Iarwainiel I

Cool - I didn't know that. And I agree with your idea about the loophole for living blades. I hope this comes up & gets resolved in Book 5!

I have wondered this very thing: whether Oathbringer will wake up. I bet it does happen - I suspect (hope!) that all the deadeyes wake up. But I bet it won't be Dalinar who bonds with that spren (wonder which KR Order/spren it would be?); I think it will be someone else, but no idea who. Oh - I just thought of something: Oathbringer was hanging openly on the wall in Urithiru, right? And the Fused took over the whole tower? So would they have stolen it? They wanted/needed Eshonai's shards, so it seems possible.

Excited for [Skyward 3]! ... and part of that excitement is because it brings Wax & Wayne 4 that much closer. I expect the tweaks to the "Nowhere" title will relate to what the Nowhere actually is, in the Cytoverse. I have some theories, but I'm holding them close to the proverbial vest because if I'm right it would be a humongous spoiler & I will not do that to anyone. On the other hand, something like "In the Nowhere" would be sufficiently vague but still potentially meaningful, so that's my guess on the title. (FYI, I am always wrong, LOL!)

Infinity Blade - all 3 games. Especially since Brandon had input on the storyline for #s 2 and 3, and wrote novellas to bridge between 1-2 and 2-3. The story was fabulous - I kinda wish it was an actual book as well as a game. The gameplay was fun since it was gesture/position based, not a controller or mouse (it was an iPad game). I also liked the humor (you could "upgrade" your armor to a bunch of cardboard boxes, or your helmet to a jack-o-lantern or a turkey's head, etc.). Wish they could remake it - maybe this time have it use a controller and one of the standard platforms, not be tied to an Apple iOS.

I just came across this video on YT - the song "Walking In the Air" has been around a while (it's from a Christmas movie, "The Snowman"), but as I listened this time I was imagining Eshonai as the Stormfather let her ride the storm across all Roshar before she departed for the Beyond. It's a gentle song, not violent like the highstorms, but to Eshonai at that point - a spirit riding the wind - this tune seems to fit: full of hope and peace. Hope you enjoy it!

Glad you liked it! The idea of humans in far-flung space, and an archaeologist who finds "ancient" spaceships that would be thousands of years in our future, is really interesting to me - like, they can still read paper books that old if they are still intact, but electronic records are totally gone because the media degraded and/or the device to play the recorded data was lost. Just kinda makes you think. Now I'm wanting to go back and reread the series again!

This song is from an entertainer who was to the 1940s what Weird Al is to us. My grampa (rest his soul) gave us a 78 record of it when I was a child - kind of ironic, seeing as he was rather a wild fellow. Humor in music - it's a tradition!

Do we know where these things ended up? i.e., who has them at the end of the book? I totally forgot about the chain in Oathbringer - looks like time for another re-read...

I think anything old (1950s-60s) would be less likely to have swearing and graphic stuff (I don't like gratuitous stuff either). I keep meaning to read stuff by Andre Norton - she's one of the top authors from that period. One more recent book that comes to mind is "Agent to the Stars" by John Scalzi. I'm not 100% sure that there's no strong language at all, but defs less than his other books have and they're no worse than what's on network (not cable) TV. "AttS" is about a Hollywood-type agent who is hired to do PR for the first alien who visits Earth - the challenge being that said alien is literally a few gallons of (sentient) slime that smells very, very bad. The book has some funny parts and a good ending. It's been a while since I read it, but I really liked it. Another really great book is "A Talent For War" by Jack McDevitt, which is the start of his series about Alex Benedict, far-future xeno-archeologist. In "ATfW," Benedict uncovers evidence that a hero from centuries before was a fraud ... or was he?Great plot twists. IMO the Benedict series is the author's best work - his Priscilla Hutchins series is too cookie-cutter, and his other books all seem to be very preach-y about causes that even if you agree, it's kind of too much. But the Alex Benedict books are really good. Please let us know what you choose & how you like the book(s)! Happy reading!

This. This so much. (But srsly we love Brandon just the way he is, fashion or no.)

