Recent entries

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11701 Copy

    Iceblade44

    The original White Sand was the first of a trilogy so i was wondering what is your plan for the other two books? Writing them as books, graphic novels, or are you just to busy to actually do anything about it right now?

    Brandon Sanderson

    We'll decide when the graphic novel is done and out. Basically, we have to gauge fan response. If sales are good, and fans want more, we'll likely do them as graphic novels.

    When I write more in Taldain, I intend to construct a new story, taking place after the events of the trilogy. (Whether or not we actually do graphic novels of the other two originals.)

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11703 Copy

    Iceblade44

    So White Sand [then Elantris] is earlier... Then how the heck old is Khriss then? Will we ever get an answer as to why every worldhopper is flippin' immortal?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There is some time-dilation going on. I'll explain it eventually; we're almost to the point where I can start talking about that. Suffice it to say that there's a mix of both actual slowing of the aging process and relative time going on, depending on the individual. Very few are actually immortal.

    Faera

    Implying that some are actually immortal? :D

    Brandon Sanderson

    Depends on which definition of immortal you mean.

    Doesn't age, but can be killed by conventional means. (You've seen some of these in the cosmere, but I'll leave you to discuss who.)

    Heals from wounds, but still ages. (Knights Radiant with Stormlight are like this.)

    Reborn when killed. (The Heralds.)

    Doesn't age and can heal, but dependent upon magic to stay this way, and so have distinct weakness to be exploited. (The Lord Ruler, among others.)

    Hive beings who are constantly losing individual members, but maintaining a persistent personality spread across all of them, immortal in that as long as too much of the hive isn't wiped out, the personality can persist. (The Sleepless.)

    Bits of sapient magic, eternal and endless, though the personality can be "destroyed" in specific ways. (Seons. Spren. Nightblood. Cognitive Shadows, like a certain character from Scadrial.)

    Shards (Really just a supercharged version of the previous category.)

    And then, of course, there's Hoid. I'm not going to say which category, if any, he's in.

    Some of these blend together--the Heralds, for example, are technically a variety of Cognitive Shadow. I'm not saying each of these categories above are distinct, intended to be the end-all definitions. They're off the cuff groupings I made to explain a point: immortality is a theme of the cosmere works--which, at their core, are experiments on what happens when men are given the power of deity.

    Shagomir

    Heals from wounds, but still ages.

    Would Bloodmaker Ferrings exist in this category as well? If not, what about someone Compounding Gold?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, you are correct.

    Shagomir

    As a Bloodmaker ages, what keeps them from healing the damage and carrying on as a very old, but very healthy person? Do they come to a point where they can't store enough health to stave off the aches, pains, diseases, and other things that come with old age?

    This makes sense for traditional Feruchemy as it is end-neutral, so storing health becomes a zero sum game - eventually, you're going to get sick and you're not going to be able to overcome it with your natural healing ability no matter how much you manipulate it with a goldmind.

    ...Unless you've got a supply of Identity-less goldminds lying around. Would a Bloodmaker with a sufficient source of Identity-less goldminds (or the ability to compound, thus bypassing the end-neutral part of Feruchemy) eventually just die from being too old?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Basically, yes. They can heal their body to match their spiritual ideal, but some things (like some genetic diseases, and age-related illnesses) are seen as part of the ideal. Depends on several factors.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11705 Copy

    Starfishpr1me

    Why do Szeth and Kaladin not suck all the stormlight out of the gems that power shardplate when they fight people wearing plate, thus rendering the plate useless? Is there something different about the gems that power plate that would make this impossible?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, in the magic of Stormlight (and across several of my books) there's are some underlying principles. One is that the power of the magic (which we call investiture) is difficult to manipulate when it is claimed by someone, or something, else.

    You can imagine that magic in the process of being used, like the energy powering plate, works like a kind of negative charge to your own magic. Trying to lash someone in Plate will be very difficult, as the stormlight in the plate is going to resist your attempts to push through it and get at the person. Likewise, that power in the plate is actively being used--draining it is difficult.

