Mr. Staccato

It would be cool if just once there was a magic system in any Sanderson books that wasn't actually related to any of the shards. Also, just wondering since the idea you pointed out was unique - where'd you get the impression that Sandmastery might be something Autonomy wanted to eradicate?

Not likely. You have to witness something to recollect it - otherwise, you wouldn't be remembering memories, you'd be making them. Even if you argue for semi-consciousness, it's not as if we can actually recall what it is that we do during those half-lucid states. I for one think storing memories is a little bit like painting a canvas. We capture things as they are but the more we "air" the memory out the higher the potential for the memory to deteriorate. So compounding it would be like - I don't know - transferring the paint unto sturdier stuff? Like engraving it on metal? It doesn't exactly duplicate it - and it's not like compounding memory can somehow sharpen or add depth to a memory if there was no depth to the memory to begin with. That would be just weird. I think it simply "burns" the memory completely into the mind so that it would be impossible to ever forget - not perfect recollection per say. If you compound the memory it simply preserves it at the state it was currently stored, but in exchange it will never lose detail, and storing it afterwards would simply copy it but not remove the memory from the compounder.

Now I'm real curious - how do you do laundry medieval style? And how in the world does Hoid know how to do something like that? The Nightwatcher can do you one better! She gives you a library of never-ending books whose genre randomly shifts day by day and this world of books is in a pocket dimension that can be entered by shoving yourself face first into a pair of jeans that you own - think Narnia style but with clothing. However, you must now take care to never lose this pair of jeans - you must never wash it, never wear it (unless you want your legs sticking out somewhere else), and most of all - you must always ALWAYS keep track of it unless you want it to accidentally end up in the laundry or at goodwill. Oh and your bane is that everytime someone asks you what time it is, the only thing that comes out of your mouth are the following words: I am just another Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock looking for her Crap Bag. (Kudos if you get the reference ) Oh, and I wish for... ...a better world! (And no I don't mean the afterlife~)

The pace, I guess? Or maybe I'm just getting jaded with epic fantasy books that aren't Sanderson but I hope that isn't the case because the last thing I want to happen is for me to become a literary snob. I guess it has more to do with personal taste but I guess it also has to do with the fight scenes and the reveals? Man I don't know I can't think of an explanation for my wariness to the series that wouldn't make me sound like someone nitpicking at the most inconsequential of things. So I'd rather not get into too much about it. What about you @StormingTexan? What did you really like about the series? Maybe your appreciation for the books would rub off on mine.

I probably forgot about the concept of Focus somewhere around the time I started reading the later Mistborn releases, but reading this post has just snapped me back. And I agree - Surgebinding in Roshar seems to be such a magnanimous system of magic that it's very very hard to pinpoint what actually fuels or focuses the magic into acting this way. But if you define focus as the commonality or what determines the shape and function of a particular manifestation of investiture, then do the specific Oaths the Radiants swear by count? Every order of the Radiants do have their own seperate beliefs and as far as I can remember, don't they lose access to the surges when they break their pacts? Also, remember that it's the likelihood of a person swearing the oaths specific to an order that primarily attracts the spren that historically speaking is the one that should be affiliated to the order in question. Or at least, that's my take on head-canon from all this. Also it's true that the two surges thing per radiant type is confusing - but then again maybe it isn't. Maybe we're just looking at it in a very narrow perspective. Have you ever read up on the Ten Arcanas of Mage: The Ascension? Each mage there has access to two specifc forms of power depending on what Tower claimed them, and their explanation for this in-universe is that the two magics aren't distinct, they're complimentary and to divide one from the other simply isn't conceivable. It's a stretch but maybe the oaths are the focus and the spren's bond to the radiant the catalyst to the entire system. It's an unsatisfactory explanation I know and I wish I had more but that's all I got at the moment.

Does anybody here know of the Riyria Revelations? I've stopped reading it for a while now in favor of writing fanfiction and I was contemplating whether or not to finish it because of certain things that's been bothering me about the series and I was just going to ask - does the story get better after Theft of Swords? Because I'd really like to focus in on Glenn Cook after I'm done but if some of you sharders think it's a good enough read then maybe just maybe I'll keep at it.

Granted. The cat looks like this. Your bane is that you now always trip every time you're on camera. I wish for the 17th Shard to be attacked by a pack of ravenous birds - who will not somehow inexplicably try and hurt me. Why? Because I am evil, muwahahahaha!

@Extesian As an avid reader myself, the part about really, really got to me. That was a cruel trick and likable or not I couldn't blame the master overseeing it to end up getting royally pissed off but it just felt so much like a lowblow. And yes, as an aspiring writer as well Rothfuss' prose is less story and more poem but it never, ever gets too purple or detailed AF - which is just. So. Beautiful. I mean if you didn't like Kvothe, Rothfuss' way of writing was in itself an incentive to read - he had a way to make cobblestoned streets and hidden alcoves in churches and high up balconies like raven nests sound SO GORGEOUS. I mean, Brandon is awesome but Patrick Rothfuss is a tablet of raw, undiluted opiates for an epic fantasy geek like me.

