Radda

Hi guys! Recently someone I've referred to this forum and Coppermind wiki told me that wiki is inactive. It turns out the link from the site header leads to coppermind.17thshard.net instead of coppermind.net. Can you fix this, please?

I finished reading it a couple of days ago and only now can organize my thoughts in a semblance of a review. Right now I still love TWoK more, though Words of Radiance was awesome too. Maybe it'll change after the re-read that I'm starting right now. In general, though, TWoK just feels more structured to me, which is strange since WoR puts all the main characters in one place and sets a clear deadline. Maybe it's the lack of repetitive scenes, like bridge runs, through which you can track progression. It felt like characters in WoR did a lot of running around until - bam! - climax happened. The final climax was a bit less satisfying than in Kings, partly because I couldn't come down from it gradually. The book ended practically right away. Yes-yes, I know, they physically couldn't add more than a single page to it, still... Anyway, I powered through lots of chapters which probably made a lesser impact than they could have, hence the re-read. And may I say what a great feeling it was when you check your progress bar and see that you still have so much left! Jasnah's death - I didn't buy it right from the start (no body, no death) and my only thought was "She's better reappear in this book". It has been really distracting for a while, right until the Kaladin-Adolin-Zahel impromptu fight which was like a long-awaited gunshot after hours of heavy silence. It's one of my absolutely favourite moments in the whole book! Kaladin. Spoiler-free reviews had me worried and I was bracing myself for lots of teeth-gnashing and headdecking, WoT-style. So it was a really great surprise when none of that happened. Not a single time. In fact, I completely understand where he was coming from, would probably do it myself, were I in his place. Also notable is how quickly he notices when something goes wrong with Syl and doesn't spend half the book blissfully unaware, thank god. In short, I loved his arc. Loved that there were setbacks and not everything went hunky dory after pronouncing two ideals. Loved that there was still a lot of him even though it's not his book. Loved his long way to friendship with Adolin and the fact that his confrontation with Moash happened now and not a couple of books later when it would've grown like a tumor. Shallan. She didn't become my favourite but her growth was spectacular, even if a bit unbelievable at times. I loved how she'd grown to be so capable but still could make a mistake or fret about Adolin. Her flashbacks were like a trainwreck and painful to read. I also feel cheated since we still have no clue as to how she bonded a spren and said the first ideal in the first place. Though feeling cheated is somehow appropriate when it comes to Shallan. Sebarial and his household was great! I want more of them or characters like that. Also, oh-no-no, she's firmly on her way to pairing up with Kaladin. But... but that would be so typical! It's like setting Harry with Jinny. I still have hopes for Adolin, though. Hang in there! Adolin was interesting in The Way of Kings and ended WoR in a pivotal place. I can't wait to see what'll happen with him next. Fingers crossed for him to make right choices. Dalinar was scarce but so impressive. Bonding Stormfather - how cool is that! His absence didn't bother me much, we mostly skipped a lot of politicking back and forth, pretended sickness and annoying Elhokar, probably. Eshonai. Reading about her was also like watching a trainwreck. Hopefully she'll make some steps to get herself out of the stormform trap because I doubt I'll be able to read a whole huge book when she's like that and her situation is so hopeless. Bridge four guys were my light and joy, especially Rock and The Lopen The moment when Kaladin finds Hobber after Szeth's attack is just ah-h... I missed Sigzil and I still can't decide if there was some special significance to mentioning Teft absence several times somewhere in the first part. Poor Teft. Shen - I knew it, I knew it! Also is it just me or he really became exceptionally articulate for a dullform before his leaving? Moash. I just hope he is not on a path to becoming Odium champion. Illustrations were even better than in TWoK, and some of them in color, no less! I had a completely different image of a chasmfiend (like an oversized chull). The actual one looks so frightening. And did you notice the faint Aleti letters on the chasmfiend drawing (if I'm not mistaken). I wonder what they say. Loved the fashion pages. I never thought Rosharian clothing looked so... well, modern. I actually like that it's so modern. What I didn't like. I could've done without a couple of Sadeas's POVs and read a bit more about Renarin instead. It looks to me like Sanderson's reserving as much of Renarin as he can for future books. I didn't particularly like Lift. Right now she seems more like a quirky and fun writing excercise than a person. Or maybe it's just her quirkiness that's bothering me because Axies the Collector was my favourite interlude character in the previos book. I just hope when her book comes, she'll be more balanced. And the appearance of Nightblood. This post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules. I know that there'll be a story connecting different cosmere worlds at some time but right now it was like "What's this, a crossover fanfic?". Aaand now it's time for that reread.

