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Grundulum
Feb 28, 2006

TGG posted:

[RoW is] a drat good book and it goes hard in a bunch of spots but that was my biggest WHAT THE gently caress of the whole book.

Yeah, it’s going to be fun when 81sidewinder hits that part. Can’t wait for their post.

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Mordiceius
Nov 10, 2007

If you think calling me names is gonna get a rise out me, think again. I like my life as an idiot!

M_Gargantua posted:

Ahh dang that’s a big surprise that’s been spoiled.

TGG posted:

Ah drat, that was the one thing I didn't get spoiled on as I just blitzed the book in a day and a half, bummer you got spoiled on the biggest RoW twist. It's a drat good book and it goes hard in a bunch of spots but that was my biggest WHAT THE gently caress of the whole book.

Ehhh it's a big thing but it is, in the end, a single moment. I'm sure that moment will still go hard. I can know a detail without understanding how we get to that point or how it happens.

It was my fault for watching a Tiktok from an interview where Brandon was talking about his favorite villains he's written.

81sidewinder posted:

Oathbringer Part 5 was everything I wanted this series to be as far as the 'small moments leading to big payoffs at the end'. Peak Sanderlanche. Probably the most similar to a Wheel of Time book in that regard. Extremely minor WoT spoilers - The battle at the end very much felt like the Last Battle chapter of WoT with the 1v1 moments happening while others fight the ultimate evil and others fend off the hoards and it was just perfect for my tastes. Love that feeling of controlled chaos. Nice to be immersed in a story where there is a plan for a satisfying conclusion.

Had the highest highs and the lowest lows of the three books for me so far. Obviously, the ending ruled but I really was not feeling the Shadesmar section. Really felt like killing time in a way the story has not done before - all the 'nothing happens' scenes prior to that felt like they inched the plot along. Maybe it's recontextualized for me with further information, who knows.

I'm surprised you didn't like the Shadesmar stuff. It definitely was a little slower than other parts, but I liked how it fleshed out the Cosmere in general. If anything, it made me want an entire book set there and exploring that setting. (No, I'm not counting Secret History)

Ojjeorago
Sep 21, 2008

I had a dream, too. It wasn't pleasant, though ... I dreamt I was a moron...
Gary’s Answer

Mordiceius posted:

I can know a detail without understanding how we get to that point or how it happens.

Putting the journey before the destination? I've never heard of such a thing.

CapnAndy
Feb 27, 2004

Some teeth long for ripping, gleaming wet from black dog gums. So you keep your eyes closed at the end. You don't want to see such a mouth up close. before the bite, before its oblivion in the goring of your soft parts, the speckled lips will curl back in a whinny of excitement. You just know it.

81sidewinder posted:

Thoughts about these theories after Oathbringer -


5.Elhokar lasted a lot longer than I thought, and we seemingly end up with King Dalinar anyway. Elhokar death was a blockbuster moment, one of my favorite of this book.

4. Lift backstory about her mystery feels eminent too. How is she perpetually a kid?

Spoilers through Oathbringer: Are we ending up with King Dalinar? I seem to remember somebody else wearing the crown of Alethkar by the end of the book. Did you miss that?

And are you sure Lift is perpetually a kid? If you've read Edgedancer, go back and read the opening chapter again. What upset her enough to run away?

Mordiceius
Nov 10, 2007

If you think calling me names is gonna get a rise out me, think again. I like my life as an idiot!
Without going too much into my Oathbringer thoughts -

I loving loved the Lift/Szeth pairing. It probably won't happen, but give me a book with the two of them going on adventures.

TGG
Aug 8, 2003

"I Dare."
RoW is a bit of a divisive book, I personally enjoyed it a bit more than WoR but it can be a bit thick if you don't really dig the science of the cosmere. It has some fantastic moments and I am so excited for book 5.

81sidewinder
Sep 8, 2014

Buying stocks on the day of the crash

CapnAndy posted:

Spoilers through Oathbringer: Are we ending up with King Dalinar? I seem to remember somebody else wearing the crown of Alethkar by the end of the book. Did you miss that?

And are you sure Lift is perpetually a kid? If you've read Edgedancer, go back and read the opening chapter again. What upset her enough to run away?


