Wyndleblade

2 hours ago, Spren of Kindness said:

My library finally got book two, so I can keep reading it now!

Anybody got a recommendation with space marines?  No swearing, graphic content, the usual parameters.

Try A  Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix. The main character is in the Space Navy instead of the Space Marines though

Another option you could try is the murderbot diares which starts with All Systems Red by Martha Wells.

I want to thank @The Awakened Salad @AonEne @Blessing of Potency because I was scrolling through recommendations here without a book and really enjoyed Illuminae. While the two main characters where not my favorite I absolutely loved AIDAN and his philosophical/mad chatter. Also a shout out to a unique storytelling. 

 Unfortunately I am now out of a book, so any suggestions... I like romance, not much more than a Sanderson book though for explicitness and I don't want it to be the central plot. An adult sci-fi book would be nice change as I mostly read fantasy with some nice intrigue to keep me on edge but not too dark.

You are granted a very nice doggy except it always has wet fur full of seeds that are hard and sharp. It also seems extremely sad all the time.

I wish for a pet mini dragon

What are people's top 2 quotes from RoW? Optional, why?

1.  "He said to tell you that we trust you... And love you. He said I should tell you that you deserve trust and love. And you do" (Wit and Pattern)

2. "Venli, they have come back to us! They've forgiven us."(Leshwi)

These two quotes had a big emotional impact for me because of the forgiveness for wrongs done in each. 

1 hour ago, Esane said:

me: *is screaming in anticipation*

me: *cant get it till christmas*

me: *screaming for 2 reasons. 1 good. 1 bad*

Why not until Christmas?

19 hours ago, Leuthie said:

I'm finding it hard to keep track of all of Shallan's personas. Which two teamed up to kill Taravangian? The Cryptic and the Chull farmer, right?

That was epic! Especially since the the Thief and the Drunk personalities were secretly working for Tarvangian the whole time.

@Zorben Your right. Maybe Killers of the West referencing the humans who first settled in Shin instead.

Not that the title necessarily has anything to do with who has the flashbacks but it is Szeths book.

Killer of the West

While I would be perfectly happy with a mild reveal for Shallan’s past, wild theorizations are fun. Feel free to judge, but at least hear me out.

Shallan is Vendel reborn(who is formless)

How this could be possible:

               Vev, tormented by oaths she broke, the land she helped destroy, and the hero she left behind, searched for a way to forget all what she had done. What would be more devastating to a woman whose traits are healing and caring than to cause destruction. Death was not an option as it would take her back to Braize.  She went to the Nightwatcher and asked for a way to forget all that had happened. Nightwatchers solution—rebirth for Vev as a normal human.

Proof(are these a stretch? Yes!):

Mirror in Kolinar/Vendel portrait: A quote from Oathbringer 

Quote

She wore archaic clothing, a sleeveless, flowing gown that was more of a tunic, with a simple belted waist

 This is when she is talking with an unmade and looks in a mirror. Instead of seeing her own reflection she sees a dark haired woman with a white tunic. This is similar to Vev’s portrait in Oathbringer.

The Girl who Looked up:

What if it was a story about travel from Ashyn (where Vedel was born) to Roshar. Shallan takes note of it because some part of her remembers.

Pattern’s comment:

Pattern make a comment that if Shallan asked him to leave, he would and  another cryptic would take his place. The only other radiant whose spren has said that is Wyndle. That was because of her connection with Cultivation/Nightwatcher.

Madness:

I once read a post about how Shallan is actually mad, they contrasted it to what DID should really look like and how it was different. (Disclaimer: I have no experience on the subject so I cannot expand and for all I know that author is wrong)

Heraldic attributes:

Vev’s characteristics are healing and caring. I would not describe Shallan as particularly caring for those not in her family. As for healing she has definitely helped break her family apart (even if it was not on purpose).

Wit/Shallan relationship:

Wit seems shocked to see Shallan the first moment he lays eyes on hers. He knew Vev in previous desolations, he could have recognized her for who she was. Their continued relationship and some of his comments support him caring about Shallan more than others.

Nale did not kill her:

There was a good probability that the Skybreakers knew about her and did nothing. Nale would not want to send Vev back to Braize only to break and start another desolation. (Shallan’s mother was tipped off who inhibited her body and wanted to send the “traitor” Vev back Braize)

The return of formless:

Something is happing with the boons of the Nightwatcher. Dalinar regained his memories, Lift is growing older, and at the same time Shallan is starting to remember a part of her named formless.

Conclusion:

Let me make this clear. Shallan is not Vedel, she is Vedel reborn but her own person. Wit once told her needs to make Shallan stronger. Vedel was her past, Shallan is her future. She needs to realize that what Vedel has done does not define her.

