kaellok

I think that Drakard's point as I read it should still stand, though: having one Shard is just about the most dangerous thing you can have in the Cosmere. Someone with insane amounts of power, and without the context on how that power was intended to be used. That is, after all, why Odium is so very dangerous: it is the wrath and hate of a god without the context of when it is appropriate and how it should be used. Maybe having two shards pulling you in diametrically opposed directions is a tad uncomfortable, and will end in 'you' 'dying' far sooner than otherwise (whether actual death, loss of self to the Shard, transformation into something completely unknown, whatever). I mean, there's only so long you can put up with that in real life before your arms are ripped out, so I assume the same is true of forces that are infinitely stronger than, say, a horse. On topic, though, no; I would only take a Shard if there was no other option, or the only other options would see someone like Rayse end up with something like Odium (an evil person given Hate personified and power unchecked). If I were forced to choose one Shard to take, it would be--well, I don't know. I'm not really big on any of the ones I know about; if I were a Radiant, I would be a Skybreaker, so whichever Shard best exemplifies that. Maybe Honor, I guess; but, really though, it would quite literally have to be the fate of the universe on the line, and even then maybe not.

Pft, I was a dual-wielding ranger in Dungeons and Dragons before EQ existed, let alone before MMOs were popular. And i'm 100% sure that the idea of wielding two weapons can be traced through Hollywood/Theater/Other-visual-entertainment-displays---because dual-wielding looks awesome. As to space-travel KR, I remember reading on here that Peter and Brandon had done calculations to see how much stormlight it would take for Kal to fly to one of the moons of Roshar. Having some space-flight at some point seems very plausible. Shardplate seems to act an awful lot like Powered Armor from various sci-fi-ish universes, too, with one of the perks being able to survive in the hard vacuum of space--so, again, wouldn't be surprised to see it. I'm not sure how I feel about the "I can manifest as anything I want" ability of Syl as a Shardblade, though; on the one hand, it makes sense, for sure, 100%, and is pretty awesome. On the other hand, we have no idea what the limits are--and the limits, in my experience, is what makes something that seems miraculous and fantastic into something that is believable (and something Sanderson does very well with his magic systems).

Drat...I forgot that there were ten Silver Kingdoms. Oh well.

They feel the Thrill on the Shattered Plains, in Jah Keved and in Alethkar. What seems to vary is the strength of its influence. Sadeas pointedly asks Dalinar if he still feels the Thrill in WoK. Fast forward to WoR, and in every POV from Sadeas his internal dialogue mentions how week it is compared to his youth, how fleeting it is, not lasting long at all. If Nergaoul is solely responsible for the Thrill, then we have absolute proof that it can be felt at those wide, drastic distances. However, in one of Dalinar's visions from WoK, he specifically mentions how the Thrill makes him a better fighter, strengthening and invigorating him, but without maddening him as it does some. So, it's possible that the Thrill is something that exists naturally (similar to how stormlight is natural) and is perverted or 'enhanced' by Nergaoul's influence. I don't think this is the case, but there is no denying how the Thrill can affect two different people in very similar, and yet drastically different, ways.

Oh god...this...that...I almost wish this were true!

