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That's The Tawny Man trilogy. I would read The Liveship Traders trilogy first (though you don't have to; the stories are only slightly related to each other). I still haven't read The Rain Wild Chronicles, which is sort of the sequel to The Liveship Traders. I read maybe half of the first of the four books in that series (The Dragon Keeper), and for whatever reason, I just couldn't get into it. However, I have read the first two books of The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy (the last book doesn't come out until next year), and I like that series well enough. There's also a novella, The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince, which I have not read. There's a whole lot to read for those who are really into that world.

I don't know if physical copies are widely available. I'm in America, and I could only get the digital version. I'm not sure if it's still available (or if the deal would be available in Switzerland), but Tor.com was giving away the digital version right here. All you have to do is sign up for their newsletter. I'm pretty sure that I was already signed up, but they still gave it to me. Anyway, back to Cusicesh... Is it possible that it's the same kind of relic of the Recreance that Shardblades are? When the Stormfather said that he would not consent to becoming a Blade, that was not necessarily the first time any spren said something similar. Indeed, it would not be surprising if all Bondsmith spren were the same. Cusicesh could be what was left behind instead of a Shardblade when an ancient Bondsmith abandoned his oaths.

We know that Nightblood is essentially an artificial spren. This does not mean that he will necessarily grant Szeth Surges, but whatever happens, it will be along those lines. The fact that Nightblood is a Splinter of Endowment rather than Honor or Cultivation does not matter. Honor and Cultivation didn't collude to create the Surgebinding system; their magic systems are shaped by the planet that they are on. And just as there is WoB that seons transported to Roshar could form bonds similar to those between spren and humans via the Nahel bond, the same will be true of Nightblood. It may well be that he grants Szeth Surges, or it could be that he gives him some other kind of powers, but whatever the case may be, there should definitely be some kind of powers granted because that is how the magic works on Roshar. Now, some may argue that Zahel/Vasher's example means that this will not be the case. That is, because Vasher can only feed on Stormlight to stay alive but cannot Awaken, something similar will happen with Nightblood. I disagree. There is a fundamental difference between Breath and Stormlight, and it is that Breath functions in units, while Stormlight is more like a substance. An analogy would be that Breath is bottles of water, while Stormlight is just water. So if you're trying to Awaken something, it's like, "Okay, I need 15 bottles of water to do that." If all you have is Stormlight, it's like, "Well, I have 20 liters of water; I'm pretty sure that's enough," but it doesn't matter because the slot that accepts water only takes bottles. Nightblood, it is true, is made out Breaths, but that shouldn't affect anything in terms of the way the bond functions.

P.S. Yata makes a good point here. We've been speculating about how Shallan would take the news that Adolin killed Sadeas, with most of us (it seems) assuming that it would be a problem for their relationship. That really doesn't match how Lightweavers behave, though. I mean, Shallan helped redeem Gaz! If it was a problem in their relationship, it would likely also be a problem for her advancement in her Order.

As far as we know, the only real injury sustained by anyone during Adolin and Sadeas's fight was the killing stab. I'm no expert, but I don't think bleeding would be as big an issue with the blade through the eye as with many other knife wounds. If he cut the cuffs off of his shirt with the knife (which seems more reasonable than using his Shardblade, though I admit that Adolin wasn't in a reasonable state of mind), cleaning it first would probably be pretty basic: just wipe it on Sadeas's clothing. Again, I know his state of mind is such that he still could have messed that up, but it was still potentially a very easy cover up. It remains possible that Adolin covered his tracks adequately. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much was left out of this scene. We've already gone most of it (maybe all of it, really): What happened to the lamps? What did Adolin do with his knife? Et cetera. I really think that it written that way intentionally. One can reasonably interpret the scene in opposite ways (Adolin will get away with the murder as long as he doesn't act suspicious because he cleaned everything up, versus Adolin botched the cover up and is going to be found out no matter how he behaves). That makes it a good cliffhanger.

I'm pretty sure that the corridors in Urithiru are all stone. To the Shin, Urithiru is okay to walk on, even though walking on stone is otherwise blasphemous. I know it doesn't say it outright, but that made me think that the place is all stone. If so, that means that whatever happened to the lanterns, it wouldn't start a fire.

