Argent

A few Easter eggs and bits of trivia (note that there are many threads here about this kind of stuff, we are all bound to miss something): If you've read Elantris... If you've read Mistborn (which you obviously have)... If you've read Warbreaker... Finally, regardless of the whether you've read any of the other books... Did you notice Hoid slipping a piece of metal into his own drink when he was talking to Shallan's father, Lin Davar? So he gets some quick access to Allomancy, likely emotional, likely so that he can spark some curiosity in Shallan so that she can go seek him out later on? Did you notice that Nalan (or Nin, as Szeth calls him; Nale is his real name) actually shows up as far as back as The Way of Kings prologue? Look for an Azish man with a moon-shaped scar on his cheek there. Did you notice that Hoid doesn't seem terribly after of Jasnah's Shardblade (or Sprenblade, as I have started calling the "resurrected" Shardblades)? One ought to wonder why the simple storyteller he claims to be is unafraid of a weapon that could easily sever his body and soul...

The Beast has risen once more! https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cuizvs9?context=10000 https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cuj00d5?context=10000 https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cuj06gl?context=10000 https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cuj08r8?context=10000 https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/culm7jd?context=10000 https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/culm8j8?context=10000

Finally done with Queen of Fire. Really happy this is the last book, I am not sure I could've forced myself through another one. I think it's time to go back to Pratchett for some time.

Here's an interesting take on how Brandon would design a Feruchemist in D&D (a bit of wall of text, easier to read on Reddit): https://www.reddit.com/r/Mistborn/comments/3inuog/i_need_some_help_im_looking_for_dungeons_and/cuie8c9

Actually, much of the Cosmere follows very sensible laws, it does make sense. Just not necessarily the sense we are used to.

This is actually precisely why I brought it up, it's a parallel between magic systems.

I hesitate to call this a theory because it's more of an observation, and it doesn't have much substance to it... But here goes. Looking at the names of the Radiant Orders, it now strikes me as obvious that half of them sound inherently more physical and active in nature, while the other half are more passive and mental, or perhaps cognitive. Stonewards, Windrunners, Skybreakers, Dustbringers, and Edgedancers all sound folks who perfect some physical activity - ward (I admit this one doesn't form an activity as well as the others), run with the wind, break the sky, brings things down to dust, and dance on the edge. The other half then - Truthwatchers, Lightweavers, Elsecallers, Willshapers, and Bondsmiths - fall more strongly in the domain of mental, or passive, activities. Watching (for) the truth, weaving light, calling the else, shaping (with) will, and smithing bonds. Alternatively, there is another dichotomy I see - internal vs. external orders. The division here is not as clear (to me), because a few of the orders could be interpreted either way (do the Bondsmiths' bonds make them an internal order, because bonds are your own thing, or external because you form them with others?), but Windrunners, Skybreakers, Dustbringers, Edgedancers, and Lightweavers all sound much more external to me than Truthwatchers, Elsecallers, Willshapers, Bondsmiths, and Stonewards. I could allow for Stonewards and Lightweavers to swap places (maybe because Stonewards can somehow defend others while Lightweavers and internalized truths go hand-in-hand).

https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cuefpq7?context=10000

Let me assure you, having to find your friends in a crowd far better than actually getting lost in a crowd, nothing but chests, backs, and the occasional stomach in sight.

Never once considering how much of the view you block, and how much of a literal pain in the neck you are. Villains, all of you, villains!

Well then. I've been discovered. You now know the truth, I am a literal pile of money.

Hmm. Either my eyes or my memory is failing me, because I was sure the phrasing wasn't that strong. Fair enough though, we'll wait for a bit.

Hard to tell. I will always be fond of the ending of Elantris - not the stuff with Sarene and Hrathen, Raoden's arc before that. The Hero of Ages is also really strong though. By the time we get to the Stormlight books, the avalanches are more diluted (which, as I understand it, is Brandon's intent - he feels it's better writing), so it's harder to compete with the more explosive earlier books. Kaladin's "Radiant upgrades" from both books are really really good too.

Still struggling with Anthony Ryan's Queen of Fire...

Yeah! Team Short Men for the win! Down with the tall oppression!

Yes and no. Most investiture breaks the laws of physics as we understand them, because there is one bit often left out when citing them - the phrase "in a closed system." For our universe, the biggest closed system is, well, our universe. The Cosmere has two more to work with. The best way to understand it, I think, is to look at the physical realm first - energy (or matter) is often created there as a result of investing. This violates the laws of thermodynamics as we understand them, because the physical realm is the only one we have access to. In the Cosmere, however, there are other realms - so the creation of energy in the physical could, in fact, be a transfer of energy from one (or both) of the other realms into it. Total energy of the system = conserved.

There was something about this in the Great AMA of 2015. I am not fully sure, but I think Brandon confirmed the symbol was something like what you see in the original post of this thread. Feel free to double check me though.

I am not sure what his stance on the topic actually is - all I got from it is "I won't be putting it on my website".

FEED ME RECORDINGS NOW!

I like the Windows 10 default background.

I wish I felt like this. I am about 40% into the third one and it's a slow read. Yes, it's a big book, but I just can't get invested in the characters, which usually means that I read it as a chore.

You can make the argument for both cases. Is lerasium burnable by default because it's a piece of the same power that fuels Allomancy, or is it burnable by default because it's the physical manifestation of a Shard, and as such doesn't behave like regular allomantic metals? We don't know.

This is the AMA that never ends... https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cu239n5?context=10000 https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cu23apu?context=10000 https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cu23er3?context=10000 https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cu23hff?context=10000 Excite! https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cu23igi?context=10000 Let's find a quote here, shall we?

The Windrunners, in the Warcraft universe, are an elven family which includes Sylvanas, Alleria (her elder sister, mostly featured in a few graphic novels), Vareesa (younger sister, seen a little in World of Warcraft), and a few other not-so-notable members. Also, to the best of my knowledge (which borders obsession), Brandon was never a big Warcraft fan. I believe he has played the franchise, or is at least aware of it, but not a lot. Plus, admittedly, "Windrunner" is not such an unusual name to give someone(s) who is known for swiftness. Running with the wind, or running like the wind, are well-known phrases. There is a movie with the same name, there is a Nike jacket line, there is a rifle series known as Windrunner - no, it's far from rare.

I dig.