[Abyss]

Six chapters into the RHYTHM OF WAR earbook, I cannot resist doing this...
Usual rules apply... this is my read, no spoilers for past where i'm at in the thread, go tart your own damn thread if you want to discus something else...
SPOILERS unblocked and OK for all prior COSMERE related stuff.
I have not yet read DAWNSHARD, i have it, i may get to it, i will say so if i do.

Thus... my reavtions to the first six chapters or so...


Wow... Gavilar was working with worldwalkers! Also, a TOTAL DICKHEAD.
...in retrospect both of these things make sense...

Lindin's principles make my teeth itch.

Kaladin, YAY!

Kaladin whining... BOO.

Kaladin throwing down with fused! YAY!

New teleporting Fused Hulk SMASH PUNY KALADIN

I love Syl and she gets all the best lines hee...

Kaladin flirting with Fused Leshwy while trying to kill each other... um... ew... but... kind of fun...

BRIDGE FOUR RIDES AGAIN AS A MASSIVE FLYING THING WOOOOOOOO

Heh... Lift hits puberty, ground hits Lift...

Dalinar and Navani, still awesome.

Hi Renarin and your weird void spren!

I can't quite decide whether this Shalan/Veil/Radiant thing is interesting or irritating. Not a bad plotline, regardless.

..even if the idea that Lady Sadeas just set herself up and ruler of the military camps and proceeded to 'tax' travelers and Dalinar just let that go is ridiculous.

Navani lecture suggested zinc and brass to make fabrioles and control trapped spren... xref Mistborn, zinc and brass mess w emotions THIS IS NOT A COINCIDENCE!

WTF IS MOASH DOING THERE SOMEONE STABBY HIM

Did Lady Sadeas just suggest she knew about worldwalkers and Gavilar's dealing w them??? ...aaaaaaand now she's dead....

NO KAL DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE IT'S A TRAP... oh shit... powers gone... good thing he's a badass w a spear anyways... five singers and a fused in like a paragraph after pages and pages of aerial foreplay with Leshwy... yes, that WAS awesome.

Oh Aedolin, you still feel bad, we get it, move on.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 20 November 2020 - 04:55 PM, said:

Kaladin flirting with Fused Leshwy while trying to kill each other... um... ew... but... kind of fun...

I feel like this MAY be endgame for Kal love interest. I could be wrong, but there's FAR too much leaning in that direction for it to just be flirting with no endgame. This would mean however that Leshwi would need a permanent body and not be just disembodied ancient spirit in newish bodies for war. Still I had the same reaction as you, it's CLEARLY flirting.

Abyss, on 20 November 2020 - 04:55 PM, said:

Hi Renarin and your weird void spren!

I feel like Renanrin is far more important than he seems. I think he's the bridge to the Parshendi voidspren from the good side...

Abyss, on 20 November 2020 - 04:55 PM, said:

I can't quite decide whether this Shalan/Veil/Radiant thing is interesting or irritating. Not a bad plotline, regardless.

The first few chapters with this dynamic bothered me, but I settled in and so did Sanderson and now it's fine. It's not perfect, but it's interesting to hear Veil bitch about Shallan and Radiant.

Abyss, on 20 November 2020 - 04:55 PM, said:

Navani lecture suggested zinc and brass to make fabrioles and control trapped spren... xref Mistborn, zinc and brass mess w emotions THIS IS NOT A COINCIDENCE!

YES! I'm glad I'm not the only one who made the Scadrial/allomancy connection there!

Abyss, on 20 November 2020 - 04:55 PM, said:

Did Lady Sadeas just suggest she knew about worldwalkers and Gavilar's dealing w them??? ...aaaaaaand now she's dead....

The mention of Mistborn, Warbreaker, and White Sand planets in the journal made me fist pump!

Abyss, on 20 November 2020 - 04:55 PM, said:

NO KAL DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE IT'S A TRAP... oh shit... powers gone... good thing he's a badass w a spear anyways... five singers and a fused in like a paragraph after pages and pages of aerial foreplay with Leshwy... yes, that WAS awesome.

One of the most intersting things in Part 1 is easily that device. It takes our superpowered beings and brings them down to Roshar with a sensible thump.

Keep going, one of the nicest chapters in Part 1 is coming!

[Abyss]

Oh ffs now Moash is attacking Kal with depression...

Wtf did Renarin just do to freak Moash out so badly?

