Senor Feesh

I'd actually forgotten that. And while it's certainly possible that the mundane explanation is the correct one, wouldn't it be awesome if these were in fact manifestations of Shardic influence of some kind? Like perhaps Aona deliberately made the Aons to represent the constellations that could be seen from Sel - or maybe even pushed a few stars around to make the constellations fit the necessary patterns.

I'm intrigued by your interpretation of Voidbinding, I think it requires further consideration. I'd never actually taken the time to consider the name - it's a problem I have with Fantasy books quite often; I tend to just accept whatever terms are thrown at me as part of the setting and don't really think about why the author chose to name them as they did. Another possible interpretation then, now I'm thinking of it - Voidbinding as opposed to Surgebinding. If Surgebinding requires an inflow of power (as with Stormlight), then it would stand to reason that Voidbinding would require a 'void' of some kind - death could indeed be the requirement; however I wonder if there could be other explanations. Is there perhaps some way to drain spiritual energy from things? Perhaps something almost like the forceful removal of a Breath (although not actually a Breath, as that is something native to Nalthis). If human life on Roshar is Invested to some degree (as we know humans on Nalthis and Scadrial to be) is it possible that Voidbinding removes that Investiture, and is fuelled by the absence thus created? This is probably a stretch, but you have made my brain sit up and pay attention.

International users too? I say, that sounds spiffing!

Why not? Burning Lerasium re-writes your sDNA, there's no reason it wouldn't give you a more efficient system with which to process other metals. And burning an alloy simply does the same for one aspect of Preservation's power.

Welcome to you! To answer your question, he does post here, under his own name (so does Peter Ahlstrom). Last book read: Adrian Tachikovsky, Salute the Dark Book to read next: Steven Hall, The Raw Shark Texts. Favourite book: I doubt I could ever choose an all-time favourite, but for an excellent read: Neil Gaiman, American Gods.

Well, I'm now far too late to convince anyone that this is worth buying, but I can say I've read the following: Old Man's War Pump Six and Other Stories half of Magic for Beginners Pirate Cinema Zoo City Invasion (book one of the Secret World Chronicle) Signal to Noise Of the above, Invasion was kind of ridiculous and tropey, and Magic for Beginners was kind of hard work for me (something about the writing style). Pirate Cinema was enjoyable, if obviously political. Pump Six has some real gems in it (my personal favourite is a disturbing future-fairytale called The Fluted Girl). Zoo City was absolutely excellent, and a break from my comfort zone (a more modern, very dark fantasy, set in Johannesburg). Old Man's War was a really fun sci-fi romp with some cool ideas for future-tech. Oh, and Signal to Noise is one I actually own in hard-copy, I'm a big Gaiman/McKean fan so I can't really give an unbiased opinion that said, I think the subtext goes over my head somewhat (though that's partly intentional I think, as suggested by the title). Woo, super-condensed book review!

Anyone else read this series? It's currently at 8 books, with books 9 and 10 coming this year and next year. There's also a ton of extra material (including short stories and world history) over on the author's blog at http://shadowsoftheapt.com. It's a somewhat different take on typical fantasy tropes. All the characters are human, but of different 'kinden'. The basic idea is that in this world's history, giant insects rose to dominance and weren't overtaken by the rise of vertebrate life; in response early humans allied themselves with different 'totem' insects, becoming, if you will, 'tribes' of the Ant, Beetle, Spider, etc (ok, so they're not all insects... different invertebrates then). These early humans achieved a kind of communion with their totems, called the Art of Speech, which allowed them to speak mind-to-mind with their patron insects and live alongside them. Over time they also learned more Art, which manifests in various forms (such as natural weaponry or armour, or the ability to form ephemeral wings and take flight). There's a further distinction however, from where the series takes its name, which is that some races are considered 'Apt', others 'Inapt'. Inapt races are literally incapable of understanding even moderately complex technology - their minds simply cannot process the cause-and-effect of (for example) depressing a trigger, which releases a catch, which looses the tension of a loaded crossbow, to the bolt being projected. Conversely, Apt races cannot fathom the world of magic, and most simply believe it to be a hoax perpetrated against the credulous. This divide forms one of the core themes of the whole series. I'm personally a massive fan, and I'm currently re-reading the main series after gobbling up all the extra content on the website. I'm also working on a FATE rpg adaptation for the series, with a little help from the author himself who was kind enough to give me a list of the different Kinden's various Arts

