Words of Radiance Reactions (SPOILERS)

[Guest Shash]

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

 

Challenge Accepted:  To come up with a Ship that is both simultaneously absurd and plausible and genuinely surprising to you.  

[Kyzkle]

I'm sort of boiling over with my reactions right now, and I'm actually writing a much larger list of thoughts on the book that I'll post eventually, but here's my gut reactions: I absolutely loved tWoK, but WoR somehow manages to be significantly better.

 

The pacing was fantastic, the plot moved much more quickly than I had imagined it could, and while Brandon kept answering my questions about the world, he never made it feel like I knew enough. It was incredibly well done. That said, there were some parts that could have been better. The Shallan/Kaladin scenes were fantastic and led to a lot of character growth for Kaladin, but they felt a bit empty for Shallan. Seeded relationship there felt forced and a bit juvinile. One of the reasons I love Brandon's work is because he can get you to love a character while watching from their perspective, but he is capable of showing you why the other perspective characters dislike them. Kaladin always makes sense from his own perspective, but he really is stubborn and angry from an external perspective. Shallan and Kaladin's distrust of each other could have been resolved without the need for the weird mushyness. On the whole, however, Shallan's growth was very well done. She's grown more confidant, but knowing her history puts her actions and character arc into a completely different perspective.

 

On the stuff I'm still freaking out about:

 

Hoid was everywhere in this book, and they were all fantastic. From the out of place stories to walking out of the pools in the mountains (I'm not convinced they are shardpools, but I think they do have something to do with Hoid's time travel, if not worldhopping), he was more of an actor here than in tWoK. Combine that with how important the worldhoppers are becoming to the plot, this series is about to become very interesting!

 

Vasher is teaching swordplay! I knew he was a worldhopper straight off, but I never made the Vasher connection until I saw Nightblood! Also, he seems to know Hoid by the name Dust, which makes me wonder how they know each other...

 

Szeth now has Nightblood!!!! I still wonder which is more powerful: an honorblade or Nightblood? Will Nightblood absorb stormlight here instead of breath? Can it kill Szeth if he runs out of stormlight? How did Nalan even get a hold of it? Did Vasher bring it with him, or did Nalan go to get it? So many questions!

 

Jasnah's back! I was actually convinced she was dead. When Syl "died" I knew it wasn't perminant because Pattern had mentioned that breaking the bond would actually only drive the spren mad, as she digressed back to a windspren. It was still a pretty gripping arc, though.

 

The most fascinating and telling thing in this book, in my opinion, is probably the last bit: not that Jasnah is still alive, but that Hoid tells her, in a bit of a throwaway jibe, that there are many things that he knows that she does not (obviously) and that there are many things that she knows that he does not. Obviously there are trivial things she knows that the does not, but it strikes me that Hoid is there to find out that she learned in Shadesmar. Considering that he knew exactly where to find her and that he knew she was still alive, but he doesn't know what she's learned, I'd say that some pretty important stuff just went down behind the scenes.

 

Anyway, I'm writing a much more in-depth reactions/re-read which I'll post soon.

 

Edit: I forgot to add this, but apparently Hoid has gained a significant number of breaths at some point, as evidenced by his apparently recent gaining of perfect pitch (as he tunes his harp while Kaladin is in jail).

Edited March 7, 2014 by Kyzkle

[RShara]

Szeth/Sureblood

[FeatherWriter]

Challenge Accepted:  To come up with a Ship that is both simultaneously absurd and plausible and genuinely surprising to you.

See... That one probably goes to Hoid/Renarin. Which is an actual thing that my friend Fruity ships. I mean, on one hand like... it's completely ridiculous and could never happen and I just sorta shake my head at her.... But the scenes between them in WoK are overwhelmingly adorable and sweet and are pretty much my favorites.

[Argent]

I will have to both read all of these when I have time, and maybe revise my own, but here are a few things:

