Sanderson's Cosmere

114,340 Views | 1204 Replies | Last: 5 days ago by maverick2076
Saxsoon
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Chipotlemonger said:

It's all ebook for me at this point with Sanderson. One day with more space maybe I'll get physical copies of Cosmere books. I am at a stage in life where kindle reading is just the most convenient and easiest.


Absolutely. There was a trip where I finished the last 300 pages of a game of thrones book, completed another book of his, then started a third. I swore never go back to physical amd Sandersonbooks are more for decoration than anything
Saxsoon
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Bands of Mourning LB available next week!




Also beautiful art of Wax and Steris
Lathspell
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I'll be picking it up. I have all the other leatherbounds and remember really loving Bands of Mourning. I need to go back and reread that series after Stormlight so i can finally read the Lost Metal.
Eliminatus
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Welp, guess who forgot to actually their timer last night for light day open. Missed out on a numbered copy of BoM but still snagged a signed one. I only have one numbered LB Sanderson anyways so honestly not a big deal to me.

Think I'm going to get the Dustbringer Cozy Bundle too. I'm not a swag person normally but someone needs to represent my people.
Saxsoon
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Eliminatus said:

Welp, guess who forgot to actually their timer last night for light day open. Missed out on a numbered copy of BoM but still snagged a signed one. I only have one numbered LB Sanderson anyways so honestly not a big deal to me.

Think I'm going to get the Dustbringer Cozy Bundle too. I'm not a swag person normally but someone needs to represent my people.

I couldn't get the checkout button to work so it removed it from my bucket. Grabbed a regular signed
Eliminatus
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Saxsoon said:

Eliminatus said:

Welp, guess who forgot to actually their timer last night for light day open. Missed out on a numbered copy of BoM but still snagged a signed one. I only have one numbered LB Sanderson anyways so honestly not a big deal to me.

Think I'm going to get the Dustbringer Cozy Bundle too. I'm not a swag person normally but someone needs to represent my people.

I couldn't get the checkout button to work so it removed it from my bucket. Grabbed a regular signed


Checked Reddit and it was a very common occurrence. Looks like their backend hiccupped again on launch. I'm glad Numbered doesn't really mean anything to me. It's a "cool to have, won't go super out of my way to get" thing now for me. Warhammer 40K completely burned me out of that particular rat race.

People are pretty upset over there on Reddit though….
Lathspell
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Dammit, I completely forgot about it. Just snagged a signed copy, but no numbered for me.
Lathspell
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After Oathbringer, I started to move on to Rhythm of War. I was going to skip Dawnshard on this read through, but realizing I forgot most of the story, I started reading a synopsis I asked ChatGPT to make for me. After reading the first line, it reminded me that Lopen was one of the main characters, and I remembered really enjoying the story.

Just finished rereading it and so glad I did. So many great and important moments in this little novella. Very different from Edgedancer, which is just a fun little story, but not too important to the greater narrative.
boy09
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boy09 said:

boy09 said:

Are you saying I should do Mistborn Era 1 and Warbreaker before WoR? That's kind of what I've been considering. Switching to a something that's only ~600 pages seems like a nice detour before jumping into WoR
I started The Final Empire. Finished Part 1 and it definitely has not hooked me yet... It feels like it's just been a huge info dump of the magic system so far. It feels like homework. Like i just read 100 pages of a textbook studying for an Allomancy test. Everything just feels over-explained, even the rebellion planning stuff.

I also think i'm still in a Stormlight headspace and this is a bigger vibe shift than i was expecting.
Update: I abandoned Mistborn (for now) after this. Switched gears and read Warbreaker, which was great, but the whole time reading it i just wanted to hurry up and finish it to get back to Stormlight.

Finished Part 2 of WoR last night, its fantastic so far. I'm fully committed to the stormlight archive now, no more detours until I finish Wind and Truth.

THEN I plan on revisiting Mistborn with a clear head.
Lathspell
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Don't forget the Edgedancer and Dawnshard novellas after Words of Radiance and Oathbringer, respectively.
Saxsoon
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All I can say is if you want to dive deeper into Stormlight, Mistborn is not an option as the worlds converge. Stomach it out, get to era 2, but it is required reading

You are fine through Rhythm of War (mostly) but Brandon has been gloves off on the cosmere since Lost Metal
Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 2012
Maximus_Meridius
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Working my way through Warbreaker now, then I'm gonna hit Alloy of Law for Mistborn era 2. I'm caught up on Stormlight, though I probably need to reread RoW…wasn't my favorite book.

