#Especially with Kaladin from the first book

[anenlightenedwriter]

If you were to ask me about a traumatized man, with a beard, brown eyes, brown hair, is usually one of the people left alive after a traumatic event, whose hair is scraggly in the lowest moments in his life, mostly sacrifices himself to save his loved ones, is a leader. I have two men in mind… one is 19-21, the other is 35-40 years old. Kaladin from Stormlight Archives and Odysseus from The Odyssey.

[seirei-bh]

I need to talk about Sylphrena and Renarin as individuals and their evolution in Wind and Truth

Syl and Renarin are among my favorite Stormlight characters since the first book, but in WaT posts almost every mention I've seen of them has been in regards to ships, so I'm going to put that topic aside because I want to highlight here how much I've loved them in this book as well for their evolution and roles.

Warning! FULL SPOILERS Wind and Truth below!

Syl is -too often- a character VERY underrated both in the books and in the fandom, not being appreciated enough except just as a "cute pixie" or "Kaladin's spren", something that makes me sad since I think she doesn't get the recognition she deserves, but in WaT she really stands out as an individual woman. And I love that so much! We see her becoming more self-aware, wanting to not only live for Kaladin but live for herself, she becomes a scribe and learns to write by her own efforts, because it's something she really likes, she finds a hobby and a dream. She also actively helps Szeth in one of his tests and she is the one who discovers the hidden trap, where we get a chapter from her pov. This book shows us a Syl who is smart, funny, witty, strong-willed, and also shows us very healthy and positive interactions of Syl with Kaladin and other individuals like Adolin and Shallan at the beginning, and then with Nightblood, Szeth, Nale. And in the end… she becomes the Queen of the Sprens! why is NOBODY talking about this??! And she also gets a physical body properly (I was afraid she would do it suffering from an experiment by Ishar, but no, it was thanks to the 5th ideal), so she can live in the physical world as she wished. Syl matures, grows, figures out who she wants to be and helps people who need it, while also learning to be an individual with her own personality and dreams. It's true that the character developments in the Shinovar storyline that stand out are those of Kaladin and Szeth, but we can't forget that Syl has also had her own: we see Syl as a member of Bridge 4, as a scribe, as a co-therapist, as a warrior (in spirit), and as a queen. And I'm very happy for her.

I hope that after WaT more people start to value Syl, and that those who hate a certain ship and have feared/hated Syl -without her deserving it- for that possibility in past or future, can value how beautiful and healthy the dynamic and bond between Kaladin and Syl is regardless of that, and how amazing is Syl as individual character, since Syl's scenes in this book are beautiful and heartwarmings. And I can't wait to see her in future books, to know what her role as queen of the spren will be like and how she will also help the heralds alongside Kaladin. After seeing how Kaladin and Syl summoned the Honor-spear together in the Oath, I now wonder if it will be possible for both of them to be able to summon a spear individually, so could it be possible that we see them fight together side by side in battlefield?? That would be amazing.

Now Renarin, he was always a character that caught my attention, I found him mysterious and interesting, and I've been very happy seeing how in each book and especially in WaT, he has become a much more self-confident person, someone braver, stronger, smarter, and who has managed to find his place in the world, both within Bridge 4, and in his family and also, little by little, about what he wants in the future: a world of peace where singers/listeners and humans can live together in peace and understand each other. And also that he wants to be free to love whoever he wants, and to be radiant, erudite, and he has the courage to free Ba ​​Ado Misharan and to decline to be king at the end and instead opt for an egalitarian government and shared government (it seems that it will be a mix between a republic and a democracy, perhaps). His relationship with Rlain is beautiful (but I'll talk more about them in another post <3), and that bond between them has helped them grow too, I also really liked how his friendship with some members of Bridge 4 develops here, especially Drehy, and with Shallan as a family, who supports him in his decisions. I'm looking forward to seeing the future Renarin, wiser, more self-confident, as a ruler and how he will try to form a coexistence between singers and humans, and of course to see him married to Rlain! I want to see what will happen with Ba Ado Mishram and I want to see that Renarin who faces his visions with courage and reason, as he has done in this book.

In conclusion: I LOVE MY BABIES SYL AND RENARIN AND I'M VERY PROUD OF THEM!

[diabolicalworldwriter]

Jesus, I just got to the point in Words of Radiance where Kal is in prison and Dalinar basically says "You're not going to end racism by being radical and acting upset about it. You can't just expect us to treat you like an equal because you're not one. Play nice and maybe the racists will grow to respect you"

I.

Buddy what the fuck

In general I think I've found that I'm... Not as fond of Dalinar as I used to be. Don't get me wrong, he does some great things and he's constantly trying to improve and I appreciate that. Flawed characters make stories interesting and I think Brandon does a fantastic job of writing him. However, he is overly strict and judgemental (Still not forgiving him for hating on Adolin for trying to express himself a bit more through style in ROW; let my boy dress up a bit if he wants), he struggles to accept other ways of doing things (we could look to Adolin again, being "too friendly" with those he commands and Dalinar going "noooo they might respect you less if they think you see them as an equal individual"), and while he talks about how he wants to change how everything works, if someone tries to defy convention in a way he doesn't approve of he shuts them down. (Kaladin pointing out very fair issues with how dark eyes are punished severely and light eyes get away with everything only to be talked down at until he shut up and fell in line, for example.) He wants change and has power to bring it about but won't do anything too radical for it, I guess, and that frustrates me. He tends to support systems as long as they work for his own goals, even if they're still exploitative and deeply unjust, while also complaining that everyone else is being exploitative and unjust. I dislike that he acts like he's doing Kaladin such a favor by treating him as almost an equal. "I'm sticking my neck out by treating you like a human, act civil and don't try to speak too loudly about the injustices yet, you might make the others uncomfortable." Dalinar isn't like other light eyes, he's so quirky and different and sometimes acts a bit less classist and racist!!! Aren't we lucky!! Idk maybe I'm stating my point a bit too strongly but damn. He's giving "yeah I'm a stubborn old man but really I'm quite progressive, I don't even go out of my way to hate crime people"

Words of Radiance, while I enjoy it, is rather difficult to get through because it's just so many main characters who I generally appreciate being awful to/supporting or ignoring awful behavior towards Kaladin and if he reacts they're like ":0000 how dare he attack first" (I appreciate Zahel chewing out Adolin for antagonizing and then fighting Kal in shardplate because goddamn Adolin I love you but that sucked.)

