Use the Falchion

Skyward 4 Draft 1 at 75%!

Thanks for the shoutout, and great post as always! Of course, the Mistborn movie conversation is exciting, but I'm probably most excited about the other two projects. I imagine the one with the screenwriter attached is Dark One, since we know it was being adapted as a television show at one time. In terms of the game, I still think it may be Soulburner. (See my theories Mini-Con thread.) Outside of that, I'm torn on the new covers. I like them better than the original covers, but I'm also partial to the 2016 covers better - I feel like they captured the zany nature of the series better. (Has it been five years since the previous book already?) These feel more modern, but that also makes them more generic in a way. Still, if they breathe fresh life into the series and kindle interest, I'm game. Some silly math here as well. In his final SandoWriMo update, Brandon mentions writing 32k per month while editing and revision TLM and Defiant throughout the year in order to reach his goals for Stormlight 5 and stay on schedule overall. However, 32k per month would put Brandon at 384k by the end of the year, which is shorter than the 400k I felt he was aiming for before. That might mean that he plans for Stormlight 5 to be TWoK length, or simply that he plans for the extra 16k to be in interludes that he'll write later. Or maybe he's planning on increasing the wordcount in revisions, like with OB and RoW. Or maybe some mix of all three. Either way, this will be interesting to see play out.

We got one at the beginning of the episode! We also got a skirt smoothing! Also about Loial finding that person:

I think I can see it, if only because I felt similarly between Starsight and Shallan's arc in Words of Radiance on my first readthrough. But the book you mention is one of the few Brandon books I haven't reread since the first experience - it and Alcatraz, so I'm not really the best judge. But I think I can see it...

Every episode sees me more and more impressed with the show. It's also adapting the best parts of later books in the series (for me) even earlier on - the kinship and bond between characters. Several moments in this were supremely sweet. Others heartbreakingly sad. All still served that purpose of kingship and bond. Again, this wasn't a perfect episode, but I don't see perfect episodes for a show often. And for a first season, WoT is doing pretty much everything right.

I almost always recommend the same reading order, but since it's a reread for you, I can go all out: The Wheel of Time Mistborn Era 1* Elantris (& attached novellas) Mistborn Era 2 & Secret History* (& attached novellas) Warbreaker Rest of Arcanum Unbounded stories Stormlight 1-4 (WoK, WoR, ED, OB, DS, RoW) White Sand** WoK-Prime Dragonsteel can only be read in one place AFAIK, but it will be edited and released for the Words of Radiance kickstarter in 2023 I believe. WoK Prime is a good story and is worth it if you want to see Brandon's final unpublished story and are curious about his growth as an author. It's not like the Cosmere WoK version at all. It's darker, grittier, and a little more cynical. The magic feels a lot more like the One Power in the Wheel of Time than it does the Surges of Stormlight - it's vague, and you know there are rules, but it doesn't work as rigidly either. If Mistborn Era 1 and Elantris are your favorite Sanderson books, then there's a good chance you'll love this book. I know it's not canon, but I like to consider the adventures of Renarin, Merin, and Shinri as background adventures to our main crew on Roshar. The book does have a slight problem in its ending and cast however. While Brandon claims not much happens, I heavily disagree - a LOT happens, but it's not as spread out evenly. This book also has a bad cliff-hanger. It feels too obvious in some ways and like red flags in others, warning people that the sequel to this book would be from an author who was biting off more than they could chew. Fortunately, Brandon's experience writing the Mistborn trilogy back-to-back, and more importantly, finishing the Wheel of Time really forced him to improve and mature as an author. Lastly, of all the Sanderson stories, I think this book would make for the best television show. The story has a fair bit of mystery and political intrigue, a decent romance (between two characters you wouldn't really expect), and a nice set of locations. Sure, the story drags in the middle, but overall, it's grounded enough that non-hardcore SFF fans can get into it, but has the Brand(on) recognition bump from Sanderson's name being attached. Add to that the fact that Brandon wouldn't really have to be involved in the story past the first season (for better or for worse), then you've got something the publishers may want to get their hands on. Ultimately, WoK Prime is a fossil of a book that can be seen as better than the more current stuff if you're a fan, but highlight how much Brandon has grown as an author as well. *Since this is a reread, you can actually place Secret History after Era 1 if you're so inclined. If you had it after Era 1 originally, maybe placing it after Era 2 this time may give a different experience. The opposite is true as well. **Admittedly, I usually recommend people wait until the Omnibus comes out to read White Sand. Since you have all of the volumes however, reading it whenever you need a break from the other books is my main recommendation.

