Iarwainiel I

I loved Starsight just as much as Skyward, and perhaps even more. I love how Spensa is growing and deepening. I'd say I want books 3 and 4 right now, buuuuuut ... I want Stormlight 4 and Wax & Wayne 4 even more, so Spensa will (hopefully) have to wait. :-) Re: cytonics in Jorgen's family - This is the "big secret" that I meant in my post a couple months ago (https://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/86947-skyward-discussion-spoilers/#comment-927354). I remember thinking the first time I read Skyward, "What kind of a last name is 'Weight'?" "Weight" is just too close to "Write," as in Jason Write from Defending Elysium, so I guessed that Jorgen is a Write. We'll see if I'm correct down the line. (I'm usually wrong, LOL - for example, my wild theory on that linked post.) Re: Gran-Gran - I loved the part where she communicated with Spensa over that vast distance. Maybe Gran-Gran is blind in the same way as Jason Write was in DE - i.e., she can use cytonics to see. I wonder if she was always blind, or if cytonics somehow took her sight? Re: the doomslugs screaming - Remember, Brade was also screaming into the nowhere, when she was trying to bring the delver, so maybe it's not screams of pain? It's a possibility. Re: M-Bot - I'm wondering how long it'll take Isaac's daughter to forgive Brandon (https://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-m-bot-sticker-you-never-knew-you-needed-is-here/). Seeing as there were multiple ways Spensa could have saved him, and with how many times he talked about death even back in Skyward (some strong foreshdowing there), his "dying" has to be significant. I have a theory, but if I'm gonna keep it close to the vest - too spoiler-ish if I'm correct, & I for one hate spoilers passionately. A couple more thoughts: M-Bot protected Spensa when the Krell tried to overwrite her brain (like happened to her dad). What protection will she have now? (kinda scary) What if Jorgen & team find the remains of M-Bot's pilot in that cave? and maybe some old tech or recordings? Is Cuna really dead? Hmmmm...

I just saw that too. The new site is slick & probably more mobile frieldly, but - - 29% ????? GAAAAHHHH! I'm gonna tweet @ Brandon now - maybe someone on his team is up-&-at'em now after last night's release party, & they'll see it & fix it, for the sake of the mental health of all Sander-fans.

Gotta be Dark One - I've been a huge fan of JMS since Captain Power (pre-Babylon 5). B-5 was IMHO the best show that had ever been on TV at that point: the very first "novel for television," with a multi-season story arc (X-Files learned from them!). Brandon and Straczynski collaborating would be the absolute best. I hope Dark One happens - if not, I hope they work on something else together. JMS has good connections in TV, and has always fought for his casts & crews to be treated & paid fairly.

RE: the number of pilots - What about people who were dismissed from flight school because they ejected? Maybe there are a bunch of those. Or people who crashed their ships when they were pretty far along in their training. Then there are the private pilots employed by the First Citizens and other wealthy families. And as others have mentioned, there are at least a few pilots who aren't flying because powerful families demand that their children be kept out of danger. Oh, I just thought of another group: commercial pilots for shipping transports (sorry, I forget what they're called in the book) - those pilots must have gone through flight school too, since it was presented as a career option for our heroes post-graduation. It seems like there might be enough of a backlog of qualified/nearly-qualified pilots to handle the load till new cadets can be trained. Plus, the training is only, what - 6 months long? Dozens of new pilots could be graduating twice a year, and with the safer ships Roger is designing, more will do so. I'm hoping we learn more about Doomslug in this book, and about that writing that Spensa notices in the caverns and in the space junk - maybe some technological innovations will be developed from that? Very much looking forward to this book!

This is my life right now today, LOL! I have a document due at work, & here I am Shard-ing...

I loved the original (London) soundtrack so much - heard it on the radio & was so frustrated when I went to buy it (the LP; this was 1986). Found out that the radio had played an album someone had just brought home from London, & it wasn't available yet in the US. Had to wait till it was available. Bought it & memorized all the songs - such beauty. It's really a shame that they stalled the movie so long that Sarah Brightman & Michael Crawford couldn't play their stage roles onscreen; I remember a good bit of controversy as to why, but IMO the fans missed out - Rossum is fine, but Brightman's voice was amazing and the part was written for her. Just my opinion. Then I also read the book (English translation, since I don't know French) by Gaston Leroux. Loved it too. If you haven't read the book, I encourage you to do so - it's not too long. The book actually has a slightly different theme and meaning from the musical, and I found both themes to be very positive and thought-provoking. Very much worth the time to explore!

I'm re-reading "Skyward" to prepare for the next book, and I've had some thoughts. Jorgen's family might be hiding a big secret. All the works of art (statues, murals, etc.) are going to be important and have meanings that help the Defiants figure things out. (Wish the Coppermind had a list of these; wish I had time to make that list...) The planet's name, Detritus, is going to be huge-ly meaningful. And now a wild theory: What if Doomslug is M-BOT's pilot, transmogrified somehow into a life form suited for decades in the caverns? (Hey, I said it was wild, not believeable, LOL!) Looking forward to "Starsign"!!

That would be a great option, except that "Cytology" is the name of an allied health field (in the US), and IMO referring to that particular field in these YA books would be, shall we say, a bit awkward; not bad or wrong, just awkward. The name needs to have "Cyto--" in it though.

This is HUUUUUGE!!! B5 was one of the best shows ever; for its day, it was cutting edge. But the best thing -- what JMS is known for -- is complex & interesting characters who go through development arcs (G'Kar & Londo are a couple examples). And Brandon has that same strength if not more so. A creative match made in entertainment heaven, IMHO. This time Brandon's work might actually get produced!!

