Figuring out references

[Danyel Gomes]

Hey guys, I just got into the forum and need some help.

First, I need to make it clear that I've never read Sanderson, but have been researching to decide if I should go with Mistborn or Stormlight first.

The reason I'm here is I'm trying to figure out what is the new Blind Guardian song about. I thought that if it's about Sanderson, you guys would know. Do these lyrics seem related to any story ir mythology you guys know?

BLIND GUARDIAN - VIOLENT SHADOWS

Don't turn away, don't close your eyes, send forth mine
Will you protect the light, reflect and shine? 
That's your choice.
They're headed straight into the nation for another god
It needs a lionheart. It needs a pure soul, or we're condemned

I will not surrender, let it be. I will not surrender.

Now bring me your sacraments and death will not complain about it
Cry, it makes no difference (no difference)

That's why we should never cross the water
We run into the raging storm
Hatred's never ending

Take us to break free, Skydancer
Down where the violent shadows breed
Hide in the underworld, Skydancer
Hide where the violent shadows breed

Calm your pride, young slave - obey your master.
It's all I can teach - obey your master

Now bring me your sacraments and death will not complain about it
Cry, it makes no difference (no difference)

Calm down and believe it, now bring your precious daughter
"Get out!" we shout and believe it.  
Now listen and...

Take us to break free, Skydancer
Down where the violent shadows breed
Hide in the underworld, Skydancer
Hide where the violent shadows breed

Now bring me your sacraments and death will not complain about it
Cry, it makes no difference (no difference)

The bridgemen shall never cross the border
Now come and face the raging storm
Hate, it's never ending

Take us to break free, Skydancer
Down where the violent shadows breed
Hide in the underworld, Skydancer
Hide where the violent shadows breed

In violent shadows, we're all condemned

[Nathrangking]

It's sanderson alright Stormlight I'd say.

[Elegy]

Stormlight is definitely a possibility, mostly because of some single words ("bridgemen"), but then I don't know why they chose Skydancer (although I guess the word is not unfitting...). That said, Hansi Kürsch has recently released a Stormlight song called "Final Warning" with his side-project Demons & Wizards, so he could very well go on with Blind Guardian. He also called Stormlight "one of the two best books" he read "in the last 20 years" (which is insane, since he seems to be a major bookworm - but hey, I agree!), so there's a good chance.

If it isn't Stormlight, I don't know. The "lionheart" line confuses me. The Blind Guardian song "Lionheart" is about the Odyssee.

9 hours ago, Chiller said:

First, I need to make it clear that I've never read Sanderson, but have been researching to decide if I should go with Mistborn or Stormlight first.

Stormlight has kind of a slow start, so you have to trust the author to deliver the pay-offs. If you're patient, you can start there, but in most cases, I recommend the Mistborn trilogy as an entrypoint. The books are also way shorter (still very long) and have more of a focus on action. I also recommend Warbreaker as a great stand-alone book - if you don't want to commit to a huge story. In general, it fits nicely between Mistborn and Stormlight, I think.

[Snorkel]

I'm not 100% convinced the song is about the Stormlight Archive.  Don't get me wrong, if it's about a Brandon Sanderson series, then the Stormlight Archive is absolutely the correct answer.

But it could just be a cool coincidence, like Dark Side of the Moon with Wizard of Oz?  I know nothing about this band, so *shrug*

15 hours ago, Elegy said:

Stormlight has kind of a slow start, so you have to trust the author to deliver the pay-offs. If you're patient, you can start there, but in most cases, I recommend the Mistborn trilogy as an entrypoint. The books are also way shorter (still very long) and have more of a focus on action. I also recommend Warbreaker as a great stand-alone book - if you don't want to commit to a huge story. In general, it fits nicely between Mistborn and Stormlight, I think.

If you start with The Way of Kings, I'd recommend skipping the "Prelude" chapter, and then reading it afterwards - makes more sense afterwards too!  It's the only real issue with the book, it kind of has three prologues, so it's hard to get into.

Another good standalone work I'd recommend is the novella The Emperor's Soul.  IMO Emperor's Soul and Stormlight are the best of Brandon's Cosmere works.

[Danyel Gomes]

On 07/09/2020 at 8:51 PM, Nathrangking said:

It's sanderson alright Stormlight I'd say.

Thank you!

 

On 08/09/2020 at 5:14 AM, Elegy said:

Stormlight is definitely a possibility, mostly because of some single words ("bridgemen"), but then I don't know why they chose Skydancer (although I guess the word is not unfitting...). That said, Hansi Kürsch has recently released a Stormlight song called "Final Warning" with his side-project Demons & Wizards, so he could very well go on with Blind Guardian. He also called Stormlight "one of the two best books" he read "in the last 20 years" (which is insane, since he seems to be a major bookworm - but hey, I agree!), so there's a good chance.

