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Is there anything that I should have asked that I didn’t?
Probably not… Do you know if anyone has figured out the hidden things in the map of Roshar?
Commentary: We discussed the pattern 15 code for a bit. I’m glad it’s been solved! He said that it wouldn’t be earth shattering, but it would be cool to know. And boy, it was!
Was just the continent of Roshar created by Adonalsium or was the whole system created?
Whole system was created.
With the god-Shards, is it possible to put-- for someone to put one down without dying?
Yes, it is.
Are they any other continents on Roshar?
Roshar is, I haven't said that there's anything else out there, but I have said it's pangea, meaning if there's anything else out there, they are small. They are not of a similar scope and size. Now on Scadrial, there is other stuff going on. And I've told people that for years, and years, and years. So, you may find some other stuff going on there. For years, you know, the southern continent was populated on Scadrial during the Final Empire era, even. It was just impossible to reach because the heat, the poles were the only habitable places on that planet, and so anything in between, you just couldn't deal with it. The Final Empire was on the North Pole.
I asked if there was there a pure form of Investiture that is not tied to any Shard, and you said that my question had some false premises. Can you elaborate on what I had wrong there?
The false premise, the main one, is that other Investiture is not pure. Investiture, by its definition, comes from a certain place. That's like saying, "Is there water that doesn't have hydrogen in it? Is there pure water without hydrogen? Can you take the hydrogen out, and make purer water?" That's the problem there. This idea that Investiture is impure because it's tied to a Shard is a false premise. That is pure Investiture.
Is there Investiture that is not related to any Shard, then?
There can't be, because the Shards were what the original... it's like saying, "I've got four pieces of a cookie. Are there any pieces that didn't come from the original cookie." You just said, "There's four pieces of this cookie." What you really wanna be saying is, "Is there non-Adonalsium-origin power like Investiture in the cosmere?" Is that what you're getting at? Or are you getting at, "Is there one of the Shards that is not held by a sapient entity?" Like, you could be asking so many questions from these things that I don't know how to answer what you're looking for. So, think about those, and ask me some of those questions next time.
Are you annoyed that people call you BS? After all your initials aren't the most flattering acronym.
Honestly, I've lived with it all of my life. I've been called that since grade school. Heck, I sign my books with my initials. So no, it doesn't bother me.
What's your favourite Cosmere character, and why?
Nazh, because he's basically a grumpy Scotsman with a penchant for finding very-hard-to-find things.
Well, now I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.
Do you know when (if ever) he'll end up having more of a screen (page?) presence?
Thanks! We will see more of Nazh, if everything goes as planned. I hope you will enjoy!
Is the programming-esque nature of the Dor a product of the power being in the Cognitive Realm or is it for some other reason?
A mixture of the Vessels' personalities, the fact that the power's in the Cognitive Realm, and the nature of Sel's focus.
In a couple of your books you put some epigraphs in the front of the chapters to serve as hints or easter eggs. Most seem as excerpts of a already written book. So here's my question, do you write all the epigraphs at one time and distribute across your chapters or do you just write it when you reach the chapter and the edit it all to make it fit?
I generally write them all at once, though once in a while I put a note on a chapter when writing it to indicate what should go there.
If one mark is worth five chips, does it hold five times as much Stormlight?
Where's Peter? Peter! Five chips does not hold the exact same amount of light as a mark, correct? Correct. So, they do not hold... I just have to check with my continuity guy. They do not hold exactly five times as much.
So a mark holds more or less?
I believe a mark holds more. Peter, am I correct? Less. Mark holds less. He keeps the money. Actually, because it is such a deal to keep the money straight, it's so important. I just put in "Worth about this much." And then he actually puts in a value. I'll say, "Oh, about the same amount as three meals." And he's like, "Eh, that's this much." Which is something that I can go do, because I can go find that. It's in the wiki. But it would take five or six minutes of searching, which is five or six minutes of breaking my momentum and doing the plot and characters. So now one of the reasons why I hired Peter was so that I could do things like that, and he could keep track of it all. I don't work like... For instance, Robert Jordan was famous for keeping almost all of it in his head all the time. It was all up there. I put it all in wikis so I don't have to remember it. And this was really actually kind of awkward with the Wheel of Time fans, who would come ask me this questions, and I would say "I can look that in Robert Jordan's notes." And they'd be like, "But you don't know the answer?" And I'm like, "No. When I want the answer, I will go look it up in his notes, and then I'll use that and write the scene."
