Thoughts on the Way (of Kings) - Part 3 - Dying

The Way of Kings : The Stormlight Archive (ARC)
Brandon Sanderson
Tor Fantasy
August 2010



 
Part 3: Dying
Chap 29 - Chap 51 and Interludes 7-9
Pages 455 - 721

The Story

Shallan is trying to figure out a way to steal from Jasnah because she knows here family is depending on her.  She's become engrossed in becoming a scholar and has even made a friend of Kabsal, the ardent.  She is becoming increasingly disturbed because "figures" keep appearing in the background of all of her drawings, ones that she isn't drawing.  She thinks it's the stress of keeping her secret that causing her breakdown.  She then 'soulcasts' without knowing that she's doing it and ends up in the hospital.  She tells Jasnah part of her secret and is now waiting for her fate.  I'm trying to guess her other secret - something to do with holding out her hand and waiting for 10 heartbeats.  Isn't that how you call your Shardblade?

We learn a little more about why Jasnah might be in Kharbranth instead of home, she seems to be investigating her father's death in regards to his meeting the Parshendi on a hunt.  At the time of his death, it seemed the Alethi were actually making a treaty with the Parshendi and not at war with them.  She can't seem to figure out what changed so that they would want to assassinate him.

Kaladin's choice to become a soldier becomes clear.  His goal, then as it is now, is to save someone.  Kaladin is trying to figure out how to keep Bridge Four safe, not knowing that doing so means others have to die.  His action leads to such a serious defeat that he is left in the highstorm to die.  We also find out why Kaladin hates the lighteyes so much.  He was betrayed in battle and then branded so no one would believe his story.



In the Interludes we meet a aqueen who likes to destroy art as well as two ardents.  One of the ardents like to cook while the other is studying the spren. This is our second spren studier.  We are finding out things that might help us understand Syl, the spren that follows and talks to Kaladin.  We also learn more about Szeth. He doesn't want to do the killings but believes he ahs no choice as a Truthless. He had to kill some Highprinces but they weren't any of the ten in  Alethkar. Szeth is also called, Szeth-son-Neturo (his father) and Szeth-son-son-Vallano. 

The World Building

 Brandon Sanderson must have books and books of notes to keep all the details straight. This world is so complete.  I'm fascinated and drawn back into it with every free moment.  I'm not even telling you
Spren - the light that takes a variety of shapes and colors.  Kaladin's mother believes they signify change.

• rainspren - light blue
• starspren - rare
• nightspren

Places

• 10 Silver Kingdoms - Alethela, Valhav, Shin Kak Nish (note symmetry of names)
• Marabethia
• Babartharnam - ruled by Monavakah
• Rianal
• Dalilak - large coastal city 
• Yulay

People

• King Hanavanar - rules Jah Kaved
• Herdazian - blue-crystalline nails
• Highmarshal Amaram - signed up soldiers for army
• Hashal and Matal - Matal is new lighteyes in charge of Bridge crews in Highprince Sadeas' army
• Klade - King Gavilar's Parshendi "friend"
• Stormwarden Matain - was on expedition with King Gavilar when the first encountered the Parshendi
• Kabsal - ardent that seeks to convert Jasnah Kohlin and woo Shallan Davar

Vocabulary

• makam - wood to make bridges
• Thaylen bread - brown and fluffy
• Devotaries - Purity, Insight, Sincerity
• Books - Shadows Remembered, Western Voyages, Dialogue, Palates of Personality, 14th Book of Seld, Among the Darkeyed, Tales by Hearthlight, King Gavilar Kholin: A Biography, Book of Endless Pages, The Last Desolation
• Dawnshards, Dawnsingers
• Stormwarden - studied and predicted highstorms
• Aharietiam - Last Desolation
• Era of Solitude - current time period
• Chachel - 3rd day of week
• Ketek - form of poetry
• Kammar - attack only with hands
• Philosophy's Shallan studied - Starkness, Purpose, Ideals, Aspiration

What I'm Thinking
Finally understand how many of the characters became who they are, especially Kaladin.  I love how there are so many books mentioned since Jasnah and Shallan are scholars.  The library, the Palaneum, sounds like a beautiful place.  I want to learn more about Soulcasting.  I wonder if a Desolation is coming soon since it's stressed that you can almost pinpoint it's arrival.

What's Next

Part 4: Storm's Illumination

Past:
Prelude to Chapter 6
Chapter 7 - Chapter 14
Chapter 15 - End of Part 2 and the Interludes

Thoughs on the Way (of Kings) - Chap 15 - 28 + Interludes

The Way of Kings : The Stormlight Archive
Brandon Sanderson
Tor Fantasy
August 2010


Note: I'm reading the ARC not the finished book.  I'm also switching things up a little and will do this by parts.  Can't believe I skipped the table of contents!

