121
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Official Typos Thread -- All of Brandon's books
« on: November 03, 2009, 08:54:05 PM »
I know, I've read the annotations 
News:
A lot of people describe Scalzi’s Old Man's War novels as military science fiction, but I would classify its sequel Zoë’s Tale as a space opera. It’s a story about, well, Zoë, a teenage girl whose parents are invited to take leadership roles in building a colony on a new planet. Zoë is an enthusiastic member of the group sent to colonize Roanoke, despite the risks—and the risks are considerable even before the political machinations of greater powers boil to the surface. Continue reading Zoë’s Tale
Review by Silk
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122
Suggestions Box / Re: Avatar Requirements
« on: November 03, 2009, 08:11:16 PM »
Wierd... I used what Imageshack labeled as "Direct URL" the first few times I tried it. Your link works though.
The suggestion remains though
The suggestion remains though
123
Suggestions Box / Avatar Requirements
« on: November 03, 2009, 07:59:18 PM »
As I was registering just a few days ago, I tried uploading an avatar for myself. You can find the image here. However the forums consistently refuse to acknowledge that I have an avatar!
Now, I assume there is something wrong with it, and I am just not getting an error message. Perhaps the dimensions are off? Or its size is too big, kb-wise? Would it be possible to either note somewhere, or make sure an error message appears, when somebody tries to use an avatar that doesn't fit the requirements?
And while we are on it - what are the requirements?
Now, I assume there is something wrong with it, and I am just not getting an error message. Perhaps the dimensions are off? Or its size is too big, kb-wise? Would it be possible to either note somewhere, or make sure an error message appears, when somebody tries to use an avatar that doesn't fit the requirements?
And while we are on it - what are the requirements?
124
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Official Typos Thread -- All of Brandon's books
« on: November 03, 2009, 07:46:11 PM »
If somebody has access to Mistborn 2, there is a chapter where Vin thinks about the mist spirit, and Alendi's logbook in the beginning of the next chapter mentions "spirits" or "creatures" (plural). I won't have access to the books for a little while, but if somebody wants to go through those excerpts of Alendi's logbook, find the one that refers to "spirits" and check the previous 1-2 chapters to make sure I am right, it would probably be appreciated.
125
Brandon Sanderson / Re: The Gathering Storm - First Impressions *SPOILERS*
« on: November 03, 2009, 07:43:13 PM »Quote from: Vatdoro
I don't see any evidence of the DO suddenly giving Rand access to the TP.
As pointed above, the TP is very closely related to the DO himself. It might be his essence even. And it's known to corrupt. Put that together with the fact that in the beginning of the book it didn't seem like Semirhage was going anywhere, and the DO's sadistic sense of mercy, and you can get a picture where the DO decided to free Semirhage and see if she handles Rand "properly". If she did as the DO wanted, he would let her live and serve. If she deviated from his plans, he would let Rand touch the TP, balefiring two birds with one stone (Rand starts walking the path of corruption that ultimately leads to the DO, and Semirhage the disobedient servant is disposed of).
And speaking of Rand and corruption, there is something else I noticed. Is Rand the one that causes the food to go bad? Before, his ta'veren nature would manifest itself in balance - equal quantity of good and bad things of equal quality would happen. But in this book, now that he has access to the TP*, more bad events seem to be occurring when he is around. As if the probability has shifted in a bad direction.
And another note on the corrupting nature of the TP. Did the rooms going slightly darker around Rand result from him embracing this new Source? I am almost positive that this was the case, but often times things one finds obvious are far from logical to his peers.
126
Brandon Sanderson / Re: The Gathering Storm - First Impressions *SPOILERS*
« on: November 03, 2009, 03:32:41 PM »
I see nothing about a hand...
Perhaps you can quote?
Perhaps you can quote?
127
Brandon Sanderson / Re: The Gathering Storm - First Impressions *SPOILERS*
« on: November 02, 2009, 01:22:17 AM »
Rand reaching through Moridin... eh, I can't really refute the theory, since there is almost nothing we know about the weird relationship between the two from the time when their balefires touched themselves in Shadar Logoth. But I agree that it looks unreasonable for the DO to give Rand access to the TP right after he had given Semirhage a second chance to capture him. And she looked to be pretty successful.
