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Brutor Fartknocker posted:Coppermind also has (TLM spoiler) Wax down as a full mistborn now so the wiki editors at least think that's confirmed canon. I thought that was explicitly stated in the text of The Lost Metal, though? It was certainly the impression I left the book with.
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Dec 8, 2022 02:01
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Everyone posted:Depending on how wide-ranging Sanderson's cosm/multiverse is, consider that The Reckoners series takes place in a modern world with the possibility of supergenius as an Epic superpower Sanderson has said that any story of his that takes place on any variety of Earth (up to and including Skyward, I believe) is not part of the Cosmere.
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Jan 15, 2023 00:49
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Brutor Fartknocker posted:The preview chapter for the first of the sun book is pretty wild, rough reading knowing we won't have any more for a loooong time. How are people supposed to know if that spoiler is safe to click on?
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Feb 23, 2023 14:40
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Calidus posted:Does does any fantasy author actually write a not terrible sex scene? I would imagine it’s highly dependent on your own viewpoint whether a sex scene is steamy or cringeworthy. (There is also an entire genre devoted to that stuff—surely those authors can write a good scene for at least some people, but I am not willing at present to do the research to see if the hit rate is higher over there.)
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Mar 25, 2023 15:22
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Taffer posted:But I mostly only read garbage scifi books so my bar for good prose is probably quite low If you want garbage sci-fi, try to find The Quantum Connection by Travis Taylor. Spoiler/teaser that, if I recall, happens quite early in the book: the protagonist gains access to a machine that can do literally anything he thinks of, and he uses it immediately to give himself the body of an Olympian god and an enormous dick. My friend still hasn’t forgiven me for recommending that book to him. In fairness, I may have undersold the (pulp) quality of the book.
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Mar 25, 2023 23:50
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Subvisual Haze posted:Does Sanderson see his unusual no-pain state as a blessing from God that all men would desire? Uh, yes? Isn’t eternal freedom from suffering and pain literally the reward in most religions for a virtuous life?
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Apr 9, 2023 06:03
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Mr Hootington posted:I'm really enjoying Sanderson's body of work. He is like and inverse Feist. Sanderson started weak, but each of his books is better than the last. I can't wait for the new books this year. It’s entertaining to interact with people in different subforums. I may disagree with you elsewhere on SA, but completely agree here.
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Apr 11, 2023 00:33
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I finally got to read Tress. I think it’s my new introduction book to the Cosmere. It was a pleasure to read from start to finish, and while it left me wanting more the book ended exactly where it needed to. The only drawback I can think of for using Tress rather than Mistborn/Warbreaker/TWoK as the Cosmere intro is that the book throws it right in your face that this world is one of many, and that there are lots of different settings for stories to take place. So you don’t get the wonderment of “Wait a second, that’s two different Sanderson books with a character named Hoid. What’s up with that?” Given that the Cosmere is one of the biggest selling points to Sanderson’s work, though, I don’t know how many people really go in blind on that front these days. And even though the book throws a bunch of names and ideas at you, if this is your point of entry into the series it’s essentially background noise. Like the TWoK prologue, or the WoT prologue, you can figure out what’s happening even if you don’t fully understand all the references; and rereading the book later will give you a whole new appreciation for all the things you missed the first time around. As for the writing, there were a few things that took me out of the book. The narrator makes several references to technology that are, to my knowledge, the first times we’ve ever seen those things mentioned in the Cosmere: the laptop line, in particular, caught me off guard. I’m not sure if that was lack of attention to points of view and limited knowledge, if the narrator does in fact know what those items are, or if I’ve missed similar references to such things in previous books. And now a question about the book: what did Hoid get in exchange for accepting the curse? The ability to use Aons? I thought he already had access to pretty much every magic system we’ve seen to date in the Cosmere.
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May 1, 2023 15:53
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Echophonic posted:Fair enough, yeah. I forgot he's mentioned so explicitly. I'm not sure it passes my bar of "unacceptable spoiler," but I'm a bit more lax with simple "a thing happened" sorts of spoilers. I want to know how things got to that point now. This is basically my thinking in the matter. Further, the offending line really only hits if you already know the Cosmere lore in question. Otherwise it’s just one of a large number of world-building details thrown into Tress, that you might not even remember by the time it comes up again in the Mistborn series. (There was a lot of chat in Tress about Luhel bonds and Nahel bonds, and I’ll be damned if I understood any of it. I fancy myself a careful reader, so if that went sailing over my head I could see the one-off mention of Sazed and his actions post Hero of Ages also failing to land in people’s long-term memory.) I’m putting my fictitious money where my online mouth is, though, and having my daughter read Tress rather than Mistborn or Warbreaker as her Cosmere introduction. If Tress hooks her, I’ll suggest Mistborn, and then I will ask at the end if reading Tress first took anything away. So check back on this thread in a few months for a report.