• I was actually just a tiny bit disappointed for the the first... let's say third of the book. Not because it was bad, but because I think I expected that kind of action we saw at the end of The Way of Kings, and that's just not feasible. Once I got over that, I could see that the book is plain better.
• Dialogue and jokes - definitely better in Words.
• Kaladin had me worried. I was legitimately concerned he'd go down a dark dark path, maybe even pick up a Shardblade. I kept thinking that Brandon wouldn't do that, because it would feel too much like a betrayal to his readers, but man, he wrote his depression well. And then of course he started coming out of it - thank you, Vasher! - and was all like "I WILL @#$% UP THOSE WHO NEED SOME @#$%ING UP" (or something like that, I don't remember the exact wording of his Second Ideal), and I was all like "JDAHSKDJSGDAGGADFGHDAHFDFDABFEIKBKAKBDSJABDF"
  • On this note, my hands started shaking pretty badly right around that scene and kept at being unsteady for the next 50 pages or so. Man, I am such a junkie...
• I am happy Shallan didn't go all "woe is me, I love Adolin, but I also love Kaladin, what shall I ever do?" I didn't really expect Brandon to make this mistake, but he handled it extra well by making her acknowledge that Kaladin is not just a rock, he is kind of interesting, and is in some ways better than Adolin, but she is no Disney princess, marrying people left and right.
• Poor Szeth. I get the feeling he is not going to be a happy panda...
• So. Many. Factions. I'll need to sort them out during the first reread.
• Taln - Talenel? Talenel'Elin? we really need canonical names for the Heralds... Anyway, guy's downright scary. Built like a machine, with lightning fast reflexes, and not quite sane. I definitely want to see more of him.
• Shallan killed her mother. Yep, caught that pretty early in the book. On the other side, that whole business with her "mother's soul" tricked me. I thought that it could be her spren in there, but then I figured that you can't just lock a spren in a box, and since Shallan kept seeing the light, then the thing must still be there, so I discarded the idea...
• Turns out I was kind of right about Amaram too. He does believe he is doing the right thing - and it may even be the right thing - but it's not his destination that we all have a problem with, it's the journey. Same applies to Mr. T.

And I'll stop here because I have three days worth of forum posts to catch up on.

[Cromptj]

I was underwhelmed by Jasnah's return. I was 99% sure that she would come back and the only surprise was that she didn't return earlier. Also, Shallan. I really don't understand what goes on in her head. She is easily the creepiest person in the book. And Szeth, I hate him so much. Why can't he behave like an adult instead of like a 4 year old with a nuke.

These really jumped out at me but I still loved the book. Sometimes, flaws are what make works of art great.

[Argent]

Oh, yes, Jasnah. I am not sure if were supposed to be really worried about her though - Shallan certainly didn't dwell on it too much, and Navani did her grieving off-screen. And Shallan had that pseudo-vision where she drew, without thinking, first Yalb and then Jasnah (though the book didn't outright say her name, it was pretty clear it was her). So maybe it was intentional. 

[ReesaB]

I am deeply troubled by Adolin and his murdering Sadeas.  I get it, and part of me cheered.  But what implications will this act have in later books?  I've always thought he would be a KR, but after this, I'm just not sure.  Was he right to do it?  He was trying to protect his father, but his need for revenge must be great.  He also had the presence of mind to remove all evidence, indicating that he is not willing to be tried for his actions.  If he felt they were right, he wouldn't fear judgement.  

 

Also, if he is/will be a surgebinder, how do you reconcile that with his relationship with his sword?  He doesn't hear the screams, and speaks lovingly to a dead spren.  Does that strike anyone else as odd?  

 

What if he is Odium's champion in the making?  

 

Or will this act, and the guilt he feels later, be what creates the cracks to his soul that allows him to become a surgebinder?  

Grrrrrr. 

[Argent]

I don't know, when I think of the most odiumish character right now, it's not Adolin's name that comes to mind, but Szeth's. We'll see how both of them evolve in future books, but Szeth has been pretty hateful lately. 

 

As for Adolin's Radiantship, maybe he is just not meant to be one. Dalinar and Renarin are already on the path, so it might be interesting to see how Adolin deals the fact that he is the only Kholin who doesn't have a spren.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn]

I don't know, when I think of the most odiumish character right now, it's not Adolin's name that comes to mind, but Szeth's. We'll see how both of them evolve in future books, but Szeth has been pretty hateful lately. 

 

As for Adolin's Radiantship, maybe he is just not meant to be one. Dalinar and Renarin are already on the path, so it might be interesting to see how Adolin deals the fact that he is the only Kholin who doesn't have a spren.

 

When I think of Odium, I think of people in the secret societies personally, or Eshonai's sister who I doubt died in that battle. 

 

I'm pulling for Adolin to bond a highspren and become a real actual Skybreaker instead of whatever Nan's group is doing!

[kari-no-sugata]

bit surprised this hasn't gotten a mention already:

 

Shallan glomped Hoid!

 

(and he was flabbergasted about it too... hehehe)

 

While I dont think Shallan/Hoid has much of a chance I get a strong feeling we could see her apprenticing to him.

[xianpoxi]

Hello, a cheerful voice said in his mind. Would you like to destroy some evil today?

 

 

 

!?!?

 

was NOT expecting THAT crossover!

[Mr Horrible]

I am deeply troubled by Adolin and his murdering Sadeas.  I get it, and part of me cheered.  But what implications will this act have in later books?  I've always thought he would be a KR, but after this, I'm just not sure.  Was he right to do it?  He was trying to protect his father, but his need for revenge must be great.  He also had the presence of mind to remove all evidence, indicating that he is not willing to be tried for his actions.  If he felt they were right, he wouldn't fear judgement.  