I'm finding Elhokar a lot more unlikeable on this reread as well. He's meant to be unlikeable of course, so good job on that, but Jesus he can be the worst. Honestly standing beside my past thoughts that what Moash did wrong was not in turning on the system that oppresses him and all the dark eyes, but just that he knowingly hurt Kaladin and other people who cared about him repeatedly and severely to do so.

I'm on board with killing horrible leaders (especially if it seems the only way to remove them and stop them from causing harm: people shouldn't have to suffer and die as part of a leader's learning curve and character growth, and going "they're working on it" when people are actively suffering is garbage. I'm still sad at Elhokar's death but I'm not sad that he's no longer king) but I draw the line at abusing and killing one's friends and I am just hoping he comes to terms with what he has done wrong and improves in book five.

Anyways that was long and scattered I'm sorry lmao you should have heard my rant to my poor cousin, I was rambling for like half an hour.

[nightblood-autoresponder]

Best part of reading Twok Prime is seeing how all the characters Brandon conceived for the initial version, he lets self actualize in the final draft. Shinri and Merin turn into a much more internally-motivated Shallan and Kaladin; Shallan gets to plan her own quest, anything bad said about her in childhood is proved abusive nonsense, and when she gets set up with an arranged marriage, it's to a hot prince instead of a dirty old man; and instead of jokes about Meren being a country bumpkin who's trying to model his Quest after bards' tales, Kal get the whole class struggle internal conflict plotline we know and love. Elhokar even gets his sympathy plotline in Oathbringer.

But this applies to Renarin and Jasnah especially. Prime!Renarin accepts his demotion from Elhokar gracefully and is perfectly happy being a Support Class to Meren. In Stormlight actual he actually has a problem being pushed to the side like that and gets to do crazy shit about it. He throws himself in the dueling ring with no chance to succeed, sword screaming, and gets rewarded for it by getting to the kill-thunderclasts power level a book later. He both gets his struggles with blasphemous foresight highlighted and gets a boyfriend to bear them with. Canon lets that kid shoot for the moon and get there.

And Jasnah? First of all by the time canon starts, she's set aside her most salient Prime goal of looking out for her bloodline in favor of her personal Radiant/desolation research, so there's that. She retains some self doubt but not enough to stop her acting on (killing people about) her consequentialist beliefs. But her main plots in Prime she gets married off to Amaram who is also kind of Sadeas, so she's navigating that, and she is still an atheist but her romance plot with Taln brushes close up against converting her, or making her wish she did believe in him, that sort of thing. And in contrast, in canon she suffers nobody telling her who to marry, is breaking up with her divine-touched boyfriend because he's not as committed to the relationship as she needs a long term partner to be, and has become asexual. Now THAT is atheist representation.

[beyond-far-horizons]

Halfway impressions on Stormlight 5 Wind and Truth. Minor spoilers but no major giveways...

Jeez I read all the preview chapters before the release and have been reading like crazy and I'm still only halfway through. That's 656 pages, folks, this book is a BEAST!

Overall all really enjoying it. Pace is breakneck, revelations, especially cosmere ones, are coming thick and fast. Alot of Shardic action, just how I like it!

Pros

Kaladin and Szeth's extremely awkward to the point of hilariousness, occasionally heartbreaking buddy cop pilgrimage.

Dalinar and Navani uncovering major secrets...

Shallan also undercovering major secrets whilst attaining major growth, thirdwheeling the cosmere's cutest ship and yes I'm sorry I can't help myself shipping her with Mraize (and Kaladin and yes before you ask her actual husband).

Need a prequel for the Heralds because damn. Also Taln is not only nice to animals, but has balls of steel. I'm surprised Odium didn't let him out early just because he was a badass.

Every Interlude so far has been great, which is a first.

Shards!

I don't want to speak for these communities, but I feel Brando's rep for neurodiverse and lgbt+ folks has really increased. I'm proud of him considering he started from a very prejudiced place and has really worked to inform himself in recent years.

We got a sweet, teeny-weeny love scene that also wasn't explicit or cringe. Go you, Brandon!

Cons

The use of modern American slang seems to be increasing and it takes me completely out of story every time. I know people will say 'it's translated' and 'it makes the story accessible', but to me (IMO) it feels lazy and is inconsistent, therefore severely undermines his characterisation and worldbuilding when we also get made-up words and customs, suffixes and other registers to build verisimilitude. Eg: 'Dating' (when they used 'courting' before) 'rookie mistake', 'it is what it is', 'I'm game'. And don't get me started on the sudden use of swearing...

The silly humour is still there at times and it's still eyerolling. It's gotten a bit better, but mileage will vary. I did love a certain character's armour though (if you know, you know.)

I know he says his prose is workman-like and he doesn't want to fake it, but I'd love more description. Brandon can create some beautiful turns of phrases when he wants too, so I'd like to see a little more of that.

Pacing is full-on, but you'll often wish to stay with a particular POV and then you'll get a quick change. All adds to the Sanderlanche, but I haven't been able to stop myself flicking ahead occasionally to my peril!

No offense to the shippers, but I feel Brando is def pushing Kal towards a particular ship that makes me feel uncomfortable. Not Szeth, someone else (no spoilers).

