Olver - Little Bit Creepy

[Kal11]

Olver is fun, especially his relation towards Mat with Mat not realizing that most of Olver's "bad" behaviour is caused by him-Mat-self

 

I agree, it confuses me that anyone finds him creepy of all things. Nice kid in my book.

 

Agreed. Olver always seemed like such a fun, charming kid. Chapters with him in them make me smile. He also brought a little bit more mature/parental/nurturing side out of Mat which I think was good for the character.

+1. I don't find anything least bit creepy in Olver. He is a very positive character, much liked by both RJ and BS, I would say. He certainly made Mat grow up a bit (whether that's good or bad is another issue). I'm absolutely sure that there is nothing sinister on his agenda like trying to kill Mat and Mat killing him as the result, as some have suggested.

 

That idea always makes me shake my head. Olver thinks looking after Mat's welfare is one of his responsibilities ironically. Him trying to kill Mat would make as much sense as him being Demandred. I think people are just hating on the poor kid because he is ugly as sin but can still pull women like a stone cold pimp. Jealousy is an ugly thing.

[Sharaman]

Olver's the same age as thousands of child soldiers across all sorts of real world conflicts - SriLanka, Africa (x half dozen). What's more, in a medieval world like WoT, it's not so surprising to find 12-15 year-olds in battle. Most of the Dark Ages assumed a man was adult at puberty and there were a lot of child soldiers.

I don't find the 12year-old=soldier perspective unusual. But by our "modern standards", it leads to warped personalities, PTSD, etc. Olver is surely exhibiting some of those symptoms.

[FarShainMael]

I don't find anything least bit creepy in Olver. He is a very positive character, much liked by both RJ and BS, I would say. He certainly made Mat grow up a bit (whether that's good or bad is another issue). I'm absolutely sure that there is nothing sinister on his agenda like trying to kill Mat and Mat killing him as the result, as some have suggested.

 

That idea always makes me shake my head. Olver thinks looking after Mat's welfare is one of his responsibilities ironically. Him trying to kill Mat would make as much sense as him being Demandred. I think people are just hating on the poor kid because he is ugly as sin but can still pull women like a stone cold pimp. Jealousy is an ugly thing.

 

Exactly. Olver hero-worships Mat. If he comes to believe that Mat was in any way responsible for his father's death, that hero-worship would turn to its opposite rather quickly.

 

(Oh, and BTW, I'm a woman, so how would I be jealous of Olver? )

[Mr Ares]

I don't find anything least bit creepy in Olver. He is a very positive character, much liked by both RJ and BS, I would say. He certainly made Mat grow up a bit (whether that's good or bad is another issue). I'm absolutely sure that there is nothing sinister on his agenda like trying to kill Mat and Mat killing him as the result, as some have suggested.

 

That idea always makes me shake my head. Olver thinks looking after Mat's welfare is one of his responsibilities ironically. Him trying to kill Mat would make as much sense as him being Demandred. I think people are just hating on the poor kid because he is ugly as sin but can still pull women like a stone cold pimp. Jealousy is an ugly thing.

Exactly. Olver hero-worships Mat. If he comes to believe that Mat was in any way responsible for his father's death, that hero-worship would turn to its opposite rather quickly.

 

(Oh, and BTW, I'm a woman, so how would I be jealous of Olver? )

Well, being a woman wouldn't necessarily stop you wishing you could pull women like a "stone cold pimp"...

[herid]

I don't find anything least bit creepy in Olver. He is a very positive character, much liked by both RJ and BS, I would say. He certainly made Mat grow up a bit (whether that's good or bad is another issue). I'm absolutely sure that there is nothing sinister on his agenda like trying to kill Mat and Mat killing him as the result, as some have suggested.

 

That idea always makes me shake my head. Olver thinks looking after Mat's welfare is one of his responsibilities ironically. Him trying to kill Mat would make as much sense as him being Demandred. I think people are just hating on the poor kid because he is ugly as sin but can still pull women like a stone cold pimp. Jealousy is an ugly thing.

 

Exactly. Olver hero-worships Mat. If he comes to believe that Mat was in any way responsible for his father's death, that hero-worship would turn to its opposite rather quickly.

