Fantasy & Science Fiction

[Melhay]

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ParkerS17 wrote:

I think a sequel is a great idea.  Brandon Sanderson created such a unique and creative world that it would be sad if we only had one book to enjoy it in.  He left it wide open for a sequel, so hopefully he will write some more eventually.

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I agree that is would be great to have more books set in this uniquely colored world.  With the way this book ended, the story in itself has finished, but there is lots of details to work with to go in any direction Brandon would want to go.

He is amazing in creating characters, the world, and a plot story line.  There are times where in books one of these falls a little short, but not Brandon.  Even in a stand-alone novel he has mastered it.

Melissa

[ParkerS17]

I think a sequel is a great idea.  Brandon Sanderson created such a unique and creative world that it would be sad if we only had one book to enjoy it in.  He left it wide open for a sequel, so hopefully he will write some more eventually.

[Melhay]

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TheGreyFox wrote:

Melhay,

Unfortunately, no, I'm not a published author. Yet  At this time, I am working on a novel, but I continue to be inspired by the writing of other authors like Brandon Sanderson. I write in the realm of Science-Fiction and Fantasy so this forum is where I most feel at home!

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GreyFox,

I replied to this post over at the off topic thread, if you want to stop over there and read.

[TheGreyFox]

Melhay,

Unfortunately, no, I'm not a published author. Yet  At this time, I am working on a novel, but I continue to be inspired by the writing of other authors like Brandon Sanderson. I write in the realm of Science-Fiction and Fantasy so this forum is where I most feel at home!

[Melhay]

GreyFox, I am glad the summary of the history helped you.  I know sometimes when I am reading I have questions on the history and for me to piece it together as I go helped me understand what was going on a little better.

I do understand the secresy behind Vasher, after I finished the book, and like you would love to see more to him later.  I really do think he holds a key to the history of the Returned along with a lot of expainations.

GreyFox, you have mentioned you are too a writer.  Do you have a book out?  May I ask what the book(s) is/are? 

[TheGreyFox]

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Melhay wrote:

I do agree the characters were very well done in this book.  And it could carry on in many different directions.

I was interested in all the characters through the whole book, but at the end my interest was piqued in one more than the others and I would love to hear his story (both before and after this book).  That would be Vasher.  He has so many names and the story to him could be a whole book on its own, how he created the city then left only to come back and save them from what he created.  Hmmm, sound odd saying that but well...  The knowledge he has on the Returned abilities along with the royal families heritage.  Wow, the information that could be shared!

GreyFox, where do you stand with Vasher?  I think there are some hints on the thread from Brandon Sanderson's visit here to more details on a few characters.  Have you seen that thread?  I would definitely check it out if you get the chance, great information there too.

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Thanks so much for leading me to that thread! As a reader and a writer I found it very interesting.

Vasher. How could I have forgetten him? He actually reminds me of one of my own characters: mysterious, broody, and not too good with people. Throughout the book I kept hoping to see his point of view pop up more, but now, knowing who he is, too much couldn't be revealed about him until the end. Still, we don't know as much as about the man as we would like! I definitely hope the sequel centers around him more.

Btw, I read your summary of the history of this world and it was extremely helpful (I tried to give you a laurel, but this site was giving me a hard time) . At the end of the book, I really wanted to reflect on Vasher's role in the history of their world, and your summary helped.

What you said about Vasher made perfect sense-- "he created the city then left only to come back and save them from what he created." How did he feel about all he had done? It seemed to me that he was "repenting" in some way (which would explain the broodiness) . What prompted his change of heart? But maybe he was repenting for more too. Wasn't it mentioned that Vasher loved Shashara and that he killed her? That's a can of worms right there. Why did he do it?

I'm glad Mr. Sanderson answered those question about Vasher being a Returned and how he was able to act as a normal man. I couldn't understand how he changed his appearance, and how he was able to use his Breath to Awaken things without using his actual Divine Breath. At least that was cleared up for me!

[Melhay]

I do agree the characters were very well done in this book.  And it could carry on in many different directions.

I was interested in all the characters through the whole book, but at the end my interest was piqued in one more than the others and I would love to hear his story (both before and after this book).  That would be Vasher.  He has so many names and the story to him could be a whole book on its own, how he created the city then left only to come back and save them from what he created.  Hmmm, sound odd saying that but well...  The knowledge he has on the Returned abilities along with the royal families heritage.  Wow, the information that could be shared!

