The Seven Striped-Lass

[Terez]

Also, this is an interesting page on Brandon's site:

 

"Pages currently available for Towers of Midnight in Sample Chapters"

 

Perhaps we are in for more! ;)

 

Peter pretty much confirmed in the chat room that this was entirely separate from Tor's early release plans, and that they will probably do what they did last year: ch. 1 on the Tor site, ch. 2 from the audiobooks people (which I will probably type up again, though I'm sure few people will wait for that among those who actually post regularly). I have several chat transcripts I need to piece together, but I will post them eventually.

 

So I think this makes it very likely that Blood in the Air is a Mat chapter, and likely Chapter Nine.

 

Other things I noticed--one, a break in the clouds. Excellent. Two, the Shadow has invaded the Borderlands. Interesting.

 

Also, I agree that Elayne must be either out of the city or incapacitated in some way or else she would have summonded Mat.

 

I believe that this is probably the cliffhanger chapter Brandon referenced when he was writing TOM. He says he picks it up later in the book. Of course, he could have been talking about something else, but it was rather cliffhangery. The invasion of the Borderlands is still pretty much a rumor, so I'm waiting to find out more, especially considering what Brandon said at WorldCon 2009 about the climax of TOM launching Tarmon Gai'don. As for Elayne, she might simply not want Rand to know yet that she's pregnant, or Mat. She's already got issues with people being overprotective of her, and Mat is more annoying about it then most, and Rand makes Mat look mild.

 

What's with the stories of Aes Sedai giving birth to an army of babies?

 

Perhaps some twisting of the White's 'mad plan', along with what Deadsy said about the novices.

 

Anyone else notice the timeline seems a bit out of whack? According to Brandon, Verin killed herself 30 days after giving the letter to Mat. Yet in "The Seven-striped Lass," there's already rumors in Caemlyn of the reunited Tower, the Seanchan attack, and a Shadowspawn invasion out of the Blight that had only been in the preparation stages in TGS. But Mat's still within the 30-day restriction Verin gave him. Something's not quite right here.

 

I'm not sure what to make of it other than perhaps what was suspected about mixing up rumors. I'd like to believe that Brandon doesn't suck that bad at timelines. Perhaps the tour reports aren't all that accurate, and Mat is not so far behind. There is only one report that even mentions Mat's timeline - the one you speak of. All of the others say Perrin is a month behind, but don't mention Mat. My guess is that the book will open with Perrin and Elayne, and that this will be Mat's first chapter.

 

 

I'll take your bet against it, what's your wager? I suppose I can offer writing a parody novella post-ToM on the plot of your choice. If you ever read The Blue in the Tower of Benji, you've got an idea of its worth. Which isn't a whole lot. But you've got to put up something in return. I'll take a bad bet, but I want a chance of walking away with something.

 

To be clear, my bet is against your theory that Gawyn kills Rand. Those are the terms. If Rand is physically killed by Gawyn, I'll pay up.

 

You must not have read the post where I said that I don't necessarily believe Gawyn will be the one to kill Rand any more. I do believe Gawyn will be essential to Rand's death, though, and he will probably manage to strike Rand's fatal wound, but I think it more likely now that Moiraine will be the one to actually kill him (right after their fight). You can bet against that if you like. If I lose, I'll write Galad/Rahvin. Just for Luckers.

[Random Man]

 

I'll take your bet against it, what's your wager? I suppose I can offer writing a parody novella post-ToM on the plot of your choice. If you ever read The Blue in the Tower of Benji, you've got an idea of its worth. Which isn't a whole lot. But you've got to put up something in return. I'll take a bad bet, but I want a chance of walking away with something.

 

To be clear, my bet is against your theory that Gawyn kills Rand. Those are the terms. If Rand is physically killed by Gawyn, I'll pay up.

 

You must not have read the post where I said that I don't necessarily believe Gawyn will be the one to kill Rand any more. I do believe Gawyn will be essential to Rand's death, though, and he will probably manage to strike Rand's fatal wound, but I think it more likely now that Moiraine will be the one to actually kill him (right after their fight). You can bet against that if you like. If I lose, I'll write Galad/Rahvin. Just for Luckers.

 

I guess I missed that post. I only remembered your Gawyn will Kill Rand Theory post. But still, I'll take that bet. Neither Gawyn nor Moiraine will strike a fatal blow or kill Rand, or be directly responsible for his death. DM fan base gets to decide the definition of "directly responsible" post-ToM release in the event of ambiguities. You're on. A fan parody of your choice against Galad/Rahvin.

