Rushu42

Ah, Teft. I miss you already. If I had to point at a favorite character arc, I think I'd have to go with his - watching him finally find love and forgiveness for himself was beautiful. (Although it's possible that that opinion is just because his is the only one that's really felt done, even among the other characters that died). His relationship with Phendorana, too, was truly heartwarming. In the midst of all of Kaladin's struggles I really needed to see a character that actually managed to find some peace - Teft was a breath of fresh air in a stuffy room.

Man, your post perfectly captures a lot of my own feelings. I can't stop raving about Navani - she went from kinda forgettable side character to top of my list - but honestly all the characters in this book were done really well. I was taken aback by the fact that we got relatively little of Venli and Eshonai, since this was supposed to be their book, but I think what we did get was satisfying enough to make up for it. I don't even like Venli that much (which is intentional, I believe) but I nevertheless found myself rooting for her. And crying over Eshonai. I would give Sanderson a lot of money to write a short story where the two of them reunite and reconcile, Venli having gotten her redemption arc and Eshonai returning temporarily from her most ambitious journey yet... storms. Now I'm sad again.

How would you describe your sense of humor? If you had to pick one of the five senses to lose, which would it be and why? What's the book that you're currently reading?

Thank you! I will. I'm still plagued by light pollution, of course, but I think I'll be able to find my way to some of the more obvious targets without too much difficulty. And there's always the possibility of a trip to a dark sky...

I recommend Terry Pratchett's Discworld wholeheartedly. There's a lot of material there if you decide you like it (something around 40 books, I believe) but they're not in the same series, just the same world - you can read as many or as few as you like without missing much. The first one is called the Color of Magic. They're ridiculous and a lot of fun. If you haven't read The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss, that one's also great. The worldbuilding, plot, and characters are all pretty good, but where he really shines is his remarkable prose. If you're used to Sanderson's matter-of-fact style, it can come as a welcome shock. (Nothing against Brandon, of course.) If you're looking to branch out from fantasy, you may like Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (and sequels). It's quite famous, so it's possible you've already read it, but if you haven't it's well worth a look. Another non-fantasy recommendation: Philippa Gregory's The Red Queen (and sequels). It's historical fiction set during the War of the Roses (medieval England), and is quite well written and engaging. Each book tells the story of the war from another woman's point of view, and it's really cool to compare and contrast. I'll leave it at that for now. I may be able to come up with some more if I put my mind to it, but this is a good list to begin with.

Over the past several months, I've been slowly and steadily saving up for a new telescope. I've had my current one for a year and a half, and it's very small - only a 70mm aperture. As I became increasingly interested in amateur astronomy, I decided that a larger scope was in order. I set my sights (pun intended) on the Orion 8in Dobsonian as a decent balance between affordable and still a significant step up. I've been saving up steadily for the past several months, and anticipated roughly 6-8 weeks to go before I'd have enough to order it. That's where the good news comes in. On my birthday last Friday, my incredible parents told me that they'd make up the rest of the difference! I'm now only ~1 month away (shipping time) from a telescope large enough for seeing color on planets and the shapes of galaxies! I'm extremely excited about this, and hopefully my astronomy club will be as well.

Welcome to the Shard! I love your profile picture.

Kodwola fingers the amulet around her neck. "Right, yes, of course. I am, obviously, immeasurably relieved that his worries proved to be caused by something so trivial, and I'm sure that everyone in this town is extraordinarily appreciative of your constant efforts to aid them in every endeavor. If I may ask, what exactly is your function within this town, aside from alerting the populace of incoming monsters?" If you need it, I rolled a 7 on deception.

Right, but I don't think it's a direct parallel. As Voidspawn said, you do have to have learned the information ahead of time. And it's an innate talent - if someone had a photographic memory, would it be cheating to use that?

Kodwola wrinkles her brow. I roll an insight check. 25.

There's a very important question that we need to settle about the use of Copperminds. Is using one to assist you on a test, or in a competition such as Jeopardy, unethical? Obviously, there's nothing currently in the rules of these activities about using copperminds, but if they existed there would be. Would the rules allow it as the equivalent of having a particularly good memory, or would they ban it as the equivalent of looking up the answers? I'm very interested in your opinions.

