Arec I did look after you mentioned it and it really does! I totally forgot to say something. That's such an awesome find. Wonder purelake being the eye will have further significance.
The Way of Kings: Re-read
- Thread starter Arecias Dezell
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- #62
After getting a "User not authorised" and just spending an hour deleting and re-adding the book, I finally got it to work
Yay Toral Gaidin!
Can't wait until we're officially done with the first section so the conversation picks up!
Another totally random question I have: anyone know what the deal is with the double "son" in Szeth-son-son-Vallano? Is it that Vallano was his grandfather? Or both his father and grandfather were named Vallano? Or something else entirely? Doubt it's important, but it makes me wonder every time I read his name.
Can't wait until we're officially done with the first section so the conversation picks up!
Another totally random question I have: anyone know what the deal is with the double "son" in Szeth-son-son-Vallano? Is it that Vallano was his grandfather? Or both his father and grandfather were named Vallano? Or something else entirely? Doubt it's important, but it makes me wonder every time I read his name.
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- #64
I always assumed that it meant his grandfather was Vallano 
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- #65
Were the 3 men at Purelake looking for Wit? They said he has white hair, a clever tongue, and arrow-like face, and he sometimes dyes his hair.
I forgot about Adolin and his problem juggling women. His conversation with Dalinar and then Wit about his trouble with women had me cracking up
I forgot about Adolin and his problem juggling women. His conversation with Dalinar and then Wit about his trouble with women had me cracking up
Were the 3 men at Purelake looking for Wit? They said he has white hair, a clever tongue, and arrow-like face, and he sometimes dyes his hair.
I forgot about Adolin and his problem juggling women. His conversation with Dalinar and then Wit about his trouble with women had me cracking up
Yes they are. Wit is Hoid, and they mention him by name at the end of that chapter.
And yeah. Adolin and his lady troubles crack me up, especially since their society has some puritanical aspects to it.
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- #67
I missed that they mentioned Hoid by name, I must be tired, I had to go back and re-read the end of that chapter twice to find it. I noticed that the caption at the beginning of Ch 13 mentions the Cosmere
I like that Wit says that Renarin is less fragile then Dalinar thinks.
I like that Wit says that Renarin is less fragile then Dalinar thinks.
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Taika Vinh
Aes Sedai
I always assumed that it meant his grandfather was Vallano
I always assumed that too. But was it just the Shinovar way, or was there more to it? I have a very vague feeling that it was something about shame (being Truthless shaming his father, or his father having shamed the family or something?) :scratch
I also might totally be making this up or confuse it with some other book.
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- #69
How's everyone doing with the first section, I bet El has the book finished already and is waiting for us to catch up!
Kaladin went to Honor's Chasm, but came back with his will to fight restored. Shallan was able to get the position she wanted with Jasnah. Szeth has been passed on from one master to another. We've met Dalinar Kholin and his sons Adolin and Renarin. And Wit.
I like all these characters! It's rare that I read a book and enjoy all the POVs. Kaladin and Syl's relationship is very intriguing to me. It was so touching when Kaladin is standing at the edge of Honor's Chasm, and Syl shows up struggling to carry him a blackbane leaf because she thought it would make him happy. A question I have is what kind of energy is she able to generate? She is trying to get Kaladin's attention at the end of Ch 14. Kaladin has his eyes closed, and she jolts him on the eyelid. What kind of jolt is it? An electric shock?
Shallan's witty remarks usually give me a chuckle, but they can be irritating at times. I enjoy reading about her Memory (I still wonder why BS capitalizes), and how she draws from it. Sketching is a hobby of mine, and I wish I could capture an image in my head and transfer it to a blank canvas the way she does. I noted that creationspren appeared when she draws.
Szeth, I feel so bad for him. He doesn't have an "Honor's Chasm" option available to him. I wonder role he will play with the sphere, and if he will always be Truthless while alive.
Do we learn more about why Dalinar can't remember his wife? Maybe he discusses it with Navani later in the book?
Just a side question, does the book ever say why women have a safehand?
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Taika Vinh
Aes Sedai
Agreed about the characters and enjoyable POV's!
We do learn why Dalinar can't remember his wife. Though I've forgotten the details. It's a price he payed for getting some information from an oracle type of person.
I always thought the safehand thing was just a weird tradition of Vorinism, but I certainly hope we get the background info about where it comes at some point!
The thing I'm most interested about right now is Soulcasting... What does it take from the Soulcaster person, what's the thing about having illegal Soulcasters, and how it's the "property" of the religion/Ardents. They mention Shallan's father had an illegal soulcaster, and the Ardents were sour about Jasnah (a heretic) owning one.
We do learn why Dalinar can't remember his wife. Though I've forgotten the details. It's a price he payed for getting some information from an oracle type of person.
I always thought the safehand thing was just a weird tradition of Vorinism, but I certainly hope we get the background info about where it comes at some point!
The thing I'm most interested about right now is Soulcasting... What does it take from the Soulcaster person, what's the thing about having illegal Soulcasters, and how it's the "property" of the religion/Ardents. They mention Shallan's father had an illegal soulcaster, and the Ardents were sour about Jasnah (a heretic) owning one.
