Arran

I can certainly envision Roshone spitefully intercepting any correspondence between Kaladin and his parents. And yes, I hope we'll see them again at some point. I'd love to see how they'd react to Syl and the news that Kaladin is now a Knight Radiant. As for Amaram... I keep wondering what he would have done had Kaladin claimed the Shards for himself. I could certainly be wrong about this, but I always had the feeling that it was only after Kaladin refused the Shards and stated his intent to give them to the best of his remaining men that Amaram decided to steal them for himself, rationalizing his crime with something along the lines of "if the Shards' rightful winner won't claim them for himself, why should they go to a lesser fighter than me, who also has other Very Serious and Important Threats to deal with?"

Hardcover for me. I very much enjoyed the cover art, maps, and drawings in Way of Kings, and felt that they - along with the fantastic story - were more than worth the price of a hardcover. Sanderson is one of the very last authors whose books I still buy in physical format, however. The great majority of my new books are now digital versions that I read on my Kindle. Lots of books do take up a lot of space, whereas my Kindle is so small and neat.

Ookla the Tardy: It's Shardblades that Syl seems to hate; we don't know her feelings about Shardplate. Also, while Kaladin is indeed very dangerous without Shards, one nick from a Shardblade and he loses a limb. For that reason, I hope he'll get a suit of Shardplate, if not a Shardblade.

1) The setting is very different from the fantasy version of medieval Europe, with other token real-world cultures sprinkled in, that we usually see. Roshar is its own setting, with its own geography, architecture, culture, weather, flora and fauna. Some fantasy authors can still make good use of the typical medieval setting, true, but since I've read a lot of fantasy novels, by now it most often feels that they're merely rearranging well-worn, all-too-familiar bricks to build a slightly different building from other fantasy authors'. Sanderson, by contrast, took the time to create entirely new bricks, and with them built a setting as different from the fantasy norm as Kaladin's highstorm-resistant childhood home is from the typical medieval farmhouse. 2) The main characters of the Stormlight Archive have already started encountering each other and interacting by the end of WoK, and it certainly looks like most, perhaps even all of them, will be gathered together not all that far into Words of Radiance. Contrast this with George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, where there is IMO too little interaction between the main characters, and what little interaction there is is rarely positive/helpful/beneficent for the characters in question. Heck, by the end of book 5 of what is still planned to be a 7-book series, Daenerys Targaryen has yet to directly interact with a single one of the original POV characters from book 1. 3) What most impressed me about The Way of Kings was the plotting. Over the years I've come to the realization that for me, a work of fiction has to have at least one major "gradual buildup -> exciting climas -> satisfying resolution" plot sequence for me to be truly happy when I finish reading the last page. The Way of Kings delivered that in spades. Once I reached the beginning of Sadeas's betrayal of Dalinar and his army, I simply couldn't stop reading. I read for three straight yours to find out how it was going to be resolved. It was the first time in practically half a decade that a novel had so captivated me. ASOIAF, on the other hand, has IMO failed to deliver a single full buildup -> climax -> resolution sequence in the last two novels, which has greatly contributed to making me become apathetic about a series I once regarded as the pinnacle of modern fantasy. 4) And the icing on the cake of fantasy goodness that is Stormlight Archive is Sanderson's amazing writing speed. Yes, by the time Words of Radiance is published it will have been more than three years since Way of Kings' publication, but that's only because Sanderson was mainly occupied with finishing the Wheel of Time series during that period. After Words, I expect we'll see new Stormlight Archive novels at a considerably faster pace. That's something that, as someone who became quite exasperated by the long delays in other fantasy series **coughASOIAFcough**, I very much look forward to.

I would also like to see Kaladin remain with the spear, or at least a polearm-type weapon, throughout the series. In most fantasy series, the "male warrior hero"-type main character traditionally wields a sword of some sort, so when I first read TWoK, I found it quite refreshing to see one with a very different weapon instead. Besides, we've already got an expert swordsman with Adolin. And yes, a Shardglaive would be awesome.

FeatherWriter: Actually, it's Gloom who's arguing that Kaladin might want to give that hypothetical Shardblade to Dalinar; I'm in favor of Moash, with Kaladin trusting Dalinar at least enough to expect him not to want/try to appropriate that Shardblade through nefarious means as Amaram did. IMO that's a lesser level of trust toward Dalinar than outright giving him the Shardblade.

I think Kaladin will continue to be mistrustful of the majority of lighteyes for a while, but why would he continue to mistrust Dalinar? Dalinar gave up his Shardblade to buy the freedom of Kaladin and the bridgemen. Amaram deliberately killed darkeyed soldiers to appropriate the Shards, while Dalinar deliberately sacrificed his Shardblade to save darkeyes. This is the exact opposite of what Kaladin had seen and understandably come to expect from lighteyes, and IMO proved from Kaladin's perspective that Dalinar's reputation for honor was well-founded. Also, Dalinar has lived up to his reputation in other ways - sending the healers to take care of Kaladin's men ahead even of his own, assigning them well-kept barracks, being forthright about what he wanted from Kaladin and his bridgemen, and what they'd face if they accepted his offer to become his personal guard. Just this last proves that Dalinar has a lot of confidence in Kaladin - you don't entrust the safety of your family to people you don't trust.

I'll take your word for it that the bond between Kaladin and Syl grew after he refused the Shardblade. But IMO that doesn't automatically mean that Syl didn't unknowingly influence his decision toward honor at that moment. She's deliberately done that a few times when sentient - begging him to live, to keep trying to help the men of Bridge Four, wanting him to save Dalinar's army - so her apparently vigorous hatred of Shardblades, even if Syl herself wasn't self-aware at the time, could IMO still have subconsciously affected Kaladin's thoughts/emotions when he refused the Shards.

