Book Review: Dawnshard, by Brandon Sanderson (Book 3.5 of the Stormlight Archive)

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Book, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere, Fantasy, Reading, Stormlight Archive

I know things around here have been pretty quiet on the book front lately, but that has largely been due to my decision to reread the Stormlight Archive a short while back to prepare for Rhythm of War, the soon to be released fourth book in the series.  Somewhere along the way, however, I signed onto a Kickstarter campaign and with it got my hands on this new novella set between the events of Oathbringer and the new release.

Taking place a few months after the Battle of Thaylen Field, the story centers around the merchant, a popular interlude character, Ryan Ftori.  Since we last met her, she has been gifted control of a state of the art sailing ship named the Wandersail by her former master Vstim.  Despite harboring doubts about the willingness of the crew to accept her command in light of the injuries she suffered in Words of Radiance, Rysn is eager to go out and get acquainted with the ship.  Forgoing a number of more mundane trade missions, she ultimately chooses something far more adventurous for its first voyage after learning that the only hope for curing her pet Larkin’s mysterious illness is to bring it home to Aimia.  Knowing the Alethi have a keen interest in the forbidding land and the strange, Stormlight stealing creatures guarding it, Ryan approaches Navani Kholin, newly crowned Queen of Urithiru, and accepts a mission to search for the legendary island of Akinah.  Given the danger and sensitivity of the quest, a small contingent of ardents and Knights Radiant will go on the voyage as well, and they are headed by none other than Bridge Four’s own the Lopen.

I greatly enjoyed this novella and found it made me even more excited for Rhythm of War, something I wasn’t quite sure was possible.  As fun as it was to have more time with characters like Rysn and the Lopen, this story was no mere side quest.  No spoilers, but some major events happen to these characters that could greatly impact the balance of power on Roshar.   Perhaps even more interestingly, the story also contributes greatly to filling in some of the gaps in our knowledge about Roshar and provides some tantalizing clues about Cosmere lore as well.  For teasers, readers finally learn a bit more about the fate of Aimia and the Sleepless, and are treated to explicit references to the shattering of Adonalsium and the Horneaters’ role knowledge of Cultivation’s Perpendicularity.  More generally, it was also fascinating to see how quickly fabrial technology is advancing for the Radiant forces.  I’m really curious to see how this aspect of the story develops, especially as the various Cosmere novels start moving further along their timelines.

At this point I feel like there are so many things that I am tempted to explore and theorize about, but with a full length novel coming up (it’s out tomorrow!) I’m going to hit pause on that for now.  My next order of business is to get through my reread of Oathbringer to fully prepare me for that experience.  Hopefully I’ll be back soon with even more Cosmere stuff to share!

30 Day Geek Out Challenge – Day 30: Most obsessed-over fandom?

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30 Day Geek Out Challenge, Baseball, Blog Life, Cosmere, Star Wars

Here we are at Day 30 of the 30 Day Geek Out Challenge!  It’s been quite the ride and for my final prompt I will be discussing my most obsessed over fandom.

This post, perhaps appropriately for the grand finale, had me do a great deal of soul searching.  My initial thought was to think of “obsessed” fandom as a total immersion in the subject matter that requires a level of time, money, storage space, and energy that I simply don’t have anymore.  Coming at the question from that perspective I honestly don’t think I have the proper mindset or interest in anything to quite achieve that level of commitment.

Taking a longer view of this question, I would say that Star Wars was probably biggest fandom obsession and that peaked some twenty or so years ago (my god, I feel old typing that).  I had movies, toys, books, shirts, and even more stuff I’m not thinking of right now. I’ve actually gotten rid of most of it over the years save for a few items of sentimental value and don’t really regret any of it, except maybe the VHS release of the original trilogy before the “special edition” retouches.  As much as I love and have loved the franchise, I moved on. Looking back, I think this happened around the release of the prequels. I didn’t quite realize it at the time, but in retrospect I think that is around the time the franchise started passing me by and targeting a different audience. As of this post I’d say it’s even full on lapped me since I am way out of the loop on the new shows and the Expanded Universe timeline I spent so much time reading is no longer considered canon.  And you know what? I’m perfectly fine with that. I like (mostly) and appreciate the new movies for what they are and am happy the story exists for younger folks. It’s likely my three year old son may end up loving Star Wars as much as I did but for completely different reasons and I actually kind of like that.