Rand using the TP to seal DO sounds very plausible. We saw Lews Therin muttering about how the reason the DO was able to taint saidin was because he was able to "physically" touch it. So if Rand & co. want to finish the whole business and not taint one of the two Sources, they will need to use the TP. But again, it's too logical, too easy to think of. So there is probably a twist to it.
Rand using the TP to seal DO sounds very plausible. We saw Lews Therin muttering about how the reason the DO was able to taint saidin was because he was able to "physically" touch it. So if Rand & co. want to finish the whole business and not taint one of the two Sources, they will need to use the TP. But again, it's too logical, too easy to think of. So there is probably a twist to it.
Quote from: Andrew the Great
The only issue with that theory? The TP comes from the DO. So, I can't really see it imprisoning him. But I like the theory.If I read it right, the True Power is the Dark One.
128
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Nice background music while reading TGS?
« on: November 01, 2009, 10:55:33 PM »
If you can get your hands on the Wheel of Time Soundtrack by Robert Berry, you'll have hard time finding anything more appropriate
Of course, you will have to buy that one, but $10 are hardly a challenge for a WoT fan! However if they are an issue, I could recommend WoT Hymns, which is a website with free WoT tracks. They are composed as classical music by a couple of composers, and some of them are really nice finds.
Of course, you will have to buy that one, but $10 are hardly a challenge for a WoT fan! However if they are an issue, I could recommend WoT Hymns, which is a website with free WoT tracks. They are composed as classical music by a couple of composers, and some of them are really nice finds.
129
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Thanks, Brandon...
« on: November 01, 2009, 10:48:33 PM »
Brandon appreciate thread, eh?
Let me join the crowd then. I am really happy with how TGS turned out to be. The book kept its WoT spirit - characters' voices mostly, I think - but it also had some Brandon elements. Namely a few avalanches, and the significantly darker setting. I might be influenced by Elantris and Mistborn, but I see Brandon as slightly darker author, and I find myself enjoying that a lot. Warbreaker was a brilliant novel, but it just didn't feel as good as the Mistborn trilogy or Elantris. *shrug* It might be just me.
But back to WoT. It was wonderful. It's no secret that the last few WoT books' story was dragging. Some of Perrin's chapters felt like they could summarized as "And he rode... and rode... and rode... and rode... and rode...". Yes, some chapters were really interesting, but the majority of the last... maybe 3 books (KoD excluded) were going down a slippery slope. And then TGS came, and it was just as good as the first WoT books - the ones almost everybody agrees were the best. I honestly expect ToM and AMoL to be even better, as Brandon grows more familiar with Jordan's style and world.
Let me join the crowd then. I am really happy with how TGS turned out to be. The book kept its WoT spirit - characters' voices mostly, I think - but it also had some Brandon elements. Namely a few avalanches, and the significantly darker setting. I might be influenced by Elantris and Mistborn, but I see Brandon as slightly darker author, and I find myself enjoying that a lot. Warbreaker was a brilliant novel, but it just didn't feel as good as the Mistborn trilogy or Elantris. *shrug* It might be just me.
But back to WoT. It was wonderful. It's no secret that the last few WoT books' story was dragging. Some of Perrin's chapters felt like they could summarized as "And he rode... and rode... and rode... and rode... and rode...". Yes, some chapters were really interesting, but the majority of the last... maybe 3 books (KoD excluded) were going down a slippery slope. And then TGS came, and it was just as good as the first WoT books - the ones almost everybody agrees were the best. I honestly expect ToM and AMoL to be even better, as Brandon grows more familiar with Jordan's style and world.
130
Brandon Sanderson / Re: The Gathering Storm - First Impressions *SPOILERS*
« on: November 01, 2009, 10:41:01 PM »
Ah, I had written a long reply in some other forum... And, yes, I registered so I can reply to this thread 
I hope I don't come out as a spammer - I really do have a lot to say about the book
The book was really awesome. I am easily placing it on par with the first Wheel of Time books - the ones the entire WoT community agrees were the best ones. The setting is definitely darker, something I am starting to identify as Sanderson's style, but the original WoT feeling is still strong - the men are still wool-headed, the women are still flaming
One thing I noticed - despite the fact that we have the standard viewpoint characters, only few of them actually have developing story lines. Rand changes a lot (I'll talk about him specifically below), but even though Mat and Perrin travel quite a bit themselves, there is no real change in their characters. There is a conflict brewing in Perrin, and there is something about Mat becoming... what was it, husbandry? But that was all from them... Much like Nynaeve, Suian, and even Tuon (Fortuona, anyone?). Yes, there was some action, but... not really.