GreyFox, where do you stand with Vasher?  I think there are some hints on the thread from Brandon Sanderson's visit here to more details on a few characters.  Have you seen that thread?  I would definitely check it out if you get the chance, great information there too.

[TheGreyFox]

Warbreaker is by far the best fantasy novel I have read in a long while (of course I've been reading more Sci-Fi than anything else lately!). As a writer myself, I truly admire Sanderson's worldbuilding talents. The magic system was intricate and brilliant; I now look at colors in a whole new light! Sanderson was careful to introduce his magic system and the history of his world in a way that was not overwhelming to the reader--and before you could become too confused. Not all writers are good at that.

The characters of Warbreaker are fantastic. It's hard to say who my favorite character is. Denth and Tonk Fah were funny. And Nightblood cracked me up. Lightsong was such a interesting character; I could see early on that there was a depth to him that was hidden behind that jovial, blase mask he had. And it was interesting watching him grow as a person (or a god ).

You really get a chance to look at what motivates these characters, and watch as they discover those motives themselves. For example, Vivenna had to really ask herself why she was in Hallandren. Was she there for her sister? Her kingdom? Or was she there for herself?

Also, I found there were really no "good" or "bad" guys-- there were just people who were doing what they thought was right, though they were going about it the wrong way. The Pahn Kahl wanted what was "rightfully" theirs, and were willing to doing anything to get it. The Idrians wanted to protect themselves from the Hallendren. The Hallandren wanted to protect themselves from the Idrians, a desire that was fueled by the "dissidents" in their own city. Neither had any idea that they were being pitted against each other by another source.

Warbreaker works as a standalone novel, but I would love to see a sequel or prequel myself. Like Sanderson said himself, (and I'm quoting from Paul's post here), "Starting a fantasy book can be tough because of how many new names, concepts, societies, religions, and laws of physics you have to learn and get used to.  Epics, with their dozens upon dozens of characters, are even tougher in this regard.  And so, after investing so much energy into becoming an expert in the world, we want to get a good payoff and be able to USE that expertise."

There's so much to Warbreaker that could still use some explaining (magical system and history), and a sequel would help us get to know his world a little bit more. I think I'll also re-read this book later on to see if I can glean some more insight into the world and characters of Warbreaker.

"Truth is stranger than fiction. And so am I."

[paulgoatallen]

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lilithesque wrote:

Also, I wonder is he related to her? 

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Wow. I feel so stupid right now – I never even considered this! That does change things if true but I think Melissa is right...

...the bottom line is that this Warbreaker really does scream out for a sequel. I hope Brandon gets around to it sooner than later.

Paul 

[Melhay]

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lilithesque wrote:

Ah.  This was a good book.  I just finished reading it and skimming comments on this thread.  I must say, reading everyones comments brought out even more points for me.  I have been extremely busy these past couple weeks, while I read this book waiting in waiting rooms and at 2 am and waiting in cars, and grocery stores and more.  I really didnt get to digest it.  I still havent.  I think I will comment tomorrow with my impressions, but just to say, I wouldnt mind at all reading a sequel to this book.  Even a prequel. 

One point I found interesting is that Vasher tells the princess that she is decended from the original returned didn't he.  Then the priests say returned cant have children.  

Vasher is the original Mighty returned, but seems to be developing a relationship to the princess. 

It seems he knows more about returned's ability to have children.

Also, I wonder is he related to her? 

I may have misread stuff, as I said I read the book in a fairly hap hazard way.  Whad do ya think  ya'll? 

Lily

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This question on relation between Vasher and Vivenna had passed through my mind also.  The only thing I keep remembering is the Returned seem to have no connection by blood as to who it "returns".  It seems to be they "see" something after death or have died an exceptional death in earning the right to return and live as a god till they can complete what is unfinished.

But, I do have to say Vasher does seem (and could very well due to his age) know a great deal more than he leads on about.  I think he could know about having children and soooo much more since he was one of the 5 who did most of the research and studying of their abilities.

I too look forward to reading more in this world and learning so much more of the expantion of the abilities.

