Series: Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson ("Way of Kings")

[Travis]

*frantically multiplies .3 times 1303*

I'm typically not a huge fan of fantasy covers and don't really care for either Wok's or WoR's, but the Oathbringer cover is very exciting.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Kim wrote: "Allison wrote: "Happy Release Day!!! "

Just put it on my Kindle. Will I get to it this year? Maybe."

I'm trying to wait until I finish Edgedancer so I am not tempted to skip it. But I'm pretty sure this month r belong to Brandon.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Travis wrote: "*frantically multiplies .3 times 1303*

I'm typically not a huge fan of fantasy covers and don't really care for either Wok's or WoR's, but the Oathbringer cover is very exciting."

The fantasy-ish one or the minmalist one?

[Mason]

Allison wrote: "Happy Release Day!!!

Time for more questions. I say you should be safe looking around 30% (Travis.) into Words of Radiance.

[spoilers removed]"

Happy Release Day :)

Re (view spoiler)[ I would really, really enjoy it if Jasnah was somehow still alive. I find it unlikely but Sanderson has surprised me before.

I do think there are other Knights, don't know who they are yet though. Especially because there were so many before the desolations. I have an ongoing suspicion that Dalinar might already have a spren. Guess I will just have to wait and see. (hide spoiler)]

[Hank]

Just started Words of Radiance

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hank wrote: "Just started Words of Radiance"

Welcome to the party!

[Hank]

Allison wrote: "Hank wrote: "Just started Words of Radiance"

Welcome to the party!"

Sweet! I will bring the Horneater Lager, no sissy yellow wine for me. Anyone soulcasting nachos?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Women's food be hung out in a highstorm. I'll bring the curry--I'm sweet enough as is. ;)

[Travis]

I'll take my food with the shells (but without the dung), thank you very much.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Travis wrote: "I'll take my food with the shells (but without the dung), thank you very much."

You got it, gon'!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hank wrote: "Allison wrote: "Hank wrote: "Just started Words of Radiance"

Welcome to the party!"

Sweet! I will bring the Horneater Lager, no sissy yellow wine for me. Anyone soulcasting nachos?"

Cheese may well be one of the ten essences...

water, blood, light, stone are in there for sure. Is grain one?
Or just food in general? Anyone know the other five? Is cheese in there?

[Elena]

Allison wrote: "Happy Release Day!!!

Time for more questions. I say you should be safe looking around 30% (Travis.) into Words of Radiance.

[spoilers removed]"

Aaand I'm already done with WoR, so I can't really say much without revealing the stuff that only happens towards the very end of the book. I can only say that I thoroughly enjoyed it! I might have a small complaint or two (though right now I can't remember what the other one was, haha), which I might mention when most people are done with WoR, but all in all I was really happy with it and with what I found out by the end: I'd guessed some of the things, but was astonished by others. I'm now reading Edgedancer in hopes of getting my hands (time and life permitting) on Oathbringer in the nearest future.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Elena wrote: "Allison wrote: "Happy Release Day!!!

Time for more questions. I say you should be safe looking around 30% (Travis.) into Words of Radiance.

[spoilers removed]"

Aaand I'm already done with WoR, ..."

You can of course wait, if you prefer. Or you can use spoiler tags so I can geek out with you! And others, too, I know some folks are loitering even though they've already read and aren't re-reading.

[Rob]

Allison wrote: "And others, too, I know some folks are loitering even though they've already read and aren't re-reading."

You rang?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Rob wrote: "Allison wrote: "And others, too, I know some folks are loitering even though they've already read and aren't re-reading."

You rang?"

:) Wanna tell us in a word how Oathbringer is so far?

[Rob]

Allison wrote: ":) Wanna tell us in a word how Oathbringer is so far?"

I'm enjoying it, but I definitely think I could have benefited from the re-read you guys are doing. Things are slowly coming back to me the more I read.

Also, between life getting busy and my book not showing up yesterday >.< I'm not as far along as I'd like to be (I read Chapters 13-18 last night thanks to Tor's free chapters).

Of course it's going to be a few years for Stormlight 4, so I'm not going to rush through it either.

Are you planning to discuss Oathbringer in this thread too? I'm discussing it with my GR Side Reads group, but I can post some comments here in spoiler tags as well.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Yep! Feel free!