Now, let's talk Rand. OMGWTFBBQ! I felt so... so... so excited when he touched the True Power. Vengeance incarnate, ladies and gentlemen, vengeance incarnate. The reference how he had leveled up from steel to cuendillar felt a little weird, but I get the point. Sanderson definitely did an awesome job making me hate on of the characters I previously loved so much - which was supposed to happen, of course, otherwise the ending wouldn't be as good as it is. But back to Rand's hardness - I was scared for the boy. The decisions he started making, the fear he instilled, the ruthlessness that started to show up, and the brutal coldness were all very interesting shifts in character. Yes, he was rough before, but after that encounter with Semirhage things just started to get plain scary.
One thing I loved about this change though - Lews Therin. Telamon has always been my number one favorite character in the series, despite the fact that he is... a little dead. Seeing more of his sane part, seeing him think of himself as "we" now, and seeing Rand use the occasional "us" instead of "me" were all indication that there is a merge in personalities between the two - thereby fulfilling Min's vision from a few books back. Lews Therin growing more sane, Rand going more insane; Lews Therin reacting to events from Rand's life (how he added Elmindreda Farshaw and Ilyena Therin Moerelle to Rand's list, how they discussed the Dark One's imprisonment...), and Rand starting to actually feel, instead of just remember events from Lews Therin's life (the palace, Ilyena, referring to Moridin as Elan, ...) - brilliant.
And going even further down the path - the moment when Rand destroyed Graendal. Intense. I expected him to do something like this, but seeing it happen, and how he shrugged it off - gives you the shivers.
And, of course, the ending. How he almost killed Tam, how he couldn't bring himself to destroy the Seanchan, and the contemplations on the top of the Dragonmount. I must admit, I was worried all the way until Lews Therin said "Why? Could it be... so that we can have a second chance." That's when I knew almost with certainty that there will be redemption for Rand. I was half hoping the last chapter will be Rand Traveling to Tear or Caemlyn, rushing into the room where Min/Elayne was, and just hugging her tight, laughing genuinely all along. For the sheer surprise of him doing something that would've been so out-of-character a few chapters ago.
[Other users' replies]
Rand slaying Moridin makes too much sense, it is too logical to be the answer
The two women to complete Rand's circle... Yea, we have quite a few to choose from. Elayne, Avhienda, Egwene, Moiraine. I am not sure how Rand will feel about Aes Sedai in the next book - his distrust came from his paranoia that everybody wants to control him. I have a feeling he won't be the same ass after his revelations at the end. Maybe, just maybe, this aspect of him will change too...
Now, the note Verin left to Mat - and many others, I would guess - baffle me. I didn't pay attention to how much had passed after their meeting and Verin's death, but the Brown sounded like she planned to come back. It didn't look like she intended to waste much time in the place she was going to visit. Of course, the author could have deceived us easily, or Verin could have not known about how things would go in the White Tower, but something still bugs me about the whole story. As far as the action letter goes, I haven't a single idea. It's a set of instructions, telling Mat to do... what? Go somewhere? Meet with Rand ASAP? Find Perrin? Those are somewhat obvious, so I'll rule them out. It probably has to do with the Black Ajah/Forsaken, and maybe a plot against Mat. We'll see, and I think we'll be surprised.
Asmodean... as I mentioned in the previous thread, I think Brandon knows who killed him. And knowing Jordan, we'll probably learn too... very close to the end of Memory of Light.
[In response to a reply that mentioned ToM's status bar indicating 70%] Brandon can write fast. I've been keeping an eye on the progress bar, and he's moved 15-20% in the last month. I think we can expect Towers of Midnight sometime next Spring. Summer at latest.