[lilithesque]

Ah.  This was a good book.  I just finished reading it and skimming comments on this thread.  I must say, reading everyones comments brought out even more points for me.  I have been extremely busy these past couple weeks, while I read this book waiting in waiting rooms and at 2 am and waiting in cars, and grocery stores and more.  I really didnt get to digest it.  I still havent.  I think I will comment tomorrow with my impressions, but just to say, I wouldnt mind at all reading a sequel to this book.  Even a prequel. 

One point I found interesting is that Vasher tells the princess that she is decended from the original returned didn't he.  Then the priests say returned cant have children.  

Vasher is the original Mighty returned, but seems to be developing a relationship to the princess. 

It seems he knows more about returned's ability to have children.

Also, I wonder is he related to her? 

I may have misread stuff, as I said I read the book in a fairly hap hazard way.  Whad do ya think  ya'll? 

Lily

[carmen22]

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Nadine wrote:

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paulgoatallen wrote:

Also, now that you have finished, how do you feel about a sequel? I initially thought Warbreaker was a great standalone novel – and should stay that way – but as more and more time has passed since I finished it, I'm beginning to think that a sequel may be a good idea.... What are your thoughts?

Paul 

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I think Warbreaker is Brandon's best work to-date. His Elantris and the Mistborn series were great, but I think he has learned a lot and really pulled the best together in Warbreaker. He has created whole new worlds and magic systems for each of these. Many authors do one and then stick with it for their subsequence book. I think Brandon has some real potential of building on each of these three worlds and systems, and plenty of good characters he could develop more and take even further. But with all his planned and current projects, I don't see how he could do it all in one life-time. I guess he will just have to do it as a Returned and maybe he is Hoid!

As far as a sequel to Warbreaker is concerned -- I think he has deliberately set up for one.

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I completely agree with you, Nadine, Warbreaker is his best work to date. His characters were just so fantastically developed and I think this Magic system is one of my favorites. Warbreaker is a great standalone book, but I would love to revisit these characters and this Magic system. For me, I think Sanderson's Magic systems are the hardest part to let go of, they're just so well thought out, thought-provoking, and Unique that I want to see more of what they can do! He really does have a lot of room to build on each and everyone of his worlds, characters, and Magic systems.

Message Edited by carmen22 on 08-04-2009 09:29 AM

[carmen22]

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Melhay wrote:

This one is of the painting.  I think it still possesses the essence of war to me.  To me it relates more to a war than to the lost of his niece and him saving her.

At one point in the book Lightsong fights with himself on weither he should get involved in all the happenings or not.  As we found out he decided to get involved.  In this arguement with himself he asked if, if the Returned were prophetic and if it was to get involved to do something about what they "saw" or not.  My thoughts were he saw what would have happened had he NOT done anything.  I think he knew that there was going to be a very ugly war and this woman (I also think and still do Vivenna - who by this point would have done what ever it took) would have done what she had to do to stop it, take up Nightblood (yet he didn't know that).  I think this painting could have been a potential outcome to the story had thing not happened the way they did, or had Lightsong did nothing to help the situation (as he always said to Siri, In the end don't count on me.).  If he would have held to this thinking then that war in the painting would have happened.

I fell since Lightsong took a stand and helped in the moment available to him he stopped all of this ugly, unnecessary slaughter of innocents from happening.  Also, in one of Lightsongs dreams he saw the God King laying dead on the floor.  I think that moment was the moment that Lightsong gave the God King his Breath to save him.  Had Lightsong not given his Breath to the God King he would have been dead (That was the intention of him being on the floor in that chamber, to kill him) and the ugly war would have gone on.  This moment of giving the God King his Breath was the pivital point in the story for Lightsongs dreams.

Now that I wrote this thinking process out, I think Lightsong is the actually hero in the book and he along with no one else knows it.  Without Lightsong there would have been this aweful war to kill many, many people.

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Funny, I was writing my above statement at the same time you wrote this one, and I do believe that Lightsong was our one True Hero.  If he wouldn't have given his breath away for the God King the war would have been inevitable. There would have been no one powerful enough to stop all the Pahn Kahl men and there Lifeless. I felt such a connection with Lightsong that I cried when he died to save his niece, as well as when he realized he was a god and that he needed to give his breath away to help save the God King. I thought this part was absolutely magnificent on Brandons part, and he really made me care for Lightsong a great deal by the end of the book.  I also feel you're completely correct about Lightsongs dreams, and they all seemed to have a little piece of information for him to end up where he did in the end.