    If you can rip off a piece of the plate, disconnecting it from the system, then you can get at those gemstones and drain them much more easily. But tucked away inside, they're both shielded and being actively used by the armor. They would be virtually impossible to drain.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11707 Copy

    Mondoodle

    Do you have future intentions of grouping characters or descendants from across the Cosmere together against a common foe?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The future of the cosmere does involve much more crossover between the worlds, but don't think of it like the Avengers--the goal isn't to bring together a group of heroes, but to show the intersection of cultures and ideals, told through the eyes of those who live them.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11708 Copy

    Mondoodle

    I don't know if someone has already commented on this, but something that's caught my attention after listening to the audiobooks back to back is that there seems to be a commonality of a significant event happening 300 years in the past. Was there a particular event that happened on one planet that has cascaded to others?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are events that have happened on one planet, and cascaded through, but don't fixate too much on 300 years. The different books are happening on slightly different timelines, for one thing, so the separate '300 years' notations might not actually line up at the same year, if that makes sense.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11709 Copy

    Yata

    If I may ask another thing, did you decide what come earlier in the Cosmere's Timeline between Elantris and White Sand ?

    Brandon Sanderson

    White Sand is earlier. I was pretty sure on this, but I wanted to be able to glance at the timeline and make sure I hadn't made any changes. (And I haven't.) It's pretty solidly locked into that place because of certain events around the cosmere, so you can assume it won't change.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11710 Copy

    cadebengert

    Do you have any plans that you can tell us about for when the events of the rest of the Cosmere will become evident in Roshar?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Roshar is an important part of the cosmere. Really, the question should be "When will events on Roshar effect the rest of the Cosmere" as opposed to the other way around.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11711 Copy

    Ishana92

    Considering epigraphs, do you know what is going to be in them, do you have like a big list of quotes and letters that are going there or is it more a thing of the moment? Do you link quotes with particular chapters or are they in no particular order?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I know what they will be for each book, generally. As I write chapters, I'll sometimes make notes to myself about what should go in this epigraph. On other chapters, though, I just slice up one that seems good and put it on.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11712 Copy

    manugutito

    Just remembered another physics-related question that has been in the back of my mind since forever! (And this one is no RAFO-candidate, in my mind at least)

    The scene in question is that interlude on SA where two scholars measure the size of spren, and they find that the size oscillates until measured, and then it remains fixed at the measured value. This is totally equivalent to projective measurements in quantum physics, was that your inspiration on this one?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, quantum physics plays a role in the way the cosmere works, and this was partially intended to display that. However, we do take a different route, as thinking about something can directly influence it in the cosmere. So it's more a fantastical version of quantum physics.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11713 Copy

    Argent

    I've been thinking about possession within the Cosmere - is it possible for beings (dead, alive, or inbetween) to possess other beings in the Cosmere? Allomantic control over spiked creatures, and the existence of the Lifeless are both close to the idea, but neither is quite what I've been trying to imagine. I think I am looking more into whether one being's cognitive (and/or spiritual) aspect can fully replace (temporarily or permanently) another's. I imagine the victim would natively fight this, similarly to how Rashek's spiritual aspect resisted his anti-aging trick, but... is such a thing possible?

    Brandon Sanderson

    This is possible. (There are places where you've already seen the process either begin, or work partially.)

    Oversleep

    Are you talking about Ruin/Harmony controlling Hemalurgic Constructs and Odium controlling Voidbringers... or is there something else?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You will see soon.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11715 Copy

    mathota123

    Is the creation of skaze end-negative?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, you're not quite using the term right.

    The terms "end-negative" and "end-positive" refer to a specific system--in most cases, we're talking about the individual(s) using the magic. Do you draw more magic out, or is it powered by your own native Investiture?

    Awakening is what we call end-neutral, despite the fact that (obviously) the Breaths came from someone else in the first place. That's not the point in contention here--do the same number of Breaths (the same amount of Investiture) continue to exist in the system as you're manipulating the magic.

    In something like AonDor, you are drawing out much more power than you put in--end-positive. That power is put to work doing something, such as healing a body, or creating a blast of power.

    The skaze, like the seons, were created when a Shard was Splintered. The terminology doesn't quite work there, at least not in the way that scholars in the cosmere would use it.