You're not alone! YMMV on whether or not it's a good thing (I don't mind, and I like how it's described differently from FM/Rig and Spensa/Jorgen), but it's definitely there.

Ah, I like that!

I agree with Episode 4 being the best so far. I think the show is finding it's footing now, and that means that the kinks should start to be worked out here. The Nynaeve/Lan stuff is good, and I'm super stoked for their love story going forward. Not sure if it's been addressed for you yet, but the show changed this - Moiraine mentions that the Dragon Reborn (of the show) could be a man or a woman in her opening monologue. This is a major change, and one that doesn't feel necessary for book readers, but it keeps the suspense and adds an additional weight to the ladies of Two Rivers for non-book readers. Also, I think later books touch on some of your theories about what the Dragon does, but that's not entirely accurate IIRC. (Again, later books will address this.) I think they cut that out because

Oh yeah! The "condense light into such a small concentrated place that it becomes a black hole" question! That was a fun one.

Thanks for the correction and updates! Oh thanks for the reminder! I legitimately forgot! I believe it was lumped into the question about other Surges being related to Yolish surges/powers. (But I have it as beforehand in my notes, so it may not be.) Brandon kept saying that Hoid should not be a Lightweaver, and mentioned that it was bringing him close to something related to the Dawnshards. I wish it in more detail, but that's the best I can do at the moment and there wasn't a lot of explanation.

TLM may be up, depending if Team Dragonsteel recorded that session and puts it online, and when. If they only recorded tonight's session and decide to release that, then we'll get Kingmaker instead. Evershore is a bit more nebulous. I imagine we'll get a teaser and/or maybe even the first chapter as a preview for the release, but I don't think they'll the convention version. Then again, I've been wrong before.

This is a very interesting book. On first this first readthrough, I think I liked it better than Starsight. I'm really afraid I'll dislike it as I think about it more, but that rarely happens with Sanderson books. This book really felt like a Storm-lite book, but for Rhythm of War instead of just in general like Skyward was. Here, Spensa's journey was all about a new discover linked with old roots, not unlike Navani and Venli's discoveries in RoW. However, this felt more like The Empire Strikes Back instead of RoW's The Last Jedi. (Although Spensa's confrontations with Brade definitely felt like early Rey/Kylo Ren Force-times.) It's also interesting to see how much story Brandon is learning to compact into 100k words. I think he's practicing this now so that Stormlight books can be a little more compact in the future. This book is more akin to what I think I wanted from Starsight, but also not, if that makes sense. Like, I like who Spensa and M-Bot become during this book, but we needed Starsight to get there. As mentioned both others, this book does suffer from the same problems that Starsight did, but I don't think nearly to the degree the second book did. Here we got ample Jorgen; and while the rest of the flight was missing, the novellas really softened that blow. Defending Elysium's tie-ins were expected from Beta/Gamma reviews on Goodreads, but still very surprising in their implementation. And as @Chaos mentioned in his review, the book had a certain lack of tension that the first book did, and the sacrifices didn't hurt as much.* Still, it was an enjoyable, if safe and unsurprising (to me) ride. Still, this book has done a great job at hyping me up for Defiant, which I guess is officially the title now Evershore. My current Cytoverse ranking: Skyward ReDawn Sunreach & Cytonic Defending Elysium & Starsight *Although to be fair, sacrifices in books rarely hurt me emotionally, and I may just be too tired to have this one be sad.

