Author Topic: ***SPOILERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon****  (Read 335669 times)

Pygmalion

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #240 on: October 22, 2008, 12:33:15 AM »
......wooooooooooooooah......

I still can't stop thinking that in my head. It's all that's really coming to mind at the moment.

I made the stupid mistake of finishing the book this afternoon in a public place. Therefore I looked like a complete moron as I burst into tears when Elend died. I think it was a good ending. I'm still not totally decided on that. I'm just in shock.

It's just so amazing how the books progressed, developing into this huge cosmic epic that I never expected from just reading The Final Empire a year ago. I guess in some sense what I'm feeling is a slight sense of... awe, maybe? I want to know how he comes up with stuff. I mean seriously, talk about not just writing another fantasy series.

But I'm also shocked that no one else seemed to have figured out that Sazed was the Hero of Ages. I thought it might be him when I started the book, but it could as easily have been Vin or Elend. But at about a third of the way through, page 215 to be exact, there was this line from Sazed thinking in his head:

"I am, unforunately, in charge."

Sound familiar?

"I am, unfortunately, the Hero of Ages."

No one else would have used the same wording as Sazed did when he was thinking to himself. I have to assume that was intentional on Brandon's part. It was very subtle... I'm actually surprised I noticed.

I'm gratified that you noticed.  The Terris dialect IS very subtle.  That speech pattern is one hint, the other is the use of "I think" to soften phrases at the ending.  Beyond that, Sazed speaks with compound, complex sentences using frequent hedging to indicate that he's often uncertain.  (That's another Terris speech pattern, not wanting to offend with language.)

The epigraphs in this book particularly (though I did it for Kwaan too) are intended to "sound" Terris, and like Sazed in particular.  I didn't think anyone would catch it.  You made my day!

Wow, I made Brandon Sanderson's day!

That totally, well... made my day. lol ;D

Also, Roader, I know how you feel. I too became waaaay too emotionally involved with the characters, especially Elend. I'm not sure what it was about him, but he just struck me as an awesomely fabulous character. But it was just too easy to do because Brandon wrote the characters so believably and made them so lovable. I guess, though, this is kind of a good problem for an author to have.
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Roader, shocking the reader wasn't the reason. I think this has been discussed a few times in the thread already; you might want to come back after reading the rest.

I do feel your pain, though. I loved Vin and Elend.

Quote
For instance, is atium pronounced with a long "a" or a short "a"?
Knowing Brandon's penchant for "long" English vowels, I'd say long "a." (Same with Sazed.) Plus I'm pretty sure I've heard him pronounce it in person...
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Dalenthas

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #242 on: October 22, 2008, 01:00:23 AM »
My answer would be: Depends on who's saying it. Honestly its a to-may-to to-mah-to type thing as far as I'm concerned. Though personally I prefer A-tium to At-ium.

VegasDev

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A couple more 'off the cuff' questions.

Would someone with Achlorhydia have difficulties burning metals? That is, do stomach acids have anything to do with the equation or just the fact that the metals make it to the stomach?

Could a Feruchemist commit bad memories to metal minds to effectively forget them? Can memories be lost forever in the metal minds if they aren't properly indexed?

Had a couple others but I am off to the Brandon Sanderson signing.
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Elmandr

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #244 on: October 22, 2008, 01:44:26 AM »
Mistborn can't be over--the very ending is a beginning for a continuation. Think about it: a new world, a new god, no rulers, no laws.

You see, i think that Preservation and Ruin were merely lesser deities. How can we know this? well, we still don't know where the prophecies originated from. It couldn't have been from Ruin--because he wouldn't alter his own writing. Nor Preservation, because he would have the sense to write it in metal, or atleast know that writing the prophecies was pointless. Another thing, Ruin would have tried to kill or control Sazed, and Preservation would have confronted him in the shape of the mist spirit...they did not. I wonder if they even had a clue.

Perhaps they were the SonGods of a Father Deity. Perhaps just Gods of the world amongst other gods of other worlds. Or universes. I just don't believe they were the top most gods.

They might not have even been gods. Sazed said it himself. They were the two aspects that a god would have. So if they weren't god, and just powerful beings...who is God?

No, this is definitely not over.