So, while there's a lot I know, I keep the plots and a lot of the characters and things like that going. When I want to find out how much something's worth, I just go to my own wiki. And I'm like, "Oh, this." By the way, this is a wiki you can't get to; it's an internal wiki. You're wondering. But there's a very nice wiki kept by the 17th Shard. Theirs is pretty good.
If Robert Jordan had been able to read [Way of Kings], what do you think he would say about it? What would he really love about it?
You know, Robert Jordan loved (at least, from what I can tell in the notes, and listening to him talk) this idea of blending technology and magic in a lot of ways. If you read the Wheel of Time books, it's about the Industrial Revolution happening at the same time as the end of the world. We have steam technology and things appearing, and this is all background. It's not what the story was about. But I think he would be fascinated by that concept.
Because I was always fascinated by the Age of Legends in the Wheel of Time books, where I wanted to... that influenced me in telling a story about worlds where we are seeing the beginnings of things like this. So, that might be something he would latch on to.
I have no ability to speak actually for him. I never met Robert Jordan. I saw him once at a convention, I still feel stupid for not saying hello to him. There are so many people who know him better than I do. To me, he's kind of like this heroic figure, he's the Odysseus who came before. And he still remains that to me, because I never really got to know him personally. Whereas all the people I work with know him personally, I just know him as this hero.
I have a question about the Everstorm.
It appears the Parshendi kept singing long past the point necessary to summon the storm. It could be they didn't know when to stop, but there are other possibilities. Could the storm have been stopped or weakened if the Alethi armi had hit them earlier? Does the time they were stopped affect the number of Odium-spren in the storm?
RAFO, I'm afraid.
Is there one shard besides Harmony that would give Odium a run for his money?
Possibly.
Why can't Zahel sleep at night?
Well, multiple reasons. None of which are particularly pleasant. He just has a rough time with a lot of different things.
I'll inject a follow-up on that. How many of those reasons would give rise to a bounty?
Multiples, depending on who's offering the bounty.
When you write certain characters, do you envision them as anyone in real life? Ie. I see Dalinar as Liam Neeson
I don't generally envision them as real people. But A Liam Neeson Dalinar brings a smile to my lips.
You sold the rights for Mistborn for a movie, right? How is that coming along?
I have had no major updates, I'm afraid. You know, I really like the script. They're pitching it in Hollywood. They're good guys, the producers are. The script is really awesome and is pretty faithful. It's adapted in the ways that adaptations need to happen. Like it's really cool, like the beginning they did this thing where they said, "You know, we really need to focus the movie on Vin, so the opening needs to be on Vin instead of Kelsier." Which is a really good move for a movie like that that's got such a shorter length of time. So, you know, they start with Vin and Reen, actually. And you know, Vin being part of a heist that goes wrong, with her brother, and things like this. And you know, there's changes like that that thematically, you know, are the same concept as the book but then work really much better in the only two hour block that you have. Then Kelsier is a mysterious figure who invites her in and recruits her into the team, which works much better in that format. So there's changes like that.
There's this really cool prologue where they start the prologue with the march up the mountain toward the Well of Ascension, a thousand years ago and an interaction there that changes into a stained glass window and then you see stained glass windows of the interim periods until you hit the Final Empire. So there's some really awesome stuff.
So, we'll see if this actually ends up working or not. Again, if your father is the owner of Warner Brothers, go and put in a good word for me. We're kind of long shots because all we are is an author and several producers who have no major credits to their name. And I sold it to them specifically because- you know, I sold Alcatraz to Dreamworks for a lot of money and then I just had to like say goodbye to the project and I like what they did with it but it was basically they took the project. And I, for Mistborn, wanted to have more control which also means my chances of actually getting it made go down quite dramatically. Ask Orson Scott Card how long it took to get made Ender's Game made and you will see the same sort of thing, but then he's getting it made his way, eventually. So that's what I'd like to do with Mistborn if I have that option.
