Timewaster's Guide Archive

All of the Elantrians alive when the chasm was created suffered the same affliction that newer ones did afterward.  Everything related to the Dor was affected.  The Dor was not tainted, nor was it weakened, but the basic symbol needed for it to interact with the world was changed.  Remember the first time Raoden used a glyph that worked?  The pressure that built up was enormous.

As for whether or not they would lose their coloring with distance, I would say the glow of their skin would certainly wane as they got further from elantris.  It would then be easy enough to disguise your skin and hair.  Also remember that Raoden was able to disguise himself completely even before he added the chasm line to Elantris itself.  It would seem that very little power is needed to affix a disguise.

Earongal:
I have to disagree with you.  Occam's Razor is fine, but all facts have to be put into account, and I feel you are missing a couple of things in this instance.  First, Brandon goes out of his way to describe Grump, making sure to include that, while he had the skin color of the Mubakanaki(??), he was not built like one. in fact, it is noted that none of the three strangers really fit in with any nationality the viewpoint character knows. Second, do you remember the epigraphs from HoA?  Brandon likes giving special characters a unique way of speaking so they can be identified more easily.  As for the tall grumpy blonde analogy, it works if your in Sweden, but if you were in China, there's a good bet it's the same guy, especially if he speaks in a unique pattern, and even more especially when the author goes out of his way to make the guy speak one of the four or five words of his native tongue that is known to the reader.

Please add a spoiler warning to your subject line.

Actually, it wouldn't be that random of a plot twist.  We know there is something about him that is special, RJ has confirmed as such.
Point 1) His appearance is constantly, constantly brought up in the story; noticeably more often than any other character except maybe Loial, which is probably why everyone thought he was Gaidal Cain reborn.
Point 2) He is absolutely obsessed with the Snakes and Foxes game, almost as if he wants Mat and Co. to be reminded that the Finns can't be beaten (either that, or he is a Moiraine sympathizer, and is trying to show Mat how to win, in his own weird way). 
Point 3) No matter what has happened, Olver has managed to stay with Mat.  He is never far from him for long. (this last point is a little weak, as several plot devices could explain this).  If you have time, take a second to re-read the first Mat   chapter in TGS again, then re-read the chapter when Mat meets the Eelfinn.  I'm not saying I am right, but if I am, it's not a random plot twist, it's a diabolically clever one.

While many of you make a great case, I will not cast my vote for the ultimate Superfan until I see a copy of the No Contact Order Brandon had to take out against you.  That's when you know you made it, baby. 

To answer some of these in no particular order:
The tower guard set up a blockade at the end of the bridge, which makes perfect sense as it is the one place where the opposing army can access the city. 

As for the bridge question; do we know whether or not the Island of Tar Valon is of a higher altitude than the main bank of the river?  It would make sense to build up the edges of the island to ensure no flooding occurred in the city itself, meaning that the bridge could arch upward but flatten out before reaching the city.  The increased elevation also increasing bow distance, and you must remember that a half mile in randland is 500 paces, which is the distance the two Rivers Bows reach on flat ground.  A regular bow would be effective from an elevated position  at that range.  As to your other bow question on Egwene's side; that seemed more a knee-jerk reaction by the soldiers. Even though the Aes Sedai did step out onto the bridge, she was most likely still out of range.

The Sitters being in two places at once does seem off, although I suppose the Sitters could have been allowed to Travel back to the Hall to make preparations for Egwene's arrival, while Egwene rode to the Tower to give them the time to prepare.

I may be completely off-base on most or all of these counts, but the lack of some key information makes it impossible to verify if these are, in fact, continuity errors, or just misunderstandings.

I highly doubt it was an error by Brandon.  Remember that everything Brandon did was scrutinized by RJ's widow (who was also his editor for every novel), and RJ's two assistants, who knew the story as well as RJ did, even if they couldn't actually write it themselves.  Also, remember that Rand's grip on reality is almost completely broken after the choking incident (trying to minimize spoilers), so his lack of rationale should be expected.

RJ's usual style was to fill out all of his books with useless description and make the read as long as protracted as possible, pretty sure that was to sell more books rather than for any other reason - but saying that the story line behind that was great and if you learned to skip paragraphs filled with useless description you could get a pretty good read.

Really?  You honestly think RJ and Tor couldn't have made as much, if not more, money by closing this series and writing outriggers?  Even a whole new series would have made huge money, just because the author of the WoT wrote them.  No, if anything this extended series has had a negative affect on revenue (just look at the number of people who stopped reading the series after book 5).  No, this wasn't about money, it was about an author who loved the story so much that he just had to tell us everything.

I've been a Sanderson fan for ages as his books are just immense. You start reading and at no point do you think "get on with it", its just good solid action/interest/plot right the way through, no filler.

Ages, huh?  His first novel was published 6 years ago.  Now, while I have become a huge BWS fan, and have read all his books, I find myself wanting more information about the worlds he creates.  I understand why he was writing small, but I am looking forward to his first Epic, and writing Wot will no doubt only make him better.


The Verin debate: I wonder if we aren't putting more stock into her reveal than we should?  Sure, it was incredibly heroic, but since the BA hunters already had a start, Verin's details simply catalyzed the process.  One argument I can certainly understand is that it pretty much destroyed the BA hunter plotline.  All those pages of scheming and meeting in the shadows for nothing.  Thinking about it a minute, it also shows that oaths, even taken on the oath rod, mean nothing if the person doesn't truly feel that way.  Verin was never really Black Ajah, no matter what oaths she swore.  This should further the argument that the 3 Oaths are nothing but an initiation rite for a group that is still way too self-righteous for its own good.

Bookstore Guy,
Clarify for me, if you don't mind; Do you feel like the Verin scene was a late addition, or that it seemed cheap despite being foreshadowed for 10 books because of the timing?  I seem to recall your dislike with this series having to do with how little the characters have developed recently.  Are you now upset that you got your wish?  Personnally, I feel that choosing to kill yourself in order to help the Light because the Last Battle is very near would "adjust" the way a character behaves somewhat (she had an almost Moiraine at the docks sort of calmness to her).  As for Mat, by the time that first rant was done I knew he was being written as someone who's life had gone so far away from what he planned that he's been knocked completely off his game.  You know you've fallen far when a character like Talmanes can bust your chops with such ease.

On the Hinderstrap debate, Brandon has confirmed that this storyline, along with every other one in this book, was conceived by RJ, and Brandon fleshed it out (I didn't get a vampire or zombie feel from this scene, although I can see why others would).  He didn't add in any storylines himself.