Elegy

Well we were told this much: Sazed is still alive, still a Shard, is still considered Scadrian, and is called nice by Ed, in contrast to the Scadrian colonialists, who he sees as very problematic. In contrast to Roshar, we actually know stuff about space age Scadrial, and it seems comparatively safe to say that Sazed isn't acting like Retribution would and hasn't been replaced by something that does. There are workarounds, but those seem like crackpot theories in comparison to the more obvious conclusions, and I also don't think they are necessary to explain it. Like I said, humans have never needed evil gods to do bad stuff. As for everything else, I've made my points above and they still stand.

We really don't. Using the same logic, you would have to assume that Scadrial is also ruled by an evil Shard. But human history has shown that wanting to gain influence on weaker cultures is not something that needs an evil god. Everything I said above still stands. We have no idea and almost anything can happen in Stormlight 6-10.

But what exactly are you refering to? We know next to nothing about the state of Roshar. It participating in galactic colonialism doesn't need an evil Shard to explain it, it's an outgrowth of being technologically advanced. Scadrial is doing the same with Sazed still around and being "nice" by Ed's standards. Warlight and singer Radiants can still be a thing without Retribution. What of that is a better argument than "Brandon wouldn't write 5 more books if nothing happened in them"?

We have no idea what Roshar will look like in space age Cosmere, just like we had no idea what post-WAT Roshar would look like after reading Way of Kings back in 2010 ... You gotta remember that we did not know what the Fused even are 3 books ago. I imagine Stormlight will have become an entirely different story within 3 more books, let alone 5. There's still half of the series to go, and it would be ridiculous if after all of that, the 5 million words saga would just end with its main antagonist winning or maintaining the power that he gained after book 5 of 10. Then why would Brandon need to write 5 more books? I think that the only thing we can assume about space age Roshar right now is that the situation with Odium and the Fused has drastically changed since WAT, just because of storytelling necessities.

Coincidences don't have to be a Shard's plan anyway: Although it's certainly fair to criticize the idea that every (possibly just lazy) coincidence in the books can be explained away by Spiritual stuff ... but it technically can

Idk, while Dusk's character arc had him move away from being alone (and autonomous), he will on the long run probably be able to do his part in defending the general autonomy of worlds in the Cosmere: (Dusk, in the Epilogue) Now that the Navigators - who have their powers because of Patji - can travel the stars, they can warn autonomous civilizations about the impending dangers of the space empires, and some of them might be able to prepare themselves and figure out strategies - at least they will have more time than FOTS had. And, in a way, Dusk leaving his homeworld and realizing that he does "no longer have a home" but also coming to terms with that is also kinda compatible with Autonomy's Intent as well!

I mean, I definitely agree that it might be the case. Fair! Yeah but the Well of Control was golden, which for all we know seems to be the most definitive representation of a Shard's color. At the very, very least, golden is much more associated with Odium than with anything about Autonomy we've seen. Yes, but we have no real idea what kind of Investiture he consumed, and the glow of Invested people doesn't always indicate the Shard's color, given that the Elantrians have a silver glow but the perpendicularity of Elantris is blue. It can function as both - after all, it is the color that gets filtered from Trellium, which is Autonomy's God Metal (not one she hijacked), so there is good reason to believe that it's actually her color. I'm not trying to disprove your point though! Colors in the Cosmere are weird and partly seemingly nonsensical, so everything goes. But for the same reason, it's hard to really argue for anything based on color attributions. And for example, while I believe that golden is Odium's color, I don't think that the Iriali are actually connected to Odium. I think they prooobably predate any Shard colors. (Maybe that's the reason why Shard colors are weird? Because there were principles in place before the Shards, then the colors got re-assigned via the Shards and now both co-exist? I have no idea, it's just extremely confusing.) Yep! But like I said, I don't think it lines up with how the Many want to morph back into the One. To me it seems like that philosophy encapsules both Autonomy and something opposite to it. Which to me feels like Adonalsium would be a good pick, since it includes Autonomy, but also the aspect that values unity (Honor, Devotion, etc.). Although I don't want this to sound like I'm super convinced that it's an Adonalsium thing. I am mostly super convinced that we can't really have a firm idea of it yet Meh, the WOB is from 2019 - most of the things you say line up perfectly already did when he said that. If anything, what he released since then seems more and more aligned with the WOB imo (like the golden Well of Control or the red Trellium in the experiment).

I mean, it's possible. Lost Metal's Trellium experiments suggested that Autonomy's color would be red. Gold is mostly associated with Odium when it comes to Shards. Not sure about Autonomy's number. I never noticed many 7s in White Sand tho, mostly 8s Autonomy really fits with the "One became Many" theme! On the other hand, she doesn't seem like she'd want to put the One back together.

