dionysus

I think you are on to something. The way Eshonai describes attuning to the different songs make the songs sound like something outside of the Parshendi, not created by the Parshendi. They attune themselves to mourning, or rage, or whatever and these songs are an expression of the fundamental essence of those concepts. Probably have something to do with the cognitive realm.

I definitely think it will be related to leadership. I also think it is pretty clear from the teaser chapters that Kaladin's story arc in WoR will be about accepting the burden of leadership, definitely for the Bridgeman and potentially for establishing the new KRs. Maybe something like "I will lead others along the righteous path."

I will make a great effort to go to the Houston signing. Tuesday, March 11, 2014 / Houston, TX 6:30pm Murder by the Book 2342 Bissonnet Street Houston, TX 77005 Does he normally take a lot of questions in an official Q&A or something? How does this site get some many WoBs? If so I am open to suggestions on what I should ask.

Possibly. Deep down I hope that the plateaus themselves are the crem covered ruins, and not stuff on the plateaus. Like each plateau is a irregularly shaped city block with centuries of crem deposits and wind erosion.

Have we discussed the revelations about the Shattered Plains much? If the entire Shattered Plains were one city that must have been one huge city. Like a city so big the technology we see in Stormlight Archive so far couldn't possibly sustain it. (Though Soulcasting food would probably solve alot of the input problems to the city.) Also interesting that this city was both human and Parshendi, though maybe not necessarily at the same time. Archaelogists would feel like they had died and gone to heaven if they could study Rosharian ruins. Crem really is amazing.

I think I am going to reread Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, and The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold. One of my favorite authors. For you Kaladin fans out there, Curse of Chalion features a main character called Cazaril whose story arc, determination, and moral code is very similar to Kaladin's.

Anyone speculated that that is the origin of the highstorms in the background?

I can't fully support your theory but I do agree that Cryptics are adonalsiumspren and the Broken One could refer to Adonalsium and be a reference for Cryptics in Shadesmar.

Pattern takes pleasure in misleading truths. Best way I can describe it. He takes pleasure in being "cryptic". Speaking the truth but in obscure and misleading ways. Admittedly limited screen time, but nothing in his behavior seems to imply he particular wants Shallan to become a better person. I really believe there is a lot going on in Roshar's realmatics that we haven't scratched the surface of. We need to keep our minds open. We actually have WoB that there are spren in Roshar that come directly from Adonalsium. Trying to force everything into Honor, Cultivation, or Odium's camp is probably wrong.

Wyndle refers to himself as a gardener and mentions that Cryptics came to visit his gardens. I feel he is not a Cryptic but I should probably go read that interlude again. Now that we have seen a Cryptic in action I find it hard to believe they are primarily of Cultivation.

I think he will have a decent justification for what he did to Kaladin from a destination before journey perspective, ends justify the means. But it will be a bad justification for a KR morality system of journey before destination. I think what we will find is that the ends justify the means guys will end up at times serving Odium, even though they are not horrible people. So I voted that he is OK. Though I don't like the phrasing. I meant that he is not a pure force for bad, just that he thinks he is doing the right thing from a utilitarian perspective. Honor seems like a student of Kant though so on Roshar it is not the right thing.

I also thought the latch was significant, especially if you believe no word should be wasted in a book.

Random thoughts in no particular order. -Hopefully, Kaladin goes straight to Dalinar in Chapter 10 and lets out his secret so the real awesomeness can happen. -Confirmation that Kaladin is one of a kind and a good chance he will be the most central of the characters. -Both Syl and Jasnah's spren defied orders to go to the physical realm. Wyndle did not and we don't know for Pattern. Realmatics discussion behind the spoiler having to do with Pattern's aptitude for abstraction: -Looks like we won't be seeing any windrunner bridgemen, and maybe we won't be seeing many honorspren KRs in general.

I don't want to sidetrack a thread about a good theory, but what gives us surety that Honor was splintered? Is it only because that is what Odium did on Elantris? The lack of rampant power running wild could perhaps be because the shard is still intact just without Tanavast as the holder?

Don't remember. I am 29 and my memory is fading sooner than it should! But some other nice poster already sent it to me so no worries. For proof, I refer you to this post on Oct. 29, 2013. Would be pretty devious to make that post 3 months before asking for the code all just to avoid 30 minutes of puzzle solving! http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/4360-whos-got-it/?p=70771

In preparation, can someone PM me the code phrase or this sites steelhunt code. I actually completed the Steelhunt but I never wrote it down. It just appeared in my autocomplete of my browser but that appears to have gone away since the last release and I don't want to take the 20 minutes to redo the Steelhunt.

