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Messages - MissGnomer

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Movies and TV / Re: What are you watching?
« on: July 11, 2011, 01:24:10 AM »
I just introduced a friend to Firefly, so we are going through the whole season, even though I've seen them all a few dozen times already. I also just started watching NewsRadio (only 15 years after it came out!) and I think it's pretty funny, despite the fact that Andy Dick is in it. Other than that, I also watch random shows on Netflix and Hulu. Oh, and True Blood every Sunday.

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Recommend a book
« on: July 11, 2011, 01:18:39 AM »
I agree with both of these recommendations! I really like Malcolm Gladwell, and Krakauer is a great writer as well. I very much liked "Under the Banner of Heaven" (although Brandon probably wouldn't care for it very much, given the subject matter).

I don't know why.  He is LDS (and for the sake of disclosure, I am too) not fundamentalist Mormon.  The fundamentalists Mormons split from the LDS faith over 100 years ago and have about as much to do with it as the Lutherans had to do with the Catholic church 100 years after their split.

Sure, I understand the difference. I honestly can't speak for how an LDS person would view the book. I think Krakauer does a pretty good job of remaining neutral in most of his work, but I thought his presentation of the history of Mormonism had an unfavorable slant. But again, I really shouldn't try to speak for an LDS person; I was just speculating. No offense intended. Have you read it, and if so, do you think Krakauer was guilty of editorializing at all? (Sorry to go off topic)

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Recommend a book
« on: July 05, 2011, 04:21:46 PM »
In non-fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed three of Malcolm Gladwell's books: Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. Those are actual page-turners in non-fiction.

Well, if we are gonna start recommending non-fiction, then I gotta say that Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer is a great read.

I agree with both of these recommendations! I really like Malcolm Gladwell, and Krakauer is a great writer as well. I very much liked "Under the Banner of Heaven" (although Brandon probably wouldn't care for it very much, given the subject matter).

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Dalinar as a possible radiant? *Spoilers*
« on: July 04, 2011, 11:55:23 PM »
Dalinar was a pretty big POV character in WoK, and we still have a lot of character development set up for us to see. I think he is being set up to be someone great. His honor, his strength, his visions, and now his new power over the war efforts...it's going to be really interesting to see what happens next. I am looking forward to the showdown between Kaladin and Szeth over Dalinar's life (it just HAS to happen)!

I think Dalinar will become a Radiant because of the way he "unleashes the Blackthorne," so to speak. It seems to me the characters that will become Radiants all have something very special that they can do; something that seems like it might just be extreme natural talent or ability, but is actually more than even they understand. Shallan's ability to take a Memory (always with a capital letter) is an example of this, IMHO. Dalinar's fighting ablility can certainly be explained by talent and training, but when the Blackthorne appears, I think we are seeing something almost supernatural.

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Dalinar's gift and curse (lolSpoilers)
« on: September 22, 2010, 07:37:17 PM »
When I read it, I felt all along that losing the memories of his wife was the curse.  I think that's supported by the line quoted earlier about "wasn't losing all memory of her enough?" 

One thing that hasn't been elaborated on very much yet in WoK is Dalinar's earlier consideration of killing his brother and taking the crown for himself.  He was a very different person back then, and his previous personality must be considered.  It would be helpful to know exactly when he went to the Nightwatcher, of course. 

I don't know; I just don't think his wish has anything to do with his forgotton wife.  Maybe it has to do with his earlier lust for the crown.  Hell, maybe the personality change is what he wished for in the first place.  "Please, Nightwatcher, make me a nicer guy.  kthx."

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: WoK: The Heralds *Spoilers*
« on: September 21, 2010, 09:43:06 PM »
I have a wild theory.

The Heralds entered into an oathpact which basically helps stop the voidbringers from taking over, but we have no idea what it is.

From what I have thought about, I think the oathpact basically states that the Heralds will fight the voidbringers on Roshar using a splinter from one of the shards (whether or not it is the Almighty or another shard I don't know) which is physically manifested in the dawnshard. But once the desolation is over they must go to this mysterious other place (Shadesmar possibly) and endur years of torture, in which that time the voidbringers are powerless, mindless creatures known as parshmen. But after some time the Heralds can no longer take the torture and return to Roshar, at which time the voidbringers come again, they fight, they win and return for more torture in an endless cycle.

Talenel has thus failed because he finally cracked under the torture and the voidbringers are returning for another desolation.

***

Completely separate, I think the Heralds that gave up on the Oathpact are still alive. When I read the prelude all those months ago I was under the impression that the Heralds could only be killed, not die from natural deaths, and their dawnshards are untouchable by anyone but them, just sitting there waiting for them to return and claim their blades. However I have no proof for this other than making a nice story.

Ooh, that's really good.  Why else would the Heralds agree to torture, if not for the sake of Roshar?  If your theory is correct, when one Herald cracks, do they all come back...??  How could Taln have lasted 4500 years?

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: WoK: Spren and Hoid (spoilers)
« on: September 21, 2010, 07:35:28 PM »
An honorspren wouldn't bond with Dalinar because he is not a Surgebinder.  He just uses the Shardplate and Blade; he doesn't have their magic.
I think you have the relationship backwards.  Dalinar is not a Surgebinder because no honorspren has bonded with him.  Syl offers to end her bond with Kaladin at one point, and the conversation about that makes it abundantly clear that breaking the bond would cause Kaladin to lose his Surgebinding abilities.  The Surgebinding abilities come from the bond, not the other way around, so if an honorspren bonded with Dalinar he would become a Surgebinder.

My theory goes something like this: Take Syl's opinion of Dalinar and his Shardblade, the contrast between Radiants using Surgebinding and Shardplate at the same time in Dalinars visions with Szeth's statement that Shardplate interferes with his Surgebinding, and the difference in appearance (particularly the glowing) between Shardblades/plate now and on the Radiants in Dalinar's visions.  Given these things, it seems likely that something is wrong or corrupted about Shardblades and Shardplate in modern times, possibly due in part to their history of being taken by violence repeatedly over the last 4500 years instead of being earned however the Radiants did it.  Dalinar's possession and use of a corrupted Shardblade and Shardplate may have repelled honorspren.  In addition, through most of the book his behavior gave me the impression of a confused and uncertain man trying to find his way, mostly just going with the flow while trying to puzzle things out, rather than a man focused on the virtue of honor.

Now, at the end of the book he has both given away his Shardblade and Shardplate and has made some major decisions and committed to a course of doing the right and honorable thing despite major risks and high cost and effort.  I suspect he will attract an honorspren at some point in book two, and at that point he will become a Surgebinder.

Well said.  I remember Syl had an aversion to the Shardblade...perhaps it was Kaladin's rejection of the Shardplate a year ago that drew her to him?  I think she said she had been following him since about that time...

Could there be a theme of honorspren being drawn to honorable people who have in some way rejected the use of a corrupted Shardblade/plate or some other power?  Maybe we will see some of the characters that appear to be shaping up to be Radiants get their own spren.  That could be way off track, however.  Kaladin possesses many other traits that could have attracted her. 

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