[Ataxia]

Is there enough time in the first 8 chapters for Morgase to be reunited with Elayne? Is it possible that she is speaking to Perrin about his little rebellion and doesnt want an additional Ta'veren involved? Mat would definitely support Perrin and the 2 of them would probably get what they want from her. But, then again I don't think the reunion will happen so early in the books.

 

If shes pregnant, is she even showing yet? If she wasnt, why would she not want Mat to see her?

[Deadsy]

Is there enough time in the first 8 chapters for Morgase to be reunited with Elayne? Is it possible that she is speaking to Perrin about his little rebellion and doesnt want an additional Ta'veren involved? Mat would definitely support Perrin and the 2 of them would probably get what they want from her. But, then again I don't think the reunion will happen so early in the books.

 

If shes pregnant, is she even showing yet? If she wasnt, why would she not want Mat to see her?

 

 

If the timelines don't skip around, Galad and Perrin will meet in the first 7 chapters (since in Mat's chapter the WT battle has happened and Rand has been on DM). It does seem really early for that to happen though. Usually we have about 10 set up chapters with different characters before anything major happens.

[Charlz Guybon]

no no no no no! Ended in a cliffhanger and it sounded bloody good!

 

Now I'm gonna hate the 5 month wait even more!!! :(

 

Five months? More like two and some change.

 

And prologue in a couple of days. Yhew!

 

 

my book store only supplies the soft cover UK edition tipe cover

TGS I waited about 5 months after the official release before they had the book

 

So I think that, that will probably happen again, last time was even a pre-order!

Dang, that stinks. On the flip side, you could always ask for someone closer by to mail you a copy, or buy one online to be mailed to you....shouldn't take that long, unless your mail service is REALLY slow. Do you live in Bumfu** Egypt perchance?

 

Umm no South Africa :)

As for the online ordering, at the moment only the hardcover seems to be availible otherwise I would buy it online

Kindle for PC is a free download. Why not buy the kindle edition of the book?

[Foamy The Master]

no no no no no! Ended in a cliffhanger and it sounded bloody good!

 

Now I'm gonna hate the 5 month wait even more!!! :(

 

Five months? More like two and some change.

 

And prologue in a couple of days. Yhew!

 

 

my book store only supplies the soft cover UK edition tipe cover

TGS I waited about 5 months after the official release before they had the book

 

So I think that, that will probably happen again, last time was even a pre-order!

Dang, that stinks. On the flip side, you could always ask for someone closer by to mail you a copy, or buy one online to be mailed to you....shouldn't take that long, unless your mail service is REALLY slow. Do you live in Bumfu** Egypt perchance?

 

Umm no South Africa :)

As for the online ordering, at the moment only the hardcover seems to be availible otherwise I would buy it online

Kindle for PC is a free download. Why not buy the kindle edition of the book?

 

 

Because it won't match my collection :P

[DottieGirl]

I was most interested to see the mention of a plan forming in Mat's mind as he was thinking about the gholam having arrived. Many think he will turn the foxhead medallion over to Elayne for her protection. I wonder if, instead, he is hatching some plan by which he thinks he can kill it. That may be, in part, why he is so interested in talking to Elayne (and perhaps Birgitte, who used to know as much as anyone about the gholam).

[Luckers]

I was most interested to see the mention of a plan forming in Mat's mind as he was thinking about the gholam having arrived. Many think he will turn the foxhead medallion over to Elayne for her protection. I wonder if, instead, he is hatching some plan by which he thinks he can kill it. That may be, in part, why he is so interested in talking to Elayne (and perhaps Birgitte, who used to know as much as anyone about the gholam).

 

That's what I think as well. He definately won't be leaving the medallion with Elayne.

[NetSlider]

no no no no no! Ended in a cliffhanger and it sounded bloody good!

 

Now I'm gonna hate the 5 month wait even more!!! :(

 

Five months? More like two and some change.

 

And prologue in a couple of days. Yhew!

 

 

my book store only supplies the soft cover UK edition tipe cover

TGS I waited about 5 months after the official release before they had the book

 

So I think that, that will probably happen again, last time was even a pre-order!

When TGS came out I actually got audiobook from iTunes at 12:40am (not that i'm a very big of itunes, but they the only ones that had it that quickly). The price was like $60-$70 but was worth it (was up for the rest of the night and the following day) as hardcover will still run you about $40-$50 (not sure was a while since bought a book :))

[Mixam]

Actually the book is about $30 in hardcover but it is $16.19 right now on amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/Towers-Midnight-Wheel-Robert-Jordan/dp/0765325942/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284728930&sr=8-3

 

However I usually grab them from Costco for about $15 and then I don't have to be around for a delivery. With TGS I got it the day after it came out from Costco for $14.99 or some such iirc. Honestly with how slow they read in Audio books, even if I picked the book up several days after you, I would finish before you did. I would probably be on my 2nd or 3rd reading by that time actually ;) Whatever floats your boat though.

