mariapapadia

Is it just me who likes the first two better? I know it's fantasy art and all that bla bla and I don't want this to sound in any way mean or anything like that, but the 2 new ones look a bit .. cheesy/ kitsch? Don't throw stones at me, please ! I understand that they are supposed to be made by two different artists even in the books, but I like the first ones better because I feel they are a good balance between modern and traditional. And that is what SA is to me. In the Jezrien and Vedel ones I feel like the background is a bit too much. It distracts me from the actual characters and Vedel's features look a bit odd to me.

Not sure if you saw this or if this is the place to post it, but there was a reviewer on Reddit who posted a really ambiguos review of OB, because he got and ARC. Looking through his replies to others, I saw this : I don't think Brandon wrote Adolin only with the purpose of providing a foil for other characters. I remember him stating multiple times that he doesn't like to do that and he tries to make each character "the hero of their own story". I am sure he will do Adolin justice, but the problem is that what you are expecting from him or what you or anyone else considers "doing him justice", might not be what Brandon has in store, so that always leaves room for dissapointments. But that's kind of the risk for everyone.

I see what you did there

Look at this beauty

I think this is exactly the reason why so many are following him ! It's not like the Alethi are the most moral class there is. He was the epitome of the Alethi society at that point in his life. I don't think they cared much who he killed, even if they were his own people, as long as he showed strenght and power. That's the whole reason why people started ridicule him since the beginning of WoK, because he wasn't showing the same barbarous character that made him famous. I don;t think they had a great love story, I am positively sure that Navani remained Dalinar's first great love throughout these years, but I have a feeling he got to love Evi as well, in a different way. I would argue that the reason it's not stated in the final version, that he hates her and he's only annoyed & frustrated could be a point to the posibility of him growing to love her. We don't see him living a relationship with her, we barely see some of their interaction in this chapter, so I wouldn't be so sure this sets the tone of their whole story. I think it's been three years where Dalinar didn't had any major events or personality changes happening, all this time he was wishing for more war. My feelings are that, after Dalinar realised why is he capable of, by thinking of killing his brother, his ferocity died down a bit and Evi's kindness was something that guided him towards a more stable path. Of course, this is only wishfull thinking from my part as I don't think we have enough information to predict something certain. I am really curious to see how Dalinar was between this incident and the time he was dead drunk in the night Gavilar died. I don't think he had any noble aspirations as he has now, but I doubt he remained constant for 20-30 years. I actually think the reason why it seems so familiar is a mix of a lot of elements from different things. For me it's this : As someone mentioned on another thread it has a certain Prometeus/ bible vibe to it. When I heard about the wall in the story, the first thing I thought of was the wall on the cover of OB and the wall from Luthadel. And then the white hair+the red scarf which reminded me of Warbreaker. It's either in ASoIF that someone ties themselves and hangs, to sleep, while they are climbing a wall. Or it's something I've seen rock climbers do. For some reason it reminded me of the book The Horse and his boy, from Chronicles of Narnia. I read it ages ago and I am positively sure there isn't anything similar to this story in it, except maybe a wall. And I remember something from another book, The Night Circus, where someone was in a tree looking over a village or something like that. This explanation has absolutely no sense or purpose for anyone rather than me but the point I am trying to make is : maybe there were so many familiar elements in the story, that our brains made us think we actually read a similar one, when in fact we didn't. Does this make any sense ?

