Use the Falchion

That's a really cool theory...and a frighteningly possible concept.

Maybe we're thinking about this all wrong. If we're considering a Radiant with full blade and plate to be the pinnacle of non-Ascended Rosharan magic, why aren't we doing the same for Scadrial? A Mistborn isn't the top tier of power on Scadrial - a Fullborn is. And I'd probably pick a Fullborn ala TLR or (Bands of Mourning Spoilers) over a Radiant pretty much any day. To me should be Misting vs Shardblade/Shardplate wearer, Mistborn vs Tier 3 or so Radiant (or one who has both blade and plate, but isn't a Radiant) at most, and then Fullborn vs a 5 Oath Radiant. Also, for the point of Jasnah and Soulcasting; was she far away when she Soulcast the killers in the alley in tWoK? I don't remember. I remember her Soulcasting from a distant in the climax of OB, but one has to admit those circumstances were very unique. It'd be like claiming Vin should be able to do what she did when she all of the time. But that's just me. I don't really want to be dragged into this.

I always thought of her as more strategic and paranoid than straight tactical. She out-poison's Kabsal by virtue of not being on the same playing field, and nearly lost Shallan in the process. She outsmarted the assassins (again by not being on the same playing field*), but nearly lost Shallan, the sailors, and her notes in the process. Jasnah is brilliant and calculating, and can play the games, but in the canonical books, Dalinar was the one with the battle plans (post-Adolin's birth). Again, I'm not saying this Jasnah is bad, but it's like the Meridas problem. Everyone says that Jasnah is a stoic person, but being in her mindset and her arc in this book made her feel anything but stoic to me. There are elements of tragedy in the "love that can never be," that stubborn determination she always possessed, and there was absolutely the cut-throat, calculating coldness via manipulation that other characters mentioned, but I rarely got stoic out of it. Or maybe it's just that Sanderson was still terrible at writing romance. Meh, it's fine. I'm both a Marvel and a DC fan! A "crusher" type of villain is where the heroes forge themselves though. In the Nolan movies are all about Batman learning to become a symbol instead of just a vigilante, and those types of "crusher" villains are what make for good forges for the heroes. It's the loses that Oliver Queen takes when fighting The Dark Archer in Season 1 of Arrow that start him on the path of heroism. It's the battle against Loki that none of the Avengers were prepared for that pushed them towards becoming a family of sorts (and sent Tony down the path of creating Ultron, freaking out about Thanos, and mentoring Peter). Inverses make for fun stories, but Crushers are needed for good characters. Meridas here was a Crusher, but one that was politically aligned with the heroes at times, and that made him interesting and almost respectful. Like in A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones when Also, when compared to Elhokar, Meridas had something resembling honor around him. He kept his word, helped out his promised allies, and overall proved himself to be a useful tool. Was he still an obstacle that should have been removed? Absolutely. But I never once rolled my eyes at him after the big reveal like I did with Sadeas in WoR. I guess since this was a more political book, I appreciated the more political villain; and since Stormlight moved out of the Alethi politics super quickly, it felt like a lot of potential was left behind. The scope became too big for the villain, and in turn it made the villain feel too small to be of any significance. And with such an intimate antagonist such as Sadeas, it felt like a shame.