I think that should Kaladin win another Shardblade, he'd be comfortable giving it away for two reasons. 1) Moash has stated that he came to the Shattered Plains to win a Shardblade of his own, so Kaladin already knows that at least one of his men is interested in acquiring a Shardblade. Also, when he decided to give the Shards he'd won to his men, Kaladin wanted to give them to the best fighter among his remaining soldiers. With his new crew, the best fighter after Kaladin seems to be Moash. 2) Dalinar has already shown himself to be honorable, to the point of giving up his own Shardblade for Kaladin and the other bridgemen. I really don't think Kaladin will fear Dalinar "pulling an Amaram" on him should he decide to give up a second Shardblade he'd won. Also, there was a particular situation when Amaram stole the Shards, namely that there were few inconvenient witnesses who saw Kaladin kill the Shardbearer for Amaram and his lackeys to get rid of. If Kaladin wins a Shardblade during a pitched battle against the Parshendi and decides to gift it to Moash or whoever else afterward, chances are that there'll be dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of witnesses to the event - far too many for a greedy lighteyes to falsely claim that he killed the Shardbearer and that the Shards are thus rightfully his.

IIRC, Szeth reflected that Shardblades had been created to fight nightmarish creatures - i.e. Odium's creations such as the Thunderclast to fight against humankind during the Desolations. I rather doubt that Odium would create weapons designed specifically to fight his minions. However, I do like the idea that the Shardblades' nature changed after the Recreance. Certainly the way they're used now - to slaughter vast numbers of beings who most often have little means of defending themselves such a potent weapon, and often in concert with the bloodlust of the Thrill - is more in line with what Odium represents than with what Honor represents. That would explain why Syl said that she hated Dalinar's Shardblade. I wonder if Syl's hatred of Shardblades, even though she was not sentient at the time, somehow affected Kaladin when he refused to pick up the Shardblade he'd won after defeating that unknown Shardbearer back when he was in Amaram's army?

deddinty: Don't worry. There's got to be some isolated Shardbearers who have only a Shardblade in Jah Keved, instead of all Shardbearers being near each other and surrounded by armies as with the Alethi... Well, if my scenario works as intended, I'd end up with both. I wonder just how effective a Shardblade is without the added strength of Shardplate. All 'regular' Shardblades that we've seen are essentially greatswords, one might even say oversized greatswords. So they've got to be slow and heavy, even if they can cut through anything (thus negating the potential problem of fighting in tight spaces). Yes, the wielder will have the advantage of surprise if he attacks suddenly and/or his opponent doesn't know that he has a Shardblade, but if the Shardbearer misses, his intended victim can run. True, the Shardblade's wielder can let it dissipate, run after his enemy, and then summon it back... but if that enemy unexpectedly turns back and attacks while the Shardblade is still some heartbeats away, the Shardbearer is, for a few crucial instants, just a normal man. You're right that Plate is expensive to maintain in peak condition and requires time to be put on, but if you have a suit of Shardplate, finding a rich patron shouldn't be too difficult. Dalinar and Elhokar would almost certainly gladly accept the services of a Plate-only Shardbearer, and aren't likely to try to have that Shardbearer slain to get his Plate for themselves.

Darnam: Losing a battle doesn't necessarily mean losing the whole war. If Szeth is forced to retreat once by Kaladin and co., he doesn't have to stop trying to kill Dalinar or go back to Taravangian. He only needs go far enough away to escape pursuit, heal his wounds, come up with a new strategy and new tactics that take into account Kaladin and whoever else stopped him, and try again. darkanimereal1: I hope that this is a red herring on Brandon's part. I would have little interest in reading the flashback chapters of a character who has already died. I would have no problem doing that if the book was a prequel wholly set in the past or if the character was seen through the POV of someone still alive, mind you, but I believe the flashback chapters of a character who's already died in a 'current-day' novel just wouldn't enjoyable for me. Kaladin's flashback chapters were great because they showed us what ultimately led to him speaking the Words of the Second Ideal and starting to become a Knight Radiant. The past eventually led to and showed us why the character made a tremendously important decision in the current day, a decision that then had a huge and immediate impact in current-day events. To see the past of a character showing us why that character made a very important decision in the past (since the character would be dead at that point) just wouldn't have as much dramatic impact and corresponding excitement for me.

I'd take Shardplate. Then I'd go looking for some other Shardbearer that has only a Shardblade, and take it for my own once I've killed him. We know Shardplate can survive at least one full-on blow from a Shardblade on just about any individual piece. So even if my opponent wears the best normal full plate armor money can buy, that won't be of much use when I grasp his Shardblade with my gauntlet as he tries to slash at me, step in, and punch him in the breasplate or helmet with my other gauntlet. Given the power of Shardplate-enhanced physical blows, I'll probably crush his chest through his armor, or make his head all but explode in his helm. And then voilà, I'm a full Shardbearer.

Thanks for your answers. Looks like I'm probably not too much off the mark. I guess we'll find out more about the Parshendi Shardbearers in Words of Radiance.

I'm not so sure as OP that Kaladin will win, but I'm confident that Szeth won't win, if only because if he won that would mean the likely deaths of Kaladin and Dalinar - and I can't see that happening in just the second book of the series. My guess is that Kaladin will barely manage to hold off Szeth - and later try to replicate what Szeth does during the fight - until others, Adolin, Jasnah and/or Shallan, come along and force Szeth to retreat. Also, I think Szeth will have an unpleasant surprise when Kaladin, whose Stormlight-absorbing and Stormlight-holding capacities are already quite high, drains a lot of Szeth's "magical fuel" early in the fight to power himself up, thus hastening Szeth's defeat. Some might think that Szeth won't retreat because he has a death wish, but I think his desire to perform his duty will outweigh his desire for death.