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Bleeder adopted many disguises throughout the book, but the big reveal (well, one of them) was that she was Governor Innate the whole time. Did you see that twist coming or did you think she was someone else? I totally thought that Bleeder that killed and replaced MeLaan in Remarked Duplicity 2: Hemalurgic Bugaloo. I was expecting Brandon to combine and repeat the OreSeur and Reen reveals in a single character. I think my supporting evidence was really compelling until the very end. In his conversation with Wax, Harmony reveals that Bleeder uses Hemalurgy in ways that he does not fully understand. Harmony also mentions that the Preservation shard lets him listen to peoples' thoughts while the Ruin shard lets him speak in peoples' thoughts. After this Wax stops hearing Harmony speak directly in his head and instead starts hearing Bleeder at the party. Shortly afterward Wax meets MeLaan, whose is credentialed by As endorsements go, you can't do much better than God Himself. But what if Bleeder has become so skilled with Hemalurgy that she has somehow co-opted some of Ruin's powers? That would mean Sazed can still listen telepathically, but not speak telepathically. Then Bleeder could mimic Sazed's mental voice, confirm her identity as "MeLaan," and seamlessly infiltrate Wax's group of allies. It would be the Reen/Ruin reveal all over again, but worse this time because I really like MeLaan! Later, MeLaan says this about the other kandra: And yet, MeLaan had no qualms about slaughtering the Set gunmen a few chapters earlier. She even made witty banter while doing so. Compare that to TenSoon having a small identity crisis later when he kills in clear self defense. Suspicious, no? On top of all that, MeLaan and Bleeder are never seen in the same room together until near the end of the book. That's totally a red flag! Thankfully my theory was totally wrong. Still, I wonder if Brandon intended for readers to be suspicious of MeLaan. What do you think? Who did you suspect and why? What red herrings did you catch? Edit: Is there a way to add a poll to this thread so that people can vote on which characters they thought were Bleeder in disguise?

Glad you enjoyed it! I was surprised at how well the characters mapped on to each other after being abstracted a bit. I guess Butcher and Sanderson are great minds thinking alike.

Jim Butcher (Dresden Files) --- warning, lots of inferrable spoilers below Kaladin wears a long coat, carries a staff spear, and has a traumatizing childhood that makes him self-consciously power hungry and pathologically incapable of tolerating injustice. EVER. He resents authority figures like Elhokar on principle for not being crusader-y enough for his taste, but remains fiercely loyal to the Alethi kingdom, as it protects regular people from the Voidbringers who go bump in the night. Shallan is his apprentice. She's not naturally suited for combat, but she's feisty, brave, and good at Surgebinding illusions. Her family life is less dysfunctional than in the canon (admittedly not a hard thing to improve on) and her dad is actually really cool. Syl is evil and sexy and constantly tempting Kaladin with new Surges if he would just compromise a little bit and conform to her moral code. Adolin is a ridiculously handsome womanizer, a superhuman warrior, and has tragically conflicted feelings about how the Thrill is an inescapable part of his identity. He has an unshakeable bromance with Kaladin. Taravangian is having none of this "compassion" and "variable intelligence" nonsense. He will protect and rule his world with an utterly amoral and coldly rational iron fist, sweeping aside heroes and villains alike in his quest for power. He has just one rule: Never. Harm. Children. Nalan has walked the earth for uncounted millenia. Every couple centuries he pops up and destroys civilization with a well laid plan, then disappears as enigmatically as he appeared. He has a Surge that lets him control shadows, and his Skybreaker disciples have no tongues. Nalan knows he is a evil, and he does not care, because he knows that his atrocities are protecting Roshar in a way that no one else understands. But the truly terrifying thing about Nalan is that he might be right. Dalinar...is a good man. That's the long and the short of it. His honor is like his sword: never wavering and always important. Renarin is a scrawny, scholarly geek who likes polka music and dead bodies. But don't underestimate him--later he will reveal hidden depths of knowledge and courage. The Almighty...is basically the same. Never intervenes directly, offers vague encouragement to "do the right thing," and is definitely not telling you everything. Odium...is basically the same. A vague dark supernatural force beyond human comprehension with unknown but clearly unpleasant plans for humanity. The NIghtwatcher is much more overt but no less mysterious. Bargains struck with her will always be carried out in full. No more. No less. Always. She is plays an absolutely essential role in protecting the world, but under no circumstances does that mean she's one of the 'good guys.' All mortals deal with her reluctantly and cautiously--and only in times of utter desperation. Also, she's really beautiful. Like, fall on your knees to worship her while clawing at your eyes inhumanly beautiful. Jasnah is a detective. She does not fully understand the supernatural world and its threats, but she never stops looking for answers and is driven by her duty to protect the innocent---criminals best be wary. She is a rather jaded divorcee with a penchant for fraternizing with assassins.