Well then.  I didn’t quite intend to go off on that tangent, but there you have it.  To end this from yet another perspective, I’d say that currently Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere is my top “geeky” obsession and the New York Yankees are my longest running one.  For the Cosmere, I think that the thousands of pages I’ve read, the numerous book reviews, and time spent reading up on fan theories and message boards makes that an easy choice.  As for the Yankees, well, they’ve been my team for life despite growing up in the Boston area. It sure didn’t make me popular, but I regret nothing!  

See you all tomorrow for a wrap up.

30 Day Geek Out Challenge – Day 18: What character would you like to meet in real life?

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30 Day Geek Out Challenge, Blog Life, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere, Stormlight Archive

Powering right along into Day 18 of the 30 Day Geek Out Challenge!  Today I am going to discuss the topic of which character would I like to meet in real life.  I also learn a valuable lesson about writing posts while in anxious anticipation of going to a hot pot buffet.

This was kind of hard for me.  Not only are there so many fabulous characters out there, but I’m also extremely introverted and in all reality probably wouldn’t have that much to say to them in the unlikely even we were to meet.  So I’d need someone talkative with whom we could engage in some sort of activity to pass the time that is ideally not too strenuous. I don’t really have much interest in fighting off hordes of monsters nor do I think my stomach could much handle a seat in a space fighter.

In that spirit, my character of choice for this post is Lift from the Stormlight Archive.  We probably wouldn’t have all that much in common aside from a love of food, but I think it’d be fun to philosophize a bit and get her impressions of our world while assaulting an all you can eat buffet somewhere.  Perhaps even work out a deal where in exchange for the meal (because let’s be real here, there is zero chance she doesn’t dine and dash) she can convince her spren Wyndle to clean up my yard a bit

30 Day Geek Out Challenge – 13: Favorite Book Series?

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30 Day Geek Out Challenge, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere, Reading

I’m up to lucky number Day 13 of the 30 Day Geek Out Challenge and today’s prompt asks me to think about my favorite book series.

If I was asked this question a few years ago, my answer most definitely would have been the Dune series (the original six books anyway).  Currently though, this honor goes to the Cosmere novels of the extraordinarily talented and prolific Brandon Sanderson.  Put simply, the Cosmere is a shared universe in which many of the author’s most popular series (including Mistborn, Stormlight Archive, and Elantris to name a few) take place.  Although each series can by design be enjoyed individually, there’s already been a lot of crossover and fans (of course) have kept an alert eye out for them.  I’m already a few thousand pages into this and eagerly awaiting the next releases, so I figure this series will be sticking with me for awhile now!

30 Day Geek Out Challenge: Day Seven: What Fandom do You Love That you Didn’t Think You Would?

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30 Day Geek Out Challenge, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere

Yes, I am still alive!  Also, tempting though it may have been, I didn’t run away to join the Ren Faire.  I just ended up needing a bit of a break. Now that I have returned from a slightly longer than intended hiatus, I am ready to resume the 30 Day Geek Out Challenge.  I’m picking up again at Day Seven, which asks me to write about a fandom I love, but didn’t expect to.

Retrieved from brandonsanderson.com

Time once again to credit my wife with helping me discover something awesome.  For years she had been telling me to read Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy and for years I said that I would get to it, right after I finished reading whatever was already in my queue.  Turns out she was onto something. After finally picking up the book a couple of months back, I found myself hooked not only on that series, but the entirety of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe as well!  I’m now thousands of pages deep into his work (go ahead and skim my Book Reviews for plenty of examples) and can honestly say that I would not have gotten started on this journey without my wife insisting I read that first book.

