Bloodfalcon

It has been stated several times and is written in the forum description that the Words of Radiance board is for spoilers in Words of Radiance. There is no need to start off every title with a spoiler warning. The only time you need spoiler tags is in the Stormlight Archive forum, and most of the time those posts should just be in the Words of Radiance board anyway. Hoping that a nice moderator will give this post a couple hours to be seen and then take it down. Just trying to get things in line a bit as I cannot edit other people's titles themselves, and 1/2 topics now includes [WoR Spoilerzzz! ]

Yeah sorry this one is not right for multiple reasons. A couple: Windrunner honor is based around protecting/leading. Szeth is probably the number 1 opposite on all of Roshar at both of those two critical attributes. He assassinates and follows orders fairly blindly because, as Kaladin says, he is a coward. We have been specifically told by Brandon that Szeth has no spren. I don't think he would have been so surprised that Surgebinders were resurfacing if.... he was a surgebinder. There are loads of others, but those are the main piece. Also, he will still be very interesting as he is now running with one of the Heralds and holds a magic sword from another planet. Lots to work with there.

I remember there being an estimate that seemed unrealistically soon, and I believe Peter got on and said something that ended up being no earlier than December 2015, but I'd have to find the quote. It's planned out though, and it won't take long. That was before he said he was going to lightheartedly race Rothfuss to get the book out. Firefight for sure, then I forget which one, but he was going to do Shadows of Self (Alloy of Law sequel) and then Tor asked him to get Stormlight out before that, so it is getting pushed back it looks like.

Brandon confirmed the entire chart. Order 5.

There are so many ways it could go. Adolin was 1000% better in WoR in my mind, so I'm pretty happy with him now and I hope he stays "good" even if he is in a moral gray area and belongs to an Order that would accept that. I find myself strangely supportive of him killing Sadeas. It's not a topic that needs to be discussed, but unlike Kaladin just disliking Elhokar, Adolin knows Sadeas to be a murderer. It's not unheard of to bring death to murderers..... sometimes called justice, even..... I don't know. But he could also end up as the Moash of the Kholin family. Something that I wouldn't enjoy watching, but it certainly would be dramatic!

Isomere just responded with an explanation; let me respond with a demand: go read The Name of the Wind. It is beautifully written and has some very interesting concepts. Brandon Sanderson is close with him which led me to read it, and I would recommend it before a lot of other great books.

Nalan isn't a Skybreaker, he is the Herald that the Skybreakers are led by. Heralds were given their powers by their Honorblades. The Nahel bond was an invention of the spren to mirror the abilities of the Honorblades. The epigraphs explain throughout (I think) part 3 how several of the Heralds responded to those Orders approaching them for leadership. I'm pretty sure that is Nalan, and have decided that he is the Herald that returned for his Honorblade after reading Words of Radiance. EDIT: Also Nalan would not have access to the Surges that would likely give him the ability to revive someone from death. It would almost certainly require a fabrial. Right now it looks like Order 4 or 5 will be the one to bring people back to life. So Lift or Renarin if I'm not mistaken.

I'm going to hold most of my comments and just say that this is definitely going to happen and I'm already a little sad for Adolin

There has been confirmation from Brandon that the Letter was written to a Dragon that we will learn more about in the book Dragonsteel when it is rewritten and published. The writer of the letter is clearly Wit as the reply is tailored to him in nearly every way. He took his master's name, now goes by an attribute that he feels describes himself, the sender of the reply finds him extremely annoying, he has been on several planets while crazy stuff has been going on (referenced in the reply).