 

(Oh, and BTW, I'm a woman, so how would I be jealous of Olver? )

sorry, I won't debate your theory on Olver but do you have a list of WoT theories/predictions? I would very much like to have a look. Should be quite interesting. I made one myself but I suspect mine is much more boring than yours.

[FarShainMael]

@Mr Ares: I said I was a woman, not a lesbian.

 

@herid: I posted my list of predictions on the relevant thread before ToM was published. Alas, I was quite wide of the mark on some of them and some haven't yet been tested, I think. My Mat-Olver theory is on the Caemlyn battle thread.

 

Hold on, I'll see if I can find the predictions thread..

 

 

.. ah, here it is:

 

http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/50508-declare-your-predictions-read-first-post-first/page__hl__predictions

 

I come in at post 24.

[herid]

@Mr Ares: I said I was a woman, not a lesbian.

 

@herid: I posted my list of predictions on the relevant thread before ToM was published. Alas, I was quite wide of the mark on some of them and some haven't yet been tested, I think. My Mat-Olver theory is on the Caemlyn battle thread.

 

Hold on, I'll see if I can find the predictions thread..

 

 

.. ah, here it is:

 

http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/50508-declare-your-predictions-read-first-post-first/page__hl__predictions

 

I come in at post 24.

Thanks! I was right, yours are certainly more interesting than mine, although I disagree with all but I couple of them. You should update them post ToM though.

 

P.S. there ought to be a better way to refer to the old posts. I know that they all have post identifiers but those are not normally visible.

[FarShainMael]

I've no doubt there will be a similar thread up just before AMoL. If necessary I'll start one myself!

[Sharaman]

Go FSM!!

[FarShainMael]

OK, now let's see.. when is AMoL due for release..? Not before March 2012 apparently. I'll start a thread a couple of months beforehand, unless you'd like it sooner (or unless Luckers gets there first..)

 

(Edit: It would help if I could spell.. )

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

meh. george washington couldn't spell. he did ok.

[USURP888]

One of the Dark prophecies reveals that " the one eyed fool walks the halls of mourning ". If this line refers to Mat, I fear that Mat would mourn somebody close to him.

 

Mat's was intending to give a foxhead replica to both Tuon and Olver to keep them safe from the Gholam so I can say that those two are the important people in his life right now. I don't think Tuon would die, since RJ already planned an outrigger for Mat and Tuon, so that leaves Olver - He is going to die :(

[Awakened]

One of the Dark prophecies reveals that " the one eyed fool walks the halls of mourning ". If this line refers to Mat, I fear that Mat would mourn somebody close to him.

 

Mat's was intending to give a foxhead replica to both Tuon and Olver to keep them safe from the Gholam so I can say that those two are the important people in his life right now. I don't think Tuon would die, since RJ already planned an outrigger for Mat and Tuon, so that leaves Olver - He is going to die :(

 

Alternatively, the "Halls of Mourning" are the name for the Eelfinn/Aelfinn halls. It would be a good name for them since so few people get out and the foxes and snakes feed off of the unhappiness of the people who come there.

[Mystica]

Herid, you can link to a specific post by clicking on the post number in the upper right corner of each post. This will bring up a popup window with the post's personal url that you can then use to link to.

 

 

The only way I could see Olver getting crazy angry at Mat is if Mat somehow stopped him from killing an Aiel. I don't see how the boy could distinguish a Shaido from a Dragon Aiel, so it's quite possible that he may mix them up. Mat would obviously stop him (if nothing else than to stop the boy from being killed) which could trigger a blind rage in the boy. However, I don't see this blind rage lasting (IF it occurrs at all). Olver's pretty level headed for all that he's endured in his short life. There's nothing creepy about him that I could see so far.

[FarShainMael]

I don't see anything particularly creepy about Olver either. My own thought was, will we see someone convincing Olver that it wasn't a Shaido that killed his dad, it was Mat - or that Mat was in some other way responsible for his dad's death. This certainly would touch off rage in Olver against the man he's looked up to and admired for so long.