I don't know why, but I really struggle with the Parshendi sections. I just cannot seem to care about Venli or the rest.
The Dog Lord
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I'm currently reading the chapter by chapter summaries on the coppermind. Amazing how long it takes just to do that. I'm still on WoK!
Roll the Bones
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I started a reread of Stormlight in October and am about 150 pages into WOR. My first reads were on a Kindle but I bought the hard back box set for this one. The physical books are intimidating in size!

It's like reading the unabridged version of The Stand four times in a row before I can get to book 5.
Definitely Not A Cop
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Definitely Not A Cop said:

Start re-reading now. You will pick up entire subplots that you missed the first time around completely to keep you interested. I've probably read the entire series 4-5 times and I still find something new every time. It's only 2.2 million words.
Saxsoon
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I just skip them

Seriously
Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 2012
KALALL
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I'm about 150 pages into my Rythm of War reread. This is only my second time to read Rythm of War, but even with WoK which I've read 4 times, it's amazing on additional Cosmere stuff I've picked up on.
Orome
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Im just planning on having an AI bot give me a summary, I waited too long to start a re-read. Or maybe find a good summary on YouTube and then go back and reread all of them next year
Chipotlemonger
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Orome said:

Im just planning on having an AI bot give me a summary, I waited too long to start a re-read. Or maybe find a good summary on YouTube and then go back and reread all of them next year
I feel like someone here posted a video with a long summary a while back. That was my simple plan to refresh myself closer to release.
boy09
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Everyone here probably already owns them, but kindle versions of books 1-4 are available right now for $2.99 each
Definitely Not A Cop
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https://winteriscoming.net/henry-cavill-wanted-to-play-kaladin-in-brandon-sanderson-s-stormlight-archive-adaptation-01jc1b29re7k


Quote:

"When Henry Cavill called me and was like: 'I'm too old for Kaladin, aren't I?'" Sanderson remembered. "I'm like: 'Yes, and he's also Asian.'"
MW03
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Well I'll cop to the fact that I had no idea Kaladin was Asian. I'm not sure I've ever really thought about his race, though.
Definitely Not A Cop
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That's what the references to the Shin having childlike eyes are about. They are the only one that you would think of looking as Caucasian.

Even the Horneaters and Veden, who have white skin/red hair, have an epicanthic fold.

I think Brandon has described Kaladin (and the rest of the Alethi) somewhere between Chinese and Indian, feature-wise.

Would make it very different from any fantasy show ever produced if it ever is able to make it to screen format.
Lathspell
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Yeah, the "round-eyes" are the Shin.

It is funny, because the first time I read the books, i imagined Szeth to be the Asian looking character, until I learned more.

I always hoped that the fact so many characters would be something other than white would help to get Hollywood on board with adapting it.

It is strange for us to imagine the characters, because the Alethi are supposed to be very tall people. I've also wondered why so much of the art for the books, approved by Sanderson, doesn't really depict these things.

I have not really gathered that the Vedens were also asian looking. Shallan is most assuredly never illustrated as such in any image I have seen. And I love the inside cover art of her from WoR so much my mother bought me a print of it from the artist.
Definitely Not A Cop
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Here is a link to 17th shard with sources to Brando's comments on the subject over the years.


https://www.17thshard.com/forums/topic/55723-human-races-on-roshar-a-brief-guide-ver10/

Quote:

The Alethi (People of Alethkar)
1) Common features: tall stature, tan skin, black hair, lighteyes and darkeyes
2) Inspiration from Earth: Asian-Hawaiian people (You can imagine them as east-Indian people.), Asian-Arab people Kaladin is an Asian-Middle Eastern mix.
3) Brandon's choice: Dave Bautista for Dalinar, Alex Landi for Adolin


2. The Vedens (People of Jah Keved)
1) Common features: fair skin, red hair, lighteyes and darkeyes
2) Inspiration from Earth: Asian-Caucasian people (supposedly more Asian-like), red-haired Uyghur people, Shallan is a half-Irish, half-Japanese mix


3. The Unkalaki (People of the Horneater Peaks)
1) Common features: light tan skin (or just fair skin like the Vedens) (supposedly lighter than the Alethi), red hair, strong back molars to break shells and claws (result of Parshendi hybrids)

2) Inspiration from Earth: Asian-Caucasian people, Mongolian people, Polynesian people, Russian people



I agree that the artwork doesn't really emphasize the eyes.
Saxsoon
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Lathspell said:

Yeah, the "round-eyes" are the Shin.

