Lightbringer Read-Along discussion

*Spoiler Warning*

Finished THE BLOOD MIRROR? What did you think? Let's hear those fan theories and predictions for the next and final book!

I loved the book. I don't want to get too in-depth, even if spoiler discussions start to abound here, eventually, because it was just released on Tuesday.

As anyone who has made it through at least chapter 19 knows, there is a MAJOR plot twist that changes everything we know about the story. It's pretty early in the book, but it is the biggest bombshell, in my opinion. More major revelations come along that have serious implications for the series, but that one is the big one.

The thing is, that kind of plot twist retroactively changes the implications of a TON of scenes in a series already three books long before this volume. My first reaction, in my disbelief, was that it had to somehow be a cheat. Could it really be consistent with the rest of the series? But, yes, it is really is. I mean, it even explains the meaning of the title of the first book.

Major plot twists aside, I really thought the character interactions come alive in this book, better than in previous volumes. I'm a very big fan of the character work. I've already seen a few complaints about the Kip/Tisis relationship, and I really think that any such gripes are totally unfounded. That part of the story was very well done.

The only thing that concerns me is that we didn't learn all that much about what is really going on with the way the magic works and all of the behind-the-scenes stuff that has been hinted at throughout the series. I felt that the end of Night Angel suffered from trying to stuff too much mythology into one volume, and I would hate for the same to happen with Lightbringer. The series is too good to rush an ending.

Daniel wrote: "As anyone who has made it through at least chapter 19 knows, there is a MAJOR plot twist that changes everything we know about the story. It's pretty early in the book, but it is the biggest bombshell, in my opinion."

Yes, I agree. Chapter 19 was a big plot twist, but nothing near what happened in Chapter 45, in my opinion. I won't go to far into it to avoid any spoilers, but I think this changes way more about the other books than the chapter 19 twist has. The behavior of a couple characters makes more sense, the weird link with the prison breaks makes sense and a whole lot of Gavin/Dazen makes a lot more sense. Plus, I had expected the chapter 19 twist (though not all of it's implications). The chapter 45 twist however, I never saw coming.

See, that one didn't hit me as hard because after the first revelation, I was expecting (view spoiler)[that anything at all about what Gavin/Dazen believed his history to be could very easily be wrong. Finding out that Gavin had never been imprisoned and it was all in Dazen's mind didn't surprise me at all. (hide spoiler)]

Why are people hiding spoilers? :P

Quote: Daniel "Finding out that Gavin had never been imprisoned and it was all in Dazen's mind didn't surprise me at all"

WHAT?!?!?!? I didn't get that part... ok now i'm totally confused...

I must be an exceptionally gullible reader because I didn't see any of it coming, and I should have. There were plentiful clues.

But why does the order want Gavin killed with black luxin, while he's awake? Will-breaking to imprison?

I'm not sure what the plan is, there. The Blinding Knife shouldn't kill a black drafter, but The Old Man of the Desert did something to it (I think added the black seed crystal to it), so I don't know now how that will work.

It seems to me that the Order is probably lying about wanting to kill all magic once and for all. I think that their plan is to get Gavin to kill Orholam (which, I assume, will draw his/its power into the blade), and then kill him. They will then have the ability to use it to make whoever they want a drafter, and no one will naturally be able to draft, since the Order will then control all drafting ability.

Power corrupts and so on... I despair about waiting two years for these answers.

The Old Man did combine the Blinding Knife and the black seed crystal. And what are the odds that Orholam/the nexus of all magic is actually just the black bane?

I'm still really curious how the Blinding Knife is able to transfer its power, though. We know it can drain drafters, but it's still unclear how exactly it's able to create a new (non-black-drafting) Prism.

I never thought about it being the black bane. But the whole origin of Kip was astounding to me. Teia will play a major part in the outcome. She was told to kill Gavin so that makes it impossible for the blade to actually kill him. maybe it will steal his black drafting capabilities and to ensure he doesn't figure out how to reverse it he needs to die as far as the order is concerned. My question is since Kip can draft paryl and chi then does this mean he can possibly draft black and he might possibly be given the opportunity to become some op God like the superviolet girl liv especially if he sees that as the only way to kill the color prince and protect everyone? It's been a month so I don't think it's necessary to delete spoilers anymore btw.

If this is the black bane that has been added to the blinding knife then after being stabbed, Dazen will become the black god, right?

It's probably the white bane, not the black bane.

Same result

I just realized that my comment made very little sense in the context I posted it in. I was trying to say that I think that "Orholam" (or whatever the thing the Broken Eye has sent Gavin to kill is) is probably the white bane.

Ah, that's interesting! Yes, there must be white bane somewhere, and if it's blocked off somehow, it maybe explains why there aren't any white drafters.

My theory is, I think Kip will be able to draft all 11 colours. This will play a significant roll in destroying the banes and possibly changing Gavin's missions outcome...

this has been bugging me since i read it but I think everyone's wrong about the Gavin plot twist.
In the second book when the real 'Gavin' is trying to escape, he gets out of green because Marissa accidentally gives him a blue loaf instead of changing to green dye. in the blood mirror when Gavin(Dazen) is 'Remembering ' he thinks Gavin got out because he was smart enough to take blue with him (past hellstone) he remembers wrong and its impossible. or a plot inconsistency. The dead man was lying to him as he did about the white luxen. i don't know about the bullets but i suspect either Andros(because he did get angry when Gavin talked to him about it in the workshop) cleaned up the body or the real Gavin escaped then and is still alive somewhere.

I think that would be way too much to put in one book. We still have so much to reveal with the war and Kip and what have you. If there were two to three more books set to release then I could see that as a possibility. But great point.

What I want to know more about are the 200. And the 9. Also...has anyone else noticed that the game Nine Kings evokes images of the Nine Pagan kings from before Lucidinious.
I want to know more about what’s really going on with these gods and fallen angels.
And what exactly was up with the dead man in the black prison? I’m sure we all think he’s one of the immortals and he’s trapped there. But how? By whom?
And furthermore, where exactly is the story going in relation to Koios’s rebellion? What’s going to happen to Liv?
God, it’s already hard enough having to wait for the next book in the ASIOF series and now I have to wait for The Burning white too.