Can I ask for the sequel of Sixth of the Dusk?
It's on the backburner right now. But eventually.
The Inquisitor's Speed
What the Inquisitor does here at the end is very important. If you've read book two recently, you may recognize this as what Sazed did when he tapped speed at the end of that book.
The Inquisitors are gaining Feruchemical powers, which makes them very, very dangerous. Mixing Feruchemy and Allomancy is what made the Lord Ruler so formidable. Fortunately, it took him a long time to figure out how to mix the powers correctly, and the Inquisitors haven't had the time to practice, regardless of the force controlling them.
Did Nightblood cause the Cognitive Anomaly?
*Hems and haws*
I'll give you a RAFO card.
Will there be flashbacks for a different character in this next book?
Yes. Each book will explore a different character in flashbacks, though Kaladin will also end up getting another book with flashbacks of his sometime down the line.
Are Splinters primarily Spiritual?
Less Physical. More a blend of the other two.
I think the self-publishing you can do nowadays is really helping the genre, just books along in general. But I would add the caveat: the most important thing you can do right now is write book two. Finish book one; choose whether to self-publish or not, either way is really valid. Get it edited. Once you finish the book, put it aside for at least six months and let other people read it. Come back and do a revision six months later, when you've had some distance, while you've been writing something else. Then release it, or send it off, whatever you decide. Both ways are valid. But write another book.
You don't mean book two in the series? You mean, "A different book"?
It can be book two if you want it to. I suggest skipping to something else, just to cleanse your palate and try something new. But whatever it is, you need to train yourself to become a writer. Not write one book; you need to train yourself to be someone who can write things.
If you had a choice for a game format, would you go single-player story? Or would you go multiplayer?
For a video game? I would do single-player probably. 'Cause that's what I play most of, myself. If I could do anything, I would probably do a Mistborn video game, single-player, with a strong narrative.
I want to #AskBrandon if Jasnah’s second Surge is Electromagnetism or Light?
Great question! It is not one of those.
We know that the Passions are a religion or a set of superstitions from Thaylenah. But what are the "Passions" exactly? Are they a group of Gods who represent various kinds of "Passion" worshipped by the Thaylen people? If not, are those "Passions" simply a set of ideals believed by the Thaylen people? Are there any connections between Thaylen Passions and Alethi Thrill?
The Passions could be called a religion, but there are those among the Thaylens (and to a lesser extent, other peoples) who would argue that it's more a philosophy. Or a companion religion. Much like Shinto and/or Confucianism co-exist in some places with Buddhism.
However, there is not formalized theology, despite various thinkers and gurus expressing their thoughts on the matter. The central idea is that Passion equates to Action, and the cosmic belief that wanting something draws it to you. This idea is reinforced by the spren, obviously.
Ah, so basically some people treat it as a fundamental way of life, and some people just treat it as The Secret?
Yes, you can see it as a Rosharan version of the Law of Attraction, though some people have taken it further into a more religious fundamental.
I can't really remember very well, but I think only Kaladin really says Radiant Oaths in the books, at least. So, for Shallan to have as many powers as she does, has she already said one of the ideals, and we just don't know?
...You have her glyph whisper one. And you have seen Dalinar say one. So, most of them say them. Shallan's Order, they admit truths. Their Oaths are a very different sort of thing.
'Cause I know, I did read that, but I was wondering-- it said somewhere else that all the Knights Radiant have to say the First Ideal.
Yes, they do have to do that.
So, she has said that.
Oh, yeah, she has said that. That is somewhere in her past.
Which, presumably, we'll find out about some other point in time?
Possibly. I think that can be inferred.
If you're gonna crossover anyone into Stormlight, like if you were gonna grab Scooby Doo, or Dragonball Z, or any other series?
Any series that's not mine cross it over with Stormlight? Wow, I haven't been asked that before. What would I cross over with Stormlight? I don't know. Man, that's hard... Let me think about it. I could give you a goofy answer, but I've never even really thought about that before... Maybe I could slip over some futuristic sci-fi crossover with the Whedonverse.