Last night I finally finished the book and I was blown away. That was an excellent read and I am left extremely satisfied. I'm going to stop the review right there because I have lots of comments and questions that will sum up my thoughts, so I don't want to repeat myself. This blog is going to be where I keep track of my WoR questions as well as just general comments on the book, the series, and the 17th Shard website itself. SPOILERS! Yes, they will be in this blog. Don't read past here if you haven't finished the book entirely. 17th Shard Stuff As long as we are on the topic, I feel like throwing out a reminder to members of the 17th Shard that including that huge spoiler tag on all of your posts is not necessary. In the Stormlight Archive board you are supposed to put spoilers under a spoiler tag. In the Words of Radiance board, you never have to type the word "Spoilers!" Ever. That subforum even includes a description that if you are reading the content you are expected to have read or there is no pity for you. Every other topic in there right now has a big spoiler tag for no reason and I find it supremely frustrating, hahaha. But I recognize it is with good intentions, attempting to help out your peers. Just wanted to clarify. Anyway, Words of Radiance. It was incredible. I am increasingly impressed with Brandon Sanderson's writing ability. I've always been a big fan of planning and interweaving all plot points - a characteristic that is fundamental to his writing style - but in this book I was most impressed with the pacing of the story than anything else. It reminded me a lot of the ending of Memory of Light, but I think this one turned out better. It was a lot more synchronized. I have another suggestion for members of the site, and mostly the site admins. I think we need to reevaluate and put into words what is "appropriate" for members to say on this site. I am mostly talking about swear words. I have seen members chastised for using swear words in their topics and posts, and I think it is a little bit overzealous. Obviously the site admins make the rules and there is no arguing with them, but if you consider that this site is based on the writings of an author who uses some of those words in his books... The people reading these posts have seen the words before. I think that the site should use those writings as precedent. For example, many of the stronger words are substituted for local cuss words in a clear attempt to keep things decent. However "damnation" is used plainly in the book a few times, so I don't think it should be looked down upon if members on the site use the word. This isn't an urgent problem with the site at all, but I do think it should be considered. Remaining Conflicts The ending of the book was great, but it did leave me feeling like we had solved nearly every single problem. -The Parshendii seem to be pretty dead. -Sadeas is dead. -Our main characters have gotten over their fears and outted themselves as KR and the organization has been refounded. -We have someone in a stable relationship (haha kinda) with the Ghostbloods. -The Assassin in White is no more. He has been reborn and we are not yet sure what will come of it. He'll not have his Surgebinding abilities anymore, but he is running around with a Herald and Nightblood, so who knows. -Urithiru has been found. So like... all of those were really 2 book problems. Still on the docket: -The Everstorm is going to be transforming the parshmen into Voidbringers. That is a biggie, obviously, but it is a fresh problem. I big one intended to occur after we had some KR, and it wasn't really around before the very end of the book. -Nalan and new Szeth. We have seen Nalan killing Surgebinders, but Szeth seems to be under the impression that the only way he is not going to kill himself is to right his wrongs or at least be a better man. Let's hope that doesn't involve him picking up Nalan's whacked out sense of justice (yeah... it will). -The Diagram and that whole plot. The Diagram OK, I'm going to get into quick notes on the Diagram. -Mr. T makes it when he is brilliant and it seems to be working fairly well but we already know it isn't near perfect because of the 7 factions comment he makes and because he couldn't have really known about Kaladin being there for Dalinar and he really wanted Dalinar dead. Unless he suspected that somehow, but that could be an excuse for literally any event that occurs, so I'm not going to use it. -Current Members of that entire unit, the Sons of Honor: Gavilar, Restares, Amaram, Taravangian, Graves and his team including Moash. I might be leaving some out, but dang that is a lot of big hitters so far. Some of them may not even know they are working with the others, but I believe at least the big names do based off of all of Graves comments. - I am crazy intrigued by the idea of the Diagram and Taravangian's abilities. It is a such a fun plot device. Individual Characters Brandon fixed something in this book that pleases me greatly: I like many of the characters much more. Some of the more irritating traits have been honed, bringing authenticity and originality to characters where I viewed it previously as an obnoxious character flaw. Shallan - I liked much more in this book. She had several of those elements in the Way of Kings that came across as obnoxious. Her attempts at humor and wit were more frequent in this book, but didn't feel nearly as forced. Massive credit went her way (and Brandon's way) in this book when she was able to gain some backbone and embrace her strength as a woman/adult/human being/whatever but not become bull-headed and arrogant. I went through most of the Wheel of Time books really disliking the female characters because once they all embrace the same strength, they immediately become overly stubborn and unhelpful in nearly every situation. Something that should be a triumph for the characters ends up setting them back an aggravating amount of the time. The scene when Shallan works through Kaladin's problems in the chasm - agreeing not to get upset and to maintain a level of understanding - that was a big moment for her in my eyes. She is also able to admit that she can be wrong - proven while looking for the Oathgate and having parts of her map wrong - which is another trait I am grateful for. It is refreshing. Of course it helps that she is a little more active in this book, what with all the sneaking and disguising, but that really didn't play as much of a role as her drastic improvement in attitude. Adolin- I also had no interest in Adolin as a character before this book. The snotty/spoiled trait was far too accentuated in the first book in my opinion (though I guess seeing him grow does feel good). Surprisingly, he kept his head and made good decisions through most of this book. Another example of a character being proven wrong, accepting their faults and actually changing for the better. As much as I am happy for his changes and general increase in likeability as the book progresses, the Sadeas murder has me a little confused. I cheered a little bit, but it was really distracting that he could do that and still be up for a position as a KR. I only know this because Brandon said some Orders would be cool with it and applaud the move (he mentioned Dustbringers I know). Meanwhile Kaladin's spren literally dies just considering letting a murder happen. I understand I guess that it directly goes against protecting for Kaladin, but how does any KR get away with actual murder after saying the first Ideal? Journey before destination would kind of screw with that move, wouldn't it? Maybe different interpretations, I suppose, but that kind of makes the first Ideal seem weak to me. Kaladin - Still my favorite. Love that he got out of his moody phase. The entire plot felt a lot like Rand's ordeal in WoT, and while it came sooner, I felt very similar when Kaladin got over it and got happy again. Syl is still the best, too. I was walking around my house and felt really anxious and worried for some reason, and after thinking on it for a while, I realized it was because the night before I had stopped reading during Part 4 where Syl is still missing and considered dead. It gave me stress throughout the next day and I didn't even know it, hahaha. They are a good team and I'm glad to see that Brandon is going to make them work for it, because Kaladin is very clearly his favorite, and I don't want him to be too overpowered. The scene where he gets Syl back and says the next Ideal might be the most memorable in the entire book for me. It was great. Also the Shardspear/changing Shardblade form had me fist pump in the air like a madman. What a great way to give the fans what they want (because he made us want it so bad, I understand) and do it quickly. It feels like all of the KR just gained some Green Lantern abilities in my mind, and I'm all for it. Can't wait to see what his return to Hearthstone is like. Dalinar - He was in the running for my favorite character but he fell just barely behind Kaladin, though he did a great job in this book too. I like that he keeps his cool and is always fair. I know some people wouldn't agree there, but he makes all the decisions I would and doesn't bully people when they make a stand for what they believe in. Kaladin and Shallan stand up to him multiple times - hell, even standard bridgemen do - and he respects their needs without bulldozing them using his station as an excuse to have things go his way. Makes him very likeable. Bonus that he is given credit for being very clever a couple of times - a feat I don't think he accomplished in the first book. Love the scene where he is just like "Hey guys, what do I have to do if I want to go bond God as my spren?" and then just goes up and says 2 Ideals like he's reading cheat codes from a magazine."Cool, yeah, it went well, I'm a KR now. *Stormlight sucking*" Renarin - Still could not care less about this kid. I saw a thread arguing why his decisions make sense and why this and that. "Oh he is secretive by nature! Oh if you look at it in this frame of mind..!" I'm aware that he has a mental problem somewhere, but it doesn't change the fact that he has been overall unhelpful and generally annoying in every scene yet, except for when he was helpful with proving Dalinar's sanity (one idea voiced) and when he pep talks Adolin (twice). Every other time I have found him distracting at best. If we don't see a lot deeper into his mind soon, I hope we see a lot less of him. Jasnah - She's great. My hope is that the whole "she's always right" deal doesn't get out of hand. I like a character who can keep things moving, and she seems to be a few steps ahead of the game, but I don't want everyone to rely on her too much. I would like to call that at some point she is going to figure out pieces of the Diagram before they happen and totally blindside Mr.T at some point, who is going to have a new respect for her when she works around the god he thinks he was on that day. Theories I was right on a few, I think. I called that the Shin had the Honorblades hidden away, I called (though I found many did) that Szeth had an Honorblade, and I don't have 100% proof, but I'm almost certain now that the other chart is a Voidbinding chart and the symbols are the spren that activate specific forms. Pretty happy with those. Haven't looked back yet at what else, but those I can recall. - I'll lay one down, as written above, that Jasnah will out-maneuver the Diagram at some point. Random Here is something I noticed and wasn't particularly happy with: multiple characters gain abilities in this book and then just completely stop utilizing them. Kaladin learns how to stick people to walls and then he doesn't use it once in combat or anything like that. Shallan learns how to Soulcast, acknowledges that Jasnah is gone and she is going to try to learn herself, and then never tries. What is with that? I was really hoping that those would come into play somewhere. Shallan Soulcasts the boat, but that is like chapter 7. Then never again. I would have appreciated some use (even over-use) of the ability before another takes over entirely. I would like to give a shout-out to the members of 17th Shard that really see through the smaller details in these stories. I've read Warbreaker and I would never have guessed that Vasher is Zahel. I noted that he was probably a worldhopper (ever since Wheel of Time I have looked for characters that speak in unusual ways), but I would never have put all of it together on my own. I am a little dense in those ways. Maybe it also has something to do with my hunger for the main points of the story, but still. That is only one example of the great catches I see on here every day, and you are doing the rest of us a favor by sharing. I'm going to keep writing as I reread and stuff, but I figured I'd give it a good start at least. Feel free to comment if you bother reading this. It is meant for my organization mostly, but if anybody feels like my opinion is worth their time, lemme know!

