/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.5304083]

Stormlight Archive thread.

Just finished WoR, really liking this series. Opinions on the third book being about Szeth?

[Anonymous No.5304575]

bump

[Anonymous No.5305213]

Sorry to have to tell you this, /lit/ culture is hostile to genre fiction. You can probably get a decent Sanderson thread started on /a/ or /tg/ with the right magic words, though.

[Anonymous No.5306338]

>>5305213
This guy is lying, there is at least two other anons not including me who like to discuss Sanderson, although you may be one of them.

OT: I can't wait to find out more about the Shin culture and why they have so many honorblades, also the reason for Szeth's banishment and his label as truthless.

Take these two SA3 readings:

(Kaladin)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14qEu6qv8u0rlbCvE1HKFRYkI5tSQ-5ulMiM5_QEBowg/edit?pli=1#

(Jasnah)
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/08/stormlight-archive-scene-after-words-of-radiance

[Anonymous No.5306499]

>>5306338
Thanks, haven't read those.

[Anonymous No.5306960]

>>5306338
Hi Anon, I'm the other guy.

I'm guessing not all of the Knight factions were disbanded. Probably the duty/justice bound one remained but seem to be quite a bit misguided. Probably because they were not previously leading themselves and deciding for themselves what justice was.

I'm also guessing the heralds discarded their swords somewhere in whatever Shinland is called, causing spren not to go/appear there due to bad mojo from the broken vow or something.
Anyway. Books are a good read if you are into this sort of thing, but you have to read it for what it is. Some people just don't like fantasy.

[Anonymous No.5308570]

Nalan'elin/Nin and the Skybreakers are still around enforcing JUSTICE. Hopefully we get more information on why exactly Szeth claimed the Voidbringers were returning.

Thoughts on the secret that caused the Recreance? Does it have something to do with the nature of the Spren Bond or Desolations?


I read Stormlight for worldbuilding and my waifu.

[Anonymous No.5308663]

I'm in the middle of the first one, kaladin just volunteered to join the army with his brother. That was quite shocking to me.

I think Shallan is being kind of dumb, she should have just said to Jasnah "hey I've got this busted soul caster can you help me?"

[Anonymous No.5308748]

>>5308663
Shallan kind of believes she is a YA protagonist, yeah.

[Anonymous No.5309395]

>>5306338
Great, I knew about Jasnah's part, but not about Kaladin's.

I'm looking forward to the third book. Too bad my memory sucks and I'll have to re-read twok and wor before Stones Unhallowed

[Anonymous No.5309431]

AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

I hope we find out more about Nightblood since god knows when the sequel to Warbreaker will be released.

>mfw we know the name of the oldest Cosmere being now

[Anonymous No.5309520]

I really don't want to start a series this big when it's only on 2 of a 10-book series.

[Anonymous No.5309543]

>>5309520
>>5309520
He's gonna pump them out every year though.

That's the plan at least.

[Anonymous No.5309551]

>>5309543

> waiting 8 years for a series to end

I'll pick it up in 8 years and see if it's still any good.

[Anonymous No.5309555]

>>5309520
>10 book series
Oh god what have I done

[Anonymous No.5309650]

>>5306338
Are there any more book 3 readings?

[Anonymous No.5310335]

>>5306338
Listfag here I also likes to discuss now and again so maybe 3?

[Anonymous No.5310690]

>>5309551
At least he probably won't die in the middle of it.

[Anonymous No.5310852]

>>5306960
>I'm also guessing the heralds discarded their swords somewhere in whatever Shinland is called, causing spren not to go/appear there due to bad mojo from the broken vow or something.
I think this is likely, but the setting in the prelude (where the heralds abandon their blades and oaths) is distinctly different than what Shin is depicted as now, Shin is more Earth-like now, maybe it wasn't always so. Either way they are going to experience the brunt of the Everstorm and Szeth coming back for justice in SA3.

>>5309650
Those have been the only two I could find.
I liked the 'You will change" part in Jasnah's POV, it was a nice contrast to Shallan's 'Please change." in WOR.

