Recent entries

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5751 Copy

    Questioner

    Question about Elantris real quick. In your [Arcanum] Unbound[ed], they show up. Is this post or pre Elantris. Because they're so well organized in that one.

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, that is post Elantris. But, the Ire weathered the [Reod].

    Questioner

    Oh they come back. And they remember everything.

    Brandon Sanderson

    They were not on Sel when the [Reod] happened.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5752 Copy

    Questioner

    Is Warbreaker 2, is that near-future?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Distant future.

    Footnote: The Questioner appears to be asking about when the Warbreaker 2 novel will be released, not where it will fall in the timeline.
    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5753 Copy

    Questioner

    So in Oathbringer we start seeing cases of Shadesmar and worldhoppers. As the series progresses, are you going to kind of like gear it into more of like, world meeting world, like almost leading up to like Dragonsteel type events?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Right, that is kind of the goal. 

    Questioner

    Like long story goal.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's not really... People imagine it being Avengers-ish. It's not really that. It's more like the way these worlds interact is the story that I want to tell. So they will slowly come mashing together.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5754 Copy

    Questioner

    You know how the Cosmere all ends, right? Does anyone else know?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No one else knows right now. But I am slowly filling out that outline in my notes so that they'll have it in case something unfortunate happens to me.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5755 Copy

    Questioner

    When will you do the next Stormlight book?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So I divide my time between half Stormlight and half other things. So, I'm about a year into my 18 month break. I'll start Stormlight 4 on January 1st.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5756 Copy

    coltonx9

    If the Nightwatcher was asked to bond a person with a spren, would you just kidnap a spren and force a bond, would she create a spren...?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The Nightwatcher is unlikely to force a spren to bond.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5758 Copy

    Questioner

    Are you going to do a Mistborn: Secret History part 2 to talk about what Kelsier's doing during...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Likely, but not 100% promise. It's kinda my time frame. A lot of the stuff that's happening right now is foreshadowing for Era 3 where Kelsier will have a much bigger role. Era 3, the 1980's one. So we'll see when I'm writing those if I need a Secret History to catch us up.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    All right. So...things do get confusing whenever I'm trying to circumlocute spoilers. I could have smacked myself for forgetting to mention "no spoilers" before the Q&A. I keep forgetting that there are many readers who are not as sensitive to these things as I am. (Though one woman did gasp in the row behind that guy asking the question--as his original one mentioned Sadeas's death, I believe.)

    I will say that there are multiple people I'd consider well on the path to being Radiants by the end of Book Three, and several of these would--shall we say--dispute KR traditions from the past, specifically on this subject matter. (What makes someone eligible to become a KR.) So this discussion is relevant for multiple reasons.

    I wasn't trying to drop any bombs about Adolin, however, as I remain very solidly in RAFO territory about his future.

    Enasor

    Thank you for taking the time to clarify this one Mr Sanderson.

    This WoB created a massive shock-wave all across the fandom and many readers were taking you had officially confirmed Adolin was "well on his way towards Knighthood" which I was personally convinced was very deeply into the RAFO territory, as it should be.

    Perhaps in order to also settle some additional debates, would you say Adolin would challenge what has traditionally made someone eligible to become a KR or is this within RAFO territory too? Readers can never seem to agree on how perfect Adolin actually is. We seem to find rationals for both.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I hate to use terms like "perfect" or the like. It's even difficult to (when not speaking in world) use some of the terminology the KR have used in the past--as we have to reconcile several things.

    How do you decide what is a mental illness and what is simply a person's unique brain chemistry? Usually this comes down to two factors--the person's own feelings on it and the advice of medical professionals. Even language like "Well-adjusted," as I used before, is dangerous territory because it's so subjective. One need look only to the deaf community to find examples of people who challenge an outsider's perspective of what is a disease and what isn't.

    So I generally prefer to talk about this through the character's viewpoint, the lens of historical commentary (which is in world, and may not therefore be accurate--but at least offers a perspective,) and the context of the book.

    And in that context, I like Adolin being a RAFO. I believe that using the text, there are multiple directions one could go in discussing him.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5761 Copy

    Questioner

    In Oathbringer we have an example of a different form of magic on Roshar, like when Hoid uses Breaths to perform...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, Hoid has used both Breaths and Allomancy on screen in the Stormlight books.