Nevari has flying office!!!!

Nevari has a stalker... a spren?

Shallan and Aedolin are... cute.

Ok, we get it, Kal suffers from depression, the stormlight pushes it back CAN WE PLEASE MOVE ON NOW

[Abyss]

Hey Dalinar w the tough love.
...you suck Kal please go away now you're getting everyone down...

[Abyss]

Up to Part 1 mid ch14....
wa wah wah everything is awful for kal wah wah wait Syl went and got Adolin????
...and they're going BAR HOPPING!!!!!

...ok that was a great scene. All of it. Kal and Adolin and Veil's conversations, Rock, Syl wants to take up gambling... i really enjoyed that.

The chatter between Kal and Ad is particularly interesting given Kal's dislike for Ad in the past. And so much worked in there... Adolin's 'man of the people' thing, Ad and Veil's sort of 'truce', Veil is totally bi, Ad and Veil trying to set Kal up, Kal suggesting Ad give up his shardblade for a spren and Ad's reaction ref'ing to it as 'Mara'... sfunny, Mara jumping the fused who stabbed Ad was one of my favorite bits in Oathbringer (and a great example of how Brandon can set up an event to be glaringly predictable and still knock it out of the ballpark).

Shallan and Marais...oh there is a LOT going on there. Lots of hints re worldwalking. Shallan or Veil are totally going to join the Ghostbloods for that info. The hints re Marais knowing her 'history' are loaded too.

Also, PREDATORY FLYING GREEN CHICKEN HAWK THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And back to Venli, much interesting Singer backstory there… i'm enjoying her story, the insights into the Singers and plotline about her being a Radiant Singer with a voidspren as well is great.

Huh... nine pillars, who could leave at any time but choose to stay in agony.... like the Heralds... And Leshwy going all humble.

Lesnar the Pursuer Teleport Hulk is turning out to be a great baddie. Very first Singer killed by a human. Vengeful as fnck. IN-teresting.

Hee... he's convinced Kal is 4th level... oh is he in for a shock.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 24 November 2020 - 02:38 PM, said:

Shallan and Marais...oh there is a LOT going on there. Lots of hints re worldwalking. Shallan or Veil are totally going to join the Ghostbloods for that info. The hints re Marais knowing her 'history' are loaded too.

I'm always interested in you reading this stuff becuase you dig audiobooks. TIL Mraize is pronounced Marais in the audio version! LOL

Abyss, on 24 November 2020 - 02:38 PM, said:

Also, PREDATORY FLYING GREEN CHICKEN HAWK THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a parrot. A green parrot from the lusher side of Roshar. Shallan being from the east means she's never seen anything like it and the closest she can get to a description in her head is "talking green chicken", becuase most things in Jah Kaved or Alethkar are built to survive weather and look like crabs and shit, and even the flying mammals from her part of Roshar are crustaceans of some description, or eels.

Abyss, on 24 November 2020 - 02:38 PM, said:

And back to Venli, much interesting Singer backstory there… i'm enjoying her story, the insights into the Singers and plotline about her being a Radiant Singer with a voidspren as well is great.

Her present period stuff is great....her flashbacks are boring and give you nothing new.

Abyss, on 24 November 2020 - 02:38 PM, said:

Lesnar the Pursuer Teleport Hulk is turning out to be a great baddie. Very first Singer killed by a human. Vengeful as fnck. IN-teresting.

Hee... he's convinced Kal is 4th level... oh is he in for a shock.

So I have the opposing opinion of the Pursuer. He's the equivalent of a monster of the week to "occupy" Kal to me. Nothing more. He's a terrible villain. And him thinking Kal is 4th level just shows you how bad he's written...blinded by his own assumptions. Not clever. You're right though, he's teleporting Hulk. Zero brains, just chaos to occupy Kal.

[End of Disc One]

Quote

A green parrot from the lusher side of Roshar.

I think it's from much, much farther away than Shinovar

[QuickTidal]

End of Disc One, on 24 November 2020 - 03:45 PM, said:

Quote

A green parrot from the lusher side of Roshar.

I think it's from much, much farther away than Shinovar

That's a really fair point. I assumed since the animals on that side are much more like ours, that it might be...but your'e right, since he's a Ghostblood, it's very probable it's another planet.

[Abyss]

Lesnar... 'fun' may be more on point than 'great', but he gave Kal a fight. Am very curious to see how Leshwy calling dibs on the kill plays out.

