Voidbringer

I picked Dai Gonarthis for no other reason than wanting to know more about it.

The intro about misdirection really makes me think Hoid anticipated the meeting and figured something was about to go down. I mean, he had been concealing himself from Odium and certainly knew that Odium would immediately appear once he decided to lower his efforts at concealment. He absolutely had to know that Odium would try to harm him in some way (I mean, Rayse hates him and would try and do anything in his power to harm him), perhaps through some kind of an attack on some of his investiture, which is why he stored some of his breaths in that doll he Awakened in Oathbringer. However, even anticipating some kind of attack, it still makes sense that Hoid would feel fear because he had to lower his defenses, subjecting himself to the aggression of a literal god.

The numbers 10, 11, 12 appear in succession several times.

The fact that there is no punctuation in what appears to be the translated versions of codes (a few posts above) at least indicates that there is no need to look for extra symbols. This might indicate it is just a substitution cipher (I can't imagine Brandon would get too complex). Edit: Oops. Double post.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned so here goes nothing. The Alethi Calendar has 10 months, 10 weeks per month, and 5 days per week. The year in which Bridge Four rescues Dalinar and Talenel returns is 1173. This corresponds to the first 4 digits of the following dates. The next six digits appear to be the the month, week (perhaps reversed), followed by the day of the week. 1173090605 1173090801 1173090901 1173091001 1173091004 1173100105 1173100205 1173100401 1173100603 1173100804 - From the Diagram, North Wall Coda, Windowsill region: paragraph 2 (This appears to be a sequence of dates, but their relevance is as yet unknown) How this applies to the code itself i surely don't see yet. I hope this wasn't too obvious

I think Syl's reaction at least shows that Shardblades are somehow evil in one way or another. On the other hand, I don't think that the swords are anything natural. I can't help but think they were fabricated with a specific purpose in mind.

Awesome! Thanks for posting this!

Very interesting. I like it!

Stuck in Logan, Utah until I finish school here. It's about an hour and a half from BYU. It snows pretty much all the time. I think I would prefer living in the Lord Ruler's Scadrial to the frozen wasteland in which I find myself. Anywho, glad to see such a diverse fan-base here!

Uh-oh, I Shard-ed.

But the Alethi think the KR betrayed them. Does that mean it was the dark eyes who are KR lineage?

I'm not sure where the eye-color shardblade connection came from, but I would not be surprised if (at least) one of these rocks were important. If I am remembering correctly, Kaladin obtained the rock from Tien before feeling how the staff felt right when he was facing Jost. In addition, it says that the rock was smooth on most sides but one, where it had a jagged appearance, which to my mind suggests it was broken open or something. (Wanders into speculation land) Could something have been released and for some reason "attached" itself to Kaladin passing on Tien because Tien could detect it? Is that where Syl first entered Kaladin's life? Does that mean that the Honorspren are trapped in stone? Considering how spren can be trapped in precious stones (in the form of fabrials), and how stone seems to be such an important part of Roshar, I would not be surprised. It brings to mind the Mistborn trilogy:

While still on the fence, I lean more toward the Parshmen/Parshendi not being Voidbringers. Many of the reasons above coincide with my thoughts. In addition I still think that the stone-featured Parshendi are descendants of the stone-born children of Parasaphi and Nadris. I think that could also explain why they are honorable, since the stones from which they were born were supposedly touched by the Heralds (Since we know the Heralds were not in fact deities, it is likely this part of the story is a distortion, so take what you want from that). Although they were conceived from the seed of a dying man, so perhaps that has some significance as well.

Overall I would say I like The Sword of Truth but it really irritated me how...

I enjoyed it very much, though I do think Martin went overboard on the sex. It can be used to advance a plot, especially in the case of political intrigue (which this series has), but it becomes borderline erotica at times, which I could definitely do without. On a different note, Arya Stark is freaking awesome! Oh and the Viserys-Khal Drogo "confrontation" is still one of my favorite moments in the series.