    Questioner

    Is this made possible through the Connection of Shadesmar and the Cognitive Realm?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, you can bring almost all the magic to any other planet, no problem. The only one that there's a problem with is AonDor but that has specifically to do with the way the AonDor works.

    Questioner

    So hypothetically, could you see someone from Roshar become a Mistborn?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That would require Hemalurgy. Could happen. A lot of times, where you were born, with a lot of these magics, is having a big influence on your spiritual make up. But it would require Hemalurgy, or there are ways to get around it. You could become mechanically a Mistborn. That's probably not a phrase we want to canonize. You could use, for instance, some of the tools in Era 2.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5762 Copy

    Questioner

    With Way of Kings...with Azure, where did she appear at the end of Warbreaker? Because I know it's Vivenna, but did the name appear, because when I first read it, it sounded familiar.

    Brandon Sanderson

    No... She is commonly associated with that color, but it's not like she was known by that name.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5764 Copy

    Questioner

    Are there any other Investiture-sucking creatures?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are creatures that feed on Investiture other than the larkin, yes.

    Questioner

    Are they on the other worlds?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are some on other planets, not every planet has one.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5765 Copy

    Questioner

    Could you tell us the name of one of the Shards we have not yet seen?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I cannot. I'm sorry. I get asked that enough that they'd all be done. If I gave you one, I get asked at the next con, and all of them would be gone. Plus, I sometimes tweak them before I canonize them. The actual word I'm going to use. The intent usually stays the same but I tweak which word I'm going to use.

    Questioner

    I meant the actual name. Like, how Honor was Tanavast.

    Brandon Sanderson

    No...I won't do that either. But I will give you a RAFO card!

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5766 Copy

    coltonx9

    *Written down* Cracks in the Spiritweb can be filled with investiture, granting powers. Are the Drab on Nalthis considered damaged enough for this process?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They are something else entirely. So that, in world, they would say no, something else has happened.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5767 Copy

    Questioner

    Would a Windrunner's Investiture be able to be used in space?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Would a Windrunner's Investiture be able to be used in space? In fact, yes. Windrunners would be particularly handy in space because they can control pressure as well as move around and things. So if you were going to pick an order of Knight Radiant, and you wanted to go be an astronaut, Windrunner would be the best choice.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5769 Copy

    Questioner

    How would a Cryptic deal with computers?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Cryptics would love computers. Loooovvvveee computers. They would have a blast. They might be offended that the computer isn't talking back to them, because they would think the computer's a pattern and should just be talking to them. But otherwise they would find them really cool.

    I'm sad, there was a really good sequence in Oathbringer that had to get cut out for timing reasons where Pattern talked about how famous he was, that hopefully I will be able to release as a deleted scene or something.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5771 Copy

    Questioner

    Why does Lift need Stormlight?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Lift went to see the Nightwatcher, and got a Blessing and a Curse in that she can metabolize food to turn into Stormlight, but she can't use regular Stormlight. And there is something else, as well.

    Questioner

    So they have the same surges or different surges for Cultivation?

    Brandon Sanderson

    She uses the same surges, but they are powered differently.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5772 Copy

    Questioner

    *Inaudible question*

    Brandon Sanderson

    *Repeating* Why do the Shin look different to the Rosharan significant <face>?

    Because the Shin have spent a long time being very xenophobic. They haven't intermixed very much. When the original event happened, that I'm not going to say because of spoilers, different people settled in different places, and the Shin in particular just have been very xenophobic.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5773 Copy

    Dearius

    I was just wondering if the metal used to make a fabrial matters like if it's *inaudible* or something?

    Brandon Sanderson

    *Repeating* Does the metal used to make a fabrial matter?

    A little bit. Not as much as things like this do on Scadrial, but there is some influence there. We'll get into those rules eventually.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5774 Copy

    Questioner

    Adolin and his sword that wants to kind of wake up a little bit. Most of the Knights Radiant have some sort of break in their mind, mental <a little> problem. Where Adolin appears to be the person in Stormlight that's most comfortable with himself. Is that going to cause a problem, or is maybe the fact that he, at least in his mind, murdered Sadeas, going to help bring that to fruition or give us a way towards something like that?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Let's, first off, say I'm not going to repeat this one because it's super spoilery. So let's try to talk around the spoilers.

