Iarwainiel I

Just found this thread - good to see other 17th Sharders are OOtS fans too. :-) I've never played D&D, so it has been fun learning all the jargon (XP, NPC, etc.) as well as enjoying the story. I'm waiting for Belkar to join the current fight. IMO the real Durkon has to reappear soon - this vampire thing has been going on for quite a while. Do you think we'll we ever find out what the "monster" under the pink kitty umbrella is?

I am really excited about this movie! I have some vague theories re: Luke, etc., but I'm trying not to guess ahead too much because experience has shown that it only dims my enjoyment later on: I love living "in the moment" with the characters, experiencing things when they do. So glad it's John Williams' music again! ...and the music clips they chose for the trailer could not be more perfect. Also - Kaladin al'Thor, you beat me to the punch re: the Japanese trailer! It was a relief to hear that the dialogue is in English, even if the on-screen text isn't. Almost all different footage ... definitely worth your time.

Raiders is my favorite, favorite, favorite movie of all time; Lost Crusade is one of the 4 that I cannot decide a heirarchy for as #s 2-5. However, I could totally see why it could someone's favorite. IMO the weakest one was Temple of Doom - just too silly and childish, and the female lead was (again, just my opinion) lame, expecially compared with Marian. I really appreciated how they brought Marian back for Crystal Skull, and how she was still a strong character (i.e., "badchull" - love that term!) as an older woman. Reminds me of Jasnah, except for the ethanol... I don't even know if I'd be interested in seeing re-makes / a re-boot of the Indy films. I'd much rather see new movies, with new stories - there are plenty of those! Hollywood should check the 17th Shard for ideas - we've got them a-plenty! Chris Pratt is the obvious choice for Indy, but I wish they'd choose another unknown like Harrison Ford was when they cast him for Star Wars. Plus, Mr. Pratt needs to be working on more Guardians films! Can't wait for those sequels. :-)

I really like Steris. I can imagine her as as Asperger's, or just as someone so focused on logic and intellect that emotions get eclipsed by the other. I don't get the sense that she's shutting down her feelings because of some past hurt: more that she has been comfortable and (in her estimation) successful in life when she has filtered her experiences through a Mr.-Spock-like filter. I think she makes a nice balance for Wax, who many times acts impulsively based on feelings (meaning that in a good way, not as a weakness). So happy to see her (I assume) on the BoM cover!

Am I the only one who was reminded of a WoT Ogier stedding when it described the Terris community? - an enclosed area with trees and "natural" architecture within an urban area? I hope we see more of this in BoM.

I agree with those who think it's Iyatil.

I find comfort in Peter's reply above - - I was a little afraid that the spiked monstrosities that Wax and TenSoon fought and escaped from in the tunnels were these women. But now it sounds like we'll meet them in BoM, at least a little more intact than those creatures were.

Did you all know there's an actual term for this? It was invented by the Sword & Laser Book Group (they have an audio podcast, are active on Goodreads, and used to have a show on the Geek & Sundry channel). Here's the definition from their wiki: Lem: "The term 'Lem' means to not finish a book and abandon it. This term comes from when the Sword and Laser (audio podcast) was reading Stanisław Lem's Memoirs Found in a Bathtub. Veronica couldn't make it through the book so just gave up reading it." Since learning this term, I'm happy to say that I've lemmed several books - - very useful terminology. Re: WoT summary: Your husband probably meant Leigh Butler's WoT Reread over at tor.com. That was the only way I got through WoT to the point where I could read Brandon's 3 books. When I realized I was forcing myself through the grinding agony of reading book 6 - supposedly "for pleasure" - I was ready to just give up; I hated all the characters except Hopper and wanted them all to die. Then I found the re-read. Between that and the online WoT encyclopedia , I got through it, and I am not the only Sharder who has gone this route. I figure that since the only reason for starting the series was to get to Brandon's books, I don't have to feel bad about skipping over Jordan's. As always, your mileage may vary. Great topic, hopefulmorning!

