Iarwainiel I

I caved too, but at a different task: I decided to not do a full reread of the previous 3 books. I don't have the time (thankfully I've been very busy at my job, working at home through this whole pandemic - makes me a bit sad, but it's the right choice for me now), and I've read them all several times already.

What I am doing is reading through:

• (done) All the chapter epigraphs (I copied them into a separate document and have some of them reorganized per their citations which is a very interesting exercise...)
• (done) All the Interludes
• (done) All the Prologues / versions of the night Gavilar was murdered
• (in-progress) All of Dalinar's visions

But I am going to discipline myself to not be here on the Forums so much for the next few months, just in case anyone guesses something that turns out to be a spoiler. It's going to be even harder to not cave for the Shard, but I did it for Oathbringer so I know I can do it now.

Happy reading!

9 hours ago, Odeem said:

 

@Iarwainiel

I'm not the type to just skim something usually, unfortunately. Even on audiobooks I rewind even if I only miss one word lol. I've not read White Sand yet, but I had plans to go through it later this year. I'm hoping I won't have this issue with that one.

I totally understand - I am the same way with skimming. I did the Harry Potter books via audio, and I was replaying bits all the time to catch things I missed.

Re: White Sand - I know the graphic novels are canon, but reading the non-canon prose version was IMO really worthwhile & helped me get more of an idea of who was who, character-wise. Just a tip in case you do find the graphic version to be an issue.

Press on! You WILL finish Warbreaker!

@Odeem - Are you open to just skimming it, not reading with your full attention? That might work.

The first time I read it, I disliked both Siri and Vivenna a lot.

Reading it again a few years later, it seemed to me that those 2 female characters were what they needed to be for the plot that Brandon wrote, but neither of them nor really any of the characters in WB are up to his usual standards of creating characters. I never felt like I got to know them or develop any kind of sympathy/empathy for them like I did with Kelsier and Vin and Dalinar and even Alcatraz Smedry and Spensa. The WB characters seem to be more at the level of the characters in the White Sand graphic novel - kind of not well defined. Just my opinion; YMMV of course.

Hope you can see it through; it does get better in the last 1/3-1/4 of the book. :-)

On 7/29/2020 at 4:01 AM, Goatbringer said:

Kadolin

Tay: While I'm really hoping for love at first sight - I don't think that's going to happen. 

*discussion ensues where I remind her that Kaladin and Adolin have met before in Book 1 on two occasions - Sadeas' warcamp and on the Tower where Kaladin does the Bavarian Fire Drill*

Tay: Oh yes! I remember - he sees him on the battlefield and Adolin's all like "who tf this slontze?" Yes. While I want them to fall madly in love with each other at first sight, I don't think that's going to happen. I feel like Adolin's going to be kind of pissy about some low-born guy just swanning in and getting a seat at the table. I think he rates himself a good guy, but he's a judgemental (appendage) really. I also think Adolin's going to be suspicious of Kaladin and his intentions. Why would you just happen to save us - why would you, Slaveboi, risk your own life to save us? Adolin doesn't understand that Kaladin's all magical and stuff and has an honor issue. 

Me: Everyone on Roshar has an honor issue. 

Tay: But yeah, he's going to be super suspicious of Kaladin. And then maybe if they can get past that, they can be homies. But that's Adolin's thing to get over, not Kaladin.  

That is so interesting! It's like she sees Adolin in a similar way to how Kaladin sees him in the book. And I think she (like most of us, probably) is going to be surprised at these two personalities. Plus, what we learn about Adolin throughout the book makes his actions near the end even more shocking (but satisfying too).

(Also, you're right & I was wrong about them meeting for the first time; but in WoR they actually get to know each other. so that's probably where I got confused.)

Is there a Shardpool in France? Sure looks like it!

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200730-the-fosse-dionne-frances-mysterious-underground-spring

Worldhoppers - Coming to your area soon!

(Just kidding, of course, but wow would the Fosse Dionne ever make for a spectacular Shardpool!)

Good question. I skimmed those parts (mostly the part about Felurian), and was still able to understand what was going on. (I haven't read all of WoT, so can't compare for you.)

