Sparks

I can't believe I just sped read through all of Firefight! At least I have a first hand feel for the compulsion Epics feel. First of all, this could be a Cosmere book. I know it's not, because Brandon doesn't want it to be, but Calamity feels very much like the Shard of Fear. Ironically, is what Calamity fears Fear itself? By gifting all these powers to fearful people, is he trying to empower them against their worst fears? Second, I'm confused on the conquering fears aspect. Epics are fearful, it's in their core nature, like a soul being broken in a very specific way. David conquered his fear, and he lost (or rejected outright) his gifted power from Calamity. Megan conquered her fear and seemed to grow stronger in her powers because of it. Does that mean David still has access to his gift, but conquering his fear allows him to consciously choose not to use it or be ruled by it? And/or does it mean Megan can reject her gift as well through conquering her fear? Also, something's totally strange with David. And not in a powers from Calamity vibe. His ability to instill confidence and warp others to his needs by sheer willpower is very ta'averen. In a Mat sort of way. Everyone else in the book remarking on this cannot be an accident.

The biggest argument for me against Shallan/Kaladin is their polar opposite natures, roles, and spren. Pattern is a Cryptic. Pattern and Shallan are fascinated by lies. They have no problem exploring different masks, facades, and identities. They have no problem pursuing a goal by any means necessary, and molding themselves to play the part needed (or even multiple parts needed, in the case of Veil and Shallan).Shallan is the spy / deep cover agent or double agent of the KR. Syl is an Honorspren. Honorspren and Cryptics loathe each other, for obvious reasons. Kaladin, even though he struggles with truthfulness about himself and self-awareness, he demands transparency and honor in others. And when he lets things slide, like Moash, he gets in real trouble, either with his own self, or with Syl. Kaladin is the oathbound Knight of Camelot of the KR. How exactly is that relationship going to pan out? Kaladin will be denouncing every moral ambiguity, every lie and half-truth and even outright opposing Shallan on important issues where their worldviews are going to conflict. Sure, having someone be bluntly honest with Shallan is nice, but frankly Shallan seems to have a pretty good handle on reality as it is (she deduces the political undercurrents of the Alethi court fast enough, and she self-analyzes well), and even when she didn't (in tWoK), Jasnah fills that role better. And from the opposite side, because Adolin is not Kaladin is why I think she will come to the conclusion that Adolin makes a good fit for her. Whether that's enough for her or she's ready for that will be up to BS and Shallan. From what I can tell of Shallan, she is someone who is always multitasking through multiple life interests, someone who is always going to be biting off enough to stretch her capacity to chew. Someone who is very adaptable and quick thinking, but hasn't always had time to properly think things through and frequently improvises to get out of her own jams. Importantly for this conversation, she's done all this without positive, supportive male involvement - starting with her father and ending with Kabsal (who seemed to give her what she wanted before neatly yanking the rug out from under her). The vibe I get from Shallan's POVs about Adolin speaks to that. He starts off as a mark and as a means to an end, becomes a physical infatuation, and at the end of WoR she's starting to move on to contemplate what he can and can't provide as a personal partner. Adolin will never be brilliant or a polyglot like Jasnah or Shallan. He will never be a partner in crime or a superior to Shallan in the arenas and fields she works in and excels at. He's not a mentor, and he won't challenge or confront her the way that Jasnah or Kaladin will. But what he is, is open-minded (for Roshar). He processes, accepts and works effectively with life-changing revelations that are coming faster by the day. He's loyal like a pitbull to his friends and family, even to a fault. And he can be someone dependable and supportive without being overly judgemental or stepping in to fight her battles for her. Having enormous resources to call on as an Alethi prince is a bonus for a woman who will need to make use of those. Being the Ryan Gosling of Roshar probably doesn't hurt. Having atypical compassion, empathy and charm for Alethi royalty, when she's experienced so little of any of that in her own past, scores bonus points.

Can I just add to the chorus, love triangles are the worst? Yes, they can be done less badly or less cliched than others have done, but why? And yes, all the signs are pointed to some sort of romantic tension between the 3. I think talk of "X belongs with Y, because they're a better match" is pure speculation at this point. They're all 3 (leaving Renarin out at the moment, but he fits, too) very immature, prejudiced people who are at the end of WoR just starting to grow up. It's basically asking which college freshmen will be the most compatible couples. They and we won't even know who they're going to end up being 5 books from now, or even if they're alive. I think there's enough growth potential for either pairing to end up working well, or either pairing to fail spectacularly. With that being said, in a book series where generational sins and history repeating itself are thematically present in everything, it's worth examining both the relationships of Shallan's, Kaladin's, and Adolin's parents as well as all 3's previous relationships in the books. Is Dalinar/Navani/Gavilar repeating itself with a twist on parentage, or is the trope being subverted in the next generation? Is Kaladin (the more outwardly broody, rage-filled, melancholy type) more like the I Married My Father trap to Shallan or is Adolin (who may be developing his own inner demons)? Will Adolin ever get over his philandering ways? Will Kal ever stop thinking of women as possessions? I don't buy the "Kaladin and Shallan have such a special relationship!" angle any more than I buy the "Shallan and Adolin have much more physical chemistry!" angle. Shallan could grow to be attracted to Kaladin as much or more. And really, the only reason that Shallan hasn't opened up similarly to Adolin is because she felt compelled by her lack of confidence and social conventions to present a front to Adolin. Which have all been conveniently removed by Shallan becoming a Radiant. Speaking of which, I notice a lot of people are saying "there's no need for the Kholins and Shallan to pursue a beneficial marriage angle now that they found Urithru". They're missing that yeah, in an age of Feudalism and an emerging power structure of mega-powerful Knights Radiant, there are loads of political benefits to tying as many family knots as possible between the KR and the "good guy" political Kholin dynasty, for both sides. Jasnah already knew that, and Navani gets it right away. I really, really hope BS is just using all this to set up a subversion of the Love Triangle trope. I can burn a prayer.

