Oathbringer (init)

right now, all i can say about this book is.... oh.my.god.

*will post a proper blog as soon as i have recovered from the awesomeness that was this book. i actually want to read all 1000+ pages again!

“and as the long long nights begin
i think of all that might have been
waiting here for evermore.”

words of radiance

I finished re-reading words of radiance weeks ago. I don’t remember liking it more than the first book, and even after re-reading both, I still found myself liking TWoK better, though ratings seem to indicate otherwise.

Maybe because the main focus was Shallan and despite her seeming to be really interesting, I just can’t quite relate to her - I often found myself wanting to fast-forward through her chapters. 

And there’s that hint of a love triangle, which I really am not a fan of. One thing I like about Shallan though is that she genuinely seems to like Adolin, and even sort-of defended him to Kaladin one time.

More and more, I am loving Adolin.

There are not a lot of quotable quotes in this book...not as much as the first. But here are some snippets....

“I’m serious, Kaladin! I don’t know. I don’t remember.” She[Syl] grabbed her hair, one clump of white translucence in each hand, and pulled sideways.

He frowned, then pointed. “That . . .”

“I saw a woman do it in the market,” Syl said, yanking her hair to the sides again. “It means I’m frustrated. I think it’s supposed to hurt. So . . . ow? Anyway, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you what I know. I do! I just . . . I don’t know what I know.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Well, imagine how frustrating it feels!”

Sometimes, I wish Syl was a real person so I can root for a Kaladin and Syl pairing. They just have the most hilarious interactions sometimes.

“Expectation wasn’t just about what people expected of you. It was about what you expected of yourself.”

-Shallan

“It shouldn’t matter.”

“Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does. You want to change that? Well, you’re not going to do it by screaming like a lunatic and challenging men like Amaram to duels. You’ll do it by distinguishing yourself in the position I gave you. Be the kind of man that others admire, whether they be lighteyed or dark.”

-Kaladin and Dalinar

One of those times when Kaladin was extra brooding and Dalinar was, as always, brilliant. 

“I say that there is no role for women—there is, instead, a role for each woman, and she must make it for herself. For some, it will be the role of scholar; for others, it will be the role of wife. For others, it will be both. For yet others, it will be neither.”

-Jasnah

Kaladin frowned. “Wait. Are you wearing cologne? In prison?”

“Well, there was no need to be barbaric, just because I was incarcerated.”

“Storms, you’re spoiled,” Kaladin said, smiling.

“I’m refined, you insolent farmer,” Adolin said. Then he grinned. “Besides, I’ll have you know that I had to use cold water for my baths while here.”

“Poor boy.”

“I know.” Adolin hesitated, then held out a hand.

This may be my favorite scene in the whole book. I so wanted Adolin and Kaladin to get along, and finally this. I think this is the first light(ish) conversation they have ever had. And while, they may not be BFFs, they have genuine respect for each other.

“I will protect even those I hate,” Kaladin whispered through bloody lips. “So long as it is right.”

-Kaladin speaking the third Ideal of the Windrunners

The Knights Radiant,” Kaladin said softly, “have returned.”

Boom. *mic drop*

“When you take the princedom, son,” Dalinar said, “don’t let them corrupt you. Don’t play their games. Lead. Don’t follow.”

“Father!” Adolin said, his eyes focusing.

Dalinar stood up. Adolin lurched over onto all fours and tried to get to his feet, but the assassin had broken one of Adolin’s greaves, which made it almost impossible to rise. The boy slipped back into the pooling water.

“You’ve been taught well, Adolin,” Dalinar said, eyes on that assassin. “You’re a better man than I am. I was always a tyrant who had to learn to be something else. But you, you’ve been a good man from the start. Lead them, Adolin. Unite them.”

I have always thought (or at least hoped) that Adolin was more than the playboy prince that most people think he was.

This was when Dalinar thought he was saying goodbye, and he had enough faith in Adolin to confidently think he was ready to lead in his place.

“I will unite instead of divide. I will bring men together.”