Dalinar's words to Kaladin regarding his initial investigation of Amaram make it sound like it's a pretty done deal as far as he's concerned; 17 different people from different walks of life all vouching the same story. Story-wise, it makes sense for Dalinar to seriously re-question and re-examine Amaram after Kaladin's actions--if only because Kaladin was the only person willing to stand with Adolin, and him without Shards. It makes sense for Dalinar to doubt Amaram's reasoning, and believe that Kaladin may have been correct. It seems to me that continuing to think of the sting operation starting at the same time as the initial one doesn't make as much sense. However, up until the point that Dalinar gets confirmation that Amaram is a liar, murderer, and thief, he has no reason to believe it is true, and every reason to think it isn't. He took the word of a relative stranger, and on that word put serious effort into questioning one of his closest friends; Kaladin was right to tell Dalinar, Dalinar was right to investigate as he did, and it's reasonable for Dalinar to believe his findings. One word against seventeen, especially against someone that has the weight of years and experience versus one who doesn't, is going to count for little unless there is any other evidence. And there's not, because Amaram is a clever, evil bastard. Adolin tells Kaladin that the only reason he believes him about Amaram is because Amaram is too good; we know that Dalinar is too trusting. Dalinar trusting someone that he shouldn't is just something that he does. But, he's getting better at figuring things out before disaster strikes. So, I don't think that Dalinar acted badly, or wrongly in this. Sure, he was wrong, but based on the information that he had at the time he did the best he could--and more than most would have. Even asking Kaladin to stay in the prison cell wasn't being unreasonable or wrong; it was containing a volatile, potentially hostile, situation. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say. Hide the darkeyes that did the impossible, and then slandered a prominent lighteyes, out of the way of lighteyes that would seek retribution until the furor has died down enough that he can go back to being an asset instead of a liability. If Kaladin had directly confided in Dalinar in his Surgebinding abilities beforehand, it's important to say, all of that would have never been an issue. Kaladin rightfully didn't know this, and so he didn't, but he's just as wrong in this case as Dalinar was (they aren't. Neither of them are. That's my point. Or they both are. You can pick either one you want.) Also, in trying to find the exact time you're referring to Shallan v. Kaladin in the chasm, I realized something: You're right, she didn't apologize there (p. 823 hardcover, Chapter 69 Nothing). Despite the non-apology, Kaladin is being an odious chull at the time--an attitude that, while justified based on his experiences--he seems to actually revel in. He loves his hatred of lighteyes far too much to let it go. And then, later, Shallan does offer an apology; not a great one, admittedly, but "Yes, I supposed I would [regarding how she'd retain a bad attitude after being made a slave]. I am sorry that you were treated in such a way, but it could have been worse. You could have been hanged." (p. 835 hardcover, Chapter 70 From a Nightmare.) Not once does Kaladin ever apologize to her, at least not that I could find skimming through the chasm scene, or that I could remember. He doesn't offer apologies any better than the lighteyes do. Kaladin is a hate-filled man with a bad attitude, and the lighteyes treat him that way. His actions are understandable, and their reactions to his actions are equally understandable. Both sides are just atrociously bad at creating some kind of bridge between them, but huge strides have been made by the end. Note: all puns were intended.

While I tend to dislike it when characters survive or live even though they seemingly died, I never actually believed that Jasnah died. There was too much emphasis on Navani's grieving over Jasnah (both on-screen and through the epigraphs in early chapters) and almost nothing from everyone else for me to really believe that she was dead-dead. We also knew that she was a Surgebinder at that point, and capable of healing from grievous and terrible wounds given Stormlight--which she had. I also assumed that she had teleported or something through Shadesmar (I didn't really know what powers or Surges she had available to her aside from Soulcasting, because I didn't do a lot of extra research, but it made sense at the time--and turned out to be correct). So, the reveal at the end having Jasnah be alive was validation to me and what I had thought all along, which means that I kinda had the exact opposite reaction as you. Edit: I do agree with 11thorderknight that Szeth's survival threw me out. That entire fight scene seemed a little off to me anyhow, but I can't really explain why (like it was missing a piece, really, even if adding in Shallan would have been silly and nonsensical, so I don't really know what it was actually missing.)

Lerson, I think that we're seeing the Unmade in the 'dormant state' you speak of because they haven't Bonded with anyone. (I can't find the WoB saying that they could be Bonded, but I'd swear I've read it before.) It sure seemed to me like Sadeas was being groomed to Bond with Nergaoul, up until some inconsiderate jerk stabbed him in the eye. We saw POV from Sadeas for the first time, and each time he mentions the Thrill, how fleeting it is now, and how seeking to be filled with it is a large part of what is driving him to be his nasty self. Also, while I was searching for specific Sadeas chapters to quote (and getting distracted and forgetting that's what I was after), there's a place besides the Unmade where we see names like Tai-na (the greatshell gods of the Reshi Isles) and Relu-na (the name of the greatshell Rysn visits). The suffix in both cases is obviously -na, which is awfully close to -nar. I'm not saying that the Unmade are greatshells, but I think that there's probably a clue in the naming conventions. The gods of the Purelake are Nu Ralik and Vun Makak. The sounds that these names make are also very close to most of the names of the Unmade we know/think exist. I'm thinking that maybe the Unmade were tied more to a country or people, rather than the Radiant Orders or Heralds. Nergaoul seems custom-made to target the Alethi, both now and in the past. I'm not sure if the Thrill that affects Dalinar in one of his visions (Way of Kings, Chapter 19: Starfall) is due to him being in the past, or the present, but he specifically says that "...everything seemed to become clearer, crisper. His muscles moved easily; he breathed more deeply. He came alive." At the end of that vision, when he is talking to woman Radiant, he asks if she's from Alethela. She responds by saying, "One kingdom to study the arts of war so that the others might have peace. We die so that you may live. It has ever been our place." The Thrill seems to be a drug that addicts those who fight, and the Alethi have always been those who fight. Also, the Alethi prize names that are nearly symmetrical, as being holy--Nergaoul is about as close to the opposite of that as you can get. I, well, I've got nothing for how they might relate to anything else. I just think that the Unmade are fascinating--partially because we know so little, and yet the hints make them seem so huge.