Chapter 15 - Chapter 28 
Pages 221 - 451 (End of Part 2 + The Interludes)


The Story
We get to learn some of the Codes that Dalinar likes to follow.  He started following them as a way to honor his slain brother, King Gavilar but now he not only believes in them, but makes his entire war camp follow them. There are ten war camps, each headed by a Lighteyes Highprince.  Dalinar's is the most rigid but he also seems to care the about his people.  We still haven't figured out what Gavilar meant by his last words but we know they came from the book The Way of Kings, which was a book on getting the most out of life written by a past king named Nohadon.   We get to follow Dalinar on one of his visions. Are these prophecies of the future?  More and more, Dalinar feels like he's losing his grip on reality and that he is missing something important that will help to end the war and save Alethkar.


Kaladin in still looking back on his childhood and we understand why he's torn between the soldier's life and that of a surgeon's.  He is guided by his father's words, "you can't put a price on a person's life" but he is also haunted by them.  He feels responsible for the men of Bridge Four but he has no real authority over them and most of them mock him.  He believes that he has survived all the pain and loss for something... he just doesn't know what.  When he looks back, he's trying to understand the choices his parents made and how that affects his choices.  


We are also learning about Highprince Sadeas.  He's not a main character but he is major.  Dalinar and he both feel responsible for Gavilar's death and so have sworn to protect King Elhokar, Gavilar's son.  But they also seem at war with each other.  Kaladin's bridge crew is in Sadeas' war camp.


In the Interludes, we are introduced to the first person to have Szeth-son-son-Vallano's oathstone.  Szeth was sold to him but since he was Truthless, no one cared.  We also meet someone who is a sort of Spren Librarian.  He's studying and cataloguing them.  Last, but not least, we see Szeth himself.  He breathes in Stormlight and it gives him power along with his Shardblade.  He's a Surgebinder and he can "lash" items and himself.  He can walk on walls and ceilings.  He can also use the lashing to move incredibly heavy objects.  These Surgebinding abilities are what help him do these assassinations.  Which he appears to NOT want to do.  But since he's Truthless, he has to.


The World Building
Someone really needs to create some sort of encyclopedia for this place.  There is so much going on in this book that the notes (very limited as they are) I keep are not nearly enough.  

• Spren
• angerspren - bright red
• musicspren
• groundspren - pulls things down
• corruptionspren
• captivityspren? - being studied
• drinking spren? - being studied
• Places
• Irial - Kasitor, Rall Elorim
• Shinovar - Valley of Truth, grass does not retract and they have soil not stone
• Hearthstone - village where Kaladin lived
• Urithiru -where the Radiants used to live?
• People
• Rock, Teft, - two bridge members who support Kaladin
• Syl - not really a person, she's a windspren that guides Kaladin
• Navani - Elhokar's mother, she was courted by both Gavilar and Dalinar
• Vocabulary
• Some of the Callings - soldier, farmer, dueler
• Glory - attribute of almighty you can choose
• Weeping - appears to be a rainy season
• Books - The Way of Kings, The Arguments, Alethi Code of War
• Span reed - used to send messages far away, like a telegraph
• Masculine arts - commerce, war, commanding
• Feminine arts - music, engineering, writing, reading
• Mathana - older sister, formal
• Nyishim - third moon, green
• Some Heralds - Jezerezah, Nalan, Ishi (symmetry in names in important!) (there were 10 - 5 male and 5 female) Some of these are in the Preludes but the names are slightly different...
• glyphpairs
• Veristitalian - Jasnah Kohlin is one, they study history and find the actual facts
• dahn - citizenship levels in the ruling class
• skymark - sapphire sphere - worth 25 clearmarks (diamonds)
• Time periods? - Heraldic Epochs, 
• Wars? - The Everstorm, True Desolation, Night of Sorrows, Heirocracy, Recreance
• wine colors - orange, blue, violet - levels of intoxication
• Midnight Essence - strange, snakelike beasts that were in Dalinar's vision
• Shardblades and Shardplates are from the Lost Radiants

10 Highprinces
Roion - has great archers
Sadeas - fast bridges
Aladar
Dalinar - great infantry
Vamah
Ruthar
Thanadal
Hatham
Bethab
Sebarial

What I'm Thinking
How did the Shardbearers learn how to summon a blade?  How did they discover Soulcasting?  Why is it holy in some places but used lightly in others?  How did Szeth become Truthless and what does that mean?  Did Brandon Sanderson actually write the book, The Way of Kings, that Dalinar is learning from? Did he write a history?  So much to learn! This books gets better and better and better.


