grinachu

it's here. Hallelujah. I had a fright and nearly went to sleep thinking it would come tomorrow morning.

I called Barnes and Noble in NYC and they told me they would release it tomorrow morning, no earlier. Anyone else know where in NYC one can get a copy right away? PM me if you prefer....

1. It is in english. 2. You probably need to use a VPN to buy the book from amazon.jp. 3. You may be charged foreign currency fees on your credit card. 4. You can choose to have the website in english (there is an option at the top) 5. I haven't bought it because I don't want to pay the associated fees for my credit card, but I have no reason to believe you cannot do so, although frankly it might be a bit of a hassle.

is this the ebook?

amazon.jp has released the book already.

Ugh. I'm not in the country. Why does amazon UK claim the kindle edition is releasing on 6th March? What's up with that? Don't they know ALL fantasy books are to be released first in the UK because we are that much cooler...

Does anyone know if the book will be released on kindle on amazon.jp in 15.5 hours, i.e. midnight March 3 in Japan? It's definitely listed.

The kindle version doesn't have it yet? I deleted my original copy and redownloaded but I didn't get it.

It's increasingly the case for most anticipated fantasy releases. I tried to pick up Emperor of Thorns early at a bookshop in London but they wouldn't have it, despite having it in stock. On the other hand, amazon.de consistently delivers ahead of time.

you can cancel your order,surely?

I don't know that you need to do all that. I bought Dangerous Women from amazon.co.uk directly with a US credit card.

I too would be interested if anyplace in NYC has it in. Please spread the word. I'm going to buy a kindle version anyway on release night. Incidentally, for those for whom hours really count and who want an ebook: you can order it online from amazon.co.uk at 12.00 GMT which is 4.5 hours earlier than amazon.com ebook.

so I wanted to know whether Brandon has somewhere stated or other boarders have any theories as to when Tanavast died? It is open to multiple interpretations because one the hand there is a chapter title "Honor is Dead" which could carry the inference it happened fairly recently. On the other hand, the visions stop at the Day of Recreance, and further the voice in the stars calls Kaladin "child of one long since departed", which the consensus seems to mean is Tanavast. So when did he die?

The most interesting shard so far is Cultivation because we do know that she has influenced cultures like Shinovar and the Horneaters and we know a fair amount about her influence. Insofar as she would have a polar opposite it would be something like degradation or corruption. Something slimy and oily and polluting. I think while not all shards have an opposite there is a definite pairing between them. Devotion and Odium are opposites, as Ruin and Preservation were opposites. I think since Honor's power was in binding things, he and Cultivation together were able to get Odium to agree upon a deal. When those Honor invested with its powers, abandoned the Oathpact, Honor itself became vulnerable and fell to Odium. Cultivation still lives but cannot face Odium herself alone. Jezrien holds a sliver of Honor and reads the storms seeking to difuse Honor's power by way of stormlight but is slowly failing. Meanwhile Odium is getting stronger because of perpetual war in Roshar and is seeking to finally destroy all of Roshar by himself. By uniting the Alethi and then seeking to united humanity, Dalinar is actually strenghtening Odium's hand. It is by murder and warfare and pursuing the Thrill that Odium's power is actually dissipated from his hands.

I disagree with this theory, because I think it neglects an important part of Vorin theology. We have confirmation from Dalinar's Almighty granted visions and from plenty of in-world sources that to seek to know the future is Forbidden in Vorinism. We don't know exactly why, although it seems that Honor and Cultivation both do a little bit of future prediction themselves. When the Sunmaker unmasked the Hierocracy, he specifically found that all the prophecies that the priests claimed to know were false. If Sunmaker had remade Vorinism under the influence of Odium or what have you, then we wouldn't expect an independent corroboration between the Almighty's injunction against predicting the future and Sunmaker's declaration that the prophecies were false. I think there's a lot more going on in terms of religious change and Vorinism than we understand. In particular, I think the Heralds have been around and may well have influenced the development of Vorinism independently. Certainly the Jezrien heresy (the one that worships him as the only God) among the Emul, may have been planted by him independently.