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- #71
I just found myself literally :scratch Now that's something I'll be thinking about and looking for too
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- #72
I accidentally read the first 500 pages
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- #73
Ha! Did you pick up anything you missed last time?
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- #74
All sorts of things, but I forgot to bookmark them. I might need to start again and go slowly
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- #75
I've just read this book for the first time 
It was a good book, although the Kaladin parts could've been a bit shorter in the middle.
And now I will follow this thread and see all your discussions about it
It was a good book, although the Kaladin parts could've been a bit shorter in the middle. And now I will follow this thread and see all your discussions about it
Raeviendha al'Toma
Aes Sedai
I am really really curious about the "safehand" bit.... I really hope it gets explained later on. I'm woefully behind, but I'll get caught up eventually.
Even though I quite like Kaladin, I'm finding that the interludes about his childhood are kind of boring. Not sure why I feel that way.
Anyway, I jumped WAY ahead the other night, and also didn't take any notes. I think I'm going to have to go back and reread again to get some stuff, because there were definitely things that popped out at me. I just can't remember.
Anyway, I jumped WAY ahead the other night, and also didn't take any notes. I think I'm going to have to go back and reread again to get some stuff, because there were definitely things that popped out at me. I just can't remember.
Taika Vinh
Aes Sedai
I know what you mean El. I think it has to do with the re-reading, and not reading for the first time. The flashbacks are mainly there to explain Kaladin being where he is, and some of those were major revelations. (The total chain of events leading Kaladin into the army - and how he got to be a slave). Now we already know, and so they've lost their main "point". Or so I think. I find them a bit boring too but didn't when I read the book the first time.
I'm now paying much more attention to the visions Dalinar has. So far I've read the one where he's some random peasant fighting the Essence of whatsits things. When I read it the first time I read very hastily.
I'm now paying much more attention to the visions Dalinar has. So far I've read the one where he's some random peasant fighting the Essence of whatsits things. When I read it the first time I read very hastily.
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- #79
I've just read this book for the first time
And now I will follow this thread and see all your discussions about it
Nice to meet you Aduiavas Sedai!
Another thing I'll pay closer attention to now!
Last night I read the part where Kaladin says Soulcasting is done at night with only ardents and high-ranking Light-eyes able to witness. Like we talked about earlier, I'm thinking on why Soulcasting is so secretive. I wonder if "Soul" being part of the word gives a hint.
I've been using a piece of paper for a book mark and jotting notes on it
What do you guys think the goal for the next section should be? I'm just going to throw through Ch 40 by 3/4 out there? I was wondering if there should be a goal, but I think it's good to have one posted on the first page just in case anyone one else wants to join in.
OK, so, everyone should be "officially" done with the first 15 chapters (no judging if you're not, just trying to get some conversation going!).
To me, there's not a lot of really meaty stuff here. I have my list of comments quoted at the end of this post, but a lot of this stuff seems pretty long-range to me. Most of what went on in the first 15 chapters was really introducing the characters, introducing the world, etc.
It seems like "soul" is used in a very broad sense in Sanderson's worlds. For example, if you've read The Emperor's Soul, something the main character does there is called "soul stamping." Not going to go into too much detail, but basically, things (inanimate objects) in the Cosmere seem to have what Sanderson is calling souls, but maybe it's more accurately their essence, the part of them that makes them what they truly are (Platonic Forms, anyone?).
So, in order to turn rubble into smoke, Jasnah had to find the essence of rubble -- that property that rubble has that makes it rubble -- and change it into the essence of smoke. That essence bit is what's being called the soul, I think.
Thoughts? Other topics of interest?
Also, Arec, any length is fine by me, but maybe we should just do 15 chapters at a time? Because that's not even counting the interludes, so it's usually longer than that. I just don't want people stressing out about keeping up and stuff.
To me, there's not a lot of really meaty stuff here. I have my list of comments quoted at the end of this post, but a lot of this stuff seems pretty long-range to me. Most of what went on in the first 15 chapters was really introducing the characters, introducing the world, etc.
I think that's a great convo starter, Arec! So, one thing I still get a little confused about is what all the magic bits are called. Soul castings is, I believe, what it's called whenever you change one thing to another, whether you're using a fabrial (machine) or the latent ability, like we later discover Jasnah and Shallan have. So, if that's true, we see Jasnah soulcast at the start when she changes the cave in to smoke to free the King's granddaughter.
It seems like "soul" is used in a very broad sense in Sanderson's worlds. For example, if you've read The Emperor's Soul, something the main character does there is called "soul stamping." Not going to go into too much detail, but basically, things (inanimate objects) in the Cosmere seem to have what Sanderson is calling souls, but maybe it's more accurately their essence, the part of them that makes them what they truly are (Platonic Forms, anyone?).
So, in order to turn rubble into smoke, Jasnah had to find the essence of rubble -- that property that rubble has that makes it rubble -- and change it into the essence of smoke. That essence bit is what's being called the soul, I think.
Thoughts? Other topics of interest?
Also, Arec, any length is fine by me, but maybe we should just do 15 chapters at a time? Because that's not even counting the interludes, so it's usually longer than that. I just don't want people stressing out about keeping up and stuff.
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