You know you're a Sanderfan when you hold long internal debates over whether using a Copper mind would be cheating on a test. I'm prepared to have this discussion with anyone who asks. Edit: actually, I'm starting that thread. Come debate with me if you're interested.

"Any additional data point would be helpful, yes," Aln said, "although if the buried memories are traumatic you have no obligation to relive them." As she said this, her hand drifted to the table, picked up the sheaf of papers, and carefully tucked it into her pocket. An idea was beginning to form in her mind, the inklings of a plan overcoming their reluctance. Could it really be possible to undo the Forgery? Should they try? Much like the papers, she tucked away that idea. Better to let Poller speak now, and bring it up again when they had more information. @mathiau

@Negative_Null

I think you're overstating the solidity of your position here. People ascending to Shardhood and the Latter-day Christian idea of eternal progression may have some similarities, but that doesn't make the Cosmere an allegory for our faith. Nor is a self-sacrificing character automatically a parallel to Christ, or a religious founder automatically Joseph Smith. I agree that these examples are all somewhat similar, but I think that shows that Sanderson's interests are influenced by what he believes, rather than any actual attempt at an allegory. He's mentioned being very interested by religion and the different things that people believe - it seems more probable that he's writing different religious viewpoints, such as Dalinar's new religion because he finds that concept intriguing, not because it's meant to be symbolic. I appreciate your respect of our differences in belief, and I extend you the same courtesy. I would like to point out, though, that disagreeing with your interpretation of my religion isn't necessarily being "defensive" about it - it's just trying to explain what I believe. This is likely the case with others that you speak to as well.

Aln could see the surprise in Folorian's eyes at her proposal. She knew, then, that doing nothing was not an option. It wasn't just the threat of future attacks, as Folorian had apltly pointed out. She was a Truthwatcher; she could not allow the rest of the world to live in a lie for the sake of her own personal convenience. A phrase drifted up from the depths of her mind and alighted on the tip of her tongue. Before she could speak, however, Poller's words flickered in the corner of her vision. In her current state of mind, Aln nearly snapped something dismissive at him. Didn't they have more pressing issues than her and Folorian's individual quirks? She restrained herself instead, forcibly reminding herself that he had a right to know what was going on. "We've each visited the Nightwatcher," she explained, "and we've each been granted a .. unique way of seeing the world, as a result. Folorian has what you might call 'tunnel vision', but enhanced to the extreme by the Investiture of a Shard. In simple terms, he can only focus on one thing at a time. The falling over, I suspect, was due to the fact that he was concentrating on this conversation rather than the fact that there was no chair behind him. As for myself, I'm deaf. The gift that the Nightwatcher gave me nevertheless allows me to navigate conversations with relative ease, as I can see spoken words as illusory script floating in the air, provided I have a line of sight on the individual speaking. My bane also impacts this script, but it's rather complicated and mostly irrelevant here, so I see no need to get into it. Does that clarify things for you?"

What do we do now? Aln found herself seized, unexpectedly, by an unforeseen conflict of interests. She looked at Folorian. He was a friend, a good one - possibly the first true friend she'd ever had. And she had Torenat, too, and the rest of the Scholar's Guild, and a purpose. She was happy. Whereas, in the other world - the "real" one - she had no one. Folorian was a stranger. The guild was new, still struggling to get off of its feet. Torenat was a world away. And the worst part was, Aln hadn't even known how much she was missing. Did she really want to keep investigating, to put herself in danger, all for the possibility of returning to that life? "Do...do we need to do anything?" she found herself asking hesitantly. "We can't fight the Dark Alley; I remember that much. Is this reality so bad?" To the side, Pel drifted from her pocket and hung in the air, looking at Aln. @Ashbringer

I don't really have strong opinions on the interludes/ flashbacks (I love them all) but I absolutely think that Rhythm of War had the best epigraphs. @LuckyJim covered most of what I was going to say, but the RoW epigraphs just had so much lore, which I loved. The foreshadowing was sublime, too.

