Bliev

I just have to say, Kaladin may be the only main POV in the entire cosmere whose parents (a) are *both* alive and (b) have ACTUAL NAMES. And now they are all BACK TOGETHER AGAIN in Urithiru. Lucky boy! Let's see if that lasts the entire book, shall we?

lol I just pictured him saying this. It fits. Although maybe there's an anti-Wyndle cultivation spren out there who is more lenient on the whole touchy-feely stuff haha. "Forgotten? You know who's forgotten? ME I AM FORGOTTEN. Not even my children listen to me..."

THat's what I hope too. I think we will. I like how this last chapter was planting the seeds of confusion about T among the coalition and the thin ice he's on. It will be interesting to compare his interactions with Odium with Venli's and Moash's from prior books: is he numb, like Moash? Scared, like Venli? Is he still holding out hope that he can act differently from Odium's will? Is he still having good/bad days and what does Odium think about that? So much to figure out.

To be fair, life kinda sucks for everyone in SA. lol They're all suffering. Pool Kal just has clinical depression on top of the whole apocalypse thing. ;-) But I think Moash won't kill his parent(s)--my pie in the sky guess is that Kal will swear his 4th ideal when he accepts his father's choice to sacrifice himself for his family, but that his mother and his brother survive and then as Moash turns to Kal, his plate will protect him. It's possible that Brandon will grant Kal a reprieve by making Lirin an edgedancer or some such, paralleling the major "failure" Kal feels by seeing Elhokar murdered as he was speaking the first ideal, by letting Lirin finish it and survive.

This was how I interpreted it as well. The coalition does not know about his condition, so they think his whole slow of mind thing was a full on act, when really it was just an act some of the time. I feel better that Dalinar seems to have the correct read on him, though. He’s an enemy we know and understand. But I think the mystery left with him is “will he or won’t he” when it comes down to it, as well as some of the other theories about what will happen when he hits his “most compassionate day” if his “smartest day” produced the diagram.

Agreed. They can't fight the Fused AND the Skybreakers effectively without more Honorspren. And surely the rest of the Honorspren know this--Syl and Kal surely do (they spoke of it in earlier chapters). This is military decision making, and probably been in the hopper among the Windrunners for awhile, hoping that the Honorspren would just change their minds on their own but realizing that they need more Windrunners if they're going to survive. I think Queen Fen's comment re: navies is apropos here too--windrunners are needed to prevent aerial attacks. The coalition doesn't have any other aerial fighters than the Windrunners.

seems we are in the same boat. Usually I'd take the day off and read for 10 hours and be done. But RESPONSIBILITIES. blah. I'm doing a webinar Tuesday and have a faculty meeting Wednesday, but that's it. I'm reading the rest of the day. Well, if the toddler agrees, anyways.

I was waiting for you to comment on this. I'm going to have fun bantering back and forth with you re: adolin for the next few months, aren't I. In all seriousness, I liked this in-text confirmation of what Kal experienced from the Honorspren in Shadesmar too: Syl is an anomaly and, for being the "ancient daughter" is pretty condescended to, as if she was naive or stupid, I think. SF did this to her in WoK. I like that she has her autonomy to make her choices. I do think Sizgil is right here, though, Kal is a horrible diplomat. He's stubborn and ideological and honorable...very honorspren like, actually. haha

Same. I loved seeing it via Navani's perspective though, knowing what we know about the goals of the Fused. Poor Navani. Left behind with a demoted Kaladin and an outcast Renarin? Definitely setting up for a huge attack on Urithiru in the climax, maybe with Navani activating Urithiru. Makes me wonder about Navani's critic though. I've thought of a sleepless as a possibility for awhile and (Dawnshard spoilers) But what's the end game here? She is unsure of what they're offended by: sapient spren fabrials? the use of aluminum? what?

I would never have guessed Shallan's secret--she's really a Sleepless? No wonder she had so many personalities. She's made up of thousands of hordelings after all. I am a bit surprised that Adolin didn't figure that out sooner though...