There is going to be a second season, and apparently, the way that the Upside Down works is going to be a big part of it. The show's creators said they wrote up a 30-page document that explains its workings in detail (and they did say that there's a reason that there was only one Demogorgon, which is to be explained). Personally, I suspect that the Demogorgon I have no idea about the electricity-based communication, though.

The thing about CoT that frustrated me was that Winter's Heart ends with and it seems like it's mostly just ignored. You would think the Asha'man with Perrin would have made a really big deal about it, but only way later do they say anything, and it's just like, It seems like the kind of thing that any male channeler would want to broadcast far and wide, but there are hardly even any rumors running around.

Here's the thing: not being good in close-quarters combat is not a feature of Shardblades in particular. It applies to all large weapons. If you found a medievalist in real life who had never read a fantasy book, he would tell you that a large sword is bad for fighting in close quarters. So if someone with no Shardblade was given the unenviable task of killing a Shardbearer, a place like corridors of Urithiru is exactly where they would choose to attack. And we most certainly do not know that Adolin failed to adequately clean up the crime scene. Yes, it will be immediately obvious that the mark was scraped off with a Shardblade, but investigators will already be well aware that there was a Shardblade at the scene--Sadeas's. While a lot of what I've said about this situation is pure speculation, with little evidence available to base any of it on, I am reasonably certain that investigators will conclude that someone on one of the exploration teams saw an opportunity to attack Sadeas where his Shardblade would not be an advantage, killed him, and used Oathbringer to remove his distinctive mark from the wall. Maybe they won't think assassins. Maybe they'll assume that a former bridgeman did it. Whatever they think, Adolin is probably not going to be the first suspect (unless something else is found at the scene).

Yeah, I'm not assuming that characters are going to behave rationally. Well, it may actually be rational, from their point of view, but it isn't when you know what is actually going on. It's like in The Wheel of Time--various characters just absolutely refuse to go along with major changes in the status quo (right up to the final book in the series), which can be frustrating but actually makes perfect sense. Things change that have been in place for 3,000 years, so why would anyone just take someone's word that they were different now? The evidence is easy to ignore because, sure, something weird is happening, but that doesn't mean that some guy's insane explanation for it is true. And most people resist status quo changes anyway, which means that convincing evidence can and will be ignored. So, yes, Shallan found an ancient fabrial that teleported thousands of people to a mythical city. Does that mean that everyone will accept her word that she is a Radiant? There will be witnesses who will say that they saw her magically transferring Stormlight and such, but who knows what those witnesses really saw? If this fabrial can teleport an army, who knows what else it can do? Moving Stormlight around doesn't prove that there are Radiants running around! I mean, if I told a Christian who firmly believes that Jesus will come back from the dead someday that he in fact had returned--according to their own beliefs--they likely would not believe me. I could point to miracles or any number of things, but they would probably still assume that there must be another explanation. I'd wager that a good number of them could perform the Doubting Thomas check and still not be convinced. And that's why I believe that there is going to be a lot of skepticism about what Jasnah reports when she shows up in Urithiru. It's easy for people to conflate things, i.e. "I'm suspicious of that person, and there's a suspicious situation going on, so I bet those two are connected." It's absolutely irrational, but it happens all the time. Maybe Ialai doesn't seem the type to be that way, but she's going to be in mourning and is already not inclined to look at any Kholin favorably.

