Author Liesel K. Hill's Musings on Fantasia...
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Way of Kings Read-Along, Week 2
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1. Shallan's determination pays off, but Jasnah Kholin seems to change her mind a bit suddenly, and when Shallan isn't expecting her to. She mentions knowing of Shallan's family... Do you think perhaps she knows more than she admits? Or is she really just a bit more soft-hearted than she lets on?
Maybe a little bit of both? Anyone's heart can be appealed to with enough the right kind of persistence, in my opinion. But it would be interesting to learn if there was something we are not yet privy to that pushed Jasnah to change her mind so suddenly.
2. Yalb comes to the bargaining rescue as Shallan tries to buy books... Do you think there's going to be a bigger part in events for him to play?
I hope so! I love Yalb so far. Big fan of his. He goes around claiming to be a simple sailor, but he's definitely got more street smarts than most people. I loved the way he manipulated the book sellers to keep them from ripping Shallan off. So great! :D
3. Part One ends with a ray of hope for Kaladin, as he rediscovers a sense of purpose... What did you think of the scene in the Honour Chasm, and then with Gaz afterward?
Really loved it. Before, when he was just apathetic and kind of depressed, my heart went out to him--I certainly wouldn't want to be part of the Bridge Four crew--but it also makes the narrative feel really depressing and stagnant. Kaladin's sense of purpose infects the entire mood of the story and makes you feel rejuvenated to read it. Plus, Kaladin is one of our main characters. I already really like the guy, so of course we don't want to see him commit suicide. :D
4. We catch up with Szeth for an interlude, and things are very different for him... What do you make of his choice to enslave himself - if it is in fact a choice...?
I'm not sure. I was very surprised to see him so. I think it IS a choice, but one he feels compelled to make in order to save his honor or his soul or something. That suggests that maybe he did something he's trying to atone for. I think it's interesting that this fate--a form of enslavement--has befallen both him and Kaladin, both of whom were so confident and forward-moving in their lives the first time we saw them. It's still unclear how all these narratives will be linked, but I'm interested to learn more.
5. We also meet Dalinar Kholin, Jasnah's father, and get something of a hint that he's important where the Radiants are concerned... What do you think Dalinar's 'fits' might mean?
I think it has something to do with what happened when his brother, Gavilar, died. The fact that Dalinar's brother had a message for him, that Szeth wrote it in blood. Maybe some kind of magic kicked in and now it's affecting Dalinar in the appointed time because he'll be needed, as his vision says, to "unite them." The message for from Gavilar said Dalinar had to find the most important words a man can say. Maybe "unite them" are those words in some way?
Extras:
Loved the chasmfiend scene! Such a cool battle, even if the king was being kind of frustrating. Awesome battle, awesome monster. I loved the image of Dalinar holding up the weight of the monster to save the king, and fighting with his sons. Just really loved that scene.
I also totally loved that there's a "Wit" or fool. I'm sort of a Shakespearean geek, especially about the "Fool" that often plays a role in that type of literature. I'm excited to find out what role this Wit will play. Will he be evil? Will he tell the king "the truth" as is often the station of the Fool. Just totally geeking out about the fact that Sanderson has included this aspect and excited to see where he goes with it. :D
What other bloggers thought:
Monday, January 6, 2014
Teaser Tuesday + Top Ten Tuesday
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
This week's teasers are from City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare. I read books 1-3 last year and am finally getting to the final two. Of course, book 6 is slated for release later this year. Yipee!
What are you reading this week?
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.
Top 10 Goals/Resolutions for 2014(pictures courtesy of goodreads.com unless otherwise linked)
10. Read 50 books. This was my goal for 2013, and I actually did time and a half, ending with exactly 75 books read. (Yea!) I probably should up the number, but I actually think I'll have less time to read this year, so if I keep it at 50, or at least a book a week, I think that's still an attainable goal for me.
5. Sales! I would love to get to a point this year where my writing is paying all my bills, not just supplementing them. My goal, as I put on my resolutions post, is to sell 100,000 books this year. That's an EXTREMELY lofty goal for me, but if I aim for it, and even only reach half that number, it would still be awesome! Since I'm a frugal person who doesn't live or buy extravagantly, it would more than keep me afloat financially.
4. Pampered Chef. In the past few months, I've started selling Pampered Chef to supplement my income. It's easy and really fun. I love to cook, so doing cooking shows is something I actually really enjoy. This is a company that has great incentives, including a paid vacation in 2015 if you sell enough in 2014. My only goal for this company is to qualify for that trip. It's an extremely luxurious Disneyland package, and I hope to take my sisters and 3-year-old niece. It'll be so fun!