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May 3, 2023 21:22
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Artonos posted:The first one was by far the best. I never thought the sequels lived up to the 1st. And it wasn't even close. I agree, but at least we got to read those sequels. Lookin’ at you, Rothfuss.
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May 14, 2023 00:53
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pik_d posted:Most recently I read through the Wheel of Time after watching the 1st season of the show which led straight into Brandon Sanderson's stuff of his own. Towers of Midnight was very powerful. That was my introduction to Sanderson also (albeit years and years before the TV show). Knowing what I do now about his approach to magic and world building, he was absolutely the right person to finish Wheel of Time given that Jordan couldn’t. Please keep posting thoughts on Mistborn as you go through it. I don’t care to watch reaction videos, but reading reaction takes of books is a lot of fun.
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May 16, 2023 22:22
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As usual for a first time reader, some guesses are good, some are not good, and some are fabulously incorrect. But we’ve all been there, and we are definitely not going to spoil the ride by telling you which guesses fall into which categories!
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May 30, 2023 17:20
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quote:I will note that I don't actually understand what a shard really is I don’t think you’re supposed to at this point, to be honest. You’ve got a bit of an edge having already read other Cosmere stuff, and it shows up in places like this: references and namedrops Sanderson makes that you have the context to say “hey, I recognize that word/concept”.
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Jun 11, 2023 18:52
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I think you are going to have a blast going back and seeing how your predictions match what happens.
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Jun 17, 2023 20:07
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socialsecurity posted:Tress certainly has a feel to it, while I enjoyed it I'm not certain I would ever want him to make another in that vein. Having read both Tress and Alcatraz 1-5 in short order, I recommend you stay away from the latter.
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Jun 20, 2023 14:17
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They were also miserable to deal with in e-book form. It was amusing how the text in a couple of places was changed to match the format of the book you were using. But I would have liked to see whatever pattern Alcatraz mentioned that used the font size and line width to make a shape using characters on the page. Couldn’t get it to work with my electronic copy. Overall it’s Sanderson’s most juvenile work, by far. That doesn’t make it bad, but it does mean you can’t go in expecting Stormlight, Mistborn, or even Tress and come away happy. In terms of the relationship between narrator and reader, though, it felt a lot like Tress but dialed to 11.
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Jun 20, 2023 16:41
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Torrannor posted:Full Hero of Ages spoiler: Seeing all these reactions, was I the only one who didn't immediately figure out the identity of the Hero of Ages?? Not alone. I was very late coming to the realization you have under the spoiler tags.
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Jun 27, 2023 23:37
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seaborgium posted:I liked this latest one. I did not like the wizard one, but this one seemed to work a lot better. The wizard one felt like the opening act of a longer story, except this one act was padded to 200% of its necessary length. I am far more interested in what happens after the nominal end of the book.
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Jul 3, 2023 05:41
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RC Cola posted:Literally every cosmere book is anime. You are aware of that right? But not every anime is good.
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Jul 9, 2023 22:39
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Spoilers for Stormlight 1-4: The Szeth prologue is there because it’s an incredibly important moment in the development of that world. It’s why Sanderson keeps going back to it in each book, giving us a different point of view and peeling back more layers about what seemed to be, what actually was, and what wasn’t happening. From an authorial standpoint, I know why the Szeth prologue is there. What I don’t know is if there was a way to give that same information without tossing the reader into a blender of capitalized nouns and worldbuilding details. What alternatives are there?
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Jul 21, 2023 19:51
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Mordiceius posted:Though... you could argue that Way of Kings actually has the highest anime frequency in just the world building. I appreciate this comparison. If it wasn’t a conscious decision by Sanderson, it’s certainly a case of convergent evolution.
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Aug 5, 2023 05:59
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It’s a lot of fun getting the thoughts of first-time readers. I personally am terrible at pacing myself with new series, at taking the time to make predictions, and at writing them down for later comparison. Thanks to both pik_d and Mordiceius for letting us share their ride.
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Aug 7, 2023 01:14
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Torrannor posted:I find this quite remarkable, and approve. Strong agree. That topic you included under your spoiler text is indeed common, but I do not mind in the slightest if that is the path Sanderson chooses to take since it mirrors a lot of peoples’ actual lives (not really RoW spoilers, but covered because the topic was initially tagged): sometimes people are just too busy for romance, or they would be interested but don’t know how to go about starting anything, or, or… Or maybe that one character is just incredibly unattractive and has a face not even a mother could love..
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Aug 7, 2023 19:43
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Torrannor posted:General Stormlight Archive spoiler: Is it a good idea to outright tell the new readers that Kaladin has clinical depression? I think it’s the equivalent of saying “give (TV series) a few episodes before you judge it”. Sure, some people power through those episodes and fall in love with the show anyway. Others might be turned off by the exploratory stuff, while everyone is finding their footing, even though they’d enjoy the rest of the show.