-Dalinar speaking the second Ideal of the Bondsmiths

***

I have been reading the weekly 3-chapter of the next book, Oathbringer, which is coming out next month. And now I am amending my previous statement:

I dream of a world where Dalinar is our leader, Kadalin, our protector, and Adolin, our prince and my husband. 😍😜

November 14th can’t come fast nor soon enough.

way of kings

this book. best book i have read by far, and i have read it three times. maybe a bit too idealistic, but i dream of a world where Dalinar Kholin is our leader and Kaladin, our protector.

here are a few quotes from The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.....

"Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination."

-the first ideal of the Knights Radiant

 "Sometimes the prize is not worth the costs. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself."

-Dalinar

"A man's emotion are what defines him. Control is the hallmark of true strength. To lack feeling is to be dead, but to act on every feeling is to be a child."

-Dalinar

"Bitterness is repaid more often than kindness."

-Kaladin

"...he’s not the first man I’ve known who will face battle without fear, yet cower in terror about knives in the shadows. The hallmark of insecurity is bravado."

-Dalinar

"Life before death. The Radiant seeks to defend life, always. He never kills unnecessarily, and never risks his own life for frivolous reasons. Living is harder than dying. The Radiant’s duty is to live.

Strength before weakness. All men are weak at some time in their lives. The Radiant protects those who are weak, and uses his strength for others. Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service.

Journey before destination. There are always several ways to achieve a goal. Failure is preferable to winning through unjust means. Protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one. In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished."

-Teft explaining the ideals to Kaladin

"Somebody has to start, son. Somebody has to step forward and do what is right, because it is right. If nobody starts, then others cannot follow."

-Lirin to Kaladin

"I will protect those who cannot protect themselves."

-Kaladin (the second Ideal of the Windrunners)

And a few from my favorite chapter, Chapter 69: Justice. I could read this book over and over just to finally get to this moment. It is actually not the final chapter, but it is the beginning of Dalinar's journey to fulfilling his purpose.

"“What is a man’s life worth?” Dalinar asked softly.

“The slavemasters say one is worth about two emerald broams,” Kaladin said, frowning.

“And what do you say?”

“A life is priceless,” he said immediately, quoting his father.

Dalinar smiled, wrinkle lines extending from the corners of his eyes. “Coincidentally, that is the exact value of a Shardblade. So today, you and your men sacrificed to buy me twenty-six hundred priceless lives. And all I had to repay you with was a single priceless sword. I call that a bargain.”"

-Dalinar and Kaladin

(That moment when Dalinar proves to Kaladin that not everyone in power are corrupt, like Kaladin has experienced all his life.)

"We’re going to win this war, and we’re going to turn Alethkar into a place that men will envy again. Not because of our military prowess, but because people here are safe and because justice reigns."

-Dalinar

(Something our current world leaders should learn from, don't you think?)

"Most everything was still wrong. He was still furious at Sadeas, pained by the loss of so many of his men, confused at what to do with Navani, dumbfounded by his visions, and daunted by the idea of bringing the warcamps to unity.

But at least now he had something to work with."

-Dalinar

(His final thoughts in this chapter. If he was a listener/parshendi, he'd be thinking this to Resolve.)

magpakailanman

noon ika'y isang pangarap lamang,

di inakalang ako ay nararapat para sa iyo.

di ka maihahambing sa kahit anong bagay dito sa mundo.

ikaw lamang ang ninanais kong makasama magpakailanman.

#buwanngwika #panigA 😂😂😂

the phoenix lament

And he knew, without knowing how he knew it, that the phoenix had gone, had left Hogwarts for good, just as Dumbledore had left the school, had left the world... had left Harry.
-from The Phoenix Lament, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

12 years after I have first read it and re-reading this chapter still makes me cry buckets.

I could hold on for a hundred years
When all else is gone
I would still be here
In a memory of things yet unseen
I'd remember all that we've never been
And I cannot wait to see
What life has in store for me

In another lifetime
It would be forever
In another world
Where you and I
Could be together
In another set of chances
I'd take the ones I've missed
And make you mine
If only for a time
My life would matter
In another life

And I'd stay as strong and I'd stay as true
And you'd have forever now to think it through
Coz I do believe what wasn't meant to be
Wasn't meant for now and
Someday you'll see
In a place and time we never knew
I'll be standing there waiting for you

You would be mine
But until that time is now
I'd be holding on somehow

But until that time
I'll be holding onto forever
Until another life


- In another lifetime by Gary Valenciano