 

Also, if he is/will be a surgebinder, how do you reconcile that with his relationship with his sword?  He doesn't hear the screams, and speaks lovingly to a dead spren.  Does that strike anyone else as odd?  

 

What if he is Odium's champion in the making?  

 

Or will this act, and the guilt he feels later, be what creates the cracks to his soul that allows him to become a surgebinder?  

Grrrrrr. 

 

Honestly I'm wondering if Brandon was intentionally contrasting him to Kaladin there, who went through a similar thing just before with Elhokar and finally realized how horrific he finds the act. I wonder if Amaram/Sadeas's wife will come back to bite Adolin as I think the message Kaladin got was that everyone is someone's Tien.

[SmurfAquamarineBodies]

Oh, yes, Jasnah. I am not sure if were supposed to be really worried about her though - Shallan certainly didn't dwell on it too much, and Navani did her grieving off-screen. And Shallan had that pseudo-vision where she drew, without thinking, first Yalb and then Jasnah (though the book didn't outright say her name, it was pretty clear it was her). So maybe it was intentional. 

Really? I thought she was drawing Shalash.

[PorridgeBrick]

This book in one word:

HOLYSH**NIGHTBLOODOMGYES!!!!!

Yes, that is one word.

[lummi]

Featherm i got drunk i hope u did too. I made a memmo to say this : rock waa right u dont remember arguments when u drink a lot"

[Cromptj]

I thought that Barndon missed a trick though in largely glossing over the fact that Jasnah was dead. Admittedly, this might just be because Shallan is so used to suppressing painful memories that she pushes the feelings away and because she is the most prominent viewpoint, we don't get much of a sense of loss. I still think it could have been handled better, though.

[FeatherWriter]

Featherm i got drunk i hope u did too. I made a memmo to say this : rock waa right u dont remember arguments when u drink a lot"

 

Whoops. Forgot to mention. Underage. (By a few months yet). Does this mean I lose? Dang. 

 

Okay though, for my 21st Birthday: wine tasting with Renarin. My baby's a little wine conoisseur, awwwww. Seriously though, that would be so the best way to spend an afternoon. 

[Seloun]

I thought that Barndon missed a trick though in largely glossing over the fact that Jasnah was dead. Admittedly, this might just be because Shallan is so used to suppressing painful memories that she pushes the feelings away and because she is the most prominent viewpoint, we don't get much of a sense of loss. I still think it could have been handled better, though.

 

Actually, I think it would have felt a little cheap if Jasnah's death was used as more of a plot device. If you pretend instead that she fakes her death in Chapter 7 in a way the audience knows, the rest of the book reads just about right. The possibility is even lampshaded in a couple of places in the book.

[Cheese Ninja]

Since I don't want to get accidentally spoiled on the 17thshard forums, I'll put my reactions here on a text document.

Jasnah's been killed, that's a surprise, I thought she was too important to the story to kill.  And people complain that Brandon doesn't kill off enough characters.  Then again this is a fantasy series, so it's tough to be sure she's completely dead forever, so I'd say there's a 20% chance she'll turn up alive later.  Shallan naturally assumes that the Ghostbloods are responsible, but I'm not so sure.

Is this slaver the same one that had Kaladin at the beginning of WoK?  I think it is, but don't think it matters enough to check.

Helaran has a Shardblade, which has a description rather similar to Amaram's... from the father's dialogue, at this point, Shallan already has her Shardblade, so she really was the responsible party for the deaths in her first flashback.

Does Shallan really not realize how spot on she was about Bluth when she drew him as a soldier?

Gaz is still alive, as a deserter.  And so many of us assumed he was dead, I'm not sure I ever settled on it one way or another.  I probably thought he was dead, but am not especially surprised to see him again.

Why is Macob's name familiar? Maybe just my imagination, can't find it in WoK.

Also, does Shallan's relationship with Spren go all the way back to six years ago?  That would explain her long history with the Memories then.

Is that a stormform spren outside that shutter?

Who sabotaged the railing?  Probably not Elhokar again.  I don't think it's time for Szeth yet, and he's supposed to be targeting Dalinar.  But there was a Shardblade involved, which is rather limiting.  Unless Moash somehow used the King's Blade to do it.  Moash does want to kill a particular lighteyes after all, and we haven't been told who it is.

Gaz is still looking to the side for shadows he can't see.

Maybe it's due to a lack of females for Kaladin to interact with, but for some reason I'm already fond of Jenet and she's barely said a sentence to him so far. And she's started throwing rocks at Adolin, she just gets better and better.  Is Kaladin's horse a Bela expy?  Kaladin can make himself stick with Stormlight if he wants to? I didn't realize that in his earlier match.

Moash as the cuprit, mirrors my earlier thoughts... But since he didn't go out with the King's blade, how would he have cut through the fence?  It doesn't make much sense for him to have a Shardblade.

Another Listener epigraph, it wasn't Odium's forces who broke the Shattered Plains.