Random Tag Tuesday: The Playlist Book Tag (Part One)

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Blog Life, Book Tag, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere, Grand Funk Railroad, Led Zepplin, Music, N.K. Jemisin, Playlist Book Tag, Random Tag Tuesday, The Seatbelts

Random Tag Tuesday is a feature I came up with in order to mix things up a bit.  The name is a throwback to my college days when Tuesdays were the day for, well, random adventures.  For my blog, it will mean that on any given Tuesday I’ll tackle one of the many tags I always wanted to write about but never got around to.  Please note that most of these will come from my backlog notes and that I am terrible about keeping track of where I find these. As such, I probably will rarely, if ever, tag anyone.  It is not personal.

I’ve been looking for time to have fun with this tag for months now.  All you have to do is set a playlist to random and pair whatever songs come up with a book or character.  It’s intended to get gut reactions, so I image some choices are going to make a lot of sense while others might seem rather random.  To confess, I don’t really use Pandora or Spotify all that much and my personal library has been in a state of disarray since Winamp stopped being a thing so what came up for me was not quite as random or thorough as I might have wished.  As such, I‘m going to call this post Part One and revisit this tag again in the near future when I’m a bit more organized and can come up with some deeper cuts and more variety!

Gotta Knock a Little Harder, The Seatbelts – Kaladin Stormblessed

“Happiness is just a word to me

And it might of meant a thing or two

If I had known the difference

Emptiness, a lonely parody

And my life, another smokin’ gun

A sign of my indifference”

Part of the soundtrack to the legendary anime series Cowboy Bebop, this song is a beautifully performed journey of someone’s attempt at escaping from the depths of depression.  My first thought here went to Kaladin from Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive novels since his personal struggles with depression make up such a key part of the story thus far.

Gimmie Shelter (Live – 1971), Grand Funk Railroad: Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson

“Ooo, a storm is threatenin’, my very life today

If I don’t get some shelter, oh I’m gonna’ fade away

War children, it’s just a shot away, it’s just a shot away

War children, it’s just a shot away, it’s just a shot away”

I hate to double dip into the same universe right off the bat, but this is just too good a fit not to.  When an ancient enemy returns and unleashes the powerful Everstorm upon Roshar at the end of Words of Radiance, it is a signal that the main conflict of the series is getting started.  As for the song itself, I absolutely love the raw power and energy of this cover and daresay it surpasses the original version.  It also makes the literary tie-in feel that much more appropriate.

When the Levee Breaks, Led Zeppelin – Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters, by N.K. Jemisin

“If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break

If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break

When the levee breaks I’ll have no place to stay

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan

Lord mean old levee taught me to weep and moan

It’s got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home”

This was another obvious one for me. If ever N.K. Jemison’s short story about one man’s battle again a timeless evil in Katrina-ravaged streets of New Orleans is put to screen, this song absolutely needs to be featured in the adaptation. It’s bluesy laments cast a hypnotic, almost otherwordly trance over the listener that would provide the perfect backdrop to the story.

Stay tuned for Part Two!

Book Review: Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson

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Book, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Coppermind, Cosmere, Fantasy, Reading, Warbreaker

I never quite imagined being able to say this, but I think I am actually close to caught up on all the currently in print Cosmere novels!  I had originally hoped to get to this particular one last year, but apparently a whole lot of other people had the same idea, and I had to wait several long months for my library hold to finally come through and grant me my Sanderson fix.

Warbreaker takes place on the Shardworld of Nalthis and follows the journey of two sisters, Vivenna and Siri.  The eldest daughter of the King of Idris, Vivenna has spent her entire life preparing to become the bride of the God King, the powerful and fearsome ruler of the rival nation Hallandren.  When the day comes to send her away, however, her father cannot bear to do so and delivers his youngest daughter, Siri, in her place. Taken completely unaware by this change in plans, the free-spirited and often rebellious Siri must quickly come to terms with her new responsibilities and face the reality that she will be living the rest of her life (however long that may be) in a hostile land.  Vivenna, in shock as well, is for the first time in her life unsure of her position and ultimately concocts a daring, if somewhat hasty, plan to rescue her sister. It soon becomes quite apparent, however, that neither of them will find what they expect in Hallendren.