Very excited to continue, but I know it's going to break my heart!

[realclaramorrow]

wat spoilers (whole thing this time). more thoughts I'm full of thoughts (made better from my emotion blinded previous finished book rant)

ok now that I've had some time to sit and think, I enjoyed the book AND I think it couldve taken a couple more editing rounds. I'm sure none of these are new thoughts. I can't believe in my previous post I was right about everything except my opinion on dalinar.

kaladin telling ishar hes szeth's therapist and then being like man idk either was a clunky joke and really took me out of the moment. "honor is dead but I'll see what I can do" is a good line but also a bit cringeworthy at this point? I think his ending is at first glance what he needs but if you look deeper he's isolated from everyone he's ever loved (except syl) and has to be on the clock as a therapist for 9 people with multiple millenia of trauma 24/7. I'm upset for him. This is not a break.

adolin's situation is also good at a glance but bad long term. just like kaladin and shallan he's completely isolated from his loved ones (except maya). shakadolin was too powerful, they had to be stuck in different dimensions. he never got to forgive his father. maya is basically the only method of communication between free nations. at least he and gawx can be bros? I love the way they won azir. he's possibly continuing the absent kholin father tradition by accident.

shallan is pregnant maybe? I dont like that, I think pregnancy plots are usually stupid and poorly done. hope she can get back to the physical world because giving birth in shadesmar seems bad and dangerous (painspren, no midwife, not much access to food/water, no one she loves to support her). I wish shallan had had more complex thoughts about rlain and renarin because she's smart and while dealing with a great many things I think should've at least briefly thought like "oh god they are going to have such a terrible time in the physical world I need to make it so clear that I am supportive."

I understand that Jasnah was exhausted but the argument for thaylenah felt a tiny bit out of character for her. she's admittedly not great at talking to people and was caught off guard at every turn, but I think previous scenarios showed she could've handled it better, especially with so much on the line.

I can't believe (actually, I very much can) that odium did that to gav. thats so fucked up. and preserving his city's souls in the spiritual realm? absolutely fuck off. his grandchildren are safe but the only kholin grandchild doesn't get to be, directly because of him? this is a 20 year old with almost no real memories of the people that loved him, maybe a few faint ones from age 5 or before. this kid was groomed to be a lamb for slaughter for fifteen years.

I have hope for moash redemption? I imagine kaladin showing up and he's literally a herald (of second chances) and moash (with investiture vision) is like WHY ARE YOU GOD WHAT THE FUCK

the shattered plains got the best ending it could, in my opinion. free listener state!! yes!!

I appreciate that dalinar's death wasnt in combat, but by the strength of the storm. he was a king until the end, and I feel bad that I ragged on him so hard because he immediately started changing for the better. also, claimed by another? I can't tell if that's just death or if thaidakelsier wants him bad or if another god has spoken for him. gotta know. maybe valor?

also, I really need to read the sunlit man. for as much as I love sigzil you'd think I would've gotten around to it already. I also have not read: warbreaker, elantris, the emperor's soul, yumi and the nightmare painter, shadows for silence, sixth of the dusk, or white sand. its not like I wont be busy during these 7 years.

[little-cute-pink-horrible-being]

RoW Villains part 1

Did ever notive just how flipping stacked the cast of Rhythm of War villians is? We have:

Leshwi - do we even consider her a villian? Like, she is on the enemy side, but she is the coolest one there. She has honor, she cares about Kal, she doesn't oppose Venli's plan to recreate the listeners. And the most important part - she fights on the human's side by the end. She chooses it, knowing full well that if she dies her soulwill tortured on Braise. Not to mention her reaction to Venli having a spren. Such a character.

The Pursuer - With all the moral ambiguity, complex motivations and relationships of this book's villians it's honestly nice to just have a crazy, scary guy.

His idea of pursuing Kaladin, posing an immediate physical threat (as opposed to Moash who has a lot of impact on Kaladin's mental health, but doesn't constantly threaten his life) is a very good idea for an antagonist, especially for a one-book antagonist. His abilities and crazyness make him just scary enough.

And by far the best thing about him is the way he is killed (the first time). It's not about him. It's about Kaladin. It's about how done, broken and angry Kal is. And he throws everything at the Pursuer. The way he makes him run. The way everyone make way for Kaladin when he comes to fight him. The way everyone suddenly see Lezian as "small" compared to Kaladin.

Honestly Odysseus from Epic the Musical in Six Hundred Strike comes to mind. I feel like it could've been even better if Kaladin learned about Teft's death before the fight.

And the second time he is killed, this time for good? That's setting up something. This El guy can turn out to be Odium's champion and won't be surprised at all. Though I still wish it would be someone more shoking.

I feel like I wrote too little about Leshwi compared to Lezian. No disrespect to her, I love her. I just had a lot of thoughts about The Pursuer. Part two coming soon!

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Finished Wind and Truth!

Wow, that was a ride.

I made a lot of incorrect predictions (sorry, Colot, I entirely misjudged you) and a couple accurate ones.

I don’t yet know how I feel about the ending. I did enjoy Szeth’s and Kaladin’s arc, and that was the part I was most looking forwards to.

One thing that stood out to me as well done was how some of the main characters’ conflicts were easier for them precisely because they confronted a d addressed them in previous books. It brought them full-circle in a very effective way.

Kaladin facing Ishar’s darkness and standing despite it, because it felt like the worst of his own darkness that he’d already faced and defied. Shallan taking a little time she needed to confront a new revelation in the Spiritual Realm, but facing it without breaking and with a new solidness and maturity and surety in herself, and identifying the trick Iyatil was playing with Formless (excellent set-up there, the kind of thing that isn’t obvious to a reader but makes perfect sense in retrospect), because she knew she’d resolved her conflicts around that. Dalinar not breaking under Odium’s visions because he’d already been through them. Navani facing the same insecurities she did in ROW and using Odium’s focus on them to manipulate him.