I love everything that Brandon puts out, but ... (sigh) I hope I live long enough to see SA book 10.

It is a Cosmere novella and is included in the Arcanum Unbounded anthology. The novella is set on a planet called First of the Sun, and it's the only thing Brandon has published that's set on that world - meaning, we don't know much. It's a mysterious story that follows the main character, Sixth of the Dusk, and his Aviars (birds with magic abilities) on a very dangerous island named Patji. The Coppermind summary isn't too spoiler-y (as of now): https://coppermind.net/wiki/Sixth_of_the_Dusk#Summary I personally liked it very much, but other posters here didn't. It's short, so not much time & effort wasted if you don't like it. HTH

As of June 26, the release date on Amazon is September 10 (still 2019).

Rand and Moridin were linked ... kinda like Harry Potter and Voldemort were linked? I know, I know - it's different. But still, it's odd that there is any similarity at all. Are there other fantasy books/movies where this happens? Is it a "thing"?

I'm laughing at myself a bit because of how much I want to vote for several different movies, not just one! My actual vote went to "Black Panther," because to me it has no weak points: casting, plot, costumes, music, cinematography, everything was just excellent. OP, thanks for this poll!

@StrikerEZ Don't forget that the new Unfettered III anthology will have a new, never-before-published WoT story (by Brandon & Jordan, IIRC). It's supposed to be about Perrin and the Ways.

I'm told by people who know Captain Marvel from the comics (which I freely admit that I don't) that she is supposed to be the strongest superhero of them all - at least in the comics. They say the reason is that she just absorbs whatever powers an enemy throws at her, and it continually makes her stronger and stronger. No idea whether the MCU/movies will go this way, but it could happen. In her first movie, we saw her at the very beginning of her gathering power, and it did seem like she got stronger with each one of Ronan's bombs/ships that she took out. Plus, in the "CM" movie it's all very new to her; she may not have known till that fight that she could absorb energy beyond that initial dose from Mar Vell's ship. So the Carol Danvers we see in "Endgame" might be way, way beyond what we saw in "CM," since she's had time to learn and gather in power. I'm glad we don't have long to wait!!

Are the Assassin's Creed novels any good? ... I mean, not Brandon-level good, but at least not bad?

Most of you are probably familiar with "The Wave" rock formation in Arizona:" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wave_(Arizona) From the first time I saw it, I thought "Urithiru!" Some photos of Petra also look like the layered rock described in the books: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra#/media/File:PetraSandStoneRock-cut_tombs.jpg I just found out about another real-world location that resembles our favorite city-above-the-clouds: it's a series of naturally-occurring marble caves in Chile. Check out pages 5 and 6 in this gallery: http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20190326-south-americas-stunning-marble-cathedral The caves can only be reached via boat, and it looks like the "floors" are water, so that of course reminded me of Purelake. What locations IRL remind you of places on Roshar?

@StrikerEZ I applaud you! I hope your WoT journey has been enjoyable, because it is a LOT of work to read all the volumes as you've done - I myself could not do it. I had fun reading Brandon's WoT books, but surely not as much fun as many of you who read all 11 of Jordan's in sequence. (I got through book 6 and then used the WoT Encyclopedia and the Tor re-read to bridge to book 12. Cheating, I admit it, but better than not reading Brandon's books at all.) Much respect to you, and I mean that seriously. I hope 12-13-14 are everything you hope for & more.

Gryffindor! But that said - it looks like there have only been 14 responses to this poll so far. Where is everyone?!?

YESSSSSS!!!!! If I could give you 100 up-votes for this, I would!! I'm so glad all of you enjoyed it too! And @Steeldancer - I also teared up at the logo, which gave me mixed emotions 'cause I didn't want to miss anything, you know? I need to see the movie again, because

@Winds Alight - he's beautiful! How fun that he looks so much like my JoJo!

When you see the "Captain Marvel" movie, don't be late. What they did with the opening animation of the Marvel Studios logo ... you just gotta see it. It put a lump in my throat, is all I'll say. RIP Stan Lee.

D.M Cornish, author of the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy (tween lit but sooooo creative). He did publish a book with 2 short stories/novellas (which were not tween lit), and he started 2 other stories on his blog but those trailed off. I know his day job is in graphic design, and I understand that he also teaches at a college now and has a family, but I still wish he'd write more in the MBT universe. I've totally given up on Rothfuss - sold the books I had to Half Price before they lose all value. Even if he finishes, once I found out that Kvothe is an unreliable narrator and nothing in the books might really have happened ... well, I don't pay attention to fake news in the real world, so why would I want to read that? - especially when I can re-read Oathbringer again? Also, @Winds Alight - why is your avatar a picture of my cat? LOL!!

I liked the movie too, though I wish they had finished the story. I'm afraid it won't do well enough at the box office for them to make a sequel, and we'll never know the ending. I hope I'm wrong - if there is a sequel, I'll definitely see it. The first cyborg body Alita had was so (I'll say it) pretty - it really made you feel the love that the Doc character had for his daughter in making it for her. I had never read the manga story or seen the anime or other versions, so the plot twists were new to me and IMO they were good. Looking back over this and other recent movies (Mortal Engines, Divergent, Maze Runner, etc.), the part I've felt was weak was the worldbuilding. But then again, Brandon spoils us. 25-30 years ago, all these stories would have seemed more amazing than they do now - our expectations especially as Sander-fans are just much higher today.