The Sanderlanche Podcast

On the Sanderlanche Podcast we've been reading Brandon Sanderon's books for the first time and talking about them, in detail, a few chapters at a time. The problem is as we progress through his epic series The Stormlight Archive, that means it's been quite a while since we read some of these books. We started The Way of Kings in October of 2023. So, thanks to a listener's suggestion, we decided to do a review episode to hit some key points before we move into Rhythm of War, and the result is this - Stormlight Jeopardy in 3 rounds - one for each of the Stormlight books we've read so far. Whether you're already a listener to the podcast or you just enjoy The Stormlight Archive and want to play along, join us for this very special edition of The Sanderlanche Podcast! Podcast website: https://www.thesanderlanche.com/ Music by Miracle of Sound: https://www.miracleofsound.net/ Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/thesanderlanche Email us: thesanderlanche@gmail.com

Jaymee couldn't make it for the wrap-up, but we finished Dawnshard this week, and it was a fun Sanderlanche for this novella. So much happens at the end, but the resolution seems to have been pretty satisfying for the crew.   Music by: https://www.miracleofsound.net/

2/3 of the way through, and things are really heating up. The characters have seen through the tricks and are beginning to dig into the truth of Amia. Unfortunately that's exactly what The Gods Who Sleep Not did NOT want. So it's time for a giant monster attack. The podcast crew is really enjoying this one.

We reach the halfway point of this novella, and the team is actually really vibing with a Stormlight story that answers questions without making you wait a thousand pages. Seems like we're really feeling good as we ease back into Roshar after our break on Lumar. 

We are starting in on a new novella this week. It's time for Dawnshard. What will we learn about the mysterious objects for which the story is named? Well, not much this week - that's for sure. Still, some very interesting stuff as we seem to be setting up a story centered on Rysn and Lopen, an unlikely but highly entertaining pairing.

We've reached the end of another one, and what a trip this one was. Not to mention the wild Sanderlanche. In this episode we finally meet the Sorceress, find Charlie, and see Hoid's most dynamic ensemble yet. You really couldn't ask for much more. See how the crew feels about wrapping their first Secret Project on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

Jaymee is back for our second-to-last episode of Tress. There are some pretty wild reveals in this one. Successful negotiations, presents for the crew, and sudden but inevitable betrayal! But it's the predigments that really go nuts this week. There are some big shots being taken, and some of them might even land, who knows? Me. I know. Probably most of you do as well, but I'm allowed a little drama!

Jaymee is out again, which is a darn shame because her prediction paid off! Things have begun to kick off for Tress and co. There's an attempted mutiny and then a foiling of said attempted mutiny and then there's ... what was it again? Oh, right, a huge freaking dragon. So, yeah, that's a thing. 

Jaymee missed this one, and that's a shame because like me she's usually a big fan of Cosmere Science! We're finally back in Tress of the Emerald Sea. We get more details about how spore technology works, and Tress begins to science the heck out of this stuff, coming up with some ingenious ideas of her own. 

Sorry, everyone, things went badly at the last minute, and we were unable to record the episode we had planned continuing with Tress of the Emerald Sea. So instead I've got a second week of special episodes for you. This time Joe and I are talking about one-star reviews of our most-recently-completed-book, Oathbringer. And then, as an extra treat, I've got something else as well. Hope you all enjoy!

This week I've got three guests who came on to talk about Dragonsteel Nexus. There's lots of interesting information about what the convention is like. Great for anyone who's thinking about going, anyone who has gone, and anyone who just wants to know more about the convention. Cassie, Jerika, and Sam each bring an interesting perspective as three people who attended DSNX25, though each with a very different experience of the convention. It really highlights just how much there is to do. Also several links based on this week's discussions:   The Sanderson Collector's Guild Discord server: https://discord.gg/4ScEN47wbR The Worldswappers website (including link to Discord server): https://worldswappers.com/ Cassie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frugal.fantasy/ Jerika's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmere.carmen/  

In this week's chapters things go really well for Tress! Her plans work out perfectly to get everyone on the ship going where she wants to go ... and then she realizes how that's really not a good thing for her. Yay? Boo? Something like that. Also some interesting discussion of the audiobook version which sounds frankly hilarious. 