I was also impressed with Dalinar’s arc because I’d been frustrated in ROW and the first two-thirds or so of WAT with how little he’d seemed to have changed despite his revelations in Oathbringer – he’d faced his terrible past actions and then, despite recognizing and accepting them, continued to be demanding and judgemental of others and sure that he had to be the one in charge and the one to fix things. So seeing him, through his time in the Spiritual Realm, realize that he needed to actually understand and listen to others, and not just judge them based on how much they concorded with his purposes and his standards, was the exact character development he needed. (And after that realization, that not everything had to be about him and his decisions, him taking up Honor and keeping it was never a resolution that would have fit his character development.)

I didn’t like what happened with Sigzil. The death-prophecies are always at least a little vague and cryptic – having one that obvious, to make him break his oaths, just felt cheesy (in the prophecy itself) and contrived (in the result). It had to happen to set up The Sunlit Man…but I didn’t like The Sunlit Man enough to be content with an event like that in The Stormlight Archive being written around it. Poor Sig.

I’m going to be looking for some fanfic on Kaladin therapizing the Heralds (especially Chanah, agh she cut her hair to not look like/be reminded of Shallan 😭, she doesn’t deserve for me to be sad for her but in line with the book I’m gonna do so anyway) over the coming years.

If it had to end with Shallan and Adolin separated, I’m glad they’re both at least alive and coping. Once Adolin lost his leg – and when that thunderclast fell on him, I did at first think he was dead – I was reasonably confident he’d survive, because there’s no point in doing that with a character and then killing them off right after. I liked what Adolin achieved with the spren of both Swords and Plate, it fits really well with his arc in Oathbringer in ROW.

I did not want the Gav-is-Odium’s-champion theory to be true, and I did not like it being true. It felt cheap, when Navani found him through Connection and knew he was the real Gav and got him out safely – and that was her biggest achievement in the book – to have that undermined in a way that felt like retconning it.

I’m glad Szeth finally found peace (and got married!) but I’d have liked to see a little more of that. (And on the flip side, I think the portions of the book in both the Spiritual Realm and Azimir could have been condensed somewhat without detracting from the book.)

[worldwithinworld]

In The Way of Kings (Sanderson), Dalinar is a big believer in The Way of Kings (Nohadon). He works hard to follow the ideals portrayed in its pages. In conjunction with that, he runs his army on the ancient Alethi Codes of War. He tries to be a good example to other nobility and encourages them to follow The Way of Kings and the Codes, but over and over again, they tell him those are impractical and impossible for people to follow in the real world.

Eventually, Dalinar somewhat comes around to their side. He still believes in The Way of Kings, but in a limited way. He tells Elhokar that the book presents a lovely ideal, but that ideal could only really work in a time of peace after people have learned honor. Before then, especially in a war, you can't just lead by example, trusting in fellow adults to choose to act with honor. First, a leader must use his power to force those under him to act right, treating them like children until they get in line. Then, someday, the ideal of The Way of Kings might be possible, but not in hard times. Not in wartime.

Meanwhile, there's this slave on the Shattered Plains who's barely an adult, who has been stripped of all of his privilege and power, and he's embodying Nohadon's vision of leadership. His time in the war couldn't be harder, but he leads by example. He restores dignity to men who have been beaten down and treated like even less than children. He follows those Alethi Codes of War everyone says are so impossible. And he may not have even been taught any of that other than indirectly in the morals his parents instilled in him.

After meeting Kaladin, Dalinar, for all his Nohadon fanboying and for all his appreciation of Kaladin, still can't see that The Way of Kings is standing right in front of him. He goes directly from his conversation with Kal after freeing the bridge crews to beating up Elhokar and telling him of his new, diminished view on The Way of Kings. Dalinar sees in Kaladin an oddly impressive darkeyes, but a king never crosses his mind.

Wind and Truth spoiler below:

Until now!

I wonder if Dalinar has even consciously connected Kaladin to The Way of Kings now that he has put that book on the back burner. I hope he reads it again, though, and he can't believe he didn't see it sooner.

[bergdg]

Stormlight Archive: 10 Knightly Orders, 10 Singer Forms

Disclaimer: This theory has been formed prior to reading Wind and Peace (Book 5 of the Stormlight Archive) which will be released a month from now.

I’ve been reading through the Beta Rules of the Cosmere RPG, picking up snippets of lore here and there, and something stuck out to me that I hadn’t considered before: there seems to be an overlap in which spren bond with Singers for their “normal” forms (as in, not the Voidspren behind Forms of Power) and which spren make up the Shardplate of Radiants who have sworn their Fourth Ideal. I did some additional digging and the details continued to line up, and so that formulates a theory: just as there are 10 Orders of the Knights Radiant, there are 10 “prime” Singer forms.

An important note: although we haven’t seen it in its entirety, we have been told that the Song of Listing recounts many more than 10. However, many of these are probably specialized forms depending on the region of Roshar. The argument here is that these 10 “prime” Singer forms would have existed within each Singer society prior to the False Desolation.

Which spren would these be? Bindspren, Concentrationspren, Creationspren, Gloryspren, Gravitationspren, Lifespren, Logicspren, Painsrpen, Rockspren, and Windspren.

How are they connected? Let’s talk about it!

First, a little history. We now know that Humans are not native to Roshar; that privilege goes to the Singers. As natives, they were the first to have a Connection with Honor and Cultivation. So, just as members of the Knights Radiant bind themselves to spren to be empowered by Honor and Cultivation, it would make sense that early Singer cultures would have done the same. 