If I spend thousands of dollars and fly halfway across the world to go to a book signing, what can I expect? I've never been to one before, and likely never will again. But Stormfather take me if this doesn't seem like a once in a lifetime opportunity.
You are more than welcome to come! But I do always feel a little strange when people spend a lot of money to come see me, as I'm not convinced I'm worth it.
Here's how a signing goes down: I usually speak for about an hour, which is divided into three segments. I generally start with a short (15 min or so) talk about something I'm interested in at the moment. Usually it relates to the book somehow, or to the fantasy genre. Then I do a Q&A with the audience for maybe 25 min. Then I do a reading for maybe 20 min. (This is usually from something I'm working on that isn't yet published.)
From there, I sit down and start doing the signing. This part takes a long time--four to six hours, depending. You usually get a line number from the store based on a couple of factors. (When you arrived and if/when you bought your book.) I strongly suggest checking with the store you plan to visit, as some of them have stricter policies than others about being required to buy a copy of the book to get into line. (Most of them don't require it, but let the people who bought the book from them--which is most people there--go first.)
You get maybe thirty seconds or so with me, during which you can ask a question and get a picture, if you want. (I always feel bad it's such a short time.) I will generally personalize up to three books, though I will sign as many as you want. Most stores only sell the US edition in the US.
If you mention you came from New Zealand, you will most likely be the person who came the longest distance, which I usually reward with a little pin.
All of these signings will be relatively packed, I'm afraid, so I can't suggest one over another being faster. But they're also all very good stores, and are generally willing to let you leave and grab food, then come back closer to your chance to get a book signed.
If Nightblood was to attack one [a Shard] and decided it was evil, could he destroy enough of that Shard to seriously weaken it compared to other Shards or not really?
I mean it would be such a drop in the bucket. To actually weaken the Shard. Like, there is so much out there. This would be hard to do. I won't completely nix it, but let's just say there's a lot that Nightblood would have to...
What happened with the Shard that just drifts in the space, the one that wants to hide and survive?
What about that Shard? They want to hide and survive.
Huh, something more?
I think I will RAFO that for right now.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Adonalsium
Wouldn't you like to know what that is? Maybe you will, eventually. Not in this book though. [Editor's note: If you see it spelled “Adonasium” anywhere, that is an unfortunate typographical error.]
Will we ever see Sixth as a main character again?
I have written the opening to a sequel to Sixth of the Dusk (which I will not call Seventh of the Dusk, though people like to joke about that). The problem is, Sixth of the Dusk takes place far enough forward in the future of the cosmere that writing stories about him is really tough without giving major spoilers to other cosmere series. In fact, I wrote this opening, and it has huge spoilers for other cosmere series. And so the question for myself is: do I try to write around the spoilers? Or do I release it with the spoilers? Or do I just wait until it's no longer spoilers to release it? I really like the story, the outline for it is sharp. I know where Sixth fits into all of this, even though he was a discovery-written character.
So yes, most likely you will, but I can't say when exactly.
Before the Shattering, were people already able to worldhop from Yolen to the other planets like Roshar, and so on?
It was possible, it did not happen nearly on the extent that it happens now. It's possible. I would say that, I don't know if there, yeah very very very few instances.
So the Sleepless kind of have me wondering about what sentience is in the cosmere. Like how would a Sleepless manifest on the Cognitive Realm--
That's a good question, you'll-- that I'll RAFO. But they are a single consciousness, but they would argue that all your cells are independent of you. So they are cells that can move around. They're really fun... they started in a non-cosmere book when I was 22. Obviously a bit inspired by Fire Upon the Deep, one of my favorite science fiction books. And I read that book and I'm like, "Group consciousnesses are cool!" what if you had a species that was made up of-- Not like one of these Ender's Game y'know, one, but each swarm was an individual and they could breed and evolve their own things to do different stuff. So each of these little bits, these hordelings is what I call them-- I might change because we've got cremling now. But each of these little bits is bred for a specific purpose, "Feed the swarm" and stuff like that. So they've got all kinds of cool stuff going on.
Are they slivers?