If it isn't Stormlight, I don't know. The "lionheart" line confuses me. The Blind Guardian song "Lionheart" is about the Odyssee.

So you're a fan as well? ❤️

When I read your answer, I immediately went to rewatch the live chat Hansi did on D&W's Facebook to check if he talked about Stormlight Archive, cause back in april I only paid attention when mentioned The Handmaid's Tale, cause it was a title I already knew. And he did mention (around three times) he was very into it. I haven't look into the lyric content of the new D&W album yet.

 

9 hours ago, Snorkel said:

I'm not 100% convinced the song is about the Stormlight Archive.  Don't get me wrong, if it's about a Brandon Sanderson series, then the Stormlight Archive is absolutely the correct answer.

But it could just be a cool coincidence, like Dark Side of the Moon with Wizard of Oz?  I know nothing about this band, so *shrug*

Oh, knowing Blind Guardian, it's definetely inspired by a book! Hahaha

Almost all of their songs are based on books. They have songs about Tolkien, T. H. White, Tad Williams, Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, and so many others.

They have an entire album, called Nightfall In Middle-Earth, based on events told in The Silmarillion, with interludes containing sound effects and voice actors playing roles of the story between songs.

Last year they released an orchestral album, also with voice actors, that is a concept album telling a sequence to the story of The Dark Lands, a book by german author Markus Heitz. They actually did it with him, who apparently is a fan of the band. The album is called Legacy Of The Dark Lands.

For the next album, based on what their vocalist mentioned he was reading, and loving, there will probably be songs about The Kingkiller Chronicles, Stormlight Archive and The Handmaid's Tale, among others.

Well, I got completely carried away here, sorry about that.

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by Chiller

[Danyel Gomes]

On 08/09/2020 at 5:14 AM, Elegy said:

Stormlight has kind of a slow start, so you have to trust the author to deliver the pay-offs. If you're patient, you can start there, but in most cases, I recommend the Mistborn trilogy as an entrypoint. The books are also way shorter (still very long) and have more of a focus on action. I also recommend Warbreaker as a great stand-alone book - if you don't want to commit to a huge story. In general, it fits nicely between Mistborn and Stormlight, I think.

 

9 hours ago, Snorkel said:

If you start with The Way of Kings, I'd recommend skipping the "Prelude" chapter, and then reading it afterwards - makes more sense afterwards too!  It's the only real issue with the book, it kind of has three prologues, so it's hard to get into.

Another good standalone work I'd recommend is the novella The Emperor's Soul.  IMO Emperor's Soul and Stormlight are the best of Brandon's Cosmere works.

Thank you for the suggestions, guys! I still have a couple of months to decide, since I'm currently [finally] starting Dune and finishing Old Man's War. Then I'll probably gonna head for Sanderson and Rothfuss or The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny.

 

P.S.: Sorry for the double post, I'm on my phone and got all confused with the quotes.

[Elegy]

4 hours ago, Chiller said:

So you're a fan as well? ❤️

When I read your answer, I immediately went to rewatch the live chat Hansi did on D&W's Facebook to check if he talked about Stormlight Archive, cause back in april I only paid attention when mentioned The Handmaid's Tale, cause it was a title I already knew. And he did mention (around three times) he was very into it. I haven't look into the lyric content of the new D&W album yet.

Yes ❤️ The D&W song I mean is "Final Warning", it's about the prologue of Way of Kings, and there's even the word "stormlight" in the lyrics (also, here's the interview I refered to). I got into Blind Guardian in 2011/12 and started reading Stormlight/Sanderson in 2010/11, so given the amount of fantasy books they covered, I had been hoping to hear a song about a Sanderson story for 8 to 9 years  (other than Wheel of Time, of course, but that one hardly counts). And there it was, albeit only a D&W song, but still! I hope there will be more.

I also agree that Emperor's Soul is fantastic and a good place to start! It's a novella, yet very character-based rather than action.

[Danyel Gomes]

@Snorkel

@Elegy

I'm reviving the post because I wanted to thank you guys for the suggestions! I'm half-way through The Final Empire and I'm LOVING IT! It's such a page turner. I finished Dune right before I started The Final Empire and the difference in the reading rhythm is ridiculous hahahahaha Don't get me wrong, I loved Dune, the story, the universe, the characters, all the details you get from only those ~600 pages, it's amazing. But despite Frank Herbert's amazing ideas, his storytelling and writing styles are not much to my taste — although I will read the other 5 books, I'm actually starting Dune Messiah now, parallel to Mistborn.

 

Anyway, I'm starting to plan to buy The Way Of Kings, but I have a lot of questions about the different editions.