Jaymee didn't make this one, but we've got some real worldbuilding going on this week. Deepening the characters, the mysteries of spores and seas, not to mention the origins of Huck and the motivations of Captain Crow. Until now it's been a bit of a breakneck adventure story. We've slowed down long enough to learn some stuff about the world around us, and really that's some of my favorite parts. How about you?

Joe is out this week, but we're getting to know the crew of the Crow's Song as Tress decides to stay aboard the pirate ship to help the crew and possibly herself along the way. It may be dangerous. It may even be a terrible mistake, but she IS getting her own private room out of the deal. So I guess it can't be all bad.

Our second episode of Tress, and things are really moving quickly. It turns out that the ship she worked so hard to board isn't a great place for her, but that's ok because it sinks quite quickly, and she is forced to join up with a pirate crew. Who saw that coming? 

We're starting a new book this week! After making these folks sit around with these lovely Dragonsteel versions of the secret projects on their shelves for years now, it's finally time to crack one open. We get to meet Tress and see our reluctant heroine set off on her adventure to save her loquacious love on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

We have completely finished Oathbringer! That's 3 ginormous Stormlight books in the can. It is kind of crazy how long we've been on Roshar now. We're going to head elsewhere for a little break with Tress starting next week, but in the meantime we had a little fun by taking the radiant order quiz on Brandon's website. If you want to take it along with us, here is the link: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/pages/official-knights-radiant-order-quiz And then, while I'm linking things, here is the episode of Cosmere Chronicles that I did a guest appearance on. So enjoy that as well! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/83-the-way-of-kings-chapters-26-28-ft-data/id1732938119?i=1000746701051

The final two numbered chapters of the book, and things are wrapping up, leaving our crew with overall very positive feelings and, of course, lots of questions. 

Joe is gone, and we read exactly one chapter this week, but oh my what a chapter. The Battle of Thaylen City plays out in The Spear That Wouldn't Break, and pretty much everyone gets a chance to shine (some more literally than others). After this there's only a bit more left to finally wrap up book 3 of the Stormlight Archive. It's very exciting!

The Battle of Thaylen City is really taking some unexpected turns this week, and things are looking quite grim for most of the chapters. There's a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, though, and it's one of the most emotional moments in the entire series. See how the crew handles it on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

We're back from our break, and it's time to dive into Part 5. It's ... a lot. The Sanderlanche is clearly kicking off as things begin to move out of control very quickly. In addition to the chapters we touch on a few other things including Dac's upcoming Cosmere RPG game and some of what I saw at Dragonsteel Nexus.    For those interested, you can find the details on the Shards of Creation game we talk about here: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/451772/shards-of-creation

This will be our last episode for a while. December is just going to be too chaotic to get much recording in. So we're taking a 4 week break after this. Jaymee couldn't make it for this one, but we got to the end of Part 4, which is a downer, for real. Some of the interludes are quite interesting though!

We develop a few interesting theories here, but for the most part these are some really front-loaded chapters that seem to be setting us up for the finale as we approach the end of Part 4 of the book. So it's tough to get much solid theorizing done. Some top notch digressions in this one, though, as we go down a couple of classic rabbit holes. 

Joe is out this week, but we've got some interesting chapters. Nothing with the Shadesmar crew, which has Dac and Jaymee a little disappointed, but a lot of Dalinar, which I love. So I guess at least one of us wins. Though the Navani perspective is also a very popular one. 

We arrive at Celebrant, and the crew is excited to get some real details of a spren city. Then we leave almost immediately. I mean, there's a lot of meat in that "almost." Some very cool stuff shows up, but the newbies are still a bit disappointed. Meanwhile Dalinar is ... not having a good time, and no one is thrilled about that. Kaladin being depressed is par for the course at this point, but when our rock Dalinar starts to crumble, it's a bit tough.

Things really start to get interesting in Shadesmar while back in the physical realm things are also coming together, everything except Dalinar who has begun to fall apart. The crew has some interesting ideas this week, but predictions are becoming more difficult the further we move into the Stormlight Archive.

Shadesmar is not quite yet everything we were hoping for, but the story makes up for that with some terrific Szeth stuff in this section of chapters. We're all happy to see everyone's favorite Shin back on the scene, though what his relationship with his new sword means is still anyone's guess. 