I love seeing their internal struggles with change, even as the world changes around them. It adds such nice depth to the story. I can see why Brandon presumably enjoyed writing Navani so much in this book. That's what I think. I think this, combined with his conversation/argument in the pub with Kaladin suggests as much. We may not see much from his POV during their expedition, but it gives a good pretense for why he might not notice some of Shallan's struggles as they travel, if he's distracted by his investment in Maya.

Nikli also says: Which suggests that they are out there protecting multiple planets, not just Roshar. That could refer to the fact that the Dawnshards could threaten more than just Roshar, or that they've seen more than one planet destroyed, or both. Then again, they only have taken over protecting the Dawnshards because the larkins have gone mostly extinct. So that wasn't their original intent, apparently. So I guess I would interpret it as such: 1. They have seen the effects of the dawnshards on either their homeworld or another world they have inhabited (e.g., Ashyn, Threnody). 2. They were not originally the protectors of the DS but now are because the original guardians are no more (or, rather, were). 3. Thus they now protect planets by protecting the DS. But what other planets are they on now? Brandon said the hordelings originally looked like spiders, which might suggest Scadrial? But Scadrial is a young planet...and post-dates the shattering. So that seems...unlikely? He RAFOed whether we've seen them on other planets yet, though if we did, they wouldn't be humanoid, so it would have to be some reference to a bug.

Yes, I was thinking about this. For radiants, they're often described as having an intent, yes, but they put those into thoughts/words in combination with their spren. Maybe the human-spren communication serves as a Command in this sense. "Be a Syl-Blade" or "Heal this person"...you have to want to do it, yes, but in some magics the Command/Intent is combined more so than in others? Because so much of this happens in the mind--the cognitive--as a conduit from spiritual to physical.

Not to my mind. I think based on Brandon's responses that Hoid had one whose command was about "life" or "pacifism" or "care" (hence his inability to eat meat [something that was once alive] or cause harm to a living being)--maybe "LIVE". I think the one Rysn has is pretty clearly "CHANGE". And I think that one seems more like "UNITE" or "BOND" (maybe what Dalinar is hearing in the distance in some of those visions?). But I think some others who are more clever than I have some pretty good guesses as to what the four Dawnshard Commands might be on some other threads!

I wonder if it has anything to do with using the dawnshard. Because the annotations also say that Rysn cannot use it, which may limit the long term effects on her spirit web?

I think the fact they call them “luck spren” is a quirk of naming and not really bc they’re lucky. So we will want to be careful to infer that they act as other spren and are attracted to “luck”. Rather I think it’s likely that they’re culturally associated with lucky outcomes because mandras are found around great shells etc. due to their bonds, and rosharan economic reliance on great shell hunts and gem hearts. I wonder if they’re sentient—like radiant or protoradiant spren or if they’re not. Would be a good wob.

I love the idea of a dawnshard Command being what Dalinar hears and what is associated with the golden warmth and light he feels. I think these categories are good, but I might call “care” purpose instead?

That's how I read it too. I think Kal is confused and resigned to his fate. Lirin is still hopeful that he can "save" his son from the path of destruction he's chosen. Really, I think Lirin is misguided but it comes from a place of anxious protection--which, again, is very very Kaladin, right? You also see why Kal might have been comfortable around Shallan with her puns and wit--given how his mother seems to have played that role with his father. I think both Lirin and Kal will grow together as they're forced to work together, but now with the experiences that Kal has had in his life since he left Hearthstone. Thinking from Lirin's perspective, there's no greater sense of failure as a parent than to lose a child, even if it is not your fault. He lost Tien and then Kal ran after him. Lirin lost them both, and felt it was his fault. Tien died, Kal might as well have been dead for all they knew. Now Kal is back. It's a miracle! But is it the same boy that Lirin remembered? Lirin wants to go back the same way that Kal said he kind of wished that *he* could go back. They deal with their trauma differently, but they are similar personalities. Lirin, ironically, seems to dissociate in some ways like Shallan does. He just...doesn't address it. I do think that with laral here, it sets up Kal+Laral phase 2, at least as a growth device if not a proper ship.