[carmen22]

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Nadine wrote:

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Melhay wrote:

These are all very good questions.  One thing I do have to say about Brandon's books is that they really seem to make a full circle and you need to remember the information at the beginning.  The beginning seems to be full of very important information, by the time you get the end.

I think part of the reason that Dedelin wanted to send Siri instead of Vivenna was because part of him felt Vivenna would be more capable in the case that he was attacked, she could take charge of the kingdom and rule as needed.  Well, we all know how that would have ended... If she reacted the same way she did in Hallandren - (not well). 

But, speaking of Vivenna... She really made a HUGE change.  Her and Siri seemed to have changed places personality wise.  Siri, I think still has not changed completely, enjoyed life yound and now has grown to be rather responsible.  Vivenna, who was always responsible growing up, now can enjoy life.

I find it ironic that Dedelin didn't want to lose Vivenna, yet he still has lost her - just not to a death with out cause but to traveling with a Returned God he does not believe in.

Vivenna was so against taking of others Breath, now it seems to not bother her at all to use Breaths, now that she knows and cares for Vasher.

---

It is interesting that Vivenna did her "stupid" things in the first part of the book while Siri did hers in the last part. I think both sisters were very different at the end than what they were at the beginning of the story. Siri did learn to be a responsible Princess, rather than a difficult and carefree individual who only liked to go riding and be difficult. Vivenna went in the oppostite direction but also learned the responsibilities of being a "real" princess. Vivenna's evolution was more severe and significant. I think she was one terrific character. Talk about a well rounded and developed character! -- there was nothing flat or two-dimentional about her!. In fact most of the characters were very well defined and I really was envolved with them. Even Bluefinger. He was really doing what he truly believed was right for his people.

But deep down in my guilty pleasures, my favorite character was Nightblood. And to my short list I would have to add Lightsong and Blushweaver. I kind of wondered how Brandon came up with the names for gods and designations. They really didn't give anything away. But if I were picking them I think I would call Lightsong the Noble and Blushweaver the Loyal.

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  I agree, Vivenna was a really well developed character, and we really got to see her go through some BIG changes and challenges that made her into the person she became at the end of the book. As did Siri, she grew up and became a pretty capable woman by the end of the book. Even Susebron grew as a character, and in the end was able to really become there God King and not the King in complete Ignorance of the world around him. Then our dear friend Lightsong, his playful banter of life and not wanting to believe in himself as a true god or someone to be counted on when the time comes, then in the end he was really the one True Hero who gave his life to save Hallandren.

I also loved Vasher our "Warbreaker" who trys to be a better person from the God King (first returned) he used to be, and will let no one stand in his way to do so. Then, Nightblood our childlike character who you just can't help yourself but to love.

 You bring up Blushweaver, Nadine, I was wondering what made her want to hire the mercenaries in the first place, or how the Pahn Kahl talked her into hiring them? The Pahn Kahl used her so savagely and wisely to get a hold of all the command phrases for the Lifeless. Then when they no longer needed her they used her as a tool to get Lightsong to give the last command phrase to them, just amazing how Brandon set this whole scheme up. I don't think Blushweaver even had the slightest idea of what she was getting herself into.

Message Edited by carmen22 on 07-29-2009 12:04 AM

[Melhay]

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carmen22 wrote:

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Melhay wrote:

IF it is true that the Returned can prophesis for the future, here is Lightsongs take on what he saw in the painting he looked at and really liked.

Lightsong Responds positively to a painting of war

 Pg 267 – 269

  …Violent, terrible reds, clashing against one another like waves – waves that only vaguely resembled men, yet that somehow managed to convey the idea of armies fighting much better than any detailed realistic depiction could have.

  Chaos.  Bloody wounds upon bloody uniforms upon bloody skin.  Thiere was so much violence in red.  His own color.  He almost felt as if he were in the painting-felt its turmoil shaking him, disorienting him, pulling on him.

  The waves of men pointed toward one figure at the center.  A woman, vaguely depicted by a couple of curved brushstrokes.  And yet it was obvious.  She stood high, as if atop a cresting wave of crashing soldiers, caught in midmotion, head flung back, her arm upraised.

  Holding a deep black sword that darkened the red sky around it.

  “The Battle of Twilight Falls,” Llarimar said quietly, standing beside him in the white hallway.  “Last conflict of the Manywar.”