Not that far from the trruth considering Veil's way of getting information I'm joking. But it kind of gives me a Preservation vibe, that's mostly unjustified. I'm just throwing stuff to the wall and see what sticks

Trust me, I'm the Doctor

oooh! I like this theory actually. I want to belive that the other spren/ creature imitating is not actually evil, but it's trying to comunicate in some way

I'd have to reread that to be sure. Some details are a little blurry in my mind right now and the rereading is going soooo slow I only read on the bus/metro on my way to work because I spent all my free time lurking on the Shard

YES!!! For me it was the red scarf the girl was wearing that made me think of Vasher's scarf. I doubt there is a connection, but it was a nice addition that I don't think was totaly unintentional. Haha! I had the same feeling a couple of weeks ago, but since last week I am convincing myself Dalinar is the author. The reason why I don't think it's Evi, is because I sumbled on a thread talking about fake deaths in Sanderson's work and some critiques about his overusage of them. He replied to that on a Reddit post stating that although he'll use some more fake deaths in the future, there isn't anything planned out for the near future.. So, even if we don't know much about Evi or the circumstances of her death(or non death) so far, I don't think he'll pull another fake one so close to WoR. YESSSS! I have the same feeling, but I can't put my finger on it why. UGHHH! It's frustrating! I don't think Adolin did anything bad in telling Shallan, because it's obvious he wasn't doing it with malicious intentions, but it irks me a bit that he didn't thought of letting Kaladin tell her that personally. Actually, the whole passage read a bit odd for me, because even though the implications were clear for Shallan, for a second I got the impression Adolin didn't made the connection that Kaladin actually killed her brother. Maybe that's why he spilled the beans. Anyway. Yes! I was thinking the same thing! It would have been interesting, but I guess we'll have enough frustrating moments with Amaram as highprince, as we would've had with Ialai. So...Is everyone happy with how this week's chapters progressed ? I got a new wave of excitement for the book (if that is even possible at this point). I think Shallan's first chapter was one of my favourites so far. I like Evi, she seems kind and it bothers me that so many are treating her as weak of mind or plain. I really hope to see her and Dalinar bonding and growing into some sort of love/partnership after this episode he had. I actually like to think that she helped him become a better man and he grew to love her. I find the young Dalinar more interesting/ entertaining than the present one. I don't have anything against the present one and I wouldn't consider him boring, but from the begining of SA, he didn't spark my interest as other characters did. Sometimes his chapters would be quite a stuggle for me, so I was a bit worried that I wouldn't enjoy OB that much, but so far it's been great ! I actually think he wasn't present as much others in this first part. I have the feeling that Shallan has been leading the start of the book. Speaking of Shallan... OK! I will admit, that I actually enjoyed her slipping in and out of Veil and Radiant these chapters, it was interesting to read. But since she's pulling a Ginny Weasly now, not remembering stuff and having blanks , can we all admit that she's not on her way to recovery or getting better ?! Supressing another truth, gives me the impression that she still doesn't want to deal with her problems. Since she was hinting towards giving Amaram the benefit of the doubt, because she didn't know all the details, I wonder if she will be willing to do the same with Kaladin. I don't think it will be that easy, because I think she cares about him more than she does about Amaram and she will figure out that he knew he killed her brother and didn't tell her. Which means he lied to her and would hurt more coming from him.

Glad to know I am not the only crazy person shoving my nose in books. Write my name on it. Yes, I am that kind of person that needs to have the name and date on the front page of a book

Huh :-? @eveorjoy I just realised reading your post, that I am really excited to see LIft in this book. It's a wierd realisation for me, as I wan't such a big fan of hers in WoR, and while I enjoyed Edgedancer it didn't blew me away, but now all of a sudden I want to see more of her and I am interested in her interaction with Wyndle. Huh :-? Anyway! I know a lot of people are excited for her stealing everyone's lunch or for the Adolin/Lift edgedancer partnership, but I am most curios to see her interact with Shallan. It just came to my mind that Lift and Shallan both seemed to have had traumatic childhoods that made them really strong to the outside world, but I would love to see some kind of sisterly connection between the two of them. I know, it doesn't really fit with Shallan's crazy busy story so far, but I really want some girl friendships for once and since who knows when we'll see more of Shallan&Jasnah, this would be a nice substitute.

