"World of Wheel of Time" or "Wheel of Time Companion?"

[Andra]

So I haven't seen a thread on this topic, but I was wondering about readers' opinions. 

 

I don't have either of these reference works, but I do have the entire series (including New Spring).  Which do people think is most worthwhile, or is it worth getting both?

[Kalessin]

I've got The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, aka The Big Book of Bad Art, both in BBBA and paperback form. As yet I don't have The Wheel of Time Companion.

 

The BBBA is basically an encyclopedia of WoT, useful as such. I don't know about the WoT Companion. But the BBBA gives articles on The Breaking of the World, the Forsaken, the Ten Nations, Arthur Pendraeg, the nations as they are in WoT times, the Aes Sedai as they are in WoT times, etc. FWIW

[DojoToad]

'The World' was okay.  Added a bit of information to the books, but I haven't read it for a while.  Will probably start with that for my next re-read.  I thought it was worth purchasing.

 

The Companion was a big disappointment for me.  Was expecting a lot of new information: fleshing out of Aiel warrior societies, expanding on culture of Ebou Dar, Tear, Borderlands, and etc.  How do the holidays work in different lands, why do the nations interact the way they do...  I found no additional information that wasn't in the books.  All that said - it is still an extremely good reference when reading the books.  Keeping characters straight and referencing events from earlier books.

 

And a new book 'Origins' is coming out later this year.  Looking forward to it.  Goes into history and mythology Jordan drew on for the series.  New maps and an alternate scene.

 

I believe the first two are worth having even if not exactly what I expected.  'Origins' will be on my shelf as well.

[Stedding Tofu]

I own both.  Short answer is I love The World of The Wheel of Time but consider the Wheel of Time Companion to be unnecessary.

 

I bought The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time when it was published and it's a very good reference book, a glossy hardcover coffee table book with articles on The Age of Legends, War of Power, Seanchan and so on.  It's only flaw is that it was published mid-series (1997) so it won't be comprehensive as more information will have been revealed in series in the later books.  I don't think that spoils it or renders it obsolete but caveat emptor.

 

Here's my review of the WOT companion on Amazon

 

Spoiler

What it's not:
1) supplementary material or appendices to outline what happened to characters post-series finale
2) a resolution to mysteries or puzzles not cleared up in the series finale: not sure who someone was in series, how someone did something impossible or whether a character even survived The Lat Battle? You still will be
3) a source of new information about the world and mythos of WOT like The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time (published in 1997 mid-series)

With that out of the way, what it is: an A to Z of author's notes on characters, places and objects of note.
It's not polished text, it's a glossary to keep track of everything and character bios were updated as new events occurred. So it has all the information RJ jotted down but the entries feel like a working document rather than a "for publication" document. Despite the back cover saying it has a wealth of new information I didn't really find any: the series of maps outlining the progress of the Battle of The Field of Merrilor was the one thing I considered new material.

So what's it best used for? If you dip into it while (re-)reading you will almost undoubtedly hit spoilers, so, at your own risk. If you wait until the end it won't answer any unanswered questions you have. It is comprehensive, so if you want a list of Aes Seda and former Amyrlin Seats we never meet, a reminder of who a minor character is that you have forgotten or a detailed dictionary of the Old tongue or Lini's sayings then this is for you.

 

[SinisterDeath]

55 minutes ago, Stedding Tofu said:

1) supplementary material or appendices to outline what happened to characters post-series finale

Read the section on Bela.

🤣

[DojoToad]

8 minutes ago, SinisterDeath said:

Read the section on Bela.

🤣

I must do this today...

[Stedding Tofu]

6 hours ago, SinisterDeath said:

Read the section on Bela.

🤣

That's just a joke, though.  There's no new material to say what happened with Elayne's children or Perrin being consort to the new Queen of Saldaea and so on.  There doesn't have to be but I was hoping there would be some broad strokes or outlines.

[SinisterDeath]

4 hours ago, Stedding Tofu said:

That's just a joke, though.  There's no new material to say what happened with Elayne's children or Perrin being consort to the new Queen of Saldaea and so on.  There doesn't have to be but I was hoping there would be some broad strokes or outlines.

It's cannon. 

[Stedding Tofu]

13 hours ago, SinisterDeath said:

It's cannon. 

