Recent entries

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8004 Copy

    Kurkistan

    How long does it take a newly-made chair to start thinking of itself as a chair?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It depends on how- is the perception of the people who are using it.

    Kurkistan

    So if it just drifted together in space magically into a chair...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. It would not actually start thinking of itself as a chair.

    Argent

    So it's a bit like if a tree falls in a forest, and there's nobody there to hear it...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8006 Copy

    Kurkistan

    If you spiked out Miles' Feruchemical gold, would he be able to burn his Allomantic reserves [read: Feruchemical reserves using Allomancy] and heal it back?

    Brandon Sanderson

    If you spiked out his ability to heal gold and somehow left him alive?

    Kurkistan

    Yeah, but still having Allomancy.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Still has Allomancy...

    Kurkistan

    And he’s like in the middle of burning a goldmind.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, that would still work. It'd still have a Spiritual Connection to him.

    Kurkistan

    So if you're a Coinshot and you get [spiked] to have Feruchemical steel, and then you lose the spike after making a store, you can still Compound that for speed?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes... Yeah, that should still work.

    Kurkistan

    Was Paalm doing that?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's a RAFO.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8010 Copy

    Alteroden

    Can Hoid safely have an MRI?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Why do you ask that?

    Alteroden

    Because if you have metal inside your body, and you have an MRI, which is magnetic, it's very bad for you.

    Brandon Sanderson

    You're just assuming that... That's a very clever way to try to get around a question that I have not answered and intentionally said I am not going to answer, so...

    Alteroden

    Also, tattoos. You can't have a tattoo with an MRI. The ink has little bits of metal in it.

    Brandon Sanderson

    You can't? Well, I assume there are tattoo inks that are not little bits of metal.

    Alteroden

    That's true.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8015 Copy

    Questioner

    If another Shard came to Scadrial, would that be enough to create a metal like atium, or...?

    Brandon Sanderson

    If another Shard just came to visit, probably not.

    Questioner

    If they brought a spren or--

    Brandon Sanderson

    If they came and completely Invested the world, then things might start happening. But there's some special circumstances, remember. Ruin and Preservation created that planet. Specifically. And so there's some goofy things that happened because of that. For instance Roshar was not made by Honor, Cultivation, or Odium. That's one of the big differences about what's going on there.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8016 Copy

    Questioner

    The metals that were formed from Shards, like atium and lerasium. Are they somewhat naturally occurring, like in pools of power, or are they specifically [?]?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They are somewhat naturally occurring.

    Questioner

    Really? Even on other Shardworlds?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh. They could exist somewhere else. There are some special circumstances on Scadrial, but yes. The idea is that the pools are one state of this mythological matter.

    Questioner

    So if you have the physical state and the liquid state, is there a less liquid state? Because some of that's being used.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um... Oh. Yeah. Yeah. But, I mean, it's such a drop in the bucket compared to the actual Shards. So that it is a statistically insignificant amount, but it is an amount.

    Questioner

    So Harmony's pool, wherever it is is statistically larger than...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8019 Copy

    Questioner

    If someone isn’t an Allomancer, could they burn atium? Since it’s…

    Brandon Sanderson

    They could not burn atium. They would have figured that one out.

    Questioner

    So nothing would have happened, or?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No. But there’s a little more to that story, but I’m not going to get into it right now.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8020 Copy

    Questioner

    Allomancy is of Preservation, correct?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes...

    Questioner

    What are Feruchemy and Hemalurgy of?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hemalurgy is definitely of Ruin.

    Questioner

    Is it of pure Ruin?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. That's a very Ruin thing. And Feruchemy is more of a blend. Though… there is more philosophy to that and human construct—like the Allomantic table—than I think I’ve made clear before.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8022 Copy

    Questioner

    Is there going to be a Hoid book? Just Hoid?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There will be several Hoid books eventually. [...] It will be about his backstory, the main one, and then we'll have some in the present as well.

    Questioner

    Will it show up in scenes where he interacts with these characters?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm not planning those right now. I know they would be interesting, but I'm not sure if they'd make good enough books.

    Footnote: The last question likely refers to whether we'll see Hoid's viewpoint in scenes we have already seen him in.
    #hoid
    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8023 Copy

    Questioner

    Do the Knights Radiant have a nahn? Are they within the nahn system or the dahn system at all?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The nahn and dahn system is a more recent construct. They would be at the very height of it, I would say.

    Questioner

    Okay. So the system hasn't been reorganized yet with Kaladin and such?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You'll have to watch and see what happens in the next few books. Because the culture is not used to Knights Radiant being around.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8024 Copy

    Questioner

    [questions being asked on behalf of Alyx, a.k.a. FeatherWriter] About Renarin's Surgebinding. Are [his visions] influenced by Voidbinding instead of Surgebinding?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's a RAFO.