While I liked the overall story a lot, I felt that this was perhaps the most uneven of all the Cosmere novels I’ve read thus far.  The format of the e-book was a major factor in this feeling, as each chapter was followed by a link to the author’s extensive annotations and notes about what just happened.  While interesting at first, I ultimately found these sections too distracting to keep up with and simply stopped reading them. I’m sure I missed some good tidbits, but honestly I feel like anything that important really should have found its way into the story one way or another.  Relatedly, I thought the ending in particular was rather abrupt and incomplete, especially since I had long given up on the annotations by that point. I won’t spoil what happens, but between how quickly certain characters come together and the sudden and rather ambiguous resolution of the main conflict I was left somewhat unsatisfied.  Finally, and while this may seem minor, but I also found it distracting that Earth creatures kept appearing throughout the story. I don’t know if this has been the case in any of the other books (it certainly is not in the Stormlight Archive), but for some reason I found it more often than not broke the mood of the story for me (amusing uses of dead squirrels aside).

That’s not to say this book was a complete miss, though.  The world building was still up to Sanderson’s usual high standards and the magic system on Nalthis was equally interesting as well.  I liked the concept of Breath and colors as the local forms of Investiture and thought it was really interesting that the former attribute could be transferred (endowed, if you will) from one person to another.  It definitely added an interesting social dynamic to this world that is rather different from what we’ve come across elsewhere in the Cosmere.

The characters were also a definite strength of the story.  For Siri and Vivenna, I really enjoyed seeing how their attitudes and perspectives changed as the story went on and they adjusted to new circumstances.  In particular, I liked Siri’s gradual realization of her strengths and watching Vivenna cast off a lot of her naivety and prejudice to embrace her own newfound abilities.  Moving beyond them, I also really the rest of the POV characters were excellent as well. The demigod Lightsong was a fantastic character for adding levity, though at the same time his redemption arc offered fascinating insights into the dynamics of this world.  Stealing the show, however, was the duo of Vasher and his talking sword, Nightblood. Vashar fulfilled the role of the rogue, curmudgeonly do-gooder with a sordid past admirably and was an excellent contrast to Nightblood, whose gleeful and almost child-like enthusiasm about its uses was almost as unnerving as its abilities to make pure-hearted people physically ill by its presence and pushing the less noble into uncontrollable fits of aggression.  Collectively this was a fascinating cast of characters that were indeed able to make up for some of the flaws in the overall telling of this story.

On that note, now is the perfect time to transition into a spoiler section where I get into some extended Cosmere stuff.  If you have not yet read the Stormlight Archive books through Oathbringer yet, I strongly suggest going no further.

Book Review: Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection, by Brandon Sanderson

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Arcanum Unbounded, Book, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere, Fantasy, Mistborn, Reading, Stormlight Archive

It took me a little while to fully gather my thoughts on this book, but I can happily say I found doing so an immensely rewarding experience.  Returning to the Cosmere had been one of my unofficial reading goals for the year and with this I certainly did so in style. Now that I am pretty well versed in the lore of its major worlds, I was looking for a deeper dive and that is exactly what I got.

This book is a collection of novellas and short stories divided up into six sections, each according to a different planetary system within the Cosmere.  Some were familiar while others were at the very least new to me. Each system was introduced by Khriss, a worldhopper based out of Silverlight, a city in the Cognitive Realm, whom careful readers of Mistborn and the Stormlight Archive (and presumably other works) might recognize.  She is also the “author” of the Ars Arcana entries at the end of each Cosmere book and takes on a similar role here, providing a brief overview on items of celestial, historical, or magical significance for each planet covered.  As an added bonus, every story also came with an outro from Sanderson describing his thoughts and motivations for writing it.

