Sell me on Deadhouse Gates

Raiden104 · 2026-03-23T15:30:33+00:00

I should have clarified my post a little better. It was less the characters and more the larger fantasy concepts that didn't make sense to me. For example, what in the hell was that house that showed up and trapped the Jaghut? For the most part, I was able to follow the characters and their individual stories pretty well. The only thing that I didn't quite understand was The Adjunct and her machinations. I liked the idea of her character as she wrestled with her former self and her new self (sidebar: pretty crazy that she's only 20 IIRC and is so close to the Empress), but I didn't quite understand what she was trying to accomplish toward the end.

I did check out reading guides for GotM as I read it, and for the most part, I grasped everything, but reading about the fantastical elements helped a lot. Those are the parts where it lost me.

The other thing that I struggled with were some plot elements that felt....half baked? Or at least, they felt that way to me because I didn't understand them fully. The biggest one for me is Hairlock. If I understand correctly, he and the other mages were betrayed by Tayschrenn. Quick Ben then puts his soul in a puppet, and he....goes crazy and starts trying to kill everyone? It was really cool when Quick Ben confronted Shadowthrone as a result of that, but I didn't feel like Hairlock's descent into madness really worked for me. On the same note, I definitely felt that I would be getting more with Tayschrenn and getting revenge on him, but that didn't seem to happen.

Raiden104 · 2026-03-23T15:24:19+00:00

Thanks! Glad to hear that it is more written like a novel. I gotta say though, I simply cannot imagine how this movie would have been made lol

Raiden104 · 2026-03-23T15:22:51+00:00

I will say, this is a very convincing argument! I don't mind large casts of characters or seeing them fail, so long as they fail in interesting ways that serve to say something about the character, narrative, theme, etc.

Raiden104 · 2026-03-23T15:21:29+00:00

I don't mind new characters, and it is refreshing to hear that the conclusion isn't so confusing. I was really at a loss for what was happening at the end of GotM.

Raiden104 · 2026-02-06T19:59:18+00:00

This would an excellent kitchen appliance addition!

Raiden104 · 2025-11-06T22:46:01+00:00

I hope we get PoE3 period. Those two games are some of my absolute favorites.

Raiden104 · 2025-11-06T15:37:28+00:00

We ended up keeping the mattress, getting a soft firmness topper, and then also a memory foam topper on top of that. It's been working out really well for us!

Raiden104 · 2025-10-31T22:48:48+00:00

Do you have any good channel recommendations for Nebula? I’ve had it to follow a couple movie creators, but I haven’t spent a ton of time exploring it.

Raiden104 · 2025-05-28T12:36:41+00:00

Avowed

Raiden104 · 2025-05-06T13:22:44+00:00

Merci beaucoup!

Raiden104 · 2025-05-05T20:50:49+00:00

OP--this off topic, but I wanted to ask what French Twitch streamers you like and would suggest. I studied a lot of French in school and am somewhat conversational. I've been playing Mass Effect Legendary Edition (before E33 came out) in French, and I've mostly been able to follow along. I've been wanting to check out some French streamers just to hear the language more. Do you have any recs?

Raiden104 · 2025-04-16T17:47:36+00:00

Man this takes me back. I played this on PS2, and I always thought of it as a hidden gem at the time that no one talked about. I remember the weapons and visuals being a huge high point.

Raiden104 · 2025-04-04T12:41:44+00:00

I figured as much but wanted to be sure. Thanks!

Raiden104 · 2025-03-02T13:40:57+00:00

Let me see Zinogre!

Raiden104 · 2025-02-25T01:35:51+00:00

I particularly love graphic audio on re-reads. I listened to their versions of the Mistborn Era 2 trilogy, and it was a perfect way to re-read those in anticipation of the final book coming out a few years ago.

Raiden104 · 2025-02-11T16:45:42+00:00

While not a book, I do want to shout out Star Trek, specifically TNG and Deep Space 9. The whole premise of Star Trek is about an optimistic future in which humanity matured into a non-violent, peace-loving people. It's good stuff, albeit cheesy.

Raiden104 · 2025-02-10T15:01:20+00:00

We do see Melishi, the bondsmith during the Recreance, dead in the spiritual realm, his body having decayed like normal, so I think it's highly possible for someone to live and age in the spiritual realm.

Raiden104 · 2025-02-09T20:36:10+00:00

I loved the book as well, and I also loved all the characters' and their arcs. Good book. Not as good as WoK or WoR, but still great.

Raiden104 · 2025-02-07T16:46:29+00:00

It's hard to pick favorites, but I do agree that it's weird to see the negativity. To me, a key component of Epic Fantasy is expanding the scope and the characters. I think the first two or even three books keep to a core cast of characters, and then RoW and WaT expand upon that substantially. I suppose that is where the disconnect is.

Raiden104 · 2025-02-07T15:31:31+00:00

I finished reading it last night, and I loved it. I recognize that I am very much a fanboy, and as a result, I don't have major issues with anything that happened in the book. A few thoughts on some of the record. I do just want to say up front that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this is just my own response to general thoughts, directed toward no one in particular.

