LazarusRises

Finished the book yesterday. Not in contention for my favorite SLA books, but there was a lot going on and I liked the way many of my favorite arcs in the series concluded. Some general thoughts... Pacing was all over the place, this has been my biggest problem with the SLA books since Oathbringer. I started out really excited to explore Shinovar, but it felt weirdly empty. I know Ishar had been hollowing it out for decades, but it didn't feel hollow, it felt... flat. I dunno, maybe I'm too used to the marvels of Rosharan ecology. Loved Kaladin's arc. I've seen some commenters online complaining about how heavy-handed the therapy stuff was, and while I see what they mean, I was fully ready for it and thought it communicated the lessons he learned. Stepping through all the people he'd been on his way to ascending was amazing. I was convinced his final Ideal would be "I will help others find ways to help themselves," so I wasn't far off! Dalinar. Poor brave Dalinar. I was terrified that he was going to lose the contest and become TOdium's general, a fate far worse than death for him. I had wondered whether "unite them" meant unite the shards, but I was thinking about all 16, not just Honor + Odium--though, who knows, maybe this is the first step to that. I'm also pretty hyped that we get to see Unmade!Dalinar without him having to actually be that. I'm fascinated by the fourth moon, and very curious about what it says about Roshar's divine inhabitants. I've seen some theorizing that Reason has been on Roshar all along, hiding from sight, which fits the fragments we have about the shattered moon "hiding" or "shrouding" things from the sight of gods. I've also seen some speculation that the fourth moon is somehow related to Big A... which ties into the next point: I'm very curious who had a better claim on Dalinar's soul than Odium/Honor. He literally broke his oaths *while holding Honor*, seems like the shard should have had free reign to do with him what it pleased. Best theory I've seen is that Big A was able to make this claim way ahead of time, or via his cognitive shadow Nohadon, or... who knows. I love Jasnah, but she deserved to be taken down a few pegs. Here's hoping she learns from this in the back half. Adolin is the best, most golden of boys and he will always be a champion of a hero. What an absolute legend.

Pirates of the Sporibbean

I emailed a BYU librarian. These were the responses I got: Hello [LazarusRises] According to the library catalog the "University Scholar Project" by Brandon Sanderson is currently checked out and due on Dec 4 2012. When I return to the library on Monday I can check to see if it is checked out to Lost and Found or checked out to a patron. I will send you more information on Monday. Thank you for your patience -[Librarian] And then today: Hello again [LazarusRises] I checked Workflows today and found the text is checked out. I placed a hold on it so the person who currently has it checked out cannot renew the item. When I receive notice it has come in and is being held for me I will notify you. At this point you could place an Interlibrary Loan request to have the volume sent to you at Berkeley. -[Librarian] So... I suppose we shall see.

Hmm. Alright then. I wonder if the library can be called and asked about this?

Hi, all. I had been out of the Sanderson loop for quite a while, so I decided to hop back in. I ordered Legion and The Emperor's Soul and started doing some research to see if any new, fun answers had popped up. In my search, I got excited about Dragonsteel, so I decided to do some Googling regarding that. I found a Dragonsteel page on Goodreads which claims the book is Mr. Sanderson's undergraduate Honors Thesis in English from BYU. In the comments, someone claims to have read it and gives a partial plot summary and a whole bunch of information. I didn't really know what to do with this, so I figured I'd leave it in what looks to be a particularly spoilerific place. If this isn't in the right place, by all means move it/take it down. Have a look. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5968736-dragonsteel