Nope! Especially not in Words of Radiance: Everyone, no EVERYONE has an Agenda. Being suspicious of the only people that seem to not have an agenda is quite logical/reasonable. (Don't misunderstand, I love the book; I think it's Sanderson's best so far. But man, there are just so many secret societies out there now!)

I've been reading more on that, and think that my original post was far too narrow in scope, so you're likely to be correct, Thought. A large part of my brain is demanding that there's a reason for Jasnah to say: "'Idiot girl!' Jasnah repeated. "You have no idea how dangerous that was. Visiting Shadesmar with only a single dim sphere? Idiot!'" (Way of Kings, hardcover, p.969). It just makes me think that stormlight is a more rare and precious a resource in Shadesmar than it is in the Physical realm--and necessary for survival for humans.

Oh, she's obviously smiling maniacally, and on the verge of breaking down in tears and laughter in frustration.

Nah, OP, Hoid isn't the ultimate antagonist--he's the original. Or at least, I think he's the reason Adonalsium shattered originally, and he's been trying to make up for it ever since. That explains why he favors action over inaction (even if this eventuality was planned for, as The Reply letter implies is possible), steps he's willing to take (look, when you killed God once already, annihilating a planet and all of its inhabitants seems like less of a crime in comparison), and why he doesn't have a Shard when, of anyone we know of in the Cosmere, he would be most likely to do so (I find it incomprehensible to believe that he couldn't have picked up either Preservation or Ruin had he chosen, but if you're trying to put God back together, it's bad form to eat him). There's not really anything in-book to support my thought, but it makes me happy and nothing that I'm aware of contradicts it, so it's what I go with for now.

But the sole purpose for Kaladin to be in those meetings is as a bodyguard. He's not there as a Captain, or a Battalionlord, or a Hero or Savior or Knight Radiant. He's there to secure the area and keep the king alive if assassins attack. If he had been (I forget his name; the Champion guy that Gavilar was entrusting his blade and plate to before he got assassinated), then they still would have likely been shocked for him to speak up about things of that nature. It wasn't his expected role, or place, due to his position--the fact that he was a darkeyes undoubtedly played into it, as well, but it was hardly the only or even greatest reason. Even given his rank, the meeting is between people that are, at a minimum, at least one order of magnitude greater than him (and probably closer to 3), militarily-speaking. In the Army, it's rare for a Lt. Colonel (Battalion commander) to be meeting with Generals for a general strategy meeting. His rank would not have been sufficient to grant him a position in the meeting. As some others mentioned, Dalinar didn't have anything to apologize for, I feel. Then again, I feel that actions speak louder than words--Roshar is obviously different, as speaking the Ideals counts for far more than thinking them. None of the actions he took, however, were cause to need to apologize, either. And, finally, what Seloun said--lighteyes apologize to lighteyes just fine rather frequently. It's the lighteyes-darkeyes cross (on both sides) that makes it abysmally poor.