I am pretty certain that most of these were addressed, actually. What broker her soul : I am not certain I can even put a finger on exactly when Kaladin experienced that moment either. It is starting to sound like you can attract a spren before that brokenness. I'm not really sure about this one honestly. First Ideal: You don't need instruction to learn any of the ideals. Dalinar knew from Way of Kings, but was also instructed by Kaladin. Kaladin was given a little instruction too, but it is pretty accepted that you just know the words as with the other Ideals. Since the first is the same for everyone, it is convenient that they can tell each other, but I think you have that one in you just as the others are. The truths were left out and I also wanted to know them, but I think we did see one of them in the Way of Kings and just didn't recognize it. Many people assumed Shallan would have to say something true every time she Soulcast, but really that was one of her big truths that she had to get out of the way in my opinion. I am a murderer and then she can Soulcast. Sounds about right. She also has a natural skill at drawing, so it makes sense that Illumination would come to her first and feel natural. That and Jasnah and Pattern claim there is something amiss with Soulcasting right now. It is more dangerous and unpredictable than it once was. The 10 heartbeats thing was specifically mentioned. She was lying to herself the whole time and waiting 10 heartbeats before even believing she could summon it. I don't know where she thought she got it from, but clearly she is a bit insane, so whatever. I didn't really find it as informative as I wanted anyway. Most of the time even inside of the flashbacks she is still lying to herself and we only see that. I was kind of hoping it would just blast us with all of the truth and details chunk by chunk. I honestly don't care that much about Nan Balat's axehounds, I just want to see glimpses of Shallan that explain Shallan. Yes, family and all that shaped her blah blah, I did like it. I just still don't know what I think I should about her past. We have still only seen lying Shallan. I liked Kaladin's better but only because I like Kaladin better.