Same, but I felt like he was more...realistic? competent? threatening! than Stormligh!Sadeas ever was. And that's why I liked him. Overall the villains in this book never felt like one-off villains the way the ones in regular Stormlight tend to feel. Meridas is a terrible, atrocious human being in this, but he's like the Token Evil Teammate, and that makes him interesting. He's not Tywin Lannister or Andross Guild levels of "manipulative [insert bad word here]", but he's the closest Sanderson's written. Also the Jasnah of this book felt too...exposed compared to the Jasnah of Stormlight. It was weird. She wasn't the same character. Here Jasnah was a tactical genius (a trait later given to Dalinar) instead of a philosophical one for the most part. Here she rarely felt like the stoic woman she was described as. Granted, she was in extremely stressful situations, but it was a very noticeable difference. Overall, this Jasnah felt like proto-Jasnah than actual Jasnah...because I guess she actually is proto-Jasnah lol! I'm not sure I'm willing to give up my AshxTaln ship (OR my Kaladin/Jasnah ship) for this one just yet, but it was super fascinating to see and eerily possible going forward. There are already people on Reddit who were a little confused about the different between the canonical The Way of Kings and The Way of Kings Prime. One case was about the audiobook, the other just general confusion. And having two versions, both of which are titled the same thing but only connects to a broader universe can get confusing. I can already imagine future fans being like "wait, so The Way of Kings that ISN'T live action is related to the Misborn movies? I thought all of the live action movies were connected? So they all are EXCEPT this one? This is too confusing!" (slightly amusing I think, coming from a person who fought for YEARS for the CW shows to be connected to the DC movies like the MCU shows and movies were at the time. ...and then was very happy when they really weren't that connected...). Not everyone is as entrenched in Sanderson's works as we are, even among fans. That doesn't mean we need to appeal to the least common denominator (despite that often being the case in television), just that we can't all assume they'll pick up on things like we do. But they could brand one as Oathshards or something like that and the other as The Stormlight Archive, and then explain how the two came to be, and everything should be fine. Sanderson may even have a frame of reference if he ends up taking a similar approach with Dark One. I saw it earlier! And while it was surprising, I definitely see the appeal of Prime over the canonical version.

My first thought was the same as yours with I'm 50-50 on the The other things I was thinking about were Not sure how those may work for Book 6 just yet, but those are my theories.