Good points. I needed to read that page with King Dalinar again, and I absolutely misremembered that - we are almost certainly going in a different direction than what I posted before. Shallan suggests Jasna here, I'm guessing

Will revisit Edgedancer too, thank you

Mordiceius posted:

I'm surprised you didn't like the Shadesmar stuff. It definitely was a little slower than other parts, but I liked how it fleshed out the Cosmere in general.

I'm sure I will dig the lore on re-reads, but it's just so light on plot. Really wanted it to be this to be the big moment in the love triangle, but that came later.

Mordiceius posted:

I loving loved the Lift/Szeth pairing.

Same, same. Brings out the best in both characters

space uncle
Sep 17, 2006

"I don’t care if Biden beats Trump. I’m not offloading responsibility. If enough people feel similar to me, such as the large population of Muslim people in Dearborn, Michigan. Then he won’t"


A Sneaker Broker posted:

Whoop Whoop. Welcome to the Sando craziness. I would suggest you read Warbreaker before Word of Radiance. Please post your thoughts FOR EVERY CHAPTER while you read every Brandon Sanderson book. We eat those thoughts, opinions, and feelings up. Ask any questions as well. Welcome aboard!

I took your advice and am on Chapter 27 of Warbreaker.

Warbreaker first 1/3 spoilers
Just learned that Lightsong is a gently caress up alcoholic amnesiac detective like my favorite boy Harry Dubois (Disco Elysium) and his story went from mid to supremely interesting. Can’t wait for him to gently caress up some sanctimonious priests/Gods.

The mercenaries and the sabotage campaign are fun.

The reveal that the God King is a man child was fun.

The incredible edginess (pun not intended) of the Nightblade is fun.

Enjoying the book so far. I still think “BioChroma” is a very jarring phrase in the fantasy universe but I’ll allow it. The descriptions of heightening and colors are cool.

TGG
Aug 8, 2003

"I Dare."
Warbreaker is such a fun book, should be up there on the must read Sanderson lists. One of the most fun magic systems, tons of Cosmere links, great characters and while the writing lacks in some parts and the ending has some hiccups it is a good little book.

CapnAndy
Feb 27, 2004

Some teeth long for ripping, gleaming wet from black dog gums. So you keep your eyes closed at the end. You don't want to see such a mouth up close. before the bite, before its oblivion in the goring of your soft parts, the speckled lips will curl back in a whinny of excitement. You just know it.

81sidewinder posted:

Good points. I needed to read that page with King Dalinar again, and I absolutely misremembered that - we are almost certainly going in a different direction than what I posted before. Shallan suggests Jasna here, I'm guessing
A fairly safe guess, given that she shows up with a crown on her head.

Potato Salad
Oct 23, 2014

nobody cares


Ojjeorago posted:

The rest of the thread waiting for you to get here:

Nitrousoxide
May 30, 2011

do not buy a oneplus phone



Man, the VA's for Lost Metal sound like they've actually aged a decade since the last book, which matches the timeline for the book as a happy coincidence.

Mordiceius
Nov 10, 2007

If you think calling me names is gonna get a rise out me, think again. I like my life as an idiot!
OATHBRINGER - Part 5 & Final Thoughts

I'm just gonna spoiler this whole post. Because I know it is going to be long and wordy and some what masturbatory because I have to share my vision for how I imagine that scene would play out if adapted into an anime (I have incredible thoughts when stoned, okay!).

Starting with interludes 12-14 -
First, more Venli. I find myself incredibly conflicted on Venli. I find her kind of annoying. I know she's the flashback character for Rhythm of War, so I'm hoping that turns my opinion around on her. Up to this point, however, there has been an annoying arrogance to her scenes. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be finding her a sympathetic, but I'm not. To the subject of the Singers as a whole, I feel great sympathy toward the formerly enslaved Parshmen and how they're trying to understand and make their place in the world. I have far far far less sympathy for Venli and Eshonai's group of Listeners from the Shattered Plains. I understand why they felt the need to assassinate Gavilar, but it feels like they made every stupid decision they could along the way. Again, maybe Rhythm of War will have me regretting my words and deeds.