Ruin's pool is at the Pits of Hathsin though, right? I actually have a really hard time remembering what was what as far as Ruin/Preservation and Physical/Cognitive/Spiritual. Preservation gave up most of his Cognitive aspect to form Ruin's prison, so I don't think it was the mists - if anything, the liquid form of Preservation (or perhaps the power contained within) would have been the cognitive part, as it was releasing this that removed the seal from the prison. Man, Realmatics is hard.

I think you mean Splinter, not Shard - and I may be wrong, but I think it's confirmed that there are no Splinters on Scadrial

When I actually find time to game (full-time work and a 7 month old child are a big drain on hobby-time ) I'm usually to be found playing Spartan Ops on Halo 4. In fact, if anyone wants to join me anytime, my Gamertag is Commissar Feesh

I personally separate them with the use of capitalisation - intent vs Intent not the most obvious I'll grant you, but it works for me

Because envisioning a symbol and the act of drawing it are different things, and BOTH need to happen. I'm sorry, I don't see where the issue lies here. I'm not trying to be difficult, just having trouble seeing the issue. It's the same as with Awakening, a Command by itself is worthless, visualising a Command without speaking it is useless - you have to do BOTH or nothing happens. With Aons it's the same, the act of drawing the Aon (with or without an implement) is analogous to speaking a Command, and needs the reinforcement of the directing mind to actually make an Aon (and not just wave your finger in the air).

Well, remember the safehand is completely enclosed, so the sleeve itself needs enough room to completely cover the hand AND have a small pouch for personal items. As for the buttons and cut, I have an idea how this might look, but I find it difficult to explain in words (without simply repeating the text). If I have time I'll attempt to draw a simple sketch and upload.

No spoiler tags make Senor Feesh sad

The stick doesn't need to be magical. It's intent and Investiture combined with physical action. It doesn't matter that the action is 'focused' away from the Elantrian's body, they, not the stick, create the Aon. The stick by itself does nothing, it merely delineates a form, in space, which the Elantrian chooses to allow to Dor to come through. They could just as feasibly carve an Aon with a chisel, or urinate an Aon into snow if they so chose, but the point is, as an Invested entity, they choose.

It's probably all mixed up with Realmatics and the three realms. Elantrians clearly have some kind of Investiture that normal folk lack; I personally see no reason why they shouldn't be able to form an Aon using a stick. It's a totally different magic system to Feruchemy, so applying the same reasoning is pointless. I'm sure that as the Cosmere grows we'll see other magics that don't require direct physical contact to the magic user (in fact, we already have at least once in Stormlight Archives).

I don't have that problem with being logged in on my PC and my phone... Don't know if that's relevant but thought I'd mention in case

Ermagherd! Nerr jerb! Finally getting out of retail

Ah, US only. Never mind

Where can I see the tour dates?

Welcome Bigtones! Can I just ask WHICH one of Sanderson's fantastic books you're referring to? It's a great community here, I'm sure you'll enjoy!

This is a common misconception, but there's an important distinction. Seons are NOT Splinters. The Aon at the heart of a Seon is the Splinter, the not the Seon itself. (Source)

Being forcibly Splintered isn't the ONLY way to create a Splinter though - remember that Endowment is still whole, but Divine Breaths are Splinters. Therefore, there could be Splinters of Cultivation (Spren or some other as yet unidentified form) without Cultivation having been destroyed. That said I'm still not 100% on Spren = Splinter. They could be, and there's good evidence to suggest it, but just as Seon ≠ Splinter (rather it CONTAINS one) I wonder if perhaps Spren are CONNECTED to a Splinter in a similar way.

I don't follow it, so wouldn't regard myself as a fan per se, but I do enjoy watching a skilled bout.

Apparently that Use Mobile Version button doesn't appear on WP8...