Aleksiel

Didn't Roshone saw Tien send to the army to die because Lirin couldn't save his son and not because he stole the spheres?

There are plenty of reasons to be dead inside like abandoning one of your comrades in Damnation for over four millenniums, abandoning everything you swore upon, your once closed companions and your god. Being absolutely emotionless as you can see in WoR doesn't help Nalan being more just, but quite the opposite - he is this dark twisted version of justice preciously because he is emotionless. What's more, why would Nalan use Nightblood himself?

Everything's a Stick. We are all one Stick that became many to have different experiences.

In the day T has most compassion days, he basically only drools on himself and this doesn't strike me as saving the world ability. Honestly, this whole intelligence/compassion swings don't seem as a boon to me. Shouldn't T have the capacity to save the world at all days? How is this fluctuation helpful unless meant to show he needs to be both to save the world and this day he must use his intellect, the next it's compassion that the world needs.

No WoB, but implications in WoR of Shalash 'getting worse' and the overall acceptance of the Heralds getting twisted after breaking the Oathpact combined with Vasher never being emotionless when he had Nightblood. However, if the first half of your post is correct, then I might be wrong. But it's unclear if Brandon uses spark of life as equal to soul, so it's a very speculative territory. You also assume emotions to be of the soul when they may very well be of the cognitive realm which Nightblood doesn't effect as far as we know.

I meant bonded like a Shardblade in the meaning of being able to be dismissed and re-summoned.

Nightblood isn't of Odium, he was created on a different world (the one of Warbreaker), so I doubt there's a connection between them. He is no spren and can't be binded like a Shardblade. You might want to read the coppermind article on him; it won't spoil the book for you to a degree of making it predictable or less enjoyable. Of course, reading Warbreaker itself will be more fun and you'll see Zahel and Hoid there, too. I am curious how Szeth will use Nightblood when he can no longer surgebind. I think it's safe to say form all those WoB Nightblood will first consume all investiture around him before going for Szeth's spak of life, so he should be fine as long as he draws Nightblood near stormlight. However, Darkness emotionlessness (it's a word now) isn't due to Nightblood's effects, but more of a consequence of his betrayal of the Oathpact or the millenniums he spend wandering Roshar. If he is Nalan. It's not too late for a plot twist here.

It's absolutely unforgivable this didn't make it to the book. But I guess there are too many spoilers in it. The Church of the Stick just got its holy Bible!

This doesn't prove anything. The wanderer could be Hoid, another worldhopper, 'the creature of Tokar' or someone we haven't even seen yet. Andro probably though of Mraize in this quote because she doesn't know about anyone else who fits.

He could very well be a worldhopper, however I believe the mask man is limited to Hoid only. Zahel for example is a confirmed worldhopper, but none of his chapters have the masked man image.

Only the chapter Mraize is introduced in gets the masked man and none of his further appearances are acknowledged in the same way. So, my best guesses are the icon is present either because Hoid was there spying on Mraize (lightweaved himself as someone present at the meeting or just hidden in the shadows) or most likely because Shallan remembered Hoid in the chapter.

Axies met a guy who asked him if he was a Herald.or a Voidbringer. But the interlude has only Pailiah's icons (or whatever the right word) and the beggar was male, so perhaps not. However, the scene occupies far too much space (half the interlude in fact) to have nothing more to it, but an introduction to Axies.

I was shocked when Jasnah died. I had to re-read the scene a few times to believe it, but then I noticed the goblet of spheres Shallan knocked down before opening the door of her cabin and I hoped this was foreshadowing Jasnah's survival. The missing corpse was a clue as well. I expected her to be back sooner honestly. If she had died, it would have been one of the worst timings of a character's death I've ever read. There's just too much mystery about Jasnah, too much she can do, she's far too interesting to get only a couple of chapters and a series this big. So I was satisfied when she elsecalled at the end of the book, even though I expected her to somehow help with the Oathgate in the last moment and when she didn't I started doubting my theory on her survival. So, in the end I was happy and mildly surprised when she appeared. Though I overall was dissatisfied that nobody important died. I've been worrying for a long time about so many characters and I was at peace with the idea of having to part with some of them, yet in the end my expectations weren't met. Now, it's a good thing we'll see more of them all, but I was so sure I'd had to part with a few of them and when nobody significant died I was 'Wait, what? I worried over nothing?'. Though I suppose this will only make their deaths more shocking in the next book when I'll be expecting them to survive.

There isn't a timeline on Taln's interlude. However, the week Dalinar spend pretending to be sick and actually bonding the Shardblade is during Kaladin's time in prison, because Navani used Dalinar's illness as an excuse to not meet Shallan (it's in hers and Adolin's spanreed exchange before Shallan went to see Taln for herself). Therefor I wouldn't say Dalinar has been obviously making a lot of efforts to discover the truth before the arena fight.

