Timewaster's Guide Archive

Sorry if this had been posted before but I had some random thoughts about the trilogy as a whole. I also apologize for the slightly long read.

I guess I'll start by asking who writes the synopsis on the backs of the books? This question is kind of important because my thoughts center around a part of it.

On the back of "The Final Empire" it says: "What if the prophesied hero had failed to defeat the Dark Lord?" Now at first it would appear to be a red herring concerning the Lord Ruler, but he is obviously defeated at the end of the first book. It could be referring to Ruin, but I'll elaborate on that in a minute.

I'm putting forth this hypothesis. Each title of each book is misleading in a way. I'll try to break it down.

Book 1: The Final Empire

Not being able to figure out how this can be misleading until reading The Well of Ascension, where on page 733 (paperback version) when Elend returns to the city after letting Vin pewter-drag herself back to find the Well, this passes between them:

"I'm sorry. I think I did something bad."
"Oh?" He asked. "What is that"
"I made you emperor"

Now this may have just been a passing thing between the two, but after reading the sample chapter for "Hero of Ages," it continues.

"Wait," Fatren said, causing the stranger to pause. "Who are you?"
The newcomer turned, meeting Fatren's eyes. "My name is Elend Venture. I'm your emperor."

Now I know it's not specifically stated anywhere that an Emperor has an Empire, but if it is true, then the "Final Empire" is not actually the final empire so to speak. Elend has a whole new Empire as Emperor.


Book 2: The Well of Ascension

This one I don't really have anything to go on, other than the knowledge that we as readers learn through Sazed that the Well isn't all it's cracked up to be. Through Ruin's machinations, knowledge about the prophesied hero was altered to allow an expedited freeing of him. (him? it? lol)


With subtle misleading titles, it is my thoughts that the Hero of Ages will have a similar twist. Referring back to the blurb on the back of the book, if Ruin is indeed the "Dark Lord" mentioned, then the prophesied hero will fail to defeat him.

Another thing that caught my attention was in one of Mr. Sanderson's annotation for "The Final Empire," more specifically "Mistborn Prologue Part One" where he writes

Somewhere in the italicized pre-chapter blurb of the prologue here is the clue one needs to figure out the over-arching mystery of the entire series. If you figure it out, good for you! If you don't, you'll have to wait until the last chapter of the final book to get it explained. . . .

Now the pre-chapter blurb is from the journal and references the Hero doubting himself. Could this doubt carry over to the Hero actually never defeating the "Dark Lord?"
I know it would seem like a cop out, and I really feel bad for bringing it up, but in a series that likes to take conventional fantasy cliches and turn them upside down, what better way than having the bad guys win?


Again, sorry for the long post, I was rambling through most of it. Unfortunately, once I get random ideas in my head, it is hard to keep them in. 

Hmmm, I recant my statement about Mia Farrow, because at the moment, I cannot remember if Ashe's voice was a woman or a man. I vaguely remember it mentioning it was "deep sounding." I'd look it up., but I lent my copy to a friend (just spreading Mr. Sanderson's works around ).

I actually like Mia's voice acting in Last Unicorn, it was the first thing I thought of. Kind of had an elderly knowledgeable quality, but still retaining an air of whimsical fantasy. Although the point is moot if Ashe does indeed have a male voice. 

As for Galladon, how about a bald Oded Fehr?

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3712588032/nm0004912

If I had to rank top 3 FF's they would be

1. FFVI (or 3 as it was called when released in the states >_<)
2. FFIX
3. FFIV

Bottom three would be

1. FFX-2
2. FF X
3. FF VIII

Oh my, that was SO funny. I only narrowly avoided spraying water all over my monitor. 

I only recently heard of Mr. Sanderson's work from a friend online who recommended the Mistborn trilogy to me, and after just finishing the first book (WoA comes in the mail tomorrow ), I can honestly say I haven't read a book like this in a LONG time.

The world he crafted, the characters he created, even the original and unique magic system, everything in it kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting more. It truly is a testament to the skill he has.

I've been reading books for as long as I can remember. My high school English teachers hated me because I had always read the books they were assigning beforehand, thus was able to answer every question. They didn't like that for some reason. 

Already have Elantris on order and HoA on pre-order.

Keep up the fantastic work!

When I saw the trailer last month the first thought that came to me was "blast, now I HAVE to upgrade my computer."

I've been a big fan of Diablo since it came out and still semi-regularly pop in Diablo II for some old-time fun.

Having decided to buy a 360 as opposed to a PS3 I gladly welcome the news of FFXIII coming to XBox. 

I've been a pretty big FF fan since I played the original on the NES and own all of them with the exception of X, X-2 and XII (although I did play XII for a couple weeks).

Another game I am looking forward to is Batman: Arkham Asylum (little more info can be found in the link)

http://gameinformer.com/News/Story/200808/N08.0812.1226.23309.htm

I heard about the Sword of Truth series on IMDb a loooong time ago, but never really checked back in until recently. Saw the trailer and was pretty disappointed. The changing of the name, the horrible miscasting, Disney....it goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, I've read all the books, but I'm not an uber-fan. It's still a little disappointing when something I've read and enjoyed gets seemingly butchered. (I say seemingly because, well, the show hasn't aired yet. I'll give it a chance, but that's all it's getting  )