For some reason the idea of Reckoner cells being staffed by closet Epics makes me giggle. It's like Bruce the Shark's Fish Anonymous club in Finding Nemo - "Humans are Friends, Not Fun!" "It's been 15 days since I killed a human..." In regards to Prof being Digzone - the biggest hole I can see with that theory is that Digzone used to (does?) work for Steelheart, and should have been recognized. When Steelheart floated down to Soldier Field he should have been like "Digzone?? W. T. H." Tia has to be girlfriend / close relative of Prof. And she's likely the real reason why Prof's a good guy now. It's interesting that those two came up with the idea already that using Epic powers = evilness but yet they haven't been spreading it around like I'm sure David will be. I wonder what their reasoning was...

Firefight's weakness is easy; spontaneous displays of dedicated nerdiness. Joking aside, there's a broader question in general about how "Weaknesses" work... sometimes the Epic's survival power is also their primary power (Fortuity), but often times (like Firefight, Limelight, Steelheart) it's a secondary, unrelated power. It seems (but by no means do I think it's confirmed) that "Weaknesses" are cracks in the armor of the survival power...but what if the weakness is in a primary power (like if Firefight had imperfect illusions) and there is no imperfection in the survival power (reincarnation)? For example, Fortuity had a weakness for personal attraction to the source of danger. But he was checkmated because he had no where to go between dodging a moving car and 2 different bullets in midair. His death was therefore not due to his weakness. In the same light, checkmating Firefight by killing her in a place where reincarnation nearby would be impossible is not strictly a "Weakness".

Crazy Pet Theory: David is a meta-Epic. His power is exuding a field that attenuates or heals the irrational corruption of humanity caused by other Epics using their powers. "Prof breathed in and out, then nodded. He looked at me. 'It's okay, son. You don't need to be afraid. It's passing quickly this time.'" Firefight coming over to the light side gradually in David's presence. Nightwielder choosing not to kill David at the black market arms shop but going ahead and drawing attention by smashing the UV emitter. Steelheart not having his minions kill an ordinary non-Epic David or just vaporizing him with an energy beam at Soldier Field. Having this power would dovetail nicely with the conclusion of the trilogy in Calamity, where the protagonist would ostensibly be matched against the who or what behind the corruption of Calamity itself. Having this power would give a lot of emotional impact to David's father telling him, "Sometimes, son, you have to help the heroes along..."

Great page-turner! Well, I was completely guessing wrong for a lot of this book. Between the elevator and the last-stand-in-the-tunnel scene, I was thinking David was the secret Epic, with Prof realizing it when David took so well to using the tensor gloves (and, why he said to try the broken tensor again). I really did think Megan died permadeath. I was torn between a little shock and congratulating Brandon on pulling another Kelsier emotionally for the reader before things went weird at the Battle of Soldier Field. Megan being Firefight was a completely unexpected twist. Had a suspicion that Prof was an Epic but not a High Epic with prime invincibility. Now wondering if Megan/Firefight was only able to checkmate Fortuity by surreptitiously using false illusion to fool the precognition danger sense. I liked David's character maturation through the book. From stereotyping Epics to developing a nuanced sympathy for (some of) them through his developing relationships with Prof and Firefight. From disdain for his father's Faithful views to coming to understand him. I found it ironic at the end that the person most responsible for David shifting from "don't really care about what happens to Newcago afterwards" to "let's work for the good of the ordinary people" was the bad girl/double agent whose Team Steelheart seems to have written the book on not caring for ordinary people. Unless, of course, Megan was using her position as part of Steelheart's inner circle to champion causes like basic services for the citizens, and moderate Steelheart's evilness. The hot-for-Megan developments were a tad forced, but I think you can explain that away to A) not having any mature relationships with any woman beforehand (including: mother) and 18 year old hormones. I also thought that the magic system was more random than Brandon's other works. I mean, how would Steelheart's powers "know' who pulled the trigger? Or how the triggerman was feeling? How can Curveball's powers magically spirit identical bullets into a handgun and only a handgun (and not just any gun or magazine?).