TwistedMisting

I believe he's sickened by the act of killing. There's one part where he sees a Parshendi youth, and reflects that he would only have been a child when Gavilar was murdered, then one of his soldiers kills the boy. He raises his hand to stop him but the soldier doesn't notice his gesture. I've read these episodes as the Thrill fading away, leaving him to be more aware of the horror and destruction, and be affected by that. You may be right that the Parshendi can't retreat, and probably even right that Dalinar wouldn't be able to stop the Alethi from taking vengeance on them. However, I believe that slaughtering them wouldn't be Dalinar's choice. He is too immersed in trying to live by the codes, and he believes that how you achieve victory is more important than the victory itself. So he wouldn't condone slaughtering a defeated enemy. Maybe that would even be his moment that will seal him as a surgebinder, if he stands up against his fellows to prevent a massacre. Don't forget either that the Parshendi got themselves into this position knowingly. We still don't know the reasons why. Think of Jasnah's comment in the WoR prologue. They also decided to put all their eggs in this one basket, again we don't know why, but I suspect we'll learn more via Eshonai.

Actually, Dalinar is beginning to be sickened by the killing. He has episodes where the Thrill fades and is replaced by revulsion at the death around him. No, he's not as honourable as Kaladin in that respect, but bear in mind that Dalinar was a warmonger for most of his life, whereas Kaladin was raised to respect life. Also, a conclusive victory does not necessarily have to mean genocide. Just give them a thumping till they surrender or run away. (I'm not saying that's definitely what Dalinar would do, but it is a possibility.) I would agree though, he doesn't want to end the war out of compassion, but because it threatens Alethkar's stability as a nation. a couple of other points 1) Dalinar isn't really that smart, he's not full of good ideas. He's what I'd refer to as 'steady' he plods along, he doesn't have flashes of brilliance 2) He isn't good at breaking out of his 'soldier' mould. He's trying, but not doing very well at it. He's not good at thinking in new and different ways, he's coming up with the only solution he can think of, end the war by winning it.

' The moment he summoned his Blade, his eyes would turn from dark green to pale - almost glowing- sapphire, a unique effect of his particular weapon.' This is from his first interlude (page 178 in the UK paperback edition). I agree that getting a shardblade doesn't change people's eye colour, in the majority of cases. There is something different about Szeth's blade. Personally, I think the lighteyes do not have any additional investiture. We know that darkeyes used to be in positions of authority from Dalinar's vision at Feverstone Keep, so investiture has nothing to do with who's on top of the social heap. Obviously something happened to reverse the social order. We also know that anyone can attract a spren, depending on their actions. Kaladin, a darkeyes, bonds with Syl because of his honourable actions. I also agree that the 'lighteyes' thing is to do with the glow of someone infusing stormlight, an ability that is no longer known of by the time of TWoK. And on a less concrete note, I've noticed that Brandon tries not to repeat motifs too much between his books, so saying that magical ability was genetic in Mistborn, therefore it will be on Roshar isn't really a conclusive argument.

You're forgetting the fact that Dalinar actually wanted to take the Alethi forces back to Alethkar and end the war, talk and figure out why the Parshendi killed Gavilar. The only reason he's decided to try and win the war, is because he knows he can't talk the other highprinces or his nephew into abandoning the war. If he can't abandon it, he decides to decisively end it. His hands are tied at the moment, so he's trying to stop the endless bloodletting and get a decisive victory. Looked at in this way, you can see that though lives will still be lost, it would be less than if the war just dragged on with the endless skirmishes, with the antagonists locked in stalemate.

I also think that Gaz was budding some surgebinding powers. I can't help but wonder if 'Darkness' got him. Although that's tenuous, as it's clear that Hashal knows what happened to him.

Ok, slightly off topic, but I'm going on the list of orders from Coppermind as I find the picture table too confusing. here is how it's listed there: 1. Windrunners, Gravity and pressure 2 Skybreakers, Gravity and division 3 Dustbringers Division and friction 4 Edgedancers Friction and growth 6 Lightweavers Light and transformation 7 Elsecallers Transformation and transportation 9 Stonewards Surface tension and unknown 10 Bondsmiths Unknown So this leaves order 5 as Brightcallers? with growth and light. Presumably Ym is one of these then Order 8 would have transportation, and could theoretically share surface tension with the Stonewards. None of this helps me figure out what the final surge is though. If I've got any of this wrong, please do tell me, I'd like to get this all pinned down properly. I'd hazard a guess at connection/joining which is a nice opposite to division, but that skirts a little too close to the pressure surge ability to stick things together. I'm still missing some surges here, so someone fill me in?