I am not up to date on the current state of Herald tracking, but could this mean we saw Chach or alternatively a future radiant of his order? Isn't there a slight correlation to the herald symbol on the chapter and the chapter having something to do with that herald? Alternative, the chapter, while from Kal's POV is alot about Dalinar and maybe it is an indication of his order alignment (if he even is going to be a KR.)

Not much evidence of this but what if the betrayal wasn't the Radiants severing the bonds. Instead, humanity found a way to sever the parshendi at the end of the last desolation which created the parshmen. It would make a great plot point, simply because it would be an atrocity equal to genocide to remove the consciousness of an entire race of people.

I'll attempt to address your points: 1. I agree with you on the purpose of shardblades, but that doesn't change the fact that shardblades are weapons of mass destruction against people too. They cut through stone and metal with no resistance, so a regular weapon or shield cannot block them. Hence Kaladin's disadvantage with a spear, he couldn't block. You think Radiants weren't allowed to defend themselves with their blades just because their attacker was human? 2. Szeth was fighting shardbearers without radiant powers. His windrunner like powers allowed him to destroy them. Kaladin would be fighting Szeth, who also has windrunner like powers and probably more experience using them (though less efficient.) 3. Yes, a regular spear can take down Szeth. But Szeth has all the advantages Kaladin has plus a weapon that effortless slices through everything non-living, and that is a huge advantage.

Moogle, there are at least in-universe reasons that make sense for a lot of things: Kaladin's distrust of the nobility which is a central point of his character arc, Taravingian being pretty much a bad guy doing the opposite of journey before destination and overwhelming hubris (only I can save the world), Shallan not admitting to murder makes a lot of sense, etc. In say Wheel of Time, best friends would treat each other like children despite all evidence of competence, lovers would behave like they hated each other and never talk to each other ever, and no one would ever seek out help in the face of overwhelming odds no matter what, and untrained children would be sent to take on the equivalent of demi-gods. So yea it is refreshing.

If Kaladin is going to battle Szeth, you guys realize he is going to need a shardblade by the end of the book. A regular spear isn't going to cut it even though Kaladin is probably more powerful in his other abilities, and I don't think book 2 is going to lead to the forging of the inevitable shard spear. Probably more like book 5.

I don't see enough foreshadowing of this reveal in WoK, so I can't give it much chance. But you are right the quick change out of plate is problematic. Brandon really foreshadows any twists. Of course maybe we will get the foreshadowing in WoR or later books.

One other observation. It is so refreshing to read a fantasy novel where competent characters recognize the competence in other characters and behave accordingly by including each other in plans, working together, and sharing information. Too many authors generate tension in the story by having the main characters behave like complete imbeciles to each other even though the text tells us the are best friends, have deep respect, etc etc etc. The biggest example of this is the fact that Jasnah told Navani about Shallan's potential, and Navani recognizing the importance. But also her willingness to teach Shallan so she can reach her potential.

I agree with this given the information we have. I'll add that Syl was a KR spren and she didn't die, just was severely diminished and lost most of her cognitive function. So perhaps the spren didn't die, but they also didn't return to Shadesmar and basically are reduced to very basic spren. So the Spren in Shadesmar only thought they died.

A government or its officials cannot assassinate a head of state without war unless there is a huge disparity on the power of the two nations. Since the Alethi are the most powerful people in the world, war is inevitable. You think if chinese ambassadors killed the President of the US and claimed responsibility Congress wouldn't have a declaration of war in a matter of hours? How can we blame Dalinar for prosecuting a war that pretty much every nation on real Earth would pursue until there was a clear victory. This isn't murder, killing a head of state is an act of war. Also in terms of realmatics I am also surprised about how independent shadesmar seems to be. We had hints of this in the "awesome" steelhunt reading but this really confirms it unambiguously. Right now I believe that instead of the physical realm being the main realm and shadesmar and the spiritual realm deriving there existance somehow from the physical, they are all equally self-determining realms that are in a symbiotic relationship with each other. Though self-determining is incomplete, because they also appear to be the same thing. I like how Moogle describes it as 3 different ways of perceiving reality all equally valid just a different perspective. I wonder if we will eventually get to see the third realm.