is a scene that'll make Steven Erikson's Bridgeburners shed a tear. Pattern also developed so fast. But what else will you expect from a Cryptic?

 

Lopen. I'd like to see a two-armed Herzadian stick someone to the wall with stormlight. Thats if he's a radiant and not just a "squire".

 

Szeth was a disappointment. I knew he was going to survive this book, but at least he could've smashed the stormlight outta Kaladin's butt for this fight. Someone so practiced with an Honorblade will lose a fight to a new Radiant? Blah. That was just painful man. At least Nightblood made up for it. Almighty Nightblood in the hands of Szeth. WOW. Total Nerdgasm.

 

And yeah, Master Zahel is most definetely Vasher. But who's Nin?

 

Jasnah could've stayed dead at least BS..... She's too immortal for my liking.

 

Moash as a renegade shardbearer. Trouble lurking.....

 

Taln with Amaram. More trouble lurking.....

 

Adolin and Renarin's positions are about to be changed. Did anyone else notice Glys before the portal?

[Swimmingly]

This. All of this. ALL OF THIS, EVERY TIME.

SHARDBLADES ARE MADE OF SPREN! SHARDBLADES ARE BRAIN DAMAGED SPREN TRAPPED IN AN UNDEAD HELL, SEVERED FROM THEIR RADIANTS AND USED TO DESTROY THE SPIRITS OF ALL THINGS! I was so certain that we would find out the true nature of Shardblades and I literally danced with joy when Syl transformed!

I giggled immaturely at "milking knobweed".