Wow, is it just me or does it seem to have gotten a bit colder in here... Anywho, as a fan of both series (WoT and MBotF) I thought I might say what I like about both: Wheel of Time: This was my second foray into fantasy, my first being David Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean, which I still love to this day (admittedly nostalgia plays a big role there). Robert Jordan's level of description and detail, love it or hate it (I have felt both sentiments at one point or another), is unparalleled and it made the world feel like a real place. The magic system, in my opinion, remains one of the most beautiful I have seen. I admit to disliking some of the characters (Cadsuane, Gawyn), but others are some of my favorite of all time (Mat, Nynaeve (later in the series she is very near the top of the list), Thom, Moiraine, and others). Oh I just remembered how the Eelfinn and Aelfinn creep me out... Which is awesome that an author can make me experience emotions like that just from reading some print! Seriously, how many people go chills at reading the climaxes of Winter's Heart and Towers of Midnight(Admittedly B.S. wrote it but it was Jordan's notes). I mean Rand is beyond awesome! I could go on but I don't want to spoil anything. These are just a few things of many. Malazan Book of the Fallen: I hadn't started this series until three months ago and I didn't really know what to expect (The reviews are EXTREMELY polarized, understandably so given the writing style). It could be, depending on the next five books, be on of my favorite series'. I confess that for the first half of the first book, while lots of interesting things seemed to be happening, I was beyond lost. I mean this guy just drops you right in it, and it can be (and at times was) pretty frustrating! Then after a lot of thought and rereading of passages that I remembered, a picture started to form. With every book the picture becomes exponentially more intricate but beautiful all the same. Then things suddenly fit together and you are stunned that he actually made sense of the crazy amalgamation of plot threads! Also, you can definitely tell that Erikson used to be an anthropologist by the development and depth of the civilizations he created. I agree that characters you want to root for are few and far between, but there are a few who, over the course of a few books, develop into some of the most interesting characters I have read (Anomander Rake = B.A. even if you don't know what to think of him in Gardens of the Moon). This series also has some of my favorite characters (Paran (starting in Memories of Ice), Toc the Younger, Whiskeyjack (don't hate it's a nickname), T'ool, Trull Sengar FTW!, Kruppe (Don't be fooled by book one) ). Anyway, I know this is supposed to be sort of a hating on disappointing books thread, but I had to defend some of my favorite series'.

I cannot downvote someone for not liking WoT. I love it but I know too many people that think it is the greatest achievement in literary history, to the point of where it gives people unrealistic expectations. Then you get to the middle books where things slow way down and that can be disappointing for lots of people. I have to upvote that just for posting it on a website where that is considered blasphemy. As for a disappointing series, there are a few: A Song of Ice and Fire - Good, but not as good as the fanboys say. Shannara Books - I try but I can't like them... Well, except for a few characters that were awesome. I don't agree with some of the previous posters about the Malazan Book of the Fallen. I am on book 5 and it is awesome!

Wow I hadn't made that connection but that definitely makes sense and that totally sounds like a Nightwatcher curse/boon situation! The only thing I'm not sure would work is that the Heralds decided not to go back to Damnation, so they kind of just decided to not accept the curse. Hmmm... If this is in fact true, then could everyone who recieved a curse from the Nightwatcher "decide" that it is no longer in effect, thus Dalinar could suddenly remembers shshsh again?

Fascinating stuff! I hadn't heard about the connection with Nightblood and I really like the idea about the 450 to 4500 year change due to the fewer Heralds! In regards to the return of Taln bringing the Last Desolation: should Roshar survive another Desolation, couldn't Taln go back to Damnation for another 4500 in fulfillment of the Oathpact? ... I suppose not since the Oathpact was probably invalidated with the death of The Almighty. ... So I did glance back at the encounter with the Midnight Essence and one of the Radiants mentioned that someone released it (the Midnight Essence). So I am not sure what how to interpret that. I mean, did they have the stuff locked up and someone betrayed or sneaked in and let it out, or did it exist in some other realm and was "released" onto Roshar. Ugh... Book 2 can't come soon enough...

Any Halo Reach players? My gamertag is BowmanJean. Send me a message letting me know you are from 17thShard before any sort of invite because I normally don't accept invites from people I don't recognize. Peace!

I was wondering if there are any Star Ocean fans out there. If so which is your favorite game? Mine is definitely Star Ocean: The Second Story. Bowman Jeane FTW!

Yeah I admit that the Radiants tie-in doesn't really fit too well.

