Lindsey’s Comments (group member since Apr 16, 2014)

Lindsey’s comments from the Way Of Kings Read Along group.

I should go to bed, but my brain will now explode into this comment box!

OH MY GOSH. PARTS 4 AND 5. WOW. I don't think I can really address the main storyline parts because the last 50 pages is just going to make me write a long post as is.

Kaladin's Powers - SO EPIC. SO BADASS. When he sends Bridge Four to rescue Dalinar and fills himself with stormlight SOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOL!!! I mean, I don't know what else to say. They are basically the same as Szeth's powers. So yeah. Having a hard time having thoughts.

Navani x Dalinar - SO CUTE! I LOVE THEM!

Dalinar's visions being God's journal - THIS IS SO COOL AND COSMEREY AND TIES INTO HERO OF AGES AND OMG. I NEED MORE DETAILS.

Side note: I am still really confused about the radiants and the timeline of the radiants and the heralds. Also how that ties into the prologue. I think we aren't suppose to know all the details yet so that's okay.

Sadeas's Betrayal - WHAAAAAAT? I mean, I guess we could have seen it coming but WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? THAT WAS HORRIBLE AND I WAS ANGRY BUT THE KALADIN WAS A BADASS AND THEN WHEN DALINAR GAVE UP HIS SHARDBLADE TO GET ALL THE BRIDGEMEN AFTERWARDS THAT WAS AMAZING. AND I CRIED. I CRIED BECAUSE DALINAR IS SO WONDERFUL AND THE CONVO BETWEEN HIM AND KALADIN AFTER WAS JUST PERFECTION.

DALINAR GOING BADASS ON THE KING - So deserved. This is what made Dalinar my #1 favorite character. I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM AND HE WAS SO BADASS AND I AM LIKE OOOOOOOOH YEAH THIS IS THE FOR REAL DALINAR. SO EXCELLENT! Like that whole speech about the army being children and he should treat them as such WAS JUST A GREAT SPEECH!

JASNAH NOT NEEDING A SOULCASTER - Did not see this coming, but I think we could have maybe. I think this is really cool and I can't wait to see her teach Shallan so many things in the next book! I thought it was really badass of Jallan to figure everything out with her drawings!

VOIDBRINGERS = PARSHMEN WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT

THE REVELATION THAT PARSHMEN ARE SUPER INGRAINED IN SOCIETY AND THE IMPLICATIONS WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT

What really through me for a loop....
KING TARAVANGIAN KILLED ALL OF THOSE KINGS AND HIGH PRINCES - I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT

---> I will say I think it's really cool that he is doing research on the words people say right before they die. I want to know those things!

SZETH V. DALINAR - OMG I am so worried about how this is going to go down! I think that he is going to see that Kaladin has the same powers as him and then they are going to form a new Knight's Radiant and kick ass and take names!

I AM SO WORRIED ABOUT THE WORLD ENDING IT IS HURTING MY HEART :( :( :( :( :(

That was probably the most jumbled thing I have ever written. We'll discuss more when you're finished and I can stop freaking out and make more sense! Hahaha

Shallan's Storyline:
I know this is Shallan's POV but I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT JASNAH. Jasnah is MY FAVORITE: she's kindhearted and tough, and smart, and kickass, and she thinks about things like morality, and she's so well-rounded that I JUST LOVE HER. OMG SHE IS THE BEST!!! She officially has my favorite (comedic) line in the book so far:

"I brought bread as well," Kabsal said..."I thought maybe I could bring this and..."
"And what?" Jasnah asked. "Absolve yourself? 'I'm sorry I drove you to suicide Here's some bread.'"

I was laughing so hard I was crying. HOW AWESOME IS SHE????

Okay, so actually focusing on Shallan - Throughout this whole section of the book I was basically screaming at her (mostly in my head, but a little bit out loud in my apartment) "TELL JASNAH EVERYTHING THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE THE TRUTH SHALLAN THE TRUUUUUTH" <-- Pretty much exactly like that. I jut wanted her to tell Jasnah everything and when she finally gets a chance to at the end SHE STILL DOESN'T TELL HER ABOUT THE CREEPY Symbol-head invisible guys (I forgot what Shallan calls them).

Speaking of the symbol-heads: Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? What? Okay, so why can Shallan see them when she takes a mind picture but not see them regularly? Is her art magic? And holy shit the scene where she is running from them is so creepy and awesome and then when it climaxes with Shallan soulcasting an object into blood and then covering it by cutting herself I was seriously FREAKING OUT. I want to know what those things are, why Shallan can see them, and what kind of magic Shallan has if any.