Keep in mind, this is my idea, but I'm not exactly married to it. I am just defending it as a possibility, knowing that it depends on a lot of variables that we currently know very little about. For example, did Adolin clean up the crime scene adequately? If he didn't, then people will be following his trail, not chasing imaginary assassins. But that's an unknown. So this bit of speculation from me is saying, "Let's assume that Adolin cleaned up the crime scene well enough that people are thinking professional killers were involved." The idea also depends upon what people know/believe about Jasnah. Again, for this idea, I'm saying, "Let's assume that Ialai knows or suspects that Jasnah was once involved in underhanded political maneuvering and dealings with assassins." It seems that Jasnah largely abandoned this political maneuvering for research when Gavilar died, but I am saying, "Let's assume that Ialai believes that Jasnah's dedication to scholarship was a cover for more manipulation." When Jasnah turns out to be alive, will Ialai accept her story? I say no. A treacherous person sees treachery everywhere. My assumption is that, if she knows that Jasnah once was once involved in clandestine activities, then she believes that she still is (though we readers know otherwise). Therefore, all that you mention--her ship being confirmed sunk, her notes not listing any current information (which they know because...? Shallan said so? Do they know that? If so, do they believe it?), her apparent lack of interest in the Shattered Plains--none of that will be taken at face value. My impression is that Ialai would say, "If I were in that situation, I would sink the ship and make sure everyone on it was dead except a patsy to tell everyone that I was dead. I would make it look like I didn't know anything about the political situation on the Shattered Plains, while secretly getting frequent reports from spies planted throughout the camps. I would plant agents ready to assassinate key figures if certain things went the wrong way. And then, once the situation was more to my liking, I would show up--not dead after all--with some story that makes me look like a big hero." Why would Ialai believe stories about Shadesmar and talking to intelligent spren? Because there are Radiants around now? Does she believe anything Shallan or Kaladin claim? Her husband watched the Everstorm collide with a Highstorm that blew up out of nowhere during the Weeping, and that changed nothing about his plans. I think that Ialai will think it's all nonsense. And if it's nonsense, then it's a cover for something else. What could that be? Why not Sadeas's assassination?

Yep!

I don't understand why Jasnah's physical absence is more than one person's explanation for why no one would ever suspect that she had hired assassins and ordered them to kill Sadeas (again, with a spanreed). What is so unlikely about the following hypothetical scenario? -"Oh no! Sadeas is dead! There's not really much evidence for who could have done it, but Lighteyes never murder each in brawls like dirty Darkeyes. It must be assassins!" -"Gee, guys! Who could have hired those assassins? It's not like Dalinar to do that kind of thing at all, and he or someone close to him seems like the most likely culprit right now." -Jasnah suddenly shows up, shocking everyone by not being dead. -"Man, it's really weird that everyone thought Jasnah was dead for months, but now she's shown up alive. I bet she faked her own death as part of some kind of scheming. What do you think she was up to?" -"Whoa! Remember how you said Dalinar or one of the people close to him would be the most likely one to want to kill Sadeas, except none of them seem the type to hire assassins? Well, Jasnah is close to Dalinar, and she is the type to hire assassins. Maybe that's what she was up to while she was pretending to be dead!" Yes, there are some big ifs there. If there is physical evidence, then they'll follow that. If there is someone who might be suspected of trying to assassinate Sadeas, then they'll suspect them. If Adolin acts suspicious, then people will probably figure out what really happened. But again: There. Are. SPANREEDS. You do not have to be in a place to be involved in what is happening there. That is something that people in the books know, too.

Yeah, the fact that Oathbringer was originally going to be Stones Unhallowed definitely makes Szeth's prominence in this volume a big mystery. How much of his arc will be put on hold because Dalinar's book was shuffled in front of his? Or did the overall structure of the series change in response to the shuffling of books? Or is very little in-universe time going to pass over the course of Oathbreaker, thereby preventing the planned events of Szeth's book from getting too off-course in the context of the overall timeline? It could be a lot of things, and whatever the actual approach to handling Szeth is will greatly affect how much he is in the book.

Oh, yeah! I forgot about Aesudan. So far, the only things we know about her come in the form of others' opinions, so it will be interesting when she actually shows up in person. I would be surprised if that doesn't happen in Oathbringer.

Yeah, the MCU definitely didn't have Spidey yet when they filmed that Ant-Man scene. It was definitely supposed to be a reference to Spider-Man (even though, yes, the way it's worded makes it sound like he's probably referring to three different people). If I'm remembering the timeline correctly, they were hoping that it would be more than an Easter Egg-type reference and that they would actually get to use Spider-Man; the deal just hadn't completely gone through yet, so it wasn't a sure thing. I doubt that the "swinging" part was a Daredevil reference. Daredevil got his modified billy club that allows him swing around late in season 2. That was released 3/16, and Ant-Man came out 7/15. While the timelines don't necessarily match up exactly, Ant-Man still came out 8 months before Daredevil season 2.

