Timewaster's Guide Archive

Local Authors => Brandon Sanderson => Topic started by: Tasslehoof on January 08, 2011, 01:53:52 AM

Title: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: Tasslehoof on January 08, 2011, 01:53:52 AM
Every being that we've encountered so far, other than humans, seems to be just a play on an ocean creature.  Knowing Brandon's amazing writing skills, there must be some reason that everything seems like it could underwater.  For some reason, when I think about it, I just think about Spongebob and how it doesn't really appear to be underwater (most people in the show are stuck to the ground).  Chulls are like giant crabs, theres flying eels, and even spren could be like a microorganism (or in the case of Syl an intelligent shrimp!).

I'm not hatin' on WoK, I loved pretty much everything about the book, but I'm curious if Brandon has said anything somewhere that I haven't seen.  It seems like something that he did on purpose, but I have no idea.

Also, I talked to my mom about this, who hasn't read the book but enjoys other fantasy series (like WoT), and she said that maybe it really is underwater, with some weird sense of gravity.  While I don't follow her line of thought, I was wondering what other people might have though about this.
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: KhyEllie on January 08, 2011, 05:41:40 AM
I feel like you're kinda off base, but that there are some possibilities. I mean, the map of Shadesmar reverses everything so that land masses are oceans and oceans are land masses. Maybe there's a connection.
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: Tasslehoof on January 08, 2011, 06:37:36 AM
Wow, I can't believe I didn't notice that... I know its a stretch, but it IS a fantasy novel, stretches are well within reach :)
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: CabbyHat on January 08, 2011, 05:37:55 PM
It's an interesting thought. I don't think it's right, though, given that there's mention of having fires and such, and if it was all underwater you wouldn't expect there to be distinct mentions of water sources, like the Purelake or the streams in the king's feasting area.
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: Inkthinker on January 10, 2011, 01:59:44 AM
Much of the design mandate for the world involves coral reefs and underwater life, but there's nothing I've heard to indicate that the whole world is actually underwater, ala Spongebob. It's more of an inversion, "what if you had a coral-reef-type environment above the water".

Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: Tasslehoof on January 10, 2011, 06:15:27 AM
I don't think its really underwater either.. I was just wondering if there might be a reason other than "lets just try this out".  Its really fascinating nonetheless, and I hope we learn a lot more about the environment in addition to all of the other interesting things in the world.
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: andygal on January 10, 2011, 06:27:14 AM
I definitely noticed the "coral reef on land" thing the place has going on. (took some college biology).  I think it's really neat.

As for the reasoning behind it, only Brandon knows for sure. Presumably. Somebody should ask him next interview.
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: Dangerbutton on January 10, 2011, 07:05:13 AM
Don't quote me on this, but I think Brandon said something about it at a signing he did Dec 2009. At the signing, he talked a lot about Roshar, and I think I recall him saying that it was simply the way the environment adapted to the Highstorms. Creatures and plants can recede to the safety of their shells til the storms pass. You see the plants doing it all through the book.
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: happyman on January 11, 2011, 03:48:35 PM
I have to go with those who say it is how the world has adapted to the Highstorms.

They are, far and away, the most important fact of life for plants and animals in Roshar.  Anything that can't survive a highstorm is dead.  This means shells, retracting into the ground, or finding a safe place to hide, or perhaps flying above the storms.  Assuming that the changes happened a sufficiently long time ago, the niches filled in our world by what we consider normal creatures would probably have been filled by creatures from the sea who kept many of their adaptions in the new environment for the very simple fact that they are still needed, even on land.

On a side note, I'd add that many of the creatures so described can't exist in our world, simply because an exoskeleton becomes impractical when it gets scaled up too large (the muscles have a hard time supporting the bulk; muscle strength goes up linearly in size, while mass goes up as the cube).  It's probably not a coincidence that all those creatures have gems in them.  I'm repeating the speculation of others here, but I find their arguments convincing.
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: TheFinisher4Ever on January 11, 2011, 09:29:19 PM
Quote
On a side note, I'd add that many of the creatures so described can't exist in our world, simply because an exoskeleton becomes impractical when it gets scaled up too large (the muscles have a hard time supporting the bulk; muscle strength goes up linearly in size, while mass goes up as the cube).  It's probably not a coincidence that all those creatures have gems in them.  I'm repeating the speculation of others here, but I find their arguments convincing.
Adding to this, Brandon confirmed somewhere that Roshar has less gravity than earth. I believe it was 85 percent of earths but i could be wrong.
Also, how is Roshar not in the spellcheck here?  ???
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: andygal on January 11, 2011, 10:39:36 PM
Quote
On a side note, I'd add that many of the creatures so described can't exist in our world, simply because an exoskeleton becomes impractical when it gets scaled up too large (the muscles have a hard time supporting the bulk; muscle strength goes up linearly in size, while mass goes up as the cube).  It's probably not a coincidence that all those creatures have gems in them.  I'm repeating the speculation of others here, but I find their arguments convincing.
Adding to this, Brandon confirmed somewhere that Roshar has less gravity than earth. I believe it was 85 percent of earths but i could be wrong.
Also, how is Roshar not in the spellcheck here?  ???

70 percent actually. But even with that, there's some magic going on as far as the really big ones are concerned.
Title: Re: Roshar and the Ocean. (very minor spoilers)
Post by: happyman on January 13, 2011, 04:32:45 PM
Also, how is Roshar not in the spellcheck here?  ???

The spellchecker isn't on the website.  It's in your personal browser.