    The question from the physicist in this thread about where Investiture goes, and what it means for a Shard to have access to certain amounts of power, is related to all of this. I'm hoping to be able to find some time to craft a response there, as there are some fundamental understandings of the magic that are relevant to the discussion that I should point out.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11717 Copy

    Tehdren

    For instance, a person's spiritual component knows how old they are.

    Wow. Has this been talked about before? This kind of seems like a big tidbit. Now we have some idea of how Hoid changes his age?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I haven't said if this is a method Hoid uses or not, but it's part of the reason the Lord Ruler turned to dust when he lost his metalminds. (His body tried to match the age his spirit said he was.)

    Phantine

    If they somehow killed the Lord Ruler in a conventional manner, would he still have turned to dust?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. The metalminds would have stopped being tapped, and the spirit of the matter would probably still have had this strange effect. Not it didn't happen to the bodies of the shard vessels who died.

    Phantine

    Would koloss spikes turn off when they die too, so dead ones shrivel up like raisins?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hemalurgy changes the spirit. So not necessarily.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11718 Copy

    Oversleep

    If a spike was covered in blood - stopping the Hemalurgic decay - and then split into smaller spikes, would there be power loss or not?

    Let's say the splitting took place in a bathtub full of blood, so that the spikes would be covered in blood at all times.

    Brandon Sanderson

    The split should work.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11719 Copy

    Oversleep

    In the prologue to the Hero Of Ages, Marsh is using a brass spike when spiking the Keeper.

    Why brass? It would allow to steal only Feruchemical Mental powers (memories, wakefulness, mental speed... warmth or determination, that's unclear) and none of them seem particularly important to killing machines the Inquisitors are. Surely Feruchemical healing, or speed, or strength or even age would be more desirable power to steal?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You are underestimating mental speed. And, also, versatility.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11721 Copy

    Oudeis16

    Is duralumin easier, harder, or the same to Push on allomantically as, say, tin?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm going to start moving into "RAFO almost everything" mode here, unfortunately, as (with the weekend over) I need to be getting into the ending of the book itself. Some of the questions, though not yours, are getting very detailed and I need to scale back on answers for now. (Sorry.)

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11723 Copy

    FirstRyder

    Could Aluminum be used to protect a Surgebinder from a larkin?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    havoc_mayhem

    Would a larkin be able to steal Stormlight from a surgebinder wearing Shardplate? Any comments on whether Shardplate or aluminium would be more effective protection?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Getting through both would be relatively equal--with the problem being that Shardplate is powered by investiture, which the larkin could feed on. So aluminum is better in that specific case.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11725 Copy

    RankWeis

    I've been thinking about the Parshendi and I guess this is as good a place to ask as any - when the parshendi change, there's an obvious change in the physical realm, and there seems to be a change in the cognitive realm as well. Is there a change in the spiritual realm? I know we haven't dug much into it, but it seems like a change in the spiritual realm is very difficult or impossible - if you could change in the spiritual realm is it really the same 'thing' at the end of the process? Mostly I'm curious about the first question...the second question is more of a philosophical train of thought.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Things in the spiritual realm do change, but subtly. For instance, a person's spiritual component knows how old they are.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11726 Copy

    H4rg

    I would have a question about Soulcasting: is Soulcasting an Invested object harder ? And if it is a human (let's say, an Allomancer) but he is not burning any metal, would he be as easy as Soulcast as any "normal" person ?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is harder to Soulcast an Invested object, but Soulcasters--by their nature--are used to dealing with this.

    When Allomancers aren't burning metal, they are not considered highly-Invested.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11727 Copy

    geoffw35

    You have Jasnah give such a good argument for the atheist point of view that I thought, well Brandon is probably an atheist (as I am). Then I started watching your writing class videos. Oops! In one of them you say that you feel you can successfully draw an atheist character. I certainly agree. ;-) Jasnah does seem to lack compassion to some degree, but I insist that religion is not necessary for one to be compassionate. You draw characters wonderfully!

    Brandon Sanderson

    Kaladin is agnostic, which most people miss in these discussions, and is the series argument for a compassionate non-believer. Dalinar is a liberal theist, and Navani an orthodox theist.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11728 Copy

    BlackEyedInterloper

    So, I've been wondering for a while, which does Surgebinding classify as? Surgebinders don't use their own native investiture to power magic so I suppose that's the case for being classified end-positive, but they do have to go get some investiture and once they use it it's gone and they have to go get more, so that almost seems end-negative. Thanks in advance for any answer even if it's a quick RAFO!