  Lightsong nodded. He’d known that, somehow.  The faces of many of the soldiers were tinged with grey.  They were Lifeless.  The Manywar had been the first time they had been used in large numbers on the battlefield.

Remember Llarimar his High Priest does NOT see this in the painting and seems to have concern for Lightsongs interpretation.

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This is something I was wondering about and wondering what your thoughts are about this. 

This dream of Lightsongs is really kind of interesting, I think. It seems to explain what happened to his niece due to the waves, but what really through me off was this part "....her arm upraised. Holding a deep black sword that darkened the red sky around it." I don't see the connection here to the little girl, why would she be holding a sword that looks exactly like Nightblood? This is the reason, I believe, we all looked toward Vivenna, or at least the reason I thought it was her.

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This one is of the painting.  I think it still possesses the essence of war to me.  To me it relates more to a war than to the lost of his niece and him saving her.

At one point in the book Lightsong fights with himself on weither he should get involved in all the happenings or not.  As we found out he decided to get involved.  In this arguement with himself he asked if, if the Returned were prophetic and if it was to get involved to do something about what they "saw" or not.  My thoughts were he saw what would have happened had he NOT done anything.  I think he knew that there was going to be a very ugly war and this woman (I also think and still do Vivenna - who by this point would have done what ever it took) would have done what she had to do to stop it, take up Nightblood (yet he didn't know that).  I think this painting could have been a potential outcome to the story had thing not happened the way they did, or had Lightsong did nothing to help the situation (as he always said to Siri, In the end don't count on me.).  If he would have held to this thinking then that war in the painting would have happened.

I fell since Lightsong took a stand and helped in the moment available to him he stopped all of this ugly, unnecessary slaughter of innocents from happening.  Also, in one of Lightsongs dreams he saw the God King laying dead on the floor.  I think that moment was the moment that Lightsong gave the God King his Breath to save him.  Had Lightsong not given his Breath to the God King he would have been dead (That was the intention of him being on the floor in that chamber, to kill him) and the ugly war would have gone on.  This moment of giving the God King his Breath was the pivital point in the story for Lightsongs dreams.

Now that I wrote this thinking process out, I think Lightsong is the actually hero in the book and he along with no one else knows it.  Without Lightsong there would have been this aweful war to kill many, many people.

[carmen22]

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Melhay wrote:

IF it is true that the Returned can prophesis for the future, here is Lightsongs take on what he saw in the painting he looked at and really liked.

Lightsong Responds positively to a painting of war

 Pg 267 – 269

  …Violent, terrible reds, clashing against one another like waves – waves that only vaguely resembled men, yet that somehow managed to convey the idea of armies fighting much better than any detailed realistic depiction could have.

  Chaos.  Bloody wounds upon bloody uniforms upon bloody skin.  Thiere was so much violence in red.  His own color.  He almost felt as if he were in the painting-felt its turmoil shaking him, disorienting him, pulling on him.

  The waves of men pointed toward one figure at the center.  A woman, vaguely depicted by a couple of curved brushstrokes.  And yet it was obvious.  She stood high, as if atop a cresting wave of crashing soldiers, caught in midmotion, head flung back, her arm upraised.

  Holding a deep black sword that darkened the red sky around it.

  “The Battle of Twilight Falls,” Llarimar said quietly, standing beside him in the white hallway.  “Last conflict of the Manywar.”

  Lightsong nodded. He’d known that, somehow.  The faces of many of the soldiers were tinged with grey.  They were Lifeless.  The Manywar had been the first time they had been used in large numbers on the battlefield.

Remember Llarimar his High Priest does NOT see this in the painting and seems to have concern for Lightsongs interpretation.

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This is something I was wondering about and wondering what your thoughts are about this. 

This dream of Lightsongs is really kind of interesting, I think. It seems to explain what happened to his niece due to the waves, but what really through me off was this part "....her arm upraised. Holding a deep black sword that darkened the red sky around it." I don't see the connection here to the little girl, why would she be holding a sword that looks exactly like Nightblood? This is the reason, I believe, we all looked toward Vivenna, or at least the reason I thought it was her.

[Nadine]

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paulgoatallen wrote:

Also, now that you have finished, how do you feel about a sequel? I initially thought Warbreaker was a great standalone novel – and should stay that way – but as more and more time has passed since I finished it, I'm beginning to think that a sequel may be a good idea.... What are your thoughts?