 

Edit: Also some of the larger cities will have midnight release parties. If you are really impatient you could go that route.

Edit2: Also if you are really really impatient, the leatherbound version comes out on Oct 26 at amazon.ca here: http://www.amazon.ca/Towers-Midnight-Robert-Jordan/dp/0765328127/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284729315&sr=8-2

[aunt_pol]

Wow, when did Ireland become Bargaintown?! I expect to pay, same as last yr, about €18-20 ($25~28, I think?) for my hardback, and there'll be one hell of a hissy fit if I don't get it promptly on the 2nd of nov!

[Naffy]

Awesome chapter. Like Brandon said, reading a new Mat chapter is like meeting up with an old friend. I have never agreed with the "Brandon's Mat being off" complaints as I think Mat is still Mat. I think his oogling women even more now makes total sense, as any married guy will agree with. This chapter leaves me with a feeling that Teslyn will be instrumental in Mat getting the horn out of Tar Valon. She is one of my favorite Aes Sedai. It better not be Talmanes's blood. As far as the timeline, I think it could be right on as reading TGS, I felt Mat's timeline progressed much further than Perrin's. Since this is Chapter 8, I assume that we will find out why Elayne is not responding to Mat somewhere in Chapter 1-7.

[Rufae]

If Mat has the medallion melted to form arrowheads/bullets/etc will that change the magial properties of it? We know with the Dream Ter'angreal that the colors and patterns and shapes of the material matter.

 

I wonder if Mat knew that Elayne could make angreal, if he would let her try to make another Foxhead medallion?

[Foamy The Master]

If Mat has the medallion melted to form arrowheads/bullets/etc will that change the magial properties of it? We know with the Dream Ter'angreal that the colors and patterns and shapes of the material matter.

 

I wonder if Mat knew that Elayne could make angreal, if he would let her try to make another Foxhead medallion?

 

 

Very interesting idea :)

 

Imagine a group of AS or AM that can't be shielded

[Naffy]

If Mat has the medallion melted to form arrowheads/bullets/etc will that change the magial properties of it? We know with the Dream Ter'angreal that the colors and patterns and shapes of the material matter.

 

I wonder if Mat knew that Elayne could make angreal, if he would let her try to make another Foxhead medallion?

 

 

Very interesting idea :)

 

Imagine a group of AS or AM that can't be shielded

I definitely see Elayne copying it much more likely than Mati giving it to her. It is his prized possesion that he paid dearly for.

[shadowkiller_001]

I could see Elayne copying the medallion and making some kind of weapon/protection-device for mat if not for the following reasons:

 

A- This might take a lot of space in the book. I'm not sure that there is room for another 'woe is me' Elayne chapter about how she's the only one in the world who has this talent for detecting Ter/A&S-ngreal....

B- She's preggers and we all know how hard it is for her to channel even the slightest amount, so unless she actually shares her knowledge with someone, it will be difficult for her to replicate the medallion.

C- Mat not wanting another queen to die at the hands of a Gholam, which i think means that he will either try and kill the darn thing or give elayne the medallion for protection.

 

 

I think that the most helpful thing Mat can do is kill the Gholam as quickly as possible with the medallion somehow... I don't think that a pregnant Elayne will be able to duck.dodge.dive like Mat did when he fought the Gholam the first time anyway, so giving her the medallion wouldn't help that much.... maybe Brigitte could use it?

 

Can't wait to find out though.

 

 

 

 

EDIT: B ) turned into B) which looked silly.

[jemron]

I was thinking this too. I wonder if Elayne will use the medallion to copy and/or create a weapon that can be used to kill and/or protect against the gholam.

[cloglord]

On the subject of why Elayne seems to be ignoring Mat,...

 

There is still the fact that Duhara was sent to Camelyn for presumably some nefarious purpose. I am personally inclined towards the idea that Graendal's orders to break Rand would have focused on Elayne, (perhaps using Duhara as a part of this plan, perhaps not,) and since Elayne seems overconfident about her survival in light of the prophesized birth of her babies, I think it would be particularly fitting if instead of being in physical danger, she is instead in mental danger from compulsion from Graendal. Of course having her brain wiped by compulsion would not prevent her children from being born healthy in the slightest. There is also something pleasing about us going from one Andoran Queen being held captive to a leacherous compulsive forsaken in her own palace, and the next queen also being held captive to a leacherous compulsive forsaken in that same palace.