Well I think it was a joke, the "Bela is the creator" meme indulged in an in joke by the publishers. 

Spoiler

She was old at the start of the series and dead by the end of it.  We see her die on page.  Retconning her alive in the Two Rivers with two foals to boot is just humour.

 

[SinisterDeath]

11 hours ago, Stedding Tofu said:

Spoiler

She was old at the start of the series and dead by the end of it.  We see her die on page.  Retconning her alive in the Two Rivers with two foals to boot is just humour.

 

It's still cannon. We don't know that Rand didn't "fix" her. 😉 

[DojoToad]

6 hours ago, SinisterDeath said:

It's still cannon. We don't know that Rand didn't "fix" her. 😉 

Or could it be canon? 

[Kalessin]

2 hours ago, DojoToad said:

Or could it be canon? 

In the between world, aka TAR, she struck up a companionship with Basil Brush. Boom Boom!!!

[SinisterDeath]

8 hours ago, DojoToad said:

Or could it be canon? 

I really hate autocorrect on my phone.

[Kalessin]

OT I've got the second of the Damn You Autocorrect books. Am I glad I never got an iPhone! Its final example of Autocorrect fail is "Dead Steve Jobs, Spank your Kindle for the iPoo Ouch", Autocorrect's opinion of what "Dear Steve Jobs, Thank you kindly for the iPod Touch" actually means ... 🤣

[Remodel]

Wheel of Time Companion clarified charaters for me.  It also has comments on some survivors of the the last battle which were not in the books.  It is not complete on the survivors though, leaving out who among the Aes Sedia died.  Helpful and disappointing at the same time.

Spoiler

The description of the battle in the book describes a field filled with colored [clothes] bodies from their deaths.

 

In the book Bela took a wound and fell.  No death was mentioned.  The companion stated she recovered and was taken back to the Two Rivers.

 

[Andra]

Re: Bela.

Well that would make sense.  She was Tam's horse, after all.  And he was there.

[Stedding Tofu]

6 hours ago, Remodel said:

Wheel of Time Companion clarified charaters for me.  It also has comments on some survivors of the the last battle which were not in the books.  It is not complete on the survivors though, leaving out who among the Aes Sedia died.  Helpful and disappointing at the same time.

  Hide contents

The description of the battle in the book describes a field filled with colored [clothes] bodies from their deaths.

 

In the book Bela took a wound and fell.  No death was mentioned.  The companion stated she recovered and was taken back to the Two Rivers.

 

My AMOL edition re Bela (Kindle, Page 849):

 

Spoiler

Ahead, a large force of Trollocs cut him off.  Olver turned back the other way, but others approached from that direction, too.  Olver cried out, turning Bela again, but a thick black Trolloc arrow hit her in the flank.  She screamed and stumbled, then dropped.

Olver tumbled free.  Hitting the ground knocked the air from his lungs and made him see a flash of light.  He forced himself to his hands and knees.

The horn must reach Matrim Cauthon...

Olver grabbed the Horn, and found that he was weeping.  "I'm sorry," he said to Bela.  "You were a good horse.  You ran like Wind couldn't have.  I'm sorry"

She whinnied softly and drew a final breath, then died.

 

[DojoToad]

1 hour ago, Stedding Tofu said:

My AMOL edition re Bela (Kindle, Page 849):

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Ahead, a large force of Trollocs cut him off.  Olver turned back the other way, but others approached from that direction, too.  Olver cried out, turning Bela again, but a thick black Trolloc arrow hit her in the flank.  She screamed and stumbled, then dropped.

Olver tumbled free.  Hitting the ground knocked the air from his lungs and made him see a flash of light.  He forced himself to his hands and knees.

The horn must reach Matrim Cauthon...

Olver grabbed the Horn, and found that he was weeping.  "I'm sorry," he said to Bela.  "You were a good horse.  You ran like Wind couldn't have.  I'm sorry"

She whinnied softly and drew a final breath, then died.

 

I thought so, but was too lazy to look it up myself. Thank you. 

