Bliev

@king of nowhereHe commented on Reddit few hours ago that he has 10 chapters plus the climax and epilogue to finish by the end of the year still. But he feels confident he'll make it.

If Kal gets a sig other, I think someone like Rysn would be a great choice. Both of them could heal each other, and it would get away from the whole "you have to love yourself before you love another" trope--they can grow together. I also think that it's not likely to happen until the back 5...I don't really think that he's in the mindset for romance, tbh. His attraction to Shallan wasn't really romantic "love"; neither was his attraction to Laral or Tarah. He's the guy who likes the idea of being in a relationship, but doesn't feel he deserves it, nor does he really know what it means. And he has enough truly deep relationships in his life--whether Adolin and Shallan, or with Bridge 4, that it's not like he's devoid of love all together. I didn't ever really see a love "triangle" per se, because i never thought Shallan/Kal was ever a "thing", other than an attempt to escape from growth for both of them, but I totally see how others might have thought so. I can see Brandon shying a way a bit from exploring that part of Kal and substituting his relationship with his father/brother/mother for his growth vehicle in this next book instead.

You better have a GROWING list of things you HATE, that you swear an OATH that you will hate forever. So...Arya? lol

I like the idea of a shattered Odium at the end of book 5, with a new vessel. I tend to like the idea of Dalinar weakening him and Szeth using nightblood against him. At the same time, I think it’s likely that Cultivation deals a blow or sacrifices herself to allow Roshar to grow, and we end up with three shattered shards on Roshar...just waiting to be taken up by another vessel. I mean, what would the shardic combo of Honor, Odium and Cultivation look like?!

Oh, but maybe, much like Vorin names, it shouldn't be exactly symmetrical? What does that do to our hypothesizing?

Or a medieval romance novel (that I might read actually lmao) Knife of Winds is really clever though. I don’t know if it sounds like a Rosharan text, but it may not need to be!

Nice find OP! I had missed that. Having hoped for Rhythm of War way back when, I’m somewhat at a loss here! A lot of good commentary already. In terms of “in world books”, Rhythms of War may end up an “in Cosmere” guide, maybe in the Arcanum? Where Khriss documents what the rhythms are? so a book from Shinovar might work. Knight of White works perfectly of course. Maybe a Shin children’s myth that worked to foreshadow Szeth’s trajectory? Knights on Watch? or Knight of the Watch?

Lol TRUE. Do no harm to Keanu is rule 1. Plus he’s perfect just as he is. :-) ETA: I married a Keanu look alike so I’m a bit partial to him. Haha

I think the Dalinar casting is too old. He needs to be a solid middle age. Keanu Reeves would be a nice choice. I don’t know about the Lift casting either. I think a less known newcomer might be nice there. I love your Jasnah and Navani choices.

The realistic logistical nightmare of war is a consistent theme. And I'm glad for it. War is a protracted affair--even when we have action-packed battles, the majority of the time is spent strategizing, gathering intel, and managing the swathes of displaced humanity that stems from it. That's one reason I like that we're coming in hot focusing on Lirin--a man who has a thankless task of cleaning up the mess the "heroes" cause. It's a great place to pick up after the Hoid epilogue in OB. We saw the human cost there...now we're seeing it persist and grow. And the despair that Lirin feels...can Kal accept what Lirin has? That he can't save them all? Because this is what I worry about: Because I certainly hope so...

I like the idea of AI becoming “alive” via the Delvers or the figments; both could make sense. the fear of AI “copying itself” is very real. But why? The Superiority seems to care more about its cytonic nature but mbot’s human pilot? There is a reason there was a strong fail safe.

True. I was thinking more short-term, Rosharan end goal. But you are correct.

I think Odium’s only endgame is freedom. Well, and killing cultivation I’m sure. So destroying the heralds and the Oathpact, even if he has to raze Roshar to the ground to do it, is the plan. Now he knows he might have to make sure that honor is not able to be reassembled, so making sure that Kal and his wind runners can’t protect Dalinar is a key too.

I’ve wondered if that’s more a royal “we” meaning we, Rosharans, but the thought of a Sleepless radiant that can live forever would be crazy.