My immediate assumption - though not well thought out because I only just finished the book last night (Woo!) - was that the code was a scale, 1-10. We see that every 0 is preceded by a 1, so it looks like a 10 is possible but not a 0. I had several quick ideas ... Perhaps Mr. T was able to predict his intelligence levels or something of the sort. I believe he mentioned that he took the tests and was then graded on a scale (did he say 1-10?). The only thing was that I think he mentioned they were fairly even between smart and stupid, and I'm not sure there would have been that many 10's... There are so many possibilities because the number 10 is so common on Roshar. It could have something to do with the Radiant Orders and predicting where Radiants would come from or something of that sort. Perhaps that is how Nalan is finding himself in all the right places (though he is a Herald, so who knows). Just thought I would throw my ideas on to this already massive thread.

I pressed enter knowing exactly what I was getting myself into. My urge, selfishly, was greater than the restraint required to give you the posts you deserve, Gwimminsly. You do what you need to do. Tonight should be one of impulse and indulgence. It is a celebration after all! The empty bottles of "reading fuel" around me agree. But really.... good post OP. I don't buy it, but I like it. Would be really cool if that meant the other scary creepy Davar kids were also special (or supposed to be).

.... I think you are Confused Edit: Wow, that was way too hard to resist.

Thanks! That is really valuable input! I don't know much about this, so the comment is extra helpful to me personally. I'm going to start reading words of radiance, but after that I'll be looking into this.

Ebook is March 6 release if you aren't in the US, I believe. Unfortunate

When I saw this quote I laughed and laughed! What a great one to end on. Dalinar I would guess. Almighty speaking. But I give that guess no real credit. I bet it is way way way out of context. Edit: Nevermind. ALMIGHTY SPEAKS IN ALL CAPS. ALWAYS.

I'll be honest, I have been downvoting things that are just plain useless AND annoying. When someone brings up a really old thread and just posts "cool" or something like that. It just clutters the front of each board and 400 people waste their time reading your single useless word. Can't stand it.

I had a B&N gift card so I got it for Nook, and I think I remember reading that it comes at 12

I have lived the life of each of those gifs.

Yeah, it irks me when the armor doesn't overlap and there is skin showing on their arms and legs and that sort of thing, but it does look really cool, so it passes my inspection.

Wow, that is awesome. Might be time for a new desktop background.

I didn't know if you meant this book or the series, so I went with series but I will explain. Voted for Adolin because I think he has a lot of growing to do, but he will find his way and become one of the main characters in the second series along with this one. Also Navani b/c she can pump out interesting inventions which keep the books interesting. People like Renarin too much (for some reason) so I think he will die toward the end of the series (and by that I mean the 5 book arc). Dalinar definitely won't make it that long, though I do hope he becomes the champion of Honor or something like that and will be living more as a Shard than his current character. Jasnah is too smart to make it more than 1 or 2 more books in my opinion, but I do think we'll get to see some of her motivations and stuff before she goes caput. Absolutely don't care about Elhokar.

Jasnah always seems... a little stiff to me. But the again, Kaladin does have a respectable amount of medical knowledge that she could find endearing. Or maybe just because he is a hunk.