Argent

Hmm, yeah, looks like it's @iBooks and @BrandSanderson only. Maybe @iBooks took questions prior to this. Still, some information might come out of it, though I doubt it. I think it's going to be spoiler-free, but I am not going to risk it until tonight.

A bit of a short notice, but the announcement went out with no time to spare. It looks like Brandon is doing a live Twitter chat with @iBooks at 11:00 PST / 13:00 CST / 14:00 EST (19:00 GMT/UTC). Or, if timezones are as much of a bane for you as they are for me, 20 minutes from the time this post went up.

The map was most likely made in Fjorden, and if that's the case, then I wouldn't be surprised if all Nazh was able to get out of them about the Rose Empire is "oh, it's just the Rose barbarians up there" or something to that effect.

Hmm. Maybe.

Aharietiam was only the last Desolation. There are hints that there have been dozens, if not hundreds of Desolations before that one. And there was obviously life during those.

Something in Shadows of Self made me wonder how Scadrial has gasoline (it is explicitly mentioned that motorcars run on it). We obviously don't have a timeline for the Cosmere, but I got the impression that the Shattering of Adonalsium happened thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) years ago, not millions. Does anyone know how long it takes for organic matter to turn into something that could be turned into gasoline?

Been asked, I think. @wilson, thank you for the Endowment confirmation. You know how irritating this particular bit of missing knowledge has been. @Kurk, I have chosen you for my arch-nemesis on the forums. Sorry*. * This is not a sincere apology, I would never apologize to my arch-nemesis.

Fun fact, I actually had no idea why people wanted to know the answer to that question. I am not sure why I picked it. I think it didn't look like a RAFO bait and I wanted some questions that would get actual answers.

Devouring Shadows of Self. Which (in)conveniently arrived yesterday (Oct 5) because sleep is for people who don't have Sanderson in their lives. Funny story about this, I had decided to go through the prologue and the first 6 chapters and then go to bed. You know, reread whatever Tor had released and start the new content fresh. Aaand then I fall into the "just one more chapter" trap (which, if you've read chapter 7, you know how deadly it is). And then it was 3 AM.

It's on http://brandonsanderson.com/

Uh. You again.

The general Q&A should be spoiler-free. Yes, you can ask about juicy bits, but a) you'll probably get RAFO'd, and it's not cool. The general Q&A is for everyone, and as much as I would like to get as many answers out of Brandon as it physically possible, it's just not the right place. As Kurk points out, your turn in the signing & personalization line is your turn. It's your 1-2 minutes with (one of your) favorite author(s). Use it. Now, it may be the case that you have more interesting things to chat with Brandon about (I imagine if I were Brandon, I'd be more excited to hear a touching story involving my books than yet another question about Allomantic time bubbles), you can do that, for his sake, but either way it's your time to shine. And, of course, if you are an addict like I am, you can stay the entire duration of the event and ask Brandon if you can ask him the real juicy questions afterwards. I keep pushing me to tell me I am annoying him, but he keeps refusing to say so, so I keep staying after his signings to bother him.

EDIT #1: Event is over, you can find my write-up and recordings in this post. EDIT #2: Here's a [link] to the transcript. In case you've missed the news, Brandon will be in the Oak Brook Barnes & Noble on October 12. For quick reference, here's the snippet from his website: The important bit is that the event will have two parts (as is usual for Brandon's signings), each one with different admission rules. The first part (which will likely consist of a story, a Q&A, and a reading) is free and open to anyone and everyone, while the second part (the signing & personalization) requires a purchase of Shadows of Self on the spot. Which, I believe, is more than a little annoying, but their store, their rules (also, guess who is never preordering from B&N ever again). Come back to the Old Orchard Barnes & Noble, Brandon, they are nicer there! They are 10 minutes away from my house, not hour and a half... Anyway, I'll be there. I'll probably show up a little earlier (around 6, if I can), bother the personnel, and try to ambush Brandon if he makes the mistake of showing up early. For the event itself, I try to ask a non-spoilery Cosmere question during the general Q&A (you have me to thank for extracting the knowledge that unicorns do not exist in the Cosmere, thankyouverymuch), 2-3 juicy questions when it's my turn for signing & personalization, and a dozen or two after the event, if Brandon has time for 10 minutes of lightning Q&A. All of the events I've been to, he's been able to stay for a bit after and suffer my pestering, but there are no guarantees. So in this context, I'll be thinking about interesting questions in the next few days (feel free to post yours - obviously I can't promise I'll ask them for you, but if I like something I'll try to put it on my list). I'll also try to post a final list before the event, as well as an audio recording after. Kurk EDIT: Text of transcript as of 12/2016 for word-searching:

It's up. Not groundbreaking, but it's something new to look at.

I was thinking about the symbols on the bones, and I think they are purely stylistic. The Dakhor bone... shaping... is supposed to be a secret, even within Fjorden. I find it unlikely that they will be included on a map.

Too slow, Kurkistan! You were too slow, my reply was superior in its timing!

It would have to be of similar size, otherwise the big Aon Rao wouldn't work.

Or it might be. Or Brandon could pull a double whammy on us - reveal the Big Bad in Shadows of Self, reveal that the real Big Bad is somebody else in Bands of Mourning, and then reveal (in The Lost Metal) that the original Big Bad is the actual Big Bad, manipulating us to think that the Bands Big Bad is the real Big Bad. The next logical step is a triple whammy in the Era 3 series.

Nazh, master of sass. Also, the Elantris map makes it so much clearer than the city is a giant Aon Rao. Also, Rose Barbarians? As in, the Rose Empire? Also, lake Alonoe looks suspicious...

I don't think we should lump these two books into a single subforum. It was okay when we didn't know much beyond the titles, but as Bands of Mourning preview chapters start showing up, we need to be able to differentiate between the knowledge levels of people who have read only Shadows of Self and those who have read both. And while the release dates of the two books are close, we shouldn't do assume that everyone will have the opportunity to read them as soon as they are released.

Finished Night Watch yesterday. Going to take a 3-day break and jump into Shadows of Self as soon as it's out.

The Lightning Tree offers some insight into who he is (in terms of character, not history), how he sees the world, and what happens inside his head. I found it... educational.

Hohoho, guess who landed a TV show + movie + video game deal with Lionsgate!

I will have to maintain my disagreement. 300 years is not such a short period. In fact, it matches what we see in Western Europe and the Colonies/States - if The Alloy of Law is the rough equivalent of the 1920s, then the Final Empire should be comparable to late 16th or early 17th century. Which it is. Brandon has referred to it as a kind of late Renaissance, which matches. This is not the most coherent argument I've put together, but I think I get the point across...

I explained it somewhere in the original thread. If you are curious enough, I think my explanation there was both detailed and understandable.