    Questioner

    And then if they are influenced by Odium the way that Dalinar's are influenced by Honor.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's a RAFO. I'm not going to talk about stuff like that! I have dropped some very blatant hints, and that is enough for me right now.

    Argent

    I asked pretty much the same thing last time, and you pointed me to a certain page. Can I tell her what the page was?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. There are certain things going on with him that I feel are very blatant. I think he [Argent] is going to point them out to you.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8026 Copy

    Questioner

    Would it be safe to assume that Kaladin is also carrying the Honorblade? Because that makes the most sense to me.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Which Honorblade?

    Questioner

    The one from Szeth.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is... He's not.

    Questioner

    That surprises me, because to me that would be the best-- That would make the most sense.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That would be sneaky of me. But that's not the case.

    Questioner

    So he actually has an Honorblade, since you asked which one.

    Brandon Sanderson

    He took Szeth's. So he has that one. Oh! I thought you meant Taln's, I thought. He does not have Taln's. He has Szeth's.. Yes he has that.

    Questioner

    I'm assuming he found that one, because that made the most sense to keep it safe

    Brandon Sanderson

    He’s got Szeth’s, that is true. ... Sorry, I assumed you meant Taln's. Taln's is gone.

    Questioner

    Yeah. Taln's vanished off the face of the planet! I'm assuming Hoid grabbed that one, actually.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is one of the prevailing theories and not one that is unreasonable.

    Questioner

    Well, considering. That was the one, because you had mentioned last time you were here that you could have both, and I was like, "okay, so that means he’s got Szeth's sword."

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8028 Copy

    Questioner

    Why did you call it Shadows for Self?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are two answers to this. One is the kandra are kind of doing different versions of themselves. The other is that Wax is trying to decide which person he is, through this. The term "shadows of self" is actually a phrase that one of the kandra use in the first trilogy talking about this idea of changing who they are and things like that, so the phrase had import to me in-world.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8030 Copy

    Questioner

    We were talking about Kelsier, and how he was much more powerful than most Mistborn, and how Vin was slightly more than most Mistborn...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Why were Vin and Kelsier more powerful?

    Questioner

    I know why Kelsier, but why Vin?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Vin was not more powerful. Vin just took to it very naturally. She was highly skilled. It was very instinctive to her, but Elend was actually more powerful than she was, if you count just raw power. Vin just knew her stuff. Beyond that Vin is a rare individual that for reasons I have not explained yet, was able to draw in the mists for a little extra boost at times. And there are other characters you have seen do this.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8031 Copy

    Questioner

    I was curious about what your favorite board game was, outside of Magic?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ooh... I'm not a board game guy. I'm a Magic guy. A lot of people who play Magic and that's all they play. My brother's the board game guy. And I don't really have a favorite. I'll play with him, I'll play Catan, I'll play House at Haunted Hill, I'll play his stupid Battlestar Galactica one that takes like a billion years, but I'll do it for fun to hang out with my family, I don't have a favorite of them. If I do have one, it's Sorry, because that's what my family played when I was a kid, and that's not even a real one. Now they these board games, you have those intricate miniatures from Germany, and you set up all these things, and you draw a card, and that's your objective, and you're a zombie... All this weird stuff, and they look a lot more fun. Dominion, does Dominion count? It's not a board game, it's basically Magic again. Yeah, Dominion would be my favorite. I really like Dominion. Stratego's not bad.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8032 Copy

    Questioner

    For this story, with Dalinar hiring the guy who shot at him with an arrow, was that at all based on Genghis Khan?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It was, that's where I got it. [...] I used to, when I first published <The Way of Kings?>, "You guys recognize this" and no one did, so I stopped talking about it. He was famous for not only that *incomprehensible*, but for recruiting people from every battlefield he went to. The better soldier you were, the more he wanted you in his army.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8033 Copy

    Questioner

    The character Spook, is there a pattern to Spook's street slang?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, but it's a really loose one. It was based off of some rhyming slangs, some street slangs, and some things that I researched, where it would evolve day by day, and they would throw in some extraneous words just to confuse people that weren't speak it. It was also based on Internet slang. And so, yes, there are rules, but the rules are kind of loose and free, and you can add weird words when you want to. You basically put everything in the past progressive and then you add lots of extra "to be" phrases. Then you reverse a few of your syntaxes, and then you go for it.

    Questioner

    So it's practicing a whole lot to sound improvised.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. [...] Wasing the being of complicated to be. No, complicated to see. Yeah.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8035 Copy

    Questioner

    I didn't know you listened to metal.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I do, I do listen to metal. I am not as much into it as I should. Like, all the cool little metal bands, I don't know as much as I should. But I've been thinking, one of my books, I am gonna write a metalhead as one of my main characters. So I've actually been hanging out on metalhead forums, and kind of reading about what they are talking about, "that's metal", "this is not metal" and stuff like that. Reading-- submerging myself in that culture. Because I think a metalhead advocate for metal would be a really great character one day.

