Max is a Shadowblade, a supernatural--and supernaturally competent--warrior bound to protect her witch Giselle. As a Shadowblade, Max doesn't age. She is better, faster, stronger than any ordinary human being. And she hates it. Giselle betrayed her trust to make Max what she is, and though she is magically compelled to protect Giselle and follow orders, Max works against her witch in every way she can. Continue reading Bitter Night
Review by Silk
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The sociologist part of me tends to think everytime I hear a writer whine about censorship, it's really a plea for more power. They want the power to decide what people read, and censequently think.That works more in the favor of the censor. Writers can only make their ideas available. People decide for themselves whether or not they are going to even read those ideas, and then they have the chance to decide what they think. The only way they can decide what people read is if they have interesting ideas. Censors, on the other hand, directly control what people can and can't read/think.
Course, if you say something that's going to offend a large portion of the culture to which you belong (like offend the 90% of U.S. citizens that follow a religion, or refere to everyone that doesn't live in a large city as a hick) then you deserve to be censored if purely for being a social idiot.If they were social idiots, then they wouldn't have to be censored. Few people, if anyone, would read their books, and they would naturally stop being published. If people do read their books, then they had a point that people thought was worth considering. Even if most people buy the book to denounce it, it still means that people were interested in the issue.
*searches through the archives to find the large number of threads about teens talking crap about their parents and labels them "Exhibit A"I'm not sure that I understand what you are saying. If you want to discuss my character, then I would prefer not to do so here, out of respect for Brandon. If that's not what you are getting at, then I need you to explain.
He visited all the families for the express purpose of having them think of him as a god. Sorry, but I can't see that as any other thing but ego. His inner motives, however, are unknowable, because they're never directly addressed.On page 296, Kelsier is talking to Ham about Ham being a general and he thinks to himself:
But if Vin is actually wrong here, and Kelsier wasn't really as arrogant as he appeared to her, does that make her a horrible person to be thought less of? I don't think so. As readers, we saw inside Kelsier's head for many scenes in the book, which is something Vin could never do.I don't necessarily think that it makes Vin a horrible person. I do have a hard time liking her, though. I set a great deal of stock in friendship, and I think that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat their friends. True, she couldn't see into his head, but there are many instances where you can see the Kelsier cares for the skaa. As a matter of fact, I just found something interesting on page 450 of Mistborn.
"He really does seem to care for them, Vin thought, watching Kelsier pick up a small child. I don't think it's just a show. This is how he is--he loves people, loves the skaa. But...it's more like the love of a parent for a child than it is like the love of a man for his equals.She knows that Kelsier loves the people. So why would she think ill of him in this book?
Also, another thing Brandon is saying here is that arrogance isn't necessarily a bad thing. He says it other places as well in the book. When arrogance is labeled self-confidence, it's considered healthy.But the way she says it indicates that she thinks that Elend is a better king in part because he wasn't arrogant like Kelsier was. I agree that in other places in the book, it says that arrogance can be a good quality. But here, Vin seems to say that Elend is better because he is more humble.
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.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.
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.
He shook his arm free. "You still have some things to learn about friendship, Vin. I hope someday you realize what they are."