Knights of Wit?

In reading through the prequel chapters of RoW, the Radiant's are avoiding a key issue. They are fighting a losing battle. As long the fused keep returning, there is no way Odium does not win. Everything they are doing are stop-gap measures. Evacuating hearthstone and organizing the war are all aimed at giving humans a little more time but does not effect the real problem. Even the Oathpact was temporary solution, albeit a long one. The Radiant's need to focus on doing something to break the cycle.

One way did come up in Oathbringer, a contest of champions. Which Odium has accepted. But no one has talked about it, it seems like the war went on as if the agreement never happened. Someone needs to work on keeping Odium to his promise, they need to stop ignoring the fact that if the war continues as it does they are all going to die. Or they need to find another solution. In my opinion that is more important than taking a trip to gather more Honorspren for a losing battle, or other possible missions.

As much as I hate to say it, Taravangian seems to be the only one working towards a future where some part of humanity lives. Not that I agree at all with his way.

I have another argument: How can you say not to something that will provide you with juicy memes every week :

@cappybaro What do you mean by the conquest of champions?

I always thought it would be interesting if some of the Radients became Heralds and go to damnation. Book six would pick up ten to twenty years later when the first of the new "Heralds" brake. But I don't think that would be a satisfactory ending to book five.

@BlievI like that line of thought. I don't think the us refers to the Heralds though because that would mean they were awkwardly writing in third person "The age before the Heralds abandoned us". Your mention of the oathpack though is interesting. In my opinion the oathpack needs to be destroyed. It is a losing proposition for the humans. Even from the beginning without torture, imprisoning ten souls for the sake of humanity raises some real moral questions(it reminds me of the great short story "The Ones who walk away from Omelas"). But if the oathpack is destroyed, what hope do the humans have left?

Lets assume the us is the oathpack (How is a sleepless part of the oathpack is an interesting question...) What would it mean to redeem the oathpack?:

@Bliev One of your alternative definitions, pay the necessary money to clear, could hint that one of the four will do what Taln did--pay the necessary cost and give up their life to eons/years of torture so humanity can prepare. A couple years could do the humans a lot of good. But if it is destroyed first as the sleepless seemed to foretell, redeeming it would mean creating a different pact that atones for the problems of the old and the cost it had on the people who agreed to it.

Lets say she has royal locks. I see only three options:

1) Lin Davar is Ridger or Shallans mother was Fafen

2) She got royal locks in the same way the royal line of Idris got royal locks in the very beginning. 

3) (very implausible/but oddly fitting) Warbreaker spoilers:

@theoryspren I am more interested in the us in that sentance:

One of them may redeem us,

And one of them will destroy us.

I don't think the us is humanity as a whole. And if its not is destruction always bad? I have also tried reading the passage as the sleepless being on the fused side an that does not quite fit either. One of the lines talks about how the world became theirs and the fused were the original owners. I could see it as a someone is on the side of the Son's of Honor, they wish for a time when Vorinism ruled the world and that was lost when the Heralds abandoned them. Or maybe another secret society? But what society was also there all the way back in the past desolations.

So technically her mother could have been from Nalthis, worldhopped to Roshar and then settled down with a man who knew nothing about her past? Would that pass on the royal locks?

One of the first things that fascinated me about WoK when I first read it was the back cover blurb and the world it hinted at. Ten years later I have looked back on it and there is so many questions about it that have been answered (we know the writer was a sleepless). And so many more questions that need to be asked. 

Here are some of mine along with the text...

Quote

I long for the days before the Last Desolation.

The age before the Heralds abandoned us and the Knights Radiant turned against us.

A time where there was still magic in the world and honor in the hearts of men.

The world became ours, and we lost it.

Does this to anyone else sound like the line of thinking of a Son of Honor? 

Why does the sleepless look fondly back on a time when humanity was near extinction from desolation after desolation?

With the reference to the world becoming theirs, is that a reference to it belonged to the sleepless?

Quote

Nothing, it appears, is more challenging to the souls of men than victory itself.

Or was that victory an illusion all along?

Did our enemies realize that the harder they fought, the stronger we resisted?

Perhaps they saw that the heat and the hammer made for a better grade of sword.

But ignore the steel for long enough, and it begins to rust away.

(These were my favorite lines originally, I love the visual metaphor)

Did the sleepless not know of Taln's sacrifice? They seem to claim it was bad for humanity.

Quote

There are four whom we watch.

The first is the surgeon, forced to put aside healing, to become a soldier in the most brutal war of our time.

The second is the assassin, a murderer who weeps as he kills.

The third is the liar, a young women who wears a scholars mantle over the heart of a thief.