So I guess the last thing I want to talk about in Shallan's storyline is Kabsal. Okay so in a handful of chapters (like less than 10 right?) we go through this with Shallan:
Step 1 - Ardent spends lots of time flirting with you over bread
Step 2 - Lots more jokes with bread and jam
Step 3 - Ardent tells her he would quit his job, leave the religion, and get knocked down multiple levels because he is so in love with her.
Step 4 - Ardent continues to be in love with her. Shallan is confused. Tells him she is leaving.
Step 5 - Ardent dies.
Step 6 - Turns out the bread from Step 1 had poison on it meant for Jasnah.
I mean Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? The amount that Brandon Sanderson was able to manipulate my emotions here was pretty intense. I really thought Kabsal was kind at the beginning of this section and then it turns out he almost killed her. Damn. I am still processing this. Who sent him if most of the ardents didn't really know him????

Kaladin's Storyline:
I think the most interesting part of Kal's story in Part 3 is all of the revelations we get about his past. His innocent little brother was forced to join the army by an asshole. His parents are still alive (I pictured them dead for some reason, did anyone else?). And most importantly, HE REFUSED A SHARDBLADE AND SHARDPLATE. WHAAAAAAT? It makes sense though after watching his friends get slaughtered by it. :/

Fun Fact: Okay, so I actually kind of knew about the shardblade already because I met Brandon Sanderson a few weeks ago at a convention. During one of the panels/sessions he did, he and Patrick Rothfuss started talking about how many words they write that never get publish, ie: delete scenes, and how it would be awesome to make an anthology with these deleted scenes. Well long story short, Brandon Sanderson originally wrote the ENTIRE Way of Kings book where Kaladin took the shardblade instead of refusing it and basically none of this Bridge Four stuff happened. Then he threw the whole thing out because it was boring, haha.

Anyway, I am glad we know a lot more about Kaladin's past. It certainly clears a lot of things up, and I don't think there are anymore questions I have about it. I figure we will soon learn about how exactly Tien died, but I don't think that will be a major insight or anything. The fact that he died is intense in itself.

As for the present, that highstorm scene was AWESOME!! Similarly like I was screaming at Shallan, I was totally screaming at Teft after that point TELL HIM HE HAS POWERS TELL HIM TELL HIM TELL HIM. I want him to find out about his powers so bad! He is going to become even more of a badass when that happens. I really wonder how he is going to rescue Bridge Four but I have a feeling it is connected to his powers.

LOVED PART 3!!! So excited for Part 4! Nothing too exciting for me in any of the interlude chapters. Except I do wonder if Szeth will ever cross paths with any of the main characters. Hmmmm.

Probably not going to be able to stop myself from finishing this book this weekend :/ hahaha

I totally agree with you about Kaladin having magic! My guess is that he is capable of doing the magic Szeth does, or at least something very similar. The spear scene was so so so epic!!

I don't know how to feel about the king's mom either! Dalinar's point of view makes me wary of her, but it seems his wariness is just because he doesn't want to marry her. I would like to see Dalinar fall in love and be happy in that regard too. I like him too much to want anything else!

Kaladin’s Story: I LOVE ROCK. SO SO SO MUCH. Okay, so ignoring Kaladin for now, I am totally obsessed with Rock! He provides so much comic relief for not only the characters, but myself and several times I have just burst into laughter from his lines. The side characters in this book are definitely starting to get increasingly more developed! Speaking of, I really appreciate how we get to watch Syl evolve: she learns what lying and dishonesty are and she DOES NOT like it. Kaladin himself continues to have his own badassery and I can’t wait to see where the storyline goes next now that Bridge Four is starting to get their game together. I am worried that Moash (or whatever his name is) is going to totally ruin a future plan of Kaladin’s or something and end up getting bridgemen killed!! I think Brandon Sanderson has gotten Kaladin up to a point now where he has grown as a character and now has renewed determination and we will hopefully soon get to witness what he does with it!