[Rob]

Comments through Chapter 18 of Oathbringer

(view spoiler)[
These comments are through Chapter 18:





So I'm definitely a bit fuzzy on a bunch of things from the last two books. I probably should have reread them, but it's a lot of reading.

I vaguely remember Shallan realizing she killed her Mother when she became a Radiant, but a lot of that is hazy.

I don't really remember her alternate persona at all. It seems that she's using it to not only practice her lightweaving but also to investigate the murders.

Andollin is feeling guilty/blaming himself for the murder of one of the High Lords (Sardeas?). I don't really remember that at all.

And now a second person has been killed in the exact same way. He doesn't seem to have done that murder however.

Interestingly Shallan uncovered another double murder where the second murder is an exact duplicate of the first. Is there some sort of Stormlight user who can duplicate murders? It's very strange.

Meanwhile Kaladin stops home, and doesn't quite get the reception he expected. He showed off his shiny new Sprenblade and took over things. He's let himself be captured by the "Voidbringers" who don't seem at all like he thought, and not he appears to be helping them to escape/hide.

There was a lot of Dalinar too, but for me the big takeaway so far is that he can suddenly hear his wife's name/remember her. He did something during his sparring, I wonder if that caused him to erase/heal the block on his memory?
(hide spoiler)]

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

(Oh, also, Rob, there's a Stormlight Archive wiki that has a good, quick synopsis of the events to date for each book. It's pretty useful, I think).

[Rob]

Thanks. I also have some Tor recap thing book marked, but of course I totally forgot to read it before starting.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Rob wrote: "Thanks. I also have some Tor recap thing book marked, but of course I totally forgot to read it before starting."

Ain't that always the way.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I caved and got the audiobook for WoR. Yasnah? Not Jazznah?

[Mason]

Allison wrote: "I caved and got the audiobook for WoR. Yasnah? Not Jazznah?"

Lol. That’s how I felt when I joined this group. I’ve listened to both so far and when I saw all of you writing the names out, it blew my mind.

I really enjoy the audio books though. They do a very good job with all the characters. I find their accents with the bridgemen hilarious at times.

[Travis]

My download of the audio just came in from the library, so I'm going back and forth between that and the actual book. I'm only up to chapter 24, but already the tension is killing me.

Do any of you have favorite characters first introduced in WoR? I am really enjoying Pattern.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Travis wrote: "My download of the audio just came in from the library, so I'm going back and forth between that and the actual book. I'm only up to chapter 24, but already the tension is killing me.

Do any of yo..."

I know, Pattern and Syl are lovely. I love them as much as daemons from His Dark Materials!

I also really like Zahel and his terrible understanding of idioms--it is always great for me to have multi-linguals have actual multingual problems.

[Elena]

Allison wrote: "I caved and got the audiobook for WoR. Yasnah? Not Jazznah?"

Haha, right? I think names-wise, what blew my mind most when I saw the actual spelling after listening to the audio books was Urithiru. I'd imagined it to be something like Uratheeru.

[Elena]

Allison wrote: "Travis wrote: "My download of the audio just came in from the library, so I'm going back and forth between that and the actual book. I'm only up to chapter 24, but already the tension is killing me..."

Totally agree about all three! I love Syl, and Zahel is a very colourful character. I'm afraid I'm not so crazy about another newly introduced character from the interludes - Lift. I'm ok with her in small doses, but a lot of her and the style of writing associated with her tends to make me annoyed, which, sadly, meant that I didn't enjoy Edgedancer nearly as much as the novels.
I'll get to posting the spoilery comments about WoR when I'm on pc. For now I'm excited to start Oathbringer!

[Travis]

Elena wrote: "I'm afraid I'm not so crazy about another newly introduced character from the interludes - Lift."

I haven't gotten to Lift yet. Just through the first set of Interludes (a structure which, I think, works really well for this narrative).

In the first set, I enjoyed all of the POVs, especially Eshonai, though I'm hoping she gets more of a fully realized character.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Travis wrote: "Elena wrote: "I'm afraid I'm not so crazy about another newly introduced character from the interludes - Lift."

I haven't gotten to Lift yet. Just through the first set of Interludes (a structure ..."

I was just going to not respond, but I don't want you to think we're ignoring you. I am sitting *very intense and still* containing the things I wanna say. Eshonai is a great character. I was really happy for you that you also got to see the parts of the story next that felt most intriguing. It totally changes the story, yeah?

[Travis]

Allison wrote: "It totally changes the story, yeah?
"

Yes! Yes it does! In so many amazing possible directions.