I think Elhokar can only become more important at this point. In the long run, he probably won't be a major character, but he is still the king of Alethkar. There are also pretty strong hints that he's attracting spren, a likely proto-Radiant. They sure sound like Cryptics, too, so he'd probably become a Lightweaver. Shallan ended WoR positioned to grow pretty quickly as a Radiant, and she will probably be the leader of the Order (at least for the near future), which would make her relationship with Elhokar very interesting. Not only would the king be her subordinate within the Knights Radiant, but her connection with the Ghostbloods will probably complicate things. I'm on the fence about how much of an important character Jasnah will be. It's possible that she'll have about as much presence as she did in TWoK, but both more and less seem equally likely possibilities. Being that Wit is travelling with her, and he's bound to show up, she ought to at least be in the book a little (but there is also plenty of precedent for Wit doing something like abandoning her halfway through the trip, so maybe not). For more minor characters, I think that Shallan's brothers will probably show up, if only briefly. Lift probably won't. I expect a cameo from Axies but won't be surprised if there isn't one (nor will I be if he gets a little more than before). I expect Rysn to once again be an interlude character and anticipate that we'll start to get more of a clue about what she has to do with the story. Hopefully, we'll get a little more about Taln; although, I expect it to be very minor. I assume that Zahel will be around but not a lot. The big mysteries for me are characters like Taravangian and Eshonai. Surely, the coup Taravangian pulled off is important, but his storyline could easy be put on the back burner for now. The chances that Eshonai is really dead seem close to 0% to me, and she is going to be important later on, but with the Shattered Plains abandoned, hers is another arc that could be left in the background for now. And yet it is equally possible that both characters will have relatively large presences in Oathbringer. Szeth and Nalan are in the same boat. Important characters all, but some of these are going to have to take a backseat right now. One character that I am fairly certain will have a much larger presence is Sadeas's widow, Ialai. We only barely met her in WoR, but I guarantee that she is not going to sit still after Sadeas's killing. She may even get a POV (if a brief one) in Oathrbinger.

I haven't read it yet, but I've heard good things about The Summer Dragon. The author is also an illustrator, so the cover art is 100% book accurate for once, since the author himself did it. Also, I believe that there are quite a few interior illustrations.

I was going to just quote the parts I want to respond to, but I don't know what I'll end up wanting to say as I type along, so... Would an assassin know that Shardblades are not good for fighting in close quarters? Yes. Regardless of how much they might or might not know about Shardblades, I assume that many assassins know things about weapons and fighting in general. There are lots of weapons that are bad for close-quarters fighting because of their size. They wouldn't have had to have ever heard of a Shardblade in order to know that if they need to fight someone with a large weapon, attacking them in close quarters is the way to go. Also, I feel like a lot of people, not just you, are forgetting about the existence of spanreeds, or at least not taking their implications into account. Why would an assassin choose right then to attack Sadeas? Because they just got the order to take him down. Remember, based on Jasnah's meeting with the Weeper, we know that someone might hire an assassin to stay close to someone and watch them, then later send instructions to kill them. Sadeas arriving in Urithiru could have been what triggered that order. It could have been something like, "Take Sadeas out immediately, before he is able to establish any influence in Urithiru." We know that is not the case, but others do not, and there is plenty of reason to suspect that if an assassin were to be ordered to kill Sadeas immediately, they would choose dark, labyrinthine corridors in a mostly uncharted city. I think that you and I are envisioning the corridors in Urithiru differently because, whereas you are thinking them a poor place for an assassination, I see them as ideal. We do know a little about how assassins might operate, based on what we've seen of the attempt to assassinate Jasnah. We don't know exactly who ordered the killing yet (except that it was a Ghostblood), but we do know that they probably weren't anywhere near Jasnah at the time. All of the orders were communicated via spanreed. Maybe the person giving the orders never even met Jasnah, and all of their information on her activities came via long-distance communication. I think that anyone well-versed in clandestine scheming on Roshar would never say, "Oh, that person hasn't even been around in months. There's no way they have anything to do with this!" Now, we know that after Gavilar's death, Jasnah mostly gave up on her scheming and devoted herself to researching Voidbringers and such. However public that might be, a dedicated schemer would probably think that is just a smokescreen. Someone like Ialai probably thinks that Jasnah's traveling is actually her trying to influence foreign governments and assumes that she is getting periodic--perhaps even daily--reports from multiple agents across Alethkar, on the Shattered Plains, etc. As soon as Jasnah shows up, very much not dead, a lot of people are going to say, "Her supposed death was all a trick!" And then they'll start trying to figure out what that trick was, what secret maneuvering it was supposed to obscure.