A minor question that's been bugging me to no end since I finished the book. In these two epigraphs: Ah​but​they​were​left​behind​It​is​obvious​from​then​ature​of​the​bond​But​where​where​where​where​Setoff​Obvious​Realization​like​a​pricity​They​are​with​the​Shin​We​must​find​one​Can​we​make​to​use​a​Truthless​Can​we​craft​a​weapon —From the Diagram, Floorboard 17: paragraph 2, every second letter starting with the first There​has​to​be​an​answer​What​is​the​answer​Stop​The​Parshendi​One​of​them​Yes​they​are​the​missing​piece​Push​for​the​Alethi​to​destroy​them​outright​before​this​one​obtains​their​power​It​will​form​abridge —From the Diagram, Floorboard 17: paragraph 2, every second letter starting with the second what exactly does that "every second letter starting with the first/second" mean? Also "likeapricity"?

Hey! I've read Siala trilogy in Russian and, while I like another Pehov's book more, it's great to hear that it's doing well in Germany. My favourite character got to be Miles Vorkosigan. He is very different from your typical main character, he's got that perfect blend of qualities that I admire in people and he's always a blast to read about.

Kaladin as of now. But he is also the most developed so far.

Richard Fife in his TWoK review on tor.com mentions that it's actually a boon: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/08/in-a-kingly-way-brandon-sandersons-the-way-of-kings and I also wondered what made him think so. Although he did say that his was an Arc, so maybe it was edited out in the final version.

After years of struggling I finally managed to get into a China Mieville book and now I'm on the last part of Embassytown. It's a good book but I doubt it'll become a favourite. His writing style is still completely not my thing.

He actually was in Oslo in 2011.

Maybe sediments are mostly blown away during Highstorms. Btw, am I the only one who can't help but imagine the extremely wrinkled toes of Purelakers every time I read Ishikk's interlude?

Ok, this is like 1/4 of all the books in my apartment but this bookcase is completely mine. It still has some of my childhood books, since I can't find another place for them. Other than that, lots of books in Russian, some of my favourite genre fiction in English and various knick-knacks that ended there "temporarily" during renovations some four years ago.

Most of Brandon's works that I own are in ebook format but, whenever possible, I try to buy paper copies for the books that I love and plan to reread. I usually end up lugging a suitcase full of books from my trips abroad. Books in English are hard to find in Russia. Anyway, for rereading I prefer hardcovers. They're sturdier, while paperbacks often get that crack down the spine pretty soon. And, if anything, The Way of Kings deserves to be read in hardback. Just take care of your wrists

For those who haven't seen it yet, Brandon tweeted that he's going to do some work on Legion sequel in between Firefight drafts. I was hoping for the sequel to Alloy of Law but I'm happy either way.

Heh, it also means "Hell" in Japanese. Seeing it repeatedly was strange

Well, it can also be because of convenience - like an hour has 60 minutes because it's easy to split them in 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on even parts. Number 16 is also versatile, as you can divide it by 2, 4 and 8. So with 16 units you can put them into pairs, neat symmetrical patterns and so on. Number 10 can also be divided in a lot of ways, ten parts form an interesting pattern that has bilateral and kind of radial symmetry (and Roshar is big on symmetry). Also, programmers aside, most people tend to naturally think in tens, it's a nice even number. Doesn't "Ten orders of Knight Radiants" sounds better than "Eight orders"? And, speaking as a not-so-diehard fan, memorising 10 essences/metals is way easier than sixteen. Sixteen essences for me would be an information overload.

One thing has been bothering me. Just when is the epilogue to the WoK takes place? I mean, it's been two weeks and still no news about a Herald, or at least a Shardbearer claiming to be a Herald, from the capital? Is it possible that Taln actually arrives later? Maybe connected with the whole sixty seven days thing?

Brandon has mentioned his dislike for Goodkind several times. Well, it's more like he hates it but is too polite/considerate to say that out loud. He also frequently named Pern series among his favourites and some of Brent Weeks books (can't remember which ones, sorry). Edited out autocorrect fails.