I think that’s one of the great parts about this book: making you connect with characters that seem human in their voices but are distinctly inhuman in their reactions. Forces you to check yourself when taking in the world that’s being built. Maybe that’s just me though. ;-)

Yeah he’s a lovely mix of arrogance, hubris, and sexism. Super endearing. One of the only times I’m okay with a character’s death only mattering as a plot device for our other characters’ growth.

Just like the Nightwatcher, the Stormfather doesn’t understand humanity. Syl learned via her bond. The godspren may be splinters of shards, but they are still spren. How do you explain the minutia of humanity to the cognitive essence of a storm implanted with the memories of a god? The Stormfather is not a person imbued with the petty grievances and manipulative tendencies of mortal humans. How should he know what information is pertinent beyond that which he’s been honor bound to deliver?

I mean, they’re struggling to figure out how to adapt Name of the Wind and it’s not nearly the scale of SA and has a central staging location and one main character. I think this is a bridge too far (pun intended hehe). I do think mistborn could work as a movie trilogy but they would have to make it work in movie 1, unlike what they did with Golden Compass where we never even made it to movie 2 because it bombed. The series is much much better, but again, it has a central character. GOT is the closest to SA in terms of character and scope, and they had 8 seasons and had to cut a lot and still didn’t get it right. Epic fantasy is hard if you’re trying to please the core fandom.

@VinDiesel and Dalinar blushes like a schoolboy much to Navani’s amusement.

I think it was mostly by relative comparison, but also because of Odium’s chosen projection at that moment. When you feel hopeless, even the smallest amount of hope and power can make you feel larger and stronger. Add to that the very real influx of power that Dalinar tapped into at that moment and I’m sure Odium felt smaller than he ever had.

I love theories! I think it’s more likely that the increased cytonic movement awoke the Delvers an annoyed them. Or, alternatively, the murdering off of the doomslugs (I’m dying on the doomslug-over-taynix hill sorry-not-sorry) pissed them off bc of the loudness. i seem some parallels between the Superiority trying to create “peace” meaning lack of aggression whilst the Delvers want peace in terms of silence. And both are willing to exert extreme force to get it...

I like the slug/delver connection. And the thoughts that there is a connection between doomslug and mbot, that requires respect and autonomy and not enslavement and torture, lest the delvers get involved. Funny that the superiority sees primary intelligence as being lack of aggression, and thus they perceive a hierarchy of races toward that end, when the delvers know more and do more than the superiority could ever imagine. Reminds me of Men in Black 2 and the galaxy within the locker. :-)

I am endlessly impressed by the way Brandon’s books read the same while also reading so very differently. It’s a true once in a generation gift. The tone and the characterization here is so distinct from epic SA or Mistborn but yet, it feels very Sandersonesque in its tight magic system, character growth and trajectory, and pacing. I felt the reveals were well-telegraphed, but still suspenseful, and I liked how this book teased at broader ethical and even metaphysical questions beyond the more immediate mysteries in book 1. I agree with some posters above that I missed a bit of the supporting cast from book 1 that were compelling; I think the setting shift meant we learned less about the population of humans on Detritus and more about the broader universe. I understand that choice, but I still was left a bit unsatisfied. Ultimately it was a quick, fun read that whet my appetite for more. Took me 4ish hours I think?

@Quantus I didn’t say female scholars weren’t taken seriously. I said that Jasnah didn’t take other “scholars” seriously. Society clearly doesn’t disdain women scholars. And Jasnah obviously doesn’t disdain women scholars. She just seems skeptical that any other scholar will actually care like she does, or that their pursuits will be for the (laudable) reasons that hers are—and definitely not some random Brightness trying to get access to Kholin power. I doubt that many other women are at Jasnah’s level, if any, so it’s not about societal skepticism, it’s personal skepticism.

@Quantus Just bc woman are allowed to be scholars or are socialized to be them doesn’t mean that they take it seriously like Jasnah does. It reminds me of the feminine arts in Georgian England: needlepoint, painting, drawing, singing, pianoforte, French. Genteel women were supposed to do these and even excel at them. But those who did were rare. They had to make a surface effort but few actually cared. Thus it was unexpected to find a true genius who honed their craft. Because the crafts weren’t the point—the social status was. I think that’s what scholarship in Vorin society has become. You have to pick something and be serviceable at it, but so long as you can pour tea in company and say Bonjour to the French maid, no one actually cares. Jasnah does though. So she’s used to women putting on the trappings of scholarship for social status but not caring like she does or having the abilities she does.