Timewaster's Guide Archive

Ok, before I start, let me just say that I loved Well of Ascension. Just like the first Mistborn, which is just below LOTR as my favorite book, it pained me every time I had to put it down. Even though I had a hundred things to do to prepare for school, I still finished it in two days, because I was utterly engrossed.

That being said, a couple things really bothered me about this story as opposed to Mistborn. Most of them are little things, that I can't even remember right now. However, one keeps nagging at me, and I want to see what other people think about it.

It really bothers me how the others, and especially Vin, regard Kelsier, now that he is gone. For example, on page 261:

So much for running away,Vin thought. However, she couldn't help smiling. Part of what she loved about Elend was his sincerity. His simple love for the people of Luthadel--his determination to do what was right for them--was what separated him from Kelsier. Even in martyrdom, Kelsier had displayed a hint of arrogance. He'd made certain that he would be remembered like few men who had ever lived.

But Elend--to him, ruling the Central Dominance wasn't about fame or glory. For the first time, completely and honestly, she decided something. Elend was a far better king than Kelsier would ever have been.

Does anyone else think that Vin is being a poor friend here? She implies that Kelsier did not love the people of Luthadel, even after all he did for them. Not only did he free them from the Lord Ruler, he gave them hope. He visited families, lightening spirits, bringing food. He gave them a symbol that they could rally around, so that they could help themselves. He would have fought an army to protect his skaa soldiers, had not Vin herself stopped him. True, he did make himself very well-known among the skaa as a result, but was it because of his ego? Personally, I don't think so. When he visited the skaa tenement in Luthadel with Vin, he told her that it was refreshing to actually visit the skaa, and give them hope. From that, you can see that he enjoys helping the people. He didn't have to do things like that to become famous. True, it helped him to form a bond with the people, but a lot of their reverence came from his capacity as a figurehead, and their awe of his feats, like killing an Inquisitor. Yet even though Kelsier was like a father to Vin, she assumes the worst of his intentions. And she always assumes the best of Elend's. She says he was determined to do what was right for the people of Luthadel, as opposed to Kelsier. However, Elend didn't do anything until he had the baton handed to him. While Elend attended balls and casually read his books, Kelsier was enacting a plan that eventually toppled the Final Empire, something that everyone else had thought impossible. Don't get me wrong, I know that Vin was in love with Elend. I don't blame her for thinking well of Elend. I do, however, think that dismissing Kelsier as being inferior to Elend is a betrayal not only of Kelsier, but also of his memory. I have a very hard time thinking well of Vin when she would discard a friend like that.

He shook his arm free. "You still have some things to learn about friendship, Vin. I hope someday you realize what they are."

      I just finished. Amazing book, EUOL. I think it ranks as the second best book I have ever read, right after the Lord of the Rings. And never have I been so tempted to replace LOTR as my #1. Your characters were very well developed, but, at the same time, so was the milieu. I like the fact that you fully describe your magic system so that it is understood what the limitations are. It makes the fights more exciting when a person uses the known rules in unexpected ways, like Kelsier spinning the bars to deflect the arrows by Pushing on one side, and Pulling the other. Speaking of which, Kelsier is going to be sorely missed in the next book. He was definitely a personal favorite.

Anyway, congratulations EUOL, on having written such an extraordinary book.

So, since I am going to college soon, I just upgraded my computer quite a bit. My dad and I installed a new motherboard, processor, video card, and two SATA drives. Unfortunately, since I got new drives, that means that I have to reinstall all of my old programs, including my word processor. Before I upgraded my computer, I was using MS Works 99, which I still have the disc for. Unfortunately, my parents are moving after I go to college, so we have a bunch of stuff packed away in boxes. Including the cd key for Works.  I can't find a keygen that works for it, so it looks like I either have to download Works from somewhere, or I need a new word processor and a way to convert Works documents. Any ideas, suggestions etc...?

To continue the conversation about V being a terrorist or not, I would say definitely not, if it weren't for one thing. The fact that he tortured Evie was very repellent to me. I think that, all in all, it made for a good story, but it definitely showed me that he wasn't a clear cut freedom fighter.

As for the conservative deal, I personally would have preferred if the movie had used liberals, but I still like the overall message that the film conveyed. Too many people fail to realize that the same kind of threat could come from the conservatives or the liberals, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the film by any means. I realize that the fact that they did use the conservatives does mean that there is room for misinterpretation, but I think that the people who really understand the movie will look past that and realize that the movie wasn't really about conservatives versus liberals, it was about freedom.

http://www.apple.com/ipodphoto/
Has anyone seen this yet? It is a new iPod, either a 30 gb or 60gb that has a full color screen. It also stores photos, and you can upload album art so that it shows every time you play a song from that cd. I want!

Hey guys, I thought that it was a shame that this idea faded away so I thought I would bring it back up.

http://www.timewastersguide.com/boards/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=other;action=display;num=1082404162;start=0
Here is the other thread, in case you want to review on what has happened so far. I chose to start a new thread instead of resurrecting the old one, partly to avoid opening old wounds, but the thread is there if you want it.

A couple of new ideas, since we want something to describe what happens on the site, and something that is funny, why don't we all come up with a phrase that we agree on. One that we make up just for the shirt, not something from the forum.

As far as color, I would like to suggest white, black, or grey, just to keep things simple, and then make the designs on the shirt colorful. Put the TWG clock on the front, with "The Official Timewaster's Guide." On the back, put the quote and the site address. Either in black or in the same color as the TWG clock. Those are my suggestions, but whatever we choose to do, I definitely think we should do something.

For Christmas I am going to ask for some books on writing, and especially worldbuilding. Any suggestions?