AndrewStirlingMacDonald

Mine is my name. I started using my full name a few years back. There were already some known "Andrew MacDonalds" out and about (the producer of Danny Boyle's early films like 28 Days Later and Trainspotting, a skateboarder, a hockey player) and I love my middle name anyway, so I went with it. Now I introduce myself with all three names. Between that, the giant beard and the kilts, people tend to remember me.

Hooray!

Whenever I see Malliw73 I think of Maliwan, a weapons manufacturing company from the Borderlands video ​game series, a company that specializing in adding elemental damage to all of their firearms.

Is there a better thing in the world than the look of dawning realization in the face of someone who has just fully GOTTEN the full impact of the Cosmere and all of its implications for the first time? I was in church this morning and had brought both of my Stormlight hardcovers to loan to a friend (I started her on Warbreaker, then quickly graduated her through Elantris and the Final Empire Mistborn trilogy. She read The Emperor's Soul this afternoon). As we stood dicussing Hoid, Harmony and all things Cosmeric, a man I'd never met before came up all excited pointing at the books and said "I love those books! Have you read them?" Now there are not a lot of Sanderson fans here in Pennsylvania (I'm working on rectifying that), so I was really excited and asked him if he was a fan of the Cosmere. He said "No, I've read those and the Mistborn trilogy and Elantris, but I haven't read the Cosmere series yet." The look of astonishment and excitement on his face when I told him that was extremely satisfying. I told him that he'd have to read Warbreaker next, and he asked me where that fit in. I thought for a second, and then said His eyes got wide and he turned and called to his wife across the room: "Honey, we're stopping at the bookstore on the way home!" Another one for team Pennsylvania. Someday, I'm going to see this state have the biggest Cosmere fandom in the country, even if I have make every single convert myself. ​

Although I'm anxious to hear the excerpt, I can of course respect Brandon's wishes. It's a little easier for me since I'll actually be able to make it to the signing in Boston .​ But I am very much looking forward to the Q & A, either the audio or a transcript thereof.

Well, my wife just reminded me of that scene. Very forgetful of me.

I have, but it's possible that I missed something. I didn't read the Cosmere books in the order in which they were published (I read Mistborn first, followed by the two Sunlight, then Warbreaker, then Elantris, then the shorts, and finally The Emperor's Soul). I want really steeped in Cosmeric lore or Realmatic theory when I read it. I'm rereading my way through the Cosmere now, and just started Way of Kings (it's my third time reading it, and when I get to Words of Radiance, it will be my second time). Did I miss something significant?

I think I'm going to agree with Green Hoodie Mistborn on the whole "If Shardblade = Spren and Nightblood = Shardblade then Nightblood = Spren." It makes sense that a nahel bond wouldn't manifest exactly the same way because he is a unique, one-of-a-kind spren. He is the only "Destroy Evil" spren around. I guarentee that if another unique, one-of-a-kind spren bonded a KR (the Stormfather, for instance), you'd also see "different" powers. And now I want somebody to bond the Stormfather. Galladon. I want Galladon to bond the Stormfather, and then constantly complain that it's always raining.

I feel like this is exactly the thought process that went through Hoid's head as he picked it up and dropped it into his Bag of Holding.

They are two separate people. Denth went by the name VaraTreledees hundreds of years earlier, back when he and Vasher worked together as two of the Five Scholars. The implication is that the name has since found its way into the culture, with a version of it becoming popularized as a name again (sort of the way "Moses" or "Joseph" are still popular names today).

I'm glad to hear that he'll be doing the reading during the Shadows of Self tour. Now I just have to figure out a way to contain my excitement until October.

What does PBP mean?

Are there still games happening on steelministry.com or anywhere else online? Or, for that matter, in-person games anywhere in the mid-atlantic area? I'm really interested in playing the MAG at some point.

I hope that at some point we are able to buy hardcover Cosmere short story anthologies. Already, if I'm not mistaken, the Cosmere canon includes: Sixth of the Dusk, Shadows for Silence, The Hope of Elantris, the Eleventh Metal, the Allomancer Jak story from the Alloy MAG expansion, and.... I forget, is there a canon short in the Terris MAG? Anyway, I love having all of my Cosmere hardcovers sitting on my shelf, I hope someday the collection will be able to be 100% complete.

Is there a forum or something where I might be able to find people relatively near me who play the MAG? I'd love to play through a campaign or two before I start getting to set up my own game. I live about an hour from NYC and Philly, three hours from Baltimore or DC. Anyone know of any MAG groups in those areas?

I could see it, but I personally feel that "God Beyond" is likely to refer to some more-nearly absolute diety - more along the lines of a judeo-christian god, all-powerful, more so than any shard or even Adonalsium.

Arrgh I really wish I'd been at Gen Con this year. I'm there most years, but I couldn't swing it this summer. I've never played a pen-and-paper RPG before, but I've been reading through the MAG and I reeeeallly want to give it a try... But of course I live on the East Coast where there is a serious dearth of Sanderfans. I would've loved to see a panel about the game. And I really would've loved trying the board game, strategy board games have been a passion of mine for about the last twenty years.

Did any Sharders attend the Mistborn: Scheming Across Scadrial panel?

My wife Rachel and I are coming up from Allentown, so we'll probably be staying the night at a hotel or a relative's house that night. I'm thinking that if people are interested in hanging out after the signing at a diner or something and discussing the Cosmere into the wee hours of the night, I'd love to do that. Anyone from the Boston area, or others that are staying overnight and want to hang out?

Rachel and I will most likely be making the 6-hour trek up to Boston from Allentown for the Brookline one. I'm also a bit disappointed that there was no Philly make-up-date Titan Arum. THAT SAID: The Moravian Bookshop (the oldest continually-operating bookshop in the world) is opening a second location here in Allentown (only about 4 blocks away from our house). Right now they are on-track to open in September. If that happens, I'm going to call in all of my favors and pull all of the possible strings to see if I can get them to stay open for a Shadows of Self midnight release party. If that all works out, we will have a big Cosmere party here in Allentown the day of the release, with Cosmere-themed games, food and decorations, and then go have a fabulous line party. If that doesn't work out, I'll try again for Bands of Mourning. Actually, I will try again for Bands of Mourning and every future Cosmere release from now on. If I have my way, I'm going to make Allentown the premiere destination for Cosmere release parties. I'll let you know more as it gets closer, Titan Arum, and probably start some kind of thread to that effect. If anyone else wants me to specifically get ahold of them about this, pm me. EDIT: Added the stuff about the Shadows of Self release party I'm hoping to organize.

I got my hardcover copy of The Emperor's Soul. I asked "Can you tell me something about how the people of MaiPon came to their knowledge of Realmatic Theory?" He answered "Through study + observation." Which seems to imply that they didn't have outside help in making those discoveries. I think I remember hearing somewhere that Sel was the most advanced civilization of any of the Shardworlds we've seen so far in the canon, so this defintely makes some sense.

Well, I know where my pocket money is going this fall.

It's working fine in Edge for me. No issues.

That was actually a pretty interesting read.

TOR is Canada's overbearing parent. "No Sanderson until you've finished your math homework, CANADA." "But United States gets to read Sanderson, and they haven't done theirs yet!" "Well, that's why they're only 28th in the class."