Aln looked shaken as well. A part of her hadn't really believed that a Forgery could affect an entire planet; it had been just a hypothetical. But with Folorian's point about the Worldspike... "Storms," she breathed. "You're right, of course. I hadn't thought about how much of a vulnerable point the Worldspike is. It gives us a common language and allows us to use Investiture, but access to it would allow you to alter the Spirit Webs of every person on the Alleyplanet." Aln suddenly noticed that Folorian was on the floor, and stood, extending a hand to help him up. "The Dark Alley were - are - hemalurgists. They'd certainly have access to the Worldspike, and the relevant knowledge to perform such a deed. Since the Forgery involved writing out all but the vaguest the knowledge of their own existence, once it was done no one would suspect a thing. All they'd have to do is...eliminate people who began to remember. Perhaps by sending hemalurgic constructs, like the attack at the Guild. That's why those beasts were so coordinated." @Ashbringer

"This is exactly what I feared. Forgery isn't like soulcasting, nor is it really 'pretending'. Think of it instead as rewriting an object's history. Perhaps at some point in your life, there was a choice that would have resulted in you having combat skills, for example, but the Forgery rewrote that choice instead. But if the Forgery didn't fully take, as it were, the true memories may begin to bleed through." Aln looked slightly frustrated. "This is only speculation, extrapolating from what I know of soulstamps. I don't have any of my books, and even if I did, this situation is surely unprecedented. But imagine, for a moment, a being with the knowledge and power of a god, and no particular concern for the inhabitants of this city. If they were to find some aspect of this world that they wished to be different, then it is not such a stretch to imagine that they would, having the power, rewrite the past of the entire planet to suit their whim. In the memories I've recalled, such beings did indeed exist." @mathiau

Awesome thread, thank you! 1) Oooh, this is such a hard pick - I love so many of them. At the end of the day, though, probably Rushu. As my username suggests, I really like her, and I think we're pretty similar in temperament and sense of humor - we'd get along well. 2) I understand Taravangian's motivations, even if I don't agree with them. If you really did believe that it was either a city of people or no one at all, I think many would do the same. 3) This one is hard to say, since there are lots of different reasons that I enjoy reading about a character. Navani's chapters have the most magical lore, but Kaladin's are the most "epic"...I don't think I can pick. 4) Intriguing has to be Jasnah. We've only got a tiny peek inside her head, but it really makes me want to know more. Who is she at heart, behind the mask? 5) There isn't really one character that makes me laugh every time, but rather favorite moments. That said, I think I'm one of the few people who enjoyed Shallan's humor in book 1. 6) Gavilar Kholin. Absolutely. I get all the Moash hate, but it makes me so mad that the world thinks that Gavilar was a hero when he's clearly such a piece of crem. 7) I'm going with Navani. Her character hits so close to home; the "order from chaos" bit, the love for science, the desire for the world to just make sense, the inner frustration with political games and needless bias, the idealism, and of course the feeling of being less compared to the incredible people around you - it all feels a little too real. That's not to say, though, that I'm as amazing as she is - rather, in many ways, Navani is the person that I wish I could be. (I'm going to stop myself now before I write 3 more paragraphs of fangirling.) 8) Probably Teft. His struggles with addiction and self-loathing felt very real, and his arc to overcome it didn't feel forced or magical - just healthy and wonderful. 9) I really don't crush on any of them. I admire lots, though, so maybe I'll just put Rock because he's such a great friend. 10) Oddly enough, I might say Wit. Obviously I don't know anyone quite as ... Wit as he is, but a lot of his antics remind me of the sorts of things that people I know might do, especially my older brother. Sorry if any of the above is redundant; I didn't have time to read the whole thread.

Thank you! You've no idea how helpful that is - I've been getting quite bogged down in reviews and online catalogs.

I'm not sure that I see the parallel between the Singers and the descendants of Lehi, but I absolutely agree that there are elements of the faith that show up. The most obvious one, to me, was Dalinar's relationship with the Way of Kings. It just struck me as extremely similar to the Latter-day Christian attitude toward the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. The scene where he walks out to confront evil, carrying nothing but the book that brings him strength, seems too similar to be a coincidence. I'm sure that Sanderson drew on his experiences as a missionary there. Plus, the idea of visions of god appearing to mortals is a clear connection. Of course, such visions are not unique to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but they do show up frequently in the Book of Mormon, as well as Joseph Smith's various revelations. And as a general thing, Sanderson's ideas of what "good" is is also certainly shaped by the morals of the church. The ability to change and find forgiveness is a huge theme of not only SA, but the Cosmere in general. As a member myself, those messages are part of what makes his stories speak so poignantly to me.

Well, I'd be glad to join in the discussion in my limited capacity once you've made the thread.