I haven't seen this thread yet, so let's start it! Here's the place to discuss The Way of Kings Prime in full. IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THE BOOK, LEAVE NOW AND COME BACK LATER. Now with that out of the way, what did you all think of the book? I thought the book was a VERY interesting read. There were things I really liked in this read, and things that I very much didn't. What I liked: Merin - Merin is NOT Kaladin. To me they barely share the same attributes, and if one told me Merin, Shinri, and Renarin's adventures were happening off in the background of TWoK & WoR ala Abed helping a Greendale student give birth in the back of a car in Community, I'd be fine with it. Merin is the typical farmboy-turned-royal, and it was fun to see how Sanderson handled that trope. The early powers of Windrunners were great too. it reminded me a little of the Power in the Wheel of Time, but fantastic enough to be different. What I liked: The plot. Sanderson states that nothing really got done in this book, and I heavily disagree. In some ways, there is more plot in this version The Way of Kings than there is in the Stormlight version. The characters make the plots a little harder to follow, but it also allows for readers to get a good perspective while still keeping the element of mystery. What I liked. That this book DIDN'T come out. That isn't a dig on the book at all, but it is something. I'm sure this book would have done very well had it come out in its original form. Without the Spren, some of the more magical aspects of Shardblades, and less noticeable crazy hair, and 200 pages shorter, this book would have been far more mainstream-ready than the current Stormlight books. But at the same time, it's clear Sanderson wasn't ready to release the book he truly wanted to yet. He needed to write a full saga from start to finish first. He needed to write a true sequel first. He needed to learn how to handle a story with multiple characters over a prolonged time first. And THEN he could stretch himself. What I liked: Ahven. Ahven was probably the most diabolical villain Sanderson's created. Sure other villains were alien, evil, sociopaths, or psychopaths, but Ahven seemed to relish in the cruelty he enacted on others. He was misogynistic, sadistic, and narcissistic. And he was COMPETENT. There weren't very many moments where I felt something akin to pity for the tyrant like I do Taravangian. He isn't supposed to BE pitiful, and that's a strength. What I liked: Meridas? It's clear Sanderson split Meridas up into Amaram and Sadeas, but I was more impressed with the acumen of this Meridas than I ever was either Amaram or Sadeas in the canon series. Amaram and Sadeas always seemed to resort to skulduggery to get the upper-hand. Meridas here needed none of that although he wasn't above using it. I liked that, but it DID get annoying how often they mentioned that Meridas was hiding something and he was more clever than he appeared while still calling him a flop. What I liked: Renarin creating the Diagram. It was just super cool and sort of creepy. What I liked: Shinri. I did get bored of her towards the middle, I admit, but I liked how she WASN'T Shallan. I don't hate Shallan at all, but I liked seeing a different character too. What I liked: The worldbuilding. This has some of Sanderson's most in-depth worldbuilding I've seen, and I LOVED it. I honestly wish Stormlight had more shoutouts to songs, events, and in-world texts like this book does (I mean, Stormlight has a LOT, but I could always go for more). What I liked: How intimately the powers were tied to stones. It was just cool to see. What I didn't like: How the Kholins were treated. I was upset how they were pretty much all dead by the end of the book. It made me sad and felt more like Game of Thrones and their treatment of both the Starks and the Lannisters than it did most things Sanderson. What I didn't like: Shinri towards the back half. I ended up skimming her chapters towards the middle and only came back around towards the end. What I didn't like: The exposition. This is the downside to so much worldbuilding; someone has to explain what all of this worldbuilding means and that leads to a lot of exposition. Half of this book was exposition. I enjoyed that aspect but it was a problem. Other notes: Jasnah and Taln? JASNAH AND TALN? I've seen Jasnah shipped with a variety of people and am a Jasnadin shipper myself. But JASNAH AND TALN??? I'm SUPER interested in seeing what Sanderson does for both characters going forward, together or not . Other notes: I'm not sure how I felt about Elhokar this time around. There's a difference between being an ineffective king and an actively bad one, and this version of Elhokar is clearly the latter. I was a little worried about why Dalenar would kill his nephew, but by the end I was clearly rooting for it. And after Oathbringer it's clear why Sanderson had to tone down Elhokar's competency. But still, I'm left torn. Overall this was a good book. Not a great one, but a very solid entry in Sanderson's portfolio. I'd give it a solid 8/10 Lastly, my controversial opinion. If The Way of Kings were to become a live action show, THIS is the version they should adapt. Between the toned down fantastical events, multiple perspectives, and overall grounded nature of the story, this would be FAR easier to adapt into live action than The Stormlight Archive as it is today. It would also give the showrunners the chance to play in a new world without fans worrying about whether or not the adaptation is true to form or accurate to the books, because there's only one.* This is NOT me saying that I don't want the current Stormlight Archive series adapted. I just think that the current Stormlight series would benefit from an animated show ala Netflix's Castlevania or Avatar: The Last Airbender. And while it might be weird for there to be two adaptations of the same series to exist, it's not unheard of either. How many iterations of the Narnia movies have there been? There's an animated Lord of the Rings show as well as the live action movie,** and there are TWO different anime series for Full Metal Alchemist, both of which are great (although Brotherhood is still the best from what I've heard). Death Note has an anime adaptation, THREE Japanese live action movies, and one American movie. It's possible. The only major flaw for this I can think of is the fact that it'd be confusing for those who don't know about the Cosmere, but that's what social media, branding, and fan communities are for. I'm probably alone in my opinion, but hey, that's why it's controversial. So, WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK OF THIS BOOK? DISCUSS BELOW!! *Sanderson could probably provide an outline of where he thought the story was going to head at the time, but that'd be about it. **Granted the show came out decades before the movies did, but they still both exist.

I THINK I know two of the reasons why this might be the case. The first is a major spoiler, but it's something the audience has already guessed. The second has to do with a character or two in particular, but I'm not entirely sure (since...you know...only three canonical Stormlight books are out). Overall we probably won't what Prime spoils for another 8-to-10 years, but we can guess.