Oops! almost forgot. Since Dear Vin did infact merge with the mist, i will be expecting my dubbing soon.
« Last Edit: October 22, 2008, 01:47:51 AM by elmandr1 »
"I love you."
"you dont. You just think you do because i'm all you know."
"Really? So whats this burning sensation i'm having in my stomach?"
"Too much ale."
"Not love?"
"No. But i can see how you confused the two."
"I don't feel good."
"They do that to you."
"my legs, their numb."
"Hahaha!"
"haha!"

happyman

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #245 on: October 22, 2008, 01:55:16 AM »
Mistborn can't be over--the very ending is a beginning for a continuation. Think about it: a new world, a new god, no rulers, no laws.

You see, i think that Preservation and Ruin were merely lesser deities. How can we know this? well, we still don't know where the prophecies originated from. It couldn't have been from Ruin--because he wouldn't alter his own writing. Nor Preservation, because he would have the sense to write it in metal, or atleast know that writing the prophecies was pointless. Another thing, Ruin would have tried to kill or control Sazed, and Preservation would have confronted him in the shape of the mist spirit...they did not. I wonder if they even had a clue.

Perhaps they were the SonGods of a Father Deity. Perhaps just Gods of the world amongst other gods of other worlds. Or universes. I just don't believe they were the top most gods.

They might not have even been gods. Sazed said it himself. They were the two aspects that a god would have. So if they weren't god, and just powerful beings...who is God?

No, this is definitely not over.


Oops! almost forgot. Since Dear Vin did infact merge with the mist, i will be expecting my dubbing soon.

You make several good points.  Unfortunately, you also seemed to have missed some pretty important world-building tidbits that EUOL dropped for us in this thread.  I'm just saying that if you go back and read closely, you'll get some vocabulary and ideas that will make your ideas fit what Brandon has said much better.  Your basis isn't completely crazy.
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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #246 on: October 22, 2008, 02:02:44 AM »
Mistborn can't be over--the very ending is a beginning for a continuation. Think about it: a new world, a new god, no rulers, no laws.

You see, i think that Preservation and Ruin were merely lesser deities. How can we know this? well, we still don't know where the prophecies originated from. It couldn't have been from Ruin--because he wouldn't alter his own writing. Nor Preservation, because he would have the sense to write it in metal, or atleast know that writing the prophecies was pointless. Another thing, Ruin would have tried to kill or control Sazed, and Preservation would have confronted him in the shape of the mist spirit...they did not. I wonder if they even had a clue.

Perhaps they were the SonGods of a Father Deity. Perhaps just Gods of the world amongst other gods of other worlds. Or universes. I just don't believe they were the top most gods.

They might not have even been gods. Sazed said it himself. They were the two aspects that a god would have. So if they weren't god, and just powerful beings...who is God?

No, this is definitely not over.


Oops! almost forgot. Since Dear Vin did infact merge with the mist, i will be expecting my dubbing soon.

She merged with the mist, not the mist spirit. Said merging also has nothing to do with the mist spirit being previous HoAs like you thought, too, because the mist spirit is just Preservation.

Actually, Preservation did create the Prophecies. I asked Brandon who created the prophecies and he said:

Quote
3.  The Terris prophesies were created by Preservation before he attempted his imprisonment.  He knew that he wouldn't be able to do much for the world after he did what he did, and he foresaw a LOT of what was to come.

That being said, Ruin and Preservation are just Shards of Adonalsium, not Adonalsium itself. There are other shards.
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Reaves

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #247 on: October 22, 2008, 02:06:11 AM »
A couple more 'off the cuff' questions.

Would someone with Achlorhydia have difficulties burning metals? That is, do stomach acids have anything to do with the equation or just the fact that the metals make it to the stomach?

I don't even know if they have to make it to the stomach. We have characters who can down a vial of metal shavings and then instantly use their abilities, whereas it normally takes about 8 hours for food to travel down to the stomach. (If i remember Biology class correctly.) It might only need to be swallowed.

Also the term "Shards" of Adonalsium makes me think that whatever created the universe was broken off, and Ruin/Preservation are just parts of that. Or maybe it was never together in the first place, and  all the Shards had to work together.
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Elmandr

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #248 on: October 22, 2008, 02:11:08 AM »
Mistborn can't be over--the very ending is a beginning for a continuation. Think about it: a new world, a new god, no rulers, no laws.

