Vissy

I am once more brought out of a long hiatus of these forums by a new book in the series.

As with most of the recent Stormlight books - it just felt like there was way. too. much. text. I can't help but feel as if this book could have been three hundred or four hundred pages and been so much more satisfying of a read. I'm also, naturally, frustrated by how straight the book is. 

And occasionally, some of the more ham-fisted descriptions had me rolling my eyes. Sanderson has a habit of making the subtext text quite often.

However, I was very excited by the Thaidakar = probably Kelsier reveal, and I hope to hear more of that soon. 

Leshwi is love. Love this Fused, want to see more of her.

In overall terms, the first half of the book was bearable in pacing, and my wish of "oh please let the tower get captured at the midpoint" was fulfilled. Though it could have been done even earlier, in my opinion. As has become a thing, the Shadesmar section dragged out terribly, and I found the Formless/Shallan thing a bit melodramatic. The dragged out fight scenes also bothered me a little - especially in Kaladin's case. He is much more enjoyable as a character when you are not constantly shown just how incredible he is in combat (Moash basically hyping him up every chance he gets doesn't help), in my opinion, and actually shown to just interact. Stormlight Archives is a victim of its own size here, because the main cast is enjoyable, but split apart like this, and with so many viewpoints spread out, I can't help but feel as if I'd rather just have them close by.

What happened to Hoid, or Wit, is interesting. Some sort of limbo? 

On 3/13/2020 at 9:31 AM, Goatbringer said:

- Kaladin and Syl are going to fall in love.

You cannot escape Syladin!

They were capable of instantenuous transport to any location on the planet (or potentially even other planets or planes of existence) in addition to possessing near unbeatable combat capabilities and higher than average awareness of the Cosmere due to the nature of Elsecallers. In their heyday, they would have been capable of ruling the entirety of Roshar - and they probably did just that for a while.

To go back to the original question, Kaladin does hold genuinely racist attitudes towards the parshmen. The lighteyes-darkeyes split is not exactly a one-to-one comparison to our real-world racism because of a number of factors (race science that has seeped into the structures and dominant attitudes of society doesn't play into it in the same way, for instance), but with parshmen it very much does. The parshmen are suffering under a system of chattel slavery and have been for a long time, and it shows in even Kaladin's attitude towards Rlain even though we know that Kaladin is actually a very empathic personality and is able to empathize to a small degree with Rlain. He notices these racist attitudes, however, and tries to correct them - mostly unsuccessfully at first. The issue is quickly dropped after WoR though. I wasn't entirely satisfied with Sanderson's treatment of the topic, because if you're going to put chattel slavery into the books, you better have something to say about it or else you're just putting it there for no reason at all, right? I would've preferred this angle to become a more central part of the plot because I actually think helping the parshmen and centering their narrative ties in really neatly with the theme of fighting against the literal embodiment of hatred.

Either way, the topic came up and was used mainly to 1) show that Kaladin too held racist attitudes towards those in a lower position than him, and 2) that he was ashamed of those attitudes and eager to become a better person, very much in line with the arguably main theme of the book, that of second chances.

You can't be racist against the dominant class of people. That's not what racism is. Racism is what is propagated and perpetuated by the Alethi class system where those with dark eyes are of the lower class and those with light eyes are of the middle to upper class. What @Greywatch said is spot on. If anyone discussed here has experienced racism and classism in the story of Stormlight, I'd argue that experiencing these things has been a major part of Kaladin's character arc. 

Shallan is definitely racist, classist and all of the rest as well. I do not like what she is at this point in the story. She has her own issues, but the way she's dealt with them so far has been by being mean, vindictive and abusive towards the people around her, especially Kaladin. She's a bad person. And by the end of Book 3, she still hasn't quite begun to grapple with the true extent of her issues. 

It would be really cool if the first and last books rhyme. "Way of Kings, Knight of the Winds" would do the trick as someone else proposed. I think the title is going to rhyme, though.

Jasnah doesn't "have" a religion. She doesn't believe that Honor, or any of the Shards, or even Adonalsium, is a deity. It just means that she believes they are natural beings that do not need to be worshipped. You simply treat them as very powerful beings. That's what atheism essentially is. Even if there was some super powerful being that is capable of shaping planets and creating life, worshipping them is not necessary. Worship is a choice.

Fill this out!  I made a start already 

(each box is 143x138 pixels)

For the record, I know Brandon is never going to do it (unfortunately) but I am still on the Kadolin train

You should only give five clues  if people don't get it after five, you should just say who it is and then the next different person to post gets the next character.

Moash? 

that Atium misting noble who captures Vin in the 3rd book of Mistborn?

You got it @Honorless

Getting a bit closer, I guess.

1. This character usually works with the wealthier side of society.

2. This character is morally grey at best.

3. This character makes their living from a rather unconventional line of work.

4. This character hides a secret that makes them particularly effective at their job, but only on their home planet. 

Not even close so far.

Clues:

1. This character usually works with the wealthier side of society.

2. This character is morally grey at best.

3. This character makes their living from a rather unconventional line of work.

Clues:

1. This character usually works with the wealthier side of society.

2. This character is morally grey at best.

Hmm. I don't know about difficult, but I've got one. Let's see...

Clues:

1. This character usually works with the wealthier side of society.

Cads?

Ashu?

Kelsier?

The next person who posts a character gets to do it, so I propose someone who hasn't done a character in a while gets the next one.

Arsteel?

Mraize?

Suit? 

Treledees?