The light and the monster in the safe explained, but not really, not yet.

Tyn's people were involved in a "big job down south", the assassination of Jasnah, probably.  Shallan should probably have connected this one.

Is she meeting Kaladin now? Yes she is. Helaran's killer meeting the Lord Davar's killer. Fun stuff.

Sadeas is such a bastard.  Adolin has a duel, I think he's purposely making himself look bad to try to get more duels in the future.  Ah, and now Sadeas sees it. Took him a bit longer.

Another Listener Song of Histories, looks like it is referencing the time before they were bound to Odium.  So that's a thing.

Shallan's namesake is Shalash, that makes sense.  Ah, she's taking a sketch of Gaz, we might see if he really has some sort of spren following him now. Nothing there.  Now she's making clairovyant sketches, including one, interestingly enough, of Shalash destroying a statue of herself.

Suspicious ardent making drawings of bridgemen in Kaladin's chapter.

Shallan doesn't know that moss Tyn is rubbing is a drug, I'd forgotten as well, since we last saw in one of Szeth's interludes in WoK.

Kaladin and the storm, part deux.  Looks like people were right about Nahel spren transforming into Shardblades and Plate.  As long as the Plate and Blade were glowing, the spren was still "alive". Once they stopped, after being abandoned by the KR, the spren were "dead".  That explains quite a bit.  But I'm not sure that "that death" is permanent.  And wouldn't that mean that each Blade and Plate have a matching partner.  I wonder if the Nahel bond can be released in such a way as to unmake them, and free the spren.

Szeth fight time, woohoo.  damnation, lost an arm, permanently?

Another interesting Listener song, they could take back the spren from humanity and gain surgebinding for themselves?

Kaladin got his arm back.  Congratulations Szeth, you're not Truthless after all.  Unfortunately, since you're not Truthless, you really weren't supposed be following all those orders you were given about killing people and stuff.  Awkward.

Oh, an Honorblade consumes Stormlight much faster, that's probably why Szeth can't hold Stormlight as long as Kaladin.

Tyn and Shallan have the expected falling out.  It doesn't have to be ten heartbeats for Shallan, what's that mean?  It was the Ghostbloods after all, I was wrong to doubt Shallan earlier.

Eshonai interlude looks to be the same night as the last two chapters, actually beginning a bit before them.  This looks to be going badly for her.

Zahel was interesting when he first appeared, and now that he's had a few lines from his PoV, he's become very interesting.

Taln PoV is just as crazy and messed up as you would expect from thousands of year of toture.

2nd Eshonai interlude, things are going just as badly for her as expected, subjugated by Odium's Intent now.

Our first look at Soulcasting ardents, and they are weird. Rushu seems to be reading Geranid and Ashir's notes on flamespren from WoK.

Shallan continues on her path to becoming more and more interesting. There's been a lot of emphasis given to the Shardblade bonding period in this book, and I now realize that Shallan probably skipped that step as well.  Probably should have remembered that earlier.  Helaran is the best person she'd ever known, ouch, please don't hold that against Kal.

I think that Adolin's bet of 5 shards against 1 might come back to bite him.

Flashback chapter, heterochromatic character and Shallan's father's name is Lin, which may be the first time we've seen it.

I like Sebarial and Palona, they're fun.  Shallan is going to meet with the Ghostbloods, and this chapter has Hoid in the chapter heading.  Despite that, I didn't notice him in the chapter, except possibly "He reminded her of someone, a man from her childhood. The messenger with the smiling eyes, the enigma who knew so much."  Then again Hoid also had a relation to Lightweaving, so that alone may be enough.

It wasn't uncommon for only a few Bondsmiths to exist at any one time even during the time of the Radiants, because of them having an extemely picky spren. Neat twist.

Cool, more of mysterious old man Zahel.  Shallan is going to use sketching Plates and Blades as a way to get into Amaram's manor, I'd guess.
Moash backstory time. Fits well enough.

Shallan flashback, Hoid used in the chatper headings again.  Probably linked to that line I mentioned earlier.  Jeksonofnone-a reference to Szeth's analogue in WoK Prime.  You're right Shallan, there might be a Worldsinger somewhere at this fair.  Dude in black talking to her father, was that Hoid?  And did he just put some metal in his drink for Allomancy?  The novelties of imported language.  Is he using Soothing right now?  And she almost does some Lightweaving, or starts to do it at least.  So if he relationship with Spren was established way back, why did very little happen with it until meeting Jasnah?  Unless, like someone else theorized, her Blade is actually an Honorblade.

Back to Kaladin, finally confirmation that the countdown is pointing towards the Weeping.  I feel like Shen was about to say something important, which of course, is why he had to be interrupted and not get to say it yet. I think this is the first time it's been mentioned that you can Soulcast meat.  Can you Soulcast human meat?  Also, Rock is eating the chouta, as a reminder that even experienced chefs have times when they just want trashy fast food. Makes me think of Taco Bell.  Now that I've read that Peet is a Peter Alhstrom ref, it's tough not to imagine him every time Peet is mentioned.  And I don't even know the guy.