    Brandon Sanderson

    The more picky scholars would argue it is end neutral, because the power must be in the system before the Magic can initiate. But others would admit that the spheres are a delaying response for an end-positive system. You're looking too much past the mark with your read. Look at the work done as part of what is in the system. Investiture is not leaving the system in surgebinding, it is doing work, creating potential energy in most cases.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11730 Copy

    chalkonthewall

    In Elantris did Elantris ever not exist? like before it was built did the Shaod choose people? and if it did was their power the same? I'm mostly asking that if they were to build another Elantris in Teod would Elantrians be just as powerful over there?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, there is a point where Elantrians didn't exist. Excellent question. The rest is a RAFO.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11731 Copy

    TheOneWithWen

    Seeing that "Oathbringer" is looking like the definitive title, I got a small question. I know we all think of the sword when we hear "Oathbringer", but given that TWoK and WoR where titles of books within the books, I would like to know if Oathbringer may be a book too.

    I find it unlikely, but I would really like it. I loved how I could be reading the same book that the characters (I know, not really, but you get the idea)

    Brandon Sanderson

    This will all make sense eventually.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11734 Copy

    Iceblade44

    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?

    Brandon Sanderson

    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.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11737 Copy

    IHeartMyKitten

    Would Szeth still have been chosen to be a skybreaker if Nalan'Elin had known that Szeth was willing to kill Adolin "on his own time" unlawfully without being compelled by his oathstone? Or did Nalan'Elin know about that and still think he'd be a good fit?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Nobody is perfect, and Nale knows this--but he has worse days than others. It's not so much the law, as willingness to follow a personal code, that Nale is most interested in. He's also more harsh with people once they join the order than before.

    So, he wouldn't have loved it, but it wouldn't have stopped him from offering.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11738 Copy

    zuriel45

    Jasnah, as I've said, grows more important in the back five.

    I'd say spoilers, but I doubt you'd kill her off..

    Pitchwife

    This is entirely from memory so please forgive me if I get this wrong, but I believe [Brandon] has hedged on this topic in the past, e.g. who says she has to be alive (in the usual sense) to be a POV character?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I've said that flashback characters (which are the ones I've announced as having "books" dedicated to them) can die before their book arrives.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11739 Copy

    Balyne

    In WoR, when Kaladin is chasing Szeth through the storm, could he have just Lashed himself to Szeth and followed automatically? I realize he was new to his abilities and may not have thought of it, but is it possible?

    Brandon Sanderson

    One thing about Lashing that is counter-intuative to people who know physics is that Lashings are usually in a direction, not toward an object. It means that physics wise, it's not actually increasing the gravitational pull of an object--but sending you a direction. I did this because of just this type of question; it made the magic too powerful.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11742 Copy

    Argent

    Can tapping enough Feruchemical zinc allow one to match Taravangian's intellect on the day he created the Diagram? Or are the effects different somehow?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The effects are similar, but not exactly the same. Zinc is speed of thought specifically--while what happens to Taravangian increases multiple types of intelligence, not just raw 'processing power' so to speak.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11745 Copy

    Yata

    What is the event showed in the books, that are earlier in the Cosmere's Timeline ? (just to understand if WoK's prologue is before or after Elantris's event)

    Brandon Sanderson

    I believe WoK prologue is before everything else you've seen. Some of the Dalinar flashbacks show scenes pretty early as well.

    Stormlight Three Update #5 ()
    #11748 Copy

    Yata

    Can a Misting hurt himself burning the wrong metals or a bad alloy ?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Not really, but they can swallow something they can't burn and end up with metal poisoning. Kind of similar.

    Yata

    So we may tell that a Misting's Allomancy is "safer" than a Mistborn's one.

    Maybe because it's the original/natural way how Allomancy manifest itself (without godlike interferences)

    Brandon Sanderson

    Sure, you could potentially say that. You can still make yourself sick, though, so I'm not sure. I guess it comes down to your definition of "hurt." But I'd call it safer, yes.