Mondaysjelly

I was browsing the Magic cards he got as gifts. Someone should send him one with just RAFO on the back. That'll teach him.

It's been confirmed. EDIT: Darn! Beaten to it.

The following WoB seems to indicate Odium.

With Brandon's concept of having each series as individually consumable entries within the Cosmere, I highly doubt that it is an allusion to uniting Adonalsium. In my mind, it will still be Roshar-centric and I personally am a fan of the unity of all the regions and races of Roshar, Parshendi, Shin, Amians and Humans. As a side note, I'm still skeptical of the theory that Dalinar Ascended during the final moments of OB. The scope of his Ascendancy (Ascension?) seem so much more limited than everything we know about other characters that have Ascended. It is heavily hinted throughout the book that the current incarnation of the Stormfather is different from previous ones since Honour was killed. I suspect that Dalinar is capable of these feats is because he has bonded the most "powerful" version of the Stormfather, because it is more of a Splinter than it formerly was.

If memory serves me correctly, Jasnah returns at the end of Part 1 but the reason of the Recreance does not get revealed until much later in the book (Part 4 I think?), even though she participates in Dalinar's visions multiple times. I would've thought that that kind of information would be one of the first things she discusses once she reaches Urithiru. Furthermore, she puzzingly also does not seem to have any pre-established insight when the KR gather to discuss the Fused when Kaladin returns. Unless she is deliberately withholding information, I can't for the life of me figure out what kind of reconnaissance she did while trapped in Shadesmar, plus whatever info Wit decided to share with her after they met up.

Hi all, I was one of the lucky people who was able to obtain a copy of OB ahead of time and absolutely devoured it like a starving kid with chocolate on Halloween. Which means I may have flew past things on my first read, so apologies in advance. One thing that has been gnawing at the back of my mind since I started my second read through (which is a slow burn), is that how Jasnah and Wit's journey got glossed over. Unless I have missed something, all the big reveals within the book have come from events happening "in real time", save for flashback scenes of course. It seems like the bounty of information Jasnah gathered during her travels in Shadesmar did not appear at all, especially since she had communicated with the highspren. I was kind of looking forward to dissecting the information on "what was different" from previous Desolations that was alluded to at the end of WoR. Please tell me this is bugging someone else and that I'm not crazy.

Voted Raysium. Sazedium > Harmonium

Praise Domi!

Are we taking for granted that the Regrowth Renarin is using is from actual Surgebinding? Maybe it's purely the Voidbinding version. Sure, the consensual theory is that voidlight fuels Voidbinding and we have not seen Renarin have any contact with voidlight, but maybe it is as others suggest that Investiture is Investiture. Is it possible that Renarin is using Stormlight to fuel his Voidbinding?

This feels almost like the discussion I constantly have with friends around Green Lantern's Power Ring. Rather than the fancy boxing gloves or tanks, just wrap the head or neck and choke them to submission/death. Easy. For a shard, my opinion is that the following allows the best of deadliness and flexibility:

Water as the minor for Mist perhaps?

Ah thanks. I must have missed it on my first read through. Makes sense why they needed to summon the Everstorm this time around to gain access to Voidlight.

I don't think unlimited Voidlight is necessarily a trait for Voidbringers, nor is it to do with direct connection to Odium. Unless I'm mistaken, in Dalinar's visions, the KRs seem to have neverending Stormlight as well judging by the absence of spheres on the radiants. I don't recall having read about an alternative method of storing Stormlight on the person either.

With Amaram now out of the picture, Sons of Honour will now certainly make a move. As mentioned in the Adolin-Shallan-Kaladin thread, I suspect tensions in that dynamic will eventually lead to Navani revealing more about her troubled relationship with Gavilar before his death, which will tie in nicely with Restares and the Sons of Honour popping up.

Wow, interesting. Not wishing to detract this thread any further, but thanks for sourcing that @PhineasGage

Huh? Is this true?

It is probable that knowing the potential of the gem, he might have wanted it to trap one of the godsprens. Trap the Stormfather or Nightwatcher maybe?