I didn't take any notes this time, since there weren't many nuggets involved. However, the signings ARE moving towards weekly coming up, so keep an eye out for more!

Well, now we know that Syl is an interlude character!

That's how I saw it too, although @Scriptorianmade some great points. Overall this was FASCINATING! It was awesome to get inside of Syl's head and now have confirmation that she's an Interlude character, not a main one like some were guessing. Seeing Kaladin's depression addressed head-on was both heartwarming and eyerolling. It felt a little like an afternoon special sort of thing, but at the same time, these situations NEED to be addressed head on, and I'm happy they did so. It was also well done. I'm not mad at this, just making points and drawing on feelings. Syl wanting to deepen her bond with Kaladin was probably the most interesting aspect for me. What would that even look like? Is it her becoming more human? Or would it be like what the Nightwatcher did to Lift, and having a Bondsmith pull Kaladin deeper into the Cognitive Realm? Or would it be like granting Kaladin a gemheart that Syl can go inside of, turning them into Singers of sorts? Oh the possibilities are so exciting! We get more or Rock's daughter. This is the second interlude with her in it, which makes me think she's going to play a larger role in the future that we're giving her credit for...or maybe we're just meeting new characters. In terms of where this Interlude takes place, I'd bet it's either after Part 1 or Part 2. I'd like to place it near the Lift interlude due to Rock's daughter Cord being present again, Sanderson's process on the revisions, and Kaladin and Dalinar being in the same spot, but I'm not so sure. We have no idea when Lift's Interlude takes place, and Sanderson was still working on Draft 2 & 3 in February when he read part of it. Speaking of Kaladin, this does make me wonder if he's not a Group 3 character, and we actually DON'T get a lot from him or Dalinar this book in an interesting change of pace. My friend just finished reading The Dragon Reborn (Wheel of Time Book 3) this morning, and the titular character has one chapter from his viewpoint in this book. Sure, we see him through dreams, memories, actions, and other means, but we don't spend a lot of time with him. Maybe Kaladin will be treated the same way? ...yeah, I doubt it too, but it's possible.

