Aminar

I am not a Stick. I am only built like one.

The gentleman Bastard Sequence by Scott Lynch, and the Kingkiller Chronicles by Pat Rothfuss. And everything by Larry Correia. And Jim Hines. And Wes Chu. And Steven Erickson. And Glen Cook. And Dan Wells. Shall I continue.Oh, And Brent Weeks.

If we get ShardKeyBlades and no anthropomorphic mice I'll be very sad. Then again, the mice wouldn't help much.... But yep, that's the oathgate.

I believe Wines follow the rainbow(RoyGBiv. Red would be the least intoxicating, and moving up. Mainly because I swear Indigo wine was mentioned once.) As for Shallan's predisposition, moat likely. Humanity seems to predisposed to alchohal abuse(real world and fictional). She's got a huge history of trauma which adds to the likelihood. But we haven't seen her getting frequently drunk. Just, drinking frequently. So long as we get better drinking scenes than Inheritence we should be fine.

I did. I figured it was an easter egg, given Brandon's associations with the Wheel of Time.

Except that ahe burns off all her food being awesome. Why would she deliberatley inhibit her thieving abilities to become chubby? Don't get me wrong, we do need more heavyset characters, but heavyset and action hero only ever work when they have reason to be chubby. Otherwise it's just an attempt to add a group for the purpose of adding a group. Lift has the ability to choose her level of thinness, and being really skinny makes climbing walls on Sprenladders easy.

Moogle, the entirety of the social contract is about having a system to handle justice to remove personal bias. If Dalinar or Elhokar were to persecute Sadeas personally they would destroy the power of the laws they represent and become true tyrants. That makes going after him wrong. Putting him on trial could work but it isn't a tenable solution because civil war. Knowingly cauaing that war would be wrong. As would be acting as judge, jury, and executioner. Any action other than inaction would have been against their greater responsabilities. That left dueling him(which they tried) and murdering him(which Adolin did.) This will cause an enormous amount of suffering. But it seems clear you want to willfully see the radiants and heralds as naive idiots with no understanding of how to keep power from being overly exploited, back before they were completely broken wretches. Go ahead. I don't think it will lead you to proper understanding of the series at all, as it ignores a great deal of context and theme. When Brandon signed my copy of The Way of Kings he wrote Life before Death. If he felt that was in any way a negative ideal do you think he'd write it? I don't. This isn't the kind of path he'd explore.

I like the idea of a major 5 book arc, with the 10 book arc being set up within them, but the characters that handle it being less prominent.(Renarin and Lift for instance.) It makes sense that Renarin's flashbacks will be the gap between the two books(Possibly him dealing with Dalinar's death or the lilke during that timespan. There is nothing wrong with the epic fantasy having a split arc like that, and Stormlight books are so far, much more reader friendly and in depth than the confusing jumble of characters that makes up the Malazan books.

I completely agree with the possibility of this. I think it will be more background, but broken and mental illness are often very close to each other in what they mean(but they are not synonomous.)

But taking the law into your own hands is wrong. Even Elhokar declaring him a murderer and ordering his execution is wrong. The important part is in the idea of doing what is right. What is right is the same solution Dalinar had for Amaram. Trial then execution. Moogle, you continue to ignore the intuitive nature of right and wrong in your arguments, as if everything can be solved by logic. It cannot, and the radiant's operate understanding that. In all honesty you seem to be willfully trying to make the radiant's look like an evil/misguided organization. The Radiants are the embodiment of this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deontological_ethics You can argue for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleology being better. In the end what you are missing is that part of doing the right thing is trying for the greater good while doing the best you can to do what you feel is right. That is the truth of Journey before Destination. Do what's best, try for the best consequences, but if things go horribly wrong take solace in the fact you're a human being and cannot predict the future, therefor you cannot know every consequence of your action. Nowhere in there does it say the consequences don't matter. Nowhere in the Radiant's oaths does it say the consequences don't matter. It just means that the Greater Good is not justification for doing horrible evil things with the power radiant's have. This is not, in any way, a new debate. It has been hashed out in college philosophy classes every year for basically forever. The way you are looking at it is missing the whole point, and the context of the Radiants, of the Series, and of Brandon's writing style. (The whole Heroic Fantasy angle of things. Szeth was an example of a windrunner unchecked. He put the world into war. Imagine a world with hundreds of windrunner assassins...) That's why the oaths exist... Each order has their own focus, but none condone evil(although, again the Skybreakers seem to stretch this, but I think that has more to do with a focus on punishment, and I think they were originally meant to Watchdog the Radiants themselves, to make sure the oaths were not being exploited.(Such as manipulating circumstances to put innocents in danger from those you want to kill so that you can murder them.(A possible exploitation of the windrunner oaths.) We don't know enough about the historical sky-breakers to figure out more...

