Philomath

Both tough choices for me. I picked Sazed for my favorite. He is just a great character overall right from the get go. I ended up choosing OreSeur as least favorite because I didn't start liking him until Yeden was my initial choice but I don't actually feel like he was part of the crew. And we didn't really get to know much about him. So I didn't count him.

Wax and Steris is one of my favorite relationships ever. It is perfectly organic and I think a truly beautiful example of how real love grows. As a non-romantic relationship I think I will echo those who have said Lightsong and Llarimar. Their interactions through the whole book are made even better with what we learn in the end.

Fafen. (That is the middle sister right?)

Someone first recommended Mistborn to me right around when I graduated from high school. It was just quickly in passing though so I kind of forgot about it for a while. Flash forward 5ish years and I was looking for something new to read and only remembered Mistborn but not the authors name. So once I tried figuring it out. At the same time, my husband had started listening to some Sanderson on a shared library at work. I think it was right after Words of Radiance had been released. So he came home recommending it to me as well. So I basically started with Elantris because it was his first and a standalone. Fast forward nearly another 5 years and I have read nearly everything Sanderson has written and would say he is easily my favorite author. I have so much respect for his writing. If I ever write anything someday I hope it will be even a fraction as good as Sanderson.

Gavilar

Maybe we will get lucky and he will "accidentally" write more than one book at a time like he did with Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning. That would be nice.

Ym.

Philomath means love of learning. Which is indeed something I love. This is the first place I have used it as a username. I debated several others but liked that it was one word and not tied to any specific work of fiction.

I need to try more Thai and Indian food. To pull from what I do know, I wonder if the sweetness is comparable to an orange or lemon chicken. Sweet but not overly so. With something else to offset it. That would make sense. Just making separate sauces over what is essentially the same thing. And I imagine for some of the less fortunate that they would actually be lucky to get more than the grain.

Thank you. I love how Brandon really tries to ground his magic in science. So now my next question is does this mean all things in the cognitive realm are in a gaseous state? The deadblades are able to interact physically with people in Shadesmar so they appear to be solid. So what is happening that makes them a gas turning into a solid when appearing in the physical realm?

I'm not very knowledgeable about Asian or Middle Eastern cuisine but this is a fascinating question to me. I wonder how sweet feminine food actually is for them. What is interesting is how much variety in the dishes Brandon describes for each gender despite the limitations that each has. The only dish that gets mentioned multiple times is Rock's stew. I also wonder what more ordinary food is like on a day to day basis. Most of the food described seems to be at feasts or more formal occasions. We should make a Rosharan (or cosmere) cookbook. I would definitely cook things out of that.

So does the condensation that appears on a shardblade when summoned happen because the investiture is changing phases? I can't recall if Syl or Pattern have condensation when they become blades.

I basically agree with what the others have said. I think the thing with Warbreaker though is there are some heavy sexual tones in it. When I first read Warbreaker it was the first more "adult" book I had read and it was initially shocking to me how certain characters were treated. I think as a society we are a lot more accustomed to violence and war. Issues with rape and consent seem more charged to talk about and therefore more adult. That being said, I think every person is different and some younger people will have no qualms reading it while others may be more uncomfortable. As for the rest of the cosmere books, I would rank Warbreaker up with Stormlight Archives. Just under that would be Elantris, Mistborn Era 1, and SoS and BoM. I think Alloy of Law is the most child friendly, but I think that is due to Brandon's original intent of making it a fun book in between the Mistborn eras that grew into something more.

One thing I love about Shallan in WoK and the beginning WoR was how curious she was and how much she wanted to learn and soak in knowledge. I missed that about her in Oathbringer and I hope something can bring that back. I feel like that is a part of the "real" her that she has lost.

I don't disagree with this. It is just a different path. I am not opposed if a bond happens this way. I just am not convinced that it will be the automatic result of Maya's revival. Edit to add: So basically I think two things in this topic. I don't want Adolin to be a radiant. But I do want him to revive Maya. So if reviving her means he becomes a radiant I will accept that. Not do I think that that way of forming a bond is somehow less or unearned. Another question so as to avoid double posting. Why is he starting to revive her now? Did meeting her in Shadesmar cause them to have a greater connection and start this process? If other spren were to be revived would their shardblade holders have to travel to Shadesmar?

Oh I don't want Adolin to just be a "token normal" character. I think his character can be more interesting for having to deal with not being the best anymore. Being the only not "awesome" person in his close circle. And I do think that reviving Maya will be difficult and I want to see it happen. I just think the after effects of it will be interesting.

That is possible. It seems many people on here feel that would be too easy a way for him to get a Nahel bond. Wouldn't it be ironic if having a bond then having it severed by the spren is what breaks him enough for people to feel like he has rightly "earned" a bond. I still just really hope he doesn't become a radiant. I like that he is one main(ish) character who is an outlier.

There was a Chinese pairs figure skater I saw in the Olympics that just screamed Dalinar to me if he were a little older. His name was Zhang Hao. Obviously not a real casting choice since his acting ability is completely unknown. But I can't unsee it now.

@Prince Dusty I have read Sixth of the Dusk and I loved it. It might have been my favorite of all the novellas in AU. I almost picked the username First of the Night or First of Twilight. And @Ashspren welcome from one newcomer to another. I'm looking forward to conversations and discussions with fellow sharders.

@I am Witless I have read all of Alcatraz except the last one. Those are indeed great and must be read to truly enjoy them, not just listened to. I have read nearly all his books that have been published, cosmere and non cosmere alike.

I know there are several threads that discuss both Adolin and Maya and Adolin and Shallan so if I should have put this idea in one of those I apologize. I have some thoughts about Adolin and Maya that I hadn't seen though and wanted to throw out here. I think that it may be possible that Adolin will revive Maya but that when that happens she may say "Thanks, but no thanks." In other words, she will be glad to be restored, but due to what happened to her, she will have no desire to bond another radiant. I like this because while I like Adolin as a character I really hope he doesn't become a radiant. It would be nice to keep some characters different. Now to tie Shallan in to this. I wonder if in Adolin's journey to revive Maya, he will have to do some *gasp* research. And who does he know who likes learning and studying things? Well his wife. So I think that in trying to revive Maya, it can actually strengthen his relationship with Shallan and make them slightly more compatible. She is literally going crazy over learning something he cares about and is highly interested in so it would be cool to see him explore something that is important to her.

How can you honestly expect someone to pick just one favorite? I love them all! That is why I am here right? Ha ha. The more times I read Warbreaker the more I enjoy it. Both eras of Mistborn are fantastic. And Stormlight Archive is epic. If I really had to narrow it to one favorite it would probably be Way of Kings or Bands of Mourning.

Yeah I would like to hold on to my soul for a while. Thanks for the warning. I think I have gathered that I should also avoid friendly offers of baked goods as well.

Hi everyone. I've been following the site since finishing Oathbringer when it came out. I've been a Sanderson fan for about 4 years now. He is one of my favorite authors. I love the depth and complexity of his stories and I have enjoyed reading people's discussions here. Thanks for always being welcoming to newcomers.