The oddness of Horneater geography, the ancient king with the same spren-seeing ability as Rock, and if you go in the hot spring pools, you might be able to see Shadesmar.  Which actually have a Shardpool layer under the water layer.  Which is how Hoid popped up in Alethkar, at least once.  So was he able to use the Well of Ascension in the same way?

And everyone who thought Danlan was a spy should feel mighty justified now.

Of course Shardblades aren't a wonder to you Pattern.  And Shallan just kind of misses that comment.  Sebarial's house ledgers are bad, but are they intentionally bad, to obfuscate his actual wealth? Think deeper, Shallan.  Pattern's "short time" comment, Shallan metaphorically goes "Ladidadida, I can't hear you."

Shallan flashback. "Shallan has gained BLACKBANE POISON. This item has been added to your inventory."

Shallan talking with Adolin, I can't hear her "so brave" comment as anything besides sarcastic internet speech. And then I started laughing at the next few lines. But this also deals with the very major flaw of fiction, you almost never see or hear about people using the bathroom, but it's almost certainly happening.  
Shallan thinks chasmfiends might be biologically similar to the "Eyes of Red and Blue" Marabethian greatshells. She also pointing out that they're probably a finite resource.  Did no one else remember the Scouring of Aimian and end of the lanceryn?  Also, Shallan gets filled in the Shattered Plains events of WoK.

32 days puts it two days past the end of the year, interesting, but still requires more information beyond what we already know.

Meeting with the Parshendi, this should go very badly.  Odd rock formations on the plateau as well, are we going to see some Thunderclasts?  Kaladin's not with him, don't know if that's better or worse. Shen is though. It's over, it went badly, but no one got hurt.  And we can already see that the "no highstorm during the Weeping" thing won't mesh well with Stormform's "I can control the highstorms" thing on the march towards the center of the plains.

Shallan in disguise, she meets Hav, who trained Kaladin when he was with Amaram's army. He's only been mentioned twice so far though.  Kaladin is doing his own Surgebinding experimentations.  Looks like we're building up to a revelation. Yeah, that's what I thought. Hmm, when I asked Brandon in the 17thshard Q&A, he said Amaram knew who it was who had tried to kill him, so either Amaram is lying here, or BS changed his mind. And now we'll get to see what Shen's big revelation is. So Shen's name is actually Rlain, and he's leaving now. To join the Parshendi? Or stop them from falling completely under Odium's control?  I hope he gets a Nahel spren, if that one epigraph is to be believed, that might be possible.

That's good, the big bet Adolin came up with didn't cause any issues. And another big bet, but for some reason I'm less worried about this one, even though it has worse odds.

Shallan being sneaky, giving away a bit too much information.  And finally a mention of Thaidakar, presumed leader of the Ghostbloods, and Restares, who opposes the Ghostbloods.  I'm guessing the "old fool [who] sows chaos" is Taravangian, which means he's neither Thaidakar nor Restares.  Tukar? What region is that? I don't think I've seen it mentioned before. Text-search is amazing, WoK, Tukar/Emuli religious conflict, Tukar is led by their god-priest Tezim. Mraize thinks Tezim might be a worldhopper. And Shallan gets reminded once again, that the people she is dealing with are dangerous and moreover, murderous.

Shallan, Adolin, and Kaladin are all going to be hanging out together today? This chapter should be a lot of fun. AND A SURPRISE APPEARANCE BY HOID! Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be able to stick around.  I was wrong. He makes a Cultivation reference with the "woman his own age" criticism.  Hoid does leave while they're all inside the carriage though, so I was only partially wrong. Well, this Amaram thing is another blow to Kaladin.

4 Shardbearers? This is gonna be tricky. Renarin steps onto the field, this is exciting. Kaladin hops in, this is much more exciting. Feedback from the dead/abandoned spren in the Blade took out Relis. That fight was awesome. And Kaladin got thrown in prison, damnation.

Lift interlude, I'll mostly just be skimming this now, since I've read it once or twice.  Life is pretty awesome. Darkness/Nalan being a dick. Tied up larkin used to suck out Stormlight. I wonder if the Heralds really are just humans twisted by torture and immortality. The whole Jezrien=Stormfather=Rider=A big spren thing makes me wonder if they could have been spren before being humans,  if that's even possible.

Hi Szeth, good to see you again, it's been a little while. Is that really Urithiru? I still don't know if his Oathstone is magical or not. I have no good guess as to where he's heading now.

Eshonai is possessed by EVIL.

Another Hoid letter in epigraphs?
Kaladin is in prison, Hoid has enough Breaths in him at the moment for Perfect Pitch. Hoid tells a story.