Paul 

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I think Warbreaker is Brandon's best work to-date. His Elantris and the Mistborn series were great, but I think he has learned a lot and really pulled the best together in Warbreaker. He has created whole new worlds and magic systems for each of these. Many authors do one and then stick with it for their subsequence book. I think Brandon has some real potential of building on each of these three worlds and systems, and plenty of good characters he could develop more and take even further. But with all his planned and current projects, I don't see how he could do it all in one life-time. I guess he will just have to do it as a Returned and maybe he is Hoid!

As far as a sequel to Warbreaker is concerned -- I think he has deliberately set up for one.

[Nadine]

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Melhay wrote:

These are all very good questions.  One thing I do have to say about Brandon's books is that they really seem to make a full circle and you need to remember the information at the beginning.  The beginning seems to be full of very important information, by the time you get the end.

I think part of the reason that Dedelin wanted to send Siri instead of Vivenna was because part of him felt Vivenna would be more capable in the case that he was attacked, she could take charge of the kingdom and rule as needed.  Well, we all know how that would have ended... If she reacted the same way she did in Hallandren - (not well). 

But, speaking of Vivenna... She really made a HUGE change.  Her and Siri seemed to have changed places personality wise.  Siri, I think still has not changed completely, enjoyed life yound and now has grown to be rather responsible.  Vivenna, who was always responsible growing up, now can enjoy life.

I find it ironic that Dedelin didn't want to lose Vivenna, yet he still has lost her - just not to a death with out cause but to traveling with a Returned God he does not believe in.

Vivenna was so against taking of others Breath, now it seems to not bother her at all to use Breaths, now that she knows and cares for Vasher.

---

It is interesting that Vivenna did her "stupid" things in the first part of the book while Siri did hers in the last part. I think both sisters were very different at the end than what they were at the beginning of the story. Siri did learn to be a responsible Princess, rather than a difficult and carefree individual who only liked to go riding and be difficult. Vivenna went in the oppostite direction but also learned the responsibilities of being a "real" princess. Vivenna's evolution was more severe and significant. I think she was one terrific character. Talk about a well rounded and developed character! -- there was nothing flat or two-dimentional about her!. In fact most of the characters were very well defined and I really was envolved with them. Even Bluefinger. He was really doing what he truly believed was right for his people.

But deep down in my guilty pleasures, my favorite character was Nightblood. And to my short list I would have to add Lightsong and Blushweaver. I kind of wondered how Brandon came up with the names for gods and designations. They really didn't give anything away. But if I were picking them I think I would call Lightsong the Noble and Blushweaver the Loyal.

[Melhay]

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Nadine wrote:

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Melhay wrote:

I do still have questions that aren't answered.  Now, one of you may have picked up the answers to them.  So if so can you clue me in?  I may have missed it or just didn't connect it yet, but I would appreciate the help.

Just a few of the questions are:

How did Bluefinger & the Pahl Kahl know Vivenna was in the city and the exact day she arrived?  Did they have spys in Idris that knew when Vivenna left and why she left?  Then send a message back to the city to let Bluefinger know.  I know Vivenna was not the most sutle of characters with her actions.  When she decided to leave she didn't sneak out very well and when she came into the city she did not blend in very well either.

How did Vasher get the child to come to him and then later make her "better"?  Also, how did he get the dogs to quit barking at him and like him?  Is this a power of the Returned that no one knows of? 

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Your questions remind a bit of the very first part of the book. We had a bit ground-work put together here on the Dedelin, the King of Iris, and his general, Yarda. This went no where and left me with a lot of questions. The big "why" -- Why did Dedelin send Siri instead of Vivenna? I wasn't satisfied with the idea he love Vivenna more than Siri. It seems these were fogotten characters especially at the end of the book. I kept figuring they would play a part or at least be referred to.

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These are all very good questions.  One thing I do have to say about Brandon's books is that they really seem to make a full circle and you need to remember the information at the beginning.  The beginning seems to be full of very important information, by the time you get the end.

I think part of the reason that Dedelin wanted to send Siri instead of Vivenna was because part of him felt Vivenna would be more capable in the case that he was attacked, she could take charge of the kingdom and rule as needed.  Well, we all know how that would have ended... If she reacted the same way she did in Hallandren - (not well). 