What's Next
Part 3: Dying and Interludes




Thoughts on the Way - up to Chap 6
Thoughts on the Way - Chap 7 - Chap 14

Thoughts on The Way (Of Kings) - Chap 7 - 14

The Way of Kings : The Stormlight Archive
Brandon Sanderson
Tor Fantasy
August 2010

Chapter 7 - Chapter 14
Pages 112 - 220

The Story

We continue learning about Brightlady Shallan Davar as she tries to covince Brightness Jasnah Kholin to take her on as a ward.  Jasnah tells Shallan that her history and philosophy knowledge is deficient and she will take her on if she studies.  Shallan knows that will take FOREVER so she needs to find a way to get Jasnah to change her mind.

Meanwhile, Kaladin is trying to decide if he wants to continue living as a slave or kill himself.  We look back at Kaladin as a youngster as he trains with his surgeon father all the while wishing he could be training to become a soldier.  Now that Kaladin is a soldier, he wonders if he made the right choice.

We are also introduced to The King Elhokar Kholin, his uncle Brightprince Dalinar Kholin and some other Brightprinces: Adolin, Renarin, Sadeas and Vamas.  They are going on a hunt for the great chasmfiend.  These chasmfiends have gemhearts that allow them to support their armies while trying to fulfill the Vengeance Pact and take out Parshendi, the ones who ordered King Gavilar Kholin's murder.

The World Building

Sanderson continues to flesh out Roshar so we have some new people, places and other stuff to add to our knowledge.

The Spren - light that takes shape under a variety of circumstances

• creationspren - silvery
• flamespren - attracted to fire
• logicspren - cloudy looking
• lifespren - green
• gloryspren - golden

The Places

• Valath
• Alethkar - missed noting this last week!
• Bavland
• Villages and towns - Fu Abra, Fu Ralis, Fu Namir, Fu Albast, Fu Moorin, Ironsway

People - more nationalities - Roshar is HUGE!

• Makabaki - The Azish and The Emuli
• Unkalaki

Vocabulary

• Shardbearers - have shardplates and shardblades
• nahn - citizenship levels - first nahn are only second to the ruling class
• Nan - first son (not just by age)
• Nomon - blue middle moon
• soulcasting
• fabrial and fabrial science - recreating power from the past with gemstones
• safehand vs freehand - girls have them, the safehand gets covered at adolescence
• Heralds - teach mankind after ousting from heaven
• Voidbringers - fought the Heralds
• Radiants - founded by the Heralds but went overboard with power
• Selay - language
• kongril - brings good luck
• curses - Stormfather, Dustmother, Kelek, Damnation
• oathstone - if you have someone's oathstone they do whatever you want
• Alethi War Codes - in the old days was followed by the Radiants. Gavilar Kholin re-discovered them and found they were actually about bringing peace.  He was the only one who followed them.  Now Dalinar, Gavilar's brother, follows them and teaches them to his sons.
• Ryshadium - special horses that can bear the weight of Shardbringers and can communicate with them.
• chasmfiend - weird 30-foot tall creature that armies want to destroy
• women - readers
• men - involved in business

Family Ties 

Gavilar Kholin - King who was killed by Szeth on Parshendi orders
Navani - Gavilar's Queen
Elhokar - Gavilar's son, now the King, 27, Shardbearer, his blade is Sunraiser
Jasnah - Gavilar's daughter, atheist, leading scholar, Soulcaster

Dalinar Kholin - Brightprince who was preoccupied the night his brother, Gavilar, was killed.  Now determined to take care of his nephew, Elhokar.  He's a Shardbearer who's blade is Oathbringer.
Adolin- Dalinar's son, Brightprince, 23, Shardbearer, things his dad needs to do more warmongering
Renarin - Dalinar's son, Brightprince, 19

Lirin - only surgeon in Hearthstone, second nahn, studied in Kharbranth
Hesina- Lirin's wife and assistant
Kaladin - Lirin's son, 27,  was a soldier known as Stormblessed Kaladin, now a slave working in Brightprince Sadeas' troops as a bridge leader.
Tien - Lirin's son, deceased, Kaladin blames himself for Tien's death

Brightlord Davar - abusive father who cheated his way through life and left his family destitute
Shallan - Davar's daughter, wants to steal from Jasnah Kholin
Helaran - Shallan's missing older brother, presumed dead
Nan Balat - Shallan's next older brother, loves killing helpless creatures
Tet Wikim - Shallan's brother who appears to be manic depressive
Asha Jushu - Shallan's brother

What I'm Thinking

Sanderson has created a fantastic world that becomes more visible as I continue reading. The characters are starting to become people as we learn bits and pieces of their lives both now and in the past.  It's like I'm assembling a puzzle and I almost have all the edges filled in.  The picture is emerging and I'm getting pulled into the story.  It's becoming increasingly hard to take notes as I just don't want to step out of the book for a moment!