[Andra]

4 hours ago, Stedding Tofu said:

My AMOL edition re Bela (Kindle, Page 849):

 

  Hide contents

Ahead, a large force of Trollocs cut him off.  Olver turned back the other way, but others approached from that direction, too.  Olver cried out, turning Bela again, but a thick black Trolloc arrow hit her in the flank.  She screamed and stumbled, then dropped.

Olver tumbled free.  Hitting the ground knocked the air from his lungs and made him see a flash of light.  He forced himself to his hands and knees.

The horn must reach Matrim Cauthon...

Olver grabbed the Horn, and found that he was weeping.  "I'm sorry," he said to Bela.  "You were a good horse.  You ran like Wind couldn't have.  I'm sorry"

She whinnied softly and drew a final breath, then died.

 

And the discrepancy would be retconned as yet another example of an "unreliable narrator."

That's what Olver thought happened, but he couldn't stick around to make sure.  Being slightly busy trying not to die at the time.

Bear in mind that he was wrong about the absolute necessity of getting the Horn to Mat, as well.

[DojoToad]

5 hours ago, Andra said:

And the discrepancy would be retconned as yet another example of an "unreliable narrator."

That's what Olver thought happened, but he couldn't stick around to make sure.  Being slightly busy trying not to die at the time.

Bear in mind that he was wrong about the absolute necessity of getting the Horn to Mat, as well.

The last sentence: 'She whinnied..." is not Olver narrating.  It is the author.

 

Olver would not have used that language had he been relaxed without a care in the world, much less having just been thrown from a horse with a murderous mob breathing down his neck.  The text is too chill.

 

Not being a horse biology expert, the arrow placement is problematic for 'instant' death.  Except that Bela was old, fat and run beyond her limits once more.  I'll go with the text of the novel rather than a feel good 'correction' that came out two years later.  I'll go with @Stedding Tofu in that it was a joke by Harriet/publishers and that the defenders are just trolling us.

[wotfan4472]

For me, the answer is both. They reflect each other. Each book has more than the other, because of the focus of each.

 

The White Book is written like a book that you could find in world. It backs up certain information, and it is refuted in some cases in later books.  The Forsaken is a case in this regard. Each section on each individual is in some cases backed up and contradicted based on the entry, and certain figures, like Lanfear, actually do both. It is a basic factor of in world themes.

 

The Companion is a book that is written to expand the lore for readers, and also have information that did not happen, such as the Bela entry. One aspect I love is the Old Tongue dictionary aspect, especially the Forsaken name meanings. I love them, and their entire arcs in the books make sense when you read some of their names. In all cases, even their defeats fit them.

[wotfan4472]

On 8/1/2022 at 8:52 PM, Kalessin said:

In the between world, aka TAR, she struck up a companionship with Basil Brush. Boom Boom!!!

Now that you mention it, it was kind of a let down to have Noal ride in to save Olver as a Hero of The Horn, and not have him ride Bela at the time. 

[SinisterDeath]

7 hours ago, DojoToad said:

Not being a horse biology expert, the arrow placement is problematic for 'instant' death.  Except that Bela was old, fat and run beyond her limits once more.  I'll go with the text of the novel rather than a feel good 'correction' that came out two years later.  I'll go with @Stedding Tofu in that it was a joke by Harriet/publishers and that the defenders are just trolling us.

Rand enhanced Bela down to her very genetics in book 1. There is no reason that horse should ever been able to keep up (speed) with Lan's horse. By all rights, Egwene & Bela should have died in Book 1 if Rand didn't do more than just heal Bela's "stamina". 🙂

[DojoToad]

45 minutes ago, SinisterDeath said:

Rand enhanced Bela down to her very genetics in book 1. There is no reason that horse should ever been able to keep up (speed) with Lan's horse. By all rights, Egwene & Bela should have died in Book 1 if Rand didn't do more than just heal Bela's "stamina". 🙂

So you're saying that Rand is the reincarnation of Aginor rather than Lews Therin???

 

Then what was all that nonsense at the Eye?

Edited August 11, 2022 by DojoToad

[SinisterDeath]

25 minutes ago, DojoToad said:

So you're saying that Rand is the reincarnation of Aginor rather than Lews Therin???

 

Then what was all that nonsense at the Eye?

Where did I say he was the reincarnation of Aginor? That doesn't even make sense because Aginor was literally alive at the Eye of the World for like 6 seconds.