Use the Falchion

As my Jasnadin ship sinks in the flames of her relationship with Wit (ruining TWO potential ships I had for the Alethi Queen), I've fully boarded the Kaladin x Leshwi ship. And with it, a realization came to me from the book - Singers age faster than humans, but we've never seen how fast a direct Human-Singer hybrid ages. Assuming Human-Singer hybrid ages a little faster than a human but slower than a full-blooded Singer, we could have Kaladin's child as fully-functioning character after the time-skip, even if it's just ten years. So...yeah. This direct Human-Singer hybrid child could be the one to round out the list of "next generation" characters along with Oroden and Gavinor (and maybe some of Rock's kids).

And her nickname as "Slammer," because she bodyslammed (or tail slammed) someone that offended her somehow? Either way, yeah I got the same impression!

And didn't the Stormfather hint that it may have been possible in the Syl interlude, along with Syl's more...human development in this book?

In a Cosmere setting, Elend is the son Dalinar always wanted. I mean, Elend and Dalinar would have a really cool mentorship or father-son relationship. In Dalinar, Elend could find the father figure he needed when he was younger as well as a man who can help him figure out how to be a soldier, a leader, a king, and possibly a tyrant (in a time when strong leadership is needed). In Elend, Dalinar would find someone who understands what it means to rule even if you were never meant to, and how weird it feels to transition roles. Maybe they'd just have a more intergenerational friendship, but I could see it being a cool father-son relationship. Even Vin and Jasnah might get along...which scares me far more than I'd be willing to admit.

I like it! I think we need to know a little more about Shallan's past before I make a decision on anything, but I'll definitely keep your theory in mind!

Finished the book about 30 minutes ago! And I have a LOT of conflicting feelings. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, as I do with most Sanderson books. But I didn't feel as...invested in the book as I do with most Sanderson books, if that makes sense. Like, with Oathbringer I was there for it all. I felt the highest highs and the lowest lows there. Here, while some reviews said that it had even higher highs and lower lows...I didn't feel it. Like, I didn't feel like the Sibling was in danger because somewhere in my heart I knew we'd have three Bondsmiths. (And that reveal of the Sibling using the spanreed was quite predictable imo. Not bad, just predictable.) It didn't make sense for Brandon to introduce a new character just to kill them off. I enjoyed Navani's science exploration, even if it wasn't a turn I was expecting in this book. And I loved Kaladin's "Die Hard" arc as well as his "Therapy-no-Jutsu" arc. Overall I just found myself loving the feeling of being immersed in Roshar again. I was here for the journey. And that was enough for me. There are some other minor issues nitpicks I have, but they aren't the fault of the book and mostly related to my pride and theories. (The Jasnadin ship sinks like the Titanic, but the Kaladin/Leshwi ship rises like the Fourth Bridge!) Part 3 and Part 5 were probably my favorite, and I have so many questions about Shallan's past timeline, what's going to happen with Adolin, and that storming epilogue, but overall the wait was worth it. This book will split fans further, but I don't think that's a bad thing. At the end of the day, I'm not sure how I place this book just yet. It's very topical and timely, hopeful, and has that Sanderson standard of quality. But it also focused a lot on things like the technology - which I'm not a giant fan of - at the expense of maybe a few more chapters with Dalinar and Shallan's stories. This book is good, but right now, I'm not sure I'd rank it as "the best" or "my favorite." I'll give it a reread before I make that decision my "official" one though.

The notes I was able to talk during the event: How do you feel about the release of RoW? The release party is very different. He misses the big party He doesn’t miss leaving the parties until about 5 am. He doesn’t miss the massive amount of signing. There is one Seon for every given Eon BUT there are Eons that we don’t know about. READING OF THE SIXTH INCARNATION OF PANDORA Sanderson’s fifth novel Could a Radiant be a squire of a different order? Possible but not done If Dalinar became a Lightweaver squire, could he create the Roshar map himself? Possible, but not probable. Liar of Partinel didn’t really work. READING Mistborn Prime & White Sand Prime will be release someday Brandon has talked about this in conjunction with later Stormlight Leatherbound releases What do you think you’ll do after the Cosmere is finished? “I will die.” *I missed a question about storytelling most likely related to Hoid* Nale seems to be able to sense Lift’s stormlight after she eats the role. How is he doing this? RAFO I Hate Dragons Reading Can metalborn twins have different powers? Can happen, but they’ll most likely have the same power. SIXTH OF THE DUSK SEQUEL READING NOT YET CANON The Ones Above are human They have machines that can sense life. Pale skin. Metal portions that covered part of the head like the cheeks. Triangle pointed towards the sky - flying machine shape LAUNCH PAD IS MADE OUT OF STEEL. Aviar plague wiped out. Steam machines They're trading Aviars. SEVEN FOOT TALL SOLDIER IS THAT A SHARDGUN?! IT'S A SHARDGUN PROBABLY FROM A SKYBREAKER. The Rebellion of 0-5 Is that explorer Hoid? Ten the Finder

I think it's a WoB, but I'm low-key afraid to go to the Arcanum and the Coppermind until I (start and) finish Rhythm of War...

At the same time, Honor and Cultivation were in a relationship, so he may just be more mad about Syl being in a relationship than who it's with. And a new HOPEFULLY impossible ship: Batman and Harley Quinn. I have no idea why, but I've wanted to see how this would work for a few years.

These final few days have been the hardest. On one hand, I feel like I'm off the hook if I read the preview chapters tomorrow before work and during my break. But on the other hand, I've been saving the book for when I have a chance to read the physical copy. Reading the online version - even if it's acceptable - still feels a little like cheating to me. My week is so full though...that may be the only way I get any reading done until Thursday...

You know, I could almost see it. ...although I do fear for Wyndle's health when Syl and Lift start hanging out.