    In the Stormlight Archive, there is a tradition among the Knights Radiant that certain traumas and/or psychological handicaps are effective in drawing the attention of a spren. I haven't actually said if that is true or if that's [just] a tradition of theirs. But there is a tradition among the Knights Radiant. that they have noticed something consistent.

    Does it mean that you have to in order to be a Knight Radiant? Well, there is somebody that I would call extremely psychologically well-adjusted, that by the end of the third book is well on the way to Knighthood.

    There is something going on there, they are noticing something true. But it might not be as exclusionary as they think it is.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5775 Copy

    kurvyyn

    Sja-anat tries to convince Shallan she is not her enemy and tells her, "Ask my son." Is the son that she's referring to, is that Pattern?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No. Sja-anat is referring to--I'll try not to give too many spoilers on this--if you look through the books for a spren that does not seem to belong to Honor or Cultivation, but is bonding a Radiant, that is where you want to look for Sja-anat's influence.

    kurvyyn

    Is it Glys?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO!

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5776 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    In Hero of Ages, I have a room that is both looking at the sunset, and looking north, in different scenes. In one scene, someone walks in, they can see the sunset, and in another scene, they see the army, that's to the north, through the window? And they were like, "Ahhhh!"

    So I said, "Oh! Let's make it a corner room, and put two windows." So there's a solution, but it was not...

    Questioner

    But it wasn't intended that way.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5777 Copy

    Questioner

    Is it possible for people to be Mistborn in another world other than the one that...

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is not possible for them to be born Mistborn, but a Mistborn can travel to one of those worlds. And you could theoretically create one out of Hemalurgy on another world. You would need to bring people, right? But you could actually do it. Nothing would prevent you, other than the horrific, gruesome nature of it.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5778 Copy

    Questioner

    How many of the Stormlight Archive, how many are you planning?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are two sets of five. The first five will come to a climax, and the second five are going to take place ten years later. Some of the cast will be the same. It's the same series but some of the cast will change. For instance, Lift is being seeded as a main character for that series. She'll be grown up, so she won't be quite-- She'll still be Lift, but she may not be quite as teenagery. She's a very special individual.

    Renarin will be one of the main character in that series. Jasnah will be. And Taln and Ash, who are both Heralds that we barely see on screen in the current ones, they'll be main characters.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5779 Copy

    Questioner

    I've read the Mistborn. What's the best way to get the full effect? My brother, I'm introduced him to the Cosmere. We both got into it through, when you finished Robert Jordan's series.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Full effect of the Cosmere. Do you guys have a non-spoilerific, "Things to watch for"?

    coltonx9

    There probably is.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Maybe go on the 17thShard, which is the forum, and say, do you guys have a non-spoiler "Things to watch for" to see the Cosmere connections in action.

    Watch for Hoid, obviously. Watch for... people use the wrong words. Like if you ever see anyone in a Stormlight book who accidentally uses soil or coin or things that are just not Stormlight stuff. That is usually a translation error because they're using magical means to translate into the language and they are saying a word and the magic is translating it.

    Like, if you just learned the language, you wouldn't make that mistake. That's a pretty big hint that the person is non-native. Watch for the myths and legends that people tell about various places and peoples. It's all just behind the scenes stuff right now. There's nothing that you're going to miss, you're going to be like "Oh no, I don't understand!" The things that are overt connections are meant to be woven into the stories well enough that you wouldn't have to have the intros, ahd the ones that are not are just Easter eggs for now.

    Except for things like Arcanum Unbounded, which is presuming you are Cosmere aware.

     

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5780 Copy

    Valhalla

    Ruin and Odium, they both talked about their passion, and it was italicized both times. Would any other Shards talk about passion in that same italicized way?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes they would.

    Valhalla

    Would any of them not talk about it that way?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. Excellent, good questions.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5781 Copy

    Questioner

    If I remember correctly, [Calamity] was sent to destroy the world?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Kind of, yes. He was sent to make it destroy itself. Apocalypse Guard ties into that, with further explanations, if I can ever get the thing to work.