I liked the first 2 books very much, and the novella about Auri, and the piece in an anthology about Bast - read each of then twice at least, and I feel they are worth reading.

That said, personally I feel that Rothfuss will never actually complete book 3 and end the series - it has been too many years, and the story is too complex to wrap up in a single book and still keep the level of storytelling as high as it very much was.

So I actually sold my books a couple years ago while decluttering. If book 3 ever is published, I'll pick up paperbacks then to reread.

Life is too short (at least mine is) to keep waiting and waiting for a book the author seems to have lost interest in writing. My opinion; YMMV of course.

Thanks @Karger !

I wonder if Brandon's "both" means [bring + awaken/unleash], or [awaken + unleash]...

I just re-read chapter 1 of The Way of Kings, and I was struck by a couple things - the prevalence of the color red in the decor, when the Kholin color is blue, and the description Szeth gives of a "new rhythm" played by the Parshendi drummers: "...like a quartet of thumping hearts, pumping waves of invisible blood through the room." At least twice in the first 2 pages, he uses the word "revelry" to describe what's going on.

The red might relate to something else, but the rest of it (to me) kind of screams "Heart of the Revel."

What do you all think?

What are Tay's predictions for:

• Will any rock lobsters be involved in the book?
• What new spren will make an appearance? What new spren would she like to see in the book? ("Spren" is plural in both questions - i.e., more than one.)
• It's probably pretty obvious that Kaladin and Adolin will eventually meet - when that happens, will they be friends? enemies then friends? friends then enemies? or ???

Not re: a prediction, but I canNOT wait to hear her response to the Lift interlude!!

Thanks for sharing all of this with us! :-)

Beginning my Stormlight reread today. Hoping to relish it, not rush ... like that's gonna happen.

I've made printouts of all the chapter epigraphs from TWoK and WoR, so I need to add the epigraphs from OB to that document. Reorganizing & analyzing the epigraphs has yielded some interesting ideas... Such fun!

6 hours ago, robardin said:

Will Dawnshard be available to people who didn't participate in a leatherbound Kickstarter? Those things are out of my price range for what they are, gorgeous though they be.

Check out the lower tiers on the Kickstarter:

• You get the ebook of Dawnshard if you pledge just $10
• You get the ebook and the physical/hardback copy for $50

The leatherbounds are too pricey for me as well, but I sprung for the $50 level since that includes all the swag as well.

I'm just glad that the novella is available at these lower tiers, so I can afford it!

[EDIT: I now see where someone already answered your question hours ago. No idea why the Forum didn't show that until I just submitted my comment ... oh well, we're all too excited!]

19 hours ago, Philomath said:

I’m guessing only the ebook will be out before RoW? The easiest way for me to read these days are audiobooks so I’ll probably be waiting... maybe I’ll have to find a preferred way to read ebooks before November. 

Yes, he has said that the ebook (but not the bound/physical book) WILL be out before RoW - - or at least that's the plan. IIRC, they're going to release it in multiple formats to the Kickstarter backers, so you can choose-your-own device to read it.

My initial impression was that "Dawnshard" will just be the name of Rysn's ship (instead of Wandersail) - - like, the Thaylens named a ship after some legendary thing that they didn't really understand but that seemed cool.

However, even if that's true, it doesn't mean that the ship's name won't prove to be irony or foreshadowing! and that she really will encounter a Dawnshard on Aimia.

So glad I backed the Kickstarter! CanNOT wait!!

@NattyBo - I know one can make bread in a dutch oven, but it looks like you're baking your bread right on a grill - ? I just got a dutch oven too & love it, but haven't used it on a grill yet.

Meanwhile, I have gotten real good at WFHing (so thankful to be able to keep working full-time during this).

Over the July 4th weekend, I revived an old skill and painted a room in my (new) house. So much better/brighter now! That project involved patching 3 holes in the walls, which was a new skill for me. It's not perfect, but I did pretty good for a patching-noob.

WoT is a big investment of time & attention. And there are literally hundreds of characters that you kind of need to keep track of, to know what's going on - way beyond what Brandon has in his books, at least that's my opinion at this point.