I'm not the largest fan of Kaladin x Shallan. But I DO see the popularity of it. I always felt like the two may have the spark, but their individual problems would end up sparking a downward spiral for the other. Kaladin would fall into a depressive state and Shallan wouldn't be able to fully lift him out of it, which would lead to her disassociating/acting like everything is fine, which would lead to Kaladin either trying to do the same and failing or feeling completely ignored, either of which would make the episode last longer. Or Shallan would try to escape her own reality due to the consequences of her actions, and it would upset Kaladin because he takes on too much responsibility (even when he can't control it), and then if they were together, he'd feel responsible for Shallan's actions as well. If that makes sense. Add in what some of the above commenters said about Kaladin's overprotective nature and Shallan's utter refusal to be protected, and you've got conflict. I don't think they'd help each other because they'd talk past each other (until Shallan states that she felt imprisoned/like a slave in her own house, and then Kaladin would understand; but Shallan would have to go a lot farther to understand Kaladin, and I'm not sure she's at a state where she could put in the work). To me, both of them need a tethering relationship that inspires/forces them to be their best self. It also reminds me of Zutara, and I HATE Zutara. I ship Kaladin and Jasnah. I've said before that they have the power to help build each other up; and if Jasnah is into men, Kaladin is probably one of the best men on the planet for her. Jasnah is NOT a people-person, so could learn from Kaladin on how to inspire and lead, not just command and rule.* On the other side, Kaladin can finally grow those calluses his father talked about. She can help him speak the Fourth Oath - if it's the one most fans suspect it'll be - in a way that probably doesn't involve the tragic death of a family member or friend. Next you've got mutual respect. Jasnah is one of the most brilliant people on the planet while also being the highest level of nobility one can achieve on Roshar. But Kaladin clearly isn't afraid of talking to her like a person, unlike so many other people (Navani is her mother, Shallan her rebellious ward, Renarin and Adolin are cousins, Dalinar is her uncle/step-dad, and most other people she's involved with are scholars who aren't on her level or sycophants).** Meanwhile Kaladin has had many roles in his young years: Apprentice, soldier, slave, brigdeman, King's Guard/Royal bodyguard, and now mythical Knights Radiant. He's intelligent, educated (as well as any non-scholar man can be at least), handsome, passionate, loyal, and is in charge of one of the most progressive social groups on Roshar. Bridge Four has had in its members: Unkalaki royalty, a Kholin prince, a good amount of Herdazian cousins, an Azish man, more than a few Alethi darkeyes from various backgrounds, WOMEN, and a Singer. Bridge Four is turning into a microcosm of what the future of Roshar could look like (or at least what the Knights Radiant should look like). Kaladin has also saved multiple members of her family, either in person or with Bridge Four. And now they most likely have a common bond via Gavinor. It almost feels like Jasnah has too many potential points of interest with Kaladin to NOT explore the relationship. In terms of emotion, Jasnah could provide a stability that Kaladin doesn't really have in others (he can get his spirits lifted by Syl, Adolin, and Shallan rather than relying on Jasnah for everything) while Kaladin can provide a safe place for Jasnah to express her emotions without being inside her head, assuming Jasnah still has some secrets that Sanderson doesn't want her to share just yet. The three biggest complaints I hear to this couple are: sexuality, age difference, and religion. In terms of Jasnah's sexuality, we can't code it one way or another just yet. So any speculation at this point is still on the table, and as such we shouldn't limit ourselves to one way or another. More than a few fans read Shallan as gay or bi-, and while Sanderson stated that they are free to imagine her as such (and he in turn has come around to thinking more along those lines), she wasn't originally coded that way. I've seen fans believe that Jasnah is on the autism spectrum, because said fans were on the spectrum, and they related to her in certain ways. She's not.*** Ergo, while Jasnah may end up being asexual or a member of the LGBTQ+ community, based on the information we have now there is no way of knowing and no harm in speculating either way. The problems with age difference usually related to wanting different things out of different stages of life and power dynamics. So long as the two are equal partners within the relationship and want the same things out of it, there's no problem whatsoever. This happens all the time in real life. Gabrille Union is ten years older than Dwayne Wade. Hugh Jackman is 51 and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness is 64 and they've been married since 1996. Lastly is the religion aspect. Jasnah is an Atheist. Kaladin is agnostic but comes from a superstitious family. Overall I don't think Kaladin would try to convince Jasnah that the Almighty exists, nor would Jasnah try to sway Kaladin away from the possibility of there being some higher power (although Jasnah swaying Kaladin to atheism would be pretty interesting). So again, non-issue. Overall, I think Jasnah and Kaladin could really work as a couple, but they've have to put in the work first, and that's where the biggest problem is. I'm not sure how many pages or how much screentime Sanderson could afford to give in order for this relationship to happen. And sometimes people who have everything in common just don't have that spark, but I'd like to see Jasnah and Kaladin give it an honest try before moving on. So yeah, Jasnadin for the Win! Other ships I like...although Lift and Gawx are cute and will probably be canon, I really like the idea of Lift and Renarin being together in the back half. In my head, I have a whole silly head-canon for how it would go: Lift hangs out with Renarin because of her Edgedancer oaths and all, (RoW spoilers ahead) Renarin soon finds out that she can't read or write, so he teaches her how to do so.**** Touched by his compassion and willingness to teach her with no ulterior motive, Lift gives a piece of her latest - and probably stolen - meal to Renarin. Renarin accepts, not knowing what that means for Lift, and soon Lift finds herself crushing on the prince. All of this goes over Renarin's head until later on, and after the time-skip they get together. The question later on becomes what each part brings to the table for the other. Renarin doesn't really provide "a home" the way that Gawx could, nor can Lift provide any sort of consistency or companionship to Renarin that he couldn't get from Bridge Four. Overall I think it's a cute ship, but I can't see beyond "cute" just yet. THAT BEING SAID, during the reading of Lift's RoW interlude, *She could also learn from her uncle here, but I think Kaladin is a safer choice overall. **Granted, the lack of respect is why Kaladin saw Moash as a friend, and we all know how THAT turned out. ***I asked twice: once at the Houston Skyward signing and again during his YouTube Q&A signings. It's the 9th one where he answers it I believe. ****I could also see Navani teaching Lift how to read and mothering the Reshi girl, leading to Dalinar and Navani being like Batman& the Bat-family and just adopting strays all over the place (Kaladin, Szeth in a sort of weird way, and now Lift).

