Orlion Blight

I, too, will post a picture:

In a genre that is replete with such terms that are gleefully displayed (i.e. Half-Blooded Prince), I feel this is a non issue. There is no actual societal or cultural context where "half-breed" is terribly derogatory. I imagine that's why Sanderson probably chose it to begin with instead of, say, the N-word. It would take a cultural movement of bigots several years using the term "half-breed" before it actually gained any status approaching that. As a result, it is not really a problem. Just because some hypothetical person could hypothetically get offended does not mean we should do anything besides take hypothetical action.

Does it exist in principally one realm?

Think about beta reading like this: You've read an intense chapter with a cliffhanger ending... you must know what happens next! Buuuut, you gotta type up your critique, somehow focus and give useful commentary beyond "OMG, gives us the precious next chapter nowz!!!". You have to send that critique, and wait for the next chapter/section to be sent to you. But Brandon's at three conventions at once and Peter is busy handling the PR fallout when Brandon says he guesses that Pepsi is better than Coca-Cola, so it's three weeks before you can get that cliffhanger resolved... By then, the constant adrenaline rush from not knowing has taken a toll on your heart... and your family. You lash out at loved ones and steal car stereos because you've all ready stolen all the copper piping in the tri-county area. The fuzz is on to you, it will be just a matter of time... you have to hide in collapsed buildings, they can't capture you! Not alive anyway, not this time... You see a butterfly, just outside of your reach. It's beauty reminds you of happier, simpler times... you think that if you touch it, you might be able to regain some small measure of those halcyon days... some small measure of your humanity that has long since rotted in the trenches. You reach out and lean out of the shadows, reaching for that butterfly... only to be picked off by a Hun sniper no one knew was there. Two days later, Armistice is reached with the Germans. It's all quiet on the Western Front. Time travel induced by madness is a heavy burden indeed.

Sorry to hear that My father was much the same way. I began viewing his "talking-to's" much like the flu: you just had to let it run its course.

I might pre-order them at my local bookshop... however, every time I've done that in the past, it always arrives after the release date

Correct, I also believe that if the graphic novel does well, further installments in the White Sand series will also be done in graphic novel form! So, everyone needs to buy White Sand! And buy copies for your family and friends!

Is it a delicious glass bottle of Coca Cola?

The other thing to note is that Odium, I believe, has to kill the Shardholder before he can shatter the Shard. That would be quite the achievement with Harmony, I believe... especially since Odium is not going to supplement his strength with other Shards.

Hmm... where would Steinbeck and Anthony Powell fit in these categories? And Golding! Nothing lifts one's spirits on a cloudy day like William Golding!

Agreed. In my experience and observation, the curriculum for learning Spanish in high school and college is atrocious. If it's anything like what I went through, it's a whole lot of pointless busy work (re-writing the same sentence fifty times with only a change in the conjugation of the verb and such maddening work). Any beauty, rhythm, or art is often lost and reserved for only the few masochistic enough to persevere through years of that basura.

No te preocupas, chibola.

He demands it! Besides, it's not really a series if it's one "stand alone" book, correct? Or, as a series, he has all ready spread across worlds! Until it is revealed that he is, in fact:

Back in Ye Olde Days, you could send letters to your favorite author through the publisher... So, in this case, send your letter to: Brandon Sanderson c/o Tom Doherty Associates, LLC. 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 Include a stamped envelope with your home address all ready written on the envelope to increase your chances of getting a response! I would also copy your letter to have it on file, in case you find out a better way to send/ run into Peter in real life.

Heh, my WoR influenced dreams involved my cat running around in Shardplate.

Depending on the Shard, the ability/willingness to kill another Shard seems to be limited. Odium has little to no compunction with killing Shards and shattering them, though there seems to be a way to limit him (as Honor said and figured out). Could be that Devotion and Dominion are incapable of killing a shard (kinda like how Ruin and Preservation could not kill each other). I think you're right that he is more concerned with Shards that decide to hang out with each other then those who hang out alone. He knows that the Bearer of the Shards can be killed and that, theoretically, one person could pick up both Shards... a fear justified with Harmony. Endowment, and other lone Shards, will become less powerful as the Invest themselves into their worlds/Splinter themselves (incidentally, if Devotion and Dominion Splintered themselves enough, they may have been considerably weaker, even together, to take on Odium).

Zahel... for reasons....And if it's a prequel, you guys would get some Adolescent Adolin!

But of course! You're always on track with an ice-cold Coca-Cola product!

Depends on what the person wants. My style tends to be to take the work, throw it on the ground, and stomp on it a few times. So, people come to me for humility The key question to keep in mind is, "Does this make sense?" Are the characters acting according to their characteristics? Are they infected with plot-related-stupidity? Is the tone of the work consistent? Is the writing clear or is it confusing? How was the reading experience over-all? If there are rules, are they followed? And so on and so forth. Considering all those things, instead of "one review" you might consider splitting it into separate "mini-reviews" that focus on one aspect of your criticism. One might focus on how Jill's tumbling after Jack is completely out of character and another on how the structure of the poem moves the action at a nice pace and so on.

I find it's a pretty good method with practice. Two star reviews tend to be the best to get "potential negatives", at which point you can decide if that is a game killer. I also tend to ignore reviews where the person did not finish the book. You'll also notice fun repetitions of valueless phrases that people believe need to be in a review: "Now, I'm an epic fantasy reader, but..." "I really enjoyed Brandon's previous books, but...", "the characterizations and tropes..." and so on and so forth... you could make Bingo! cards for Goodreads reviews!

Is it a delicious can of Diet Coke?

If you "love the Cosmere", it's essential reading.

Brandon Sanderson finds his true calling as a writer of romance novels and abandons writing Cosmere novels forever. "You guys won't actually miss out on anything," he'll say in a press release, "the culmination was pretty much the ending of the Dark Tower but with more Stephen King as a character."