Er... yes. It does. Exist, I mean. Maybe you just got the thread confused for one of Brandon's books but The Name of the Wind really is a book and is one of the most epic of epic fantasies in current literature. Okay first off I will agree with you that yes Kvoth has not been the most pleasant of narrators I've ever encountered. Yes he has a bit of a defiant streak and yes I will agree that he can be a bit of a blowhard at times. It doesn't help that he's unapologetic and obsessive and, well, he's a stud, okay? He is. But I think that it speaks volumes of Rothfuss' writing style that he can make someone like us dislike him. I think that was the entire point - Rothfuss was not in the business of writing a likable defence of his characters, instead he gets the tone and the persona just right of a young mage with enough talent and grit to think that he is perfectly justified to be carrying around an ego like that. And if there is one thing I will give credit to Kvoth for, it's that he isn't inherently sorry about stuff - better an honest windbag than an oily snake play-acting at a moral standpoint. As for the reveal, well we really can't blame the author for the devices he implements in writing a story - it is his choice afterall, but yes I get where you're going. My first time reading Name of the Wind I couldn't stand Kvoth - so instead of disliking him for his misplaced-priority-laden life and his general aura of pride and hubris, I learned to appreciate him for his authenticity and for the way he carried his unapologetic stance on life. Once I got there, the entire bookmgot easier to read.

I think I just blew a circuit trying to internalize that statement.

The Nightwatcher grants you the mechanical expertise required to do such things (assuming that the LG31 you're talking about is the one I am aware of). Congratulations! You are now a perfectly competent mechanic. As for your bane, the Nightwatcher decides to sic this on you. If it's in a word, or if it's in a look, you are now hunted by the Babadook. I wish I didn't watch those 6 horror movies back to back yesterday evening. Because now I am a battered wretch of a human being.

Where in the world did you get pancakes in this place? All these years of being force fed invested dental fillings read: cookies, and now all of a sudden there are pancakes in the Shard? I smell injustice... and burning stuff. Be right back. And oh. Hello @Elisar and welcome to the 17th Shard!

So far I've seen Shalladin, Shadolin, Jasnah and Kaladin and one memorable instance of some other thread going for a Jasnah and Shallan pairing. So many possible ships - even Szeth and Eshonai are getting dragged into the mix, yet why am I the only one who seems to think that Renarin and Shallan could be a good pairing? *sniff**sniff* *sniff* I just want my OTP to have representation... Is that too much to ask? *sniff*

Fingers stained by the horizon, he painted. Vermilion to his viridian, she died. Soft lips appease the aching blue, yet hope faded in marbled greys. Red is the dying and loving. Meat and milk on his bones. He wanders pastel stained and sorry, cried, "I am my father's son." "I will always be sorry, love."

So I don't know if this has already been addressed in a Q&A somewhere (humor me - I am likely never going to be able to attend any one of Brandon's signings for purposes I would really rather not get into) but was there a reason why, as was said before, "Ambition was the first on Odium's hit list?" Is there a specific reason - maybe that Rayse found Ambition's shard holder to be threatening - that he eventually went for him? I mean, it wasn't for reasons of proximity because from what had been said before, Odium only ever decided to hunt down Devotion and Dominion because he couldn't find Ambition - so there must be a specific why as to Odium looking for Ambition. Even if the answers aren't there, it would still be fun to posit ideas as to why this was the case. So what do you think?

Okay so here's what I think. Theoretically shardblades can in fact do stuff like hemalurgy but to practice it is nigh impossible. Although the body in itself houses the spirit web, who can say that the spirit web itself inside a person actually resembles the body? One can argue that to an extent it does resemble it (hemalurgy being proof that it does have parallels) but I don't think that the spirit web itself strictly adheres to a form and shape in a human being that resembles any one of the bodily systems. I point this out because while hemalurgic constructs suffer from deformities because of changes and damages to the spirit web, the idea that we can somehow approximate changes like these by haphazardly chopping bits and pieces of our spirit web with a shardblade - or even with precision - is difficult because it relies on the idea that the entire spirit web resembles the body. So long story short I think its possible to let's say take apart a Thugs ability to burn pewter by damaging the spirit web, but I don't think that simply ramming a shardblade through any part of the body can cause such a specific removal of the spirit web. Even if hemalurgy dictates via bind points that it can remove allomantic and feurchemical powers, who is to say that a shardblade will accomplish the same thing if stabbed through a bind point? The idea is there and it works but the difference is just that. A hemalurgic spike is inherently surgical. Trying to use a shardblade for purposes close to hemalurgy is like, well, using a samurai sword on an operation. A scalpel and a katana can cut away a cyst, but no on in their right mind is ever going to use a katana for those purposes.

Odium is not pleased... I, on the other hand, am dying from laughter. Does it speak much about my sense of humour that I found this so ROFL worthy?