I love the Shard!!! I learn so much from all of you! I fully admit that I did not get this reference (hey, I'm old & haven't had TV in over 20 years, so it happens), so I just looked up the skit on YT. Hilarious! But I'm posting here for a different reason (since this happened to me just now!): Just past the point where he says "moosen," it IMO sounds like he starts talking in Spook's Eastern dialect from Mistborn (High Imperial from the Wax & Wayne books). Here's a (rough) transcription - what do you think? "Food is to eatin' is it ... the meets wanting fooden in the wooding is it..." Brilliant! Thank you fellow Shard-ers for helping me end my day with a jolly laugh!

@Condensation I just now read your signature! "People who have checked my grammar..." Too funny! Bravo! (I also note with approval your use of the Oxford comma - very glad you're on the correct side of that debate!)

Very cool!!

Arrgggh! Why did I find this thread on a day when I've already used all my up-votes?!?! All of you deserve rep points!! To several of you: Middle school is (for most people) absolutely the worst time of your life. It was true back in the 60s (yes, I am prolly older than your grandparents, LOL!), and it sounds like it's still true today. Gym was the worst for me too & I was glad when I never had to take it again: there are all kinds of ways to keep fit that aren't competitive or demeaning, so later in life you'll have better options. Your folks might have pointed this out, but if not, let me say that time does make a difference: middle school would have been 1/5th of my life when I was 15 - nowadays it's less than 1/20th of my life, which means it's a LOT less important to who I am as a person. IDK if that makes sense to any of you, but if it does I hope it helps a little bit. OK, here's my story. It happened a few years ago. A friend and I went for a hike in a nearby national park (we have great parks in Ohio!). It was winter, and pretty cold (20s F) and a little snow on the ground. We started at maybe 2:30 and took a path marked as "1.5 miles." Uh-huh. Well, we walked and we walked ... the sky started getting a little dark ... and we were still walking ... my friend checked her watch, & it was after 5 PM ... and we were still walking, following the trail markers. Now. we are both pretty fit people and walk at a good pace. No way it would take us that long to walk 1.5 miles! And it was getting darker, and we were out in the woods, and there was no one around. And we realized that neither of us had brought any food, or water, or a compass, or a flashlight, or our phones ... what kind of poor woodcraft did we have?!? Gaah! We came up over a rise, and off in the distance I could see her car! I bet it was at least a mile away, as the crow flies. The "path" veered off in another direction, but we decided to go cross-country, through brambly patches and small streams, straight for her car. We got halfway up a hill and she just stopped: "I can't go any further!" So I got behind her and pushed her till we got to the top. The next hill, it was me who stopped, and she pushed me to the top. We were laughing at ourselves, but also getting concerned because the park rangers would chain the parking lot shut once it got dark, and then what would we do? We were finally able to get up on the road that led into the park, and just followed that to the parking lot - drove away just as night was falling. So hungry! But we were both too tired (and kinda sweaty, tbh) to go to a nice restaurant like we had planned - drive-in burgers for us! How did that happen? Our theory is that the park rangers were re-laying the trails during the winter when less people would have been using them, and the trail markers were just messed up enough to cause us to go the wrong way. Anyway, we always bring our phones & water now! And we have a fun memory that we still laugh about pretty often. Hope you enjoyed my story!

Oh - makes sense. I'm always late to the Ookla-ing, and can never think of a good name that hasn't been taken. Maybe next year...

We all win, with the Rings. Thanks! Very cool re: your forum name! I'll be watching for it. (When does Ookla season end?) I wish the Shard had been around when I was a teen - it would have made a real difference to know that others in the world had the same/similar ideals I did re: beauty, loyalty, hope, etc. Seeing young people interact here, and interacting with them, is just such a joy! It's a great community & IMO many, many of our members have a strong chance of changing the world for the better. The painting was used in a Tolkien calendar in the 70s. (I'm gonna frame some of those this year - need to decorate my house! ... yes, I saved them ... I am a true nerd, LOL!) Kirk stopped painting for a living & became a graphic artist years ago, but I love his depictions - here's a page that shows them all: https://arthive.com/artists/13571~Tim_Kirk/works