There's all sorts of evidence. Every Radiant we've seen has clear scars. Shallan was broken beforehand, we just don't know why, as she's repressed her earlier memories even harder than the ones of her mothers death. That suggests some very serious trauma.(I'm not sure what it was, as she hides from it pretty hard, but the broken wretch she showed, the one without joy... It suggests something much deeper than killing her mother in self defense... Beyond that I stand by the theory that the Knight's Radiant are a study on mental Health, and a work meant to inspire those suffering from poor mental health, to help them see that there is hope, even through the worst life can bring. That could be the professional side of my life coloring my interpretation of the series, but given Renarin's neurological health and Kaladin's obvious chronic depressive bouts I feel justified in the theory.

I don't think Syl would stand for it... And it would really lower my opinion of Shallan. Two-timing is... Reprehensible. It destroys people and can destroy families just as much as physical abuse can, in some ways even moreso. Even without a family in the picture it's wrong on a level that I can't even begin to justify. That said, it would be an interesting read.

While possible we have to remember that at one point in her life Jasnah was broken. Broken like Shallan and Kaladin have been broken. Living in an abusive household would, maybe, cause that level of problem, not without mirroring Shallan's story too much. That said, the Radiant's do seem to also have to deal with wanting to help others more than themselves, but I can see Jasnah wanting to help escape the psuedo oppression of Alethi society(Which is actually not that unequal, given that women hold much of the real power.)

Kaladin is a character study into Depression, and the constant battle with it. In that sense his character development is MASTERFUL. That doesn't change the fact dealing with people who have chronic depressive issues can be frustrating as hell. I'd have been frustrated with him not that long ago. Instead I was just amazed at how well Brandond handled his character arc. I love that this series is a dialogue on how to stand tall despite mental illness, a display of the strength it takes to get over it, and the fact anyone that does has the willpower of a hero.(Which everyone can and should be taught to have... But that's another discussion.)

Agreed. Beyond that, it's a theory, and the evidence is up to interpretation. It's not offensive to see common character development tropes and call out what they might mean. Especially given that Jasnah is a highly respected and competent character. She'd be a credit to LGBT literature, for not having a steretyped "lesbian personality." Beyond that, there are women who have had such negative experiences with men that they decide to change sexualities. No, not every Lesbian has done this, but some have, making it an appropriate characterization path when handled with care an respect.

Sanderson really seems to be taking this story down an exploration of mental health. Having an accurate portrayal of an adult who was molested as a child fits into that too. (Just another thought to add to my suppositions.) As to her mother/father allowing it. We really don't know her father, but he strikes me as the controlling type. And very few parents knowingly allow their child to be mollested. That doesn't stop it from happening. In Alethi society odds are you quietly remove the offending bastard and move on. I'm sure there is more than a little victim blaming. It would be even worse if Gavilar were the issue, as he'd be almost beyond repurcussions... There would be significant shame on all sides, with little discussion from the family. It would be danced around significantly. Like I said earlier, we'll see what broke Jasnah later. I hope I'm wrong, but it fits with the series too well.

She may or may not be a lesbian, but there is some strong evidence she was molested as a child. First off, she's a Radiant. Meaning at some point she's been broken. Then we have her almost complete asexuality as shown, and her complete disregard towards men, as detailed above. Lastly we have Navani's questions about what happened to her little girl. As soon as Jasnah hit adolescence she became aloof, detached, and developed into the Jasnah we know. Young women that are molested respond in a very narrow spectrum of ways. Either they become almost hypersexual, or they gain a strong fear of intimacy. Sometimes both. Jasnah certainly seems to fit this, and I'm sure we'll learn more as time goes on.

The only interpretations you can trust are the ones held by the Spren. Look at Syl's interpretation. Look at Pattern's. Spren are intelligent, but they don't seem to have free will the same way people do. So they're judgement of what is appropriate for a knight is instinctual. They clearly want Kaladin to stick to the ideals over all else. But they don't want him to be working towards a negative end. Same with Shallan. She has to work towards self awareness and acceptance. Kaladin spent most of this book not understanding or thinking about his oaths and what they meant. We can't trust his judgement of them worth anything until the very ened of the book. Life is the Journey. The destination is death(Life before death. Journey before Destination). Any step taken in life is Journey. Every step is Journey. So taking power would be a part of the Journey. And it would be wrong. Because it's based on accomplishment rather than on sticking to the ideals. The single greatest thing we have seen from the Radiants is that they don't take sides in national affairs. Nalan gets all the proper paperwork to murder someone so that it's legal murder. I am willing to bet much of Dalinar's character arc will be about separating himself from Alethkar to work towards a greater unity. We'll have to see more. With Amaram I don't really understand your point. Amaram has nothing to do with the Windrunner Ideals. And he certainly falls under Dalinar's ideal of uniting men rather than dividing them. By not capturing Amaram he brings men together, unifying Sadeas's side with his own. I think the last part is that a Knight can only make so much sense of what is right and wrong. They have to work off of what they know of a situation. Kaladin was wrong to try to get Amaram. It hurt his bond with Syl, because it put the end(justice/revenge) before the means(breaking Alethkar) And it would have been wrong to andle the manner outside of Alethi law. You can take the radiant's to that extreme if you want, but I don't think the Spren do. And the Spren are the arbiters here.