More Rysn! Yay! I like Rysn. I liked how her scene basically felt like an intro into that final conflict. I look forward to seeing more of her in Dawnshard.

Teft has it rough. :smith:

Part 5

The final Dalinar flashback finally reveals that the "deal" with the Nightwatcher never actually happened and that it was Cultivation taking action in the end. That was a surprisingly fun twist. The Dalinar flashbacks in this book have been a loving delight for the mixed emotions they caused me. For the duration of the first two books, we see Dalinar as a man trying to do right and we hear about "The Blackthorn" without fully grasping the significance. I feel like if I had known about Dalinar's past before getting to know his present, I would like him far less. His initial flashbacks were great in a "Haha look at this funny barbarian man" but they quickly transition to "This man is an abusive monster and gently caress this guy" before ending on "He is an utterly broken man" and we get to see him put the pieces back together. Chef's kiss.

There's only so much I can say about Part 5. It was incredible. It was action. It was jawdropping. One thing I found interesting about it is, despite the stakes, I actually found it less stressful than the climax to Words of Radiance. I think this was because of the frequent perspective shifts. This isn't a good or bad thing, more of an observation. With both the climax to Words of Radiance and with Oathbringer, I felt like there was this sense of "oh no, everything is hosed" but with Words of Radiance it feels like a "and then we escaped at the last second, the end!" vs Oathbringer being "and then we fought back!" The latter is far less stressful. Both are exciting in their own ways.

One thing I loved about Part 5 was how something would go wrong, the characters would pivot the plans without knowing that those actions were already hosed too. Dalinar and crew were playing checkers while Odium was playing chess. They weren't even playing the same game and Odium's plotting was beyond what they could ever imagine.

Oathbringer definitely kept me guessing too. Leading up to the Perpendicularity moment, I genuinely had no idea how they were going to get the Shadesmar people over.

Let's talk about that scene. The moment of Unity. While I was incredibly stoned the other night, I was imagining how I would want to see that adapted in an anime, and I feel like it would go something like this:

quote:

Dalinar is on his knees before Odium. Odium continues to berate Dalinar and inviting Dalinar to give over his pain. Dalinar is sobbing. He hears the voices and screams of the people from The Rift. It is a chaotic noise that overwhelms him, almost blocking out all sound.

Dalinar flashes to a vision of Nohadon. Nohadon speaks, "You have forgotten an essential part of the journey. The most important step a man can take is not the first one, it is..."

"...the next one." Dalinar hears himself say in his mind.

Glory spren begin to swirl around Dalinar.

Dalinar whispers to himself, "I will take responsibility for what I have done. If I must fall, I will rise each time a better man."

The voices of the dead from the Rift get louder but they all begin to repeat the same words "UNITE THEM!"

Light begins to surge from Dalinar. THE ANIME MUSIC BEGINS

"My pain, you cannot have it." Dalinar growls as he stands to his feet.

Odium looks at him, confused, "What?! What are you doing?!"

Dalinar stands reaching his hands into both realms into the Cognitive and Spiritual Realms. Odium begins to anger, "You are a broken man! A failure! You are NOTHING!"

Dalinar looks at the enraged Odium, "No! I am UNITY!" He slams his hands together, creating a pillar of light. The anime lyrics kick in as Odium curses, shouding for the armies to attack, before stepping back and teleporting away. Kaladin and crew emergy from the pillar.

Apologies for that moment of self-indulgence, I just felt the need to get that out there.

I think one of the reasons that Oathbringer felt less stressful toward the end is that the Perpendicularity moment felt like that was the moment of victory and everything after that was the heroes doing cool poo poo and fighting back. After Dalinar summoned the Perpendicularity, I had zero worry about anything bad happening to our characters. Sure, the fights were tense, but that moment of Unity was such a great triumph that everything after that felt like a victory lap.

Anyway, continuing from there -

Kaladin - The Kaladin vs Amaram fight was the fight I didn't know I wanted but something that felt like it obviously had to happen at some point. I love that Kaladin won the fight but Amaram had that last gasp only to get fuckin wrecked by Rock.

Shallan - Is doing cool poo poo with her lightweaving and I feel like we're starting to see people unlock some true potential of their power.