We also see that many of the known Singer forms (including those using Voidspren) give a natural protection, such as the carapace armor of warform. Radiants who have sworn the Fourth Ideal of their order also receive protection; Shardplate formed from a group of Lesser Spren. That makes two forms of protection both formed from a kind of bond with lesser spren.

Coincidence? I think not! This is Sanderson we are talking about after all.

Let’s take a look at the lesser spren we definitely know have an overlap. These overlaps are the start of the pattern at the core of this theory. A few of these were just guesses prior to the release of the Beta Rules.

Creationspren: Artform and the Lightweavers

Gravitationspren: Workform and the Skybreakers

Logicspren: Scholarform and the Elsecallers

Windspren: Nimbleform and the Windrunners

Now to do some theory crafting. From what we have seen, the True Spren (those that form the Nahel Bond with the Radiants) will sometimes act like their associated Lesser Spren. We see that especially with Syl, as she shows up looking similar to a Windspren as she flits about. Other times, the Radiant easily connects with the Lesser Spren, such as Shallan often attracting large numbers of Creationspren through her art.

This brings us to the next group of spren: Bindspren and Lifespren. We know that Lifespren are bonded with to enable Mateform and Bindspren are bonded with to enable Meditationform. For both, we can figure out which Radiant Shardplate they would produce by using the pattern of attraction. We often see Lifespren interacting with Lift the Edgedancer as she taps into her awesomeness. The primary time we’ve seen Bindspren in the books is when Kaladin uses Adhesion for his Full Lashings. And while Windrunners are already spoken for, Bondsmiths also use Adhesion AND are about the bonds that bind together.

Bindspren: Meditationform and the Bondsmiths

Lifespren: Mateform and the Edgedancers

From here, we are going more into the unknown, as we are either looking into Radiant Orders who we haven’t spent much time with in the books or looking into Singer Forms that haven’t been discussed in any current published materials (aka, prior to the release of Wind and Truth).

We do know Singers bond with Painspren to enable Warform. But which Order would use it in their Shardplate? A potential clue comes from what the Warform is used for: when soldiers are neeeded, when there is division between two or more groups of people who have come to blows. The orders known for having access to the Surge of Division? The Dustbringers and the Skybreakers. Division can even be used on living flesh at high levels of the Order, which would most likely be a rather painful experience. And since Skybreakers have already been spoken for, that leaves us with the Dustbringers.

Painspren: Warform and the Dustbringers

Another characteristic that helps guide which Lesser Spren would be associated with True Spren is by looking at their visual characteristics. As we saw from Syl, she often resembled Windspren, especially early on in her bond with Kaladin. Additionally, she hid from Voidspren by acting as a Windspren when Kaladin first returned to Alethkar in Oathbringer. For the final 3 Lesser Spren, let’s use that as our pattern.

First, let’s look at Mistspren, especially those who haven’t been Enlightened by Sja-anat. Our prime example is Dreaming-though-Awake, the Mistspren bound to Arshqqam, who manifests as "a shimmer of light on the wall reflected from a mirror." As I looked through the list of Lesser Spren, the one that caught my eye was Concentrationspren, with this description from a moment in Urithiru in particular: “Concentrationspren rippled in the air like waves overhead.” Shimmers of light and lightwaves rippling in the air? Sounds similar to me. What would the Singer form be? Scholarform already exists for research purposes. But what of the concentration it takes to tell a story passed down from generation to generation, to think of the correct lesson from your people’s history to push the next generation forward? And from the quote, the Concentrationspren appeared in the room that held the record gems containing the history of the Tower and the Knights. With the history of the Singers passed down through Songs / Poems, a Form specialized in reciting that history would make the most sense. This is a form I am calling Recitationform, which exists as an overlap between the Forms of Resolve and Forms of Wisdom.

Concentrationspren: “Recitationform” and the Truthwatchers

Next, let’s look at Lightspren, or the Reachers. They are often described as glowing balls of light. And you know what else has a similar appearance? Gloryspren. Looking at the moments in the books when Gloryspren have appeared, it most often occurs when a great feat is achieved, especially with feats of strength and heroism. So what if that was the purpose of the Singer form? One to inspire. One to entertain, to create a sense of camaraderie through shared moments, such as cheering for our favorite sports team. And so I present, Entertainerform, an overlap between the Forms of Finesse and Forms of Resolve. 

Gloryspren: “Entertainerform” and the Willshapers

Last, but not least, let’s look at Peakspren. In the physical realm, they resemble pieces of stone, and can hide within the rocks themselves. That sounds a lot like what could also be rockspren, which we honestly know very little about. One hole that still exists in the ancient Singer societies would be a role filled by Architects, Engineers, and Builders. Scholarform might be good for theoretical science and experimentation, but Engineering is a vital part of any society, even in its early stages. It also happens that Stonewardens would fill this role in Human society. For the final Singer form, let’s go with Builderform, and overlap between the Forms of Wisdom and the Forms of Finesse.

Rockspren: “Builderform” and the Stonewardens

As I mentioned earlier, the Song of Listing mentions many other forms. One such form that I thought a lot about would be a form adapted to being in and around the water, such as for sailing and fishing, that I would call Waveform. But this role wouldn’t be needed in every Singer society, so it doesn’t make sense to be a “prime” form. One form that is mentioned in the Song of Listing is that of Dullform; however, this form is characterized as not having a spren bound to the Singer’s gemheart, so we don’t need to find any match for it.