First, pls be kind & not diss on my forum name too much - I tried to morph part of Bombadil's name (Iarwain Ben-Adar - not sure if it's Quenya or Westron) into a female form. It fits bcos I am old IRL but when I take those "what generation are you" quizzes they peg me at half my age, LOL. Young at heart! and the Shard helps keep me that way! This thread is a great example: I'm loving all your fun & creative comments. I don't claim to be the biggest Rings nerd, but I've been at it a long time - I read the trilogy for the first time in 1977, & have journeyed to Mordor 19 times (so far). I've read The Silmarillion (at least 5-6 times), the Unfinished Tales, and the first Book of Lost Tales, but that's as far as I've gone or plan to go. I've been known to say that all of western civilization could have existed just to produce TLotR - it has been that influential, IMO, and it has also literally changed my outlook on the universe. I used to be able to read/write Elvish, but have forgotten it through the years. In 1978, I was in the theater seeing a movie (probably Superman), and during the trailers for upcoming films, the screen went all black and red lettering scrolled across - my eyes were as big as saucers! My friend said "What language is that - Arabic?" and I said, "No - it's Elvish!!" The movie was a disappointment, but oh well - nothing can touch the books, for me. YMMV of course. I have never seen any of the recent movies bcos I want to keep my vision of what characters and settings look like - I don't want to get confused with Peter Jackson's vision, as good as I understand it is. I've avoided even looking at pictures of any images from those movies - so far, so good. If you love the films, that's great! Multiplied ways to enjoy these wonderful stories. I do think there is a bit of backstory somewhere on Bombadil: that he's a Maia - same level/order as Gandalf, but that he sunk his spirit down into a geographical place in Middle Earth, whereas the Wizards were mobile and moving around. I might be wrong on that, as it's been decades since I read about it. Last point: my profile image is a snippet from a Rings-related painting - "The Last Shore" by Tim Kirk - puts a lump in my throat just to look at it. Hope you like it too! (from https://arthive.net/res/media/img/oy1200/work/e53/58152.webp)

So excited! Brandon tweeted today that some of the event-only pins from his past tours, etc., are now available in his online shop. https://store.brandonsanderson.com/collections/featured-products/products/event-pins I missed the Lightweaver one from the Words of Radiance tour (was busy with the "tour archive"/scrapbooking project & neglected to do the cosplay required to get a pin), & I have been kicking myself ever since. I even asked Peter's wife at the Oathbringer release & she said she missed that pin too but there was no way we'd ever get one. Well now we can! No idea if Dragonsteel will always stock these though, so if you want one (or more!), it might be a good idea to place your order now. Thanks Brandon & Dragonsteel!!

This is a screenshot of dear Brandon's face the moment when he found out that a lot of us were having trouble logging in to the Rhythm of War release event. His expression says it all - this is an author who truly, truly cares about his fans. And we care right back! The event came off well, especially for a first attempt. And those of us who missed a few minutes were able to catch up via the full recording on YT. With all the challenges this year has brought, it means so much that Brandon and the whole Dragonsteel team found a way for us to celebrate together. :-) Strength Before Weakness!

I'm in! I think it can only let so many people in per minute or whatever - just keep trying!

They need to make the recording available later to those of us who can't get in. I am very bummed. :-(

Well, all of you are at least making me feel better that it's not just me. Truly a catastrophe - 3 years we've waited! 3 years!

Is anyone else having issues getting into the release event? It says Brandon's whole site is down...

I'll be there - got my swag pack yesterday, so will be wearing All.The.Items. Looking forward to e-seeing you @JoyBlu & @aneonfoxtribute!!! @Frustration - You have to have purchased the book from one of the 10 independent booksellers that Brandon had listed on his site (https://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-rhythm-of-war-release-party-details-swag-bundle/). I bought from Weller's: since they're closest to Dragonsteel geographically, I felt they'd get the signed copies earlier than the other booksellers, giving them more time to ship to Ohio. I had such a blast at the Oathbringer release party (in-person); the virtual event will be nice but not the same. Hopefully we can be back to in-person for SA5!