Alright, time for my final update of Q&A stuff for this Con, as I wasn't one of the lucky 150. I'll quote questions I asked, and paraphrase the responses. Direct quotes will be in quotation marks, and everything else is paraphrased. Janci was later asked which era she would like to write in, and confessed that it didn't really matter to her. She then went on to explain that she'd like to write a YA story that would ultimately bridge the gap between the times. (So more like what Wax & Wayne was originally intended as in an Era 1.5 sort of story.) Kimmalyn will most likely be a future Skyward novella character*, and will most likely be a LGBTQ+ character, as a future LGBTQ+ romance IS coming. (Not confirmed, but Janci wiggled her eyebrows suggestively when directly asked about Kimmalyn.) Janci also ships Alanik and Arturo and doesn't want their relationship to end at just friendship. Janci also wants to name Spensa's mom Linea (sp.) EDIT: Most of the above has already been listed. (By me...earlier today...whoops...) I'm keeping these up though, just for posterity's sake. White Sand Omnibus is done! They're working with the publisher on it, and it will probably be released next year sometime. Isaac is also about halfway through his Nikki story. Lastly are some questions and answers from tonight's Q&A. Since this one was streamed, I'm pretty sure the Arcanum will use that footage instead. Still: @Wyndlerunnerreported the Ashyn magic stuff. (Cultivation has briefly been to Ashyn as well.) At the Bands of Mourning dance ball where Hoid and Khriss are, there is at least one, but probably two other worldhoppers present. Dune's monopoly on intergalactic travel narrative influenced the Cytoverse. Once again Brandon mentioned a videogame project he can't announce.** Ilos (sp.) wanted to work with Brandon, but was rejected due to another project being accepted. This rejected project was one of two denied, and has enough information out there that people have started comparing it to Mistborn. (This may be Forspoken, but the compony mentioned - which I completely misspelled - is neither Luminous Projects or Square Enix, the two driving forces behind Forspoken. I may have misheard however.) Aimians don't have Parshendi blood, but RAFO on other races mixing to result in them. Rithmatist - getting someone who has Aztec heritage to co-author the sequel is being looked into and a probably direction. This is not new information. "What do Doomslugs taste like?" "They taste like...knowing you're a terrible person." A worldhopper in The Lost Metal comes from a culture inspired by the Indian subcontinent. (I believe there's been speculation about a potential Elantrian country/continent, but there's no hard WoBs on this.) Total Readings as far as I know: The Lost Metal (Chapters 1 & 2) Evershore (Prologue & Chapter 1) In the Shadow of Lightning (Brian McClellan's new book) (First part of a character's first viewpoint) Kingmaker (Prologue & Chapter 1) *This may or may not have been confirmed during the Skyward panel. I wasn't there. **Insert Soulburner speculation and hype.

Janci's spotlight panel stuff: Evershore Prologue and Chapter 1 read. Kimmalyn will most likely be a new novella character. She will also most likely be the LGBTQ+ character, as Janci wiggled her eyebrows suspiciously when asked. Janci would love to do a YA story set in Mistborn (it's not happening though, so don't spread rumors.) Also, will anyone be at the Skyward spotlight panel at 4? Janci teased some big announcements, but I won't be there - I'm heading to Brian McClellan's panel.