But, speaking of Vivenna... She really made a HUGE change.  Her and Siri seemed to have changed places personality wise.  Siri, I think still has not changed completely, enjoyed life yound and now has grown to be rather responsible.  Vivenna, who was always responsible growing up, now can enjoy life.

I find it ironic that Dedelin didn't want to lose Vivenna, yet he still has lost her - just not to a death with out cause but to traveling with a Returned God he does not believe in.

Vivenna was so against taking of others Breath, now it seems to not bother her at all to use Breaths, now that she knows and cares for Vasher.

[paulgoatallen]

Speaking of Warbreaker and its sequel, here's what Brandon had to  say about the genre's propensity for looooooong series. I love his comments and have re-read this at least a dozen times already, very enlightening...

Paul 

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paulgoatallen wrote: Fantasy has always been a "series-powered" genre but it seems that lately several authors (or publishers) just don't know when to suitably end a long-running saga... Drawing out a series for the sake of more installments, it seems. And there seems to be fewer and fewer standalone novels like Warbreaker and Elantris. (I love standalone novels, by the way, and am hoping that that "format" makes a return!)Any comments on this from your perspective? Thanks!
 

Brandon replies: "It's a good question, Paul.  One I've been considering, actually, for a long time.  Certainly, there's an economic piece to it.
 
When a stand-alone comes out, it tends to gather praise from both readers and reviewers.  Then proceeds to sell far fewer copies than a series book does.  The Wheel of Time didn't hit #1 on the NYT list until book eight or nine, I believe, and I don't think Sword of Truth hit #1 until book ten.  Series tend to sell better.  Even as readers complain about them.  And so I think publishers do push for them.
 
But why do they sell better?  Well, I think this is partially the learning curve factor.  We like fantasy for the same reason that fantasy is hard to read: the learning curve.  Starting a fantasy book can be tough because of how many new names, concepts, societies, religions, and laws of physics you have to learn and get used to.  Epics, with their dozens upon dozens of characters, are even tougher in this regard.  And so, after investing so much energy into becoming an expert in the world, we want to get a good payoff and be able to USE that expertise.
 
Beyond that, I think that fantasy is character driven--and when we fall in love with characters, we want to read more about them.  Fantasy, particularly the epic series, allows us to follow characters across sweeping, life changing events.  Fantasy (like historicals) give us lots of pages and time to know these characters.  So we want more from them.  
 
But the very thing that we love about fantasy in this regard also tends to present problems.  We want lots of characters, but eventually this large cast gets overwhelms us and makes the books seem to drag.  Personally, I think these complaints will be much lessened when some of these great series are done, and you don't have to wait years and years between volumes.  
 
Anyway, Terry Brooks talks a lot about this in his biographical work Sometimes the Magic Works.  (Bet you can find it here on BN.com, and I highly suggest the book as a quick, interesting, engaging read.)  He mentions how, when he left Shannara to write other things, the fans begged and begged him for more.  Until finally he broke down and gave them more books in the world.  
 
A lot of authors I know tend to live in this state of perpetual wonder and amazement that, finally, people are actually enjoying and reading their works.  (After all the years of failure trying to break in, I know that I feel this way a lot.)  When someone comes to you and talks about how much they love one of your works, asking you to write more...well, we're storytellers.  If people want a story, we want to give it to them.  It's hard to say no.  (Though so far I have.)
 
I intend to keep writing stand-alone novels.  But I do so knowing that 1) they will not sell as well as series books and 2) readers will ask me for more, and so each stand alone will only increase the number of requests for future books that I can't write.  I'm in the fortunate place that I can write, and publish, what I want--whether it be series or stand alone--and no longer have to worry about the money.  
 
But, in my heart, I've got a strong desire to write a big epic.  I grew up reading them.  I want to see if I can do one, my way, and add something new to the genre.  So maybe that's the reason.  Looking through Robert Jordan's notes, reading interviews, I don't think he ever artificially inflated the length of his series because of publisher desire or money reasons.  I think he loved the long-form epic, and wanted to tell the story his way, no matter how long it took.  And as he added more characters, it took longer and longer. 

In a way, being free from the worry of finances gives creators a chance to really explore their vision the way they want to.  And...well, we’re fantasy writers, so we can get a little long winded.

Kind of like this response, eh?    Thanks for the question.