So there are three things to consider:

Firstly: I'm a little picky with paper type, to an extent. I'm not a fan of full white paper and I definetely dislike those recycled paper that look and smell like the morning newspaper. My Mistborn first era set is from Gollancz, I was very sad when it arrived because of that. Also it seems fragile since it moves sideways like jello and the cover is so thin and has no flaps. So I'm discarding both the Gollancz and the Tor Mass Market editions for The Way Of Kings.

Then I have to choose between Tor trade paperback or hardcover. I love the look of a hardcover in my desk or my shelf, and I usually read somewhere where I can lay the book upon something, so I don't think the weight would be a problem. What is a problem, though, is the price. You see, for me to import a book to Brazil costs a fortune because our currency has terrible value right now, thanks to our dear government. So I would only by the hardcover if it was MUCH superior to the trade paperback.

For example: the maps and figures, is their quality the same? My Luthadel map is horrible, I can barely see or read anything — thanks Gollancz — and I wanted something with better quality this time. I've seen in videos that the hardcover has sleeves, whilte the cover itself it's just a plain color empty cover. That's a shame, I think sleeves tend to tear and crumple. The brazilian Dune editions are hardcover without sleeves, the artwork is printed on the cover itself, very nice job and beautiful as well (pictures attached).

Finally, we have the ultimate decision. I've read recently that a brazilian fan got in touch with an assistant to Sanderson and he answered back saying "Stormlight already has a house in Brazil. A new brazilian publisher will be printing the first 3 books, with the possibility of the 4th book coming as well, depending on sales numbers."

So you see, I'm torn. I really want to start reading Stormlight next year, I want to catch up before there are too many books released. But the brazilian edition may take a while, since I assume they probably still need to translate it. Also, I've become very fond of the idea of reading a book in its original language — as long as I speak it, of course — but, then again, I might fall in love with the brazilian edition when it comes out and then I'll want to buy it as well.

So yes, I know it seems silly, but I'm really low on budget as of late and I don't want to spend any more than I need to, but I also don't want to buy something I won't be satisfied with — regret is a terrible feeling.

Based on all this jibber-jabber information:

Trade paperback or hardcover? Pros? Cons? What kind of paper it has? Does it have flaps? How's the spacing and what's the font used?

Original language or wait who-knows-how-much for brazilian portuguese edition?

 

A quick comparison to understand how much it is important for me to decide:

With the same money I buy The Way Of Kings hardcover, I could buy FIVE copies of this beautiful edition of Dune.

For the trade paperback of The Way Of Kings? 3 copis of this beautiful hardcover Dune.

You see my point? I need to be sure of what I'm buying... hahahahaha

 

Thank you so much if you even just clicked on the post to check!

 

(Should I actually make a new post to ask this stuff? — says Dany, covering his mouth with his index finger.)

[Snorkel]

Don't ask me, I prefer the ebook editions!

It's much less strain on the little fingers to hold up a phone or e-reader than a full book. It doesn't get damaged or eaten by silverfish, and you can use the search function!

Oh, I DID buy the smaller-dimension paperback of Way of Kings, that's the "Mass Market" edition I think? It's an abomination that shouldn't exist - very hard to read such a large book crammed into such small dimensions.  Definitely get the Trade Paperback or Hardback over this edition.

 

[Eluvianii]

Well, the hardcover is definitely pretty, and those tend to include some artwork that I don't really know if comes with the paperback too. As an example, this is what you see when you open the hardcover for the most recent book (no spoilers, I promise) 

Spoiler

As for the paper, it's pretty thin, but I wouldn't say bad quality. It's like they needed a way to make the book occupy less space considering the number of pages, but still be durable, and I would say they achieved it.

Can't say much about the sleeves. My copy of the second book was carried with me in my backpack to school every day for about a month, plus some traveling I did with it a couple times and they are still in near perfect shape, but I guess that depends more on the reader. 

[Danyel Gomes]

On 02/12/2020 at 4:49 PM, Snorkel said:

Don't ask me, I prefer the ebook editions!

It's much less strain on the little fingers to hold up a phone or e-reader than a full book. It doesn't get damaged or eaten by silverfish, and you can use the search function!

Oh, I DID buy the smaller-dimension paperback of Way of Kings, that's the "Mass Market" edition I think? It's an abomination that shouldn't exist - very hard to read such a large book crammed into such small dimensions.  Definitely get the Trade Paperback or Hardback over this edition.

 

Yeah, I thought of buying an e-reader but I just have this thing with the physical copies. For a lot of reasons, I suppose, but one I can think of right now is that I work with a PC, so I already spend my whole days watching a screen, it's nice to get out of it for a change hahahahah

Thank you for confirming the thing about the mass paperback, I'm gonna steer clear of it for sure.