I got my question asked! My breakdown: If I wasn't 100% behind Soulburner being a videogame before, I am now. I think there's a not small chance that Soulburner is actually the PS4 game Forspoken. Reddit sniffed out a couple of sources a few months ago, and the information from that speculation has been proved accurate. Add in Brandon's comment about doing a call with a videogame company earlier this week, and it feels like there's something brewing. This also matches up with Brandon not being able to tell us anything IMO. The only problem is why Brandon would have an NDA so far into this project when others seemingly don't. And that's something I can't answer. Other things of note: I asked Steven Bohls if he and Brandon have any cool ideas for the next Lux book in terms of cool settings or cities - he mentioned that Book 5 will most likely be set in the New Orleans bayou/deep swamp area. (Or at least that's what he'd like.) It will most likely be a shorter book, at around 100k words overall; and there's a good chance that Mizzy will be a major POV character in the next book. Fun fact - Mizzy was supposed to show up in Lux, as Jax was supposed to go from Boston through New York, meet Mizzy and see Regalia flood the city, and then end up in Texas. This part ended up being cut as it was too tangential to the story. (Wingflare's original gimmick was going to be sound and a sound effect, but this was cut - as were most sound effects - as it felt too much like a gimmick.) Brandon currently wants Lux to be a trilogy, and the second book in that trilogy may be released sometime next November. (The two have ideas, but they were waiting on some sales reports and contract stuff first, and that may have just arrived this past week.) Dan is writing the novelization of Dark One at the moment. It's not following the outline, so don't expect it to end up like the graphic novel (sadly). Dan is planning on this being about a 100-120k novel overall. Janci unofficially announced more Skyward novellas, with a surprise POV character for one of them coming up. Brandon will give the official announcement tomorrow/today. This isn't really big spoiler-y or surprising news, as Janci a few months ago mentioned that there were things she couldn't talk about related to Skyward and that we can infer from there, and then Brandon mentioned that he had talks with Janci during his 11/19 SandoWriMo update - the one where he also talks about a meeting with a videogame company. Brandon Q&A tidbits, all paraphrased: Hoid should not be a Rosharan and Yolish Lightweaver, as it's getting close to something related to Dawnshards. There are other Surges related to Yolish magic. There are other Godmetals that can be used/burned by anyone. The "Crown, Tower, Spear" Death Rattle has not happened yet, either on-screen or off-screen.

Brandon and others who work on the show have said to treat it like another turning of the Wheel. This isn't the same as the books, nor was it ever going to follow the books in a 1-1 ratio. Very few things do, and those that do seem to not be remembered as fondly. (I.e. the first two Harry Potter movies. While I love them, they're generally seen as the worst movies of the bunch because they follow the books too closely.) IMO, the goal of any adaptation should be to create a good show/movie/etc first, keep the spirit of the thing adapted second, and then be faithful third if at all possible. I think looking at it from that perspective - from the perspective of a new interpretation/alternate universe ala superhero reboots and whatnot - can help alleviate some of the pain. ...please tell me this is sarcasm. Because if it's not, boy do I have some news for you: Diehard fans - particularly when it comes to nerd/geek culture stuff - have a tendency to have the racist undertones boil over when casting choices are made. The Witcher went through this a couple of years ago, The Dusty Wheel and Daniel Greene addressed this specific aspect a year or so ago, I think around the time the casting came out, and don't get me started on Star Wars and Marvel/DC stuff. Sometimes race doesn't even have to be involved - people were upset when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman, people were upset when Christian Bale was cast as Batman, and people were upset when Robert Pattinson was cast as Batman (and more upset when Zoe Kravitz was cast as Catwoman). My recommendation is to just ignore it and enjoy the performance. A new performance, a new iteration of characters brings with it a new subtext and themes and life.

I watched all three. I've only read the books once, and while I try to keep up to date with things, I'm also not the biggest fan. That being said, I liked the first three episodes. They were FAR from perfect, but they adapted the parts of the first book they've covered so far very well. The acting is amazing (Nynaeve and Moiraine being the standouts (as they always are), but they all do very well), the costumes and design are there, and the music grows on you. I think the writing is solid too, and while I don't agree with every choice, most of the changes so far have helped the books become a show IMO. The worldbuilding, for the amount they had to pull off in such a short time, was also phenomenally well-done. In-world songs covering lore in this modern-yet-aged way, characters remembering their past and foreshadowing of later moments, it's all really well done. Sure, some of the exposition is a little heavier than other parts* but the rest is good. That being said, it's not a perfect show. The complaints about the world feeling a tad empty and the clothes a little too nice (barring Mat) feel valid at times, and the Trollocs are hit-or-miss depending on the scene they're in. Also action...could be a lot better, to say the least. I think another large problem is the fact that the audience is comparing this to Game of Thrones, as is the media surrounding the show. This isn't Game of Thrones. It's dealing with vastly different issues in a vastly different way with a vastly story. Game of Thrones didn't worry about it's Chosen One plotline until the final few seasons, and had an atrocious set up for it, to the point I was worried about how they'd bring it in; in Wheel of Time, the Chosen One plot is the crux of the story. Game of Thrones was light on the CGI outside of Dany's dragons until the end of the show; Wheel of Time is CGI-heavy from the start, since Trollocs are more monstrous than Orcs and appear far sooner. Lastly, Game of Thrones really started out in main places (Winterfell, King's Landing, and the East where Dany was), and expanded from there; the Wheel of Time visits so many places within its first book alone that it would be nearly impossible to give those places that same feel. Instead, I encourage watchers to not compare WoT to GoT, but instead reminisce about Lord of the Rings and the Star Wars trilogies, particularly the Original Trilogy and the Sequel Trilogy (although the Prequel Trilogy's focus on the Chosen One is also important to note). These stories follow similar paths at their beginning, with their heroes not being able to return home again, as the Dark Forces they're fighting conspire against them. They take multiple characters who more or less start in the same space, and cast them onto different paths, until the day they meet again. Star Wars and WoT get particular shout-outs, as they both mix Eastern and Western aesthetics and philosophies, and both draw greatly from Arthurian lore. Overall, the Wheel of Time is a show that has a good head-start, but may be ruined by people's expectations. It's following it's own path, but taking advice from other shows. Still, it's the first season, and we shouldn't be expecting late season-quality Game of Thrones from this just yet. To put in other words, when you go to college and get a degree, you're learning from experts. You may have even had an internship. But once you get a job, it's going to be a LOT different from what you thought you knew, as the requirements for knowing what to do and doing it are different. Give the show a season or two to find its footing, and I'm sure it'll blossom beautifully. (That doesn't mean you have to watch it all the way for it to blossom, but just know that it does.) Other Spoilery points:

I'm thinking Rock, as it feels appropriate for his character's actions, past (both the parts we've seen and parts that are hinted at), and current known objectives. But I do like the theory @Blackwarder proposed about Lirin.

Skyward 4 Draft 1 at 30%. Judging by this and his SandoWriMo word count, the tentatively titled Defiant will be about 100k long. This isn't surprising, but I was hoping for the series to end at a slightly larger size comparable to Skyward at around 140k.

Before the book comes out, there are two tie-in novellas that were just released in September and October called Sunreach and ReDawn. Brandon and novella coauther Janci have recommend the order to be: Sunreach novella ReDawn novella Cytonic Evershore novella However, they acknowledge that reading the first two before or after Cytonic won't change too much.

I probably would be supercharged, but nothing else may change. Bonds with multiple Spren IS possible as seen by Shallan*, and I don't think Syl would mind too too much IMO. (There's also the potential theory that the Stormfather may be killed also. If that happens, then his power (and probably Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow) would pass to Syl via the three-way bond.) *And possibly Adolin in Book 5, if my tinfoil "Notum will bond with Adolin while Adolin helps bring Maya back to life" theory comes true.

I mean, Sanderson almost always pairs people up. In the Cosmere it's harder to name eligible characters who aren't paired up or don't have a romance teased than those who are. Heck, one of the most common questions Brandon gets asked about Kaladin is if/when he'll find love. I'm not saying you're wrong, but romance is a big thing for Brandon, and it always confuses me a little when people are upset about Brandon doing something he's always done. It's like having a dog that barks at squirrels, and you take him to your friend's house...where he barks at squirrels. Why would the setting change the behavior?

Just saw Eternals tonight. I have a lot of complex feelings on it, but not because of things people may originally assume. This movie is more akin to a Snyder DC movie than a Marvel one, with both the good and the bad. It's acted well, but put together awkwardly by sheer value of the story told, and I didn't really connect with the characters. The one character I did connect with had offensively short screen-time, so that didn't help. This movie will be controversial for Marvel at best (and seeing some of the reports, it already is), or loathed at worst. It was a risk in a year where Marvel took a LOT of risks (first three live action D+ shows, two of which covered heavy topics; a theater/Disney+ combo movie release that landed them in some hot water; and their first Asian-American leading movie). I'm not sure how Marvel will feel about it, but I think the director and franchise is worth keeping around, as they have diversified the MCU in far more than one way. Eternals feels similar to Star Wars: The Last Jedi to me - it will challenge people who don't want or like to be challenged, and it won't go the way people think. But ultimately, I think that's for the best for the franchise and the brand. Although give me a couple of days, and I may change my mind.

Gotcha. Thanks!