Brandon

It all sounds reasonable except that part of not-even-11-years-old Shallan just casually figuring out the first oath. Of course, her father had Nohadon's WoK, yet I'm having hard time believing Shallan said it on her own. She'd likely started manifesting some abilities before the oath like Kaladin did. With all the secret societies and worldhoppers going around it's possible someone pushed her just a little.

Jasnah noted Gavilar looked with suspicion and I think it's reasonable to assume something worried him, so he decided to put on his Plate.

I wouldn't say Brandon ruined any not his books for me, epic fantasy or not. I still love WoT - the magic system there is to this day my favorite. And Pratchett is still my number one. Brandon has amazing world-building and mind-blowing plot twists, but there's nothing like Pratchett's humor and wittiness. Take a break from epic fantasy for a while if you feel you can't enjoy anything non-Brandon in the genre now. There are lots of great books, try something you haven't read; explore a new genre where things work really different from fantasy.

Because if her mother knew Shallan could have used a shardblade, she wouldn't have openly go against her with a knife. Also, her father would have probably tried to get the blade from Shallan the first time he saw it; it's not a children's toy. So the most reasonable assumption is Pattern first became a blade at that point or at least that was the first time anyone but Shallan found out about it.

kaellok made some really good points regarding your post and I agree with all of them. The meetings were closed to anyone but five people and Kaladin wasn't among them strictly speaking. Those meetings weren't opened to all above a certain social status, but closed and only for Dalinar's most trusted associates, which I suppose is why he wasn't against Kaladin speaking, but it was only natural for everyone else to give Kaladin nasty looks. He was invited to guard the meeting not attend it in the meaning of contributing to the strategy. Dalinar himself said it might be important fo Kaladin to hear what they were planning, not to be part of the discussion. Yet Dalinar listened to Kaladin and treated him with respect. Regardless, Kaladin was still darkeyes as even Dalinar felt the need to remind him at one point. Kaladin noticed in his early chapters how the woman who read the king's proclamation in the beginning of WoR outranked him. He might had a superior military status, but social was still below any lighteyes and he himself was wondering how that was supposed to work. Also, it was fully understandable for Shallan and Adolin to ignore him on their date and he shouldn't have taken it so personal. He wasn't their guest or friend; Kaladin was just way too sensitive at that point.

I agree Shallan's idea of an apology was pretty ridiculous. For a second I thought was sarcastic when she claimed to have apologized. Jasnah did better job than her and that's something. Elhokar really impressed me with what he told Kaladin. I hope he finally figures it out in the next book, he has potential for much character growth. I'm not really convinced this is relevant. Kaladin was supposed to guard them, not give opinion and attitude. It's not about social status, but what's required of the person on the job and what isn't. A bodyguard is someone you are supposed to forget is there and not to randomly join your conversations.

Wow, I posted this like 10 pages ago, can't believe someone bothered to read that far back Shallan isn't only physically attracted to Adolin (well, she's 17, what's so bad being attracted to a handsome prince anyway?) she thought he was genuine, kind and noble. But I don't mean it as an argumebt in favor to Shadolin, just adding people often miss it. Anyway,I am of the opinion Shallan needed to finally say it out loud, at least some part of her truth. And there's still the fact Shallan talked about Adolin kissing her in public after they return, so it wasn't like she felt immediately drawn in a romantic manner to Kal. She was fighting these memories for the whole book and finally gave in in the chasms. I don't deny the fact Kal could somewhat relate was part of the reason she confided in him, but that just wasn't all there was. However, she didn't share all of it , she still kept secrets like her mother's death. I personally think it would have been more powerful if we learned what happened in the chasm's scene and not in Urithiru, but this really isn't all that relevant. I do not deny the possibility of Shalladin or the moment they share, I just don't think this alone is enough for a romance. However, this is just my opinion and I favor Jasadin (because reasons) and Shallan/Hoid pairing, so I shall sink with my ships edit: woops, wrong character

He was totally lying to save himself, because Szeth had almost discovered he wasn't Truthless and T needed an explanation for the surgebinding Szeth had seen.

Oh, it is actually correct because the word has two meanings - male human or any gender individual of the human species. It's just said in a misleading way, though so far the death rattles predicting future events that have been recognized are all not really straight forward, but still technically correct in each word; so they will be useful to T as long as he uses his imagination and keeps an open mind.

I suppose Dalinar first met Eshonai on the expedition they met the Parshendi. After all, in Eshonai's PoV she said she led that same expedition. She was interested in the maps they had and somewhere in WoK was stated the Parshendi first asked Alethi about their maps.