Also I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WITH HIS BROTHER????? I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO GET THAT SOONER INSTEAD OF LATER! Ajkdsfhadklfjhalmdfnklamfal <- Thoughts in my head when I really want to know things to get really excited about things, hahaha

Adolin/Dalinar Story: SO THE ENDING OF PART 2, WHAAAAAT? I mean, I saw it coming from the beginning of the last chapter, but not any time before that. And like, it definitely makes sense that Dalinar is going to abdicate to Adolin but WE ALL KNOW THAT DALINAR IS RIGHT AND EVERYONE SHOULD LISTEN TO HIM AND AHHHHHHHHHH! So worried about all of the characters involved in this storyline, including the king! No idea what is going to happen when Adolin is in charge (except my guess is that he is going to freak out a little?) And then what is Dalinar going to do now??? As far as the new characters go in the storyline, I really like Dalinar. He reminds me of Ned Stark (lawful good) except the visions he has (WHICH ARE SO COOL AND TOTALLY REAL) and his overall awesomeness level make him ten times more interesting. As far as Adolin goes, I like him and I appreciate him, but I don’t love him. I think that is because I know what’s going on in Dalinar’s head and so from a reader’s perspective I want everything to go Dalinar’s way and so when Adolin sees flaws in Dalinar it upsets me. My impression of the king is questionable, but I think this comes from the view I am developing of Alethi culture. Coming from a modern point of view, I think all of the war and competition is kind of childish? I don’t really know a good word for it, but I don’t like it. Saldeas FASCINATES me. Although I am hesitant about him, and we don’t really know his full story yet, I think I like him. He kind of reminds me of like a Snape-esc character, and overall I have decided to trust him. I think that his behaviors against Dalinar just make him interesting (which I know makes me kind of a hypocrite when compared to my views of Alodin).

I am super curious as to why Dalinar lost the memories of his wife…that’s really, really strange. The last chapter of the section made me like Jasnah even more than I already do, and I am hoping we get more Jasnah in Part 3!! (:

I just finished reading to the end of Elhokar and Dalinar's race as well (page 190 in my copy)!

World Building: I love how intricately Brandon Sanderson made this world! Not only do we have details about religion, he has created new plants, animals, cultural practices, skin and eyes colors, and so many other little details that is completely feels like you are in a different place when you're reading it. For example, I really like how being prejudice against "dark-eyed" people and preferring “bright-eyed” people has led to “Brightness” as a style of address for important, bright-eyed ladies. I feel like Brandon took on an enormous project with all of these details and executed it perfectly!

I think the pacing is fine so far and pretty consistant with Brandon's other books. The first few chapters I was really, REALLY confused because there was so many new terms and it took me about 40-50 pages to get used to them and just kind of shrug them off instead of trying to figure out what they mean when they aren't explained right then and there. After I got used to that, it was a very fast read for me. It also helps that there is SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK to break of the text. I seriously cannot get over how beautiful this book is. The art almost makes me feel like I am reading a fairytale or a storybook and it really makes the new animals feel realistic.

Shallan's Storyline: I really like Shallan so far. I think it's a great prospective to have in order to understand what is "feminine" v. "masculine" in this society and how the various rules of propriety work. I completely agree with you Sara that I don't want Shallan to steal from Princess Jasnah!! I think Jasnah is my favorite side character so far. I am really intrigued by what she is looking for in all of those books, and I also feel like she is a very interesting character. Already we've gotten to see different sides of her (soft v. tough love for example), and I think she will only get more intriguing. I hope that Shallan is able to confide in her eventually and maybe she will help her save her family? That's probably too simple, but I really don't want Shallan to betray her!

Kaladin's Storyline: SO SO SO EXCITED FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THIS!!! He's going to be such a badass when he leads Bridge Four to AWESOMENESS!!! I feel like we've really just skimmed the surface of Kaladin and I can't wait to learn more about his past and understand him better. I really want to know why Syl has been following him for YEARS when normally the spren don't do anything even remotely similar. Are there more spren like her? Is there something special about Kaladin? I WANT TO KNOW!!!!

HOID HOID HOID HOID: I seriously squealed like a little girl when we got our first Hoid reference in this book during the first interlude! I am so obsessed with The Cosmere already, and Hoid plays such a teeny tiny role in the Mistborn books and Elantris and I've heard that these books are the main ones he is involved in. AHHHH I WANT MORE HOID!!!

Speaking of interlude chapters, I think they're a really cool idea on Brandon's part. I like how we have some "main" perspectives and then we get bits and pieces of other people in other parts of the continent! I think it makes for really thorough and interesting storytelling.

Questions So Far/Things I Want to Know:
Is Szeth pronounced "Zeth"?
How does this magic system work?
Also what exactly is stormlight? It's important in so many aspects of the story.
More details on the religious aspects! Why were there all those quotes at the beginnings of people's last words?
Is Shallan's brother just a guy that tortures animals and what will he be like when he is more fleshed out?
Still trying to grasp how all of the royalty is connected and who is what in society!
How many shardblades are there?

So excited to keep reading and learn more about this world!