Adolin - Is a big dumb himbo and I fuckin love him. I'm so glad he brough up the love triangle poo poo and we finally put an end to that.

Jasnah - is so loving cool. I love her.

Renarin - I want more time with Renarin. He is such an interesting and mysterious character and deserves more time in the spotlight.

Szeth - The stuff with Szeth and Lift put a big dumb grin on my face every time they were together. I would loving love a novella of just the two of them going on an adventure together. The most perfect team-up in the series.

Moash - gently caress that guy.


While Oathbringer is not a perfect book (I would argue no book is) and I definitely had a handful of complaints about elements while going through it, those complaints were minor. And honestly, a lot of the things that happened in Part 5 gave me a greater appreciation for those moments of frustration. The literal only weak spot, in my opinion, was the Bridge Four chapters in Part 2. I feel like they both took up a long of time but also weren't enough. I like the idea of diving into details of the members of Bridge Four, but I didn't feel like it was enough for me to really fall in love with the characters presented. If anything, they needed more chapters, but that would have absolutely destroyed the pacing. I would have loved to have a "Tales of Bridge Four" book that was just a bunch of stories of all the members. I feel like, in general, Bridge Four is in an odd position and Brandon struggles to balance their presence.

This book was long. And it felt long. This book felt like far more of a journey than either of the books that came before it and I loved it. It took me just over two months to get through this book, but for some reason it felt like longer - this book feels like something that has been with me for longer than I can remember.

This book left me exhausted. There were so many moments where I felt such overwhelming emotion. What a beautiful triumph.

quote:

The most important words a man can say are, "I will do better." These are not the most important words any man can say. I am a man, and they are what I needed to say.

The ancient code of the Knights Radiant says "journey before destination." Some may call it a simple platitude, but it is far more. A journey will have pain and failure. It is not only the steps forward that we must accept. It is the stumbles. the trials. The knowledge that we will fail. That we hurt those around us.

But if we stop, if we accept the person we are when we fall, the journey ends.

That failure becomes our destination.

To love the journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the next one.

I'm certain some will feel threatened by this record. Some few may feel liberated. Most will simply feel that it should not exist.

I needed to write it anyway.


Next up will be Dawnshard, but I'm actually taking a few weeks break before I start that. Mrs Mordiceius has started Oathbringer recently (and is already through Part 1) so I'm waiting for her to finish it and then we're going to attempt taking on Dawnshard and Rhythm of War at the same time so we can talk about them as we go.

In the end, I think I would still rank Oathbringer below Hero of Ages and that's only because my own personal biases. Mistborn Era 1 was my intro into Sanderson and also my return to reading (or at least listening to) novels. So it will always hold a special plate in my heart that I don't think anything could unseat. If I was to try to strip away that personal nostalgia bias, I would probably put Oathbringer right on the same level with The Final Empire.

pre:
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------COSMERE RANKINGS-------------------------|
|-Novels----------------------------------Novellas & Short Stories-|
|                                                                  |
| The Final Empire                                                 |
| The Hero of Ages                                                 |
| Oathbringer                                                      |
| Words of Radiance                                                |
| The Lost Metal                                                   |
| Shadows of Self                                                  |
| Warbreaker                                                       |
| The Bands of Mourning                                            |
| The Way of Kings                                      Edgedancer |
| The Alloy of Law                       Mistborn - Secret History |
| The Well of Ascension                         The Emperor’s Soul |
|--------------------The Line of Recommendation--------------------|
| Elantris                  Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania |
|                                               The Eleventh Metal |
|                                             The Hope of Elantris |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|

-----Not Listed-----
Dawnshard
Rhythm of War
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
The Sunlit Man
Wind and Truth
Isles of the Emberdark
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
Sixth of the Dusk
White Sands

Mordiceius fucked around with this message at 23:47 on May 17, 2024

CapnAndy
Feb 27, 2004

Some teeth long for ripping, gleaming wet from black dog gums. So you keep your eyes closed at the end. You don't want to see such a mouth up close. before the bite, before its oblivion in the goring of your soft parts, the speckled lips will curl back in a whinny of excitement. You just know it.

