Use the Falchion

And that's a wrap for DSNX 2024 for me! It was awesome seeing so many fans and being able to personally meet @Jofwu and @Argent!! See y'all next year!

It's December, which means we should probably expect an EPIC the Musical: Ithica Saga update and teaser very soon! 

I'm going! I'll be heading up on Wednesday. I was fortunate enough to get a VIP ticket, but that's where my luck ran out lol. No lightning signing and no live novella event thingy. (It sold out while I was at work...but honestly I don't mind, so long as the food is sold elsewhere during the event.) 

YKYASFW you start getting REALLY excited for the State of the Sanderson and all of the updates it should (hopefully) provide. In my typical "extra" fashion, here's my speculative and condensed version of the SOTS, based on last year's:

INTRO

• "What a year!"

KICKSTARTER UPDATES 

• Words of Radiance Leatherbound Updates 
• Cosmere RPG Updates
• Sneak Preview for the Big Kickstarter for 2025. (Only one next year, as they're still working on fulfilling the Kickstarters from this year. I speculate it will launch in August again.) 

RECAP

• Stormlight 
• Kickstarter awesomeness
• Secret Project 6
• Moment Zero
• Kickstarter awesomeness again
• White Sand outline and revision started
• Moment Zero again

PRIMARY AND UPCOMING PROJECTS

• Stormlight Updates
  • Prediction - It's going on Hiatus for the next 4-5 years, so it'll move down to the Secondary/Upcoming projects list. 
• Mistborn Era 3 Updates
  • Prediction - The outline revision/revisiting will start January 1st.
• Isles of the Emberdark
  • Prediction - A cover reveal alongside a release date, if it's not officially revealed at Dragonsteel and all sites are updated soon after. 
• Moment Zero 
  • Prediction - A short look at what next year's book will entail and/or look like.
• Cytoverse 
  • Prediction - An update and release date for Blightfall, with a revised potential release schedule for the rest of the series. (Brought to you by Janci!)
• Secret Project 6 - Yes I still believe that there's potentially a SIXTH Secret Project Book that will be announced. Title, preview cover, and release window will be shown, as well as a link to the reading done at Dragonsteel Nexus.

SECONDARY AND UPCOMING PROJECTS

• White Sand Novelization
  • Prediction - Brandon will work on it when he has chances to in 2025 and 2026. 
• Dark One 
  • Prediction - Coming out either mid-to-late 2025 or as the 2026 Dragonsteel Nexus book. (Brought to you by Dan!) 
    • Hopefully we'll get some news on the second volume of the graphic novel, but I'm not going to hold my breath. 
• Songs of the Dead 
  • Prediction - Cover reveal, synopsis, and release date! (Brandon we were supposed to see news of this far sooner. BRANDON WE WERE SUPPOSED TO SEE NEWS OF THIS FAR SOONER.)
• Super Awesome Danger
  • Prediction - Late 2025 release date if we're lucky. 
• Elantris 2 & 3
  • Prediction - Either Brandon's going to work on the outline for this and Mistborn Era 3 at the same time, or he's going to outline this after he finishes Mistborn 8...and given that he usually outlines a series after he writes the first book in it, there's even higher chances that Elantris 2 & 3 and Mistborn Era 3 will be outlined at the same time...

MINOR PROJECTS

• I expect no movement on any of them. Maybe Rithmatist Sequel if that's Secret Project 6, but no promises. 

MOVIE ADAPTATION AND GAME NEWS

• I was reminded the other day that Brandon did make a cheeky comment about Tress being a solid animated movie, so I can see that being announced and/or talked about.
• I can also see Snapshot being adapted in a live action form. 

NEWS FROM THE COMPANY

• No idea on what to predict here. 
  • Dan will tease his Cosmere story and express excitement about being able to fully dive into it, since Dark One is finished and all of his preproduction stuff is done. 
  • Isaac will mention Boatload of Mummies again. Hopefully this time it's about how he's finished revising it and has given it to Brandon to do a revision on when he has the time. 