I don't do audio-books. I can't. After listening to someone talk for ~10-15 minutes, then my brain tunes them out as white noise that's not something actually real going on. So, if you have to do audio books, I have no idea what quality they come in, and I'm sorry. Also, my taste in books isn't the same as everyone else, so I'll also mention books that I dislike so that you can compare likes and dislikes. Obviously, we at least somewhat agree, because Sanderson is freaking amazing. GRRM last two Song of Ice and Fire books were terrible, each one worse than the one before it. The first three are really, really good. Abercrombie has terribly written characters in boring worlds (with an INCREDIBLY notable exception of Best Served Cold, which you should read). Drastically different style than Sanderson; incredibly good. Avoid the rest of his books like the plague. I never could get into Erikson's Malazan series, but will be giving it another go soon. Too many people whose opinion I trust and taste in books is similar to mine keep saying it's good for me to give up after only two tries. I love Mass Effect, and it took me 5 tries to get into the game at all, so /shrug. Terry Goodkind's books are, with one notable exception, awful. Wizard's First Rule, the first of the Sword of Truth series is jaw-droppingly good. The next two are not nearly as good, but I still made it through. Halfway through book 4 I dropped it, stopped, and never looked back. At the time, this was the first time that I had made it more than three chapters into a book and stopped reading it. Non-Sanderson great books that people have mentioned that I will repeat for added emphasis, as well as a few new ones: Scott Lynch -- Remember Kelsier and Crew from Mistborn? Think that, but they have no magic. And written incredibly well. Patrick Rothfuss -- Beautiful prose. I love the books. A common complaint is that they're somewhat boring (definitely not non-stop action-packed, so if that's what you want stay away.) Brent Weeks -- Over-the-top ridiculously awesome, take everything up to 11, and then maybe 12 or even 13. God I love this guy. If you want realism, stay away. If you want a fantastically good time, then dive in. Peter Brett -- Darker and more gritty than Weeks, just as well written. I like 'em, some of my friends hate them. I bought Book 1 because the cover art on Book 2 was so amazing that I was willing to pay $7 for the paperback just to have it. I now own the three that are out, and consider it the best impulse book-buy I've ever made. Jim Butcher -- His Dresden Files (Urban Fantasy) series starts out somewhat rough, but gets better; as I recall, after book 4 each one is substantially better than the one before it--and none of them are bad. Codex Aleria (Epic/High Fantasy) is really, really good. He uses some of the same basic principles of Sanderson (Heroes should be Heroic), and uses them well. The magic system used, and the way that it affected the development of the world is one of the most clear-sighted, well-thought out and natural presentations I've ever seen. Michael Sullivan -- The Riyiria books are definitely worth a read. While solid, they read very much like First Published Novels. I'm not really sure how to explain it, except to compare Elantris to Mistborn. No disrespect intended at all, just that he obviously gets better as the series goes on, and there comes a point where pretty much everything that happens is what, why, and how you would expect (or at least I did. But I was tipsy at the time, which occasionally induces prescience in me. Or at least the feeling that I'm prescient. Which really isn't the same thing at all.) Michelle Sagara/Michelle West -- Same author, writes under both names. Has a different series for each one, with rather substantial different 'feel.' I love her books, and she has written plenty of them. As Michelle West, she writes high fantasy, with a wide cast of characters and points of view that mesh together very well. Incredibly believable characters, that are also all distinct and unique individuals. Lots of politics and intrigue, mixed with some great fights and just good fun. Her prose is good, but relies more on suggestion and painting a picture of what's happening than Rothfuss. If Sanderson is my favorite author, she's my second favorite; both have rather different styles, but one thing they both do so well is create believable, relatable characters--and then we get to see how they react in situations that range from dire and deadly to fun and fabulous. She also has another series, which is Cast in <Insert-Noun-Here>. They're more--hrm. High fantasy police procedural? Yes--that's probably the best description. Much shorter than her other novels (which are ~700-800 pages long), they read faster, but still have the same trait of great characters. A substantially smaller cast, as there is just one POV character, too. Mira Grant -- I originally forgot to include her. Read Feed, take whatever time you need to recover, then the rest of the trilogy of Deadline and Blackout. All three were nominated for Hugo award for best novel. Drastically different style, genre, everything from Sanderson--but some of the best books I've ever read in my entire life. There are no books I recommend more often or with more praise, I just forgot about them because they're post-zombie apocalypse. Don't let that turn you off, though; I was looking for a nice hour of reading before bed, and something light that I could not care about or focus on. 80 hour work-weeks tend to drag me down, and fluff-reading is a nice catharsis. I, er, ended up not sleeping that week--well, I got like 5 hours of sleep. Spread over the course of 5 days. If you are having troubles finding something to read, then read Feed.

