[Abyss]

Having just marathoned ALLOY, SHADOWS and BANDS, i couldn't resist jumping straight into ARCANUM UNBOUNDED...

Running read thread below

SPOILERS

SPOILERS


SPOILERS



SPOILERS FOR ALL THINGS CONSMERE MISTBORN STORMLIGHT RELATED

SPOILERS


ALSO VADER IS LUKE'S FATHER, LEIA IS HIS SISTER AND ARTOO IS HIS DYSON VACUUM CLEANER



SPOILERS


The Emperor's Soul - Not bad. I enjoyed the magic system concept Brandon created here, in theory at least. Give it a few minutes thought and it doesn't hold together very well. Interesting story. The characters are not strikingly original but engaging enough. May have been a chapter or two longer than it needed to be.

Despite taking place on the same world as Elantris, there was really no connection of any significance. I could see the magic system being important down the road when he hits peak Cosmere.


The Hope of Elantris - I didn't like Elantris. This didn't change that.

The Eleventh Metal - Neat story about Kelsier training as a Mistborn. Fast, fun, nice bit of background for the character.

Allomancer Jak (Annotated) - Funniest fucking thing Brandon has ever written. I lol'd a few times. Amazing that he even worked in some interesting background facts for the Wax n Wayne series. I could read SO SO much more of this.



....on to Secret History....

[End of Disc One]

I wish Brandon would write more characters like Allomancer Jak. Most of his humor is the characters trying to be funny, but I like it better when the characters aren't in on the joke. Like with Abercrombie.

[Abyss]

End of Disc One, on 02 February 2017 - 04:54 PM, said:

I wish Brandon would write more characters like Allomancer Jak. Most of his humor is the characters trying to be funny, but I like it better when the characters aren't in on the joke. Like with Abercrombie.

A character like Jak likely wouldn't work as part of a larger story. He works within the parody that is the story, with the (brilliant!) annotations just flat out calling him on his nonsense with a nod/wink to the reader. I dont see how his type could be integrated into a Mistborn or Stormlight setting and actually work.

Abercrombie is more subtle in the sense that an entire story is to an extent a sendup of classic fantasy tropes, and none of the characters are in on the joke but the reader is.

[Abyss]

Cheesewiz, on 02 February 2017 - 08:35 PM, said:

I liked Emp Soul.

How do you like the system info?

Not exactly shaking the foundations of any of the stories so far, but in terms of the big picture Cosmere it's a neat extra.

[Abyss]

Mistborn: Secret History

SPOILERS MAJOR SPOILERS


SPOILERS



SPOILERS


...add me to the list of people who suspected Kelsier would be back in some form sooner or later. I was expecting more really convincing Condra or more flashback. This was better and adds a fun dangling plotline to the BANDS epilogue.
That said, Brandon acknowledges it's a choppy story, weaving thru the first trilo, at at times awkwardly trying to shoehorn ghost Kelsier's relevance to events. I liked the bits of wider Cosmere that were worked in, and the notion that when we get to the wider storyline in a decade or two, Kelsier will be a part of it. And hopefully smack Kaladin repeatedly in the face when he gets whiny.


White Sand - I enjoyed the text version for the lite story it was. Did not love the art in the comic version. Too cluttered, faces were weird, some of the action - including the key 'sixth red ball bit - was unclear until i read the text. Despite Brandon's note that this world will be important in the cosmere in the future, it felt more like a YA storyline.


...on to Shadows... i have read this story before in the DANGEROUS WOMEN antho before i had read any MISTBORN or STORMLIGHT books, so am curious about any wider connections now that i'm paying attention.

[Abyss]

Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell ...liked it when i originally read it. With the additional context of the cosmere it doesn't really get 'better', but still a very well written story. In the cosmere context you have to wonder how badly the splintered shard fucked up the world that the dead wander around as shadesmar ghosts or whatever, in striking contrast to the limbo-afterlife Kelsier experienced in the Secret History. No compelling need to see these specific characters again, but i'm more interested in how Brandon works this world into the bigger story than the White Sands world.

[Abyss]

I'm at the opposite end.... Whitesands is every YA young person has limited power / learns to use it with more skill than more powerful other people / has daddy issues story ever, in a desert setting, with amagic system that isn't really brandon's most original... move sand with internal moisture... it's basically push/pull metal with internal metals in the desert. ...tho i grant that the dayside / nightside element with the investiture dropping out of the sky part is interesting.

Silence's world, where humanity has evacuated one continent and lives on the other in forts, or else in the forests where undead ghosts are all around, all the time, and have to work within a set of 'rules' (no sudden movements, no fire, no bloodshed, carry silver...) more novel and interesting. Especially the bloodshed element that was used to good effect in the story. Pretty much all typical fantasy lit fighting is in a whole other situation when spilling even a drop of blood means a swarm of flesh rotting ghosts drops on everyone present.

[Abyss]

Cheesewiz, on 07 February 2017 - 07:39 PM, said:

...

I would be more interested to see Ambitions splintering in Shadows past. I do wonder why in Secret the funny Sel(Elantris) priest people where so convinced the intruder was a Theorndy(Shadows).

The Ireh were Sel? I didn't catch that.

Could be a timeline difference too, if Secret takes place years later than Silence.

[Abyss]

Cheesewiz, on 07 February 2017 - 09:22 PM, said:

Fairly certain they are as they have silvery dark skin (like Elantrains) and they pray to Devotion the Shard from Sel. BS also made it clear that Sel is a super Earth. we ve only seen 3 confirmed power types Elantrians, the bad guys in that and now the girl from Emp Soul. I'm sure there are others with the 1.5 Cos standard size.

Makes sense given the note from Khriss that there are distinct and different powers on each continent, and i love the notion that there's a faction from Sel bugging around the Cosmere trying to steal Shards from other worlds. Imagine them showing up on Roshar and just getting their asses kicked...

Cheesewiz, on 08 February 2017 - 01:01 AM, said:

Looking forward to hearing what you make of Dusk and hoping you enjoy both it and Edgedancer.

I was pretty bummed we got nothing in Nalthis(Warbreaker). You'd think even though there was no story he'd atleast do a system description for it.

Sixth of Dusk was a great story, neat revelations, very readable characters. The island, Patji was a fantastic setting, as was the broader world we never see but learn of. Great creativity from Brandon there and i actually liked how minimal the connection to the Cosmere was. Not everything has to be connected to the Shards.


I have to say, after marathoning ALLOY, SHADES and BANDS and now ARCANUM, with some time on the Coppermind site reminding myself of various things, i am sucked in deep here. Really enjoying what Brandon is creating.

Haven't read WARBREAKER yet so i can't say much about Nalthis one way or another.

[HoosierDaddy]

Warbreaker is good Abyss. I was sad I didn't get more of that world in this anthology.

[Abyss]

Cheesewiz, on 09 February 2017 - 08:06 PM, said:

I think there is a major convergence point in Dusk system for Cosmere. I also think the ones above could well be future Mistborn possibly or at least I can easily see Mistborn crossover with Dusk like he said we would get at some point.

I figured the ones above may be future versions of the Sel expedition Kelsier encountered in SECRET.

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Read Edge?

Reading now. Lift, once again, is such a nice surprise. I expect to be put off by the YA angle and dialogue and instead i find myself utterly engaged.

HoosierDaddy, on 09 February 2017 - 08:17 PM, said:

Warbreaker is good Abyss. I was sad I didn't get more of that world in this anthology.

Noted, will get to it. It has a weird history of being leaked and widely pirated and / or derided that made me hesitate but i'm way too engaged in the Cosmere now not to want to read it all.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 09 February 2017 - 08:44 PM, said:

...

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Read Edge?

Reading now. Lift, once again, is such a nice surprise. I expect to be put off by the YA angle and dialogue and instead i find myself utterly engaged.
...

YOUR PANCAKEFULLNESS!!!

[Abyss]

Briar King, on 10 February 2017 - 09:11 PM, said:

I want Kaladin to die and have her take the lead role.

I'm not wholly opposed to this.

[Abyss]

SHARDFORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!


......aaand done. Great story to wrap with, sets up some interesting stuff for the next Stormlight book.

[Abyss]

Yeah, i'm vaguely aware of Szeth's new sword having some WAR background.

I see Brandon still has a free pdf of WAR on his site so i should grab that, tho if i want to read it any time soon i'm probably better off with the earbook.

[QuickTidal]

Not reading all spoilers yet, but I finished and enjoyed The ELEVENTH METAL. Really fun to see Gemmel for the first time…and glass he’s as nutters as I assumed he was. Also love the (new) art for each story.

THE HOPE OF ELANTRIS was….weak. And from the postscript, it sounds like it was just a quick, and dirty story for a girl in his wife’s class who liked his work. Which is fine, but there was not much here to enjoy. I liked ELANTRIS, but it turns out that Raoden and Sarene are just NOT that interesting post-New Elantris.

JAK THE ALLOMANCER…this was fun, but I found the footnotes extraordinarily distracting. I get that they existed to give the Terris servant the ability to play the “straight man” to Jak’s more over-the-top nature…but yeah. Still, it was fun…but I don’t think I liked it as much as others did.

Started into MISTBORN: SECRET ARCHIVES…and so far it’s INCREDIBLE. Kelsier post-Mistborn death!? Knock me over with a feather man. Love this.

Can I also say that I love the Star maps, and especially love, love, love the intro’s by Khriss for each planet…and query: Are Khriss and Hoid the only Worldhopper’s we’ve met so far in the Cosmere? I think they are, but I’m not sure.

It’s also fascinating to find out that Scadrial, is the only planet there the Shards formed life themselves and that Khriss thinks that the planet itself didn’t exist before the Shards. That’s a really cool factoid. And speaks to just how powerful the powers there are…and it MOVED POSITIONS IN THE COSMOS at one point? I mean, for real? That’s awesome.

Oh, and I’m with BK…I’m completely enthralled by the mystery of Silverlight.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 02 March 2017 - 04:25 PM, said:

...THE HOPE OF ELANTRIS was….weak. ...

Remains my least favorite planet, altho SOUL did add a very interesting element to it.

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JAK THE ALLOMANCER…this was fun, but I found the footnotes extraordinarily AWESOME...

FTFY.

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...Are Khriss and Hoid the only Worldhopper's we've met so far in the Cosmere? I think they are, but I'm not sure.

I don't think so. That i can think of offhand There was the guy who gave Szeth his new sword at the end of SLA2, and whoever the woman who spoke with Wax at the party in SHADOWS (i think) was tho that may have been Khriss. And two more...

SECRET HISTORY SPOILER WARNING

Spoiler

The Hitchhiker Kel encounters in the pool, and Khriss' sidekick whom he encounters later.

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It's also fascinating to find out that Scadrial,...and it MOVED POSITIONS IN THE COSMOS at one point? I mean, for real? That's awesome.

Twice i think, once by the Lord Ruler to try and save the world by moving it closer to the sun and then a second time by Sayzed to correct / improve that.

[Abyss]

Briar King, on 02 March 2017 - 05:12 PM, said:

Khriss, Nash & Hoid are the only named Hoppers I think. There are others though you pick up on like in SLA 1 Demoux(Mist) Galladon(Elan) & an unknown from Taladin. In SLA spoiler since Abyss hasn't read War Break

Spoiler

Vasher shows up as the trainer of younger son

waitwaitwait Demoux?


...the young officer from Mistborn Final Empire who has a street named after him in Wax/Wayne Demoux?

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 02 March 2017 - 05:46 PM, said:

Briar King, on 02 March 2017 - 05:12 PM, said:

Khriss, Nash & Hoid are the only named Hoppers I think. There are others though you pick up on like in SLA 1 Demoux(Mist) Galladon(Elan) & an unknown from Taladin. In SLA spoiler since Abyss hasn't read War Break

Spoiler

Vasher shows up as the trainer of younger son

waitwaitwait Demoux?


...the young officer from Mistborn Final Empire who has a street named after him in Wax/Wayne Demoux?

Briar King, on 02 March 2017 - 06:08 PM, said:

Yep

explain?

[QuickTidal]

Fuck, I think I need to re-read TWOK and WOR after the to refresh my Cosmere stuff...My Mistborn memory is pretty tight, but my SLA memory is weak considering all the plot points and characters.