Really enjoyed reading everyone's opinions! It shows how unique we all are, and illustrates what Brandon says - that the reader actually co-creates the book with the author, by imagining the characters and their actions. We each bring ourselves to the page, reading and understanding through our own personalities and experiences. No idea why anyone would hate reading - it's so creative! Anyway, back to the topic at hand. My least favorite POV characters were Vivenne in Warbreaker and Sarene in Elantris. Mistborn was the first book I read from Brandon, and the Vin character was (IMO) so well-developed that I was surprised to not like Vivenne and Sarene better - I would have seriously doubted Brandon's ability to write female POVs if not for Vin. And to me, Siri in Warbreaker wasn't much better. Those three just didn't seem like real people - kind of cardboard-y or something. For Sarene, I chalked it up to him still being single when he wrote the book, but that wasn't true for Warbreaker so that theory was shot down. All the female characters in Stormlight Archives are better, so no more doubts on my part. My least favorite name for a POV character is for sure Elhokar. I have to keep calling him "El-hokey-doke" to keep from confusing him with other characters. Probably my grapheme synesthesia getting lost in too many characters with the same letters in their names ... but to be clear, it's not that I dislike the character: just his name.

Just finished "Scents and Sensibility," the 8th book in the Chet and Bernie mystery series by Spencer Quinn. If you're looking for a quick, light read that's mystery, not SFF, I strongly recommend book #1 in this series, "Dog On It." These are not children's books - they are adult novels with similar levels of non-gratuitous violence/romance as Brandon's fantasy. I have to say that, because ... The POV character is Chet, the dog. Yes, the stories are told from the dog's point of view, and they are just delightful. No less than Stephen King has a blurb on the covers, saying that Quinn "speaks 2 languages fluently: suspense and dog." Seriously, these books do not disappoint. Hope you agree!

Wow - these forums are the source of all kinds of cool geeky links! Thanks Titan for starting this thread! Here are my results - my gaming style is "Calm, Analytical, Independent, and Practical," which is pretty accurate. (I don't do multiplayer games - just enjoy pitting my brain against the game itself.) The Achievement Components (62%) Completion (83%) Power (39%): The Mastery Components (50%) Challenge (34%) Strategy (66%) The Immersion Components (45%) Fantasy (39%) Story (52%) The Action Components (20%) Destruction (37%) Excitement (12%) The Creativity Components (18%) Discovery (46%) Design (11%) The Social Components (2%) Competition (8%) Community (2%)

Yeah! Glad to have a discussion on this creepy and absorbing trilogy! I agree - that is probably what the tower is, but no way to really know.The word "thorn" kept coming up in the books, like something that would pierce or penetrate, and that aligns with your idea. That said, it seems like everything else that's "alive" was created out of a person/animal, so the description of the tower breathing, plus the biologist's initial analysis that it was all neural tissue, made me think of the stairs being inside something like a spinal cord. Yeah, I think this is what the author meant for us to take away - hence my "rose-colored glasses" attitude. Wow - your description is so concise yet packed with ideas! I hadn't been thinking of the entire anomaly as a single organism, but it really makes sense. So the "map" would be like an anatomy chart (to make a really rough analogy)? Would the leviathan biologist be "swimming" in a kind of circulatory system? When I started thinking about this, I had a quick mental flash: What would it be like to be that kind of organism, to exist like that? What if we actually do, in some vague metaphysical sense? I'll be interested to read more of your insights, Orlion. Hopefully others will contribute as well!

Thanks MetalSmith for finding and posting this! Everybody please give Metalsmith some up-votes - he needs to get beyond Spearman!! My results are: 50% Bondsmith (yeah! I'm a Radiant!) 22% Truthwatcher 22% Edgedancer 22% Stoneward 19% Skybreaker 13% Windrunner 11% Elsecaller 0% Willshaper, Lightweaver, and Dustbringer Bondsmith fits me pretty well, as Dalinar is my favorite character and I could buy in to their 2nd ideal 100%: "I will unite instead of divide. I will bring men together." That ideology is really important to me. I tried navybrandt's method of picking the least appealing answer and got: 34% Skybreaker... which fits, because I totally would have let Szeth die and have some kind of peace. I'm going to forward the link to a bunch of people - too fun!