For my post today, I am going to be a bit more detailed than I usually am when reviewing compilations.  In an effort to solidify my own understanding of the Cosmere’s workings, I am going to not only do a quick review for each story in the collection, but also include some of my own notes.  These are by no means intended to be definitive (indeed there are way more thorough and authoritative options out there), but rather something I am doing for me.  These other sources certainly provide a wealth of information, but they can also be a bit overwhelming (and occasionally frustrating) since they incorporate a lot of things Sanderson says has made canon but are not officially in print yet.  And now the warnings. Spoilers abound for various books and the Cosmere in general, so tread carefully, especially in the Selish, Scadrian, and Rosharan systems if you aren’t up to date on the corresponding books. You have been warned. My reviews begin after the break and assume the reader has a slightly more than passing familiarity with the Cosmere and its terminology.

Book Review: Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson

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Book, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere, Elantris, Fantasy, Reading

After a brief hiatus, I have made my return to the Cosmere by going all the way back to its origins.  Published in 2005, Elantris is not only the first book set in this universe, but it is also Brandon Sanderson’s first published novel.

The story takes place on the planet Sel, an Earth-like world that is home to another civilization of humans advanced to roughly the middle ages.  Once a beacon of magic, culture, and technology, the city of Elantris was the center of a prosperous civilization. Its residents were selected by a process called the Shaod, a mysterious phenomenon that would transform them into beings with silver skin, white hair, and enhanced physical and restorative abilities by granting them access to the AonDor, a system of magic based upon drawing symbols.  That all changed, however, when an event called the Reod mysteriously transformed the nature of Shaod roughly ten years before the start of this story. Instead of bestowing physical and magical gifts upon its recipients, they are now afflicted with discolored skin and have become doomed to live on in anguish from injuries that will neither heal nor kill them. In response to this change, the city of Elantris was sealed off as a de facto prison for anyone touched by the Shaod, a circumstance enforced by the church of Shu-Korath and the King of Arelon, an influential nation whose capital city of Kae lays in the shadow of Elantris’ ruins.

It is here that we meet our protagonists, Prince Raoden of Arelon and his fiance Princess Sarene from the prominent sea-faring nation of Teod.  The two were set to be married in order to secure an alliance between their nations, the last remaining bastions of the Korathi religion and the lone holdouts again the forces of the Fjordell Empire and the Shu-Dereth faith advancing across the continent.  Days before the wedding, Raoden was taken by the Shaod and discretely exiled to Elantris. Upon her arrival in Kae, Sarene is informed that Raoden has died of a particularly ravaging disease, a story she finds deeply suspicious. Determined to secure a place for herself in Arelon’s court, she embarks on her own private inquiry into the matter and quickly becomes fully enmeshed in the political intrigues of her new home.  Roaden, meanwhile, is determined to learn more about the changes in Shaod and works in secret to improve the lives of the people within Elantris. Threatening them both, however, is an ambitious Derethi priest seeking to gain a foothold in Arelon as a prelude to invasion.

There was a lot about this book that I really enjoyed.  Both Raoden and Sarene were excellent, likeable characters and I felt invested in their stories right from the start.  I particularly admired their integrity, intelligence, and sense of social justice and found these traits excellent counterpoints to the other leaders’ tendencies towards exploiting their subjects’ basic needs and prejudices for personal gain.  The supporting cast was equally impressive, with a well-written and intriguing list of friends and foes alike. The story itself, though more focused on intrigue and politics than the more action packed novels that follow it, was quite engaging as well.  No spoilers, but Sanderson usually writes an exhilarating ending to his books and this one was definitely no exception. Finally, I took much joy in catching references to things that come up in later books. Even though this was my first visit to Sel, I’ve come across a few Elantrians before and noticed that Nazh left his now familiar marks here as well.  What got me most excited though was the appearance of Hoid. What was he trying to accomplish here and how does it impact his other travels? Also along this line of thought, I am also very curious to find out more about the Shards and Investiture native to Sel beyond what I’ve pieced together from other sources. It feels like there is a lot of unfinished business on this world, so hopefully someday I will get answers.