The last is a highprince, a warlord whose eyes have been opened to the past and whose thirst for battle wanes.

Not much to say about this.

Quote

The world can change.

Surgebinding and Shardweilding can return; the magic of the ancient days can become ours again.

These four people are key.

One of them may redeem us,

And one of them will destroy us.

Hoid: "Never trust anyone who says they can see the future" Is this a prediction of the future? 

My major question:

The words us, we, our (ect) do not always seem to reference humanity but sometimes they do. Who is the us even if we know the I is a sleepless?

Get your shardforks ready, I am willing to duel.

Why we should do mini releases: Today I just finished a TV show that I have been watching for the last two months. Why did it take me two months? Two episodes were released every week. I was  teary-eyed a the end, not because of the ending as much as thinking about future Saturdays and Sundays without my friends. I had something to look forward to every week, a time set aside from busy work to leave to a completely different world. Oh, I definitely threw imaginary shardforks at the screen for having to wait another week on a cliff hanger. But then I could spend the whole week discussing with myself and a couple others what had happened and what we thought was going to happen next. There was also a feeling of community for me knowing that when I was watching the show right when it was released, thousands of people around the world were watching at the exact same time. The feeling of loss at the end of the journey was worse than I had ever experienced in a show, I had formed a better connection with the characters, the story, and the world.

Now I like books a lot more than shows, and I think it would be awesome to have the same sense of community and excitement around a book. It would definitely have to be a special book. One that fans can theorize on and yet the author pulls things out the hat better than we had imagined, gripping enough to look forward to every week, and a fan base that loves discussion. I cannot think of a better book than Stormlight Archives. 

One change I would make is release: His books are split into five parts with interludes. I would do min releases every two weeks in that break down. First release, release part 1 two weeks later set 1 of interludes ect.

Ok, shard fans, Journey before Destination. I got my blade up.

Do we know how long Taln was wandering around Roshar after breaking before he ended up in Kolinar?

I have been wondering if there is correlation between finding Shallan chapters boring and knowledge about the Cosmere. I love Shallans chapters even without cosmere reverences but I think I get even more out of it because I get teh references. I look forward to Shallan chapters because a lot of time there are greater meanings for Roshar and the cosmere as a whole. She is the one who interacts with Hoid the most (OB) and there have been hints of the Ghostbloods having greater consequence.

Maybe I should make a poll and see if I find correlation.

1. Lift

2. Jasnah

3.Renarin

With regards to Jasnah and romance, I always remember how she reacted to arranged marriages in WoK. Jasnah was very surprised when Shallan reacted with gratitude to being set up, without permission, to an arranged marriage. She seemed taken a back that Shallan would want to marry for a reason that was not love. I did not get the feeling that it was a power issue, ie being beholden to a man in the Alethi hierarchy, but Jasnah's belief in love. I have always been more interested in Jasnah in regards to relationships than Shallan because of that. 

On the opinion of Jasnah and Kaladin, I have always liked the couple even before they met ,especially after the small interactions between then in OB. One of the only scenes in OB was when they each had polarizing opinions on the parshmen. Jasnah's stance was they could not save everyone while Kaladin thought she was cold hearted. It I agree with both of them and I think they both could be stronger in seeing the others opinion. If there is one person who could help Kaladin through his depression my bet is on Jasnah who has a more practical approach to what she can accomplish(and has possibly dealt with depression in the past).

Also, a couple of thought about Wheel of Time (spoilers)(highlight to read):

While Jasnah reminds me a lot of time of Moraine, her and Kaladin remind me of Nynaeve and Lan. One reason is the age difference, which I never saw as a problem Nynaeve was so mature and so is Kaladin, although this time it is an older woman. Another parallel is one is royalty and one is not and one is a main POV while the other one you mostly see through the eyes of others, again the genders are switched. One last one is one of them is all about duty and not living while the other cares most about protecting those she loves. ( Writing this I am realizing that maybe Jasnah is a lot more like Nynaeve than I thought). Just like Nynaeve and Lan were the great love story that lasted through all 14 books and was heavily developed throughout, I see Kaladin and Jasnah's doing the same. This time though it will be a slower build up because that is the sort of characters they are.

Regardless I can't wait to see what develops!

It just like how all the best TV shows have weekly releases. I would vote for a middle option. Release 6 chapters every week over a two day span.

I have also always thought it was Dalinar. What makes me excited about this revelation is it opens up the possibility of having Dalinar be the center piece of book five where I feel like he belongs. I always wanted him on it but I never thought it was a possibility since I thought he was on book one. Now I can hold onto my hope of an awesome Wheelan cover with Dalinar on the front and Navani on the back.