[Anonymous No.5310933]

>>5309543
More like year-and-a-half.

>>5309551
They are going to be split into two five-book parts but still an overarching series within an overarching series.

[Anonymous No.5310939]

I really want to like Sanderson, but I just can't deal with how he writes characters and dialogue in general.
It just feels so artificial and two dimensional.
I mean, I read The Way of Kings right after I read The Lies of Locke Lamora, and it felt like stepping out of a Ferrari and into a Honda Civic.

[Anonymous No.5310955]

>>5310939
Yeah, dialogue is a weak spot for him. It's like you can feel he's a devout mormon that abhors curse words and complex characters.

[Anonymous No.5310998]

>>5310939
Sanderson writes like a YA author.
He has some great ideas that get let down on the technical end.
Also, Lynch, I know you lurk. Get back to work on the next Bastards book, you lazy maggot.

[Anonymous No.5311003]

>>5310955
'___ cursed.'
I always wonder what curse word he has in mind when he writes this.
Don't forget sex or sexuality either, he seems afraid of these subjects, it may not be a bad thing though. It's not like it would necessarily make the writing better, he did hint very lightly at Vin and Eland having sex in TFE.

>tfw when Vin will never have a direct descendant in the future books.

I will have to disagree that he abhors complex characters, however.

[Anonymous No.5311021]

>>5311003
>he did hint very lightly at Vin and Eland having sex in TFE.
Yeah, after marriage.
You know, despite them being in a relationship for like two years at that point.
That book was so Mormon.

[Anonymous No.5311046]

>>5311021
It was also hinted at before the marriage in Well of Ascension, however it's debatable.

There is nothing wrong with waiting to have sex anon, Vin was only 16 in book two while Eland was 21. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Anonymous No.5311049]

>>5306338
I'm another guy that loves fantasy and consider stormlight archives my favorite right now.

To be honest I can't give a shit for the lore sanderson creates but I love reading the action parts and about the world in general.

Like now in book two I enjoyed everything that took place in the training grounds, 10/10.

What I didn't like about WoR is that the girl lied from the beginning to the end.

She didn't immediately get raped and killed, instead they ran off to fight for her.

Oh wait I'm backtracking. She didn't immediately get raped and killed by the slavers who found her, then the same thing happened when the caravan was attacked.

Then she lied in front of all the highlords that one of them invited her and it worked.

Then she lied to the assassins

Oh wait she lied to that caravan guard woman also, she almost got killed but whatever she fooled her just because of plot armor and even got some free training.

It's just so much bullshit that that woman would bring another con woman under her wing and tell her about high level plans in the shattered plains.

Such a long string of bullshit throughout the book for shall'an. If he wanted to keep her with the "lies" theme, that doesn't mean she needs to always succeed with her lies.

Other than that the book was amazing.

That fucking arena battle
Again, every action scene.

>>5310998
I agree with what you say about Sanderson, but he's working a lot harder on his faults in stormlight archives, I feel it's on a whole different level than his other stuff.

Oh and another thing that never happens in his books. Established villains never turn or change their mind. They're still retardedly bent on doing "bad stuff" despite being brilliant tacticians. At most he'll say a highlord unexpectedly changed a sides for example, but never an established rival, those are always retardedly one minded.

[Anonymous No.5311060]

Sanderson criminally backloads his books.
You can almost just read the last fifth and gain nearly as much information as reading the whole thing.
>Nah, lets just fuck around in the chasms for 200 pages
>nahh, lets just follow Shallan doing nothing for 150 pages
This book could have been almost cut in half.

[Anonymous No.5311063]

Imagine if sanderson was only allowed to create the setting, action coreography, and the general premise of the story, and another writer worked on the rest of the actual writing (character dialogue, development)

[Anonymous No.5311073]

>>5311003
>I always wonder what curse word he has in mind when he writes this.
"Dagnabbit"

[Anonymous No.5311074]

>>5311049
The second book is basically "misunderstandings".
It's contrived.