I just finished the Southern Reach trilogy (aka Area X trilogy) by Jeff Vandermeer - easily the weirdest thing I've read in a long, long time. Kind of like "The X-Files" at its best, or what "Lost" should have been, for a TV comparison. What do my fellow-Sharders think happened at any point during those books? The author left it vague enough that there's no way to really know, per se, so it's all just theory. (FYI: I have not gone looking for interviews with Vandermeer where he explains anything, so they might exist, but I'm just going on the books themselves.) Post your own questions too, not just theories/answers. And please feel free to post info on other books that have this same kind of mysterious quality, as others here might be interested to check them out. SPOILER ALERT: Because the whole idea here is to theorize on what happened at any point in the trilogy, including the very end, don't read this thread at all unless you've either [a] read the whole trilogy already or don't care re: spoilers. If we don't say that, everything we post will have to be behind spoiler tags, which could get tedious real fast. (Hope this is OK with the moderators.) So, without further ado, I'll start us off with some questions and some of my guesses. == == == == == == == Is the tower/tunnel actually Saul (his body, transformed), and the entity in it his doppelganger? I think this is possible. Were Suzanne and Henry really agents working for Central? My answer is Yes. Is Cynthia/Gloria still around anywhere, and if so, where and in what form? No guess from me on this one. Was the owl the husband of the biologist? I thought so, until it talked about her rescuing an owl long before - that muddied the waters for me. Was the marmot John/Control? I think so. When Grace and Ghost Bird see the now-ruined Southern Reach facility at the end, was it actually breathing, like Ghost Bird thinks, or is that just her perception of a living ecosystem? I think it is the latter. Did Jackie intentionally "sacrifice" her son in an attempt to shut down the anomaly? I think she did - it may have been the reason she got married and had a child to begin with. Did Control/John change things, or was it Ghost Bird who did, or both, or neither? I think it was Ghost Bird or both. Do Grace and Ghost Bird ever reach a border? I think they do, and cross back over. I think that the anomaly "let go" of Earth after Ghost Bird held that orb and somehow communicated with it - at least, that's my rose-colored-glasses idea.

Late to this thread, but I'm up-voting a lot of ideas here - I bet spren are indeed involved. That said, Gallant in particular might be something more. I found this thread because I had the idea that Gallant might be a kandra. Someone has already posted that idea above, so I see I'm not the only one (bummed that I'm not the first, but hey - great minds, etc., etc.). I really think that at least one kandra in SA won't be humanoid in form, and ryshadium seem like the best possibility. Wouldn't it be cool if, at some extremity, Gallant actually spoke to Dalinar? But now I've spoiled the surprise for myself, if it does happen ... time to stop theory-izing now.

Overall, an awful lot of tributes have been receiving explosives from one or more unknown sponsors: Shallan Vivenna Lightsong Tindwyl Lightsong (again!) Shallan must have lacked the means to set off her explosives, or she'd never have died from hypothermia. What a fun thread! Thanks, Lark!

I'm trying to remember when Shallan ever saw her brother's Shardblade - was it in one of the flashbacks in WoR? She must have seen it, or how would she recognize it in Amaram's hands? Also, can't find this on any other thread, so I'll ask it here: Do we know why they are called the "Ghostbloods"? Within the books (i.e., not from any WOBs), I don't think we've been told what the 3-diamond symbol means, either, have we? So many conspiracies!

Wow - a fellow grapheme synesthete! I'm more of a classic version, though - each letter and each number has its own color; always has, & no idea where it came from: my childhood ABC book was primary colors. All my number/letter colors are from Crayola's box of 48, which we never had when I was little (& dinosaurs roamed the earth) because they were too expensive for us. I memorize names by the color of people's initials, same with addresses/phone numbers, etc. Very handy when I was in school. For me, "Curiosity" is pink--raw umber--burnt sienna--silver--white--red--silver--black--olive green. I see that I need to ask a question: When you are working, do you listen to music with or without lyrics? and what music helps you most when doing mentally challenging work? [For me, it's the POTC soundtracks and Devo's "Easy Listening" album.]