All your Lightweavings are belong to me.

I will protect the living, with the strength of the fallen.

As with most people, I felt like the milestone was a bit unsatisfying but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's not yet resolved. I predict that: With Shallan's mental status quo more or less similar by OB's end, I reckon she'll still struggle with consolidating the multiple personalities and her involvement with the Ghostbloods. And until she confesses to Adolin about her dark past as he did to her (Sadeas), there is a wedge there that could cause tension between the couple. I see her confiding in either Kaladin or Navani, the latter which will bring up her own as yet unrevealed relationship experiences with her ex-husband, that may widen the fissures. I suspect Sadeas' murder will play a more prominent role in Adolin's arc next book. Being a good man, I foresee him juggling the consequences of that with his "multiple" wives and Shallan's ulterior agenda with the Ghostbloods. Since it is a recurring theme in the books that the Kholin family are "tradition breakers", what with Dalinar marrying Navani and Jasnah becoming queen of Alethkar, it is entirely possible that they might be the couple that divorces, which is a concept that hasn't been really explored yet in this series. With Book 4 ending that Shallan is pregnant...

What if Odium isn't Odium? Maybe this "Passion" is just an avatar of Odium's or a godspren (the Sibling?) that has been corrupted by Odium? I'm at work so I don't have the actual book with me to reference so apologies in advance. But the 2 things that stand out for me are: The constant reminder that voidspren bonding humans is a new technique for Odium. A subset of Rosharians worship the Passions. Sure, this could be construed as humans arriving on Roshar along with Odium as Voidbringers but I think this doesn't add up. Why would the native Rosharians allow them Shinovar if they came in all-guns blazing to conquer? My tip is that this "Passion" already existed before then. They're pretty weak connections I suppose but something just doesn't feel right. This Odium seems like it has been speaking through a filter.

It's based off the theory that Bavadin (who holds Autonomy) appears as multiple personas on Taldain. Hence the collective self reference. And of course her supposed personal grudge with Hoid. EDIT - Must refresh more...

I'm still suspicious of Sja-anat. I don't think she's (it?) voluntarily wanting to join team KR. I think everything that has happened is a ploy, it will be one of the double-crosses we see in SLA IV. If they manage to find her/it that is.

I wonder whether Cryptic Lightweaving compounds with Hoid's supposed Yolen version.

I must admit that I was unsatisfied after completing the book. Not disappointed mind you. As a book, it is a literary work of art and IMHO, unequivocally Brandon's best work to date. Having followed his career since the Elantris days, it is both a joy and privilege to experience his craft grow with each passing piece of work, from writing style, story lay out, characterisations through to pacing. It's a triumphant culmination of all the learnings he's amassed through the years. As a fan however, I didn't feel as fulfilled as I did when I finished either TWoK or WoR. The reason I suspect is because of how scattered the PoVs were in the final chapters. With the action coming thick and fast, it was understandable that you'd want to flash cut to events that were occurring simultaneously, but the unfortunate consequence of this was that I felt being forced to let go of the character emotions just after having been engrossed in the moment. It was as if I was Eddie Murphy in Coming to America being asked to play all the different characters in sequence on screen without the time necessary to get in character. In contrast to TWoK and WoR where the focus was on a subset of the main cast, the more extensive PoVs allowed me to immerse myself in the given situation and appreciate what was happening to that specific character, which resonated better with how the story unfolded. While the pacing of how the events were laid out was fantastic, I felt the balance just wasn't there to absorb the full spectrum of emotions from all the different characters. On a more personal level, I had hoped that the Kaladin Shallan romantic tension didn't fizzle out as quickly as it did after all the extensive seeding that happened in WoR and the early parts of OB. Although it might still change until she confesses her dark past to Adolin. I suppose I'm not fussed who she ends up with, but had hoped the seed would mature to more of a story between the cast. Ultimately it was a dream ride and represented a book that delivered on not only all my expectations but exceeded them easily. Can't wait for the next one!