    Questioner

    So it's part of the same...?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Continuity, yes. She is from the same dimension Megan sees into, the main character is.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5782 Copy

    Questioner

    Using Hemalurgy, could you steal the boon from the Old Magic?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh, from the Nightwatcher? This is theoretically possible.

    Questioner

    Would that take the [curse] with it as well?

    Brandon Sanderson

    *Hesitantly* Yes. Though it's also theoretically possible to split them apart, that would be a lot harder. Getting the boon, if you knew what you were doing, would not be that difficult.

    Now, what Cultivation would do to you when she found out that had happened is another thing entirely. Because those are willful grants of Investiture.

    Questioner

    Similar to Endowment's with the Returned?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, things like that. When you get a Shard involved and the Shard has..  power to... Same thing like...it's on a much grander scale what's happening with the spren bond, right?

    Questioner

    When Hemalurgy does spread, most Shards will not be happy about this, right?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, that is correct.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5783 Copy

    Questioner

    With the gemstones, we know that the hue seems to matter more than the rarity. Is that somehow tying in to the colors for Warbreaker, and how that stuff works?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, that is tying in. Color will be a recurring theme, much as metal will be a recurring theme, as you see different magic systems work. In this case, the color has an affect on the spren and getting a spren trapped in it.

    Questioner

    So just the color itself?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah the color is the important part. When I was researching Stormlight, I determined that color had to be the point. Because a lot of the gemstones I'm using are molecularly identical.

    Questioner

    So that was the best way to differentiate?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So this was the best way to differentiate. But I had already had this as part of the cosmere, that color and the way people perceive color and things like, that were part of it. But getting ten different gemstones that were molecularly different proved to be very difficult and not worth it. If you look, so many of them are just basically the same gemstone with a few impurities. Their crystalline structure is the same.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
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    kurvyyn

    If Dalinar actually brought Honor back together to summon the perpendicularity, and Odium said he Ascended. Dalinar did he actually hold the Shard Honor and is he now considered a Sliver?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO! They are really waiting on this one. Let's just say, he is not Honor currently. But of course, you knew that.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
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    Questioner

    Out of the named Shards, which of them, like of the [Vessels?], if one of them were hunting you down, which one would scare you the most? You [don't] have to say the name of the character, just the name of the Shard.

    Brandon Sanderson

    So we're talking about considering the Vessels as well?

    Questioner

    Yes.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I.. *hesitantly* would probably go with Odium, looking at his track record. He has the track record to back it up.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5787 Copy

    Questioner

    My question is not really a question, it's more of a theory. How Odium keeps the Fused around is more if he has them tied to his essence, so it's like he's essentially fishing them out of the Spiritual Realm and since their minds are left behind in the Cognitive Realm and their minds are *inaudible* damaged, because their spirits are separated and it just pulls them back.

    I'm 100% convinced Nightblood did kill the thunderclast, because Nightblood consumes all investiture, that's something I asked you back at Barnes and Noble a couple years ago, during Christmas and you said your soul is investiture. So my thought is, that thunderclast isn't coming back any time soon.

    Brandon Sanderson

    You are correct on that one.

    Questioner

    When I saw that, my thought was, "Yep, It's dead." Other people were like, "I don't know, will it come back?" Nope.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'll tell you this. They have not run into something like this before, and there will be ramifications of what happened there.

    Questioner

    That is fun to know.

    Brandon Sanderson

    If you are used to death having no consequence, and suddenly your friend vanishes forever...

    Questioner

    Yeah I, know I already thought of that. They're going to fight over Nightblood.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Mmm.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5788 Copy

    Valhalla

    So, you talked about a weapon made by the enemies of Adonalsium, and you said it doesn't exist in it's original form. Do any remnants of it still exist in the Physical Realm?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Valhalla

    Have we seen any of those remnants on-screen?

    Brandon Sanderson

    *pause* RAFO.

    In current continuity (and people would know this), Hoid's immortality comes from this. People who have read Dragonsteel know that.