PREDICTED SCHEDULE

• For 2025, I'm actually going to work backwards here, based on work already done and what's been said: 
  • December Release - Secret Project Six 
    • If it exists, Brandon will need time to do some revisions on it, so I'm thinking a year out is a solid amount of time between announcement and release. 
  • Dragonsteel Nexus Release - Moment Zero
  • Fall Release - Dark One Novelization
    • It's been in revisions for about a year or so, and an October release date would be super fun
  • September Graphic Novel Release - Super Awesome Danger
  • Summer Release 2 - Blightfall (August-ish)
    • Janci's book has gone through about three revisions right now, and since they don't need to shop it to a publisher, it should be pretty easy to just slap a release date on and call it a day.
  • Summer Release 1 - Isles of the Emberdark (May/June-ish)
    • It's been pushed back just a tad, but this timeframe seems to work really well. 
  • Spring Release - Songs of the Dead (February/March-ish)
    • We should have heard more about this WAY sooner than we have, and the book was complete and shopping for publishers all of 2024. If it found one even by just Fall 2024, then a release date could be eminent. 
• 2026 
  • Dragonsteel Nexus Release - Boatload of Mummies 
    • It's been in the works for YEARS now, and I think 2026 will be its year. 
  • Dragonsteel Nexus Release Alternative - Dark One Novelization
  • Horneater
  • Skyward Legacy 2 
• 2027 
  • Dragonsteel Nexus Release - White Sand novelization
  • Skyward Legacy 3
  • Dan Wells Cosmere Book 
  • Novella and/or Secret Project to go with Oathbringer Leatherbound
    • Aether of Night Prime, also to go with the Leatherbound?
• 2028 
  • Mistborn 8

To me, this means that while 2025 may only give us one new book and a novella written fully by Sanderson, it's also the year we'll see the most collaborations and things release until maybe 2027 or even 2028. 

PUBLISHER NOTES 

• Yeah, I've got nothing. 

CONCLUSION

• Thanks for supporting us. 
• We understand the trust you put in us. 
• Things may feel like they're going even faster, but we're actually slowing down behind the scenes as we adjust to our new size.
• Don't worry, there's always another secret. 

Threshold Review: 

I read it in one day last week, and boy was it worth it! You get to catch up on the cast and some old friends while you're at it, learn a little about several of the Monarchs, and see new worlds. Honestly, seeing new worlds was probably the highlight of the book. (Outside of learning about the Ghost division of the Abidan.) Will has a knack for making an engaging set of characters almost instantly lovable, and there was one world in particular that I hope he revisits someday. 

Threshold is also a lighter book than many of the previous Cradle books. Maybe it's because the stakes are so low due to power scaling, maybe it's just Will having fun, but there was a lot more lightheartedness in this book. That doesn't mean it was all jokes, but there are several repeated jokes that made me smile or laugh every single time I read them. 

"Training." (IYKYK) 

The final words of the book are also hilarious and bittersweet in a way, but ultimately just plain hilarious. 

The one major downside to this story is that we get a short story about one character's continuation, and it...isn't good. Or rather, I'm not satisfied with how it wrapped up. Mostly because I think more should have been done for the character involved (which I hope the animation fixes), but it just left a bad taste in my mouth. 

The story in question is:

Finally, just a random thought, but I'm wondering about something: [THRESHOLD SPOILERS]

My theories are mostly the same as they've been for years at this point: 

Dalinar will be Honor's Champion, because he still struggles with giving up command. Odium's Champion will be Gavinor, in an attempt to get Dalinar to renege on the Contest. Dalinar will swear either his Fourth or Fifth Ideal during the Contest and Ascend. However, his Ideal will be about Uniting people even with his death, and so he'll die. Before he dies, he'll use Connection to take on the role of Odium's Champion and pass on the role of Honor's Champion to someone else. (Nowadays I consider this person to most likely be a temporarily or even permanently sane Taln.) Honor's new champion will kill Dalinar in a mercy-kill, giving the victory to Team Honor.

