Shivertongue

The limited edition is leather-bound as well.

It's not that it came off too weird, it's that you didn't present it in the proper "loony theory" format. I was convinced that you honestly believed what you were saying, and not that you were positing something you knew to be absurd. Don't feel bad; it takes a lot of practice and dedicated effort. One cannot just throw something crazy out into the ocean of tiny glass beads and expect it to turn into a elephant-salmon. Loony theorizing is serious business, and it isn't for everyone.

Yeah, the beginning of Path of Daggers is probably my least-favourite point in the entire series. I think it's because it's where we get to see the beginnings of Rand's descent into darkness, among other things, but the presentation is a bit... underwhelming. I've often wondered if that was intentional, that Jordan was trying to portray war as realistically as he could, as he remembered it from Vietnam.

I'm actually making the same attempt, to give me something else to read so I don't finish my Wheel of Time reread too quickly. I'm about 200 pages into Gardens of the Moon, and like you, I've found myself constantly going to the Malazan wiki just to remember who random people are. I agree that there seems to be no focus to the story. Additionally, as a writer, Erikson does things that through me out of the story on a craft-level. The naming patterns, for one; Genabackis, for example, has no naming patterns. On this continent, you have cities with names like Darujhistan, Pale, and One Eye Cat. Character names don't follow any sort of pattern, and I'm increasingly convinced that names were decided on whenever Erikson came up with something that sounded cool. Now, this could very well be a matter of mixing cultures - for all I know, Genabackis is a sort of melting pot for the world, despite the appearance that the level of technology and cultural development doesn't seem to be at this stage. It makes sense for the Malazan Empire, of course - they've apparently conquered so many different peoples, I'm fine with the apparent cultural bleed. Of course, this could all be explained in later books for all I know. But right now, it's throwing me out of the story.

I hope you are joking. I really, really hope you are joking. That is a level of ridiculous I have yet to see anywhere else on this board. Just because someone beats their children does not mean they are doing for any reason other than that they are an abusive jackass with anger management issues. Parents beat their children on Earth; does that mean that, unknown to us, we are from Scadrial, and thus millions of emotionally abused children have now snapped and awakened Allomantic powers? Let me answer that for you. No. No they haven't. There is nothing, anywhere, in any of the Mistborn books nor in Way of Kings to indicate that Shallan's family originated on Scadrial. The idea itself is so absurd and utterly asinine, that I can't believe I bothered to take the time to type out a response. And I won't even get started on the ludicrous notion of Shallan being an Allomancer.

I WILL MUST RESIST!

I've been working on it, but I haven't been able to come to any definite conclusions for anyone else. I have some suspicions about J.C. and about Monica, but nothing definite.

Additionally, Jedi do not kill unless they have to. Luke Striking down Vader and the Emperor would have been exactly what the Emperor wanted, as it would have likely led Luke to the Dark Side.

Just finished it, less than an hour after it arrived. Loved it. Fast-paced and fascinating concept. I hope it does get picked up for television or some kind of media, or at the very least that Brandon a few sequels. Also, Tobias is totally Morgan Freeman.

Should "Former" be capitalized? If so, that indicates that "Former" is a title among loremasters. That's a smaller thing, however, compared to the larger issue. "The Former loremaster slashed" is incredibly weak. Like, diet soda weak. The idea - cutting your shadow in half - is cool, but it's presented in a way that makes it boring. The makings of a good hook are in there, but the entire thing is riddled with weak bits that detract from the strong.

Our spikes are pointy.

It is not cosmere, but it is fantastic.

Looks interesting. I'll have to put it on the To Read list, which means I might not get to it for another six years. Although if I find it at the bookstore, I will definitely take a look at it.

Looks fairly mundane, from the outside. Elves, dwarves, etc, yawn. But, using Amazon's 'Look Inside', I found myself enjoying the first few pages. I might have to take a look at this next time I go to the store. Good writing can make up for lame worldbuilding.

Well, the Belgariad was written in the 80s. Things were different then, and fantasy was still, essentially, in it's infancy. Additionally, it is not really a story about defeating the big bad. As with all stories that follows the Hero's Journey archetype, the story is about the journey, and how the characters grow and change over the course of the adventure. The big bad is not the goal, just the obstacle they have to overcome.

Agreed xD.

Skip nothing. Skim nothing.

That, I think, should be the rule for the first book in a series. It should be able to work as a standalone, and Eye of the World definitely does. There are plot threads that are left hanging, but it still works.

I forgot to mention, I read this right after Fires of Heaven on this reread. And I can say, the book was never more powerful for me. I think right after Fires of Heaven is the best time to read New Spring, giving you insight into Moiraine; everything she does in the first five books makes so much sense, and you get to see the true drive, and what made her decide that was what she had to do.

Aww, I like Nynaeve and Elayne. They're my two favorite SuperGirls. I've also started on Crown of Swords, although I am forcing myself to a slower pace. I did the math a few days ago, dividing the number of days before AMoL comes out and how many chapters are in all the books I have left, and I can finish on January 8th exactly if I limit myself to two chapters a day. To aid in this, I am continuing my reread of The Way of Kings on the side, and rereading A Game of Thrones. It's really interesting to see the contrast between Martin and Jordan. Swovan Night... man, I love that chapter. Mat and Birgitte work so well together.

Because for many people, characters are what make the story. Battle isn't interesting unless a character you care about is in danger; political intrigue is stale if the stakes don't threaten characters you like; entire plotlines are boring if there is no character with which you can identify, root for, or truly despise and want to see fail. If there are none in a book, then what incentive do you have to see what happens to them? The plot will be boring, and as cool as the world is, a world is not enough to carry a story. Honestly, as strange as this notion of "caring for characters" may seem to you, your notion of finding more entertainment when you don't care is strange to me. Different strokes. I had the same problem with First Law. While the writing was spectacular, none of the characters were appealing. The first book was a total pain to slog through because the only viewpoints I got were from people I cared nothing about, with conflicts that I cared nothing about, and if any one of them dropped dead suddenly I wouldn't have batted an eye. Best Served Cold was far better.

Not to worry, we have Sharders bringing him salt at every signing.

You're thinking of Selene, one of the identities used by Lanfear in The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn. Sarene Nemdahl is an Aes Sedai of the White Ajah, who remained loyal to the Tower during the schism, and was captured by Rand after the events of Dumai's Wells, later swearing fealty to him. I think Reader was making a joke about Sarene from Elantris.

Inanimate |inˈanəmit| adjective • not alive, esp. not in the manner of animals and humans. ORIGIN late Middle English : from late Latin inanimatus ‘lifeless,’ from in- ‘not’ + animatus (see animate )

Trees cannot think, and I have seen no evidence anywhere that suggests they can in the cosmere. I am not disputing the idea that Kwaan was studying Realmatics. I am not disputing that everything that has a physical form has a representation within the Cognitive and Spiritual realms. What I am disputing is the idea that inanimate objects can think. Any representation an inanimate object may have in the Cognitive realm is, as I see it, the idea of that object given a form. The physical object itself is not thinking, but someone is thinking of it, or has thought of it, and thus a shade of it enters into and remains within Shadesmar.