Last week I read as much of the main FE 4 manga I could find, and now I NEED a remake. I think having one come out within the next 12-18 months would be perfect for Fire Emblem and the Switch as a whole. First off, like I said before, they could combine FE 4 & 5 into one game. Yes, the mechanics between the two are insanely different, but that shouldn't matter too much depending on how one frames the story. In Shadows of Valentia, the story was framed as a sort of history and prophetic manuscript come to pass. A Jugdral remake could do the same. Call it Fire Emblem Echoes: The Saga of Jugdral or Fire Emblem Echoes: The Jugdral Saga (in reference to modern recordings of Icelandic stories...specifically The Saga of the Icelanders and The Vinland Saga repectively). The game itself can be broken into three parts: Part 1 is Sigurd's story, Part 2 is Lief's story, and Part 3 is Seliph's story, bringing closure to it all. And considering how rooted in Norse and Icelandic mythology FE 4 & 5 (and Heroes) are, this would be a PERFECT fit.* In terms of content, I think FE 4 could fill a void that cultural void that Game of Thrones** left. Genealogy has epic battles, incest, complex family trees, incest, tragedy, redemption, and most importantly INCEST.*** The grand scope of the game could feel even grander with new additions such as battalions and exploring the castles freely now (which in turn may help castles feel unique if items purchased and things done in castles were individualized). Lastly, Kaga had some notes about how he imagined Part 3 of Genealogy would go. I think DLC would be a great way to include some of those things.**** *To make it more like a story, have an older Chrom reading the Saga of Jugdral to a younger Lucina (left ambiguous to which timeline) so we can have a nice subtle shoutout to Matt Mercer's narration skills in Critical Role. **More in terms of the show than the books. Sanderson sort of fills the Song of Ice and Fire book void by sheer speed and length with The Stormlight Archive and the Cosmere as a whole. In terms of shows, Wheel of Time and the Lord of the Rings shows are looking to be strong competitors, but I do think for the first time a game could compete on that level too. ***In Kaga's original notes, apparently Lachesis and Eldigan, WHO ARE BROTHER AND SISTER, were going to be Ares' parents instead of Eldigan and an NPC. A remake would be a good time to add that back in. Not because the game is missing anything without it, but because the audience can handle that after dealing with Jaimie and Cersei Lannister. It would be a cool way to explore that relationship and deconstruct the "Big Brother Worship" trope that Fire Emblem loves so much. What does it mean to love ones' brother in a non-romantic setting? What does that do to one's family? Friends? How one views all other men? How others view that one? The game is already pretty dark and deconstructs so many themes, why not add one more to the pile? **** [SPOILERS FOR A 20 YEAR OLD GAME] It mostly involved:

I know it used to be on Amazon Prime, but it's been a couple of years since I checked. Other than Netflix, I'd say getting the Blu-Ray is your next best bet. ...or signing up for a trial period of Netflix - do they still do those? - and binging the entire show in a week or so.

I did! I honestly forgot it was a thing until you reminded me lol! Thanks!

No problem! (Sorry I was off-line most of this past weekend.) That and the ever-evolving theme of the Chromatic Chicken Scouts!