[Travis]

Allison wrote: "Happy Release Day!!!

Time for more questions. I say you should be safe looking around 30% into Words of Radiance."

(view spoiler)[Such a great question: Who will be the other Knights Radiant? I keep wondering if Dalinar's dreams are his spren's attempts to communicate with him, but I'm very unsure. I guess, alas, it's not going to be the elderly cobbler, whose brief appearance was delightful even if his theology was horrifying. There was no body, so I am holding out hope of Jasnah's return ... but realizing it may be very thin hope. (hide spoiler)]

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Travis wrote: "Allison wrote: "Happy Release Day!!!

Time for more questions. I say you should be safe looking around 30% into Words of Radiance."

[spoilers removed]"

I share your hope and sorrow. Re my thoughts to the other question at 30% (view spoiler)[I think Dalinar is something, possibly sprenless? or connected to a big spren like the Nightwatcher or the Stormfather? There's something about Renarin that makes me think he's gonna be chosen for something. And Elhokar hinted in WoK that he can see the Cryptics. I'd imagine we haven't met all the Knights yet, but from the set we've seen so far, and don't know to be bonded to spren, those are my guesses :) (hide spoiler)]

[Travis]

Allison wrote: "Travis wrote: "Allison wrote: "Happy Release Day!!!

Time for more questions. I say you should be safe looking around 30% into Words of Radiance."
."

(view spoiler)[Yes to everything you're saying. I keep stopping myself from glancing forward to the headings at the opening of new sections, hoping to see Renarin listed as a POV. (hide spoiler)]

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I would like to submit that the Szeth chapters have the best opening lines.

[Mason]

Finally finished WoR. . . Holy S***!

Putting my comments behind the spoiler just in case:
(view spoiler)[ To be honest, I was a little nervous about this book because it was the second in the series and some series have the tendency to fall a bit from the first. Fortunately, this book did not. It may have even exceeded the first in my opinion. The ending of the book was amazing and had everything I was hoping for (I'm sure you will be as surprised as I was). When I attended the Oathbringer signing, a few people told me to "wait until the end", now I understand what the fuss was about. The last 20% was heart-pounding action and thrill. Can't wait for what's next.

Debating if I should read Edgedancer first or jump straight in Oathbringer. I did enjoy Lift's portion and that seems to be a make it or break it for Edgedancer. (hide spoiler)]

Are you guys and gals reading Edgedancer or jumping straight into Oathbringer?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I am wavering. I told myself I'd read Edgedancer first but IT'S SO SHINY, this Oathbringer book. What are you doing? Elena, you've read Edgedancer already, yeah? Rob? Kim? Others?

[Rob]

I read Edgedancer a few months back, so far it hasn't felt like a prerequisite to Oathbringer, but I'm not too deep into the book.

I haven't been reading it much because my copy got lost in shipping and I'm waiting for a second shipment to arrive. I'm slowly reading the free chapters while I wait...

Assuming my book shows up tomorrow as promised I suspect I'll have it read by the end of next week (which is a crazy pace for me)

[Elena]

Re Edgedancer, to be as non-spoilery as I can, I'll just say that it really doesn't take long to read, compared to the novels in the series it's in fact tiny, haha.

Its main character Lift, as mentioned in the author's note, is going to be important at some point later in the series. Besides, the development of one other character who undergoes a significant change, also happens in Edgedancer. Sanderson himself advises to read it in the foreword to Oathbringer, so I'm guessing it's useful to do so. Although he also mentions that Lift is one of his favourite characters, so he just might be biased, haha.

Although I didn't enjoy Edgedancer nearly as much as WoK and WoR, I liked the final part of the novella, where important things happen, and I found the setting really interesting as we get to see the kingdom of Tashikk there. Also, Wyndle is fun.

All in all I'd say - read it. Lots of people end up loving Lift, I think I'm actually more of an exception here. And she and the other character I'm not naming are set to appear in Oathbringer. (Which, btw, is already awesome, and I'm only on chapter 5!)

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Okay, okay. Yes, Mason, I am sticking to my original plan. Elena has convinced me.

[Mason]

Thanks for the insight. I am now convinced as well :)

[Travis]

Okay. Me too. I'm trying to track Edgedancer from a library, but there are few copies. Is the same book also printed in Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection?