You see, i think that Preservation and Ruin were merely lesser deities. How can we know this? well, we still don't know where the prophecies originated from. It couldn't have been from Ruin--because he wouldn't alter his own writing. Nor Preservation, because he would have the sense to write it in metal, or atleast know that writing the prophecies was pointless. Another thing, Ruin would have tried to kill or control Sazed, and Preservation would have confronted him in the shape of the mist spirit...they did not. I wonder if they even had a clue.

Perhaps they were the SonGods of a Father Deity. Perhaps just Gods of the world amongst other gods of other worlds. Or universes. I just don't believe they were the top most gods.

They might not have even been gods. Sazed said it himself. They were the two aspects that a god would have. So if they weren't god, and just powerful beings...who is God?

No, this is definitely not over.


Oops! almost forgot. Since Dear Vin did infact merge with the mist, i will be expecting my dubbing soon.

She merged with the mist, not the mist spirit. Said merging also has nothing to do with the mist spirit being previous HoAs like you thought, too, because the mist spirit is just Preservation.

Actually, Preservation did create the Prophecies. I asked Brandon who created the prophecies and he said:

Quote
3.  The Terris prophesies were created by Preservation before he attempted his imprisonment.  He knew that he wouldn't be able to do much for the world after he did what he did, and he foresaw a LOT of what was to come.

That being said, Ruin and Preservation are just Shards of Adonalsium, not Adonalsium itself. There are other shards.

Okay, but if Terr could foresee everything that would happen. doesn't that mean he knew that the world would undergo a thousand years of struggle and nearly crumble and end just to return to the way it was when created? Did he really not like Ruin that much? Or is there a something bigger in play? How far did he see? Did he realize that the world would need the powers of them both combined and knew that Ruin wouldn't provide his half. What is going to happen that would make it necessary for their to be a single god?

Really, i don't believe this is over. I think that again its just beginning. This part will be a historical reference just like Alendi and Rashek. What they did was the pinnacle for their destiny and the spark of a massive chain of events. Its far too open ended to be over...

I guess i just can't let go.
"I love you."
"you dont. You just think you do because i'm all you know."
"Really? So whats this burning sensation i'm having in my stomach?"
"Too much ale."
"Not love?"
"No. But i can see how you confused the two."
"I don't feel good."
"They do that to you."
"my legs, their numb."
"Hahaha!"
"haha!"

Dalenthas

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #249 on: October 22, 2008, 02:59:24 AM »
A couple more 'off the cuff' questions.

Would someone with Achlorhydia have difficulties burning metals? That is, do stomach acids have anything to do with the equation or just the fact that the metals make it to the stomach?

I don't even know if they have to make it to the stomach. We have characters who can down a vial of metal shavings and then instantly use their abilities, whereas it normally takes about 8 hours for food to travel down to the stomach. (If i remember Biology class correctly.) It might only need to be swallowed.

Also the term "Shards" of Adonalsium makes me think that whatever created the universe was broken off, and Ruin/Preservation are just parts of that. Or maybe it was never together in the first place, and  all the Shards had to work together.

Uh, the 8 hour figure is for it to get back out of the body after you eat it.  Stuff you eat gets to the stomach less than a minute afterwards...

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Wanted to say that this is a great series. I loved all of it. In fact I'm going to have to go back and read it all over again, just because I read way too fast and not closely enough to catch everything on the first run through.

I was very very sad to see Elend and Vin die at the end (the entire time she "was" Preservation I kept screaming that she's gotta come back down and say bye to Elend - I think I managed to make my brother mad for that one :)) but the imagery of when Spook found their bodies at the end sorta made it "ok" for me. They were holding hands, possibly showing that their love transcended even their deaths. You don't always get that in stories - I mean sure a lot of characters are always saying that they'll love each other forever, but I don't feel the stories always SHOW that.

A few things caught me by surprise: Sazed's "true" purpose...how the Koloss/Iquisitors/Kandra were made (especially the Koloss - I sat back and blinked for about five minutes over that one)...the location of the Kandra Homeland (hah right under the Lord Ruler's nose!)...the function of the mists (well in this book particularly)...