    Idaho Falls signing ()
    #5789 Copy

    Questioner

    Would a Mistborn be able to push and pull on a Shardblade?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's an excellent question. The answer is, it would be very hard. In Mistborn, anything that's pushing on certain metals, particularly infused metals, gets progressively harder the more Investiture they've got in them. And Shardblades tend to be very highly Invested; they'd be very difficult to push on. If you got the right Allomancer, they could push on it. But I would say, in most cases, no.

    BookCon 2018 ()
    #5791 Copy

    WeiryWriter (paraphrased)

    So in the Way of Kings Ars Arcanum we get a really good explanation of the different kinds of fabrials. Then in Words of Radiance we get a new kind of fabrial, one that attracts certain substances, but they weren't discussed in the Words of Radiance Ars Arcanum. And they are not in Oathbringer's either.

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    Yeah, so this is actually something Isaac has been bugging me about. There is no reason they were not included other than me being lazy.

    BookCon 2018 ()
    #5793 Copy

    Dissentinel (paraphrased)

    Would it be possibly to have a bunch of iron Ferrings store a bunch of weight into some iron, turn that iron into steel, and then use that steel to make guns as a cheaper alternative to aluminum?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    Yeah but the guns wouldn't be immune--

    Ravi (paraphrased)

    But they would be resistant, that little bit of extra time could be enough to make a difference.

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    Yeah.

    Dissentinel (paraphrased)

    And the guns would be harder to see with iron/steelsight, correct?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    Yes, they would be. Do keep in mind however that we get a very skewed perception of the world and how important stuff like this is because the main characters of the books are Allomancers. This just isn't something that is important to the average person on the street. But this does relate to some things later on in the series.

    BookCon 2018 ()
    #5794 Copy

    Questioner

    *inaudible*

    Brandon Sanderson

    You know, I read comic books, but I never really considered writing them. I don't feel I know that format well. I've done a couple graphic novels, but those I always give to a script writer for comic books who's practiced it, let them do it. I haven't really considered ever since I broke-in, because I'd feel like the basketball player playing baseball, you know. You might be okay at it, but might as well let the people who are really good at it, since they're really good at doing it.

    General Twitter 2018 ()
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    Wubdor

    Can't wait to get my hands on that new Roshar map! Any chance there's going to be more, not yet released world maps? (i.e. Elendel, Threnody, Nalthis, First of the Sun) I wanna frame them all! Also, having Cognitive Realm versions of them would be sick!

    Isaac Stewart

    Glad you like the maps! We've talked about creating a poster of Elendel, so I suspect you'll see that at some point. As for the others, we'll continue to map them as Brandon explores them, so I think there's a good chance of eventually seeing a lot of the places you mentioned.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
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    Steenan

    Awakeners are useless in space. Awakened objects can't propel themselves where there is no air and can't produce air or food from nothing. Elantrians have another problem. Their power is very flexible, but tied to a location; they can't take it with themselves when they travel. Or, at least, they can't do it in a way explained well enough to extrapolate.

    Oudeis16

    Actually I wonder about this. There is one scene where Vivenna Awakens Tonk Fah's cloak to attack Denth, and it drags Tonk Fah across the room. How? I mean, in theory, sure, we can speculate that it might have moved in a series of sweeps and jerks like swimming to force his momentum, perhaps it grabbed his legs, maybe it pushed off against the wall, maybe it even made a big scoop and sailed there on wind resistance... but the paragraph makes it seem possible that the cloak was somehow able to simply will itself along, strongly enough to drag Tonk Fah behind.

    It does seem out of keeping with what Awakening is and can do, so I tend to think that at most it's just a typo (should I page u/PeterAhlstrom? I think they're working on a re-release and looking for continuity errors) but, if this is how it works, then once you're in space, Commanding a handkerchief to "go to Scadrial" might be enough to generate propulsion.

    Peter Ahlstrom

    There's no error in that scene, and it also doesn't directly contradict Steenan's statement.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #5800 Copy

    Marslim1

    Hey u/Mistborn could you put more SA posters [in the brandonsanderson.com store]?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I keep meaning to do so--but it's hard to find the time for my art team, who spends a LOT of effort on the leatherbounds. There's one I've been wanting to do for a while. Hopefully, we'll get to it before too long.