Mordiceius posted:

OATHBRINGER - Part 5 & Final Thoughts
Venli is annoying and smug. That's the intended reaction.

Also, now that you know the full context of Dalinar, it's fun to think back of the scene you saw repeated over and over for the first three books, where someone uses the Blackthorn as a rationale for why they won't cooperate with Dalinar -- either because they're Alethi and they think Dalinar is weak now, or because they're not and they don't trust him. It paints all those interactions in a whole new light, now that you know that the Alethi were agitating for the return of an abusive war criminal and the non-Alethi were quite rightfully scared shitless of an untrustworthy monster.

Mordiceius
Nov 10, 2007

If you think calling me names is gonna get a rise out me, think again. I like my life as an idiot!

CapnAndy posted:

Venli is annoying and smug. That's the intended reaction.

Also, now that you know the full context of Dalinar, it's fun to think back of the scene you saw repeated over and over for the first three books, where someone uses the Blackthorn as a rationale for why they won't cooperate with Dalinar -- either because they're Alethi and they think Dalinar is weak now, or because they're not and they don't trust him. It paints all those interactions in a whole new light, now that you know that the Alethi were agitating for the return of an abusive war criminal and the non-Alethi were quite rightfully scared shitless of an untrustworthy monster.


Yeah, I was thinking about the other day. I remember thinking "Wow these Alethi are all war criminal assholes." and the jokes on me because Dalinar is worse than all of them!

Grundulum
Feb 28, 2006
I mean, aren’t the Alethi (spoilers through Oathbringer, I think) literally possessed by a deity that instills them with bloodlust and battle frenzy? It’s been a while since I read Stormlight, so maybe I’m misremembering.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

---FAGNER---
TEAM-MATE

Mordiceius posted:

Yeah, I was thinking about the other day. I remember thinking "Wow these Alethi are all war criminal assholes." and the jokes on me because Dalinar is worse than all of them!

Was worse. That's the key.

Dalinar is an interesting case study about redemption and forgiveness. Especially in the reader's eyes. Introducing reformed Dalinar and contrasting him with all those Alethi "war criminal assholes" as you call them was an extremely inspired move.

But even if one thinks he doesn't deserve forgiveness, it makes sense that while his past continues to gently caress him over, those that do look beyond that past surely do it with the right reason, what with the literal apocalypse going on.

Tunicate
May 15, 2012

Torrannor posted:

Was worse. That's the key.

.



Eh, he's just genociding more socially acceptable targets

CapnAndy
Feb 27, 2004

Some teeth long for ripping, gleaming wet from black dog gums. So you keep your eyes closed at the end. You don't want to see such a mouth up close. before the bite, before its oblivion in the goring of your soft parts, the speckled lips will curl back in a whinny of excitement. You just know it.
Stormlight RPG is being demo'd at GenCon and event registration opened at noon. Turns out demand is high; I couldn't get the pre-gen adventure I wanted and count myself lucky to have nabbed one of the demo slots.

Mordiceius
Nov 10, 2007

If you think calling me names is gonna get a rise out me, think again. I like my life as an idiot!
Oathbringer question - at the end what happened to the Singers that attacked Urithiru? I feel like I missed something. There was talk of them pouring in from the oathgate but next we see is Teft and Bridge Four appearing via the Theylan oathgate. And then at the end, everyone is back in Urithiru and not talking about it. Are we to assume that Teft and crew dispatched them after he swore the second Ideal? I had assumed that the book would end with Urithiru lost but that invasion seems like it is just forgotten in the end?

Grundulum
Feb 28, 2006

Mordiceius posted:

Oathbringer question - at the end what happened to

I am pretty sure this gets explained at some point in the future, because I think I know the answer to your question. So I guess read and maybe find out?

CapnAndy
Feb 27, 2004

Some teeth long for ripping, gleaming wet from black dog gums. So you keep your eyes closed at the end. You don't want to see such a mouth up close. before the bite, before its oblivion in the goring of your soft parts, the speckled lips will curl back in a whinny of excitement. You just know it.

