Kon-Tiki he/him Posted December 22, 2018 Posted December 22, 2018 I believe the books are supposed to swap genders for the flashback. So Kaladin (male), Shallan (female), Dalinar (male), Eshonai (female(n)), Szeth (male). 1
StrikerEZ he/him Posted December 22, 2018 Author Posted December 22, 2018 @Dalakaar (awesome username by the way) @Kon-Tiki Here’s the current plan for the flashbacks in the back 5 (plus WoB confirmation of books 4 and 5): Quote Questioner[PENDING REVIEW] Could you tell me whose books are the next few Stormlight? Brandon Sanderson[PENDING REVIEW] Yes. Eshonai, book four. (Even though, you know...) Szeth is book five. Six is Lift. Seven is Renarin. Eight is Ash. Nine is Taln. Ten is Jasnah. source This has been the schedule he’s said the most often recently (this WoB is from the start of last month and is the most recent I’ve found), though the order could always change by the time he writes these books. 2
Solant he/him Posted December 23, 2018 Posted December 23, 2018 I never picked up on the alternating genders for the books (I can be slightly dense at times ) That's interesting. 1
What's a Seawolf? Posted December 24, 2018 Posted December 24, 2018 Wait, Jasnah's book is the conclusion to the whole series? I thought for sure the last two would go Ash then Taln. Really curious how Jasnah's flashbacks will play into the conclusion of the whole SA.
StrikerEZ he/him Posted December 24, 2018 Author Posted December 24, 2018 2 hours ago, What's a Seawolf? said: Wait, Jasnah's book is the conclusion to the whole series? I thought for sure the last two would go Ash then Taln. Really curious how Jasnah's flashbacks will play into the conclusion of the whole SA. Yup, it is. I’ve always wondered that as well, but I’m sure Brandon can find a way to make it work.
Mailnaise she/her Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 22 hours ago, What's a Seawolf? said: Wait, Jasnah's book is the conclusion to the whole series? I thought for sure the last two would go Ash then Taln. Really curious how Jasnah's flashbacks will play into the conclusion of the whole SA. Man, every time I think about Jasnah, I just have so many questions about her past! I wish her book was way sooner, to be honest. 1
Ciridae Posted December 25, 2018 Posted December 25, 2018 On 12/22/2018 at 6:00 AM, Kaladin Zahel said: All I know, is there better be at least a Rlain Easter egg in the Eshonai flashbacks. I think that's very likely. Iirc Rlain mentions her, Thude and Varanis by name. Seems like he is (or was ) part of their friends group. Which I think is really great and definitely not a coincidence. I really hope the next book has Rlain as one of the main characters, maybe he gets the interlude novella, or the format that Moash's chapters were in in OB. Personally I'm very excited about everything Listener related. Also he could help with this: Quote Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Is there anything you can tell us about where the Listeners are? From Narak, after they... Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Yes. They are still kind of in the area. They have made their way out through the chasms, out onto some floodplains on the other side. source About Eshonai's flashbacks, I'm curious as to how they will reveal any incredible things about her, I don't really think they could be as shocking as Dalinar's or Shallan's. Rather I think their main purpose is to complement Venli's character arc. Eshonai is, best I can tell, kind of the archetype of the Willshapers and Venli constantly compares herself to her sister. I think their dynamic thought their lives, and that contrast, could be very interesting when it's read together with post OB Venli. 1
Mailnaise she/her Posted January 1, 2019 Posted January 1, 2019 On 12/25/2018 at 10:56 AM, Ciridae said: Personally I'm very excited about everything Listener related. I know right! At first, I was kind of bored with them, mostly because I wanted to read about Kaladin and co., but now, with all the new information from the books, as well as forum discussions and whatnot, I'm getting hyped! Too bad it will be so long before book 4. We're in this together. 2
Joy she/her Posted January 2, 2019 Posted January 2, 2019 I had no idea until I read this thread that Eshonai was the next flashback character, and I gotta say, I'm stoked. As of OB it feels like she got the short end of the stick; I think she's the only major character whose death feels...wrong. Incomplete. (Elhokar's, while tragic, was fantastic storytelling in my opinion.) WoR built up Eshonai's personality, her backstory, her relationships, and her struggle with stormform only to abruptly kill her off. I think making her the flashback character and interweaving her story with Venli's is a good way to utilize a character that, otherwise, would feel extremely underutilized. 2