Haha ! Thank you for the suggestion ! I always wondered how it was made. I've just seen your title and I find it really funny that I'm dissing cheese, while you appear to be a fan of it I can do mozzarela only when it's melted. I guess it's kind of similar with halloumi because it's grilled. My OCD lets me eat chese only if it's melted , white and doesn't have any smell/ strong taste. Right ! I'm stoping with the 'cheesy' talk now

when you email all the bookstores in your city to make sure they will have OB on the release day & you take a day off from work to read it in one sitting

And my addition to this list is .... CHEESE ! I hate it ! It's smelly, it's disgusting, it has a wierd texture. UGH! When I was forced to eat it in preschool I puked because I hated it so much. The only redeemable one is halloumi. That's one of the best things and my only regret is not discovering it sooner.

I agree with everything you said, except ketchup I know it's gross, but I am a ketchup fanatic, all of my friends make fun of me that I would eat anything as long as it has ketchup on it. Anyway! I tried to read LOTR so many times, but I could get into it so I just gave up and watched the movies( which I really enjoyed). It's wierd, because I tried reading the books after I really got into high fantasy, so I felt like I shouldn't have had problems. The Hobbit movies shouldn't exist

I think this is a matter of when you discovered HP. I was part of the HP generation, I think I was about 9 when the first movie came out , so I grew up with the books and waited every night before the books where released, to get them. I rememeber skipping school just so I can read them in one sitting. And back then it was one of the first things of this magnitude to come out. My belief is that most of the hardcore HP fans are like this because of the experience of growing up with it, I know a lot of people who discovered it later and had a similiar opinion to yours (granted I don't know when you first had contact with it, so I'm just assuming). I reread them once or twice a year, but I am curios if I would have the same feelings if I would've discover it after the initial hype.

Thankt you ! I think you are the only person who I've found thinking thinking that the GOT show is not good. I secretly have the same opinion, but people jump on me whenever I say it, so I'm just hating in silence After seasons 3-4 it went downhill for me , so I just stopped watching. Ahhhh! You ruined it with this

Ahh! This is one of those instances where I just want to blab about my eternal love for Sanderson and since I have no one IRL to do that with (all my friends and family have banned me from talking so much about him), I'll to it on the internet. That's how life works, eh ? I discovered Brandon, about 2 and a half years ago, which is not much in terms of how long he's been popular or relevant. But ever since the summer of 2015, when I first picked Mistborn, I couldn't enjoy another book that wasn't one written by him. Which is a real stuggle now because I love reading, but I am so critical of everything I read. The main reason I love his writing are his characters. Reading about them is like reading about actual people. I love how he manages to achieve what he is preaching, by making every character the hero of his/her own story. Of course, when it comes to liking characters, there are some I absolutely love and some that I hate. But even with the ones I hate, I don't hate them because of how they are written, but their motives/personal taste etc. This is what makes it so great for me, that he can show (not just tell) about the stuggles one is having and how far they have come. I find a lot of comfort in reading and I like to get attached to what I read and get immersed in the world. That's why small details about someone who is not a main focus, or about the world, every little thing makes me belive there is a world behind what I am reading, that after I close the book or finish a certain scene those people will continue on with their lives. In a time where introducing diverse characters in literature has become more of a trend or a checklist and I feel every new author that comes out is competing for "the most diverse book/character", Brandon does that so masterfully, that one can see it's not for the "trend" purposes. I have a problem when authors start defining or basing their characters only on religion/sexuality/race etc. A real person is more than their religion, sex, disability or race, and I feel like Brandon manages to express that really well. And then there is the reason why I love him as a person. I've never had the opportunity of meeting him so far, but watching his lectures online or his pannels at conventions and such, make me feel he is so genuine. Like someone said above, he is firstly a fan. His presence appears to be so positive and even if I have no interest in creative writing as a profesion, it was so fascinating listening to his lectures. You can tell that he loves to teach and the fact that he's still doing it, even if he doesn't get that many financial benefits from it, shows that his heart is in the right place. As I said, I get very attached to what I am reading and most of the time I hold some books to a greater level, not because of the masterpieces they are, but of the impact they had on me at a certain point in my life. For the longest time my favourite book(author) has been the first one I read on my own (an obscure children's book about a magic closet and a plastic indian that comes to life) and even Harry Potter couldn't take that first spot. That was until Brandon, I am aware that Sanderson is a human and what he writes has its flaws sometimes, but I honestly don't think I'll enjoy other books in my lifetime, as much as I enjoyed his. I could ramble more, but this is already too long and I need to sleep.