Oh slivers. Not quite like slivers. Slivers are a little more that whole Ender's Game thing, right? And this is actually an individual that's not a hivemind. This is an individual, single consciousness, and they've got a step between cell and body. We kind of do too, like mitochondria are kind of "What are these? Are these things we ingested somehow and got working for us?" It's all very cool.
So is it like Malazan Book of the Fallen, like the D'ivers?
Ehhh, there's little--
Okay, a little?
Yeah.
Is there a limit to the amount of useful energy that can be extracted from an end-neutral system? Like Skimmers on a Terris wheel on opposite sides.
So... Skimmers by making their weight lighter, spinning the thing around, and things and then--
You got one on opposite sides--
Yeah you could totally do this. In my mind, the way I work this out is that it's no more-- having people do it and things like this-- yeah you could totally do that. The power for making this happen, you are drawing Spiritual energy into the Physical plane can power your motor. It's not power-negative, it's changing forms.
But in realistic terms that would be so much less cost-effective than other methods because Allomancers are expensive, but yeah you could just keep that going.
Same with Lifeless? Telling them to push a wheel around?
Yeah, the sustenance for life is coming directly from the Spiritual plane. So if you remove that, it wouldn't work. The whole idea from this is that energy is getting recycled back into the Spiritual plane when people are dying and things like that, so...
How much time would you spend writing on a typical day, (if a typical day exists for a writer that is)?
A basic writing day for me: I get up at noon or 1:00, depending on when I went to bed. I play with my son for about an hour, giving my wife a break. Then I go downstairs for four or five hours, check my email, write for a while, go up and have dinner, play with my son some more, then go back down and go back to work until I'm done for the night. The last couple of years have been pretty much a lot of me with my laptop on my couch or in my beanbag chair writing books.
Cephandrius is ONE of [Hoid's] oldest names, but not his actual name.
I’ll fully admit that I can’t say for certain that Midius is his actual name either; it’s just where my guess is at the moment. Shoot, it could still just be a slightly earlier alias than Cephandrius. :)
I know what his actual name was at one time. But it might not be that anymore.
Is this knowledge something you’re at liberty to share?
Nope!
Regarding the ending of the Mistborn Trilogy: What was up with Ruin having red hair? Is that significant? Does it mean that Ruin was originally a human who gained his powers somehow? My friend thought that Ruin was actually another red-haired character in the series, though I don't remember his name. I think he was a minor captain or something.
I try to make all of the cosmere stuff "bonus material" so to speak. I don't think it's essential to understanding Mistborn to know Ruin's origin. Those who want expanded information can find it, and theorize upon it. However, I intend to warn people up-front before writing any book where you have to know this to understand it.
Within the realm of Mistborn only, all you really need to know is that someone was holding this power--and that the 'individuals' of Ruin and Preservation were people, changed by the power they held. It holds to the theme of the story, with what happens regarding Sazed and other characters.
So on theoryland there are a couple of WoBs regarding Selish Shadesmar and the ones that stuck out to me were how Rosharan Shadesmar is aligned with Roshar georaphically (and in turn, the other planets are too) and with the name of Sel's shadesmar expanse.
So my question/assumption is...Given the above geographical alignment and sometimes inverse nature of Shadesmar, is the Expanse of the Broken Sky Sel?
I'm not going to confirm what any of these are, I'm afraid. (At least not yet.) You are free to theorize as you wish.
How closely does Adonalsium map to the gnostic demiurge?
A little bit.
So, not completely? I'm not completely off?
That's not off at all.
So, not the urge, but the demiurge.
Oh, well I'll have to go read to make sure what I'm talking about then. Your answer is: I will go read and make sure I know. I thought I knew what I was talking about.
So, there's the creator, which is the urge, which is the creator of the Universe. *large hand gesture* The demiurge is actually God. The demiurge is the one that creates [its] universe, *small hand gesture inside larger gesture* and entities living within the universe need knowledge of that which is beyond what the demiurge has created.
Okay, that matches pretty well.
So where exactly would the second Mistborn trilogy take place relative to Alloy of Law?
Late 20th century era. Modern technology.