Oh, it's a letter to Hoid.
Shallan training, at least she's acknowledging now that she does have a sealed-away backstory.  Pattern goes sarcastic by accident.

Imprisonent spren in Kaladin's chapter?

Investigating Taln in Shallan's chapter, judging from the "madman" line.

Shallan flashback, she makes her father wine, I think we're still too early for the poison at a year and a half ago.  Malise thinks Shallan is the one who deserves Lin Davar's hate.  I think she's probably right, but we still need to see how the initial scenario went down.

Kaladin and Adolin bromance. Kaladin given Shards, again. Passes them along to Moash, who isn't a bad choice.

Suspicious late-night gardener in Dalinar's chapter. Guess it was nothing after all. "And while I am your friend, please understand that our goals do not completely align. You must not trust yourself with me. If I have to watch this world crumble and burn to get what I need, I will do so. With tears, yes, but I would let it happen.” I think a lot of us suspected this, but Hoid finally says it outright.

Kaladin on the Shattered Plains, Syl's bond is weakening at the moment, not entirely unexpected.  Tarah mentioned briefly in Kal's thoughts about women, for the first time this book, and only 2nd or 3rd time total. And some people are getting dropped into a chasm.

Vigil-a brief explanation of the Envisagers, which seems to include Amaram at this point.

I'd discounted earlier guesses, but could Shallan's Blade be an Honorblade? It also can vary in length.

Flashback time "Shallan uses BLACKBANE POISON on the wine pitcher."  Also, I was wrong about the Shardblade cutting the Soulcaster. Just a normal sword.

So, did anyone else remember that epigraph about two dead men emerging from the pit with a heart in their hands, and knowing true glory?  I had been expecting Adolin or Renarin to go down with Kaladin, but Shallan worked much better. I suppose I was thrown off by the implied genders of the "dead men" thing.

Syl's current limbo state: It's presented by the Stormfather in the same way as the Radiant's spren from the Recreance, (trapped and dead/inert in the Knight's Blades and Plate) but the situation leading up to her "death" was extremely different.  Her return might be precipitated merely by Kaladin achieving the next Ideal. And with it, would he gain a Shardspear of Syl?  She'll probably be much more restricted than she was before.

Interludes: Elhokar wife is unpleasant, and we haven't even met her yet.
Venli was evil from the beginning. I never would have guessed it from the first interlude we saw her in, I thought she was simply bitter in the 2nd, and the 3rd laid it out bare. Let's see how this one plays out.  Do the scholars have a direct line to Odium?
Taravangian: Mrall can turn off emotions on a whim? Probably not Feruchemy, but it is interesting. Death Rattles are ending?  Due to Moelach's movement.  Nergaoul is responsible for the strength of the Thrill. Those two are basically evil spren.  Boon and curse given in detail, or at least what he interprets as such. The compassion isn't really meant to be a curse, he asked for both the "capacity to stop what was coming" and the "capacity to save mankind". Intelligence was the answer to the former, and compassion the answer to the latter. Let's see if he figures that out by the end of the interlude.

Alright, I was away from my computer, so I couldn't write up the rest of my reactions.  
Syl became a Shardblade, explaining the odd behavior of Shallan's shardblade. Kaladin kills Szeth. Knights Radiant's followers get Stormlight infusions, I was wrong with my guess about that being purely for Dustbringers in the preview chapters.  Shallan killed her mother, no surprise there at this point.  Nalan brings Szeth back to life, gives him either Nightblood or one of Yesteel's blades, in which case Yesteel's swords are almost identical to Nightblood. damnation, I was hoping to see Hoid whoop someone with it.

Adolin kills Sadeas. I really don't feel that bad for Sadeas.
Dalinar becomes a Bondsmith, Renarin reveals himself.
Wit talks to himself. Jasnah arrives, I did give her a 20% chance of survival, so not really surprised. And done, good stuff.

 

I was happy to see that the anticipated Adolin/Shallan/Renarin love triangle never happened, but then there was some Kaladin/Shallan stuff that bothered me.  At least the first triangle would harken back to Gavilar and Dalinar's relationship with Navani.

 

Edit: And almost 2 weeks after the initial post, I've decided to spoiler tag, because it really was too long for anyone just trying to quickly browse through the thread.  Still, I appreciate any feedback to the comments.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Cheese Ninja

[Edvarin]

First off, this is my first time posting here. I was a Jordan fan for years, but now Brandon is definitely my favorite author and WoR lived up to all of my expectations.

 

In WoK I hated Shallan. I liked her better in this, but I still found myself rushing through her parts to get to other, more interesting people. I'm actually glad her book is out of the way.