Mordiceius posted:

Oathbringer question - at the end what happened to the Singers that attacked Urithiru? I feel like I missed something. There was talk of them pouring in from the oathgate but next we see is Teft and Bridge Four appearing via the Theylan oathgate. And then at the end, everyone is back in Urithiru and not talking about it. Are we to assume that Teft and crew dispatched them after he swore the second Ideal? I had assumed that the book would end with Urithiru lost but that invasion seems like it is just forgotten in the end?
They were routed by Urithiru's forces, including Teft. It was only a diversionary attack that was meant to draw atention and reinforcements away from Thaylen Field long enough for Dalinar to be turned.

Taffer
Oct 15, 2010


Mordiceius posted:

Oathbringer question - at the end what happened to the Singers that attacked Urithiru? I feel like I missed something. There was talk of them pouring in from the oathgate but next we see is Teft and Bridge Four appearing via the Theylan oathgate. And then at the end, everyone is back in Urithiru and not talking about it. Are we to assume that Teft and crew dispatched them after he swore the second Ideal? I had assumed that the book would end with Urithiru lost but that invasion seems like it is just forgotten in the end?

The attack on the oathgate at Urithiru was just diversionary - it wasn't a real attack, but it was just meant to keep the human coalition from being able to send reinforcements through. The singers knew that all or most of the full radiants with living blades would be in Thaylen City already and very few others can reasonably fight fused. Teft swearing the third ideal and getting a blade is what let them take back the gate from the singers and send forces to Thaylen City.

Nitrousoxide
May 30, 2011

do not buy a oneplus phone



Lost Metal:

Interesting little crew Kelsier's put together. League of Extraordinary Cosmerians.

Moonlight with her stamps is likely Shai from The Emperor's Soul
Codenames is from Sel, specifically Elantris as she appears to have a Seon with which she's using to communicate with Kelsier, though I don't know if she's an Elantrian proper with all their magic.
I don't know where Twin Soul is from. His powers seem new to me.

It's an interesting idea from Sanderson that lets him build an Avengers of the Cosmere so he can pick his favorite characters to cross series.

pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Nitrousoxide posted:

Lost Metal:

Interesting little crew Kelsier's put together. League of Extraordinary Cosmerians.

Moonlight with her stamps is likely Shai from The Emperor's Soul
Codenames is from Sel, specifically Elantris as she appears to have a Seon with which she's using to communicate with Kelsier, though I don't know if she's an Elantrian proper with all their magic.
I don't know where Twin Soul is from. His powers seem new to me.

It's an interesting idea from Sanderson that lets him build an Avengers of the Cosmere so he can pick his favorite characters to cross series.


(TLM) Twin Soul's stuff is new. We'll probably eventually get a book about it, though you will see something like it at one point in another book.

Codename's actual name is said at one point.
(TLM Chapter 39 & Elantris) It's Kaise, Kiin's daughter. Sister of Daorn the little boy Elantrian that they kept hidden. She does not seem to be an Elantrian.

pik_d fucked around with this message at 15:41 on May 20, 2024

Mordiceius
Nov 10, 2007

If you think calling me names is gonna get a rise out me, think again. I like my life as an idiot!

CapnAndy posted:

They were routed by Urithiru's forces, including Teft. It was only a diversionary attack that was meant to draw atention and reinforcements away from Thaylen Field long enough for Dalinar to be turned.

Taffer posted:

The attack on the oathgate at Urithiru was just diversionary - it wasn't a real attack, but it was just meant to keep the human coalition from being able to send reinforcements through. The singers knew that all or most of the full radiants with living blades would be in Thaylen City already and very few others can reasonably fight fused. Teft swearing the third ideal and getting a blade is what let them take back the gate from the singers and send forces to Thaylen City.

Ah, that makes sense. I wish that there was just a single line mentioning that. Because, unless I missed something, that part at the end of Oathbringer goes: Listeners "pouring" out the gate -> Teft swears ideal -> Bridge Four arrives in Thaylen City -> everyone goes back to Urithiru and acts like nothing happened. Maybe there will be a passing mention in the next book or something, maybe not. :shurg:

Potato Salad
Oct 23, 2014

nobody cares


Teft: mentioned

Me: :qq:

Somebody fucked around with this message at 04:33 on May 21, 2024

Nitrousoxide
May 30, 2011

do not buy a oneplus phone



Lost Metal

Hah, remarkable. Shai turned herself into a full Elantrian with her stamp (and a little extra investiture). I really didn't expect that. I thought she was just going to give herself a background in combat. That's quite the powerful tool. I wonder if she expends the investiture when/if she turns back or if she retains it. She's probably the most powerful being on the entire planet currently aside from Harmony or (maybe) Hoid if he's also a Shard like I suspect.

