I finished the series! Here are some thoughts.

[chiamac]

So I finished the series last week. I don't have a blog or podcast so this will kind of be my parting thoughts before I move on to a few other books and tbd series. I don't really think I'll go too deep here. It's also a old series at this point so although I'm not going to try and spoil anything, but at the same time to me the journey and reading the story is more important than what happens. 

I ended up reading New Spring last. Not that this is wrong, but I really think this should be read earlier. It could fit in anywhere in the "slog" after book 4 or 5 or so (my memory is fuzzy of any specifics), and it would do well reading in the position it was published. At least read it before getting to the B. Sanderson books. I say this because it's a self contained story that doesn't really have anything epic happen. Which is fine, but I'd rather end the whole series on a first read after the last battle and Rand trotting away, than on New Spring. It wouldn't make sense reading first though, but I don't think it's worth saving. It also doesn't (to me) give anything away or any insight that we didn't already have. 

I have a new view on the Horn, and what Ta'veren are. 

It was interesting to read the interaction between Mat and the heroes of the horn. They said he wasn't a part of the heroes, and although these books generally aren't that deep, it is an interesting reason why. He needed to be attached to the horn, Perrin needed to lead the wolves, and Rand needed to be the Dragon. They are as attached to the horn as the heroes in the pattern. I also think ta'veren are related to this as well, and it kind of answers my question as far as why no one else was ta'veren when labeling them as such would make sense given their accelerated storyline. 

To me Callandor makes sense. It didn't for a while, but then, of all places, I heard R. Jordan talk about how he approached myths and legends and what if explicit instructions or details of events turn into these stories. Way back when, they knew how to resolve the issue, I'd even argue that as this has happened over and over the same conclusion was found over and over, but either way they had a plan. They just didn't get along well enough to accomplish the plan, and we even saw some of that in our story. So yeah, that was the plan all along, but no one had a chance to do it earlier. 

Rand lighting his pipe makes sense now. He was doing somethings outside of the powers and channeling in the last books, but he also was doing it earlier on. He urged Bella on, and at that time it's not described how he did it, where as Moraine using the power was described as such (if I recall correctly) even earlier on. So to some extent Rand had a pull on the pattern, and he only realized how to use that later on. I'd then have to assume he got burnt out with the power, or with the body switch, but I'm fine with that and I'm fine with the ending. 

 

I can't believe I'm saying this, because I would have cut this character out after book 2, but I liked what Padan Fain ended up doing in the last battle. I'll mention B. Sanderson doing a 4th book later, but I thought what he was doing and how the mist was appearing again was neat. It would have been nice to read more of a setup, and maybe throughout the books take that arc of him rather than the political stuff he was doing.  

Then finally, B. Sanderson takes a little bit to get into the characters and I think the last books are great. I do wish in a way he and they did a 4th book and took the time to explain or setup a little more. But, and he has said this in interviews, it's long already and where do you draw the line. 

Anyway I can't wait to re-read this again in a few years, I'm getting the leatherbound series and that will be fun to collect. I also can't wait to give more time to the slop books and get into all those small details from the world - now that I know how the story ends and how events unfold. So to any readers on the fence, if they got this far with this post, stick with it, and at least I felt it was rewarding. 

Now off onto the next reading adventures!