Who Sharded?

I'm rereading Memories of Ice and during the section where they come across the Tiste Edur bodies, there is mention of Midnight Tides and the ruler who has died a hundred deaths, or something like that. I'll try to remember to pull the book out later when I get home.

https://brandonsanderson.com/terry-pratchetts-discworld-might-be-the-highest-form-of-literature-on-the-planet/

I wouldn't worry too much about Boosters. It's the type of Core you use that most influences whether you'll get a Rare Blade. This topic explains the system in the first 3 posts. But be warned it mentions one Blade that you might consider a spoiler (GameFAQs doesn't consider it a spoiler because it was revealed in official trailers before release). Any other spoilers are blacked out. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/204208-xenoblade-chronicles-2/76340715

That's interesting because my B&N always puts out ICE books before the official release date. I don't know why it always seems to happen with ICE and not other authors I follow.

Skies of Arcadia is actually my second favorite RPG after Xenoblade. While XCX and XC2 are good games, I don't think they come close to XC. XC2 has a better battle system (though it takes a while to open up) but it has some other issues. As a completionist, I spent way more hours with XCX and XC2 than with XC.

I have the first book on my bookshelf, and this post gets me excited to read it.

Lol, I'm rereading Memories of Ice and one of the epigraphs mentions the "Last Flight of Manask." I'd like to learn more about that.

Man any time I think about Xenoblade, Engage the Enemy comes to mind. The song is always synced perfectly to the cutscenes. My love for Xenoblade can not be understated.

I haven't read it yet, but I felt the same way about City of Stairs. The prose wasn't very much like Brandon, but the approach to worldbuilding and storytelling was very similar.

I envy you guys who have yet to read The Aspect Emperor. While I think the first trilogy is overall better, the second set of books has more scenes that really stick with me.

It's one of the most divisive fantasy series out there, and IMO easily one of the best.

I have never seen someone say that Lether was a criticism of communism. Are you sure they didn't say capitalism? Because it's not subtle by any means.

The story hasn't even really picked up yet where you're at. It just keeps on getting better up to the end. I do love Makna Forest. One of my favorite areas.

For what it's worth Skullsworn has much better reviews than the Unhewn Throne trilogy got.

I finished the first Unhewn Throne book not too long ago and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It was mostly the writing an storytelling that did it for me. The plot was nothing special, but Staveley made it enjoyable to read.

I've just started on another giant series of fantasy doorstoppers--Janny Wurts' Wars of Light and Shadow. I'm about 170 pages into the first book and the prose is taking some getting used to, but I can see it has potential. I read slowly and take breaks between books in series, so there will not be regular updates.

I actually just finished my first N.K. Jemisin book, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. At first it reminded me a lot of a Brandon book with the worldbuilding and the plot hook. I couldn't put it down. But then it sort of went downhill with weird romance stuff. Still a good book overall and I will finish the trilogy, then read Broken Earth.

A magical experience! It's my favorite game. The setting, the music, the characters...it all comes together into something special.

Opinions on ICE's books are all over the place. My personal favorite is Orb, Sceptre, Throne, but a lot of people on the Malazan forum think it's the worst. My least favorites are Blood & Bone, and Assail. The only consensus is that the Path to Ascendancy books are great.

They get better with each book!

I don't recall the conclusion to the arc, but I think it wrapped up early and was basically forgotten about later in the book.

Have you gotten past the princess stuff yet? For me that was the weakest thread of the book, and I enjoyed the rest.

I think he's talking about the Diana Gabaldon series Outlander, not to be confused with Tad's Otherland

I am also a Malazan fan who is intimidated by Tad. I get the impression that Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn is the fan favorite series, but I could be wrong. That's the one I'm planning on starting with, daunting as it may be. I've heard that To Green Angel Tower is the longest published English fantasy book of all time.

A Crown of Swords is when most people say the slog beings, though Crossroads of Twilight is easily the low point. I thought books 7-9 and 11 had too much fluff, but when things actually happened they were just as good as the other WoT books