[Anonymous No.5311082]

>>5311049
I got pissed off at the part where she took Kaladin's boots just to raise a fuss. And then bullshitting her way passed him when he confronted her. And then barely getting chastised for it later.

[Anonymous No.5311084]

>>5311082
Shallan is just a terrible character.

[Anonymous No.5311106]

>>5311003
At least Spook got mad pussy at the end of the first trilogy.
http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=977#26
Nigga had over a dozen children too.

>>5311049
Dat arena battle had me pumped.

If you want literature where you can tell Sanderson is struggling, read Elantris. I'm glad he has improved so much since then.

[Anonymous No.5311109]

>>5311082
oh right
kaladin should've put a spear through her face

[Anonymous No.5311119]

>>5308570
'Justice'. Nin and the rest of the Heralds seem to have become twisted versions of their former selves. I felt bad for Ym and Lift nearly got the same treatment.

>The Recreance
It's up in the air at this point, but the nature of the bond is a good guess. Perhaps the lack of Desolations/common enemy made the Knights Radiant turn on each other and their oaths, creating a similar situation that Kaladin was caught in during WOR. There's always another secret..

>worldbuilding and my waifu.
Yes, the descriptions of the world are very alien and pull you in, if you have the mind for it. Lemme guess Syl is your waifu?

>>5308663
>>5308748
I didn't like Shallan in TWOK but in WOR she grew on me, as well as Elhokar. The characters are becoming much more three dimensional, I hope Sanderson can keep this up.

[Anonymous No.5311146]

>>5311082
it's hard to keep track of all the situations in which muh female protagonist simply bluffs and succeeds

because all of a sudden she's this super trained diplomat/assassin/spy/conartist, because she spends a few chapters travelling with actual people like that

The giant moving islands, the faries, all of the fantasy elements are usually what take people out of these stories and make it hard to suspend your disbelief. Even the action with magic in it is believable.

For sanderson it's the opposite.

Also does anybody give a shit about the "witty" characters in any of his series? Please fucking kill all witty characters, you mormon fuck, nobody likes to read a smartass that knows shit about the plot and teases. It was funny in one scene when it's kalladin and shallan in the carriage, but other than that a chasm fiend needs to rip that guy to fucking pieces. Also every female character because he writes them all witty as fuck and samey as fuck with very little exceptions.

Litterally every woman is the same to the point where I can't even bother to remember names. The assassin woman, the con woman, shallan, the sister of the king, the widow of the old king, the "king" in the island, the trade negociator, the little thief. He gives them quirks, or stuff like "this one is dignified", "this one is a loose cannon", "this one is bumbling due to lack of experience" or gives them verbal ticks, but in the end they're all written the same. I can only distinguished two female characters that are separate somewhat, any time he starts developing a woman character she's intelligent, beautiful, talented, shit like that. Why can't you have a sickly useless woman Sanderson? You fucking hack? Why can't the horse mistress be a low brow stablemaid for example, that doesn't back talk the highlords she serves? Or have a idiot woman that trips and falls down a chasm or some shit like that.

[Anonymous No.5311157]

>>5311146
you can tell he does try to keep characters from being paper thin but in the end he just can't write like Jordan did in Wheel of Time, where every innkeeper, shopkeeper or soldier feels real, instead of a plot element

[Anonymous No.5311158]

>>5311146
>sickly useless woman
Hahaha you're not going to like The Silence Divine.
It takes place on a Shardworld where illness = power.

[Anonymous No.5311164]

>>5311158
>you owe me a new coat
god damnit sanderson, this is not how you make lore or relatable characters, you're not writing fucking comic books you can do better

[Anonymous No.5311168]

>>5311049
>>5311074
>>5311084
Shallan isn't just telling lies, she did that in book one and nearly got killed, in book two she is coming into her powers of illumination (illusions) and soulcasting (transformation).
There are theories that each KR order can combine their two surges into something unique to that order. Shallan may be using her two surges to amplify her powers of persuasion, without a doubt she is using the illumination surge to make her self look high status to those she fools. Plus she has Pattern to help her out when she is in a bind, eg. when he distracts Vatah and Tyn.

