Author Topic: WOT Help  (Read 125203 times)

Raphael

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #135 on: January 11, 2009, 12:22:27 AM »
It's Mat. Not Matt. Mat. Like a Doormat.

Inquisitor

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #136 on: January 11, 2009, 04:51:52 AM »
No matter what you call him, this is the book where he starts becoming awesome  ;D
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JoeC

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #137 on: January 19, 2009, 10:35:37 PM »
Update guys!
I finished The Dragon Reborn this morning. Awesome! Simply awesome! I liked it just as much as I liked the Great Hunt. Even though I didn't feel the story evolved a WHOLE lot, it had a great ending. I find myself really starting to care for these characters, especially Perrin. I know you all say this one is Mat's time to shine...and yes that's true.....I already liked Mat to begin with. Perrin was almost the whole first half of the book. Finding out more and more about being a wolfbrother is REALLY cool. I certainly was taking his side in his arguments with Moiraine and Lan. By the way, Moiraine was a real witch with a capital B in this book if you know what I mean. I understand she has serious responsibilities and Aes Sedai reputation to uphold.....but jeez lady lighten up. I like her most of the time....but why be so flippant and coy with Perrin and the others? It might have been because Perrin walked in on her naked....lol maybe.
Nyneave, Elayne, and Egwene's stories are becoming more interesting every time it switches to their viewpoint. I'm really starting to enjoy the back and forth between the three. It was GREAT to have Thom back in with the gang, and I thought he and Mat made a great team. Yes, Mat really did come into his own in this book. The scene where he whoops Gawyn and Galad with his quarterstaff had me smiling ear to ear!! Zarine was a welcome addition to the book (though I didn't feel that way at first) I REALLY like learning more about the Aeil. Most of all I liked was the ending. I was glad to see the characters all in the same place and it was a great battle with Rand finally getting Callandor. When he was chasing Ba'alzamon through dimensions was probably THE highlight of the book. Great resolution. Dying to know what happens next.
My complaints are few. The main one is.......Rand. He was not in this book very much, and when he was he was acting wierd the whole time. You mostly heard of him from Moiraine examining how he affected the lives of people from the towns he went through. All second and third hand information. I was happy to see him come through at the end but it was a long time coming. I suppose it was so other characters stories could be fleshed out.
Plus, like I said before, it is really frustrating to read Moiraine being so mean to Perrin. I like her but she was not forthcoming at all in this book. She doesn't seem sympathetic to what he's going through, or any of them for that matter. She almost seems annoyed that she has to deal with them. I think that's unfair. Oh well, Nyneave hates her and I have a feeling that those two will come to a head sometime soon. THAT I'd like to see. The two most b*tchy characters in the books hate eachother. Aes Seidai cat fight.......something I'd like to see.....from about a mile away.
Well, I am off to get my copy of Shadow Rising. I'm excited because so many of you have said it is your favorite book of the series. Thanks again for reading guys!! I appreciate it. I'll keep you updated. I'm very happy to be one of the WOT fans now, after looking in from the outside for so long! lol Later!
-Joe

douglas

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #138 on: January 19, 2009, 11:23:16 PM »
By the way, Moiraine was a real witch with a capital B in this book if you know what I mean. I understand she has serious responsibilities and Aes Sedai reputation to uphold.....but jeez lady lighten up. I like her most of the time....but why be so flippant and coy with Perrin and the others? It might have been because Perrin walked in on her naked....lol maybe.
It's a common trait of Aes Sedai.  Whether it's good or bad depends on who you ask (the White Tower will of course say it's good), but the training and society Aes Sedai go through has a rather strong tendency to produce that attitude.

Zarine was a welcome addition to the book (though I didn't feel that way at first) I REALLY like learning more about the Aeil.
Then you will REALLY like The Shadow Rising.  There's a whole lot more to learn about the Aeil, and a huge chunk of it is in that book.

Most of all I liked was the ending. I was glad to see the characters all in the same place and it was a great battle with Rand finally getting Callandor. When he was chasing Ba'alzamon through dimensions was probably THE highlight of the book. Great resolution. Dying to know what happens next.
Only one dimension, really, and Rand was very lucky to have Callandor in that fight.  That "dimension", which you will learn more about soon, has properties that Ba'alzamon knows very well and that would have allowed him to easily crush Rand in his ignorance if he hadn't been able to bring overwhelming strength to bear.

Vatdoro

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #139 on: January 20, 2009, 12:41:19 AM »
Joe - That's awesome you're now a fan! I can agree with your main complaint. Rand is hardly in the book at all. And the very few times you do get his POV he is pretty ... weird.

I recently got a little more insight into what Rand is going through in this book when I listened to a Podcast with Brandon Sanderson over on Dragonmount.com. The Podcast discusses all 11 of the books, so DO NOT LISTEN TO IT IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE ENTIRE SERIES!

I'll try and summarize the insight they gave into Rand in TDR. I believe it was Brandon Sanderson who said on the Podcast that he heard that RJ compared what Rand goes through in TDR to what RJ went through when he went to war in Vietnam (becoming a killer or a weapon or something along those lines). Brandon mentioned that RJ doesn't like to bring up Vietnam and the experiences there very much, and since Rand was going through a similar thing in this book he just kind of didn't delve into the emotions too much because it's too hard to relive his Vietnam experiences. There's plenty of Rand POV chapters in book 4, but it's not quite the same Rand from books 1 & 2.

I hope I didn't butcher that explanation too much.

melbatoast

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #140 on: January 20, 2009, 02:51:24 AM »
Thanks, that's a great insight...I will have to listen to the rest of the podcast! Glad you're enjoying the series, Joe.
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SarahG

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #141 on: January 20, 2009, 06:50:47 PM »
Joe, glad you're enjoying the series (like we all knew you would).