Egwene's story line was intriguing to me as well. I think she handled the situations well, and grew quite a bit as a character. I only wish Elaida had performed better - her downfall from the last...2-3 books has been tremendous. Unreal even. I just can't imagine how Elaida from the first few books, that strong, emotionless and regal woman could turn into this... child, throwing tantrums, and not being able to neither think, nor reason. I hope we get to see more from her, even captured by the Seanchan. Maybe a heroic rescue?
[More users' replies]
It seems likely that Mat will be the instrument of peace-forging between Rand's empire and Seanchan. I hadn't thought of that, although it's fairly intuitive.
I don't think Perrin is with Rand. Verin had no reasons to drag him along too, and I don't think he would abandon his army. And there was indication than an entire army has arrived in the city, so it's safe to assume that he is still traveling normally.
Rand and the True Power... I am not sure how I feel about that. Or what I think. Rand wasn't quite sure what he was accessing - it looked like he knew, but completely ignored the consequences of it. But now that there is no longer distinction between him and Lews Therin, I think he'll be careful using it; after all Lews Therin was feeling stabs of panic every time Rand would even think about this Source.
As for the saa and who can touch this Power, it looked like Rand just seized the power. It might have been given to him by the Dark One in an attempt to tempt him and then break him (which nearly happened), but it looked like he just took it. If this is correct, then the Dark One, in a way, tells the Forsaken how to access the True Power, and is usually not mad at them if they use it. But Rand didn't need neither permission, nor guidance - he just grabbed it. So this event is either a very interesting plan of the Dark One, or a huge hindrance for him.
Also, about Moridin - he sounded tired in the dream. If Rand was more civil, the two would really like old friends chatting before the fireplace. I wonder what such unwillingness to destroy Lews Therin implies...
[And even more replies]
Here's a thought about Seanchan. Rand saw that the people in his empire are unhappy. He also saw the the lands ruled by the Seanchan prosper. We know that he has to kneel before the Crystal Throne. I am starting to think that he will give up control in his lands - fulfilling the prophecy - and focus on his own battles against the Forsaken and the Shadow. Hopefully go and save Lan's ass.
I hope I don't come out as a spammer - I really do have a lot to say about the book
The book was really awesome. I am easily placing it on par with the first Wheel of Time books - the ones the entire WoT community agrees were the best ones. The setting is definitely darker, something I am starting to identify as Sanderson's style, but the original WoT feeling is still strong - the men are still wool-headed, the women are still flaming
One thing I noticed - despite the fact that we have the standard viewpoint characters, only few of them actually have developing story lines. Rand changes a lot (I'll talk about him specifically below), but even though Mat and Perrin travel quite a bit themselves, there is no real change in their characters. There is a conflict brewing in Perrin, and there is something about Mat becoming... what was it, husbandry? But that was all from them... Much like Nynaeve, Suian, and even Tuon (Fortuona, anyone?). Yes, there was some action, but... not really.
Now, let's talk Rand. OMGWTFBBQ! I felt so... so... so excited when he touched the True Power. Vengeance incarnate, ladies and gentlemen, vengeance incarnate. The reference how he had leveled up from steel to cuendillar felt a little weird, but I get the point. Sanderson definitely did an awesome job making me hate on of the characters I previously loved so much - which was supposed to happen, of course, otherwise the ending wouldn't be as good as it is. But back to Rand's hardness - I was scared for the boy. The decisions he started making, the fear he instilled, the ruthlessness that started to show up, and the brutal coldness were all very interesting shifts in character. Yes, he was rough before, but after that encounter with Semirhage things just started to get plain scary.
One thing I loved about this change though - Lews Therin. Telamon has always been my number one favorite character in the series, despite the fact that he is... a little dead. Seeing more of his sane part, seeing him think of himself as "we" now, and seeing Rand use the occasional "us" instead of "me" were all indication that there is a merge in personalities between the two - thereby fulfilling Min's vision from a few books back. Lews Therin growing more sane, Rand going more insane; Lews Therin reacting to events from Rand's life (how he added Elmindreda Farshaw and Ilyena Therin Moerelle to Rand's list, how they discussed the Dark One's imprisonment...), and Rand starting to actually feel, instead of just remember events from Lews Therin's life (the palace, Ilyena, referring to Moridin as Elan, ...) - brilliant.
And going even further down the path - the moment when Rand destroyed Graendal. Intense. I expected him to do something like this, but seeing it happen, and how he shrugged it off - gives you the shivers.