[Anonymous No.5311180]

>>5311164
Nazh is employed by Khriss so who knows what he's having to do. I guess it's ~flavor~ or some shit.

[Anonymous No.5311182]

>>5311158
I can't find The Silence Divine or Sixth of Dusk on my e-reader, nook is a shit.

[Anonymous No.5311188]

>>5311182
"Sixth of Dusk" is titled "Sixth of the Dusk" and it's part of an anthology titled "Shadows Beneath". You can find it on #bookz.
The Silence Divine isn't completed yet.

[Anonymous No.5311191]

>>5311146
>complaining about female characters.
Are you on a crusade?

[Anonymous No.5311195]

>>5311191
But he has legitimate complaints.

>>5311168
I wonder if we'll ever see a Surgebinding 'Mistborn'.

[Anonymous No.5311222]

>tfw you'll have to slog through Sanderson's terrible early books in order to understand the series.

[Anonymous No.5311229]

>>5311222
No you don't. Unless you actually give a shit about his whole cosmere crap, in which case read the wiki.

[Anonymous No.5311236]

>>5311195
He has opinions, I wouldn't call them legitimate, seeing as he can't identify different characters. I don't think having a one legged plow pulling peasant woman with gender dysphoria will satisfy.
I understand that his characters aren't all there, so to speak, but the idea that the story should focus on maids and farmers is ludicrous considering the overall plot.

[Anonymous No.5311239]

>>5311229
>whole cosmere crap
It's really overdone.
Stephen King did it much better.

[Anonymous No.5311255]

>>5311236
>but the idea that the story should focus on maids and farmers is ludicrous considering the overall plot
Right. I do understand and empathize but I do agree with his perspective too.

The main protag in Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell is a short middle-aged woman with a limp who runs a waystation (basically an inn). She is definitely different than a typical protag like Shallan or Siri.

>>5311239
It's barely even a thing right now.

[Anonymous No.5311323]

>>5311255
>Shadows for Silence in the Forests
That is in the Dangerous Woman book? I'll reserve judgment until I read it.

My implication was that they are all different albeit with the Sanderson lens covering all characters, there is no doubt a homogenous traits in his characters but I think he is improving on this.

[Anonymous No.5311357]

>>5311323
Right. It's... okay. His novellas aren't too bad.

He still has a problem where he'll give a character a 'quirk' and then that character does it all the goddamn time. At least he's finally lessening it and not having these traits occur every other goddamn page.

[Anonymous No.5311393]

>>5311236
I mean they're all witty.

The 12 year old street urchin thief is witty and daring.

Shallan is witty and daring.

The fucking stablewoman is witty and daring.

I fucking hate how he gives every woman that witty attitude, even the camp whore

I keep thinking about how other writers in fantasy write women

In black company chronicles you have an evil bitch that's capable but she doesn't need to spew stupid shit for us to understand she's intelligent, rather she does things; ambushes opponents, uses people.
Or a simple candlemaker woman in Farseer trilogy. She's nothing special, a generic love interest for the main character, taking care of her abusive old father.

You'll never see ordinary women in sanderson's story, they're all fucking special. He shouldn't have taken this from Wheel of Time. You do have ordinary men however, like slavers, caravan guards, that act as you would expect them to. But again, no, even the camp whore has something to say.

I don't know, I'm ranting. I just don't like his same-y female characters. Take that sickly, cowardly son of dalynar, or shallan's brothers, I just don't think sanderson ever writes women like that, and I've read all of his stories appart from the books for kids.

[Anonymous No.5311404]

>>5311393
or take Vin, his female protagonist in mistborn, apparently raised as a street urchin and living with fear among men, but as soon as she's dressed up, sent to the ball, and her interaction with her love interest begins, the sandersonian witty character interaction begins and he fucking forgets their entire background at that point to write some stupid quips between them

my god he ALWAYS has this

from elantris all the way to stormlight archives 2

[Anonymous No.5311413]

>>5311404
and to clarify, I don't hate sanderson at all, I just went on this rant thinking about the parts I enjoyed less in his awesome stories, parts that make me want to put the book down, whereas he has other parts that make me stand up from the excitement and awesomeness

I'm fucking bored at work

[Anonymous No.5311419]

>>5311413
If I were a writer, I would rather have fans who critique my work constructively instead of blindly fanboying and thinking everything wrote is gold like with Rothfuss.

>other parts that make me stand up
dat Second Windrunner Ideal though
My fucking dick

[Anonymous No.5311438]

>>5311357
Yeah not defending him just pointing out the other anons generalizations (which are the lowest form of criticism). It is annoying when he uses the raising an eybrow and snorting constantly. He also has a tendency to use ellipsis when something unexpected happens, which makes it easy to spot on the page.

>>5311393
I still think this fag is on an epic crusade, however, since he can only focus on female characters when all of Sanderson's characters operate within the same parameters.

[Anonymous No.5311765]

>>5311419
now about THAT one I could rant forever, but thank god the hype around him died out when he didn't have 7 years to make the second book publishable, and even his most diehard fanboys say its crap -not that I cared to read it after the first one-

>>5311438
Maybe I just hate women

[Anonymous No.5311773]

>>5311765
Where? In all honesty, the ONLY people I have seen who don't think Rothfuss' filth is the holy grail are a handful of other people on /lit/ and that's it.

>muh unreliable narration!!!

[Anonymous No.5312502]

>>5311168
Dalinar and Kaladin both unconsciously used Stormlight before swearing oaths. Shallan had the first oath sworn + two truths (I think) given before regressing and losing them; unconscious usage of Lightweaving to alter perception seems reasonable.

>Recreance
The code from Taravangian's Diagram in WoR was translated and says something along the lines of "find what broke the radiants last time you may need to do it again"

>Waifu
No. My based Waifu goes looking for thieves who were very probably rapists and then kills them in front of Shallan just to fuck with her (while also taking care of Kharbranth's problems for Taravangian), hires assassins to watch her own family, has gems sewn into her clothes as emergency Stormlight reservoirs, bathes with and keeps her safehand exposed around Shallan, and has a live Sprenblade.

[Anonymous No.5312712]

>>5312502
>mfw something is tampering with the Diagram akin to how Ruin tampered with anything not written on steel on Scadrial

[Anonymous No.5314416]

>>5310690
This. Sanderson is quick as fuark, fortunately. I just hoped he would stop with this YA bullshit and focus on Stormlight.

[Anonymous No.5314642]

>>5314416
>I just hoped he would stop with this YA bullshit
Isn't Joe Abercrombie doing the same thing?

[Anonymous No.5314901]

>>5314642
I know nothing about him.

Since you brought him up, what do you think about the first law trilogy? Is it any good?

[Anonymous No.5315510]

>>5314901
I hope so. I just bought The Blade Itself this week.

I liked Words of Radiance a lot but I never had that moment like Kaladin saying the first ideal in WoK. That said the arena fight was kickass.

I would honestly just read a book of Kaladin and Syl going around kicking ass with the rest of Bridge 4.

[Anonymous No.5316084]

>>5312502
I don't understand why Nin and Taravangian want to break the KR, when they are the only thing keeping (and kept) Roshar from being completely destroyed. This is plausible >>5312712


Jasnah is in my top three favorite Sanderson characters right now, hopefully she gets some POVs in book 3.

>>5314416
I feel the same way, I have no interest in his YA, but apparently writing different material keeps his mind fresh. I don't blame him, the man writes like a machine.

[Anonymous No.5316566]

>>5316084
Taravangian thinks he can do it all himself. The KR are just going to get in his way.

Nin we really have no idea yet. Maybe Odium found a way to chat with him a la Ruin, and 4000 years of taking calls from the Angriest Shard has left him a little cranky

[Anonymous No.5316824]

>>5316084
It's confirmed through WoB but we don't know who or what is tampering or why.

P.S. Jasnah will have her own book but it won't be until the back half.