HOWEVER, since Odium didn't choose Dalinar as his Champion, there's enough wiggle-room for Odium to strike back and escape. This strike will either lead to the sinking of Shinovar or Kharbranth, the latter of which in turn would weaken Odium even farther. Either way, Odium escapes, and his actions may lead to the death of the Stormfather, which in turn would create a long-lasting weeping period with no Stormlight, also known as The Night of Sorrows. 

Wei Shi Lindon from Cradle could beat Rand, at least by the end of in Book 8, Wintersteel. (Lindon could arguably beat Rand starting from Book 5, Ghostwater, but not consistently before that.) Yerin would beat Rand starting from Book 3, Blackflame, so long as she can get a solid hit in. Eithan would start the series being able to beat Rand. 

I started High Potential with my mom, and I'm really enjoying it! The presentation of the imagine spots/scenarios are entertaining, and the police feel far more grounded than most "consulting detective" procedurals. I'm not sure how it'll rank among the other ones I've watched (primarily the Sherlock-Holmes adaptations), but I've enjoyed the first two episodes!

Meanwhile, my dad and I still need to finish the 1980s Shogun adaptation. 

Metaphor ReFantazio has taken over my gaming life. I could finish Final Fantasy 16, or I could even play more of Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven, but those will have to wait until after I finish Metaphor. And part of me is convinced that won't be until, like, next year...

Rereading parts of Cradle again and again as I spin my wheels on actively starting a new book. Fortunately, the Cradle anthology book, Threshold, releases for Kickstarter backers on Thursday. 

Cradle has been my comfort food series this year, in a way that no other series other than the ones Sanderson writes, have been. I highly highly HIGHLY recommend them. After Wind and Truth, of course! 

THRESHOLD COMES OUT ON THURSDAY FOR KICKSTARTER BACKERS, AND JANUARY 5, 2025 FOR ALL OTHER FANS!!

11 hours ago, Just a Silvereye said:

You got to see them? That's so great!

What's your #2 album then? Making me curious here 

It was! After 2017, I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to see them in person, but them coming back and touring made that all possible! 

As for albums, I usually like to save most of my Entertainment Year End Review, particularly music, for a big post at the end of the year, usually prompted by @Eluvianii but I can give a sneak preview! 

Second place is Memory Palace by Intervals. I heard of Intervals a few years ago, when I was getting into Progressive Rock. Their song "The Waterfront" really reminded me of "Jet Say Go" from My Hero Academia, but I didn't look past that. They came up on my feed a few weeks ago, and I listened to their latest album, and I've been hooked ever since. Near daily listens to the entire album, all killer no filler, this album ROCKS. (As another anime-rock connection, I've been reading a new manga called "Ichi the Witch," and Nootropic off this album is my theme for the manga.) 

Third Place is probably POST HUMAN: NeX GEn by Bring Me the Horizon. Much like Linkin Park, this album mixes electronics, rock, and experimental concepts (along with more than a little anime influence!*) in order to make a nice spiritual successor to their previous Post Human album. Although consider how much I've listened to this album over the year, particularly over the summer, it may actually tie for second place. 

After that is Epic Narratives by Band-Maid. I love Band-Maid, they're my second-favorite J-Rock band and the J-Rock band I talk about the most. (My favorite J-Rock band is a band called Nothing's Carved In Stone**) But Epic Narratives didn't hit the highs that the first album I listened to them - CONQUEROR - hit, nor did it hit the highs of Unseen World. I like it better than Unleash as a whole, but I feel like there's a lack of variation that I know Band-Maid can pull off. Still, this is a high-quality and head-banging album all around. 

There are a few other albums on the list, and a whole slew of songs, but you'll have to wait until late December/early January to find out! 

*I say "anime rock" at times, but it's not derogatory. It's just a sound/vibe I get that I feel like anime and J-Rock bands use that sort of shows up in these songs or albums. 

**If you've ever watched Psycho-Pass Season 1, then you've heard at least one of their songs. I can't really recommend just one album, but my top three are: REVOLT (2013), Strangers In Heaven (2014), and PARALLEL LIVES (2010). But there's at least one song off of each album that I adore, and I think most of their discography is phenomenal. 