2. I also have some personal relationship goals that I won't go into too much. They're basically just trying to keep in better contact with my teenage brothers and talk to them more, call my grandparents more often, things like that.
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
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"You're just worried they'll hire a male instructor and he'll be hotter than you."
Jace's eyebrows went up. "Hotter than me?"
"It could happen," Clary said. "You know, theoretically."
"Theoretically the planet could suddenly crack in half, leaving me one one side and you on the other side, forever and tragically parted, but I'm not worried about that, either. Some things," Jace said, with his customary crooked smile, "are just too unlikely to dwell on." pg. 77
What are you reading this week?
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.
Top 10 Goals/Resolutions for 2014(pictures courtesy of goodreads.com unless otherwise linked)
Bookish:
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9. Get four books either published or well on their way to being published. I know for sure I'll get the next volume of Street Games out, the next installment of Interchron out, and Citadels of Fire, Book 1 of Kremlins will be out in May, courtesy of Jolly Fish Press. The other one I'm working on, book 1 of Dragon Magic (name of volume 1 still pending) won't be edited for another 2-3 months. After that, I'm going to peddle it to some bigger publishing company. If it gets picked up, it probably won't be out until 2015. If I don't get any bites, I'll self-publish and it will probably be out in the Fall. Even if it doesn't get published this year, though, it'll be well on it's way. :D
8. Up my social networking reach. I did a more detailed resolutions post a few days ago (HERE) and in it I put that I want to reach 1,000 likes on Facebook, 15,000 on Twitter (that's 3X what I have now), 2,000 blog followers, and grow my email list to at least 500. Whew. I've got some work to do!
7. Become more familiar and active on both Google+ and Linked In. I have profiles on both these networks but am rarely active on them. I want to make them work for me and my books. (If you aren't connected with me on any of my networks, feel free to click the links. I'm an awesome follow-backer. Yes, of course that's a word. :D)
6. Branch out my writing income. I'd like to do more speaking engagements and maybe put out some how-to/tips/advice-type products for other writers/authors. I also might look into a youtube channel. That one's a low priority, and I probably won't get to it until the latter half of the year, but still. You never know. :D
Non-Bookish:
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3. Fitness. As someone who struggles with her weight (it couldn't have anything to do with all these hours sitting at my computer, could it) I usually have weight loss resolutions. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes not. This year, I'm going with a fitness goal rather than weight loss. If I can just keep in decent shape while juggling everything else, that will be an accomplishment. :D
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1. Um...I don't have any more, so I'll go with just be more happy and positive in general. :D
What are your Top Ten 2014 Goals?
Book Review: Lord of Chaos
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Plot: This installment picks up where book 5 left off. All of our characters are dealing with the tragedy of Moiraine vs. Lanfear that went down at the end of The Fires of Heaven. Egwene is still training with the Wise Ones, Nynaeve and Elayne make their way to the camp of the rebels, and Rand continues to try to keep his head above water, as concerns the Forsaken, all the politics swirling around him, and his own sanity.
Lots of key things happen in this book. Where Rand has been in the Waste for the past 1 1/2 books, he finally crosses back over to the "wetlands" which mean a lot of extremely annoying politics. The divided tower starts making plays to further their own positions. Nynaeve and Elayne come up with a way to help Rand and the world. And Egwene...well things change pretty drastically for her as well.
Ending: The end is what makes this book! I won't spoil it, but I've got two words for you: EPIC BATTLE. Oh yeah. It's freakin' awesome! Totally loved it and geeked out about it on my read-long post.
Basically, if you like WoT and epic fantasy in general, you'll love it. If not, you probably won't. It's one of my favorite endings of the series, so I was excited to read it again.
Has anyone else read the Wheel of Time series? What's your favorite volume?
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Crown of Swords Read-Along, Week 2
Welcome to week 2 of our Crown of Swords Read-Along. This week we read chapters 3-8. Remember that everything in this section as well as anything that came before is fair game for spoilers, so read at your own risk.
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1. The bleakness has returned in force and Rand’s Aiel are seeping away. Do you think that this will stop once he is visibly back in control in Cairhien or has this episode done permanent damage to his position as Car’a’carn?
A little of both, I think. Shows of power or just of organization, having a situation well in hand, always encourages people. Yet, the Aiel that can lose themselves to the Bleakness to begin with obviously aren't the strongest, most forward-thinking people. I don't know that I'd phrase it as necessarily having done damage to Rand's position, but to the Aiel as a whole, his hold on them, and the part of his fighting force they represent.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Follow Friday: Favorite Reads of 2013
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
What Were Your Favorite Books of 2013?
No way I could choose just one, so I'm glad the question says book(s) or else I'd be in trouble.
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1) This year I participated in a Wheel of Time read along. This series is a re-read for me, but they're some of my favorite books in the world, so I had to mention them, even if they weren't new to me. I actually read the final book of the series, A Memory of Light, in January and it was freaking awesome! Even though it was back in January, it might be my favorite book I read this year!
2) I really enjoyed both Kendare Blake's and Bethany Griffin's duologies, as well as Lehua Parker's middle grade series (books 1 and 2). I mention this one often, mostly because I generally don't like middle grade at all, but am totally smitten with these.
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3) I also read lots of dystopian this year. (Shocking, I know.) My faves would have to be the two Veronicas (Roth and Rossi) though I have yet to read the concluding novel of either series, as well as Dan Wells' Partial series, which is seriously underrated and under read.
4) I also read some well-loved classics this year like Ender's Game, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. I also started The Mortal Instruments this year and am loving them. I have two more books to go before book 6 comes out later this year, and I can't wait!
5) I got some great fairy tale reads in, including Tera Lynn Child's Fin series, and Jackson Pearce's Fathomless. I really want to read more of Pearce's work.
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6) The most surprising favorite for me was Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. I'm really not partial to angel/demon stories, but I kind of couldn't get enough of this one. Dreams of Gods and Monsters might just be my most anticipated read for 2014.
So, what were your favorite books of 2013?
A Baker's Dozen Lofty Writing Goals for 2014!
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So, my goals mainly consist of three areas for this blog. (There are others, like fitness, relationships, and other personal stuff, but I generally don't share that on this blog.) The three bookish areas, if you will, are 1) Reading 2) Writing/Publishing 3) Social Networking. And I might do a 4th) Miscellaneous category as well.
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2) Writing/Publishing -- As things stand now, I might actually put out as many as four books out this year, though it may only be three, just depending.
- I am finished writing book 2 of Street Games, entitled Desolate Mantle. However, I have at least six weeks of editing ahead of me and I don't have a cover yet. I'm hoping to get it out in March or April sometime.
- I also have the first draft of my high fantasy, dragon series finished. The series will be called Dragon Magic, though I haven't settled on a title for the first installment yet. (A short story prequel is available if anyone is interested). This one, though, is still a ways from publication as well. I'm going to start editing but, unlike most of the books I write, I have some pretty major, overhaul editing to do on this manuscript. I may be looking at 2-3 mos before the editing is done. Once it is, I'll probably shop it around to some big-name publishers. If I get picked up, the book probably won't be out until 2015. If I don't get any bites, I'll publish it myself, and it should be out the mid to latter half of this year.
- Citadels of Fire is slated for release this May, and--other than perhaps minor changes that at most would result in a a few weeks difference--I think the date is pretty much written in stone at this point. *crosses fingers*
- Finally, as soon as I get the editing done on Desolate Mantle and Dragon Magic, I'll start writing the 3rd installment of Interchron, which I'm probably going to call Dark Matter. (For some reason, all my current projects have the initials DM. I swear I didn't do that on purpose! :D) I'm hoping to get Dark Matter, book 3 of Interchron, out by the end of the year as well.
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So, that's four books. Originally I thought my crime drama, The Botanist, which is being published by Jolly Fish Press, would be out in the Fall, but it's looking like that one's getting pushed to 2015. Still, if I can manage it, perhaps four books this year. If my Dragon Magic series gets picked up, it should open up some time for me to finish book 3 of Interchron. That's because a traditional publisher will take care of lots of stuff that, if I self publish, I have to do on my own. If I self-publish Dragon Magic, it'll be harder for me to get Dark Matter out, so I'll just have to see how things pan out.
My only other goal in this area has to do with sales. 2013 was my first year as a published author, and I did respectably well. Not terribly, but not totally awesome either. My goal this year will be to work on visibility and just sell more books all around.
My goal for this year--and I will keep records--is to sell 100,000 books. Is that a lofty goal? Certainly! But is it possible? With three plus books on the market, absolutely! Besides, even if I don't attain it--only sell half that, say--I'll still have sold 50,000 books which is one heck of a lot more than I sold this year. You know what they say about reaching for the stars, right?
So, these are my writing/publishing goals, and I'm gonna push for them!
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3) Social Networking -- These are mostly numbers and reach goals. For Facebook, I'd like to have 1,000 + likes on each of my pages. For Twitter, I'd like to have triple the followers, or about 15,000 by the end of the year. I'd like to have 2,000 followers via my Blog, and increase my email list to 500+. (It's pretty pitiful right now. :-/ ) And, perhaps more importantly, I'd like to increase the monthly page views on my blog. Right now, I get about 3,000 hits a month. I'd like to go up to 10-15,000. (On a side note, most of you are probably aware that I have two blogs right now and have maintained both for a year and a half, now. But, I'm putting together a website that will function as a central hub for all my books, and I'm going to import my blog there, which means I really need to go down to only one. This site won't be done for another month at least, but when it is, I will probably merge my two blogs and only maintain one. But, more on that when it happens.)
I'd also like to increase my presence on Google Plus and Linked In, as I've done next to nothing with either of these networks this past year. I'm also going to look into doing some things on YouTube, though I'm not positive how far I'll get on that, as it's low on my priorities list.
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4) Miscellaneous -- Pretty much the reason I included this section is because I want to branch out in my speaking engagements this year (I did three, I think in 2013, but I'd like to do more) and I'd also like to put together some how-to products for writers. There are plenty such things on the market, and this past year, I didn't feel like a knew enough to speak about such things with much authority. But now I've been doing this more the better part of two years, and I've had experience with both traditional and self publishing, so I may start putting some things together based on my experiences.
There you have it! My 2014 goals! Wish me luck. It's going to be an insanely busy--but also hopefully an insanely productive--year! Happy New Year, Everyone! And here's to hoping the journey to your resolutions go better than this:
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What do you think of my goals? What are your goals for 2014?
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
2013 in Review + The Way of King Read-Along, Week 1
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I hope everyone had a wonderful, fun, and safe holiday season. I sure did! It was great. Had lots of fun hanging with the family, crashing my brother's warming party for his new house--it's pretty awesome, and I told him he'd better have BBQs once the weather turns warm--and overall just enjoying the season.
Today, I'm going to review my goals for 2013 and how I did with them. If you're here for the Way of Kings Read-Along, it's below. Just keep scrollin'.
My goal for 2013 are laid out in detail HERE, but just to recap, this year I wanted to:
- Read 50 books
- Get books 1 and 2 of Interchron out, and book 3 written (books 4, 5 planned)
- Get book 1 of Kremlins, Citadels of Fire, out.
- Read 500 likes on Facebook, 5000 followers on Twitter, and 1000 followers on my blog.
And how'd I do, you ask?
Well, in terms of reading, I read 75 books this year. (Yea!) That's time and a half what my goal was. I told my brother--who is also big on reading--that I'd read that many and his mouth fell open. And, you know, I felt important. So, good there. (Check out the titles I read here. All by the last 4-5 have been reviewed on my blog.)
I did get book 1 (Persistence of Vision) and book 2 (Quantum Entanglement) of Interchron out. I didn't not get book 3 written, though. Books 3-5 are planned, thought the final two only in a rough way. I don't have a detailed outline.
It's probably worth mentioning that I wrote a whole other book that I didn't mention in my goals for the year because it wasn't really on my radar back then. I got a great idea, and after it percolated for many months, I spontaneously sat down and wrote it. It's Dark Remnants, book 1 of Street Games.
(P.S. I'm trying to wrack up more Amazon reviews for Quantum Entanglement and Dark Remnants, if anyone is interested in a free ecopy. Just sayin'. :D)
So, overall, I put out three books this year. Not bad, eh?
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As for Citadels of Fire, it was originally slated for release in September of 2013, but it didn't come out. This book is being traditionally published by Jolly Fish Press, so I don't have any control over when it comes out. It was delayed due to expansion and partnerships of the publisher with the IPG group. Really this is a good thing, as it means my book will get wider distribution when it comes out. It's been pushed to May of 2014, so while I didn't get it out last year as planned, it will come out this year, and hopefully with better results than if it had been put out six months ago. I'm okay with that. :D It's available now for Pre-Order or you can add it to Goodreads.
How about social networking? I did reach this goal...sort of, depending on how you look at it. My Facebook Author page only has 413 likes as of yesterday. So, not quite. But, my book page for Interchron as another 209, and my book page for Street Games (still a brand new page) has 6. I'm not sure how much overlap their is, but it's possible I have 500 all together.
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And my blog definitely has 1,000 followers. I had to add them all up using the different following techniques. The final number is 1,023. Whoo-hoo!
So, overall, I feel like I accomplished a lot this year. I mostly met my goals and, where I didn't, it was either truly out of my control, or within an acceptable margin.
Come back tomorrow and I'll talk about my goals and MARKETING PLAN for this year, as well as TIPS on how to set one up for yourself.
Happy New Years Day, Everyone! Get out there and make the most of it! BTW, I wrote and scheduled this post yesterday (Tues). It was so weird to look at the 'scheduled' date and see 1/1/14. So weird! But in a good way. :D
Happy New Years Day, Everyone! Get out there and make the most of it! BTW, I wrote and scheduled this post yesterday (Tues). It was so weird to look at the 'scheduled' date and see 1/1/14. So weird! But in a good way. :D
(And don't forget to check out our Way of Kings Read-Along below!)
How did you do with your 2013 goals?
The Way of Kings Read-Along, Week 1
Welcome to week one of our Way of Kings read-along by Brandon Sanderson. For this first week, we read the Prologue through chapter 6, and Susan over at Dab of Darkness is hosting. If you'd like to join our read-along or receive the discussion questions in advance, contact Susan (this week's hostess). Everything in this section is fair game for spoilers, so read at your own risk.
1) Is this your first Brandon Sanderson experience? Any expectations going into this read along?
So far so good. I'll admit it was a little bit hard to get into at the beginning for me, but only for the first part of the prologue. (That's actually not usual for me when I read epic fantasy, so I'm not sure why.) Now that we've moved into the two dual narratives, Shallan and Kaladin, it's much easier for me to follow. I'm really liking it!
2) In the Prelude to the Stormlight Archive, we see that Talenel (Taln) died and his sword is unaccounted for. Jerzien and company have decided it is best for 1 to suffer instead of 10. What do you make of this scene?So far so good. I'll admit it was a little bit hard to get into at the beginning for me, but only for the first part of the prologue. (That's actually not usual for me when I read epic fantasy, so I'm not sure why.) Now that we've moved into the two dual narratives, Shallan and Kaladin, it's much easier for me to follow. I'm really liking it!
It was really interesting, but there's so much we don't understand yet. My take is that Jerzien is something of an anti-hero. I could be wrong, but Taln definitely didn't come off as the evil sort to me, but there was something about him that made it worth it to Jerzien to kill him. I'm intrigued and can't wait to learn how this will tie into the story.
His abilities were pretty cool. I liked that he could stick himself to the ceilings and walls. That would definitely come in handy in a fight. Yet, it was complicated enough to seem almost like an art. It's obviously something a person would have to train long years to master.
As for the last words, obviously they were important. Again, there's so much we don't know in this first part. I'm interested to see why the words were so important and how Szeth's actions will affect the rest of the story. I thought it was really interesting that he had no qualms about killing Kholin, but felt like it was a matter of honor to fulfill his last request. Definitely an anti-hero trait. I like it. :D
I think this is really interesting. I totally love it in terms of intrigue. I have no idea what they portend, but I love the idea of recording the last words of dying people and the power that might have. Again, can't wait to learn more.
Well, we learned that he didn't kill someone, because he lied to the woman on the Shattered Plains about it. I think it must have had something to do with the outcome of that battle. The Shardbearer showed up and obviously things went terribly wrong. Beyond that, there haven't been many clues. It would be interesting if Kaladin was somehow betrayed by his own men. There must be some reason that first part was from Cenn's POV, right? Not sure, though.
I LOVE Syl! She's mysterious and intriguing enough on her own, but the way she plays off Kaladin's character gives him a lot of depth and color. I'm really loving their interactions and am interested to learn what she's all about. Who/what is she? Why doesn't she know much about her own existence? Can others see her? Why is she so attached to Kaladin? I'm really loving this story line!
Lots of things. Shallon mentions that it's very powerful and can turn any substance into any other substance. That's all kinds of intriguing! Can't wait to see what else it can do and if Shallon will manage to steal it. I also wonder how she plans to use it. Like an alchemist, perhaps, to turn rock into gold and save her family financially? Not sure, but very intriguing. So far, this mystery is very well-unfolded. :D
What did everyone else think of this section?
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