Mailnaise she/her Posted January 3, 2019 Posted January 3, 2019 23 hours ago, Joy said: As of OB it feels like she got the short end of the stick; I think she's the only major character whose death feels...wrong. Incomplete. (Elhokar's, while tragic, was fantastic storytelling in my opinion.) WoR built up Eshonai's personality, her backstory, her relationships, and her struggle with stormform only to abruptly kill her off. I think making her the flashback character and interweaving her story with Venli's is a good way to utilize a character that, otherwise, would feel extremely underutilized. I agree with your assessment there. While I knew her death could be a possibility, the fact that it actually happened felt very sudden and strange. I knew there would be more to the story with that. And with Venli being so important now, it makes a lot more sense in my head that she'd be a flashback character. 1
StrikerEZ he/him Posted January 3, 2019 Author Posted January 3, 2019 On 1/2/2019 at 8:38 AM, Joy said: I had no idea until I read this thread that Eshonai was the next flashback character, and I gotta say, I'm stoked. As of OB it feels like she got the short end of the stick; I think she's the only major character whose death feels...wrong. Incomplete. (Elhokar's, while tragic, was fantastic storytelling in my opinion.) WoR built up Eshonai's personality, her backstory, her relationships, and her struggle with stormform only to abruptly kill her off. I think making her the flashback character and interweaving her story with Venli's is a good way to utilize a character that, otherwise, would feel extremely underutilized. I mean, Eshonai’s death is just as tragic as Elhokar’s, just in a different way. It’s tragic in the fact that she died alone, all because her sister tricked her into taking stormform, and all Eshonai was trying to do was do the best for her people. As for her being a major character, I didn’t ever really think she was super major. I liked her, but she felt more like an Adolin-type character. I definitely agree that the flashbacks for her are going to be awesome paired with the present-day Venli arc. 1
Joy she/her Posted January 4, 2019 Posted January 4, 2019 21 hours ago, StrikerEZ said: I mean, Eshonai’s death is just as tragic as Elhokar’s, just in a different way. It’s tragic in the fact that she died alone, all because her sister tricked her into taking stormform, and all Eshonai was trying to do was do the best for her people. Oh, I didn't mean to suggest that Eshonai's death isn't tragic. I just meant that, while Elhokar's death feels like a proper end to his arc, Eshonai's feels like an abrupt interruption of her arc. Both are sad. 2
Scion of the Mists Posted January 4, 2019 Posted January 4, 2019 2 hours ago, Joy said: Oh, I didn't mean to suggest that Eshonai's death isn't tragic. I just meant that, while Elhokar's death feels like a proper end to his arc, Eshonai's feels like an abrupt interruption of her arc. Both are sad. I look at it as Eshonai's arc in continued with Venli.
Draginon he/him Posted January 4, 2019 Posted January 4, 2019 Eshonai is the one I'm more interested in since I really came to like Venli over the course of Oathbringer. I'm thinking the flashbacks, despite being from Eshonai's POV, will show how Venli got to the point she's at when we see her in WOR and how these sisters became 'distant' As for Szeth, eh he's not my favorite character now. I liked him in WOK and WOR but he kind of bored me in Oathbringer. While I am interested in knowing the circumstances behind him becoming Truthless I don't know how much I do want to know about Shinovar. As for the future flashbacks I'm curious why Jasnah has the final book when it would make more sense to go Lift, Renarin, Jasnah, Taln, Ash. Maybe he discovers something Cosmere related that relates back to something from her past? 1
Joy she/her Posted January 6, 2019 Posted January 6, 2019 On 1/4/2019 at 5:59 PM, Draginon said: As for Szeth, eh he's not my favorite character now. I liked him in WOK and WOR but he kind of bored me in Oathbringer. While I am interested in knowing the circumstances behind him becoming Truthless I don't know how much I do want to know about Shinovar. While I agree with you, I also felt the same way about Dalinar...until I read Oathbringer. I trust Brandon to write a good enough Szeth story that even people who aren't currently fans of him will get invested.