It is a good thing the Shaod was cured already or that would have backfired on her substantially.

Lobsterpillar
Feb 4, 2014

Nitrousoxide posted:

Lost Metal

Hah, remarkable. Shai turned herself into a full Elantrian with her stamp (and a little extra investiture). I really didn't expect that. I thought she was just going to give herself a background in combat. That's quite the powerful tool. I wonder if she expends the investiture when/if she turns back or if she retains it. She's probably the most powerful being on the entire planet currently aside from Harmony or (maybe) Hoid if he's also a Shard like I suspect.

It is a good thing the Shaod was cured already or that would have backfired on her substantially.

if I recall correctly she was/is limited by the amount of unkeyed investiture that she has on hand in the jars, and she wouldn't be an Elantrian and able to use investiture in that way if/when she turns back.

81sidewinder
Sep 8, 2014

Buying stocks on the day of the crash

CapnAndy posted:

Also, now that you know the full context of Dalinar, it's fun to think back of the scene you saw repeated over and over for the first three books, where someone uses the Blackthorn as a rationale for why they won't cooperate with Dalinar -- either because they're Alethi and they think Dalinar is weak now, or because they're not and they don't trust him. It paints all those interactions in a whole new light, now that you know that the Alethi were agitating for the return of an abusive war criminal and the non-Alethi were quite rightfully scared shitless of an untrustworthy monster.

Totally. Excited to eventually re-read and have the full context, particularly in TWoK.

Grundulum posted:

I am pretty sure this gets explained at some point in the future, because I think I know the answer to your question. So I guess read and maybe find out?

I believe this is the case. I think it's implied already, but not fleshed out.

road potato
Dec 19, 2005
New theory, spoilers up to ROW/Lost metal/hints at secret projects

The unkeyed pure investiture got me thinking: somewhere along the way the ghostbloods talk about how one of their interests in Roshar linked to just how prevalent the investiture is for stormlight, how portable it is, and the possibility of getting it off planet. The highstorm is a wildly large source, and it would be great to be able to take that (can someone verify this for me, it's ringing a bell but I'm not sure if I'm misremembering now.)

There's also a WOB about gemstones, and how most of the gemstones on Roshar are from animals gemhearts, but not all- presumably some can occur through normal geologic means. I wonder if the Kings Drop and other long-lasting (or perfect) gemstones are ones that form through normal geology and have a perfect crystal structure. Presumably the money-changers in Shadesmar have access to something similar

Now that we're getting into higher tech: Would a chemically perfect lab-grown diamond (or other gem?) like we have in the real world be able to retain stormlight forever? Is that the new source of portable pure investiture that Roshar needs to protect from?

DarkHorse
Dec 13, 2006

Vroom vroom, BEEP BEEP!
Nap Ghost
Speculation from above:

As it's presented in the books, it's the cut of the gem that determines how well it holds Stormlight. Though if its chemical purity or crystal structure do matter, then lab grown will definitely be superior.

One problem is that Stormlight is still "keyed" to Roshar. It's not pure unkeyed investiture like what the Ghostbloods have access to, but it seems like it's much closer to that than other forms available.

Lawnie
Sep 6, 2006

That is my helmet
Give it back
you are a lion
It doesn't even fit
Grimey Drawer
Is there any reason someone couldn’t soulcast a perfect gemstone?

Also I personally highly doubt material properties actually matter for rosharan gemstones to work. The impurity metals that give Rosharan gems their colors don’t even correspond to the set of Scadrian metals.

CapnAndy
Feb 27, 2004

Some teeth long for ripping, gleaming wet from black dog gums. So you keep your eyes closed at the end. You don't want to see such a mouth up close. before the bite, before its oblivion in the goring of your soft parts, the speckled lips will curl back in a whinny of excitement. You just know it.