Don't worry: the plot starts moving again in Knife of Dreams.

Nope. Here's a hint: The various administrations that the messenger is involved with all rule over the same country (sort of).

Ialai is almost definitely sending assassins after whoever she believes killed Sadeas. I don't think for a second that Jasnah can be touched legally, but I also don't believe that Ialai's response to her husband's death is going to be primarily focused on pursuing legal avenues.

Nope! I'll post a hint when I have time.

Right now, I'm not talking about the official investigation of the murder, how Dalinar will feel about it, or any of that. I'm thinking about Sadeas's allies in general and Ialai in particular. I am definitely not saying that Jasnah will be formally charged with the murder and taken to trial, which would certainly be a stretch. I don't think Ialai will have any intention of bringing her husband's killer to justice; she's going to seek revenge. I don't think anything mentioned would affect Ialai's opinion in the slightest. Why would she know anything about what Shallan knows? Why would she believe her if she was told? Why would Ialai believe anything Wit says about where Jasnah was? Now, I am making assumptions about what characters will think about Sadeas's death and what will happen afterwards. My impression is that Adolin's crime of passion is generally seen as unthinkable in Alethi Lighteye circles, so I assume that--unless there is physical evidence pointing to Adolin--most people are going to assume that an assassin did it. Or maybe a Darkeyes, in which case, Kaladin would be the prime suspect (and I know that he couldn't have done it, but whether or not everyone else would be just as sure is a whole other discussion). If the general assumption is that an assassin was responsible, then Jasnah is the only major player among the Kholins that seems likely. Ialai, being a scheming, deceitful person, is probably going to assume that others are also deceitful, with honesty being a trait that belongs to the stupid and naive. Therefore, I believe that when Jasnah turns up alive, she will assume that it was all a ruse--that Jasnah faked her own death to further some clandestine scheme. Anyone who has a secret network of informants, assassins, or any other kind of behind-the-scenes operators can be expected to be meddling in distant affairs that touch upon their interests because with spanreeds, they can. I would absolutely expect someone to come to the conclusion that Jasnah has been meddling all along, and her supposed death was part of some plot. Coming in on the heels of Sadeas's murder, her return would seem a little fishy.

Well, we don't really know much about how assassins generally operate in this society. Szeth is the only one we've seen in action, and he is definitely atypical. If an assassin were not well-placed to poison their target, and that target was also a Shardbearer, a direct knife attack in close quarters, where a Shardblade isn't very useful, is a great strategy. With the Weeper, carving out the eyes is a calling card and not the means of assassination used, but people may still think of the Weeper when Sadeas is found. Jasnah is associated with the Weeper (or was 5 years ago), and that association may now be known or at least suspected. I don't see Adolin being an immediate suspect (assuming he's able to keep it together and not act suspicious and that physical evidence against him isn't found) because Sadeas has been taunting him for a long time now. Sadeas abandoned Adolin and his father to die at the Tower. Sadeas has been involved in all kinds of plots to shame Dalinar and trouble the Kholins in various ways. There isn't a lot to suggest that now Adolin would have had enough, after putting up with the abuse for so long. Now, to get back to my hypothesis that Jasnah will be a suspect, this does depend on when she shows up at Urithiru. If it's weeks later, she's less likely to be a suspect. But! If it's pretty soon after the killing (we don't know much about how Elsecalling works yet, so she could just suddenly teleport into the city at any moment), then there are going to be a lot of questions. Whether she only trusts those close to her with those answers, or she makes it public knowledge, people are going to be suspicious of her (seriously, travelling through Shadesmar as one of the Lost Radiants? That would seem just as shady as not saying anything to a lot of people). Furthermore, if the Shardblade is found before Adolin can recover it and if Jasnah makes no secret of the fact that she now has a Shardblade herself, that increases the likelihood of her being a suspect. After all, what kind of person ditches a Shardblade instead of finding some way to keep it? Someone who already has a Shardblade. I know that last bit doesn't make much sense, if the assumption is that she hired an assassin to kill Sadeas, but I can still see someone's mind going that direction.