I also wanted to say that I absolutely loved how Vin (and Elend, though I didn't relate to him that much in this aspect) finally managed to piece together her identity - that she could happily attend balls and dance away the night while playing polite politics one minute and then turn around and become a necessary assassin the next. It really struck a chord within myself since it's been something I've been struggling with myself recently (two disparate "personalities" not so much with the assassinating ;) ).  It's heartening to know that it is possible (and I don't think its something that I've come across a lot in the novels I've read)

Well that's just my two cents...

Pygmalion

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #251 on: October 22, 2008, 04:10:34 AM »
I also wanted to say that I absolutely loved how Vin (and Elend, though I didn't relate to him that much in this aspect) finally managed to piece together her identity - that she could happily attend balls and dance away the night while playing polite politics one minute and then turn around and become a necessary assassin the next. It really struck a chord within myself since it's been something I've been struggling with myself recently (two disparate "personalities" not so much with the assassinating ;) ).  It's heartening to know that it is possible (and I don't think its something that I've come across a lot in the novels I've read)

Well that's just my two cents...

I really liked this part of the story as well. And I was very grateful for the ball scene. In my opinion it was one of the best in the book. They were one of the highlights of the first book, and I missed them in the second.

Also, my favorite line comes from that scene, where Vin gets a little huffy that some of the girls are fawning over Elend and makes that comment about how she'd loved Elend before he became dreamy.  ;D
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Elmandr

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #252 on: October 22, 2008, 04:16:11 AM »
I also wanted to say that I absolutely loved how Vin (and Elend, though I didn't relate to him that much in this aspect) finally managed to piece together her identity - that she could happily attend balls and dance away the night while playing polite politics one minute and then turn around and become a necessary assassin the next. It really struck a chord within myself since it's been something I've been struggling with myself recently (two disparate "personalities" not so much with the assassinating ;) ).  It's heartening to know that it is possible (and I don't think its something that I've come across a lot in the novels I've read)

Well that's just my two cents...

I really liked this part of the story as well. And I was very grateful for the ball scene. In my opinion it was one of the best in the book. They were one of the highlights of the first book, and I missed them in the second.

Also, my favorite line comes from that scene, where Vin gets a little huffy that some of the girls are fawning over Elend and makes that comment about how she'd loved Elend before he became dreamy.  ;D


that was very womanly of her. but i didn't buy the whole love portion of this book--everything else i liked very much.
"I love you."
"you dont. You just think you do because i'm all you know."
"Really? So whats this burning sensation i'm having in my stomach?"
"Too much ale."
"Not love?"
"No. But i can see how you confused the two."
"I don't feel good."
"They do that to you."
"my legs, their numb."
"Hahaha!"
"haha!"

Chaos

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #253 on: October 22, 2008, 04:17:04 AM »
I also wanted to say that I absolutely loved how Vin (and Elend, though I didn't relate to him that much in this aspect) finally managed to piece together her identity - that she could happily attend balls and dance away the night while playing polite politics one minute and then turn around and become a necessary assassin the next. It really struck a chord within myself since it's been something I've been struggling with myself recently (two disparate "personalities" not so much with the assassinating ;) ).  It's heartening to know that it is possible (and I don't think its something that I've come across a lot in the novels I've read)

Well that's just my two cents...

I really liked this part of the story as well. And I was very grateful for the ball scene. In my opinion it was one of the best in the book. They were one of the highlights of the first book, and I missed them in the second.

Also, my favorite line comes from that scene, where Vin gets a little huffy that some of the girls are fawning over Elend and makes that comment about how she'd loved Elend before he became dreamy.  ;D

I simply loved the ball scene. In Book One, I thought it was a little strange to have ball scenes, but I soon fell in love with them later in that book. The ball in this one definitely provided some nice parallelism between MB1 and MB3, and that line is easily one of the most memorable ones in MB3, if not the entire trilogy.
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Dalenthas

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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #254 on: October 22, 2008, 04:26:41 AM »
I also was a huge fan of the ball scenes. I laughed out loud at least once in every ball in the trillogy. I was kind of sad that Well of Ascension didn't have a single ball...
Hero of Ages very much returned to the roots of the first book in a couple of ways, I loved the parts with Spook in Urteau, I loved the ball scene...