High praise indeed! I would give my left rockbud to write as well as (or alongside) Heir of the Void. And don't I know it! Many thanks and Stormless days to Mr. Ahlstrom, Captain of Bridge Troll, assistant to High Lord Sanderson of Trollin. (seriously though PeterAhlstrom, thanks for totally making my day.)

GAAAAH I WANT BOOK 3 SO BAD And I am honored to have amused you Mr. Ahlstrom (do I get a prize?)

Niiiice. I just read this over at tor.com Looks like Kaladin might spend a few early chapters tangled in small town politics/misconceptions. Roshone: Where'd you get that uniform? You must be a deserter! Kaladin:... Roshone: Where'd you get those gemstones? You must be a thief! Kaladin:.. Roshone: Where'd you get that Shardblade? You must be a...waitaminuteSHARDBLADE?!?! Kaladin: Actually I'm a Knight Radiant (btw not evil) who just flew here from the lost city of Urithiru (btw real) on the orders of High Lord Dalinar Kholin (btw honor) to warn you about the apocalyptic Everstorm (btw oops) that was created by the Voidbringers (btw also real) who are actually mutated parshmen (btw abolition or genocide debate) who are about to plunge the entire world into a dark age of chaos and war on behalf of their mysterious omnicidal god of hatred (btw fetch my brown pants) Roshone:... What could possibly go wrong? Edit: Also, how does one hunt gloomspren? Furthermore, how does one make a grand thing of it? Best psychotherapist-spren ever.

This is off-topic from the rest of the thread, but I think a new religion will form that worships the Radiants, a la Church of the Survivor from Mistborn and the Dragonsworn from Wheel of Time. Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin now occupy positions of immense importance and respect among the Urithiru refugees. That, plus the LITERAL APOCALYPSE happening outside is going to make people zealously reject the old religious teachings that vilified the Radiants. I expect a scene where people are gushing over Shallan as a "Lady Radiant" and she finds the whole experience inconvenient and kinda creepy. Then Kaladin is going to return and the stuffier of these neo-Envisagers are going to have aneurysms upon realizing they now have to worship a former darkeye. Also, I think a big part of Book 3's plot will center around the actions of Taravangian's faction. Dalinar's survival, the arrival of the Desolation, and the emergence of new Radiants completely derails the Diagram. Plus, using Urithiru as an "ark" is probably Mr. T's best bet for fulfilling his goal of "sheltering a seed of humanity." Given all this, I think Mr.T will take Sadeas' place as the main political challenge to Dalinar's authority. Publicly T will support Dalinar and give resources to Urithiru, but in the background he will try to take control of Urithiru (like he did in Jah Keved). Eventually Dalinar finds out, confronts T, convinces him his methods and the Diagram are misguided and morally wrong, and T has a breakdown and is about to reveal all the secrets of the Unmade, Gavilar's final days, the dark sphere, the Nightwatcher, the Ghostbloods, the Sons of Honor, the Stone Shamans, and whether an axehound poops in the forest, when suddenly Szeth appears and storms up all his rust.

I'm pretty sure that I've read everything in the cosmere, though I might have missed a short story or two. I have'nt gotten around to his non-cosmere stuff yet.

Hi folks! I've been lurking here for about a month waiting for WoR, decided today to get an account. I'm new to forums in general so be gentle