Thanks everyone, hadn't seen anything about this, and only spotted it yesterday.

So the epigraph at the beginning of ch55: A woman sits and scratches out her own eyes. Daughter of kings and winds, the vandal. Does anyone else think this could be referring to Shalash? My reasoning here is that I've heard that she was the daughter of Jezrien who was a king before he became a Herald. He is also the Stormfather. That certainly fits the 'kings and winds' part. And scratching out her own eyes, and referring to her as a vandal could be related. to her destruction of any artistic representations of herself (this is assuming she is Baxil's mistress). I know it's only a small thing, but I thought I'd just throw that out there and see what others think.

I think Taravangian doesn't want Dalinar to unite the Alethi princes because it will interfere with his own plans for a more global unity. I can't remember the quote word for word, but at the end, in his conversation with Szeth, he actually SAYS that Dalinar is getting close to uniting the princes and that is the reason he orders Szeth to kill him. I think he believes he is the only one who knows what is coming and how to stop it. It doesn't occur to him that Dalinar is also aware and trying to prepare his nation for the desolation.

Can I resurrect this post to point out that this theory has been confirmed by Word of Brandon? one of the Tor rereaders asked a question at a signing 'Is the recipient of Hoid's letter a dragon?' and Brandon answered yes. So two things confirmed in one question. Hoid is the author of the letter.

I think it's difficult to give opinions on this without bias really. Personally I absolutely loved the first four books. I flew through them. And then the plot came to a screeching halt from the pace it had been going at and started meandering along at a crawl, describing every little twist in excrutiating detail. The main problem for me though was that the characters all degenerated into flat, annoying people who really got on my nerves. It's like each character got one thing that they suddenly focus on and drone on about endlessly. The one exception to this was Mat, who remained engaging and witty and fun to read. I loved his story arc. I can handle a slow plot. A slow storyline may not be ideal, but it's bearable as long as the characters are well drawn enough to keep you engaged. For me this is where the series falls down.

I think I first heard of Brandon Sanderson when he was chosen to finish Wheel of Time. Sadly, I'd completely lost interest in that series already. it wasn't until 2011 that I read any of his books. My brother loaned me his copies of Mistborn, Elantris and WoK. I love him now, but still haven't had the heart to finish WoT. I've heard he finished the series off brilliantly, but I can't be bothered trudging through the intervening dullness to get there! (I did love the first four books, but gave up during the fifth when I realised I kept flicking through looking for the next time Mat would feature to relieve the tedium.)

ooh yeah Oberyn Martell and the Mountain. That gave me chills reading it.

Hmm, I think I'd go for either Renarin or Elend. Renarin is more appealing than Elend in terms of character, but his 'blood weakness' would be a bit of a worry. If it's epilepsy then no real problem I guess, but if it's something like haemophilia it might be a bit off-putting.

Honestly, there are too many of those moments for me to choose one as the most perfect. Dalinar giving away oathbringer is one of them, as is Navani painting her justice glyph when she believes Dalinar to be dead. And of course Kaladin saying the words of the second ideal just gave me the chills. From non-Sanderson works I would say the moment that really sticks out for me is in Reaper's Gale by Steven Erikson, when the virulent sorcery is heading for the Bonehunters, and the strange little mage, Beak, shields his friends from a messy death. It's a beautiful scene, with how it highlights this fairly minor character's simple dedication and purity of spirit.

The question is: Where is this happening? I'm guessing in the States, in which case it's not an option for me. All the epic Brandon stuff happens in America!