I notice that folks are sharing 2 new categories since my previous post: Least Favorite Companion and Suggested Companions. Must chime in, because the "classic" series had some seriously lame companions IMO. Least Favorite Companion: It would have to be the hyper-annoying Tegan Jovanka, though Adric and Nyssa of Traken are close 2nds, and don't even get me started on Vislor Turlough. (Yukk, I can hear Tegan saying Turlough's name even now ... make it stop!) All these were in the show during Doctor #5's tenure, and actually caused me to stop watching for a while. (Apologies to the Shard-er who said #5 was your favorite - it was the companions I disliked, not the Doctor.) It probably didn't help that, up to that time, we'd had a string of great companions: Sarah Jane Smith, K-9, Leela, and Romanas I & II. Suggested Companions: I love the suggestion of an older Chinese woman as a companion! And breaking away from the pattern of "the Doctor and the girl" is a good idea, though from the list on Wikipedia it looks like there have been several male companions on the new show?? ... but maybe they've been short-lived characters instead of 1-2 years at a time like the guys in the classic show? I'd like to see another historic male character, like Jaime (Doctor #2), maybe someone from ancient Egypt, an Etruscan or Minoan character, or an Abassid scientiist - those could provide some really interesting points of view. Aliens and Americans are also great suggestions. There were actually several "alien" companions in the classic series, though they all looked human (I imagine both due to budget & the fact it was truly more a young children's show then). Doctors 5-6 had an American companion named Perpugilliam Brown, but it was really disappointing that they didn't use a US actress for the part: the "American" accent wasn't very good. If they have an American companion, they should cast someone actually from the US.

Since breaking my finger last month, I now have proof that my Smedry Talent is swelling. In fact, most of my family is quite good at edema. I just searched this thread & am pleased that my Talent appears to be quite unique ... that should increase its value, right?

OK, jumping into this thread late... Most of these I'd say like everyone else, but there are a few differences: Sadeas suh-DAY-uss Shadesmar SHADD-ess-marr Gyorn gee-ORN Aimia EYE-mee-uh Raoden RAH-oh-denn ("Rao" sounds like "Tao" from the Taoism religion/philosophy.) The "J" in Jasnah and Jah Keved are regular American J's, not Y's, in my brain's ear I've never done the audiobooks, and I guess I'd better not start now: I'd have trouble knowing who they were talking about! :-)

@ Adamir said: " ... I now ship ... Stickeas. ... " Ummm - I almost said this out loud, then stopped myself, LOL. The rowdy folks I worked with in my younger days would sure have had some fun with that one. :-) (Hope I don't offend the moderators with this reply; couldn't resist a little innocent humor!)

Favorite Doctor: #4 (Tom Baker) Favorite Dr. #4 Quote: "Yes of course I'm being childish. What's the good of being grown-up if you can't be childish when you want to?" (from the ep "Robot") Favorite Companion: Sarah Jane Smith Favorite Monster: Kroll & the Swampies ... 2nd choice would be the Daleks Favorite Ep: "Warrior's Gate" I've been a Whovian since the 1970s - - I was actually a card-carrying member of the Doctor Who Fan Club of America back then. One of my prized possessions is a pewter Tardis key (from Doctor #4's Tardis), worn on a black leather thong as a necklace: never fails to start conversations. Since I don't have TV at all, haven't for at least a dozen years, I've only seen a few eps of the re-booted show, but it seems to me like they're doing a fine job reinvigorating the series. [Edited: Added quote 6/19/15]

Just finished the latest Bryant & May mystery by Christopher Fowler, "The Burning Man." It's # 12 in the series, but each can stand alone. I cannot recommend these books highly enough. Arthur Bryant & John May are octogenarian detectives in London who head up the (fictional) PCU - the Peculiar Crimes Unit. The plot, characters, action, etc. are just superb. You learn some interesting facts about London and its history along the way, and the many humorous parts are well-balanced by observations on the human condition that are both wry and poignant. The book will have you both laughing and choking up - - just so well written. I had to order this copy from the UK, as it won't be available in the US till late this year. Totally worth it. Anyone else here on the Shard a fan of Bryant & May?

Welcome, gbazz4, to the 17th Shard! The WoR Rysn interlude also provided an opportunity to introduce the islands (no spoilers here), which is a whole new level to the Rosharan ecosystem. Perhaps whoever gave the larkin to Rysn - or their kin - will have a part to play in the bigger story? I really hope so. The Reshi Sea & Islands are so close to Purelake ... aren't we suspecting that something is going on in that area? I agree with Aizhen too - I'm hoping to see more of Axies and other Aimians.