 

Kaladin, I really felt and understood his struggles here which made me connect with him and made his battles sequences more awesome for me. And I got the Super Saiyan feeling when he went Radiant too

 

Dalinar...very solid role. Not much happened with him until the end, but everyone relied on him he lived up to it. Bonding the Stormfather? No Shards? What exactly is a Bondsmith?

 

Renarin. How is he ever going to make it as a Radiant? I like him...but hes no fighter. Shallan could beat him easily.

 

Szeth...he was dark and terrible when he came. Felt like a great bad guy. Honestly though? I'm hoping that he finds some sort of amends when he returns to Shinover and becomes a force for good.

 

Sadeas...got what he deserved. Amaram...I'm glad the pretender got outed. And glad Kal didn't kill him.

 

Elhokar. A blithering idiot. But his drunken realizations actually made me feel bad for him.

 

Zahel...I actually thought he was Jezrian. The color references should have caught my attention, but Nightblood certainly did.

 

Adolin. I like him. Decent guy. Great fighter. Not all that smart. I honestly don't see him getting with Shallan. She's too smart for him. Kal would be a better match for her mentally, but I don't see that happening either. Their Spren are opposites and he killed her brother.

 

Now, my predictions for Book 3: Unhallowed Stones.

 

I imagine the next book or two will focus a lot on getting together the 10 leaders of the different Orders. We've got a Windrunner, Elsecaller, Lightweaver, Truthwatcher, Bondsmith, and Edgedancer (I really want Lift to come back over the next books).  Assuming Adolin becomes a Radiant(no idea which order) we would need at least 3 other surgebinders to join them as "leaders" which could be something Jasnah was searching for.

 

First off, what are the 10 orders? So far we've got:

 

Windrunners=Kaladin

Lightweavers=Shallan

Bondsmith=Dalinar

Truthwatcher=Renarin

Elsecaller=Jasnah

Edgedancer=Lift

 

If I am right, the others are: Stoneward, Skybreaker, Willshapers and Releasers(Dustbringers). Szeth will become the Skybreaker in Unhallowed Stones without a doubt. As for Stoneward, I have the feeling that Rock will become one. No real reason, just a lot of small details. He's a really good person. He has a similar build and looks like Taln, who heads the order. He might even end up saving Taln from Amaram. And basically I just don't want all of Bridge for to be Kal's squires. As for the other two...I actually think that Adolin will revive the spren of his Shardblade. Not sure which he would be.

 

Oh, and scenes where a hero who hasn't seen his parents for a long time and he's changed a lot really get to me. Looking forward to that. I think Kal will end up practicing the 3rd Ideal some more with Roshone...if his parents are still alive. And I don't think he's a full Radiant yet. Maybe one more Ideal? Then he gets his Shardplate?

 

Seems like each of the KRs are getting their own books. Kaladin(Windrunners), Shallan(Lightweavers), Szeth(Skybreaker), Dalinar(Bondsmith). We should probably expect books in the future from the perspectives of Renarin, Jasnah and Lift down the line as well.

[Guest Edonidd]

My biggest complaint is all the Cosmere stuff. I read the first book and a half of mistborn, and really just didn't care for it. I think at some point or another I read elantris or whatever that one was called but I don't even remember it at all. I did like Warbreaker quite a bit, and I happen to think the first two books of Stormlight Archives already puts it in the top three fantasy series I have read/am reading. It really is good.

And it's fine if the author wants to add little Easter Eggs or something for people that read his other stuff. But at this point I think Sanderson is putting way too much of the Cosmere stuff at way to central of places to make this a stand alone series. And if it's not stand alone, instead of buying and reading stuff I have no interest in, it will just decrease my interest in reading more of this series.

[lummi]

Whoops. Forgot to mention. Underage. (By a few months yet). Does this mean I lose? Dang. 

 

Okay though, for my 21st Birthday: wine tasting with Renarin. My baby's a little wine conoisseur, awwwww. Seriously though, that would be so the best way to spend an afternoon. 

 

American laws

Someone needs to ask Brandon are the vines similar here and on Roshar

[Guest Shash]

The scene where Dalinar forgives Szeth not only for killing his brother but for all the other people he's killed is going to be powerful. Dalinar will indeed 'untie them' and bring Szeth into the fold as a powerful ally.

[Silver]

It’s fantastic seeing everyones’s reactions! Especially since I had to hold out on myself for a few days after getting the book too early. I have so many things to say, not sure if I remember everything. My initial reaction (with lots of ‘awesome’ and screaming) can be found on the Early Release topic, so the following is a reaction to rereading most of the book.