Warbreaker 100% for me. I didn't really care for it the first time I read it (post-WoR, so I had a reverse effect to the WoR reveal). But I read it leading up to Oathbringer in 2017, and that time away from the book - along with the annotations and a soundtrack that really made everything pop for me - helped the book grow on me. (Coldrain's songs "UNIVITED," "AFTERMATH," and "A DECADE IN THE RAIN" are my songs of choice. "UNINVITED" works as the "trailer song" in my head as well.) Now I always say that it's not Sanderson's best book, but it's the most Sanderson book of his works. Elantris may also be on this list, as I haven't reread it since my first read in about 2015 or 2016. But I remember liking the book and think back on it fondly, so I'm not sure it counts. Oh! Shadows of Self! Again, I didn't dislike SoS, but it didn't shine as bright to me compared to AoL and BoM. But again, with the right music, everything reads better. (Hans Zimmer's "Submarine" is the "trailer" song and the theme song.) In terms of Non-Sanderson stuff...maybe Calamity? I still don't like it as much as Steelheart (my first Sanderson book) or Firefight (the best in the series IMO), but I don't dislike it as much as I did when it came out. Or maybe The Rithmatist. I liked it when I read it, but I didn't love it. I wasn't sure why people wanted a sequel to it as passionately as they did. But after a reread this year, I can see it.

Overall it was a solid episode! Questions were answered, new leitmotifs were introduced, the action and pacing were sharp, and the momentum from the previous episodes still carried over. There was a weak spot or two, but over, I had a good time and I can't wait for next week.

The Way of Kings Prime should probably be adapted to live action. TWOK-P takes place in a far more grounded Roshar, with far more accessible (yet still mystical) powers. I think the journeys of Merin, Shinri, and Jasnah would be what people expect out of live action fantasy series, and Brandon's name would help them tune in. Add to it the fact that after the first book/season, the creators and showrunners would have free reign over where the show goes means that they get the perfect launching pad and now don't have to worry about an author publically complaining about how the story "doesn't follow the books" or "have the intentional spirit of the books" or whatnot. It's a baton pass that benefits both sides - Brandon gets his television show and that show brings more people to his books; and the book people will be invested in the show because it's Brandon's. The name would have to change, of course, but that's nothing new. Brandon turning into a sort of James Patterson, where he gives outlines to authors and lets them write stories in his worlds (Dark One, The Original, Deathrise, hopefully Adamant someday) is a great thing. This gives Brandon the freedom to work on his own projects, brings attention to lesser known authors, and infuses Brandon's worlds with a personality that they may not have otherwise. Mainframe - Brandon's audiobook company - is a great start in this direction.

I've enjoyed most of his relationships for what they are, as they usually go into the struggles of being in a relationship instead of getting into the relationship, like most media I consume focuses on. Is Sanderson perfect at this? Absolutely not! But he has gotten better with time, practice, overall life experience, and a butt-ton of beta readers!

Good enough!

I haven't watched it yet; I was only able to join in the last 15 minutes. But the information about what outlines he has was very interesting! And in his Q&A with the Twitch dude earlier today shed some light over what Mainframe was, and mentioned that whether or not Sanderson writes the Cyberpunk Mistborn books will depend on how ahead or on-time he is with the back 5 Stormlight books. (There is a high chance I was dreamed this up, as I was half-asleep during the Q&A, but I think it's releasing on YouTube tomorrow. If so, someone'll link it and fact check me.)

I'd have totally been down for that, in a non-Cursed Child storyline! You know there will be tons of fan-art of this if/when the movie gets made. Aren't there theories that they were a couple?

I'm always in this weird place with Brandon and his writing output, specifically when it comes to deadlines. On one hand, if he can get to 50% by the end of this month, I'll feel very confident in his ability to finish the book (and honestly he'll probably give us a rough preview chapter or something in the newsletter that will almost inevitably come out on Tuesday). On the other hand, Brandon had his manic sprint to finish RoW last year and it was awesome; and if push came to shove, I'm sure Sanderson could do it again. So yeah, I'm not worried. Nervous maybe, but not worried.

Happy 1,000th post!

Sanderson's annotations on Reddit. The Coppermind has the three annotations. Be careful about the Q&A section if you're not reading the preview chapters. I was spoiled on something there... https://wob.coppermind.net/events/443-dawnshard-annotations/ I'm not sure I agree with this, but you make a very interesting point/theory. Also, welcome to the Shard!

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, at this point, there may not be a reason to do such a thing. But for Stormlight 5 it may be handy.

Since I picture Stormlight books as anime/anime-inspired in my head, I like to give the books theme songs and/or Intros and Outros. While you all may not see the books similarly, do y'all give the Stormlight books theme songs? If so, post them below! TWOK Intro - "Re: I Am" (English Version) by Aimer TWOK Outro - "Ref:rain" by Aimer WOR Intro - "Words That Bind Us" by Nothing's Carved In Stone WOR Outro - "Assassin" by Nothing's Carved In Stone Edgedancer (and Lift's personal) theme - "PUPA" by Nothing's Carved In Stone Oathbringer Intro - "Insane Dream" by Aimer Oathbringer Outro - "Us" by Aimer Oathbringer "Ending Credits" Theme (as in the theme that plays when we reach the end of the story, not just "the episode") - "Sins of the Father" by Donna Burke Dawnshard theme - N/A ("Rysn" and "Wandersail" by The Black Piper work well however) Rhythm of War Intro - Undecided, but leaning towards "LOST IN THE ECHO" by Linkin Park Rhythm of War Outro - Undecided, but leaning towards "A Line In the Sand" by Linkin Park

I just hope that whatever Kaladin's last name ends up being, we can work in a Kal-El/Kal-L pun.