Amira

I got a Seeker, lame... Interlude 9, Szeth: Somehow I had thought previously that the king of Ja Keved was Shallan's father, not sure why I thought that. Poor Szeth. I'm waiting to find out why he has to do whatever the person with his Oathstone tells him, what it means to be Truthless. I am ALSO looking forward to reading about Kaladin learning to Lash! In terms of storytelling, I think having an OP character who has to do whatever his arbitrary master tells him was brilliant.

Wait, does Amaram take the Blade from Kaladin in Prime? I thought once someone picked up a Shardblade, that Blade was magically theirs (I mean, it can disappear and such and they're the only ones who can summon it). My rep says I'm a misting. I hope my power is the one that lets you push on metals and fly. Interlude 7, Baxil: Why is this woman destroying art? That's arguably worse than stealing! And why does Baxil want to get a boon from the Nightwatcher if it means getting cursed? Totally doesn't seem worth it. Interlude 8, Geranid: Spren are like Schrodinger's cat??? Is this true for all spren? Is this true for Syl? Mind blown.

Chapter 50, Shallan: Shallan's world is falling apart. Honestly, I was more surprised that she lasted as long as she did. But wait, I thought Jasnah did eat some bread this time. And Kabsal died because someone swapped the strawberry jam with something else? I'm very confused. Chapter 51, Kaladin's past: Kaladin himself admits how stupid it was to not take the Shards, although he doesn't regret his decision. Then Amaram decides to be a bad guy, but seeing as this is in the past, and present day Kaladin hints about it, I already knew something like this was coming. End of part 3! Next up is the interludes, and we get SZETH again, yay!!

Oh no

Haha, no worries! Chapter 49, Kaladin: Why is Teft beating around the bush??? Just tell Kaladin he has powers, stormit! On the bright side, I got the training sequence I was looking forward to! I love reading about training, it's one of my favorite things. I could really feel it, and I wanted so much to be down there with them, in those murky, keep chasms, training stances until I was exhausted. I always find myself jealous of book characters even though they are in so much danger. My own adventure consists of way to much sitting in front of the computer and not nearly enough doing physical things out in the wild.

Cool, I'll look forward to that. I feel like I'm missing half of the debate as it is under spoiler tags, but I'll put my thoughts based on what I know of the story so far. If Kaladin had a shardblade, he could have just cut the bars of the cage he and the other slaves were in. There are practical advantages to having that blade even if he swears never to use it against humans. Not to mention he wouldn't have been made a slave in the first place if his eyes had turned light. He also could have taken the blade for the sole purpose of preventing anyone else from using it. I know, that theme of good guys rejecting power frustrates me! I think the idea that power corrupts comes from our world where the most power comes from money, and money is something you can only get by taking it from someone else (or being given rather, but my point is that someone else has to give up the amount that they give you), so people get rewarded for exploiting others e.g. overworking one's employees. But I might be wrong; there might be more to it. I also don't see any hypocrisy. At that point in the story he still believed that some lighteyes are good and honorable. He counts Amaram as one, and he expresses his desire to go fight on the Shattered Plains because the thinks the lighteyes there are better people. All this being said, though... Kaladin just saw like, 10? 20? 30 of his friends being slaughtered? It's not like he's stopping to think, level headed, if he should take the blade or not. He's going through total shock, trauma, rage, so I guess while his actions of not picking up the blade seem to me like a bad move, I can't claim his reaction isn't realistic. ANYWAY, chapter 48, Shallan: Kabsal tried to poison Shallan?? But if that was his goal, why did he eat the jam too? Now everything has fallen apart for Shallan, because she pulled the stolen Soulcaster out of her safepouch. Have I mentioned yet my suspicion that maybe Shallan's original Soulcaster wasn't broken in the first place, her family just didn't know how to use it, or someone lied about it no longer working? Maybe Shallan swapped a working Soulcaster with a working Soulcaster!