What's Next

Chapters 15 - 22.  

Thoughts on The Way (of Kings) - Prelude to Chap 6

The Way of Kings : The Stormlight Archive
Brandon Sanderson
Tor Fantasy
August 2010

Prelude to Chapter 6 - pgs 15 - 111

The Story

We start out with a couple of the Kings, Jezreil and Kalan, who are deciding they aren't going to continue something called "The Oathpack". They have just finished fighting and they are supposed to go and be re-born but they don't want to so they dont.  Next we me Szeth as he stalks his way to kill the Shardbearer King Gavilar Kholin.  As he ends the king, Szeth is left to fulfill the man's dying wish to tell his brother he "must find the most important words a man can say". Since Szeth's people think last words are sacred -he has to do what Gavilar wants.  So he wrote it on the wall in the King's blood.  Yeah.

Next we are introduced to Kaladin Stormblessed.  He's in the military and his goal is to stop fighting in these outposts and move to the forefront of the war - The Shattered Plains.  Things go awfully wrong for Kaladin and he ends up a branded slave.  But wait, he's actually sold back to the army but on the Shattered Plains.  Except, he's on Bridge Crew Four and Gaz, his leader, has it in for him.  Bridge Crews are first in the line of fire although they are unarmed and usually sacrificed. So, not looking so good for Kaladin.

We also meet Brightness Shallan Davar.  Shallan's father died and they found out he was not only involved in illegal shenanigans but he owed everybody and hadn't left any money to pay them!  So, Shallan has to figure out a way to make Brightlady Princess Jasnah Kholin (hmm, that last name is familiar) take her on as a ward.  If she can make this happen, she can do one last illegal thing and save the Davar house and name.  All before people realize her father died!

The World Building

We are introduced to a busload of people, places, flora and fauna and even religion in these first pages.  The grass and other plants can retract into the ground! It was a little overwhelming but I teased out some stuff for you. This is subject to change as I read more!

• The Spren - different colors of light that can take a variety of shapes
• windspren - makes things stay
• painspren - orange and relieves pain
• fearspren - purple and shows if people are afraid
• riverspren 
• rotspren - shows up when wounds aren't healing
• hungerspren - around people who need more food
• The Places - Roshar is the World - these are cities, I think
• Jah Keved
• Kharbranth
• Tashikk
• Vedenar
• Nantanatan
• The People - different Nationalities
• Alethi - lighteyes and dark hair - ruling class
• Parshendi - fighting the Alethi
• Veden
• Thaylen
• Vorin - might be a religion too
• Takers
• Seley
• Vocabulary
• spheres - money - chips, marks, candles, broams
• stormlight
• shardblade
• shardplate
• shash - dangerous
• first moon - time period
• violet salas - a moon
• palanquin - transportation
• lait - protects from highstorms
• months? - Shasin, Tanat, Shashash, Tanates
• days? - Palah, Chach

What I'm Thinking

Wow, so far I'm loving this and it's hard to stop reading.  Brandon Sanderson has done an extensive amount of world building and I'm just getting the feel for things.  This is the first book in a series and only 1/10th of the book. I can't imagine the planning that has gone into this and can't wait to continue.

What's Next

See you next week for Chapter 7 - Chapter 14.  I hope next week won't be so extensive but we'll see!


Is there a different way to do this?  Let me know what you think!

The Sunday Salon - The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - Reading Plan

The awesome Ben Rubinstein, from Macmillan Library, has supplied me with some great summer reading material! Last year I devoured Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson and it was all kinds of amazing. The Way of Kings is promising to be just as good. But this sucker is huge! It's over 1,000 pages long with dense print.

So I devised a reading plan so I can finish by it’s August release date.  I’ll post the results on Saturdays, starting June 19, 2010.  I’m calling these updates, Thoughts on The Way.  Look for them!

Read By	Chapters	Page Numbers
June 19	Prelude – 5	5 – 111
June 26	6 – 14	112 – 220
July 3	15 – 22	221 – 336
July 10	23 – 28	337 – 451
July 17	29 – 39	455 – 566
July 24	40 – 47	567 – 675
July 31	48 – 56	676 – 787
August 7	57 – 65	789 – 902
August 14	66 – Epilogue	903 - 1001

The page gaps are picture and from 1002 – 1008 is a Glossary.  I’ll read that throughout.    If you’ve got an ARC, read with me.  I know Ben will be handing out ARCs at The ALA (American Library Association) Annual in DC so make sure you stop by!
Happy Sunday! Read On!