Loved it loved it loved it!!!
Although, I do agree about the Mat parts. It seemed like Mat=Lightsong. I still loved it, though. I think he stayed completely true to all of the other characters, and mostly trueish to Mat.
I loved all the action (even though at one point I was like "Avalanche!" - but then it slowed down.) Everything that happened was amazing. Egwene vs. Seanchan was the best part of the book - - that and Verin.
I was also SO happy that my Gawyn is back. *sigh* I don't know why everyone hates him. I think he's perfect. haha I think Egwene should have kissed him or SOMETHING at the end, but whatever. Now this thread has me all worried that they're going to break up. :/ (no, i'm not 12...i'm 24...) *sheepish grin*
Even though I felt that it was true the characters, I noticed I felt more sorry for Rand and liked Min MUCH more than usual (since book 7, I've basically hated them both). We saw more of the internal workings and the girls (avi & min) expressed their feelings about sharing Rand, etc. I wonder if I like them more because of Sanderson's input...?
My heart wanted Min to survive when Rand was killing her, but my brain kind of wanted her to die. She really bugs me. But...that would have been very tragic...I guess...
It shows how realistic these books are because of how different people like different characters and relate to different people so well. I hate Rand and Min -- someone else hates Gawyn, Nynaeve and Faile -- and I ADORE those characters...
These books are amazing, and so was TGS. Thanks RJ & Brandon!