I've heard that's like... 50? years after Alloy of Law.
Yeah, right around there. Roughly. Not quite information age, is what I was looking at. So there's no direct comparison, because the different technology aspects, but you would see it as something around the 80s. Maybe early 90s. Allomancer SWAT team is what it's about. First book is a Mistborn serial killer versus an Allomancer SWAT team. With deeper ramifications to everything.
Kaladin in the second book seemed to be a different Kaladin than at the end of the first book.
In what way?
And he seemed angrier, and my question is, why did you write him that way?
He has always been angry. In the first book, he is focused on saving his men and now that his men are safe, all of those emotions—if you go look at him from the first nine chapters of Way of Kings, he's that way there, it's when he becomes focused on saving his men he has something to drive him and it kind of subsumes these things, but once they're safe all these things he hasn't dealt with came back out.
Favorite Joke
That pteridactle one.
Seolin is an interesting character to me. Not because he really does anything distinctive–but because of how he developed. His name was "Saorn" in the original draft, by the way. I think I changed this because it was too close to "Daorn." People also confused it with Shaod. I'm not certain if the new one fixes that problem, but it does feel a little more distinctive to me.
Regardless, Seolin is one of those characters who grew out of nothing to have a strangely large part in the plot. Again, I realize that he's not all that original as a character. However, his dedication–and the way Raoden came to rely on him–wasn't something I intended when planning the book. While I don't believe in the whole "Books surprise their authors" concept, I do enjoy the discovery of writing. Seolin is one of the characters "discovered" in this way, and I am very pleased with him.
In Secret History Kelsier was <> some kind of <>. Is it some<> to Forgery?
[Oversleep's notes: Question about Kelsier changing his backpack in M:SH and if that’s similar to Forgery/beginning of Forgery on Scadrial]
No, there is something else going on... that we'll see, come to understand <>
Chapter Eighteen
Sazed Visits the Pits of Hathsin
Sazed's visit to the Pits is foreshadowing, as we're going to make use of them as a setting later in the book and I wanted to establish what they looked like and what was going on there. It also, however, gave me a chance to frame Sazed's conflicts a little bit more by showing what the other Terris people think of him. (There will be more of that in the next Sazed chapter.)
If you were to use Hemalurgy on a Surgebinder, would it steal the Surge or the actual spren bond?
It's going to steal the spren bond, but you've got to remember the spren has power over that bond. So what you're doing is (1) incredibly evil, even more evil, but (2) you may not end up with what you want, because that spren has free will in most cases. You may go through all this trouble and then they may break the bond, and you would be left without it. So you would need something else to force them to be unable to break the bond, which would be even more evil, but it is possible in Hemalurgy.
Is Thaidakar the leader of the Ghostbloods?
[Thaidakar] is a leader.
In your words, "Is it okay, in an epic fantasy, to hang a gun on the mantle, then not fire it until book ten of the series written fifteen years later. Will people wait that long? Will it even be meaningful? My general instincts as a writer so far have been to make sure those guns are there, but to obscure them, or at least downplay them." Your novels are followed very closely by groups like TWG, and now 17th Shard and Stormblessed, and you're familiar with the obsessiveness of Wheel of Time fans. There are more and more people out there who spend time between book releases poking at the metaphorical walls of your work, on a hunt for those guns you've obscured. Does this kind of scrutiny change anything for you?
Yes. I don't generally change the guns that I'm hanging, but I have begun to hang more subtle guns for those who like to dig. I like to have a variety of secrets in my books, with a variety of difficulty levels in figuring them out. If you read one of the books I've written, like The Way of Kings, I would hope that it will meet everyone's needs when it comes to discovering things. For those who really want to dig, there will be some really deep secrets that you can unearth, talk about, and theorize about and eventually be proven right. There will be things that the casual reader will figure out three pages before the answer is revealed, that you will have figured out ten chapters ahead of time. I like that variety because of the old adage—it's hard to fool everybody all the time, but hopefully I can have enough different secrets that they will each fool a few people.
How could a person from Scadrial access Shadesmar? An alloy of a god metal?
He RAFOd me on this one and said it was a plot point for future novels.