Hah! Moving into a new place and starting a new job really took all of my time these past few weeks, so I am happy this week I had 6 chapters to read instead of 3. And that really made a difference on how I feel the story! I've seen a lot of people complaining about the pace of the story or one thing or another, but having a bigger chunck to read really does change things ! I feel like people are forgeting also, we are quite early in the book. For me WoK picked up somewhere around the middle, but we already had some intense chapters, these weeks.This has been said multiple times, but looking so close into something and hyper-analyzing everything, takes away from the reading experience a bit. I feel like everyone creates certain expectations that of course won't be achieved in 3 chapters per week, so we get dissapointed in what we don't have, instead of looking at the bigger picture. I am sure that once the book is out, reading the first part would be a totally different experience The chapter epigraphs are finally giving a bit more clues. Kaladin's arc... hmm, I remember first reading WoK and thinking his chapters were so boring and he was doing the same thing. When I reread the book, it felt like a whole different story. So I am hoping once I have the whole thing in my hands I will enjoy his arc more. I woudn't worry so much, because I don't think it will drag for much longer with teaching parshendi. All in all, I don't have much to add, but I'm excited we have less than one month to wait !

This is a problem I am struggling with since I joined the Shard. I have a lot of expectations when it comes to certain characters and I am struggling to not be to be involved in the disscusions or skip them. When it comes to theories about the world I find it fun, but when it's about character development & character's arcs it's too much for me. That being said, we can't stop the theorizing as much as we want to, so having a different thread for this kinds of topics I think is the way to go

My guess would be it's because no one really thinks about the others mental/emotional state. Like why no one is wondering how Renarin is taking being a Radiant? We didn't see a lot of mourning for Jasnah's death from the characters that were closer to her and so on. Especially giving the bigger problems happening in the world, I don't think anyones feelings are on their mind. The only people that I find plausible to think about how Adolin is taking it, are Shallan ( who is too self absorbed & not in the best mental state right now ), Dalinar (who has a lot on his mind and he doesn't think about Renarin either) and Renarin& Navani and we don't get any POV from them. I actually though it crossed Renarin's mind when he came to see Adolin in the previous chapters. Also, am I the only one who noticed that Kaladin was thinking about his escaping attempts as a slave and mentioned a girl? I wonder if we'll get a flashback from that time or it was just random.

No, I'm not Swedish, but I've been living in Stockholm for a year. What I've seen of Göteborg was really nice

Where in Sweden do you live ?

Brandon states in one of his lecture about how to build characters, that you have to find a balance when it comes to them, otherwise they will end up being either "too perfect" or "too weak" (or something along those lines). He then proceeds to explain how one can chose 3 main traits for a character like : pro-active, likeable and smart. And it explains that if the level is up on all 3, the character is to perfect, so depending on what suits the story best, he could chose to make him less pro-active, super likeable and average smart. And that makes the character have some "handicaps" or flaws depending on the traits he choses to exploit. If we are to analize every character in the book we could apply this pattern. Adolin in my opinion is super likeable for the reader and people around him, he is kind and nice, he's also a warrior and handome and the list goes on. So if Brandon gives him something, he also has to take something. And we see Adolin's handicaps when it's difficult for him to connect, when he let his anger overcome him with Sadeas and so on and so forth. It all balances out. This is why I think Sanderson's characters are the best I've ever read and they get people so invested. They are so complex and interestesting to read even if they are a street urchin that appears for one chapter, or a main character that has the leading POV.