It is funny, because the first time I read the books, i imagined Szeth to be the Asian looking character, until I learned more.

I always hoped that the fact so many characters would be something other than white would help to get Hollywood on board with adapting it.

It is strange for us to imagine the characters, because the Alethi are supposed to be very tall people. I've also wondered why so much of the art for the books, approved by Sanderson, doesn't really depict these things.

I have not really gathered that the Vedens were also asian looking. Shallan is most assuredly never illustrated as such in any image I have seen. And I love the inside cover art of her from WoR so much my mother bought me a print of it from the artist.


Everyone on Reddit gets super defensive about the characters being Asian but rarely does the art represent that fact and Shallan may as well be Karen Gillian in the art. I honestly had no idea until I read the word of Brandon on it and yet people claim There is plot relevance to the races. I call bull**** when half the people in the same thread are learning they are Asiatic for the first time

At best the some art for Kaladin and other Alethi suggests Middle Eastern
Definitely Not A Cop
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I doubt there is actual plot relevance. The only thing I see being maybe relevant is the Herdazians and Horneaters being related to Parshendi. I do thing it's a cool take on the fantasy genre though.
Lathspell
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I always felt the Alethi were presented int he books as more middle-eastern/Indian than east-asian. However, due to Shallan's descriptions in the books, I've understood the Vedens to be much more caucasian.

She is literally described as pale-skinned, freckled, and with red hair. But i'm supposed to think she looks Asian? I call BS on that.

I've also always gone back and forth on the people from Iri, Rira, and the Reshi Isles. So many of them are blonde with tan skin.

And the end of the day, the exact race of each people isn't the MOST important thing to me. I do hope any adaptation doesn't present roshar as a modern day American city. You're supposed to notice someone is specifically Makabaki or from Vedenar, or Thaylenah. That's such an important part to the worldbuilding, and I know Brandon has specifically mentioned that. You may see more mixed near certain borders, but the various cultures stay fairly segregated. That is, aside from Bridge 4, apparently.
PatAg
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Lathspell said:

I always felt the Alethi were presented int he books as more middle-eastern/Indian than east-asian. However, due to Shallan's descriptions in the books, I've understood the Vedens to be much more caucasian.

She is literally described as pale-skinned, freckled, and with red hair. But i'm supposed to think she looks Asian? I call BS on that.

I've also always gone back and forth on the people from Iri, Rira, and the Reshi Isles. So many of them are blonde with tan skin.

And the end of the day, the exact race of each people isn't the MOST important thing to me. I do hope any adaptation doesn't present roshar as a modern day American city. You're supposed to notice someone is specifically Makabaki or from Vedenar, or Thaylenah. That's such an important part to the worldbuilding, and I know Brandon has specifically mentioned that. You may see more mixed near certain borders, but the various cultures stay fairly segregated. That is, aside from Bridge 4, apparently.
Believe he was consulted on the Wheel of Time (and not really listened to that much), and was not proponent of the sort of casting they did in it.
Its part of why he is so protective of his books and adaptations of them, because he knows what Hollywood likes to do.
If the appearance/culture of people is an important plot point in the source material, its not hard to cast appropriately.
MW03
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I'm probably influenced by the way the audio books are presented. Especially Szeth.
Definitely Not A Cop
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Not to beat a dead horse here, but here is official artwork for Shallan that Brandon had done for the leather-bound edition of WOR. I'm assuming it was because he was probably getting a lot of similar comments like you guys are saying.


https://instagr.am/p/C5EFjCTtOdw


In regards to the audiobooks, the biggest throw off to me was finding out he had modeled Lopen and Herdazians after Hispanic culture, after hearing them with Australian accents.
Maximus_Meridius
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I don't know why, but I always hear a "slightly inebriated Speedy Gonzalez" voice when I read Lopen's lines.
Lathspell
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But then you have this official one, which is one of my favorites:

Lathspell
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Rhythm of War Summary, if you just don't want to reread that one

Saxsoon
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Lathspell said:

But then you have this official one, which is one of my favorites:




I love this one in the WoR leather bound


 
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