[Travis]

Never mind, I think I answered my own question as a "yes" -- which means there's a copy waiting nearby!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

yes, Travis! glad you found it :)

[Elena]

Travis wrote: "Elena wrote: "I'm afraid I'm not so crazy about another newly introduced character from the interludes - Lift."

I haven't gotten to Lift yet. Just through the first set of Interludes (a structure ..."

Eshonai is such a fascinating character! As soon as she appeared in the interludes, I definitely wanted to learn more of her, and to see the story from her/their point of view! And post-WoR spoiler (view spoiler)[I don't remember anymore if the discussion about the prologues to WoK and WoR was here or somewhere else entirely, but having seen Szeth's and Jasnah's POVs of Gavilar's murder in the first two books I was super curious about whose will be next - I thought it might be Dalinar's. But I was so happy and excited to see it was Eshonai's! There's hope we'll learn more about the parshendi side of the story! (hide spoiler)]

[Elena]

A few impressions of varying spoilerity (is there an accepted noun for that actually?) after finishing WoR.

I guess it's not a spoiler to say that, correct me if I'm wrong, in WoR we learn Shallan's story through her flashbacks, since you realise that will be revealed early on in the book. But the way it was done was probably the most obvious complaint about the book for me: I felt like it was too drawn-out. To me the truth of what had happened to her seemed relatively obvious, at least of the act itself without all the details of course, so it was a little annoying how long it took, how long we were kept in the dark before the final reveal. Quite often during those flashbacks or during the scenes where "Shallan's simply stopped listening" I just wanted to say "Come on, just admit it already!" I'm not being harsh, at least trying not to be, I understand the trauma of most of her life and sympathise. Just that, unlike other reveals in the series so far, this one was too expected for me to have to wait for it for so long.

Now, to the more spoilery bits re the ending.
(view spoiler)[I so did not expect Jasnah to actually live! It was just an omg moment! It might have something to do with me being new to Sanderson's writing and kinda channeling Martin here, but I'd been expecting characters to die from the start of the series, and having nervous ticks about who that would be. So I just accepted that she was dead, and mourned her loss, and went on. So the scene at the end with not one but two awesome characters I love and want to see as much as possible of - Jasnah and Wit - was amazingly cool beyond words. Also, re other Kinghts, I was suspecting something about Renarin for quite a while, and I'm happy he's one of them and looking forward to learning what he can do. And Dalinar bonding with Stormfather was an equal lump of incredible and awesome. (hide spoiler)]

[Elena]

About the title and the fantasy-ish cover of Oathbringer.
(view spoiler)[So after I finished the first two books in the series I was wondering about the title of the third. I knew Oathbringer was the name of Dalinar's shardblade he'd ended up giving to Sadeas, so I suppose the blade itself will play a role in this book. Then I thought about both WoK and WoR in fact being actual books within the world of the series, and started wondering if Oathbringer, too, would turn out to be a book. And - bam! - here I start reading Oathbringer and see that it is! And written by one of the characters I'm most fascinated by so far! Yay! Who, after taking a very good look at and a thought about, I also realised is featured on the cover! Another yay, but without an exclamation mark this time, just to turn it all down a bit. It's still obvious I'm excited about Oathbringer, isn't it?
(hide spoiler)]

[Elena]

I am also humbled by the responsibility of having convinced some of you guys to read Edgedancer. Hope you end up enjoying it - or at least thinking it was worth it. :)

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Elena wrote: "About the title and the fantasy-ish cover of Oathbringer.
So after I finished the first two books in the series I was wondering about the title of the third. I knew Oathbringer was the name of Dal..."

This made me happy to read ^^

Also, if I am glad to have read Edgedancer, I intend to give myself all the credit for being wise in my decisions. If I don't, I intend to blame you fully ;-)

I am kidding, of course, you made compelling arguments! While I'm sure Rob is also right that it's likely fine to skip it (as is the case with all side stories in most series) I want all the facts as they unfold.

[Rob]

I wasn't suggesting you skip it! I said I hadn't gotten to a point in the story where it felt required.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Rob wrote: "I wasn't suggesting you skip it! I said I hadn't gotten to a point in the story where it felt required."

uh huh. Sure, Rob. Trying to ruin everything for us. Spiteful. (WOR spoiler) (view spoiler)[What next? Going to try to summon a storm from the wrong direction? (hide spoiler)] If you're gonna try to voidbring you're too late. Consider it voidbrought.

=P