So to recap, following patterns set out in the novels and through the Beta Rules of the Cosmere RPG, we can deduce that there are 10 “prime” Singer forms that use the same Lesser Spren that make up the Shardplate of Radiants of the Fourth Ideal. They are:

Bindspren: Meditationform and the Bondsmiths

Concentrationspren: “Recitationform” and the Truthwatchers

Creationspren: Artform and the Lightweavers

Gloryspren: “Entertainerform” and the Willshapers

Gravitationspren: Workform and the Skybreakers

Lifespren: Mateform and the Edgedancers

Logicspren: Scholarform and the Elsecallers

Painspren: Warform and the Dustbringers

Rockspren: “Builderform” and the Stonewardens

Windspren: Nimbleform and the Windrunners

Anyways, that’s my two cents. What do you think? I’d be especially interested in hearing which alternate forms you think there might be other than the 7 currently known.

[lunaticbookblog]

Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson

Spoilers!!!!!:

Book 5 of the Stormlight Archive. I finished the book in four days and immediately started a (much slower) reread. Decided to spend time processing before putting thought to words. It’s a book I increasingly like the more I sit with it. First, I’m a sucker for stories that circle back on themselves, where they repeat in some ways earlier events or themes. This book does this so well, both internally and back to previous books in the series. Even in how the Way of Kings Prelude and Wind and Truth Postlude were both Kalak’s point of view. Second, slightly related to the first, I love good foreshadowing. This book strikes an amazing balance between satisfyingly foreshadowed events and surprises. Third, the characters continue to shine in this book.

This is definitely a conclusion to an arc, not to the series. It answered so many questions, and raised so many new ones. But given the scope of Stormlight, it had a lot to do in a short (relatively- can’t believe I’m calling a 1300+ book short) amount of time, and it did so mostly well, but I think page constraints contributed to some parts feeling a bit rushed.

I hope audiobook listeners check out the art - especially the chapter headings. It was so incredibly impactful and a defining part of my reading experience. I cried at the epilogue arch with Kaladin’s face on the stone, and had to put the book down for a few minutes before finishing.

In my opinion, parts of day one were a bit rough (though I am appreciating it more on reread, even if it still feels a bit clunky). But the rest of the book was excellent. This book deviates from the previous format, both in that it’s separated by days rather than parts, but also in that previous books have, generally, been a slow build to a huge dramatic climax (Sanderlanche). Where this book felt as if it was a Sanderlanche of the first half of Stormlight Archive.

Favorite character arcs this story include Adolin (and Maya), Jasnah, Renarin and Rlain, and Kaladin. Jasnah’s was emotionally rough but not unexpected, and feels necessary for her character. Renarin and Rlain are just perfect, and I was pleasantly surprised at how their developing relationship was handled. Adolin and Maya are fantastic, per usual, and their interactions were a highlight. Kaladin’s plot started a bit rough. I wasn’t entirely convinced by it until the part where he fights Nale, but that scene sold me on it. Once I was sold on it, I was ALL IN and there was no going back. Considering the events of Rhythm of War, this was the only way I would have accepted Kaladin making a sacrificial play - in choosing to live, of sorts.

Wasn’t expecting how little we got of El or Moash. Curious to see where that goes in the back half. Very excited for more Yanagawn (hopefully).

This book is not a happy ending, but it is a hopeful one. People are separated or dead (or presumed dead), large portions of the continent lost. But, so much room has been left for the back half. It isn’t over. It has a distinct feeling of, as Wit said, that they will be warm again. Not quite sure how I’m supposed to wait until book 6 though. Reread to cope, I suppose.

Might edit this later when I remember everything I wanted to say but forgot about.

“A little,” Renarin said. “The thing is, the deepest truths always sound a little trite. Because we all know them, and feel foolish being reminded.”

[jadejedi]

Stormlight Archive Rankings

Spoilers for Stormlight Archive 1-4 plus Edgedancer and Dawnshard.

Okay, I have just finished reading the Stormlight Archive for the first time. This was my first foray into Sanderson/the cosmere, which I know isn't always recommended, but this was right up my alley and I absolutely loved it. So, before WaT comes out in a few weeks, here are my current feelings about the series, characters, etc.

Books:

The Way of Kings (5/5)- this one absolutely blew me away. The emotion of that climax is hard to beat. It is just a perfect example of epic fantasy.

Rhythm of War (5/5)- I knew going into it that this wasn't everyone's favorite, which kind of made me think I would love it. And I did. I LOVED Navani and Venli's arcs in particular. This one made me cry the most.

Oathbringer (5/5)- This one I thought was paced so well right from the jump, which is important when you have a book this long. Again, I loved reading basically every arc in this book, even for the villain characters.

Words of Radiance (4.5/5)- Okay hear me out. I know this is a lot of people's favorite, but to me the pacing just isn't as strong. It lags a bit after the duel and there was definitely a bit of a slog in the middle, at least in my opinion. It's still very good and I definitely still loved it, especially Shallan's arc.

I'm not ranking the novellas bc they're impossible to compare to the main series, but I really liked Dawnshard (4/5) and wasn't as much of a fan of Edgedancer (3/5).

Characters (I'm going to forget some characters, but oh well):

Tier 1 (Characters I would die for, kill for, and follow into battle): Kaladin, Shallan, Syl, Adolin, Navani

Tier 2A (Characters I love and give a hearty salute): Dalinar, Renarin, Rock, Teft (RIP), Pattern, Rlain, Eshonai (that final POV of hers...), Rysn

Tier 2A (Messy bitches I love to watch): VENLI, Szeth, Raboniel

Tier 3 (Still cool): Jasnah (sorry to all the Jasnah stans, I just don't feel like I've seen enough of her so far), Wit, all of Bridge 4 not mentioned in other categories, Wyndle

Tier 4 (honestly kind of annoying): Lift (sorry Lift), the Lopen (though I find him less annoying than Lift)

Tier 5 (villains I love to hate): Taravangian, Moash, Amaran

Tier 6 (boring ass villains): Saddeus, Roshone

Top Moments (Incredibly hard to narrow this down to 5):

Dalinar trades Oathbringer for the bridgemen (WoK). I burst into tears while in the car. The emotional high of all emotional highs.