Relis is the only person we see who holds a blade touched by a knight radiant while he is touching it. Renarin does the same, but it's his blade and he has a Spren.What this means is that Relis could very very easily be haunted by a zombie spren for the time being. He obviously heard the screaming, but the screaming was closer to him somehow, because it was his blade, and Kal reawakening it by touching the blade. Renarin was likely protected by this because he already has a Spren bond. I wish we heard more about Relis later...

Most definitley. I think Larkins will turn out to be important as they are, but I don't think they're a larval form. Larvae come out in the Swarm range and then most get eaten, so Larkin's would be everywhere. Instead I think they are like Sky-eels and Greatshells. Animals that use Surges to survive in some way shape or form. That said, Larkin's being able to steal stormlight is pretty amazing.

Journey before destination means the ends doesn't justify the means. It does not mean the ends can be terrible so long as the methodology in getting there was right. The Radiant's are clearly designed to be an extra-governmental organization bent on creating a greater good while not breaking a strict personal code. They're the Rosharian Superhero Red Cross(With extra Awesome) Supplanting a King and taking over a country seems pretty outside of that. You're taking the philosophy to the farthest extreme, when it was set up to be an idealistic organization. It's set up to control the power, to prevent the Radiants from taking over.(This is spelled out in the exerpts from the in world Words of Radiance.) You're not taking that into account, which appears to be what makes Darkness the problem he is.

I can see this, but it begs the question, what about the desolations with radiants and heralds before the heralds broke. I think that different orders have to be broken in specific psychological ways to allow the spren bonds, but I can't say that for sure... Depression for windrunners, cognitive denial/ptsd for lightweavers etc. I'm just not sure it can be tied to the heralds, especially given the fact becoming a radiant stems from beginning to cope with those issues. But I think mental health knowledge certainly enhances the series.

Because the Radiant's have to take their Journey before destination, not force the philosophy on others. They can lead but they cannot coerce. They can influence but not force. Dalinar cannot take away Elhokar's agency without betraying his own journey. Nor can he take power. The Radiant's live up to their own code, but they aren't a church or a Government. They don't force others.(Although the Skybreakers as we've seen them violate this a little, but they seem an odd collection to begin with and we'll need to see more later.)In addition Dalinar may learn eventually that he has to supplant Elhokar. I'm not sure... It could eventually fit his oaths.

It's more that from a Historical perspective Elhokar is pretty much average. He's what the common people want out of a king.(Not interfering. Not inviting attackers to conquer the country. Not messing with what they do.) Go back and look at Historical Kings before you judge Elhokar based on what we see in the books. Then remember the historical bias that romantices many kings. Elhokar can only be called a horrible king in regards to modern governmental methodologies, something Roshar has little to no concept of. Compared to other Monarchies, he's average. And Given the scale really goes between Conquerer who expands his nation, Average, Tyrant who represses his people, Average is as good as Kings get. (Roshar is in no way ready for a governmental renaissance where Kings start hadning off power to Democratic bodies.

Because we know so much about what happened in the six years between Gavilar's death and The Way of Kings. Hell, we know absolutley zero about what Elhokar has done as a king. We know that before Gavilar's death he threw a couple undeserving people in jail, and we know he's led his people on a long, drawn out, profitable war that has kept Alethkar as the single most powerful nation on Roshar. Hell it may have even made Alethkar that important. All we have to go off of is that he listens to his subordinates, which any good king would, and Moash's complaints from before he was even king. Elhokar isn't an amazing King. But our defintion of amazing King is conquering Warlord given the rulers we historically celebrate, Instead He's been nothing but stable for the kingdom. Alethi thinking he is a bad king doesn't mean much. Alethi are almost by defintion, greedy warmongering idiots. Elhokar has focused and united that into a setting that hasn't turned the world against them. Personally, that's amazing. And Dalinar didn't do much of that...