On 11/17/2024 at 12:43 PM, Just a Silvereye said:

Linkin Park actually did it

They returned with a new singer and released a new album

And it's genuinely good

 

(Also I've spent most of this evening listening to Armstrong singing the old LP songs live, and she's doing great on that too!)

I saw her live during the recent tour, and she did a phenomenal job!

From Zero is easily my album of the year. (Well, I say "easily," but the #2 spot is actually really close behind.)

There's a solid burger place I look forward to going to every year! I don't remember the name, but they're open on Sundays IIRC, which is a rarity. 

There's also a few ramen places around. One is actually pretty good, while the other is...worth the price paid, and will fill you up so you can get back to the convention. 

There are also some smaller stands near the convention area itself, so you shouldn't be missing out on too much! (The main exhibition hall has popcorn and nuts stands and sells water bottles.) 

Between those two things, a hardy hotel meal, and a generous amount of snacks, you should be good to go! 

I honestly don't know. Adhering to Honor allows those who would escape punishment due to a legal system, or those who would not usually be protected again due to a legal system, to be punished or protected. However, honor itself is a very malleable thing, and just going with honor allows for a lot more vigilante justice than needed. On the flip side, just going with the Law without understanding the reasons and implications behind it isn't right either. You're absolving yourself of guilt or blame when (not if - WHEN) things go bad because it's the law, not you. You may not be helping those who need to be helped because of what the law says. Or you may be letting known criminals walk away because it's the law. 

I don't think there's a right answer, and I think we as individuals find ourselves sliding to either side more prevalently when it benefits us, or our worldviews. At least, I do. 

As we wait for the release announcement of Threshold - which, if the release schedule of The Knight is anything to go by, should happen sometime within the next couple of weeks for a December or January release date - I wanted to talk about what other Paths I'd love Lindon to have developed, when, and why. 

This is more of an idea for the animation, if a studio picks it up. The biggest problems with giving Lindon too many techniques in the books is that readers would quickly forget which is which, and that the timeframe is pretty short overall. However, in animation, you can color-code things and make sure that people know what's going on with visual language in a far easier format. For example, we know that Lindon's eyes turn blue when he's using Pure madra and then black and red when using Blackflame madra. If Lindon learned a Storm Path, his eyes could turn yellow beforehand, or brown for earth, and so on and so forth. 

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE SERIES. 

And that's all I have! As you may or may not have noticed, Lindon learns all but one of these Paths before the end of Underlord, so that he can perfect them throughout the series and we have a chance to see the powers grow with Lindon, not just "new powers as the plot demands." The only exception is the last Path, and that's the Path we'd see the least of. 

Vengeance Saga!! Fun live stream last night, great animatics and I loved how the songs and animatics truly flowed together. As a person who doesn't like Hermes (or care about Polites honestly), "Dangerous" is probably my favorite overall song. But "600 Strike" has one of my favorite moments in the entire musical though. "No Sorry For Loving You" hit me harder than expected, and "Get In the Water" is exactly what it needed to be. 

Overall, I like this saga as a whole better than the Wisdom Saga, but it doesn't quite reach the emotional high of the Thunder Saga, despite having similar emotional range. 

As I reread parts of Cradle and get excited for the animatic movie thingy, I'm left wondering what other paths Lindon could have taken if he split his core even one more time, as well as what other Icons could apply to the core crew. MASSIVE SPOIELRS FOR WAYBOUND

Lindon

Yerin

Mercy

Ziel 

Eithan 

Definitely excited about the Vengeance Saga! And that Halloween release means the stream will probably be on Wednesday. 

A big part of me is still holding out for Morgan Clae to have some sort of presence in Epic, especially "Get In the Water," despite how unlikely it is. 

On 9/25/2024 at 10:24 AM, Eluvianii said:

New Band-Maid album! 

Ayyy! Epic Narratives! I've only listened to the album once fully so far - "Heavy Is the Crown" is taking up my audio space, but I think I like it better than most of Unleash (barring "From Now On" and "Unleash!!!") and about as much as Unseen World, but not as much as CONQUEROR (my favorite album). 