Adam wrote in the chat that the plan is to make the stream public, but there wasn't any time frame mentioned for that. However your recording could be really helpful in transcribing the questions (my notes were pretty inconsistent).

Ask me again after I read Volume's 2 & 3! ...I'll probably end up waiting for the Omnibus... But overall, yeah, I'm excited too. White Sand had some steep learning curves, and Dark One clearly benefited from that. I'm sure future White Sand volumes will benefit form what Dark One has taught Sanderson about graphic novels.

So I took some notes during the Q&A. I ended up paraphrasing a lot due to the speed of the questions, and I DEFINITELY missed some stuff. Feel free to enjoy these or fine-tune them for other articles or speculation. I'll put the Dark One spoilers in the spoiler section (27-38) I'm currently editing this post, so please bear with me! 1. Television show will still be an adaptation of the graphic novel, if Brandon gets his way. 2. Pattern’s origins are in Dark One (when it was written as a YA sort of Harry Potter book). 3. Graphic novel takes outlines from the TV show and putting in graphic novel form. The TV started to drift from the original property. Still in talks about how much it will look like the graphic novel. Sanderson is not sure how much it’ll look like the graphic novel. There’s a chance the property will be renamed and worked into something else. 4. Outline has more with Lin; graphic novel more focused on Mirandus. 5. If there is a novel, that would be the prequel. “Epic fantasy sort of novel form.” 6. Novel Outline vs Comic Outline Comic Outline: Dialogue Heavy Focused on a large number of characters . Quick moving plots . Episodes vs Parts Serialized 7. Sanderson’s five soul stamps: Recast self as a visual artist Recast as a computer programmer Very different version of self “to see what I could have been” 8. Softer magic system vs we don’t have the rules yet. We don’t have the rules, but it’s softer than Cosmere. Paul’s powers are scary to HIM and aren’t wanted. Sanderson leaned in the horror of this as opposed to the Classic Brandon System, and the story started to work better. 9. Three Seasons outlined! So expect two more graphic novels. 10. Is there a significant difference between time passing in Mirandus and Earth? Sanderson has given leeway, so unknown for now. How it works in the outline – it wouldn’t be required. When the Narrative needs a Dark One and a Destined One, one is provided. Isaac says no. Check the climax of the first volume. 11. There’s a reason Mirandus speaks English 12. There are other incantations like the Mirandus & Earth travel one. 13. Too terrible circumstances for a character? Yes, but no examples given. 14. Isaac did the map stuff. I sorta zoned out on this part. 15. Emily Sanderson did one of the maps for A Memory of Light. Mellior (sp.) Battle map? 16. White Sand Omnibus Isaac is working on this when he’s working around Rhythm of War and the Kickstarter. Adding 38 new pages of artwork at the beginning. 17. Chicken Scouts The Chromatic Chicken Scouts. Cosmere-wide organization and get Chicken Scout badges by going to Roshar. “Brave Like Chickens.” 18. Isaac LIKES the ALTA comics! He has a soft spot for the Hellboy comics. Others include Nameless City, Amulet, Five Worlds Sanderson LOVES Watchmen. Other favorites: Dr. McNinja, old school TMNT, Bone, Amulet (both he and his kids) 19. No Graphic Audio for Dark One at the moment. Separate audio adaptation, but it’d be different from the graphic novel. It’d be like a radio drama. 20. ASMR jokes abound. Isaac then noted that when Sanderson signs things, it sounds sort of like the guitar riff in Pacific Rim. 21. There will probably be a livestream on Tuesday to talk about the book. 22. Leatherbound is the furthest along for the Kickstarter. 23. Isaac’s writing time has been taken up by most other things. Worldbuilding for Darkside (Taldain). Thinking about calling it The Arcanist. Prologue to White Sand. Probably for the Omnibus. Monsters Don’t Wear Underpants Board/Lift-the-flap book. He will read it on a stream sometime. We’ll hear more about it in the next few months. 24. Cosmere storybook is an idea for the future. Kickstarter and Stormlight have sucked the air out of other projects. 25. Isaac is already working on The Alloy of Law leatherbound. 26. RoW cover It’s coming along. The color sketch has been seen. Tor will reveal it when they get it. Sanderson won’t reveal it. DARK ONE SPOILERS TIME 39. Is it possible for a Kandra to bond a spren? Rafo. Yes good question. 40. Has Odium interacted other than any shards in a meaningful way post-Ascension? RAFO 41. Unkalaki jobs are decided by birth order. Is this cultural or for other spiritual reasons? No Rocks’s circumstances are not related to that. Horneater, name of novella between books 4 & 5 42. Showing emotional or non-physical Allomancy onscreen Blue as a signifier that Allomancy is being used. Faint blue lines and flashing items. Blue veins across arms for Pewterarms Eyes flashing blue when using emotional alomancy Non-diegetic cue, and it’s a little hard. Maybe it’ll have an extra weakness and BE diegetic. 43. How did the Knights Radiant treat their transgender members? In the past the KR were WAY more progressive than currently. They would treat them as the gender the Radiant sees them self as. 44. What is the strangest place you’ve pulled inspiration from? Chicken Scouts. Pat Rothfuss’ beard magic system for charity. 45. If you could chose three aspects to have with you, what would their specialties be? Languages, a really good continuity editor (to help Karen), and a psychologist Isaac would go with fashion consultant. 46. What form is a Listener at birth? Technically Dullform but they viewed it as Childform because it’s vibrant and alive in a way Dullform isn’t. It dulls as they age. Maturity is at seven or eight – not sure about continuity. Venli is 14 in Listener years. (10 for Listener is about 16 for humans) 47. Inspiration for the Narrative It’s a balance between the magic system and a modernist take on how narrative shapes who people are. The Pattern is a major inspiration. “Stranger Than Fiction” is an inspiration. 48. Sanderson most likely WON’T write Dark One’s novelization. Due to time allocation. 49. Could a modern human and Listener have fertile children? RAFO. 50. Sanderon is an Elsecaller/Bondsmith mix. 51. The Most Powerful Sword created idea. 780 powers Most of them are useless. Sanderson wants to write this someday. Top Quotes: “Not dropping the framerates like he used to.” “I’m one of the bestselling authors in the world! I can buy a gaming PC!”