There is an online WoT encyclopedia (http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/) where you can look things up easily, but keep in mind that it is filled with spoilers. It does have plot summaries for each chapter of each book, & you might find that helpful. There are actually a lot of wikis and fan sites, plus Tor had Leigh Butler do a reread (https://www.tor.com/features/series/wot-reread/) with chapter-by-chapter commentary.

All that being said, if you don't enjoy keeping dozens of characters straight, just know that WoT is not for everybody, and it's no shame to set it aside. HTH.

On 7/3/2020 at 8:22 AM, Adran Oathbreaker said:

OMG!!! Yes! Field Marshal Tamas! Wow, that's amazing. People in the Shard are so diverse. And Clarity-Art called me out coz she recognized my avatar, Kaz from Six of Crows. 

This is a fantastic community, for sure!

Have you read McClellan's "Gods of Blood & Powder" series yet? Near the end of the 2nd GoB&P book, I was loving Tamas even more than I did in the first trilogy, which I didn't think was possible but it was. And Mad Ben Styke! "Ride, Lancers, ride!"

I find out about all kinds of great stuff here, especially in the "What are you reading/playing/watching/listening to" threads.

Welcome to the Shard!

When I saw "Adran," I immediately thought "Powder Mage" (series of novels & e-novellas by Brian McClellan who was a student of Brandon's at BYU). Is your user name a reference to that? If not, & if you've never read McClellan but would like to check out the Powder Mage world, a good place to start is with the e-novella "Ghosts of the Tristan Basin" - inexpensive & short but a great story!

(pre-ordered; release date is July 7th)

"Of Mutts and Men" - - book 10 of the Chet & Bernie mystery series by Spencer Quinn

Can't wait! Chet the Jet!!

In the words of Monty Python's Flying Circus (ancient British TV show) - - "And now for something completely different..."

I'm currently working my way through the Chet and Bernie mystery series by Spencer Quinn, in anticipation of the next book dropping on July 7th.

The narrator for these detective stories is Chet the Dog (http://www.chetthedog.com/), and if you love dogs, you'll adore Chet! "I know the case is closed when I have the perp by the pantleg."

Just FYI - these are not children's books (though the author does have a kids' series too): there's a realistic (not gratuitous) amount of swearing and some fisticuffs; romance is off-camera. Bernie is flawed but a true hero.

If you (or your parents, etc.) are looking for some fun mystery stories that are a pretty quick read, you can't go wrong with Chet and Bernie!

@Chaos - Have you seen this thread? Know anything about these weird words in some copies of The Emperor's Soul? I'm hoping it's not some rogue publisher trying to pirate Brandon's books. (I am NOT saying that the person who bought the book did anything wrong - quite the opposite: maybe the company who sold it to them, or maybe that company's supplier, might have been cheated by someone.) Just very weird.

For real? This is extremely weird! I hope someone here on the Shard - a Moderator maybe - can answer this for you.

Favorite: Hopper (the wolf)

At the AMoL signing, I asked Brandon sign my book with a quote relating to Hopper & he did: "Foolish cub! ... [redacted re: spoilers]."

Just love Hopper - - "To soar!"

We're self-reporting with the (great!) poll at the top if this thread.

Does anyone know if the results of the actual quiz are being tallied anywhere? - like, of ALL the people who took it, what percentage were Windrunners, etc.?

It would be interesting to compare those 2 sets of results.

Nice quiz! I got Sazed, which I kind of expected from how some of the questions went. I'm happy with it. Thanks!

I didn't screenshot or write down my percentages, but I think I got:

Edgedancer - 78%
Windrunner - 74%
Bondsmith - 73%

It surprised me a little, because I feel that my values line up best with Bondsmith - I expected that to come out on top. Plus, Dalinar is my favorite SA character, though I love all of the main characters.

I do wonder what my results would have been, if I had taken this quiz before reading any of the SA books. Oh well, I'll never know.

What impresses me is how many different results we all got! On some of the quizzes that have been around a while, almost everyone gets Windrunner or something. This quiz has a wide distribution amongst the answers - whoever made it did a great job!