Some favorite scenes or scenes things I strongly reacted to, probably not in the right order:

- Adolin and Kaladin’s duel together. For the whole first part of the book where Adolin was going around fighting duels and eventually betting all his family’s Shards, I felt like it would culminate in him making a small mistake in one duel and thus losing all of the Shards. I figured it would be an interesting plot point to have the Kholins completely without them. But the way Brandon handled that it was so much better! I was really shocked and then immediately scared for Adolin when the four opponents walked in, and I might have been yelling various things. From there on it seemed pretty clear that Renarin would join in too, and I thought this could only end in one of the brothers dead or severely injured. Thankfully, Kaladin had other ideas and therefore we got that too-awesome-for-words-fight scene. That Kaladin had to go and ruin completely (although I can understand him)…

- Renarin joining Bridge Four. That somehow really stuck with me - both Renarin wanting to do this, even insisting on doing this, and Kaladin giving him the chance.

- Dalinar believing Kaladin’s story about Amaram, then going on to verify it and finally calling Amaram out on that. Also, getting a new Shardblade in the process. And I have no words but AWESOME on him casually talking the Stormfather into bonding with him. Did I mention Dalinar is awesome? He is. I hope he doesn’t die for a few books yet.

- Kaladin and Adolin’s ‘friendship’, if we can call it that already. I really liked that we could see it progress during the book.

- It was really refreshing to see Kaladin from other people’s point of view so often - TWoK was much more focused on him so I kinda forgot how other people might see him.

- Adolin and Shallan being total cuties. In everything.

- Then of course I must also mention Shallan and Kaladin and their fabulous banter.
(I’m not sure yet in which direction I want the Adolin/Shallan vs Kaladin/Shallan to go. Kaladin already admitted he thinks that Shallan & Adolin are good together, and maybe he’ll step back because he sees Adolin as a sort of friend now? Then again, I would hate for Kaladin making more ‘sacrifices’. Ever. But let’s not forget it’s also Shallan’s decision, after all, and she seemed pretty inclined to Adolin even at the end of the book. I just pray that the situation doesn’t evolve into the cheap love-triangle-thing Young Adult books are so fond of. I’m assuming Brandon is better than this and we’re all in for a surprise. Renarin can still swoop in and save the day girl.)

- Epilogue. Full Stop. Since chapter 7 I kept thinking that Jasnah’s ‘death’ was handled in such an offhanded way - so it was either obviously not final or it was brilliantly final in order to shock us. I’m really glad Brandon is not GRRM and therefore it wasn’t final.

- Szeth losing it completely, and also getting Nightblood. I thought he might be in for a redemption arc, as in ‘die-in-a-good-way’, but I guess that’s a tad unrealistic now.

- The confirmation that bonded spren can turn into Shardblades. And of course that Pattern was Shallan’s Shardblade all along.

- Kaladin’s Third Ideal. I always get teary-eyed at dramatic and/or epic scenes, so it’s no surprise I cried my way through it and then yelled in triumph at the end.

- Speaking of tears: I was so worried and sad about the whole Kaladin-might-break-his-oath-and-kill-Syl-and-then-he-did because you could see it coming in that slow, torturous way. I was actually assuming Syl was gone for good and immediately imagined Kaladin struggling with that for the rest of the series, always being the ‘broken one’. And I wondered if a Radiant broke his oath and ‘killed’ his original spren, would it be theoretically possible to form a new Nahel bond with another spren(assuming one would want to)?
Anyway, I’m really glad it wasn’t that permanent.

- Kaladin riding the winds! And then actually fighting while doing so. Seriously guys, imagine you just learned to ‘fly’ or rather fall into different directions and then you have to do this while fighting an opponent who’s more skilled at this than you? I’d be a goner in a few seconds. Then again, I would’ve never even tried out the whole ‘lashing myself to the sky’ thing because I’m deadly afraid of both heights and falling, so…

- Kaladin rescuing Dalinar (from FALLING INTO THE SKY seriously that was so gruesome if you think about it, urgh) and revealing himself as a Radiant. Pure awesome.

- Shallan and Hoid! People wondered how their meeting might go, and then it turns out they had already met AND Shallan basically jumped him when she saw him next. Epic!

- My reactions above lack a bit of Shallan. Ehm, she's awesome and I loved her talks with Adolin and her being Veil and figuring out Lightweaving and being more competent than I could ever be in a similar situation and I didn't really like her in TWoK but now I do although I didn't  enjoy her flashbacks that much simply because I don't like her brothers except maybe Helaran.



I’m pretty sure I forgot a lot of stuff, but that's it for now!


 Funny thing at the end: I first thought Zahel might be a Knight Radiant who broke his oaths, and that the black sword might be the Shardblade of a Voidbringer or something. Then I read up on the interesting cosmere theories on this and promptly went on to read Warbreaker to know what they’re talking about. Well, while doing so the plot and the characters were so distinctively familiar I realised that I must have already read Warbreaker several years ago -  but apparently I forgot the title, the author, any of the main character’s names and also the talking sword that wants to destroy evil. Yes, I’m brilliant, did I mention this?



 

And since someone mentioned ships - I’m disappointed! Where are my fellow Adolin/Kaladin shippers? It goes along well with Shallan/Renarin