Great review! I felt the same about Dark One. It reminded me a lot of how I feel when reading a Stormlight book, in the sense that it felt almost too long at times, and while I couldn't get through it fast enough (in the best way possible - usually the faster I read something, the more I like it), I didn't want it to end. Paul was a character unlike any Sanderson has created so far, and I'm both curious and scared to see how far he'll go to change the Narrative now. I'm still not sure I trust his sister, even after everything. And the kingdom of the Light have some shady stuff going on now...pun intended. Overall this was a major win for Sanderson in terms of quality. Now if only we can get more people to read it...

Cool theory! I really like it!

That was exciting news (and cool to see him answer those questions more or less live)! I do wonder if he could crunch The Lost Metal to come out in 2021 with Skyward 3. ...I don't think it would be healthy, but I do wonder if it's possible.

Interesting find and interesting theory! I'm in the camp that if it does happen, a Syl P.O.V. would be either an interlude or like the Bridge 4 chapters in OB. But it does create some interesting potentials...

Will they consider it a god metal? Are there ramifications for it NOT being considered one in Era 1? I honestly can't remember. I just thought they considered it more like "weird and useless" rather than a god metal.

I did notice this and have read many stories/played more than a few games where the premise of "Dark Is Actually Good and Light/Holy Is Evil." But the fact that the story I am a little afraid that the story is going to go in a direction we've seen and alluded to, but hey, Journey Before Destination.