Chapter 47, Kaladin's past: We skip over Tien's death for a retelling of chapter 1, this time from Kaladin's pov. Do we ever find out why Rosharians say such weird stuff on their deathbed? As expected, the Shardbearer kills Cenn and then Kaladin kills the Shardbearer. But then he turns the Blade down?! Look, I understand that it sickens him, of course it does, it just killed all his friends, but picking up a sword won't change him into the men he hates. With a Shardblade, he could *prevent* his men from dying next time! Sorry, but I just lost some of my respect for Kaladin. Then again, I suppose giving it to one of his men is also okay, but instead of walking away, he should have stayed put a few more seconds to ensure the man actually picked it up! Do you guys think Kaladin did the right thing here?

Chapter 46, Kaladin: Doing more magic in his sleep, Kaladin gets a glimpse of Szeth, I guess he's pretty far away atm. Adding a parshman to Bridge Four is an interesting development, I've been curious about the parshmen for a while, so I look forward to seeing where this goes. Finally Kaladin meets Adolin and refuses to believe any lighteyes can perform genuine acts of kindness. Of course Teft still hasn't told Kaladin about the Stormlight magic, I hope that actually happens at some point. I was looking forward to seeing them train, but we didn't get there yet. Sometimes I wish this book moved a little faster!

Chapter 45, Shallan: What the storm just happened??? A cold voice, a warm voice, creatures, a sea of beads, a faraway sun, spontaneous soulcasting, Shallan momentarily jumping into another dimension, "I will change"... Do these emojis look baffled enough? Who knew Shallan would discover her powers before Kaladin. And what's that about ten heartbeats, Shallan is a Shardbearer??? It's like this entire book is a drawing on a page, slowly building, and this chapter is a knife suddenly cutting through the page!

Aww, thank you!! I think I'll just rename this topic "I'm reading The Stormlight Archive for the first time." That's a neat idea! Although if I did a blog, I'd have to figure out how to get people to find my blog, whereas here all the Sanderfans are already gathered... Chapter 44, in which little Kaladin volunteers as tribute: gosh, it's so sad to read this knowing that Tien dies. I wondered why Kaladin's parents told him he could do whatever he wanted with his future in the academic fields, but didn't want him to join the army, but maybe they're just afraid he's gonna die.

I'm thinking I'll start book 2 immediately after finishing book 1

Thank you!! You all are the best! Chapter 43: Watching Kaladin almost give up was terrifying. In the end he did come up with something, but he's now showing the bridgemen that he's just human. Before, he made ridiculous promises like that no one in Bridge Four will die again (he was wrong, a few did die), or that he'd survive the highstorm (he was right, he survived). In this chapter he stopped playing that game of wowing them (a 'game' that totally worked btw). Instead he just told them the whole truth. I'm not sure if this is a better or worse approach, but I wonder if this is what he'll do from now on, or if he'll maybe keep alternating between the two approaches, depending on how confident he feels in the situation. I kind of liked it when he made high promises and then miraculously managed to keep them, haha, but realistically it is very hard to feel that confidence all the time. Anyway, Bridge Four is planning its escape! Can't wait!

In the last chapter about little Kaladin I was disappointed to find out that Lirin stole the spheres, but in this chapter I kinda respected Lirin. He chooses to protect life, even if it's the life of a terrible man, not because he believes this man deserves to live, but because a man who protects life is the kind of man Lirin wants to be. He's staying true to himself even when there isn't much worth protecting. I identify with him. Chapter 42, Shallan: What is that voice Shallan heard saying "what are you"??? Is it the creatures she drew earlier? And how did she forget about it so fast? I hope I find out soon! Gosh, Shallan casually sneaking into Jasnah's room to snoop around makes me so nervous. Her relationship with Kabsal is heating up, I wonder where that'll go. Will Kabsal really quit being an ardent for her? Meanwhile, Shallan is scheduled to get back on the ship that will take her home in a week's time, so her plan is going smoothly except for the fact that she still can't make the Soulcaster work. Let's think about this: Option 1) Only certain people - Soulcasters - can use the Soulcasters. Shallan simply doesn't have the ability, so it doesn't matter how hard she tries or what methods she tries, she'll never be able to do it. Option 2) Shallan actually doesn't have a working Soulcaster. Either her suspicions are correct and Jasnah purposefully placed a fake in a spot where Shallan could steal it, or her earlier suspicions are correct and Jasnah switched back the Soulcasters since Shallan swapped them, stealing the working one out of Shallan's trunk. Option 3) There actually is some kind of secret to making it work. This is the theory Shallan currently seems to believe in, but I'm not sure, I'm leaning toward the other two. Many questions. Don't actually answer them, haha. I will RAFO