Shallan's moving pattern was just too cute. Reminded me a lot of moving pictures and characters in the anime Mushishi. Also, if there's a conflict between honorspren and cryptics, does than mean that Syl won't like Shallan? If gems in Elhokar's shardplate were cracked because he absorbed stormlight from them, I bet Kaladin would be the first to guess it. Maybe he'd even get to mentor the king.

That's how I used to discern between Japanese and Korean, actually. Japanese would be a string of clear syllables and Korean would have a lot of squished consonants. Also, Shallan can speak several languages, so she must be asquainted with Thaylen words.

Well, I started with TWoK myself and got thoroughly hooked, although before that it's been quite a while since my last big as a brick fantasy novel. I'm not a big fan of Mistborn so I'm really glad it wasn't my first Sanderson book or I might've miss out on him altogether. I'd say go with Kings.

Thank you guys! Quiver, with Eshonai, I'm also waiting for WoR, not discounting her from the dating pool completely.) Right now, with so little information about her, she could be paired off with anyone. And yes, if something is indeed shady with Elhokar's wife, he might find himself in need of a new one

Thank you! Brandon did joke about it then but I was so desperately looking for the damnation thing in my bag that I totally missed it.

I solemnly swear that I'm not a troll and I hope I'm not kicking a dead horse here, guys. Shipping discussions are just so fun. Anyway, I've been reading the now-closed topic about shippings in the SA forum and I was really suprised that Kaladin/Jasnah pairing popped out so late and so few people believed in it because, you see, for me it was obvious once I thought about possible romantic relationships. And, since I always think from the writing perspective, I just wanted to state my reasons here. First I believe that in such a big epic, especially the one that came from the fan of Robert Jordan, everything is mentioned for a reason. So, since Kaladin's attraction to girls is stated at least three times (Laras, Tara and the unnamed courtesan with the exposed safe hand), this, for me, means that: a) he is indeed heterosexual (romance novels can pull a reversal - they concentrate more on sexuality - but not a high fantasy); b ) he will have a romantic conflict in the future. Same thing with Jasnah - she obviously have some history with men that will be explored. Second, since Brandon is not the one to make a main character's love interest to be some kind of a trophy dream girl, who isn't that relevant to the plot otherwise (thank God!), this means she will be one of the main characters as well. And since, according to Brandon, we've already met everyone, this leaves us with Shallan, Jasnah and Syl. I suppose, Eshonai could also be a possibility but we barely know her and she is not human, so I'm not going to count her for now. Same with Syl - she's not human and moreover, she isn't even corporeal. Also, she fills the sidekick position. Out of Shallan and Jasnah, pairing Kaladin with Shallan would be a cliche, and I believe Brandon is beyond them now. Also, her dynamic with Kholin brothers will be much more interesting, imho. Btw, these are also the reasons why I hope Wax would end up with Steris and not Marasi. They are one of my favourite Cosmere ships. So - Jasnah. The age difference doesn't bother me because Kaladin is really mature for his age. They'll have lots of opportunities to interact, since he'll be providing security for her, and she'll want to keep him close and study his abilities when she'll know about his radiancy. Also, this will add an interesting dynamic to Kaladin's conflict about Lighteyes and throw a wrench into the whole Alethi class system, so, conflict-speaking, it's a win-win all around. And they're both just these really intense persons who'd be extremely interesting and intense together.

Hi everyone! I've been coming here to lurk for a long-long time and finally decided to register when I really really wanted to post in one of the topics. I've first heard about Brandon when The Way of Kings popped up a lot in tor.com "Best books of the decade" poll and noticed his name on a new Wheel of Time novel around the same time. TWoK rejuvenated my interest in fantasy and it still remains my absolute favourite of Brandon's books and one of my favourite books of all time. I'm a girl, I'm Russian and once I've planned my entire vacation so I can go meet Brandon at his signing in Oslo. I've barely made it (thanks, Sweden railways) and even managed to embarrass myself a little (basically, I decided to leave the volume on my cellphone on because people hardly ever call me when I'm abroad. But just when Brandon was explaining his idea for Mistborn and how the bad guy wins, my mother called and her ringtone is Imperial March. Well, the soundtrack was approproate ) but it was worth it. So this is it. I probably won't post a lot because, frankly, your in-depth knowledge of all things Cosmere scares me. I'd rather speak about character interaction and leave realmatic theories to others. But with the WoR coming there would be a lot to discuss.