I want to warn you, if you're like me you'll probably like Rand less and less as the series progresses.  That is, he gets weirder and weirder.  I think his character development is realistic and necessary, but as the story goes on, I begin to like other characters more and more in comparison, and to be glad when the POV switches away from Rand.

Moiraine, on the other hand, gets more likeable and more understandable soon.  I think you'll love Egwene's development too - though you'll have to wait till book 11 for some of her best moments.  Perrin and Faile (Zarine) have some cool stuff coming up too.
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maxonennis

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #142 on: January 20, 2009, 07:24:11 PM »
Joe, glad you're enjoying the series (like we all knew you would).

I want to warn you, if you're like me you'll probably like Rand less and less as the series progresses.  That is, he gets weirder and weirder.  I think his character development is realistic and necessary, but as the story goes on, I begin to like other characters more and more in comparison, and to be glad when the POV switches away from Rand.

Moiraine, on the other hand, gets more likeable and more understandable soon.  I think you'll love Egwene's development too - though you'll have to wait till book 11 for some of her best moments.  Perrin and Faile (Zarine) have some cool stuff coming up too.

Whaaa?! I can't stand Egwene or Elane, nothing happens in their POV (Egwene in book 11 aside).

Also, I've never like Parrin or Faile...book 9 and 10 were just painful!
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JoeC

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #143 on: January 20, 2009, 08:23:57 PM »
Thanks for the responses. I got about 60 pages into Shadow Rising last night. Very good so far. I totally forgot about Min, she was missing completely from the end of TDR. Nice to see her back. I definitely see a lot of similarities between these books and Mistborn. I can see where Brandon must have gotten some inspiration. The way the magic is drawn upon, or the fast and furious fight scenes (although I think Brandon's take the cake.) I'm truly engrossed in the story now. Unfortunately, I have to avoid all websites WOT related. I went to ONE and my eye caught the title of a thread on their forum and it ruined something BIG for me that I imagine won't happen for a few more books. I don't want to discuss it I just wish I could forget it and enjoy the books and pretend like it never happened. I HATE that!! But I'll still go on because there are more things I want to find out for myself. Only after I've finished book 11 and caught up will I go back any of the WOT fan sites. For now, it's just me and the books. And of course, keeping you guys updated on my status. I'm surprised this thread hasn't been deleted! I figured people would get sick of me writing about reading the WOT, but I see a lot of excitement from you who have read the books and like seeing someone else get into them. THAT is a feeling I can relate to and as long as your interested I'll keep posting! Thanks guys!
-Joe

SarahG

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #144 on: January 20, 2009, 08:36:15 PM »
Whaaa?! I can't stand Egwene or Elane, nothing happens in their POV (Egwene in book 11 aside).

You don't think Egwene learns some important stuff from her experiences with the Aiel and, later, back with the Aes Sedai?  You don't find her storyline there interesting?  Well then, we disagree.

Also, I've never like Parrin or Faile...book 9 and 10 were just painful!

I wasn't talking about books 9 and 10.  I was thinking of events Joe will encounter more immediately, in The Shadow Rising.
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Razor

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #145 on: January 20, 2009, 11:36:07 PM »
One of the things I really liked was when Mat and Thom are on the boat and everyone thinks Mat is a paid Tar Valon Assassin. LOL

Mat is cool and does not even realize it.  He keeps wondering why all this stuff is happening to him, and does not realize the shadow is after him.

Agree that Egwene with the Aiel, and especially Egwene's trip to Salidar is great.  Then she bogs down. 

Perrin and Faile have some cool scenes early as well, but they really bog down.  MAt just gets more and more interesting, IMWO.

enjoy the boods, I think you will like them a lot better reading them as a set and not having to wait 2 yeqars in between.  I qm jealous!

IngtarWhoStoleChristmas

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #146 on: January 20, 2009, 11:52:51 PM »
I just want to thank Joe for inspiring me to begin my 10th read through.... :-) Finished Shadow Rising and will start LOC soon :-)

jjb

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #147 on: January 21, 2009, 12:05:31 AM »
I just want to remind everyone that JoeC is reading this for the first time. So even though you might not mean them to be spoilers, just things like saying Egwene goes to Salidar are small spoilers even if JoeC doesn't know what they mean right now.

JoeC

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #148 on: January 21, 2009, 12:43:38 AM »
I just want to thank Joe for inspiring me to begin my 10th read through.... :-) Finished Shadow Rising and will start LOC soon :-)

I inspired?! Me? Wow, I didn't expect that. LOL I figured people would get tired of this thread fast. I'm happy to see people enjoying this thread as I am enjoying writing it. As much as it is a thread about me chronicling my own little WOT journey I hope it could also be a place where people come and talk about their experiences reading WOT. Thank you jjb for the reminder, I hope people can just keep it spoiler free when they post. Thanks again.
-Joe

Vatdoro

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Re: WOT Help
« Reply #149 on: January 21, 2009, 01:23:19 AM »
I think it's always exciting to vicariously experience someones first reading of The WoT. :) Joe - continue to let us know where you are in the story. It's fun for us to remember the stories highlights and helps us to keep our posts spoiler free for you.

There's also a brand new blog on Tor.com that is doing a complete WoT re-read before the proposed fall 2009 release date of AMOL. This blog is meant for people who have already read the series and talks about some of the foreshadowing and stuff, so I can't recommend it for Joe. :( Sounds like at the rate Joe is going, he'll be done with book 11 soon anyway.  ;)

Blog Intro: http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=11741

EotW Part I: http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=11783
« Last Edit: January 21, 2009, 01:26:52 AM by Vatdoro »