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Aug 10, 2023 20:32
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I hope that Sanderson is consulting with professional ethicists, because what you’re all describing is (technically spoilers through RoW) the trolley problem at a grand scale. This has been discussed extensively across history.
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Aug 14, 2023 01:39
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pik_d posted:There is so little book left, and so much left that I don't know. You are less than one book into a ten-book series, which itself has accompanying novellas and sister series to explore the universe and its magic systems. It is wholly unsurprising that this is the case for you. That would compare to, what, the first third of Mistborn: The Final Empire? In other words, strap in, enjoy the ride, and please keep journaling as you read.
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Aug 14, 2023 21:32
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In which Hurricane Hilary does its best Everstorm impression (linked from CSPAM):Vox Nihili posted:some cool shots of the storm over the desert tho
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Aug 21, 2023 13:07
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Full spoilers for Wheel of Time and Stormlight: I hope the “Shallan’s mother was a radiant” theory was true (just like Taimandred was) that Sanderson pivots to something like “Shallan is the radiant herself” in a fit of pique that his readers figured it out early (just like Jordan did with Taimandred) and that we find notes to this effect much later (just like we did with Jordan).
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Aug 22, 2023 00:26
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I feel like saying “all Stormlight spoilers” isn’t sufficient for material that hasn’t been published yet, even though that’s technically true. Discussion of unreleased book 5 info seems like it should be called out differently than material from earlier books.
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Aug 22, 2023 05:36
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Mordiceius posted:This is just a minor question for WoK and I don't need detailed spoilers but am more just curious in a yes/no way - It almost doesn’t matter what the end of this question is. The answer will be “yes” either in this book, a future book, or according to book signing interviews.
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Aug 24, 2023 22:43
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I have a sort-of related question: is Gandalf the White supposed to be the same entity as Gandalf the Grey? Are there things that one of them could/would do that the other couldn’t/wouldn’t? Based on the name, we the reader are supposed to attach all of our previous knowledge and expectations to version2, but it’s been so long since I interacted with that story I can’t remember if we eventually get disabused of that notion.
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Aug 25, 2023 02:30
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CapnAndy posted:So there you go, there's your answer. That is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to write all this out.
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Aug 25, 2023 03:07
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CapnAndy posted:(and it's pretty obvious) It’s been so long since I read that book your obvious point sailed right over my head. I should probably do a reread at some point.
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Aug 28, 2023 00:46
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pik_d posted:not 100% sure if … forgetting … is the boon or curse These are two diametrically opposed things, though. If it’s the boon, why would he have asked for it? If it’s the curse, what could the boon have been?
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Sep 4, 2023 19:33
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silvergoose posted:My 8yo just finished tearing through the three extant Reckoners books and is eagerly awaiting the next one. I read and quite enjoyed Mistborn, but I don't necessarily know how they compare. I was always thinking Mistborn would be more like early teens kind of fare? But if Reckoners is only a bit behind in theme and language, maybe it'd sooner. Any thoughts on the relative age levels of the two series in question? I’d put the Skyward and Alcatraz series on similar levels to the first Reckoner’s book, with the caveat that it’s been a minute since I read Steelheart. I recall Rithmatist being comparable in reading level to Mistborn, but with much more kid-approachable topics. (And when are we getting the Rithmatist sequel that was teed up for us?  )
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Sep 6, 2023 07:19
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Mordiceius, don’t feel the need to apologize for not being pik_d. God knows I wasn’t, and I still wish I had taken notes like you’re doing. If you stick with the series it’ll be neat to compare your knowledge after Rhythm of War with the questions you’re asking here.
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Sep 12, 2023 23:50
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CapnAndy posted:Maybe it wasn't as obvious as I thought? Surprising, that. For the record, I got it. I also  ed at the request that (big spoilers, don’t you dare click until you’re done with the first four books) Elkohar be assassinated. Ask and ye shall receive
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Sep 13, 2023 04:43
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This is such a minor thing compared to the predictions and thoughts you all are posting, but I’m amused that this style of tracker is gaining traction for new readers in the thread.
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Sep 16, 2023 16:58
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Mordiceius posted:often repeated use of terms in a very "wink wink nudge nudge we're going to keep saying this without explaining it - aren't you curious what it means?!?!?!?!?" Different property and medium, but my wife is going through this exact thing with Amazon’s adaptation of the Wheel of Time. I don’t mind explaining some things, but eventually there needs to be trust that the show (or books in your case) will explain these terms once they become more than just set dressing. Or you realize you’re reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen and you get only what you can figure out by the end of ten books.
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Sep 18, 2023 19:07
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Mordiceius posted:WoK note - Come back to this later and see if you’re right.
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Sep 22, 2023 19:11
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