My favorite songs on the album so far are: 

"SHOW THEM," "Forbidden tale," "Brightest star," "The one," "Toi et moi," and "TAMAYA!" 

I honestly don't care for "Get to the top," which is weird, because I usually adore Band-Maid's instrumentals. 

As mentioned above, "Heavy Is the Crown" by Linkin Park is my song on repeat right now. I'm also enjoying "ceasefire" by STIM and "Dead to Me," and "Barely Breathing" by From Ashes to New (the one featuring the lead of Against the Current). 

AS A SIDE NOTE, if you're a fan of Linkin Park, From Ashes to New isn't really the best replacement IMO. Sure, they're a NuMetal band that does the whole rock/rap thing, and they're inspired heavily by Linkin Park, and while their latest album isn't BAD, I wouldn't say it captures the spirit of Linkin Park. For that, I'd go to a contemporary of LP, Bring Me the Horizon. Between BMTH's blend of synth/electronic sounds and hard rock, to the mix of singing and screaming, to the more emotional songs, to even having some of their songs (particularly "Can You Feel My Heart") reaching meme status, they feel more in-line to scratch that itch than From Ashes to New does. FATN feels like they want to honor Linkin Park how they remember it - this in-and-of itself isn't bad, but it's also not the best. BMTH isn't trying to honor Linkin Park, but is instead doing their own thing. However, in doing their own thing, they feel like they're capturing the spirit of what Linkin Park is.

LINKIN PARK NEW SINGLE AND NEW ALBUM ON NOVEMBER 15. THIS HAS MADE MY WEEK. 

"The Emptiness Machine" by Linkin Park. 

I made the Mac & Cheese-stuffed Fried Quail yesterday! I left out the waffle and everything related to it. (Although I did consider buying an Eggo waffle for kicks and giggles.)

Overall, it was a success in that it tasted good and went together, but it's also a failure in the sense that now that I've made it, I'm not sure I'll go back to it ever again. It was worth trying and succeeding at, but not worth investing too much time into in the future. Well, the stuffing part anyways. Serving friend quail over a homemade waffle is something I'll most certainly do in the future. 

On 8/28/2024 at 9:38 PM, Eluvianii said:

I might be in a hostage situation. Oh well. 

 

For a moment I thought they were Atarashii Gakko and had added new members lol!

I'm listening to Epic the Musical: Wisdom Saga on repeat (like I assume several others here!) and am enjoying it greatly. I don't think that it's hit the emotional highs and lows that the Thunder Saga did, but it's lived up to the hype and the sheer variety in the songs, and the growth of the fandom have made it a blast to be a part of. Also, THE MEME FACES!

Favorite Song: 

"Love In Paradise" - As has been the case with the Underworld and Thunder Sagas, and since I've been aware of the previews as a whole, the song I'm most excited for oftentimes isn't my favorite. For example, I was most excited for "Monster" and "Scylla" originally, and while they are absolutely phenomenal songs, the songs that stole my heard from those two sagas were "The Underworld," and "Mutiny."

For the Wisdom Saga, I was most excited for "God Games," and while the song lived up to the hype and ended in a big way, "Love In Paradise," actually had a lot more things within the song that I personally enjoy (call backs, emotional turmoil, future memes and jokes), so it's my favorite. 

Favorite moments so far:

"What'chu gonna do about it, champ?"

"Uppercut him, now." 

"All right now, let's try this again." 

"I could sleep at night..." 

"Maybe to fall is to learn one way..." 

"All I hear are screams..."

"Or MEEEEhhh?"

On 8/30/2024 at 10:43 AM, SmilingPanda19 said:

 

 

Do any of you three have a disc and would like to participate in Epic the Musical (the genderswapped version) we are producing?

I'm part of several but I don't think I have a Discord myself. As for the genderswap, I wish y'all the best of luck! I'm not THAT confident in my singing just yet lol 

Looks awesome! Hopefully I can try one or two out before too long! The Cremling Cakes have my eye at the moment, so I'll probably try to recreate that in September.