Shallan reveals the truth of what actually happened to her mother (WoR). I GASPED. I was shook. It puts her killing her father in a totally different light. Honestly, it was the moment that put her up with Kaladin in my favorite characters, because it just makes her so interesting and complicated.

Kaladin survives the highstorm (WoK). I mean. Come on.

Kaladin saves Adolin in the duel (WoR). So incredibly epic. Sanderson isn't really an author who generates quotable lines like some of my other favorite authors, but "Honor is dead, but I'll see what I can do." absolutely slaps.

Navani and Raboniel combine the tones of Honor and Odium. This moment was surprisingly epic and very cool. And also very gay.

[kstormcursed]

ooc: top five stormlight characters ???

1. shallan davar. she was immediately my nr 1 fave. I fell a bit out of love with her for a hot second the first time I listened to wor, but upon relisten I realized how stupid and ridiculous that was and it has been thoroughly rectified. she's so trans she's so npd she's just the best girl i adore her

2. adolin kholin. what can i say. i live for characters that are canonical sluts. he just cares so so so much and it makes me a bit insane (in a positive way)

3. jasnah kholin. once again. cares so so much. i can't believe people buy her ice queen facade because she is so terrible at not caring. its also so cool how she's basically the only atheist in a world seeped in religion. she's so aksmfhajfjg

4. renarin kholin. look i know he's barely got any screentime where im at. but i also fell in love with him at first sight simply because he encompasses that one specific character archetype i always end up loving

5. I know he's a side character (and like a side side character, not a side main character like renarin (though I think he gets a bigger role and even some own povs in the later books)), but there is something about moash man. he's got me. I love you moash I support all your wrongs

that was the post nothing else to read here haha have a good day

Okay. Hm. You may have noticed something.

But wait Kaladin mod, you may now be thinking. Where is Kal? You know. The dude you have a whole sideblog about?

Well.

Hm.

Here's the thing.

there is something about him that rubs me the wrong way a bit. the way he is so modest. the slight "holier-than-thou" vibes in everything he does (and ESPECIALLY THAT HE DOESNT SEE IT. HE DOESNT THINK HE IS SELF OBSESSED BUT HE IS HE IS) the whole reluctant hero thing. how he low-key condemns everyone who doesn't follow his idea of what is right and what is wrong.

like. it's not that I don't like him, not at all. but he *was* my least favorite pov character in my first readthrough. I already liked him a lot more in wor when he let his more petty side go wild, and I actually learned to appreciate him a lot more through this very blog since it made me think about him and who he is. And it's not like I ever DISliked him. it's just. sometimes I wish he would just shut the fuck up yanno?

The thing that compels me about Kaladin isn't his character (like it is with Shallan for example, which was love at first sight) but the extremely very obvious parallels with a bunch of people he hates - parallels that he himself isn't aware of (which is why I chose to make this blog from *his* POV: the cycles and patterns and parallels are RIGHT THERE)

please forgive me 😭🙏💔

[cosmereplay]

😠 kaladin / syl

😠 What annoys me about this ship

There are so many interesting things to consider about this ship, and what annoys me is that a lot of people in the fandom equate "this ship makes me feel icky" with "everyone who ships this is morally repugnant" and the conversation can't go anywhere from there. Moralizing based on gut reaction doesn't make anyone smarter.

So yes, Syl is a thousand years old and also four years old post-transition to the physical realm. Kaladin describes her as childlike, especially at first when she was perky and had memory loss and other cognitive problems. A lot of people reading the books, including me, kind of put her in a little sister category, and the revelation of her continued cognitive development and physical presence by the fourth book made a lot of people, including me, uncomfortable in anticipation of something that might not even happen.

Now I'm not a literary person, I'm just a people person, so I can't speak to how those kinds of tropes play out, but I recognize and respect the people who are annoyed by this ship on a literary level. Go listen to them too, they're very smart.

But the way I've come to see Syl is more like she was a full spren adult in the cognitive realm, and after her transition to the physical realm she became disabled for a couple years, as if she'd had a brain injury and needed to relearn how to do everything. We all know she's not actually a child, and a part of me wonders if there's some ableism in applying that label to her and assuming she's incapable of being in a romantic relationship. Especially by rhythm of war when we meet other honorspren and we can see clearly that they made a choice to cross into the physical realm or not. But again for me it's more about her ability to consent than it is about whether or not she's perceived as childlike because she's fanciful and curious.

There's also a lot that could be said about the monsterfucking potential of a human/spren ship. But the thing I enjoy talking about the most with Kal/Syl is the power dynamics between them. So for example:

- Kaladin has the power to make Syl a deadeyes

- Syl has the power to remove his abilities at any moment based on how she's feeling about what he's doing. Related to that, Kal depends on Syl to show up when summoned

- Syl depends on Kaladin for her cognitive capacity and connection to the physical realm. She needs him to say more oaths to have a clearer mind and remember things

- Syl can read Kaladin's mind and emotions

- Kal can only get a vague sense of her emotions and can't read her mind

- Kal has more experience with the physical realm and other humans

- Syl understands the nature of bonds, spren, and the cognitive realm better

Basically the nature of the bond means that they're already in a bit of a codependent relationship. Personally I don't ship them earnestly, I like their deepening friendship in canon, and all of these interesting power issues already exist within the bounds of that friendship. I could imagine Syl wanting to experiment because she wants to be more human, but I don't think canon Kal would go for that.

Now other spren/human relationships I could see getting pretty freaky, but personally, I don't see this one going in that direction. Have I written sexy fanfic that includes Kal/Syl anyway? If course I have, for I am a freak.

