SH Part 4: Chapter 31 - Epilogue

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

Part 4

Please keep all discussion to the events and speculation from Chapter 31 - Epilogue.

No spoiler tags required. Though it would be highly appreciated if you Uncheck Add to my Update Feed to avoid accidentally spoiling this for your good read friends.

Discussing events from previous sections is fine.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I think the devices don't work for Megan because she's an epic.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

So I guess Megan is dead. I'm wondering if she made the illusions or if David did without thinking about it. Or the professor somehow? He wasn't there in the elevator shaft.

Maybe the test not only shows if someone is an epic, but if they can use the devices. But Megan seems like an anomaly.

[Sky]

Rob wrote: "So I guess Megan is dead."

Doesn't it just seem that way?

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

So I was right about the devices being BS. I didn't see that it was because the Professor was a gifter though.

Megan is an illusionist, I just didn't make that extra step to her being Firefight.

I also didn't guess Stealheart's weakness.

The idea that using your epic powers effects your personality/aggressiveness is a cool plot point.

All and all, pretty enjoyable. I hope this is only a trilogy though. I don't really want another long series to read.

[Sky]

Yeah, I had guessed the weakness after the secret room in the power plant combined with the whole "he publicizes being evil" thing. I'm curious about how he discovered his own weakness... I mean, unless he also secretly had mind reading, how did he know?

I figured out the Professor once they mentioned the whole power gifting thing not working with other Epics (among other things), since Megan was clearly an Epic, but didn't see her being Firefight or her prime invulnerability.

I can't really see this being more than a trilogy... the first book to point out the problem (using powers turns you into a dick) the second to find a solution (get Megan back because David lurves her) and the third to fix the problem (deal with Calamity, maybe?). At least, that's what I'm hoping for...

[Adam]

I don't usually speculate on too much and just enjoy the ride as I read. Megan being Firefight was was probably the biggest surprise for me though.

Tor.com posted an article trying to guess what Calamity is, check it out if you're into that kind of thing: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/09/stee...

The whole last half of the book was awesome. Tons of action and a very satisfying ending. I thought I might not have liked this due to the Young Adult aspect but Sanderson was able to keep me interested as usual.

Sky wrote: "Yeah, I had guessed the weakness after the secret room in the power plant combined with the whole "he publicizes being evil" thing. I'm curious about how he discovered his own weakness... I mean, u..."

It is definitely going to be a trilogy. The second book is titled "Firefight" and the third is "Calamity" and should be coming out in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

[Dara]

Hmm. Overall okay. The end made up for the first 2/3 of the book. I knew Megan was an Epic but I didn't see Prof being one. Also didn't see Megan being Firefight but it's unsurprising.

I like the way Steelheart went out. Nothing cheesy as Alex said. The power of being an Epic making you evil is lame. Maybe not lame but uninventive.

Conflux being a slave was a shock to me. I did not see that coming. Makes me wonder if/how many other gifter Epic are kept that way and what powers they might have.

Overall, 3.5.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I guess I'm the only one who liked that the Epic powers were making them evil.

Sure humans are evil, but absolute power corrupts absolutely has been done to death....

[Sky]

Rob wrote: "I guess I'm the only one who liked that the Epic powers were making them evil.

Sure humans are evil, but absolute power corrupts absolutely has been done to death...."

I wouldn't have minded it if all Epics had the ability to gift their powers.

Without that it just seems... unbalanced. "Some of you have useful abilities and can make use of them without turning evil. The rest of you just need to practice restraint. Be boring or be evil!"

It just feels a little bit like a cop out.

But then again, maybe the rest of them do have the ability to gift their powers, and they're just choosing to keep it for themselves. Who knows?

[Dara]

Alex, I've read the Mistborn trilogy, Alloy of Law, Way of Kings, and Emperor's Soul.

[Dara]

Most of his stuff aside from WoT since I've never read any WoT. Yeah, it's just not for me.

[Yutg]

Megan as Firefight I did not see that coming I knew she was an Epic after the guard incident in the powerplant but as Firefight. I did wonder though People had been talking about Firefight since the beginning. I mean David said Firefight wasn't as he seems but then that was it. Like the author intentionally dropped the hint and distracted us.

