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Interviews: Steelheart Signing Report - Argent

Summary:

Entries

24

Date

Oct 5th, 2013

Type

Paraphrased

Location

Chicago, IL

TourCon

Steelheart

Bookstore

Lake Forest Bookstore

Reporter

Argent

Links

17th Shard (Report)

  • 1

    Question

    Pat Rothfuss recently worked with the folks from Albino Dragon to create a Kickstarted Name of the Wind deck of cards in which each face card features a character from the book. All those designs were discussed with Pat, and the final result is shaping up to be pretty spectacular. Are there plans—or if not, are you open to planning—to do something like this for one or more of your own worlds?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I know about Pat's deck, it's really awesome stuff! I can only say that I do have plans to do something similar, but you will have to wait for Words of Radiance to find out more about it.

    Footnote

    The Kickstarter took place in late spring of 2013.

    Kickstarter

  • 2

    Question

    Anything you can tell us about Steelheart's sequel, Firefight?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It starts off in Chicago, but then moves to New York. It will show off an... interesting version of Manhattan, similarly to how Steelheart's showed off an interesting version of Chicago. It will also introduce three new Epics.

    Tags

  • 3

    Question

    Was Hemalurgy inspired by your time in Asia, and more specifically - acupuncture?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. A lot of the stuff in my books that looks like it came from Asia really did come from my time there.

    Tags

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  • 4

    Question

    Was Calamity and its appearance in Steelheart just kind of an ad hoc? We know that it showed up about a year before the Epics started showing up, so people naturally assume one was the cause and one was the effect, but was that really the case and are both of them just the effects of something else?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Good question! I will say that this is something I've done before, so my fans will kind of expect it. I am aware of this expectation too, and I am careful about repeating myself.

    Tags

  • 5

    Question

    Feruchemy is the "balance" between Ruin and Preservation. Would any combination of Shards create a "balance" magic, so to speak, or are only certain Shards compatible?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Feruchemy ended up being a balance system, because of how polar Ruin and Preservation were. Any world with at least two Shards will result in a similar phenomenon.

    Question

    Like Roshar?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Like Roshar. There is something like that going on there.

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  • 6

    Question

    Aside from the Greater Roshar system, are there any other multiple shardworld systems?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. You have not necessarily seen them though.

    Tags

  • 7

    Question

    How do you spell "Lyss" the woman Jasnah meets with in the Words of Radiance prologue?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Not sure, but I think it's L-y-s-s.

    Footnote

    In Words of Radiance it is actually spelled "Liss".

    Tags

  • 8

    Question

    Could a Seeker who was properly trained and experienced detect AonDor or Awakening? Similarly, does a Coppercloud block an Awakener's life sense?

    Brandon Sanderson

    A Seeker could sense somebody else using magic not native Scadrial. RAFO on the Coppercloud blocking similar magic.

    Tags

  • 9

    Question

    If Ati had somehow managed to give up Ruin and returned to being a regular person, would his mind have gradually reverted from its corruption by Ruin's intent, or would he always be determined to destroy?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Over time Ruin's influence would fade, but Ati would remain a Sliver, so there would be some permanent effects.

    Tags

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  • 10

    Question

    Do the Spiritual and Physical Realms have names, like Shadesmar is the Cognitive Realm?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Kind of, but not really. Shadesmar is just a rough translation of "Cognitive Realm" in the language of whoever first found out about it. Other people, planets, and worlds wouldn't call it Shadesmar, they would call it whatever their words for "Cognitive Realm" are. This applies to the Physical and Spiritual as well.

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  • 11

    Question

    Are all of the Heralds who gave up their Honorblades still alive?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Good question! RAFO.

    Tags

  • 12

    Question

    Are Renarin and Adolin Dalinar's legitimate children?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Good question! Yes, they are both legitimate. Though Renarin didn't get as much of the hair, which is probably what people are asking about.

    Tags

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  • 13

    Question

    Fabrials replicate Soulcasting abilities. Is it possible for fabrials to replicate all such Surgebinding abilities?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, good question! Fabrials can replicate all of the Surgebinding abilities.

    Tags

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  • 14

    Question

    If a Dakhor, Dilaf, could erase a symbol written by an Elantrian, Raoden, could an Elantrian erase/heal a Dakhor bone-symbol?

    Brandon Sanderson

    This is a theoretical possibility, but not a specialization of AonDor.

    Tags

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  • 15

    Question

    Is there any other canonical way to refer to a set of Shardplate and a Shardblade other than Shards, so as to not confuse them with the Shards of Adonalsium?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They call them just Shard(s). It is a little confusing, because there are other Shards, but they don't know about them. I call them a set, but there is no canonical way to refer to them.

    Tags

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  • 16

    Question

    Is Cultivation's Shardholder still alive.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Good question, what do you think?

    Question

    I want to say, but that's based on my knowledge before I read Lift's interlude from Words of Radiance. Now I am leaning towards no. Based on that interlude, it looks like spren have essence from both Honor and Cultivation. It's almost like they exist in a spectrum, on one end of which is Honor, and on the other - Cultivation; so there are spren that are, for the lack of better example, 90% Honor and 10% Cultivation, and there are spren that are 15% Honor and 85% Cultivation.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's a very astute observation!

    Question

    And since we know that Honor is Splintered, then it might be the case that Cultivation is also Splintered, and their Splinters form the spren.

    Footnote

    In a prior signing report it was revealed that Cultivation's shardholder is indeed alive.

    Theoryland Interview Database

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  • 17

    Question

    Are Honorspren Splinters, or do they hold Splinters?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Honorspren would be termed Splinters.

    Tags

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  • 18

    Question

    What is Stormlight?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I don't want to answer this, but I'll just say "Investiture."

    Tags

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  • 19

    Question

    Did David get Steelheart's weakness absolutely correct, or was it just close enough to allow him to destroy Steelheart?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It was absolutely correct. This is something David and Reckoners will actually discuss in Firefight. The second book will reveal much more about the Epics' weaknesses, and you will find out that there is actually a pattern to them, even though everyone thinks it's random.

    Question

    Are weaknesses somehow related to things, events, or phenomena the Epics feared, or hated, or disliked before they turned Epic?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO, second book. This is the exact question people—and David—are asking in the second book. Good question though.

    Tags

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  • 20

    Question

    Are there still no Splinters on Scadrial, after the events of The Alloy of Law?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, there are no Splinters on Scadrial. Unless they've been brought. There are no Splinters of Ruin or Preservation.

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  • 21

    Question

    Does Nightblood need to sleep?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Nightblood does not need to sleep, but he sure thinks he needs to.

    Tags

  • 22

    Question

    Will Llarimar become Susebron's high priest?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I would not be surprised of the events too him there.

    Question

    Do you think he would be unhappy with the position?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No. Susebron is going to make at least, if not a good God King, then at least an earnest one, and Llarimar would approve of that.

    Tags

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  • 23

    Question

    What command would you have to give to an Awakened object like Nightblood in order for it to not go insane?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I am going to RAFO that about Nightblood, but is Nightblood insane? It just has no concept of... It was commanded to do something it was not equipped to judge. I would not call Nightblood insane. I would say that you have commanded something with no concept of morality to make moral decisions, and that's very confusing to him.

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  • 24

    Question

    Ashe says to Sarene "your god". Do Seons (and Skaze) have a religion/god?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They have an inkling of the nature of their original Shards, which they would consider their gods.

    Question

    Kind of like a first, a prime, a parent?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. They kind of know what happened that created them, and they also know this is not the god being worshiped (by Sarene), so...

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