5 chapters and 5 interludes on this one. So a fair amount of text we're covering. The Mem and Sheler interludes in particular were big hits with the newbies. Meanwhile Adolin continues to impress despite being completely unprepared for what's going on. When the pressure is on, the real man shows through. Check it out on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

This episode starts out hot and goes from there. These were some significant chapters, and we're not even to the end of Part 3 yet. There's battle, death, not one, not two, but three unmade. Did I mention death? Yeah, there's a lot of that. It's intense. Find out how our crew is dealing with it all on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche.

Jaymee is out again, but things are starting to heat up as Kaladin helps defend the walls and Shallan makes it into the Revel. 

Jaymee is out this week, which is a shame because there's a pretty big moment in the flashbacks this time. We've all been waiting for this one. 

It's almost like a tease with these Dalinar flashbacks at this point. We know something is going to happen, but when?! Meanwhile, Kal is making friends with lighteyes? What is Roshare coming to? 

We meet an unexpected friend in Kholinar, to mixed reactions from our crew. And during email time another Moash discussion with a novel take on the debate. 

The whole crew is back this week for our arrival at Kholinar. It was quite the event, and there are thoughts. Despite several interesting revelations, Dalinar's chapter almost seems like an afterthought with how interesting our crew is finding the other story on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

Jaymee is out again, but we've got some very interesting new stories happening in the interludes here. The one about Aimia in particular really got the crew's interest. They're wishing Brandon would write a whole short story dealing with that mystery. If only.

We wrap up part 2 of Oathbringer with some interesting things to discuss, including the authors behind the letters in the epigraphs. Find out who sent them on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

It's Dac's turn to be out this week, which is a shame because he missed out on some corking Moash perspectives. Ah well. 

Joe is out again this week, and I'm sorry because for some reason, Dac's audio ended up being a bit fuzzy in places. It didn't sound like that when we recorded, but the file did. Cleaned it up as best I could. Beyond that, a bit of interesting info popping up through these chapters, but for the most part they seemed like kind of positioning chapters, setting the stage for what's coming next. Hear what Dac and Jaymee thought about them on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

Basically, some of our characters are really going through it this week. Shallan has ... well, Shallan problems. Like some of these things it's hard to imagine anyone but Shallan having to deal with. On the other hand, Teft has some really serious stuff happening, and the saddest part is, it's some very real stuff he's dealing with. And then there's Dalinar who has to deal with Lift, and we all know how tough that can be. See what the crew has to say about the tribulations on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

Joe is out again this week, but we've got some big lore dumps to go over. When Brandon starts giving answers, he doesn't do it halfway. It's awesome! Also, here's the Worldswappers website I mention during the wrap-up. Check it out if you're going to DSNX25 and want to participate: https://worldswappers.com/

We are 4 once again, and just in time for a really interesting flashback and some killer character stuff on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

Some big things happening as we go from the end of part 1 to the beginning of part 2, but also, our first batch of interludes. I'm afraid we're going to be killing a certain hope that our crew has been cherishing since the end of the last book.

We come face-to-face with one of the Unmade, and it's ... a trip. Joe's still on hiatus, but the rest of the crew has thoughts.

Joe is absent for a bit, but we and the characters are learning some interesting stuff. Shallan's reaction to who really killed her brother? Unexpected but maybe not really? And young Dalinar seems to actually have some character development? Will wonders never cease. 

This may be the last time for a while that we have the whole crew for the episode. So enjoy! It's time for Veil's big night on the town. 

Jaymee was sick this week, but we've got one of my personal favorite Dalinar flashbacks. The others ... well, there's not a lot of love for young Dalinar, but who can blame them, really?

Joe is back, but we lost Jaymee this week. Crazy. Anyway, this week features wrestling, politics, and swordsmanship, but absolutely NO MATING! 

The good, the bad, and the omg no all mixed on this week's Sanderlanche. Stay tuned through the end for a special Joe appearance.

Joe is gone this week, but we've got a couple of interesting chapters here and some top tier digressions. 

Kaladin's visit home takes on a very different tone from last time, and Dalinar has a meeting of his inner circle which is interrupted by yet another murder. Some interesting tidbits in this one for sure. Who killed this guy, and why did they stage it exactly like the previous murder? Find out the crew's theories on this week's episode of The Sanderlanche!

The whole crew is back, and Kaladin is back as well. He's home, and things are ... well, it's Hearthstone.