StrikerEZ he/him Posted January 6, 2019 Author Posted January 6, 2019 13 hours ago, Joy said: While I agree with you, I also felt the same way about Dalinar...until I read Oathbringer. I trust Brandon to write a good enough Szeth story that even people who aren't currently fans of him will get invested. Yeah, I can see what you’re saying about not being excited for Dalinar until Oathbringer. And I’m gonna use that same logic on you. I’m not excited for Szeth’s story right now, but I trust Brandon to write it really well once we get to his book. I just haven’t ever really been interested in Szeth as a character that much. He was starting to get interesting in WoR, but that was because he was struggling with the oathstone and all that jazz. In OB, he felt really boring. But I’m sure he’ll be more interesting by book 5.
Draginon he/him Posted January 17, 2019 Posted January 17, 2019 On 1/5/2019 at 8:20 PM, Joy said: While I agree with you, I also felt the same way about Dalinar...until I read Oathbringer. I trust Brandon to write a good enough Szeth story that even people who aren't currently fans of him will get invested. I felt almost the opposite for Dalinar. I liked him since WOK and he was slightly dull in Oath, there were parts where I wasn't excited with what was happening with him, but did enjoy his backstory by the time it ended. On 1/6/2019 at 9:35 AM, StrikerEZ said: Yeah, I can see what you’re saying about not being excited for Dalinar until Oathbringer. And I’m gonna use that same logic on you. I’m not excited for Szeth’s story right now, but I trust Brandon to write it really well once we get to his book. I just haven’t ever really been interested in Szeth as a character that much. He was starting to get interesting in WoR, but that was because he was struggling with the oathstone and all that jazz. In OB, he felt really boring. But I’m sure he’ll be more interesting by book 5. Yeah it's like Szeth had a real conflict going on during the first two books, the struggle of being an assassin despite how he feels about doing the acts themselves, to be replaced with banter with Nightblood. I hope the hint, well statement, of revenge against the Shin doesn't turn into a head banging plot since those can be very annoying to read.
Ciridae Posted January 17, 2019 Posted January 17, 2019 Does anybody have any scenes in mind that could potentially be in the flashbacks? I hope we get to see Eshonai's day of first transformation, listener children have been a mystery for such a long time now. I think it's pretty safe to say that we'll get to see Dalinar discovering the Listeners in the unclaimed hills. In WoK Dalinar says that they kept asking to see the Alethi maps, so I think he was unknowingly talking about Eshonai who was mapping the area at the time. From Gavilar's memoirs we know that he had a bit of a friendship going with Klade (who is also ironically the one who purchased Szeth). And from the OB prologue it seems like Eshonai was pretty close with the Five listener leaders. So we might see more of Gavilar.
Jess Posted January 17, 2019 Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) So far, all the flashback sequences have culminated in some pretty significant bombshells. It's possible that simply won't be the case this time, but nevertheless I'm trying to brainstorm some possibilities. Perhaps the Listeners were sitting on the secret of how the Shattered Plains were shattered? Do we know for sure how the Listeners got their hands on shards? It's been a while since I last read her WoR interludes though so I'm not sure how compliant these ideas are with her thoughts there. Maybe we will get a flashback of her death from her POV, and she saw/learned something of great import during the brief stopover in Shadesmar. I'm not fully sure how that would work but well, theories have to be half formed before they are fully formed. Edited January 18, 2019 by Jess 2
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