Here's to living outside the grid, fellow hermit! *breaks cookie in two, hands you the half* If you want, I can give you a cup of coffee with that. Whaddya say? *archs eyebrows up and down*

@jofwu @BeskarKomrk @The One Who Connects @maxal and basically everyone else who responded. Well, I guess I see the point - it's not like TSA's appeal came from that one scene alone, everybody read Stormlight because Stormlight is, you know, AWESOME. The cameos and storyhooks are just that -- cameos and storyhooks. Basically my only fear is that unlike some books out there which get movie or series adaptations, they can afford to have scenes dropped because they're basically time wasters or page thickeners or whatnot. But TSA is just, like, 600, 700 pages of character building and foreshadowing and so many many many things going on that I feel like the process of even converting one book into some kind of video adaptation will inevitably drop the ball on something necessary or another (I love the Harry Potter books but seriously, if you did not read any of the books, the movie logic will melt your brain into grey matter and frustrated, liquefied nerves). So okay I can live without Nightblade's cameo being not important - and I can also live with the worldhoppers at Purelake not appearing in the movie or whatever - but I just find it so frustrating that in the process of going with Stormlight first, we'll end up with so many things losing coherence and meaning. Then again, if the thing ever gets into television, I'll probably forget my outrage for the next thirty days as I slug through the cinematic experience. On a side note, I still think that if we're going to stick to one book, one movie, we'll either end up with a nearly two-hour spectacle focusing on the core character of the book (Movie 1 Kaladin), (Movie 2 Shallan), (Movie 3 Dalinar) alone with every interlude being dropped - or something like LoTR extended edition where every movie nearly reaches 4 hours. I can't help but think that either way I wouldn't mind haha.

OH MY GOD. I mean, sure, this far in the TCG people want to create new rules or make different mechanisms in the game meta but a mechanic that allows you to swarm the field with multiple monsters at a time? I mean, HAVE YOU EVER had someone Pendulum Summon all 3 Reactor monsters in the field instantaneously? Like, oh my God this is giving me fits. So annoying and plainly cheating. Monsters that have two effects and can be used as Spells? Sure. I'll take that, that sounds cool and gimmicky. But turn them into a "portal" for extra summoning? - it's like Konami is running out of ideas.

Hi @chop_ninja2 welcome to the Shard! If you want to give a shout out to someone in a thread without having to quote them on something just press shift on 2 to get the @ button out and put a name in, that way the name will stick out in your post. Anyway, yes, you don't have to worry about the cookies - they don't have any chocolate in them. It's tasty goodness comes from that sadomasochistic pleasure you get from ramming the cookie right down into your spine where they mess up your spiritweb and provide you all sorts of powers and communion to Harmony along with, er I mean, they're pure wheat and oatmeal with tasty, tasty glazed sugar! Zero carbs and fats! Perfect for losing weight and sapience and all that dietary stuff.

Hey guys I just realized something. Am I the only one who thinks that Vasher being Zahel in Roshar is somehow going to complicate things? I mean, I know if the movies get made they don't have to put too much backstory since they can pretty much just introduce elements over the course of the movie series - but what about Nightblood? The bit where Nale finally revealed he had Nightblood with him was doubly shocking because a lot of people who've read TSA have also read Warbreaker, but to a movie audience that particular bit isn't going to be shocking because there isn't any context to it. Either people aren't going to be surprised because they'll be like - Oh look a dark shardblade! Wonder where that mysteriously uptight man got it? - or they'll be like - I've read the books I've seen this coming typical random things people who know the book say about movies made after them yada yada yada - and well, you see where I'm getting at. I know this is a very minor point but I'm just very curious about this.

Oh wow you've read Jim Butcher too! Awesome! To be honest all the furies are awesome though I have some reservations with metal (don't get me wrong, it's epic!) but I'm a little more inclined to furycrafting where the fury actually takes shape. I'd like to say water because empathy and shapeshifting is way, way cool - but the average human being is horny more than 70% of the time and I don't want to be in the receiving end of that all. My second answer would be wood - it isn't flashy or anything, and there's little to no utility to it in the real word, but I liked the way Fidelias described the way his racoon wood fury looked like. Like stray bits of wood and shrubbery appearing alongside an interplay of shadow, a fury you can only see out of the corner of your eye. JUST AWESOME. So I would like a wood fury - I'd want him to appear as a golden monkey like Marisa Coulter's daemon from The Golden Compass and I'd call him Bartholomy.

That's to be expected. Though it's never explicit, I love the way Brandon puts religion into context in his books - I am deeply moved whenever he goes into detail about the intricacies of faith at the same time never putting up a blazing defense on the matter. It's always more of a 'take it as it is' matter to him. I am Christian, but I don't practice it - nor do I profess to be an atheist. See, where I live, people thinks it's cool to be an atheist - and I have nothing against atheism, some of my best friends are atheists and they happen to understand religion better than most people who are in religions. I just hate it when people arbitrarily declare themselves to be non-believers simply because they don't have faith - which to me just seems to be an excuse to be free of moral obligations - not knowing that most atheists arrive at that point because of an intensive scrutiny of their faith rather than simply reaching for an off-switch. Whenever people ask me about what I believe in I simply say I believe in something that doesn't adhere to how religions play it. But religion fascinates me in the sense that it teaches faith, and that I have also learned long ago that the simplest way to live your life without suffering from a crisis of faith is to simply believe that the concept of God and religion are mutually exclusive.