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The questions for this week's reading come from Lynn --
Please note that this post WILL contain spoilers.
1. Well, we finally got our long awaited view of the Lord Ruler, firstly just a brief glimpse during the executions and then during the fight with Kelsier. What do you now think about him and the myths surrounding him? And, given his strength do you think he can be beaten?
Well, we thought the Inquisitors couldn't be beaten but we just saw one killed so I don't think the Lord Ruler is invincible. However, it turns out that he's every bit as young and strong as the myths implied and I think that it's going to take something amazing to bring him down. I wouldn't be surprised if another prophecy is revealed soon.
2. We seemed to suffer a number of set backs to the plans this week. The army had already been all but destroyed and following a bit of a rethink/regroup/coming up with a Plan B things still have gone disastrously astray. What do you think the Crew will do now??
Oh, things have gone so incredibly wrong! The only thing that has gone right is that Elend has come after Vin -- which is not at all relevant to the plan. :) I have no idea what they will do now. I think it depends on if Vin steps up as a leader. The others already seemed to be deferring to her a bit and I think that if she gave them the right cause, they would willingly step up to support her.
3. What was your reaction to Kelsier’s response to finding Marsh dead? I can’t help feeling that there are going to be some serious economic repercussions to destroying the crystals – what sort of impact do you think this will have, not just on the nobles but on the skaa?
This was the moment when Kelsier truly had nothing else to lose. He thought he was at that point already but never realized that he wasn't alone--not yet--because he had his brother. But this was the moment that he was truly alone and I think it broke something in his mind. I think destroying the crystals was an amazing idea although the Lord Ruler still has stockpiles and he's not going to be willing to part with any of it now. I can see the collapse of the entire house system, which affects both nobles and the skaa.
4. Finally, each week we learn a little bit more of the Lord Ruler’s history. And each week it has a different impact. This week’s snippets had the same impact – I was really interested in the excerpt when he mentions that the Darkness is not as oppressive when higher up in the mountains – do you have any more ideas about the Darkness?
It seems like the Darkness should be related to the ash and brown plants but it was defeated so I'm not sure if the way the world is now is just the aftermath or if there's something else going on. We still know very little about the Darkness.
5. (I did have another query – but it might be too much??) I was wondering about Elend and Vin – they’ve also had their ups and downs this week but seem determined to work round them – can you see anything of a future for these two or is there too much history between the nobles and skaa and too much difference and prejudice between the two?
I can definitely see a future between Elend and Vin. They are young and are breaking free of those things they've always believed and I think they could be the Adam and Eve of a new generation. I see a lot of potential for them as long as Elend can deal with what is obviously Vin's destiny -- destroying the Lord Ruler.
Thinking only of revenge,
K
That's an interesting thought about Kelsier having nothing else to lose. I hadn't thought about it that way, but I bet you're right.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're loving this as much as I did!!!!
I hope Vin becomes the leader too. She listens and studies, and when she makes up her mind, her stubbornness carries her through.
ReplyDeleteShe also has that odd power of sensing through a coppercloud, so Smokers will not hide her enemies.
You are right, Kelsier didn't have anything else to lose. It would be a difficult realization and I can see why he really wanted to hurt the Lord Ruler. And I wonder how the nobles will react to this destruction.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh when I read: The only thing that has gone right is that Elend has come after Vin -- which is not at all relevant to the plan. The plan does seem to be a complete mess...I didn't think that Kelsier would die so early (if at all) in the series.
I'm interested to see if and how Vin steps up to be a leader. Certainly she won't have the same weaknesses and strengths of Kelsier, but she will have her own.
ReplyDeleteI also wonder if she's far enough in her training in the use of Allomancy to take on the Lord Ruler.
I'm wondering if maybe all the prophecies were wrong and Vin is supposed to be the hero, even though it's a thousand years after the fact. I'm curious as to why she can sense through a copper cloud and I don't know whether it's because she herself was special or because her father was who he was.
ReplyDeleteI think Vin will lead the crew now. She's come a long way and she's not afraid to stand up for herself - as her little speech to the crew proved! Plus she's a very strong Mistborn.
ReplyDeleteI also think she might be what the original prophecy pertained to and I can't help wondering if the LR knows this and that's why his inquisitors are looking for her.
The entrance of the Lord Ruler was pretty impressive - he only had a short time there and yet managed to prove that all the myths were true - he's still an utter bastard though and I can't wait for somebody (vin) to defeat him.
Lynn :D
Yes, with Kel out of the way, Vin is now the obvious choice to kill the Lord Ruler. I guess it depends on whether or not she can discover his weakness: I really hope so!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I agree that Kelsier had nothing left to lose.
ReplyDeleteIt had been suggested throughout that Kelsier was viewing Vin as the daughter he and Mare never had the chance to have.
I think that the death of Marsh certainly pushed things along for Kelsier, and he wanted some revenge then and there.. But remember ol' Kel's line of (paraphrased-ish): "Plots within plots and always another secret."
:)
They can be beaten, but it sure takes a strong person (in allomancy) to do it. That was quite the battle. Interesting how Sanderson built you up with a rush of adrenaline seeing Kelsier kill an Inquisitor only to be so quickly dispatched himself by the Lord Ruler. That chapter was very much like a roller coaster ride. Or perhaps like climbing a great mountain and being exhilarated, only to then fall off a cliff moments later.
ReplyDeleteI think Vin has to step up too, and I think she is ready in some areas and not in others. It is going to be a big step for her to have to take and I hope the crew continues to stay together as she is going to need their strengths to stay balanced.
I agree that the Deepness, or at the very least whatever was done to keep it at bay, has to have some relationship to the state of the world as we see it.
There is a lot of potential for Elend and Vin. But given the amount of story we have left to read (with two more novels) there is also a lot of potential for disaster. :)
Amanda - Well, that was my thought at the time anyway. ;)
ReplyDeletenrlymrtl - True. She can do things that other Mistborns don't seem to be able to and she was an extremely fast study. There's got to be something extra special about her.
tbm - I was really surprised to have Kelsier die too. It seems like Vin could still use some mentoring but now he's gone. I wonder who else will step up ... maybe everyone!
nashvillebookworm - True. She's so different from Kelsier. It will be something if she EVER smiles.
bookswithout - It could be Vin. It seemed like the guy writing the diary was forcing himself into the role a little bit. I wish we knew more about the prophecy.
lynn - I hope so. I wouldn't want Vin to have to go off on her own again after all of her progress toward trusting and caring about others.
Sue - It has to happen. We can't have a bad guy win!
Naithin - I thought of that daughter angle too but when she asked him if he would ever leave he didn't say no. He seems to have kept a necessary distance from Vin for some reason (that I now know).
Carl - This story sure seems like it's going to have it's fair share of ups and downs and twists and turns. It's almost silly to keep guessing what is ahead. I think I've been almost universally wrong. :)