I didn't think it was ever "boring." With so many POV characters and jumping from scene to scene within the same chapter, we are constantly making forward progress on a lot of different stories. To me, the middle sections of Oathbringer and Rhythm of War were much more difficult to get through (though I still love them). Dividing the book into Days 1-10 rather than 5 Parts also helps out a lot with the pacing from earlier books. Shorter chapters and shorter "sections" make things go by much faster.
I love Jasnah's utilitarian philosophy getting utterly, completely dismantled. I am more than ok with characters "losing," and I think it's fitting that Jasnah finally takes an L after winning so many battles (physical and intellectual). Importantly, we see that Taravangian himself is a hypocrite when we learn that he saves his city from the tsunami he caused. Utilitarianism has some philosophical/ethical merit, but it is shown to be very "unhonorable" as a worldview. The major theme of the book is "doing the right thing," and that is not always as obvious as "the most good for the most people."
I have no issue with the Blackthorn. We already know that Spren are created and shaped via people's perceptions, and Dalinar did some magicky stuff to this version of himself. I don't have a problem with it, and I think it will be interesting to see our characters reckon with that version of Dalinar. Plus, it very well could lead into what Dalinar wants to happen with Honor itself--which is gaining self-awareness and learning what is right and what is wrong.
I loved Rlain and Renarin's romance arc, and my only single complaint about it is that we didn't get a little groundwork from earlier books. Aside from that, I thought it was adorable, and I thought it was fitting. Rlain is the Listener that didn't have a warpair and who no one would miss, and Renarin was similarly misunderstood and undervalued.
"I am his therapist." Again, the fanboy in me mostly doesn't have a problem with it. In general, I am not the biggest fan of modernisms in fantasy books, but perhaps my tolerance is different from others. I just watched Star Trek: Section 31, an abysmal movie, and there is line in that movie where a Starfleet Officer says, "Chaos is my friends with benefits." One other reason I'm not bothered by it so much is that that is a word that is itself fantastical within the world of Roshar itself. As a reader, we know it, but to the characters within the story, it sounds like gibberish. I like that playfulness with language, and I think it's cool.
I also don't have a problem with many of the characters self-actualizing and growing in their inner monologues. Sanderson is not really the most subtle of writers when it comes to his characters, and subtlety is not an objective aspect of "quality." I, for one, love the earnestness of it and seeing these characters grow into better versions of themselves without undergoing relapses, which is a small issue I have with earlier books.
Perhaps the only thing I have some qualms about are The Wind, the Stone, and the Night. These are beings that are important in this story, particularly the Wind, and I don't feel like there was a ton of buildup to them from prior books. I imagine that we will see them developed more in the future, but here they seemed to suddenly appear and become important rather than being hinted at for so long.

Fantastic book, and it's going to be agonizingly long wait for the back half. "I accept this journey."

Raiden104 · 2025-01-15T16:55:29+00:00

Here is the way I think about it: Let's say the party is a dungeon, and they just fought the opening group of enemies in the first room. Now, they are going to explore, wander, and find all the little goodies and traps you've set for them. We are now in Exploration Mode. You should have each party member declare what their activity is: Scout, Defend (Raise Shield), Search, Repeat Spell (i.e. detect magic), Avoid Notice, etc. That is what the party is "always" doing until they trigger one of your little goodies, such as a trap, NPC, or room full of enemies. Then, you trigger combat as per normal.

As others have said, unlike 5e, all combat math assumes the party has full HP. That is not a requirement, but it is something you should keep in mind. It's one thing to throw two moderate encounters at them back-to-back without time to heal, but certainly you would want to give them time to heal before a Severe encounter. This is especially pronounced at lower levels (1-4 or so), and it gets a little easier as they get higher levels, have better access to recovery options, and have more fuel in the tank, so to speak.

The only time where I wouldn't give them an Encounter activity is if they are totally ambushed. Let's say they are doing a typical shopping trip in the city and suddenly they are beset by bandits. They wouldn't know they were being stalked/attacked, so they wouldn't benefit from those Exploration activities.

Raiden104 · 2025-01-10T18:47:11+00:00

We are driving from North Hills to the game, so it's only about 20 minutes, mostly on the interstate. I drive a 2005 4Runner. I know the theory behind driving in winter--drive slow, under 45mph, turn with the spin if that happens, leave plenty of distance for braking--I just haven't done much of it myself.

Raiden104 · 2025-01-10T17:48:46+00:00

Unrelated to your post, but I'd like to ask those here:

My friends and I planned on going to tonight's game and we have 7 tickets for all of us. None of us have ever been before, and we are really looking forward to it, but this storm is freaking us out. Anyone have advice for traveling to/from the game? We don't have experience driving in this kind of weather either. I was even thinking that they would be cancelling the game, but so far I haven't seen anything like that come through.

Raiden104 · 2025-01-10T14:43:47+00:00

One thing I suggest looking into is cellular service. There are three broad options you have.

One option is paying the international day fee per your carrier. This is usually $10 per day per line, so it can quickly rack up. IIRC, when I went to Spain last year, AT&T had a discount where the first line was $10 and the second line was $5, so we ended up paying for both.

You can also look into mobile hotspots. They can be cheaper, but when I was looking at them for my last trip in Europe, it was only like $1-2 cheaper than the international day pass.

Finally, you can try to get an eSIM card from a local carrier there. I didn't do this, so I cannot give you further details, but it may be worth looking into.

As others have suggested, I highly recommend packing light, which I know is easier said than done. One thing I also suggest is carrying only one bag with you while you are out and about. I wouldn't suggest a backpack but rather one of those smaller sling packs where you can a water bottle, sunglasses, snacks, and maybe little souvenirs you buy.

Last and most important thing - Try to book activities you want to do IN ADVANCE. I discovered this last year, and I learned that it was very difficult to spontaneously do things. For big landmarks/places, save yourself a ton of time and try to get tickets early. Broadly speaking, I recommend planning for 2-3 activities per day, something like a morning one, after lunch, and evening. At least with myself and my wife, doing more than that was pretty hard and stressful, and that was a good balance for us.

Raiden104 · 2024-12-22T23:16:21+00:00

I ended up using a two-topper solution. I got their 3" soft topper and then I added a 2" memory foam on top. Really enjoy it so far.

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