    Argent

    It has to be in Mistborn!

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, it wouldn't, it would actually be on our planet, because I want to use our metalhead culture as the main character.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8037 Copy

    Argent

    Can somebody travel to the Spiritual Realm, the same as the Cognitive?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, but it's a very different experience. It is possible… You may have seen people do it...

    Argent

    As in you're not sure, or you're being obnoxiously vague?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No...

    Questioner #1

    As in, you probably have but he's having trouble remembering it.

    Brandon Sanderson

    No no no... For instance, Elend burning atium and duralumin pulled most of him into the Spiritual Realm.

    Argent

    Oh, that's what happens there.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. He kind of got yanked into- You also have seen people Ascend with the powers and dip into the Spiritual Realm for a little bit.

    Argent

    So, Vin?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. But they could be on both, or either, or both at the same time. But you have seen Vin stick into the Spiritual Realm. And it happened to Sazed/Harmony...

    Questioner #2

    Oh! So is that where the gods live? Kinda?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Most of the bulk of the Shard's energy of being is contained in the Spiritual Realm, yes. Except for one notable exception!

    Questioner #2

    The <mists? mistwraith?>?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No.

    Footnote: We now know that the "one notable exception" Brandon refers to at the end is the Dor, which is mostly contained in the Cognitive Realm.
    #review transcription #spiritual realm
    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8038 Copy

    Argent

    The Hemalurgic constructs Bleeder uses. Do you have a name for them?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I have not named them yet. Should I? Is it important for fandom?

    Argent

    We don't know what to call them.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I have in my head that they're kind of Hemalurgic chimaeras.

    Argent

    Okay. We'll go with that.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8042 Copy

    Argent

    Can you confirm: When Bleeder died, she only had one spike made of that new metal in her?

    Brandon Sanderson

    What does the book say?

    Argent

    It could go either way. Because it could be either one spike of the unknown metal and one regular, or just one of the unknown metal. And we're divided right now.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I have heard this. I didn't intend you to get divided, but I've heard that you are, and part of me doesn't want the… One week later... I want more time for the theories to come out!

    Argent

    There are theories.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I know. Let's give the theories a little more time and then I'll canonize it for you in a little bit. I didn't intend for there to be a division here, but obviously there is, and so I'm going to wait until I'm done with tour. Then you can write to us and we'll tell you exactly what's going on there.

    Footnote: Peter Ahlstrom confirmed on Twitter that Bleeder died with only one spike in her, and it was the "trellium" spike.
    #paalm
    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8043 Copy

    Kendra

    You have to congratulate whoever did the Soonie pup ad. Effective advertising: I want one!

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, lots of people have said this. It was not something we were intending to do. It would have to be more than just a little puppy, though. You'd have to be able to rip out its spikes and transform it or something. You can go get a stuffed puppy anywhere.

    Kendra

    But it's a stuffed TenSoon, so it's a stuffed Irish wolfhound. And you can find those in adult. You cannot find those in puppy.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's true. I'll think about it.

    Kendra

    You don't have to do the spikes.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I know, but people will want the spikes. They are gonna be like "If you're gonna provide me with a Soonie pup"-- You'd have to be able to take out the spikes and turn it into a blob, so it's a mistwraith on the inside and a Soonie pup on the outside.

    Kendra

    It'd have to be something like a backpack dog. Maybe the spikes are clasps on the outside or something.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8044 Copy

    Questioner

    Would [cadmium] function if it were affixed to a body smaller than a planet with its own source of gravity?

    Brandon Sanderson

    What do you mean by work [function]?

    Questioner

    Like a spacecraft. My thinking is that it could be used on long space voyages, because you’ve said that you're going to eventually progress into the space age...

    Brandon Sanderson

    So are you asking if we can use that as cryogenics?

    Questioner

    Yes.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I actually give you some tools for figuring these sorts of things out in The Bands of Mourning, so I'll refer you to that, because I'm dolling the physics of these things out, and since I know it's coming in January, just read that one. You'll get some more actual concrete laws and rules so you can start extrapolating.

    Shadows of Self Chicago signing ()
    #8049 Copy

    Questioner

    Can you write the Fourth Ideal of the Windrunners?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No. No no no no no no. [...] The Fourth Ideal is guessable, I feel. Much more so than... Well, you probably could have guessed the Second-- Third Ideal as the book progressed. I think you could guess the fourth one right now, but it's going to be hard. It's not obvious, but it's there.