Six Degrees: From Orlando to Elend

We are back with another round of Six Degrees, the game that can take you anywhere without leaving the comfort of your home! A few quick announcements. Yesterday, I had the privilege of guest posting about three of my favorite things in a story over at Heidi's blog. You should check it out. Heidi is looking for more people to write "Three Things" posts, so if you love stories and can come up with three things you love about stories (they don't have to be your top or absolute favorite things), then you're eligible to write up a post for her!Also, today is the last day you can sign up to be part of the Yorien's Hand cover reveal. Details HERE. And even if you can't participate, please make sure you check back here on Thursday to see the new cover!Okay, I think that's all I have in terms of business. On to the game. If you are curious about what Six Degrees of Kool Books is or how you can participate, you can visit the Six Degrees Home Page for more information, as well as see the compilation of books we've accrued through the game thus far.Last week, DJ took us to the wonderful world of Shakespearian comedy in the form of the play As You Like It. One of the characters, Orlando, he described as, "handsome, physically strong nobleman who, while he is not as clever as his beloved Rosalind, is certainly a worthy enough gentleman to woo her."This made me think of a similar character in a book I just finished: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (see? I am making a dent in my TBR pile). Elend Venture is a nobleman, son of the wealthiest, most well-positioned man in the Central Dominance. He is handsome and gentlemanly, studious and kind, but he is definitely not as charismatic as Vin, the young woman he meets at a ball under the alias of Valette Renoux. Vin is a street thief, small for her size, and terribly paranoid. She has had a very hard life and has taken one lesson to heart: everyone will betray me eventually. But when she meets the mysterious and enigmatic Kelsier - a man who defies everything she believes in - and does it with heartfelt laughter, another anomaly in Vin's cold, fearful little world - Vin begins to see that there may be another way to live. Trust may be possible. Friends may be a reality in her future.Joining Kelsier are his brother, the stoic and disapproving Marsh, a man who is willing to do anything to see that their mission to overthrow the Final Empire succeeds. Then there is the burly Hammond, who is a soldier to the core, but also a philosopher, who enjoys endless games of mental gymnastics. Breeze is a man who appears to care for nothing and no one but himself, and yet is extremely loyal to his friends, despite being willing to manipulate them slightly in order to make his own life easier. And at the center of it all, Kelsier is the one they orbit around. His mad, ludicrous plan to turn a band of thieves and tricksters into saviors of the downtrodden and oppressed may seem far-fetched, but there is just enough yearning for justice in each of their hearts to make them stay and see if such a thing could truly be possible.I'm planning to write an actual review about this one in the near future, so I'll give you my thoughts and opinions on the story later. For now, I leave you with this list of characters.