So, when I start sharing this with all of my friends, who should I give credit to? Because this is beautiful and I love it and I wish I could give you more than one upvote but I can't. But I can give credit how and to who it should go!

What Nordlendingen said. There are actually a lot of clues provided to people in the epigraphs and such that link his worlds, above and beyond the various cameo appearances. Pre-WoR OP might have more of a point (I would strongly disagree, but your position would be stronger), even if people had read all of Sanderson's works. I'd definitely say that the majority of people who have read WoK, WoR, and at least one other Sanderson Cosmere novel is probably Cosmere-aware. They may call it something else; they may have flawed or limited views. But just because we now know that the Earth and other planets revolves around the Sun doesn't mean that they had it entirely wrong when they thought the planets and Sun revolved around the Earth--the basic concept of the planets revolving around each other was correct.

Well, I discovered him because of WoT, like so many others have mentioned. I first found WoT around the time Book 6 was released as paperback, or at least when the library got the paperback copy of it; I remember, because I read all of them published at the time straight through. For a while, every couple of years, I would re-read all of them back to back. I've read The Eye of the World more times than any other book, I think; I generally don't re-read books, certainly not very often (oftentimes just picking up the book and reading the first page is enough to set in motion cascading memories that mean that I basically remember everything that happened, and how it happened). The size and scope of his books were substantially larger than I was used to, and so I started to finally reach limits on what my brain to accurately store before I had to work at it. I was leery about Sanderson taking over. I wasn't even particularly thrilled with all of the most recent books at that point, although they had started making an upward trend, back towards super-enjoyable (the one without Mat in it at all still upsets me, and I refuse to re-read). And, at this point, I can simply repeat what trev1972 said above me: The Gathering Storm was brilliant (except for Rand, and I had long grown accustomed to hating him, so that was nothing new) and so I set about finding anything of Sanderson's I could get my hands on. Aside from WoR, I've re-read all of his novels at least once, just because they're that good--and he's that good at hiding things in them, I want to make sure I didn't miss anything. He's currently one of my favorite authors, and the one that writes the fastest (which I appreciate. Sometimes I have to remind myself that authors are not capable of putting out a new, highly engaging awesome book in a month, and that it is unreasonable of me to be upset when they fail to do so. Putting out a book every year or so helps keep my irrational side down to barely audible rumblings and grumblings).

You'll have to admit that there was an awful lot of people other than Kaladin in WoK and Shallan in WoR. The books they're dedicated to seem to just have the flashbacks to help establish the characters. Rysn having Interludes may serve a very similar function, especially if the relevant parts of her character-building are happening contemperaneously with world events, rather than before-hand. I'd definitely like to see more of her, and it certainly seems like we will, but I'm not nearly as interested in her past as I am with those who have talked with the Nightmother and received boons of the Old Magic.

But--but--WoR is good! Like, really really good. MoL certainly isn't bad, but the two are definitely not in the same league imo. And I currently hope that Shallan doesn't end up with Kaladin because he's been annoying me of late, and I'm liking Adolin a lot more. Pre-WoR, though, I was 100% sure that it'd be Shallan and Kaladin for sure (I mean, there was specific mention of her while he was riding the storm in WoK!) And then all the other fore-shadowing going on, too.

Wait...they're not? Then whose eyes are they, and why are you wearing them!?

Well, when you have the remnants of a god on your side, and all of humanity is fighting against the virtual tide of hell and a nearly unstoppable wave of demons, having huge portions of the population of the world able to use Investiture isn't really all that crazy of an idea. I don't think you're right, but I definitely don't think that widespread access to Stormlight is a reason against.

Hmm, I think that we should be wary of Armless writer. If they are weak enough to give in to the arguments of the Stick that easily, then who knows when they're going to suddenly become fire when someone yells at them loud enough?

I'm not sure that I agree that we are all a stick. I mean, Shallan seems to have problems with who she is; if she were sure, then surely she would be a Stick. Because she is unsure, she constantly makes up new identities for herself to become, and NOT ONE of them is Stick. I think that only those who are truly sure and confident in who they are can be said to have mastered the teachings of Stick. Sadly, I am not Stick--yet.

I think that the storms are the font of stormlight, not the Stormfather.