 

 

On 02/12/2020 at 8:45 PM, Ookla the Divine Blade said:

Well, the hardcover is definitely pretty, and those tend to include some artwork that I don't really know if comes with the paperback too. As an example, this is what you see when you open the hardcover for the most recent book (no spoilers, I promise) 

  Reveal hidden contents

As for the paper, it's pretty thin, but I wouldn't say bad quality. It's like they needed a way to make the book occupy less space considering the number of pages, but still be durable, and I would say they achieved it.

Can't say much about the sleeves. My copy of the second book was carried with me in my backpack to school every day for about a month, plus some traveling I did with it a couple times and they are still in near perfect shape, but I guess that depends more on the reader. 

To be honest, the only book I have with a sleeve is one with the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe, and while handling the sleeve I felt like I was about to mess it up somehow. But the hardcover edition is growing on me. The artwork is very enticing. I'm really considering it, though it's hard to decide on buying a book that is worth 80% of what I spend monthly at the supermarket hahahahaha I guess it's worth it, though, cause it'll probably take more than a month for me to read it.

 

One question: I've read a review on Amazon that said something about 33 pages missing on the book. Does anyone know anything of that? Was there an antire batch that had this problem or was that person just unlucky?

[Spren of Kindness]

1 hour ago, Chiller said:

One question: I've read a review on Amazon that said something about 33 pages missing on the book. Does anyone know anything of that? Was there an antire batch that had this problem or was that person just unlucky?

My copy isn't missing any pages, and as for the art, in Oathbringer it's there, on pages that are slightly thicker then the rest of the book.

[Danyel Gomes]

On 04/12/2020 at 4:01 PM, Spren of Kindness said:

My copy isn't missing any pages, and as for the art, in Oathbringer it's there, on pages that are slightly thicker then the rest of the book.

Thank you so much!

[Condensation]

This looks amazing! I think I need to listen to this.

[Danyel Gomes]

6 hours ago, Ookla the Grammatical said:

This looks amazing! I think I need to listen to this.

Oh, Blind Guardian is amazing in so many ways! Please do listen to it! Hahahahha don't know what you like soundwise, but do try it, maybe you'd like the calm bard-like songs if you're not into metal. Here's a list:

The Bard's Song (In The Forest)

Skalds And Shadows

A Past And Future Secret (based on T. H. White's The Once And Future King)

Harvest Of Sorrow (from the concept album based on The Silmarillion)

Nightfall (same as above, from "Nightfall in Middle-Earth")

Lord Of The Rings (based on... well, you know)

Curse My Name (based on John Milton's The Tenure Of Kings And Magistrates)

 

And If you want the heavy stuff, just dive into whatever you find interesting and begin your journey through these fantastic nerdy songs hahahahahhaha

[Snorkel]

I just learned this week that there are smaller-dimension hardbacks of Stormlight, apparently they're "book club versions" or something.  So, be careful not to accidentally get those if you shop from ebay or amazon-sellers.

[Condensation]

On 06/12/2020 at 3:28 AM, Chiller said:

Oh, Blind Guardian is amazing in so many ways! Please do listen to it! Hahahahha don't know what you like soundwise, but do try it, maybe you'd like the calm bard-like songs if you're not into metal. Here's a list:

The Bard's Song (In The Forest)

Skalds And Shadows

A Past And Future Secret (based on T. H. White's The Once And Future King)

Harvest Of Sorrow (from the concept album based on The Silmarillion)

Nightfall (same as above, from "Nightfall in Middle-Earth")

Lord Of The Rings (based on... well, you know)

Curse My Name (based on John Milton's The Tenure Of Kings And Magistrates)

 

And If you want the heavy stuff, just dive into whatever you find interesting and begin your journey through these fantastic nerdy songs hahahahahhaha

This is not my favorite kind of song, but I really like the lyrics. Maybe I'll listen to some more, maybe I won't. Either way, thanks for introducing me!

[Danyel Gomes]

On 07/12/2020 at 5:12 PM, Snorkel said:

I just learned this week that there are smaller-dimension hardbacks of Stormlight, apparently they're "book club versions" or something.  So, be careful not to accidentally get those if you shop from ebay or amazon-sellers.

Thank you! I'll see if I can buy directly from Amazon, book 2 went from 21 to 34 dollars, gonna have to wait a little bit until it drops down again =(

 

 

On 07/12/2020 at 11:43 PM, Ookla the Grammatical said:

This is not my favorite kind of song, but I really like the lyrics. Maybe I'll listen to some more, maybe I won't. Either way, thanks for introducing me!

I see. Well, you'll have fun just by looking up their lyric references and cover arts, trust me! hahahahaha

 

 

Thank you for the help, guys!

 

P.S.: I just finished The Final Empire, damn what a book... 5/5 stars for me, and added to my list of favorites.

[Condensation]

2 hours ago, Chiller said:

I see. Well, you'll have fun just by looking up their lyric references and cover arts, trust me! hahahahaha

Yes? Okay, I will!