Timewaster's Guide Archive

So, in the book The Thrill is mentioned several times. When asked about, it seems like it a topic few want to discuss.

If you really look at the Thrill is like superhuman bloodlust, destruction, even hatred. Its like a killing rage.

Now look at this quote from on of the radiants:

“All who can fight are needed,” the woman said. “And all who have a desire to fight should be compelled to come to Alethela. Fighting, even this fighting against the Ten Deaths, changes a person. We can teach you so that it will not destroy you. Come to us

Could she be talking about teaching a person not to be overcome by the Thrill?

My thought is that The Thrill is the power of Odium.

I finally finished WoK's. What a great book!

I had a lot of thoughts/questions/ideas after reading it. I'm sure some of these have been gone over before, but who knows, maybe I noticed something that hasn't been spoken about yet...

1. Shallan possesses a Shardblade. She used it to kill her father, cutting up the Soulcaster he possessed during the fight, which is why the chain and crystal were cut.

2. The Death visions come form Talenel while he was suffering in agony in that damnation place. But not all of them, I think a few of those are just ones Brandon threw in there to throw us off. They are just the random things people said as they died that ended up getting recorded too.

3. I'm thinking that Dalinars gift from the old magic was either to make Navani love him or to become the Blackthorn.

4. I really want to know what this paragraph is hinting at:

Holding his breath, he clung to the Stormlight. He could still feel it leaking out. Stormlight could be held for only a short time, a few minutes at most. It leaked away, the human body too porous a container. He had heard that the Voidbringers could hold it in perfectly. But, then, did they even exist? His punishment declared that they didn’t. His honor demanded that they did.
-Szeth, Prologue

5. Someone named Thaidakar leads the Ghostbloods and he and the previous king were in some sort of conflict, Gavilar thought he was the one that had sent Szeth.

6. Someone named Restares leads another group who King Gavilar was also in conflict with, Amaram works with or for him. Restares convinced Amaram to take Kaladin's Shards.

7. The Radiants never betrayed anyone. After the last desolation they grew tired of pointless battles for greed and power and abandoned their armor. Those who took up their armor afterward were mistaken for Radiants and are the source of their bad reputation/legends of betrayal.

8. The face Kaladin saw during the Highstorm was the Stormfather.

9. Highstorms are the source of most magic on the world and Spren are sort of the imbodiments of that magic. That's why there are no spren in Shin.

10. Is it just me or are those Aons in the picture of the Shattered Plains at the start of part two? Near the top, within the round shapes.

11. Surgebinding seems just like Allomancy to me except with stormlight as a focus/power source instead of metals. Lashings are this worlds version of pushing and pulling on metals and when filled with stormlight a surgebinder has the strength, speed and healing powers of a mistborn.

12. I thought it was very interesting that each of those cities had a glyph associated with them. It reminds me of Elantris. Could each of the cities be a focus for the different powers out there, like Elantris is for the Dor?

I lucked out and got two ticket for today and tomorrow. Anyone else going to be there?

So I was talking to Chaos last night (I know, its a bad habit and I'm trying to quit) and the topic of how much people get for their first book came up. He seemed really surprised that an unpublished author could get like a $10,000 advance for their first fantasy book.

Its my understanding that this is pretty standard for a fantasy book.

Now, I know that six figure advances for non-fantasy books can get much higher. Twilight got $250,000 per book ($750,000 total). I have a friend who just made a deal for between $100,000 - $250,000 I think (he won't tell me, anyone have a publishers marketplace account? lol). His book is called The Monster Hunters and its a middle grade book about kids who figure out monsters are real. He's supposed to be taking the slot Holly Black's Spiderwick Chronicles had.

What I'm really wondering is what's the highest advance you've heard of for a first time fantasy author? I want to say Brandon got $20,000 for both Elantris and Final Empire (so really $10,000 per book). Anyone heard of someone who's gotten more than this?

Anyone know what's considered standard for other spec fiction? I'm mainly curious about advances from the more established publishers. I know there are a lot of smaller publishing companies out there that where you would get a lot less, but personally I've always felt you are shooting yourself in the foot by signing with one of them.

Another Kail chapter, I think the best way to recap is to just include how the last scene with him ended:

“I do, my king. Your daughter is an oathbreaker. Which all in the Dovre know, even if none dare to speak it,” said Reginn, the huldu my father had long ago betrothed me to.
He turned towards me, smiling. The gold etched into his black horns gleaming in the glow of my father’s throne. “The boy is no more ‘greater than all of the trolls in the mountain’ than I am. She is an oathbreaker and her life forfeit.”
A cold shiver ran through me as he spoke. The air beside me dropped in temperature as Kail glared down at my accuser.
Reginn continued, “She has shared both Rings and Blood with a mortal boy . . .”
Oh no.
“. . . and taken him as her mate and husband, in one of our most ancient rituals of marriage, one never before performed with an outsider, going against her own father’s wishes.”
Kail took a step back from the stand, obviously shocked by Reginn’s words.
“Husband?” he turned to me and asked.
His reaction did not go unnoticed by the other huldrene in the courtroom. My father lowered his head, unable to meet my gaze.
Reginn laughed. “Do you see! She has deceived even her own mate!”
As Kail looked at me, his eyes suddenly narrowed and flared brightly in anger. I looked into the cold windows of death.
It happened . . .
“She has no honor!” Reginn shouted.
I sobbed, my eyes welling up with tears. Kail stared at me, gritting his teeth in a look of pure hatred and wrath.
 . . . I’d made him hate me.
Kail turned his back on me, leaping down from the stand.

Thanks for reading!

Hey guys,

I've been talking with Brandon's editor Moshe over email, trying to help him with a problem with MS Word. I decided what the hell, we've been talking in emails back and forth for the past few days, maybe I should give him my elevator speech and see what happens.

LOL, now I just need an elevator pitch for The Sword of Worlds.

This is what I've come up with so far, can I get your opinions on it?

Thanks!

The novel is about two high school kids that use a magic sword to travel to other worlds where a lot of our legends about faeries, gods and other mythological figures come from. They get separated and the girl gets involved with the plots of a dark faerie goddess, while the guy meets and falls in love with a beautiful troll.

In the book the guy is forced to make a choice: save the troll he loves. Or go up against the dark god who's taken his magic sword and save the world.

What do you guys think of it?