Lawnie posted:

Is there any reason someone couldn’t soulcast a perfect gemstone?
Lack of relevant knowledge? Who knows if a hypothetical future Radiant with microscopes could do it.

I do think a lab-grown gemstone would be a perfect gemstone and hold Stormlight forever, though, that makes sense. But that wouldn't let them take it off Roshar, the Investiture is still Connected to the planet.

Half of Dracula
Oct 24, 2008

Perhaps the same could be
RE: perfect gems, I forget when so spoilers up through full RoW Don't some of our science leaders talk about how they SHOULD be finding more perfect or near perfect gems, that most likely the people who knew their real value had been quietly amassing them and thus removing them from circulation

Louisgod
Sep 25, 2003

Always Watching
Bread Liar
It's very odd being caught up with everything Sanderson, I feel completely out of the loop as my mind fights to retain what I've read and not replace what I'm currently reading (Codex Alera 6 book series). I'm really hoping come November I can find an extremely comprehensive video that summarizes everything SA related up to this point because there's no way in hell I can reread SA in time.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

---FAGNER---
TEAM-MATE

Louisgod posted:

It's very odd being caught up with everything Sanderson, I feel completely out of the loop as my mind fights to retain what I've read and not replace what I'm currently reading (Codex Alera 6 book series). I'm really hoping come November I can find an extremely comprehensive video that summarizes everything SA related up to this point because there's no way in hell I can reread SA in time.

Yeah, sometimes I get this feeling, too. Then I browse the coppermind and feel ready to theorize again!

I hope you like the Codex Alera books, I quite enjoyed them. I appreciate that the series has a definite ending. I haven't read the Dresden Files, and I somehow have no desire to do so.

Nitrousoxide
May 30, 2011

do not buy a oneplus phone



Finished The Lost Metal

Overall I didn't really like the ending very much. There was a lot that felt like a rehash of the Hero of Ages with burning the investiture on random poo poo to close the portal being more or less the same burning the Atium before Ruin could get ahold of it, except way less cool since the latter was actually a last stand by people thought to be ordinary, along with the revelation of the 16th ratio having a underlying meaning.

Once the Ghostbloods did their infodump to the reader there really wasn't much in the way of twists and turns, and Wayne's sacrifice was pretty obviously telegraphed throughout the whole book. Though I did like his posthumous shitposting in the epilogue chapters.

Overall I'd probably put this as my second least favorite Mistborn book, after the first one in Era 2. A real let down after the banger that was the Secret Histories.

Back to the last 2.5 books in Stormlight (starting with Oathbringer) + Tress and then I think I'll be all caught up on Cosmere.

rafikki
Mar 8, 2008

I see what you did there. (It's pretty easy, since ducks have a field of vision spanning 340 degrees.)

~SMcD


Half of Dracula posted:

RE: perfect gems, I forget when so spoilers up through full RoW Don't some of our science leaders talk about how they SHOULD be finding more perfect or near perfect gems, that most likely the people who knew their real value had been quietly amassing them and thus removing them from circulation

RoW https://coppermind.net/wiki/Polestone#Perfect_Gemstones

quote:

Jasnah Kholin believes that there are far fewer perfect gemstones around in the Physical Realm than there should be, suggesting that someone may have been gathering them up before their value was more widely known;[37] possibly the Ghostbloods as they are experimenting with transporting Stormlight off-world

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CapnAndy
Feb 27, 2004

Some teeth long for ripping, gleaming wet from black dog gums. So you keep your eyes closed at the end. You don't want to see such a mouth up close. before the bite, before its oblivion in the goring of your soft parts, the speckled lips will curl back in a whinny of excitement. You just know it.

Half of Dracula posted:

RE: perfect gems, I forget when so spoilers up through full RoW Don't some of our science leaders talk about how they SHOULD be finding more perfect or near perfect gems, that most likely the people who knew their real value had been quietly amassing them and thus removing them from circulation
The Honorspren have more than their fair share, so yeah, that's pretty confirmed. The inhabitants of Shadesmar have probably all been hoarding them.

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