My main criticism of this book was that I didn’t think it had quite the same epic feeling as Sanderson’s later novels.  A big factor in this is surely due to me reading an early work after already being so immersed in Cosmere lore, though not having the now-customary quotations or in-world excerpts starting each chapter did contribute greatly to this feeling.  Whatever the reason, the story felt very insular to the cities of Elantris and Kae without expanding out into the rest of Sel as much as I would have liked/expected. I also noticed a few events and ideas used in this book that got picked up and reused in later novels as well which left some scenes feeling less fresh than they probably would have otherwise.

Putting that aside, I am happy to have finally visited this world and upon finishing the book found myself thinking about where my next stops in the Cosmere will be.  After a bit of thought I’ve given myself the goal of taking two more adventures there this year. My first stop will be Warbreaker to follow-up on a few references I missed in Oathbringer and then from there I am thinking that I may dive into the Arcanum Unbounded, a collection of short works that takes place throughout various worlds in the Cosmere.  I have a few other things lined up to read before those happen, but something tells me I won’t be able to stay away for long.

Book Review: Oathbringer, by Brandon Sanderson (Book Three of the Stormlight Archive)

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Book, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere, Fantasy, Reading, Stormlight Archive

I’m reporting in this time with the latest installment of the Stormlight Archive, recently released in November 2017.  Before embarking on this 1,200 page adventure I followed the author’s advice in the preface and read a (relatively) short novella titled Edgedancer.  I do highly recommend reading that as well, though my review from here on out will focus solely on my thoughts regarding Oathbringer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but do have to say that I found it slightly slower to get into than the others.  I think what threw me off initially was Kaladin being apart from the Bridge Four crew.  I’ve grown accustomed to their banter being a major part of the story and its absence gave the early chapters a slightly different feeling than the other books.  However, by the time Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin arrived in Kholinar the story had quickly ramped back up.  Their subsequent journey home through Shardsmar and the Battle of Thaylen City that closed out the book were both off the charts exciting, ending this part of the story on an exhilarating high.  In the midst of all that action, there was also a pretty major revelation about the history of Roshar and the people who inhabit it.  It certainly changed the perception of some past events and I am very curious to see what additional info comes to light in the next book.

Speaking of Roshar’s inhabitants, the characters were once again strong throughout the book.  The main trio of Dalinar, Kaladin, and Shallan were as engaging as ever, though this time around the arcs of Dalinar and Shallan received the most page time.  It was really interesting to learn Dalinar’s backstory and see how he became the person we presently know him to be following the impulsive violence of his youth and its consequences.  His flashbacks served as an excellent illustration of why the other nations are so reluctant to trust his calls for an alliance.  As for Shallan, she faced some demons of her own this novel.  Determined to repress and escape her own traumas and insecurities, she spent a large part of the book using her Lightweaving skills to create new identities whenever she deemed her original self inadequate.  The progression of her transformations was really quite fascinating to watch as she teetered on the edge of losing herself.

What made this story truly epic, though, was how enjoyable the secondary characters were.  A book on this large a scale can’t get by on its main characters alone and happily this story featured so many other interesting people that I have to force myself to stick with only my absolute favorites here.  Most notable for me, was finally learning more about (and meeting!) the three Shards on Roshar; Honor, Cultivation, and Odium.  Also, much to my delight, both Lift and Wit made a number of memorable appearances and managed to steal whatever scene they were in, regardless of the situation.  Rounding out my list, I am additionally looking forward to seeing what happens regarding the strange spren bonded to Renarin and Venli as well finding out what is in store for the various members of Bridge Four; Teft, Rock, and Moash in particular.

At this point I am sad to say that my time in this universe has to be put on hold.  Looking at the author’s anticipated release schedule, book four in this series isn’t planned for release until 2020!  That in conjunction with the next Mistborn novel being slated for 2019 means I’m going to have to look for my Cosmere fix elsewhere.  I’m thinking Elantris is next.