Ask game

[sophiesbookishthings]

May Reads

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

I get it. I get the Sanderson hype. This is book 1 of the Stormlight Archive. It is such an incredibly unique and creative book. It's absolutely everything I want out of a fantasy book. The world building is mindblowing. I mean, he even thought about how the grass would work differently. The grass! I feel like no one ever thinks about the little differences like that that make the world they're writing so much more real and interesting. And the characters are enjoyable too. It's very rare that I read a book where I'm equally invested in every single pov. There's usually always one where I'm waiting for the next to start. Not this one. I was equally invested in all of them. And yes this book is HUGE but it is 100% worth it and I know this series is going to live in my brain forever. I am going to stop now cause I could seriously write an essay. I cannot recommend this book/series highly enough.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (⭐️ and a secret 6th star)

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

This is a novella in the Lunar Chronicles about Queen Levana's backstory. I was looking forward to this one cause I love a good villain backstory and it sure delivered. Meyer did a great job of showing that yeah some bad things happened to Levana but she handled pretty much all of them so badly and how that made her who she became in the main series. It reminded me a lot of Snow's arc in the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes where he A) had a less than ideal childhood/family life and B) just kept making worse and worse decisions as the book went on and falling deeper into the villain role.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

The first thing I did when I opened this book and saw Dream was go "wait that's literally just Neil." I love that the artists did that. It made me laugh. So I watched the show before I read the comic and I'm impressed how accurate the show was. There are slight differences but I like both versions honestly. If you like comics or gothic horror, this is a good one to read

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

I found this book and was immediately intrigued. Octopuses are one of my favorite animals. I think they're fascinating and incredibly smart. My mom and I both ended up with a copy of this book, so we read it at the same time. It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but I did still really enjoy it. I really enjoyed how the main characters grew throughout the story. I especially loved the octopus pov. And I figured out how one character fit into the story before my mom. Which she didn't appreciate lol.

4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Daindreth's Outlaw by Elisabeth Wheatley

I dont have a ton to say about this one. It felt very fast and like it was very much just a bridge from the first book to the third. That didn't make it a bad book, though, by any means. I did like the new sorceress character that was introduced and the magic/evil forest setting. I also enjoyed the fmc exploring and discovering her new powers.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

More Stormlight Archive! I genuinely don't know how I read 4 books between the first one and this one cause these books live permanently in my brain. I'm super excited about where this one left off. It was a really interesting place (literally lol). So much happened in this book and it was cool to see the characters grow in their power. And all the reveals! The backstory reveals, the whole deal with the parshendi (which was super sad), the deal with the spren and the shardblades, whatevers going on with szeth (who I love), and somebody not being dead (I knew it!). I particularly loved shallan in this book. I adore a manipulative protagonist. They just do something to my brain. And patterns a cutie. I was about to fight kaladin, though, and I love him too, but oh my god. I don't know. I could talk about this book forever, so I'm gonna just stop rambling and say that I loved it and leave it at that.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[cosmerelists]

Why I Think Dalinar Will Lose

[MAJOR spoilers for Rhythm of War! Spoilers also for Mistborn included in #1]

At the end of Rhythm of War, Odium and Dalinar set terms for the Contest of Champions: it’s happening in 10 days, and they’re each picking a willing champion to fight to the death on the top of Urithiru. Dalinar has decided to be his own champion, but we don’t yet know who Odium’s champion will be. We also don’t know what the outcome will be.

And personally? I’m wagering that Dalinar will lose the fight. And here’s why.

1. We’re halfway through a 10-book series.

I mean, it’s like when the protagonists of a TV show have a great plan...10 minutes into the episode. You know it’s not going to work out. Now, this is a little different, since there’s going to be a time jump before Stormlight 6 and who knows what the plot of the second half of the series is going to be--it could be like Mistborn Era 1, in which [spoilers ahead] the Lord Ruler did really die at the end of Book 1 and then the next two books dealt with the fallout. But still. I feel very suspicious about our protagonists winning against Odium this early.

2. Taravangian’s now in charge.

Dalinar could handle the old Odium--they’d verbally sparred a few times already, and Dalinar always came out on top. This Contest of Champions business itself is Rayse making what seems to be a pretty bad deal--he’s bound to the system no matter the outcome. But now it’s not Rayse any longer; it’s Taravangian. And Taravangian is scarier--even Hoid freaked out before his memories were wiped. And in that same scene, Taravangian realized something. We don’t know what, but I am not optimistic about what it means for Dalinar.

3. The Mysterious Odium Champion

My previous list/poll about who Odium’s champion might be raised a number of seeming no-win situations for Dalinar--especially once you take into account the comments I got on my poll. What is Dalinar supposed to do if his grandson Gavinor is the champion? Or Adolin? What if it’s Taln, and killing him will mean breaking the oathpact and letting Odium free after all? And if WE can come up with these seemingly unwinnable situations for Dalinar, what could Brandon Sanderson come up with?? The fact that we don’t know who the champion is makes it seem much worse for Dalinar, somehow.

4. It’s just the more interesting outcome

Like, if Dalinar loses, he becomes Odium’s agent in the wider Cosmere: evil, worldhopping Dalinar working for Odium and presumably doing what he can to undermine him at the same time. Flavors of Marsh from Mistborn Era 1. To me, that just feels more narratologically interesting than Dalinar winning, getting some land back, and then the borders freezing where they are. 

5. There’s always another secret.

I feel pretty secure in stating that there will be SOMETHING unexpected about this duel. Maybe it won’t be Dalinar losing--maybe it will be someone other than Dalinar being his champion (I haven’t given up on a Kaladin vs. Moash fight). Maybe the fight won’t happen at all, due to some sort of Taravangian machinations. Maybe we’ll finally find out what made the Radiants break their oaths in the first place and the fight will take on new and more terrible connotations. I’m not that good at guessing. So for me, the simple “twist” to expect is Dalinar losing.

What do you all think? Take the poll to share your thoughts!