I appreciate this a lot. I love that he's being inclusive--thinking about the human experience broadly and how various types of people would live in this world he created. It speaks to how much he loves his worlds and his creations that he wants to represent the human experience in a wide variety of ways. I really appreciate how Jasnah has been written so far--and how thoughtful he is about the fandom, but also the authenticity of his characterization. He creates a character and then figures out--what makes them tick? Who would they be if they lived IRL, and how would they think? And when he feels that he doesn't have enough info to write it well, he does his research. I've been very happy to see him avoid the r/MenWritingWomen tropes that all of us women have seen emerge, sometimes particularly in fantasy. Turned me off of SOOOOO many fantasy writers as I grew up.

I'm hoping for a Leshwi interlude.

I love love love the parallelism here between Kal and his dad. I've been saying how similar they are--and here we see just how alike they both are. Feeling needed and useful is the drug for both of them. Did you see how Lirin perked up when he realized he still had a purpose?? It's like Kal looking in a mirror, yet neither of them can see themselves in the other. Though Kal almost did. And that's a point of growth. I think this will be such an important journey for both of them, and in a way, it mirrors Adolin and Dalinar--who are you beyond being your father's son? What do you want? How can you acknowledge your parent's influence while not letting them forge your own path. So exciting to see. Overall, though, poor Hesina--so many brooding men in her life. She needs Syl more than anyone! :-)

This is how I see it. We think growth is linear, but it often is not--it's not always in our nature to grow monotonically--particularly as many of his characters are truly traumatized. I'll also say that the time is likely relevant. So, how much "growth" can you expect from a person over the course of a month? Some of Brandon's books are only taking up that much time. So I think this is what is often being seen. I'll say this about this quote: I think this is actually her character as is meant to be written. She dissociates so much that we are supposed to feel this disconnect and frustration because she can't put it all together. Overall, though, I think Brandon cares more about plot on a micro scale and character on a macro scale--meaning each book is meant to move swiftly through the plot points and keep a reader engaged, and at the end of a series (e.g., SA), the character growth will be obvious. This isn't to everyone's taste. I've always liked plot-driven, dialogue-heavy types of pieces, particularly with witty word play (e.g., my adoration for the GOAT Jane Austen), but some people prefer more exposition and character unraveling. I think that's completely fair as a critique. This is particularly the case for his non viewpoint characters who can seem shallower, when it's more likely that he just isn't telling us or showing us what they're thinking, intentionally.

Yes, I kind of envision it like Heralds:Vorinism as Jesus:Christianity. The Heralds wouldn't have been Vorin in the same way as Vorinism is practiced, so they would have been expected to be exempt from the rules afforded to normal folks. And, as you helpfully note, the Heralds were all warriors, which is what the safehand gender norms are meant to exclude women from doing. It would not make sense for a Herald to have a left hand she is not supposed to use, while wielding an honor blade. Though it does make it an interesting choice.

The context seems to be asked in the present tense. It was asked in 2018 as "Has Kelsier done any worldhopping?" which seems fairly straightforward. I suppose you're right that he didn't say "no" specifically, but I think his answer is pretty clearly a negative and not meant to be squirrelly like he sometimes is. He answers that " It is possible to get off-world but he does not know what it is," which feels pretty definitive that he doesn't know how to worldhop. You're right that Brandon said in 2016 that a body would be helpful if one wanted to worldhop, but it was a more general answer after he pretty specifically threw cold water on Kelsier's ability to leave Scadrial. Though I think it's pretty clear on both of these WOBs that YMMV. Definitely different ways to interpret it. Regardless, although I'd love to see Kel more, I doubt that Brandon will put such an important plot point in the hands of an unknown character dropped in from another planet that only a subset of readers would understand. It seems--unlikely--at this stage. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's a bread crumb trail that we won't find out about until the back 5, where the cosmere interconnections will be more fleshed out, but I doubt it.

Excellent point. My bad! I apparently have been up for too long! @Erklitt this also answers your question. But it does present a different issue. If Highly Invested Cog Shadow Kelsier made it off world, why do you need Restares for the secret to get stormlight off world? In 2018, Brandon said that Kelsier did not know how to do this anyways: https://wob.coppermind.net/events/360-legion-release-party/#e10799