Where did he state that? Seems very unlikely to me atm, given Kelsier's experiences with empires. I believe he's happy to manipulate from the shadows, it's always been his thing. I could see the Malwish people excusing their crimes with the religion of the Sovereign, while him handing them the medallions was initially the opposite of what they are doing, an act of helping the abandoned that Harmony had forgotten, like Kelsier always tried to do. That would fit with Kelsier's tendency to make things worse whenever he tries to fix them (rather than willingly making them worse, which is something a large part of the fandom seems to see as his thing instead because of whatever Mandela effect), plus it would create a situation along the lines of "What if a Jesus-like figure was alive to see their religions excuse colonialism with their teachings", which sounds like a Brandon kind of idea. From what Ed says, Sazed seems to be alive and still a Shard. Or at the very least, if the Pathian religion is led by another Shard by then, it's someone "nice" that contrasts what the other Scadrians do - so not exactly what Ed's opinion on Kelsier would reasonably be.

That was also my initial reaction. Interestingly, that was the original world for Dark One before it was pulled out of the Cosmere: I haven't read Dark One, now I wonder if that story would have made sense in an Invention world.

Whether or not Roshar is unified at this point in time or not, it would take a lot of time dilation shenanigans for Stormlight 10 to take place after Embardark. And imagine five more Stormlight doorstoppers without the Roshar politics changing at all. Why would Brandon even write five more books if that was the case?

I'd have to think about a definitive favorite, but I know what's my least favorite sentence in the book: (Ch. 59) I'm not usually bothered by Brandon's prose that much but that sentence is so outrageous, it makes my head spin. One simple one that I really liked was ... "We have passed the era of gods", from Chrysalis (Ch. 46). Not really original or overly clever, but in the context of the space age, it felt really evocative, like a tagline for that whole era of the Cosmere.

My general feelings are kinda mixed, but in the end I enjoyed reading it. I agree with what many others said that the plot feels very unfocused. The first part in particular was a pain - as someone who likes the novella and wanted to read it again in the context of the novel, it was impossible for me to get invested in the present or flashback story. I think it would have been better to just handle it like the Edgedancer release with the Lift interlude, just put the smaller work at the front and then get to the main thing. I was lukewarm on Starling and her crew. None of them (except for Nazh and Crow for obvious reasons, maybe Chrysalis as well) felt really fleshed out. I love the concept of Starling as a dragon apprentice of Hoid and a heroic leader that basically collects castaways in space age, but this book hasn't really sold me on her as a person in contrast to concept. Especially how many scenes were primarily there to beat the reader over the head with how caring and heroic she is felt almost like a parody of the Mary Sue archetype (and I hate to use that word because people are misusing and misinterpreting the term all the time, but here it really does fit), and I have a hard time reading her as a complete, alive person. I really liked Dusk though. It was a bit disappointing that Vathi was absent for pretty much all the story, but Dusk's character development was really satisfying. (Although the overuse of the "It wasn't a question" phrase was really annoying. 30 years of writing and Brandon still can't help but overuse one term or phrase for each book he puts out as if he's getting paid extra for each inclusion, sigh ...) The middle of the book really had me losing interest, but the ending was extremely satisfying, to a degree that I think I haven't seen Brandon do in a long time. It all just clicked together nicely in a way I've only ever seen Brandon pull off this consistently, and I left the book feeling very happy about how it turned out. He really understands how to build up dozens of little things and ask many questions that seem impossible to answer, and then he ties all of it together and finds solutions for problems in the most unexpected places. Just a blast to see it all come together. And in general, despite my gripes, it has softened the disappointment of WAT - not because it was better (although it definitely was imo), but mostly because WAT didn't do a good job to win my interest for the Stormlight back 5 at all, while this one really made me excited about the future of the Cosmere as a whole. There's so many thing that are just the kind of ideas that I always hoped Brandon would implement in a space age Cosmere: Scadrial's dependency on Aether trading and the problems that arise from that, Shadesmar as an increasingly traveled and politically important place but with the increased danger of the Evil entitiies roaming around, the countless factions that are playing 3D chess in the galactical political landscape of the Cosmere beyond the Shards (inc. Xixis, the Aethers, the Sleepless ...), and the Knell as a way to navigate Shadesmar. Maaan, the book might have had its flaws, but it was very, very good at making me dream about the space age and make clear that Brandon is really cooking something special with that. And as a person who has been wondering about the Cosmere space age for the last 13 years or so, this sure felt like a gift.

I'm still skeptical that the Iriali are associated with any specific Shard. Their mythology sounds an awful lot like Adonalsium's story (the One being separated into different experiences), and if Cusicesh guides them on the Trial to the One, it seems probable to me that it's older than the Shards and was an original splinter of Adonalsium. (Maybe formed after Adonalsium saw what was coming and wanted to give the Iriali directions, presuming that the Iriali are Yolish.)

Interesting. This WOB makes it sound like the isolation and Taldain not reaching space travel before Scadrial are causally related: