With your upcoming series, Apocalypse Guard, would there be any chance for crossover with Rithmatist?
No, but it is crossover with Reckoners. But no... Rithmatist occupies a very weird space in my writing, because it was originally in the cosmere and I popped it out. And so it's not in any of the continuities I have devised.
The Herald of War at the end of Way of Kings-- I assume he had an Honorblade with him?
Yes.
Okay... So when Dalinar had the sword that he gave up...
Yes.
...for the Stormfather it actually cried, which it typically happens if there's spren in the sword, which means that was not an Honorblade, correct?
Yes, and if you look they're described differently!
Which means somebody else has the sword, correct?
The sword was switched out!
Probably by Wit. I'm not going to ask you for spoilers, but...
Wit does not have the sword.
No!?
But... I can't-- I dunno if I've told people whether or not he at one point had the sword... But he does not have the sword now.
I guess... At what point or which book will Sixth of the Dusk eventually tie in to?
So... Heh...
And if that is unanswerable, then how many years until that book comes out?
It's not unanswerable, but it's a ways off. The problem is that's a weird planet, and visiting it from Shadesmar is-- it just-- in the Cosmere Collection I'll talk about that, okay? It's a weird planet, and getting to it is interesting.
Okay...
There's no Shard in residence, but there's a Shardpool. But it's on... one of the most dangerous places... that exists. And so, let's just say it's not going to be relevant until you can regularly travel there somehow that doesn't involve popping up into a giant death trap.
Okay, follow-up question though. How many people have tried to pop up, only to find out it was a death trap?
Go ahead and read what Khriss has to say about it.
Did you have like-- I love Wayne because to me he has a little British background.
Yes. *brief interruption* Yes, Wayne-- If you heard Wayne he would sound... I mean, he's not straight up cockney, but you're gonna be like, "Oh, that's one of my mates."
Cause there's a lot of, like, words in there. I'm like, "He knows, he knows.."
Yeah, yep, yeah. I get a lot of that touring in the UK. Heading over there. I'm like, "Oh, they use this word all the time. Oh, they use this word. Oh...Okay. Things are 'brilliant.'"
About Hoid...
Yes.
Is he a sand master?
Hoid? You will have to read and find out in White Sand! I'm not gonna answer that.
I was just wondering how you come up with the names in your books?
It depends on the book.
Is it usually like a cultural tie-in kind of thing or...?
It's one of two things. Either I go for a cultural tie-in, like you say-- that's if I want to do a shorthand. Something just a little bit easier because I'm not building the linguistics out. Like Mistborn is an example of this; I didn't build the linguistics of Mistborn. The linguistics-- I'm just like, "This is a French sounding area, this is uh--" You know, because I spent my worldbuilding time on other things. But in Roshar I spent a lot of time on the linguistics. I don't want the names to just sound like names from our world. Roshar is most different. It's not an Earth analog. And so I built the linguistics. Or I sometimes do kind of a hybrid, where I pick some weird linguistic trait and I build names around it. Like Warbreaker was this. I'm like, "I'm gonna use the repeated consonant sound as a theme, so you always know who's from what culture." And so you end up with Vivenna and T'Tellir and things like this, where it sounds like people are stuttering to those from other cultures.
Is Bastille really going to write the sixth (Alcatraz) book?
Bastille is going to write the sixth book. In fact, she has already written half of it. It's got some good progress, and it is so cool, Bastille philosophizing at the front of the books about how to best punch people, instead of Greek philosophers, it's so much fun. She's got this essay about how it's cathartic about both the puncher and the punchee, right, it's good because you get to work out aggression, it's good because they may stop being stupid.
Alendi's "Piercings of the Hero"?
This is part of the manipulation Ruin did during the classical era on Scadrial, before the coming of the Lord Ruler. Piercings, and Hemalurgy, were part of the world before the coming of Allomancy in its modern form. Then, they were seen as a means of communicating with deity—which, indeed, they were. Ruin manipulated this to make sure any Hero of Ages who came would be under his influence. The reference is included mostly to indicate that yes, Alendi was under Ruin's influence. He ignored Rashek, though. (At least, right up to the moment when everything went 'wrong' for Ruin, when Rashek killed his chosen Hero of Ages.)
Do any structures/cities still exist after Sazed's ascension? Or do the survivors need to start from scratch?
Start from scratch! Good thing there are building materials in some of the storage caches....
How technologically advanced was the society before the Final Empire? You reference gunpowder, and certainly the current day seems to have technologies like canning and clocks, so how much did Rashek destroy?
They had steam technology, and were just about to hit the railroad era. Something near early 1800s in our world.
What happened to Kwaan? I was half expecting to see him amongst the kandra First Generation.
Kwaan went into hiding, and he was eventually discovered and executed by Rashek. He wasn't among the First Generation, though he would have been if he hadn't turned against Rashek. Rashek kept the plate, however, just as he kept Alendi's logbook. Partially because even then, Rashek was going a little mad, but partially because of the reminders about his old life they contained.
I'm assuming you meant Alendi hunted him down because he turned against Alendi. Or did Kwaan also turn against Rashek?
No, I meant that he turned against Rashek. Remember, the members of the First Generation were offered immortality in exchange for their Hemalurgy. They had to make this choice for all of the world's Feruchemists. Because his uncle had been the one who gave Rashek the chance to become the Lord Ruler in the first place, Rashek blessed him and included him in the decision. (Speaking directly into his mind along with the others during Rashek's moment of ascension.)
Kwaan was the only one who turned down this offer, calling it a betrayal of who they were as a people. Rashek could have just made him one anyway, but in a moment of anger, he tried to destroy Kwaan—which he couldn't do, not with Preservation's power. As the other Feruchemists changed, Kwaan remained the same. Rashek eventually hunted him down and killed him.
How/why did you decide to go with Sazed as the epigraph author? I'll admit I was absolutely positive it was going to be Rashek, if only because of the parallelism (ancient story in epigraphs/modern story in text).
I chose Sazed because I felt that Rashek would have just been too obvious. I wanted this book to look toward the future, particularly with the ending. The epigraphs have been a fun and unique part of these books, and I wanted to make sure the ones in the third book were as good as the ones in the first two books. Also, there's a theme—there's always a secret in the epigraphs. In the first one, it's that Rashek was really the Lord Ruler. In the second book, it was the textual changes hinting that Ruin was manipulating the prophecies. In the third book, I wanted to have an equally surprising reveal to the epigraphs, and knew that it had to be something different from the other two. Hence Sazed. (Plus, I really wanted to dig into answering some world questions that I felt couldn't be answered by anyone other than Sazed.)
I am curious if any changes were made to the story after you got A Memory of Light or after the Name of the Wind was published? The style hasn't changed, but the story seemed to flow much better this time around.
Actually, no. This one was finished off back before I knew anything of A Memory of Light or before I'd read Name of the Wind. Hopefully, the smoothing is a result of me trying to work out kinks in my storytelling ability. I'm learning to distance out my climax chapters, for instance. (I think I've I'd have written this book years ago, I'd have tried to overlay Spook's climactic sequence with the ending ones, for instance, which would have been a mistake.)
Also, of the three books, I worked the hardest on this one. Choosing that ending—even though I'd planned it for some time—was very difficult. I knew that it would anger some readers. I also knew that it was the right ending for the series.
I'm glad it worked for you.
I have to admit, I am one of those angered. I will be so glad when this cliché of killing off the heroes will finally pass. I escape to fantasy for the happy ending. If I wanted to be depressed I'd grab a 3-dollar bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 and drink it all and contemplate my mundane life. I can't spend much time reflecting on the book because of the mental picture of Vin and Elend dead in a field keeps popping up instead. They didn't even get a chance to reproduce.
Now outside of the horrible ending (which wasn't surprising in the least because it is so common to kill the heroes) I enjoyed them. I absolutely cannot wait to read your books written 10 years from now. You can definitely pick up the improvement in transitions and character development in each book I've read from you. I'm quite often reminded of David Eddings although I'm sure plenty would disagree. And while Eddings isn't one of my favorite writers to be at his level (to me) so early in your career leads me to believe great things will be coming.
I would like to ask you one thing to consider when writing endings. Fantasy is an escape, please don't ruin it with such depressing endings. When you have had the opportunity to look upon your dead wife in her coffin, reading about others dying isn't fun at all. It is absolutely terrible. Happily ever after.
I understand your anger. I wrote the ending that felt most appropriate to me for this book and series. I didn't find it depressing at all, personally. But people have reacted this way about every ending I've written.
I won't always do it, I promise. But I have to trust my instincts and write the stories the way they feel right to me. I didn't 'kill off' Vin and Elend in my mind. I simply let them take risks and make the sacrifices they needed to. It wasn't done to avoid cliché or to be part of a cliché, or to be shocking or surprising, or to be interesting or poetic—it was done because that was the story as I saw it.
I will keep this in mind, though. I know it's not what a lot of people want to read. Know that I didn't do it to try to shock you or prove anything. And because of that, if a more traditionally happy ending is something that a story requires, I'll do that—even if it means the people on the other side of the fence from you will point fingers at me for being clichéd in that regard as well.
If it helps, realize that one of the reasons I added the lines in Sazed's note was to let the characters live on for those who wanted them to live on. I ALMOST didn't have Spook even discover the bodies, leaving it more ambiguous.
Lashing really hurts my mechanical, engineering brain because the math is off with your descriptions.
What do you mean?
So, a full Lashing changes your gravitational pull, right?
Yeah.
Well if you were doing the math on that...
Yeah...
...a full Lashing would be two times.
Yeah, yeah. That's just their shorthand. *interrupting questioner* It's just their shorthand. I'm fully aware of that.
Drives him so mad!
Does it?
I always see the statics *inaudible* in my head.
If it helps, in the third book where Bridge Four is practicing, they have an argument over that very point.
Oh, do they?
So there are certain people who think the way you think.
Uh-huh.
That a full Lashing should make you float.
Mmm-- it's-- yeah.
Mhm. But it's-- when I wrote it that way it was so confusing for alpha readers and they thought a double lashing should make him go up double speed.
*in the background* They're not as technical.
And so I figured Szeth doesn't have the mathematics background to have that argument. But you do get to have it in the next book.
Yeah, okay. Every time I... *interrupted*
So there's at least an acknowledgement of it for you.
Thanks Brandon.
So a full Lashing means double gravitational pull upward.
Brandon, I just wanted to confirm that you did have a couple of cameos as Slowswift? Or was that mean to be someone else?
I'm pretty sure Slowswift is Hoid. The Ars Arcanum says he "bears a striking resemblance to a storyteller", which I take to mean Hoid.
Slowswift is an homage to Grandpa Tolkien. A study of his personality will reveal why that name was chosen for him.
Hoid appears in that same chapter, but Vin doesn't meet him. Something he does spooks her. She's just too darn observant for her own good.
If a metalmind is melted down and changes shape, does it still retain its power?
Yes, only by mixing it with other metals would the power be completely lost. Also if any pieces of the metalmind are lost, then some of the power will be lost (as it would be in the missing pieces).
How was Jasnah able to teleport into the [Cognitive] Realm when she didn't seem to have any Stormlight in her in Words of Radiance?
She had enough.
She had enough.
Yeah.
And is it just teleportation-- *interrupted*
Let's say... Jasnah's figured out some things that others haven't figured out, for one thing. *brief interruption* And, let's say that. But also, there's a little scene from it I wrote from her viewpoint just to know what was happening that's never going in the books. If you Google "Jasnah deleted scene Words of Radiance" you can read it. It talks about how she did what she did.
Oh good.
So that is out there. Just-- It was my reference for writing the scene. But-- One of her powers is called Elsecalling, which is basically popping in and out of Shadesmar more easily. It's hard for everyone else to do that.
My other question is, so when Shallan was on the land she was in the sea in Shadesmar.
Yes.
Is it exactly opposite?
Yeah, it's mirrored... Um... It's mirrored, yeah.
So any land is on sea. So she would have actually landed on land on the ocean.
Yeah... so... yes...
She kind of *inaudible*
Well that's, no for Jasnah that's... *interrupted*
Oh yeah yeah, Jasnah... In that scene where you see? She pops out in Shadesmar on the land.
So, was the scene at the end right as soon as that happened?
What the-- no, no, no. She spent months trying to get back out.
Oh, because she doesn't have the power to get back out.
Much harder to get back out.
*inaudible* trying to get back out, because she doesn't have any more Stormlight.
Yep. Much harder to get back out than it is to get back in even if you have Stormlight, and she is out of Stormlight, so...
What's one thing you wished hadn't been cut?
There was a scene where Perrin, the Ogier, and everyone cleansed the Ways that had to be cut that I was sad about.
Oathbringer starts with all these characters and all this stuff coming from everywhere and you'll be like, "Woah!" But it’ll start to gel around chapter 11, so just trust me.
Apocalypse Guard is a first person, very quirky, fun person to write. I've written 50 pages so far in between SA work, and it was very refreshing and I'm very happy with it.
Teaching has really helped me be more defined as a writer. Writing is done very often by instinct, and I've discovered a lot about my writing style and process by putting it into lectures and words. That especially helps when the writing is hard. When it's easy you just go with it, but when it's hard I can really pinpoint what's going on.
[Stormlight Archive] and Mistborn both have screenplays. SA’s is WAY too long, which is why we're going to a VR platform as a pitch for movies. SA has a couple drafts of screenplays and I’m very hopeful that it will go into the visuals phase next.
Apocalypse Guard is about this superpowered team that goes around saving entire worlds, but their intern without powers gets trapped on a doomed planet and has to figure out how to save it / herself.
Where'd you get the inspiration for the Shattered Plains?
I can't say specifically, but probably the cliffs in Southern Utah had a large bearing on it.
When you paint a shardplate, how do you change the paint job? Do you have to break the pieces to get it off?
You would use a paint thinner and it would come off alright. Actually, you have to reapply the paint pretty often as it would naturally wear off on its own and it would have trouble sticking to the plate.
When will we return to The Reckoners?
Apocalypse Guard will come out sometime next year.
Nakomi?!?!
Nakomi is one of the things I'm not allowed to answer. Robert Jordan wrote the scene where she meets Rand coming out of the pit. I wrote the other one.
Do you every drop hints for things that never come to pass as you change and tweak the story?
Oh ya, all the time. Best example is Arcanum Unbounded originally had a different story that was foreshadowed through Mistborn Era 1, among others, but it just never fit in the story. It just didn’t jive once you start putting the jig saw together. You learn not to get too disappointed when that happens.
What was the driving force for Kaladin?
Two things: one, being a surgeon and a big brother, another was writing a hero who never thought he was succeeding.
Personal favorite scene is when Kaladin finally says the words of radiance. I waited a long time to write that scene.
Hoid has… a lot of things influencing that. I liked the Robots story in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation books, I wanted to have a character that moved behind the scenes of each story like that.
Renarin is not comfortable touching people, but he does touch Adolin. Is he healing him?
Renarin is not healing Adolin "with his powers". He's not really confident in his powers at all. You'll see him develop that way more in book 3.
RAFO on bronze/copper twinborns because I want to leave myself room to create things.
How do you keep all of your information straight?
I have a dedicated database shared between me and my assistants. I use wikidpad and have two amazing assistants to make sure I keep it all straight, but I still mess up a lot!
I just got a job as an editor. What advice can you give me about my job from the perspective of an author?
The editor's job is to figure out what the author is trying to do, and how to help them make a better book than the author has written. Get them to try out options even when they don't want to listen or change the parts that don't work.
What inspired the Epics?
I got cut off in traffic and thought, "you're so lucky I don't have superpowers because I would totally blow up your car!" And then I started to think about how I couldn't be trusted with superpowers and what the world would be like if no one with superpowers could be trusted.
Who is the most dangerous of Kaladin, Shallan, and Dalinar?
Hmm… haw… Depends on which era of their lives… Probably Dalinar is the most dangerous. But that's a really tough question! After Dalinar probably Shallan.
Will we see more of Lift?
You will see more of Lift in this book. There are even some Lift viewpoints.
When will we next see Axies the Collector?
Axies is mentioned in the next book but you don't see him, so probably in book 4.
Are we going to get a Jasnah book?
Lift, Renarin, Ash, Taln, and Jasnah are the back 5. Jasnah is book 8 right now, maybe book 10.
Please don't kill Dalinar! No questions, just please don't kill Dalinar.
*very seriously* You will enjoy this next book!
But… ehhh… it's gonna be painful.
Do you ever go to India?
I have never been to India. I would love to go to India, the trick is I have to be invited. So they'd have to have some kind of convention and invite me.
When does the next Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell happen?
There's a book in that world about an entire expeditionary team that sails forth to destroy the Evil. The book starts with a person holding to the plank of a ship as the entire fleet sails back while it's being destroyed.
Will we see more of Szeth in book 3?
Szeth has 6 chapters in the third book, mostly in the last part. You'll be reading along and be like, "Where's Szeth?" But that's just where I could fit him in.
Regarding a certain dragon mentioned in Stormlight Archive, and dragons in general in the cosmere: is functional immortality a natural part of a dragon's lifespan?
The way I have written dragons in the cosmere… ALL dragons are naturally functionally immortal. They can be killed, but they don't age.
Did you change Gawyn's fate?
Yes and no. Gawyn was the most written character by Robert Jordan. I made small tweaks, but he was mostly written. Harriet has said not to specify which characters were killed by whom, but I can say that about 1/3 was Robert Jordan, 1/3 was Harriet, and 1/3 was me.
From Secret History, does Hoid have all the magic from the universe you've created?
He does not have all the magic. He did take the bead of lerasium, and you have seen him use Allomancy. So, he is confirmed to have used Allomancy.
Does Vasher have a different way of getting access to Stormlight than everyone else? Given that he has no spren, no honorblade and he isn't a squire?
Yes. He can use Stormlight to stay alive, but it doesn't let him Surgebind.
Could Szeth get access to this method?
Yes
And use it to fuel Nightblood?
Yes he could.
Can you tell me what that method is?
*smiles*
If i was holding Szeth's Oathstone would he understand my commands?
Good question, I don't believe anyone has asked it before. No, an Oathstone doesn't have any magical properties whatsoever.
Did Nazh retrieve Jasnah's belongings from the bottom of the sea by visiting Shadesmar, finding the correct beads, and moving them to land?
Yes, that would be the easiest way. Nazh spends a fair bit of time in Shadesmar, and that this would be the first thing he would think of when asked to retrieve Jasnah's stuff.