Becoming evil just for using your Epic power I really didn't like that. I didn't see Steelhearts weakness. I thought David was a unique Epic that could negate other Epics and didn't go evil.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I guess I'm just in the minority here. Even though it's my group!

I think another way to think about it is that it's taking the statement absolute power corrupts absolutely literally. No free will involved. It just happens.

I still think it's interesting, despite you all ganging up on me.

[Yutg]

Rob wrote: "I guess I'm just in the minority here. Even though it's my group!

I think another way to think about it is that it's taking the statement absolute power corrupts absolutely literally. No free wil..."

Rob wrote: "I guess I'm just in the minority here. Even though it's my group!

I think another way to think about it is that it's taking the statement absolute power corrupts absolutely literally. No free wil..."

Don't feel too bad.

I'm reminded of a B5 quote: power is like riding a bucking bronco you really don't want to be on it but you really don't want to get off. and be tramples so you hold tighter. There are some changes there but it comes to mind in this.

I just can't accept that every Epic has absolutely no free will. Its just contrary. Look at Conflux he's a very powerful Epic but he's not totally insane. It could be because that he's more of a passive active. Look at prof. when he is just gifting his power on the Tensors he doesn't seem insane.

The best I am willing to accept is that its easier to loose yourself in your power than to control it. Easier to revel in abandon of it than control.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I'm not feeling threatened..just outnumbered :)

[Yutg]

This is all about Megan...

How does everyone feel about Megan being Firefight? Normally I hate traitors with a passion but I just can't do that with her. Maybe its just because she's hot but its like she doesn't know what she's doing. Like she was Mind controlled suffering from dual personality.

Looking back now I really didn't think Megan could be Firefight because if she were she would be like 8 to 10 years old on 0 AC a very impressionable age easy to manipulate.

Since the next book is Firefight I wonder if it would be told from Megan's POV.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

I'm reserving a judgement on Megan until we know more. She's helped the Reckoners for sure. I'm not certain what she's done against them.

It seems like she set them up at the stadium, but it's possible just getting her phone was all Steelheart needed.

[Dara]

It seems to me that when Megan uses her powers, she serves Steelheart then when that fades and she's with the Reckoners, she helps them because she's not being corrupted by using her powers.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

It does seem that way, but I don't think we know for sure.

[Bill]

Finally a nice quick read. I am retracting my earlier comment that I would be dissapointed if anyone in the reckoners turned out to be an epic. Great action throughout the book and good twist at the end.

Thinking that maybe calamity is fundamentally evil and by using their powers the epics connect into its evilness or there is a supreme epic who is gifting powers from calamity.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

That's a cool theory Bill.

[Dara]

After reading Mpauli's post in the part 2 thread, I wonder if there are stealer or Sapper Epics if there are gifters. I wonder if there's an Epic that absorbs powers for a short period of time or can absorb and store a certain amount of powers until they run out.

[Mpauli]

That was a nice fun read, nothing too special. Overall enjoyable, but I had a morale issue. The whole book reads very revengeful and it has that undertone that taking revenge into your own hands is totally okay.
I know, I know, Steelheart is evil and there is no law enforcement to go to, but nontheless the whole revenge based character motivation didn't sit right with me.
To his credit, I think Sanderson or at least an editor noticed this as well and therefore he decided to state explicitly in the epilogue that it wasn't revenge based, but to fullfill David's father's dream. But that felt a bit plugged on.

The Megan/Firefight revelation was really cool. Megan was by far my favourite character, so I'm looking forward to the next installment. I don't think Sanderson will do her pov, but at least it seems that she's going to be central.

The gifter powers seem interesting. I like the potential they have for the future, cause for a superpowered book, there were a lot of gun-fights.^^

I didn't see the fear weakness coming. In the end I was more on a wizard of Oz trip, where I thought Steelheart would be somehow less than everybody expected, but was abe to hide it well.
But the fear solution was a satisfying explanation.