[Rybesh532]

The fact he is so into women seems a bit...well, yeah, creepy considering his age but that has to be due to the people he is around rather than him being natrually a little pervert (though 10 year old boys are not usually totally ignorant of that sort of thing). I sort of like Olver as a character. He manages to actually have a personality; most kids in books end up as twee, overly sweet innocent little twerps. Olvers ugly, has a gory past, is easily influenced and contrasts between life experience some adults owuldnt even have to a simple childishness. He likes books, he likes racing, he likes Snakes and Foxes and he likes attention. I reckon as a character hes easier to appreciate than some of the main characters ;D

 

i dont think olver liked the books because they were books, but rather because he got to get all snuggly with busty Riselle

[BrainFireBob]

Olver taught Mat responsibility.

 

Olver watched a Shaido shove a spear in his father's belly, saw his siblings killed or carried off, and cared for and then buried his mother "in a place with some flowers." He then took care of himself until ending a refugee in Maerone.

 

All before the age of 10. There's a reason you're finding him creepy. Kid's a survivor. It's made him casual about gore, violence and pain, and more determined to live the rest of the time.

 

Allright, you've hit a new level of geekiness when threadromancy has you reading an old post of yours, you nod in agreement and prepare to post that you do- and it's your screen-name.

[Caveatar]

meh. george washington couldn't spell. he did ok.

 

Nor could Andrew Jackson according to his critics.

 

President Jackson responded to one criticism with a choice answer:

"We'll all I c'n say is I think it is a damn pore weak mind that cain't

thank uv but one way to spell a word."

 

Caveatar

[condonmc]

If Mat ever finds out who is teaching those bad woman habits....O boy....

[FarShainMael]

If Mat ever finds out who is teaching those bad woman habits....O boy....

 

[John Snow]

Clearly Olver is Demandred. The collection of various Angreal and Ter'Angreal he carries around in his little sack (Turtle shell? Pff more like Sa'Angreal). His disdain for Aiel whom he sees as servants, hidden behind a flimsy story of Shaido murdering his parents. Constant compulsion of women. His use of Saidin to make his horse win races in Ebou Dar (think Rand and Bela in the first book). His ability to win Snakes and Foxes without cheating. He was a great general in the AoL and now hangs out with one of the elite fighting forces of this age. His anger at the end of ToM that another Chosen would attack Caemlyn when clearly he has plans for it. Do I really need to go on? I think it is intuitively obvious who Olver really is and it isn't Gaidal Cain.

 

Oh, I can't stop laughing...

[jsbrads]

Avi has talent with terangreal, not people, also her reaction to olver was not motivated by suspicion, potentially either a desire to help the kid paired with a recognition that she can't, or a complete lack of desire to get involved and a sort of surprise that Olver would attack her...

 

Avi only has to die heroically (which she will, it's just how she is) within the next few years, to be quickly born again, so she can marry GC (GC usually is born before her).

 

99.99999% of time a teacher would behave in a pleasant way with student, not because the teacher is crushing on student, but likes children/wants to be positive influence/trying to help, you probably imagined something that wasn't there.

 

RJ wrote Olver a little creepy toward the end, but BS made him a little more normal

 

Every adult knows you always lose at snakes and foxes. Olver won one game...

[DaoineSidhe]

Olver SHOULD be creepy. As has been stated before, this kid has lived a rough life. He's been forced to grow up at a young age. If we think of a similar geopolitical situation as to what Olver grew up in, you can see how he turns out this way.

 

Similar situations in current/near current events: Civil war, food shortages/disease, invasions.

 

Various parts of Africa: Due to the way Europe divided Africa when it originally "colonized" the continent, since many of the African countries gained their independence, civil war and outright invasions have occurred in many of the countries. In these areas, kids joining the military/rebellion, etc, is not uncommon. The Htoo twins in Indonesia & Burma. Two kids who lead a rebel group called "God's Army" in the 1990s.

 

Given Olver's life so far, it's little wonder that he's a bit "creepy". What's really a wonder is that he's not more messed up. But it is a story, after all...

[Bob Hopeless]

If I remember correctly, Robert Jordan was considering setting a later book in Shara. I'd long hoped that that series would have featured Olver as an adult. He has all the tools to be the James Bond of the new Age of Legends.

[Suttree]

If I remember correctly, Robert Jordan was considering setting a later book in Shara. I'd long hoped that that series would have featured Olver as an adult. He has all the tools to be the James Bond of the new Age of Legends.

 

No, he was going to set a book in Seanchan staring Mat and Tuon, not Shara.