Chapter 39: Shallan can't figure out how to use the Soulcaster. Next chapter is about KALADIN so naturally I read it too... Chapter 40: No, Kaladin, don't give up! Rock cracks me up: "And what is this thing you believe you are doing?" when Kaladin tries to join the bridge run. Naturally Teft didn't get a chance to talk to Kaladin and explain the Stomrlight magic, because that's what we *really* want to see. I do understand why Kaladin is despairing, but I think he should try and think about the fact that he already pulled the impossible once, so maybe he can do it again somehow. I really hope Teft and Kaladin talk during the next Kaladin chapter. Maybe it'll give Kaladin hope. Chapter 41: Kaladin's past Somewhere among all the other thoughts Kaladin and his dad were having, I bet they felt a bit of satisfaction to see their big bullies bring doom upon themselves.

Chapter 38: I should be going to sleep, but instead I read the next Kaladin chapter, because Kaladin is awesome and I need more Kaladin. Also, I kinda feel like crap, and perhaps some of my frustration with my life came through when I wrote my reaction for that last chapter and maybe I felt guilty because, hey, it's not the poor chapter's fault! This chapter totally cheered me up, even though now I have so many questions. What are Envisagers? How is Kaladin doing magic in his sleep?? Okay guys, Kaladin might yet give Szeth a run for his money for the spot of "Amira's favorite Stormlight character." Cool, now I'm really going to sleep, but only because Shallan is next. If there was another Kaladin chapter, I'd stay up even later and read it. Thank you all for following along

Oh cool! Chapter 37, Kal: I wasn't sure why Kal jumped to the conclusion that his father was going to give some of the spheres to Roshone. I was also disappointed to find out his father really did steal the spheres. IDK, the chapters of Kaladin's past always seem so depressing. Maybe I'm just not a huge fan of flashbacks and prequels. Kal keeps going back and forth between becoming a soldier and becoming a surgeon, but we already know he became a soldier, so there's less tension than reading about present day Kaladin. I will say, however, that him wanting to grow up and do the right thing and be mature, not knowing how everything's about to fall apart in just a few years, all his expectations, assumptions about the world, etc. is very relatable. I went through a similar process becoming an adult. Anyway, see you all at the livestream in a few minutes!

You mean in general? I enjoy reading about Kaladin a lot more. Shallan's situation/plot makes me very nervous, and all the philosophy isn't my thing. Chapter 36: Yikes, Shallan actually did it, she stole Jasnah's Soulcaster! Now she'd better get out of there asap, before Jasnah tries to use the Soulcaster again and finds out it doesn't work. That being said, I wonder if Jasnah knows how to fix broken Soulcasters.

Okay, I won't. Chapter 35: Kaladin gets a glimpse of the Stormfather - I assume that's what that face was, although I'm surprised Kaladin himself didn't arrive at that conclusion. It sounds like Teft put two and two together about the Stormlight. I hope he tells Kaladin and Kaladin finally starts learning about his powers. I know, I wish for this on pretty much every Kaladin chapter...

Chapter 34: Of course surviving a Highstorm will be added to Kaladin's growing list of impossible feats. I should have known With his only tool that one sphere, maybe he'll finally realize he's using Stormlight magic? Maybe he'll finally learn to control his powers? I want it to happen already! But wait, with Lamaril dead, how will we find out why Gaz owed him money?

Oh, somehow I thought it said it was a bribe. Do we know why he owes him money? Yes, Kaladin is great! Haha, I suppose things did fall apart in Bean's case, thought not because the new system he'd created was working so well that everything else collapsed (like in Kaladin's case). Ah, yes, thank you for explaining. I knew the 'what' but not the 'why'. Don't tell my grandma, but all this talk about the differences between Judaism and Christianity made me realize that Christianity is more up my alley than Judaism, haha. Chapter 33, Shallan: Hm. If Kabsal's goal was to talk to Jasnah, why did he leave the moment she showed up? Very suspicious... Yes, Shallan should definitely switch her religious path to one that better fits her! Especially now that her father isn't around to tell her off. There was one point where Jasnah mentioned stealing her Soulcaster and Shallan's hand flew to her secret pocket. My guess is that Jasnah noticed that and will now be a little more suspicious of Shallan.