This post is pretty far out in left field but here it goes: First of all I suppose I should mention that I am still undecided on whether or not Parshmen are in fact Voidbringers. In any case I found something interesting I thought I would at least mention. When working chasm duty one day, Kaladin thinks to himself about how the features of the dead Parshendi are somewhat rock or stone like in appearance(This is one reason I think the Parshmen or Parshendi may in fact be Voidbringers but I digress). Now onto a reason I think could suggest that the Parshmen/Parshendi are not Voidbringers. When conversing about Desolations with Dalinar, Navani mentions the myth of Parasaphi and Nadris. Parasaphi, in order to repopulate her "fallen people" travels to the mountain peaks of Dara (wherever that is... Jah Kaved or something?) to find rocks touched by the Heralds. Then she goes to the deathbed of Nadris, harvests his seed to bring life to the rocks, which eventually hatch ten children, which she used to found the nation of Marnah. I think they mentioned the story or book was called Origin of the Makabaki. So could it be that the stone-like featured Parshendi or Parshmen are in fact the descendents of these stone-born children? It is easy to see that Parshendi and Parasaphi are similar but only somewhat, but just look how the names of the Heralds have changed over time. Yeah I know it's kind of a stretch. On a related but even further streched note, if the Parshfolk are in fact Voidbringers, perhaps the story could be some sort of bastardization of the origin of the Voidbringers. Aren't there supposed to be ten orders of them as well? It could correspond to the ten children. It could also explain the differences in them as they are from different orders of Voidbringers. Edit: After looking at the back flap page with what I assume to be the orders of the Voidbringers, I noticed the lady at the edges. Do we know anything about her? Could she be the mother (Parasaphi?) of the Voidbringers? She does have her safe hand covered so maybe a follower of Vorinism and she is blonde so probably not Alethi? I dunno. Sadeas' wife, who dyes her hair to make it black? Oh man that would be hilarious! LoL

I hope this hasn't been covered. I tried finding threads related to it without any success. So firstly, as a preliminary, I definitely think that the Shardblades are part of the Oathpact, in that they are the tools approved by those who made said pact (I assume Honor and Odium, perhaps Cultivation). I think they were approved by Honor because Honor saw it as a powerful method to defend against Odium's near invincible rock creatures, and Odium agreed for a different reason which is one main point of this post. We all know that when people are killed with Shardblades their eyes smoke. From one of Dalinar's visions we learn about Midnight Essence, some kind of creature someone released to preempt the coming Desolation or something (Please correct me if I'm wrong). When punctured or killed the Midnight Essence leak something like black smoke... Dun Dun Dun. I promise I am getting to the point. So I think it could be that when someone non-voidish is killed with a Shardblade, it somehow replenishes the Midnight Essence and/or some other force of Odium's, which is why Odium would agree to the use of Shardblades even thought they can beat Thunderclasts and such. Here is where the Knights Radiant really tie in. So Odium influences the Knights Radiant to start using Shardblades for killing non-Voidish people during wars between Desolations, thus empowering his forces for the next Desolation. Then the Knights Radiant, after who knows how many Desolations, finally catch on to what is happening. So then the Radiants decided that their battles were pointless and only making things worse over all, since Odiums forces were growing stronger every time because of the misuse of the Shardblades between each Desolation. Aside: If this is true, just imagine how the next one would be since it was like 4500 years since the "Last Desolation", and since The Recreance, however long that was after Aharietian, the people had been misusing Shardblades to kill non-Voidish even more than the Radiants had. So Odium's forces would be freaking ridiculously huge. It may or may not be that the Heralds figured this out before they bailed, though I think they were just tired of suffering for who knows how long. I have gone on too long, but any thoughts?

Oh no... You broke the cardinal rule of sci-fi/fantasy readers! If you ask one what their favorite book is, one of three things will happen: brain aneurysm, coma, or trolls will descend from the hills to snatch him/her just when they are about to decide! Well, you only live once, and a troll raid could definitely liven things up, so here goes. Firstly, I loved Faith of the Fallen. It was kind of like Atlas Shrugged, but actually really good. As for a favorite book of all time, that one was decided for me actually. The Way of Kings is by far my favorite book. Yeah I know, but if you don't want BS fanboys/girls you are at the wrong site. The world was so far removed from anything else I've read in fantasy that I was awestruck! Plus, it's like reading a version of the Wheel of Time where you look forward to reading every perspective! (Don't get me started; loved WoT but...). Yes, I have read A Song of Ice and Fire, which by the way was quite epic (so far, we'll see if he ever finishes it), but there are so few characters that I care to read about!(Tyrion, Arya, & Jon Snow) I have read The Malazan Book of the Fallen, which definitely wins most "epic", but it still falls short for me as it felt that Erikson wasn't sure what story he wanted to tell at some points. (Although given the scale of the story that is totally understandable.) I would say the Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss comes close (It was amazing how interesting/fun he can make "nothing happening" seem.) but we will have to see how the Doors of Stone turns out... Anywho, I have ranted long enough I suppose. I could go on but I will spare you. The Way of Kings FTW!!! Uh oh... I smell troll breath...