Maybe it has something to do with thunderclasts ripping themselves free from stone? I know this sounds like a pretty counter-intuitive example but if the Shin believe that stone is alive in some way, that might account for its sacred nature.

I think Szeth will end up a prisoner if there is a fight between him and Kaladin.

hmmm...I think the point is that spren have the capacity to become sapient no? Anyway it seems like technology based on spren and stormlight might be hit by the death of the Highstorms.

http://www.graspingforthewind.com/2010/09/16/interview-brandon-sanderson-on-the-way-of-kings/ This interview is what I was thinking of, but I am sure there are others. What's interesting is not just first few comments but also the later reference to Golden Age Rome and Renaissance Italy. Two things about magic and technology. Whatever the precise mechanism of the Knights Radiant was, it clearly involved a bond with a spren, whether the Nahel or Honorspren. What is very different about fabrials is that they capture a spren and use it up. That is, at least as I understand it, a much more violative relationship. The second point is while the techology is obviously dependent on stormlight, the end of the Highstorms will presumably mean the end of stormlight no? And that is a frightening thought for Roshar....

I thought he had said he wants a book about the emergence of technoloogy. Any reference?

yeah great ideas all. I personally think the link with Jezrien is pretty crucial. Brandon has said Jezrien is around and he has a role to play in the books, Brandon has also said that Tanavast was the original holder of Honor and it sounds like "long since departed" means Honor has been dead for a while (*although intriguingly it could also mean someone who has left roshar completely...hmmm). We are told the storms are dying. So two thoughts to share. 1. the strange natural phenomena of Scadrial is later explained as the The Lord Ruler attempting to make the planet habitable. Dalinar's vision seem to place him in a world pre- highstorms, and pre retreating grass etc. Could it be Jezrien took up Honor after Tanavast died and found a way to change the planet ecologically to fit the storms? 2. If the Jezrien is the aged face in the storm and the highstorms are dying, could it be the title actually refers to the end of stormlight completely in Roshar? Whatever happens at the end, the highstorms die, we move into an age of technology and the stormlight archive refers to the period where this process ended?

I think you misread my post. I never said that dawnshards were weapons, only that Honor had made weapons of great power and so his reference to dawnshards in particular when discussing opposing Odium through a champion rather than those weapons suggests that dawnshards have a particular power or potency those weapons don't have. As I already suggested, my theory is that dawnshards are particlar artifacts which can be used to bind or enslave. Another surmise. The owner weilder/bearer of the dawnshard was clearly in Urithiru when he was holding the shard, and it sounds like he was injured. If so, was there a particular reason he headed to the temple? maybe dawnshards are especially potent in temples dedicated to Honor? The answer to your last question might be that Odium is now so confident of his power he can do something that will simply wipe out the world of men? It seems like what Odium did in Sel at least resulted in a giant earthquake and the True Desolation sound similar. Maybe that's his signature move?

well one has to consider the internal time frame of Elantris itself and the fall of Elantris has been for a short time span, not that much at all. Assuming Rayse went to sel and did something there to aona and skai, that doesn't account for 500 years. Besides, there is no reason to believe 500 years is brief to Hoid or to the recipient of the letter, who we don't know for sure is a shardholder.

Sorry, Crazyrioter, I haven't read the old threads at TWG, but I agree wholeheartedly with you if you espouse this theory, you have to explain why the original parshendi weren't affected by whatever was down by the dawnshards. Is there something special in the Shattered Hills that protected them?

Well the Oathpact was broken in the first scene in the book, the prologue. After that we were shown many scenes of Desolations. So Odium didnt' give up trying to destroy the world immediately and the voidbringers came again and again after the Oathpact to try and destroy the world.