The chicken is a chicken. A large flying predatory green chicken. And eeeeevil. Or possibly one of those birds from that other world with all the weird birds from ARCANUM.

Ramboriel... has potential. Was a little too mustache twirling 'kill all the humans', but I'm curious to see what she gets into.

[Abyss]

Thru end Part 1 and interludes and into Part 2oooooooooooooooooooo...


Kal and Vasher's chat and sparring was fun. Vash has still got an edge.

Y'know despite all my complaining it's genuinely interesting to see Kal finding a new purpose. That he's going to utterly blow when the Fused invade but i digress.

Nevani's stalker is totally Renarin.

I really like the Mink. He's very Hergazian but less frivolous than most.

OH FFS no, NO NO NO NO MANIC DEPRESSIVE SYL... ok good Stormfather and I are on the same page.

Oooo, more fabriel Mistborn connections MORE!

Damn, when did Adolin become one of my favorite characters?

Damn damn, when did Kal and Adolin become my favorite buddy duo?

Oh yes, go make nice to the Honor Spren, what could POSSIBLY go wrong?

Hmm strange cough illness... Ramboliel's doing?

So the Ghostbloods are either worldwalkers or working for them. Eeeeeeeenterestieeeeeng. And Shallan wants 'in' to that game.

Adolin's fawning on Mayala is just adorable and i really really really want it to bring her back to life or whatever.

Interesting revelation that most old shardblades are ridiculous performance pieces.

I was really enjoying Taravangian's new status as flagrant betrayer too clever to be caught. Odium's new plan for him has all the subtlety of a Thunderclast and is one mustache twirl short of comical.

[Abyss]

Cool stuff happening w Navani at the tower. I like the mini-tower.

Kal solving mental health is way more interesting than Kal whining about it. It's not sophisticated, if anything it's beyond basic, but as an alternative, yah, i can read this just fine.

Is it just me, or are the Shallan segments massively repetitious? Veil hunts for spy, Radiant does stuff, Shallan whines, everyone worries. Again.

STAR SPREN!!!!

Cool fight Adolin. GO MAYA!!!!!!

[Abyss]

Adolin's new brilliant master plan is WHAT?

Oh shit there goes the tower.

Nice effort Navani, truly.

Oh Venly, nothing is going right for you now or then,is it?

Yay, Kal is... wait, nope, still whining.

Dalinar training!

Ok the banter between Navani and Ramboliel is pretty great.

Yay NOW Kal is back in action.

TWICE

And that second fight was pretty wild.

Relaren is Odium's blind spot. Fascinating. And his spren wants to make more of them.

Thank you autocorrect for replacing spren with sperm just now.

Szeth has a new spren...? Hee... Nightblood is so much fun.

Jasnah at war was pretty great.

[Abyss]

Oooh Nevani discovers cool merge the voidlight w the lifelight thing and ooops, crap. Busted.

Heh. I like everything about Wit and his spren 'Design'''s story for Kal. It's about as subtle as a shardhammer to the head and even so it's so damn cute and more or less just what WAIT A FUCKING SECOND THERE'S A DRAGON ON ROSHAR???????

[Abyss]

A SHAPE-CHANGING DRAGON????????????????

[Abyss]

....early Ch 95, just at the end of Adolin's trial...


FINALLY Lift is back in the game. And she can wake up the Radiants. I've enjoyed this sideplot with Dahvid, Relane, and Venly rescuing Lift to save Kal.

I remain very curious whether Sibling ends up bonding Dahvid, Relane, or even Nevani. Any of those would be an interesting partnership.

Ramboliel is still a great character. Her interaction w Nevani, with Leshly's warning's about her, make me very curious about where her diabolical master plan is going. Her rewarding Venly with the location of the other Listeners was unexpected.

Veil just described the Honor Spren city as more or less 'her brain trying to accept four perpendicular cities' and i LOVE that.
Shallan's brain issues have been tiresome but i did enjoy the revelation about her childhood spren, Veil's, and what Formless really was. I could have done w a shorter trip getting there but it was a nice payoff.


Adolin's trial... that it would come down to Maya was entirely predictable, BUT... very well executed. Not brilliant, not subtle, but at that point in the story with what we've seen, solid writing.

[Abyss]

....weird i never came back and finished this.

Bummer, i was sure i did.

Ah well, as far as i remember i enjoyed the book.