That brings me to the most important point: the foreshadowing concerning Shara was dismal, one might say non-existent, and its relevance to the story was minimal.
We started getting details about it in the same book where Demandred was introduced. It was obvious that he was being established as a grudge/rival enemy for the end. Likewise, Shara being described by Graendal, as a place of mystery and deception, run by a channeling class, just seemed ripe for a Forsaken takeover, and Sammael's dismissal of the place as a red herring seemed itself to be a red herring. I didn't theorize much about Demandred's actions or power base ahead of time, because I didn't make any connection, and also it seemed like he was going to pull something out of nowhere. In my mind, Shara was too obvious and neat.
It's certainly possible that RJ left instructions regarding Demandred and Shara, but it's also possible that he still hadn't made up his mind about what Demandred's master plan was supposed to be, since he had to ditch his original great idea. I think RJ was attached to Taimandred! Maybe he wanted Shara to come out of nowhere in the end, just to spice things up, but he should have been making notes on those plans all along, dropping small clues that would only become clear later. He did none of that.
It's a common trick in storytelling to introduce the surprise villain innocuously early on and then never mention them again until the reveal. If RJ was really trying to surprise people and avoid being obvious, I think he'd be more likely to go that route, rather than leaving such clues. On the other hand, I did say the Shara thing was too neat and too obvious, which is right about Sanderson's metier, so maybe it did come from him.
I wondered back then, about books with apparently less content, that took longer to come out.
"Sometimes unhinged, sometimes unfair, always entertaining"
- The Crownless
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesteron
Deus Vult!