Whether or not the parshmen are the voidbringers remains to be seen I guess, Having read the Eshonai excerpts, I'm inclined to believe that they are, or are at least linked to the voidbringers. SPOILERS The excerpt mentions the parshmen's 'terrible' gods. I also got the impression that they were worried that something Gavilar planned would unleash those gods, and that's why they killed him. So one possibility is that the voidbringers are the gods of the parshendi, and that they somehow force/control them to turn them against mankind. The other possibility (in my mind) relates to their search for different 'forms'. It could be that one of these forgotten forms is in fact what became known to humans as the voidbringers. So, in their warform/slaveform/mating form etc they are relatively harmless, but perhaps one of the other forms they become dangerous and inflamed with hatred. One of the epigraphs mentions something about them suddenly turning violent, like a sudden storm on a calm day (sorry haven't got my copy with me, so I can't quote exactly) and this would appear to back that idea up. Anyway, those are my rambling thoughts on the voidbringers. Sorry, I haven't figured out how to hide spoilers.

Clever characters with a sense of humour. Yes I think that sums it up pretty accurately!

I'm not a massive fan of the Kingkiller Chronicles personally. I have read both books, but I've only read them through once. I also found the Felurian scenes intensely annoying, and Kvothe himself really got on my nerves. I also disliked the portrayal of women in the books. I've just read Neverwhere a couple of days ago, and I'll second that recommendation, I really enjoyed it. There are a couple of sweary moments, but they're not excessive. There is no sex in it at all either. I loved the concept of the book with London Above and London Below. Having lived in London myself for a few years, it was also fun to see how he messed around with the names of tube stations in the plot.

@ Isomere, sorry I think my post wasn't clear enough. When I said Brandon hadn't confirmed this, I wasn't referring to the fallibility of his characters, but to the idea of the cryptics being spren. From what I've seen, he's hedged a bit on that.

Do you know I'd forgotten the Felisin scenes? you are right, though, my apologies.

Um, oops, no I haven't read The Emperor's Soul. Basically I read all three Mistborn, Elantris, Warbreaker and tWoK because my brother loaned me his copies. I don't really have much money to buy books these days. I have bought my own copy of tWoK now, but none of the others. And I haven't read Alloy of Law or The Emperor's Soul as I haven't had money to buy them myself.

Hmm, I think there's plenty of hints in the book that suggests that Vorinism has changed/been corrupted over time: In the days of the KR, there was obviously no stigma over women learning to fight, as there were female radiants In Dalinar's conversation with Nohadon it's obvious that men were not forbidden to read, as Nohadon refers to 'Karm' as a man of letters I know it's a small detail, but the changes to the names of the Heralds is a little nudge to make readers think about how things get distorted over thousands of years: Kalak-Kelek, Jezrien to Jezerezeh etc And then the biggest one - that the Heralds consciously chose to lie to the people. They broke the oathpact, telling the people that the battle had finally been won. We see later in the books how this is reiterated in Vorinism, with the belief that the Heralds left to battle the voidbringers in the Tranquelline Halls. I think Brandon is making it very clear that it is possible everything the Vorin peoples believe could have been subverted. From what little we know of the history of Vorinism, I can't see any holes in the theory that the Sunmaker changed Vorinism. Of course it's always possible that someone/something else caused those changes.

I also love the Gentleman Bastards, but I particularly like Calo and Galdo Vimes, Lord Vetinari from Discworld Arya, Bran, Tyrion from ASOIAF Anomander Rake, Ganoes Paran, Kruppe, Iskaral Pust, Fiddler, Whiskeyjack, Dassem Ultor, Trull Sengar from The Malazan Book of the Fallen Elodin from Kingkiller chronicles Vin and Spook from Mistborn Kaladin, Rock, Jasnah and Shallan from tWoK.

Erikson does have some sex, but I can't recall any graphic descriptions of sexual encounters, and sometimes it's downright funny. However, there are occasions when characters are raped. BUT it's not done in a way to be titillating or sensational, a problem I've found in other books. In fact, a lot of the time anything to do with sex happens 'off screen' but is referenced later. All cursing in Malazan books is done with 'in world' curses like 'spirits below' or 'Hood's balls' so I don't recall any serious profanity there that might put you off. Having said that, it seems like your general style is more classic fantasy, and Erikson is very convoluted and unusual. I love the series but can fully understand that it might not be to everyone's taste. The books can at times be dark and gory, plus the lines of good/evil are very blurry so I'm not sure that people more in love with classic fantasy will enjoy them. Have you read Trudi Canavan's books? You might enjoy those, and they're pretty easy to read.