taliefer

i like the idea that Taln IS Taln. hes just not technically a herald any more. it fits with brandon's cryptic statements about Taln not being who he thinks he is, Hoid calling him confused. Also, since at this point we dont know a whole lot about Honorblades, if Taln lost his Heraldness, perhaps that broke his bond with the blade and thats why his eyes are dark. he still is(was?) in possesion of the blade, but isnt bonded. i dont imagine Szeths eyes turned instantly pale blue the second he was given the blade.

just an observation: i think its telling that the people who didnt like/were frustrated with kaladin's story still recognize it was realistic. i think that points to just how well written Kaladin is, even if people felt it was too drawn out. im of the opinion that kaladin was prone to Depression even before it all went to hell. it strikes a cord with me on a personal level like no other character in any series.

Kaladin was frustrating to read at times, but i think it would have been far more jarring for kaladin to just magically become "The Hero" after book 1. rescuing Dalinar should not have fixed all his deep seeded issues, and im glad it didnt. it would have felt far more forced than any backslide did. that said...i honestly did come close to putting the book down in disgust a few times. but the payoff was just so, so worth it. looking back on it i think it was masterful.

i went and re-read warbreaker over the weekend...i think vasher and kaladin are very similar characters in that both try hard to do the right thing, but have had to make some hard choices in their lives. not much, but i dont know. they just "feel" very similar when reading. in a good way. it got me hoping for more interaction between the two of them. the intro to chapter 2: Breath. A man’s breath was his life. Exhaled, bit by bit, back into the world. Kaladin breathed deeply, eyes closed, and for a time that was all he could hear. His own life. In, out, to the beating of the thunder in his chest. Breath. His own little storm. the wording seems very deliberate. I know there are similarities in all the magic systems, but Brandon seems to link these two here very clearly. Breath is quite literally Life in Warbreaker. Regarding Lift, wouldnt she have had to be bonded and therefore probably inhaled stormlight before she went to Nightmother and then got changed? id need to re-read her interlude, but i dont remember if there was any thoughts in her head about spheres close enough for her to even try inhaling. my wild guess would be food is the only way she can if she doesnt even consider inhalation.

i got the impression they could only make out some of it due to him mumbling. its stated in his interlude that sometimes he mummbles, the rest of the time he screams and elohkar tells him to speak up at one point.

a good question might be do we have enough evidence to reasonably conclude the Taln we see in the book is NOT the Taln that was banished to damnation upon his last death? the physical descriptions in each book seem to be consistent. the no accent/northern accent can be explained away from view points, or at least be put into serious question. the only surefire difference related is in the blade that is assumed to be Taln's in each book. those are obviously different blades. if it wasnt for brandons quote, im not sure we'd even suspect this. i havent followed all his signings/question and answers for every book, but does he have a history of being deliberately misleading?

that thought popped into my head while reading as well. also thoughts about it being a metaphor for the journey before destination stuff, kaladins story, and probably some other things as well. it was a great moment that seemed to hint at much and many more things than just the base story itself. much like Hoid himself really.

while true, they would also be educated enough to realize he is speaking in a manner that conveys no accent to them, but that is unusual given his appearance. a crude real life analogy might be having a "Traditional" native american show up in australia and speaking with an australian accent...it wouldnt sound like an accent to them, but i imagine they sure wouldnt have been expecting it enough and itd be somethin theyd notice

i think you could be on to something actually. the first ideal is the same for all orders...it is the subsequent oaths or truths or whatever mechanism that each order uses to refine their seperate moralities and that this is the cause of conflicts between the different orders. as for sadeas...it wouldnt really be bringing sadeas to justice in their world. Dalinar would entirely be the aggressor based on their social beliefs. Sadeas did nothing illiegal in their society, and indeed nothing even morally repugnant by the accepted standards. i believe he even realizes this himself(although i havent done a re-read of WoK in a while)

thanks. shoots that thought down. the pause when talking about Jezrien does seem interesting tho. assuming thats what the ellipses is supposed to indicate.

The words came, like they always came. is anyone able to post where he goes on to talk about what each herald will do? if the words "came like they always came" perhaps any of the heralds he doesnt list could be the impersonator? or does he say "i will train your soldiers?" i cant remember and dont have the book handy.

it has to be either Taln, or one of the other Heralds going far over the edge and believing they are Taln. Which might mean Taln is still in Damnation being tortured, and the desolation hasnt really come yet? The Everstorm really is just a ferocious storm blowing the wrong way...which while bad, isnt something that couldnt be adjusted for and shouldnt cause the whole breakdown of society that seems to come with Desolations.

are there any hints at all about Taln not being Taln? Thats creeping awful close to the "convolution for the sake of convolution" line which im not particularly fond of.

havent re read way of kings yet since doing words of radiance, but didnt kaladin's father have a better opinion of the radiants than most people? i can see kaladin's being one helping out his fathers mindset

Kaladin is by far my favorite protagonist in any fantasy series. he just feel like a real person, who even before all the dramatic events took place, had real issues. there are hints that Kaladin deals with a form of depression even in his flashbacks when his life was good. He's just a really impressive character, his arc in this book WAS frustrating at times. but it was so well portrayed. and then the payoff was worth it. you just kept going down this dark path, and then literally down into the chasms. and then the payoff was soooo worth the frustration felt. it was powerful stuff man.

He says, "Someone must lead them." (?) He says, "Someone must unite them."(Dalinar) He says, "Someone must protect them." (Kaladin) these are very, very interesting to me after WoR. Kaladins oaths are about protecting. Dalinar's about uniting. i dont think we've met the leader yet. that could be another theory all its own.

It just very interesting and kind of random that Kaladin is musing about breath in his intro for this book, where we later find vasher just chilling. I dont really want all the worldhopping stuff to be more than an easter egg(tho i think its getting a bit more play than background easter eggs as it is), but i cant help but thinking nightblood and vasher are going to have at least a little more than a behind the scenes role.

I find it very intersting that Kaladins first thoughts in this book are about "Breath", and even goes so far as to say "Breath. His own little storm". Im curious if people think this is just foreshadowing and clues about Zahel being Vasher, or could Vasher and Kaladin have much more, and important, interaction in the series than just the little training that took place?

this book was "wow". ive never had a book make me physically ill (in a good way) like it did when dalinar allowed kaladin to be imprisoned. i felt sick to my stomach, i could feel kaladins...i dont know the word. it was powerful. i also thought kaladin "ate" syl during that fall since she screamed and he immediatly felt the little jolt of stormlight, and was horrified. and then it just got awesome from there on out. from pits in my stomach to a smile in my soul.