And, of course, the ending. How he almost killed Tam, how he couldn't bring himself to destroy the Seanchan, and the contemplations on the top of the Dragonmount. I must admit, I was worried all the way until Lews Therin said "Why? Could it be... so that we can have a second chance." That's when I knew almost with certainty that there will be redemption for Rand. I was half hoping the last chapter will be Rand Traveling to Tear or Caemlyn, rushing into the room where Min/Elayne was, and just hugging her tight, laughing genuinely all along. For the sheer surprise of him doing something that would've been so out-of-character a few chapters ago.
[Other users' replies]
Rand slaying Moridin makes too much sense, it is too logical to be the answer
The two women to complete Rand's circle... Yea, we have quite a few to choose from. Elayne, Avhienda, Egwene, Moiraine. I am not sure how Rand will feel about Aes Sedai in the next book - his distrust came from his paranoia that everybody wants to control him. I have a feeling he won't be the same ass after his revelations at the end. Maybe, just maybe, this aspect of him will change too...
Now, the note Verin left to Mat - and many others, I would guess - baffle me. I didn't pay attention to how much had passed after their meeting and Verin's death, but the Brown sounded like she planned to come back. It didn't look like she intended to waste much time in the place she was going to visit. Of course, the author could have deceived us easily, or Verin could have not known about how things would go in the White Tower, but something still bugs me about the whole story. As far as the action letter goes, I haven't a single idea. It's a set of instructions, telling Mat to do... what? Go somewhere? Meet with Rand ASAP? Find Perrin? Those are somewhat obvious, so I'll rule them out. It probably has to do with the Black Ajah/Forsaken, and maybe a plot against Mat. We'll see, and I think we'll be surprised.
Asmodean... as I mentioned in the previous thread, I think Brandon knows who killed him. And knowing Jordan, we'll probably learn too... very close to the end of Memory of Light.
[In response to a reply that mentioned ToM's status bar indicating 70%] Brandon can write fast. I've been keeping an eye on the progress bar, and he's moved 15-20% in the last month. I think we can expect Towers of Midnight sometime next Spring. Summer at latest.
Egwene's story line was intriguing to me as well. I think she handled the situations well, and grew quite a bit as a character. I only wish Elaida had performed better - her downfall from the last...2-3 books has been tremendous. Unreal even. I just can't imagine how Elaida from the first few books, that strong, emotionless and regal woman could turn into this... child, throwing tantrums, and not being able to neither think, nor reason. I hope we get to see more from her, even captured by the Seanchan. Maybe a heroic rescue?
[More users' replies]
It seems likely that Mat will be the instrument of peace-forging between Rand's empire and Seanchan. I hadn't thought of that, although it's fairly intuitive.
I don't think Perrin is with Rand. Verin had no reasons to drag him along too, and I don't think he would abandon his army. And there was indication than an entire army has arrived in the city, so it's safe to assume that he is still traveling normally.
Rand and the True Power... I am not sure how I feel about that. Or what I think. Rand wasn't quite sure what he was accessing - it looked like he knew, but completely ignored the consequences of it. But now that there is no longer distinction between him and Lews Therin, I think he'll be careful using it; after all Lews Therin was feeling stabs of panic every time Rand would even think about this Source.
As for the saa and who can touch this Power, it looked like Rand just seized the power. It might have been given to him by the Dark One in an attempt to tempt him and then break him (which nearly happened), but it looked like he just took it. If this is correct, then the Dark One, in a way, tells the Forsaken how to access the True Power, and is usually not mad at them if they use it. But Rand didn't need neither permission, nor guidance - he just grabbed it. So this event is either a very interesting plan of the Dark One, or a huge hindrance for him.
Also, about Moridin - he sounded tired in the dream. If Rand was more civil, the two would really like old friends chatting before the fireplace. I wonder what such unwillingness to destroy Lews Therin implies...
[And even more replies]
Here's a thought about Seanchan. Rand saw that the people in his empire are unhappy. He also saw the the lands ruled by the Seanchan prosper. We know that he has to kneel before the Crystal Throne. I am starting to think that he will give up control in his lands - fulfilling the prophecy - and focus on his own battles against the Forsaken and the Shadow. Hopefully go and save Lan's ass.