Whoa, my topic has turned into a discussion of religion and social issues! I'm both honored and a little nervous Now that I think about it, Israel of all places is probably the most likely to be like that, because Judaism doesn't involve the individual person "talking to God" like some other religions (e.g. Christianity), so spiritual experiences are probably less of a thing to begin with. But maybe it was realistic for Jasnah to use that as an argument. I personally think discounting others' experiences doesn't lead to great logic. Also I respect that this is an atheist written by a religious author, and he's probably doing a better job than if I tried to write a religious character. Also Jasnah lives in a much more religious society than ours; she has to defend her beliefs all alone! Chapter 32, Side Carry (Kaladin): Okay, that didn't end as spectacularly as I was imagining, Kaladin destroyed the entire plateau assault and got beaten up, even if he did save all of Bridge Four. I probably should have seen it coming though that something would go wrong. The chapter is near the beginning of the part, not near a climax, and this book has a tendency to end chapters on grim notes. I still can't wait to see what happens next and wish I didn't have to read about Shallan and could just focus on Kaladin Very interesting the idea that if a piece of a system is organized way better than the rest of the system, then it will cause the rest of the system to fall apart... I love when books deal with this type of stuff. Reminds me of Ender's Shadow where Bean reorganized the kids on the street at the beginning (it was a little different and things didn't fall apart there, but it dealt with the same theme of one person reorganizing a bad situation). I wish I found more books that did that. One thing I forgot to say about the previous Kaladin chapter is what is Gaz bribing Lamaril to not talk about?? At first I thought it was Kaladin, but everyone knows about Kaladin so it must be something else...

Chapter 30, Kaladin: The plot thickens... Kaladin thinks carrying the bridge sideways will protect them on a bridge run. Gaz thinks it will expose them. My money's on Kaladin. Chapter 31, Kal: I can't think of anything to say about this chapter, but the next one is called Side Carry. So excited!

Cool, so my question is, is it common for atheists to explain spiritual experiences as something that happens only in the person's head, without any outside influence (as I understand Jasnah sees it)? More precisely, how do atheists usually explain spiritual experiences? (FYI I'm atheist myself but tend to have unusual opinions so just wondering what is typical.)

Thank you! Chapter 29, Shallan: What are those creatures Shallan drew??? Kaladin also has mysterious powers, but we've already seen Szeth use the same or at least similar powers. With Shallan, she's the only person we've seen do her kind of magic, so I have no point of reference. Meanwhile, we see a conversation at the beginning of the chapter between Shallan and her brother. Their house's situation just went from bad to worse, and seems so desperate that it would take a miracle to recover from their problems. Later, the characters had a discussion about religion, and after all the talk of how Jasnah was good at debating, she made imo a really poor argument when Shallan basically said "But what about how I feel?" Jasnah said two things. One, she said (I'm paraphrasing) "Your mind is creating that feeling" which I think is an okay response as far as debates go (as in, it directly addresses Shallan's question), and two, she said "That's your feeling; I don't feel that way." Which is an okay thing to say, but it doesn't address Shallan's argument, and she said it as if it did. Maybe I misunderstood, but that specific point kinda bugged me. I have another question more specifically about their topic of discussion, but I figured I'd check first: am I allowed to talk about religion here?

Interlude 6, Szeth: I feel like Szeth is the centerpiece of The Way of Kings, possibly The Stormlight Archive, at least the first five. I am not surprised by the direction things are developing, I felt like it was only a matter of time before someone sent Szeth to make another big splash. To me, a very interesting part of the interlude was when Szeth started questioning some of his core beliefs. I'd assumed there was magic involved with his being Truthless and having to obey whoever is in possession of his Oathstone, but maybe it's not magic but brainwashing / cultural influence / tradition, whatever you want to call it? Maybe he believes that this is what he has to do, and if something causes him to change his beliefs, he'll stop obeying people, start "rebelling" I suppose? I hope we find out more about this direction soon! Also, I hope his first target from that list will be the king of Ja Keved who happens to already be dead, lol.