 

Of course Graendal's MO is to remove a ruler from the public eye, and then send out functionaries to deal with the day to day functions, (similar to Mat's experience with Norry.) I am unsure on the timeline of how it would work, but if you follow this line of thinking is it possible that Rand felt Elayne's relief from being released from compulsion before she was actually released by virtue of the balefire time reversal? I am by no means a balefire philosopher, so I'll leave that to sharper minds than my own to answer, but it is an interesting thought.

 

If this turns out to be the case, I think it would be most fitting if either Galad and/or Morgase were accessories to Elayne's rescue in some fashion. Morgase seems like a fitting candidate as a recipient of similar treatment and considering her sole goal of supporting Elayne in any way possible. And Galad and his single minded rightness, seems like a perfectly suited person to avoid subtle trickery on the part of Graendal. Of course it could be argued that his singlemindedness would make him extremely easy to manipulate as well, so I'm unsure about Galad in this regard. There would be something fitting about Elayne having to revise her attitude towards Galad were he to rescue her though.

 

Basically, Graendal was given very specific orders and the most likely place for her to attempt to carry those out is in Camelyn considering how the DR's BabyMama is the worst kept secret ever. If Graendel is in fact following that course it explains Elayne's distance in this chapter very well, so that's what I suspect is going on.

[martianblues]

At first I thought "Blood in the Air" would be a Perrin chapter, referring to his sense of smell, but maybe not after reading that teaser...

[Naffy]

Wasn't killing Elayne (and Nynaeve) the Gholam's original orders? I was under the impression that it was following Mat under its own volition due to the fact that Mat is the only person that has ever been able to harm it. This leads me to believe that the Gholam will indeed go after Elayne.

[Demiandre]

While pregnant, would Elayne be able to link? With some AS around, maybe she could make a link and do it. Or if she can't, teach one of the Kin how to do. It's a rare Talent, but she sought only among the Salidar Aes Sedai.

[subwoofer]

Wow! Read the chapter- am left wanting more. Somebody said it already, but you figure Elayne would have sent for Thom at the very least, even just to tug his mustache. Woof™.

[subwoofer]

I don't remember Mat being so boob crazy but whatever, I guess Marriage really has changed him up. I did love him complaining about his coat.

 

I knew I liked Teslyn for a good reason, it is rather momentous to actually get a freaking THANK YOU from someone. Geez.

 

Agreed- what's more, it is rather momentous to get any kind of recognition from Aes Sedai! I know they can make words stand on end and their middle name is "manipulation", but to see one come forward that is honest... wow... and Teslyn even acknowledged her actions in the past to Mat. I know the dice are rattling, but and even like this- Mat needs to go out and buy a lottery ticket, these things don't happen very often. Woof™.

[subwoofer]

I see some evidence here that could lend itself well to Terez' Gawyn theory. If Mat decides that the best protection he can offer Elayne (after leaving) is to loan her the medallion, well Elayne is only one step away from Gawyn. It wouldn't work out exactly as her theory states, but I couldn't definitely see situations where Elayne then "loaned" the medallion to Gawyn.

 

Oh, she is definitely not loaning the medallion to Gawyn. To Alivia for battle, though? Hells yes.

 

It's not just that the gholam situation makes him more likely to leave the medallion - he left one queen to be killed by the gholam; he won't make the same mistake again - but the freaky incident with the dice. Nothing like that has EVER happened (closest thing was probably Comar, when the weights shifted). It's obviously hugely important.

 

Also, more foreshadowing for Mat going to the Tower before it's all over with. :D

 

I am reading it, just not feeling it, but maybe I will take you up on that bet Terez B) - Mat may give the medallion to Elayne, he did hint at a plan forming in his brain, but to make that next leap, we are talking about bridging a chasm. Don't see Gawyn coming to his senses any time soon and don't see him leaving Eggy any time soon- so there is miles between them. I also think that Mat may deal with the gholam before going to the ToG, probably so it is not waiting around for him when he leaves the ToG, and that will be in a hurry. Maybe that is what is in Verin's letter- she knows about the gholam and who set it on Mat and the why's of it all.

 

Just sayin'.

 

Woof™.

[NetSlider]

I don't remember Mat being so boob crazy but whatever, I guess Marriage really has changed him up. I did love him complaining about his coat.

 

I knew I liked Teslyn for a good reason, it is rather momentous to actually get a freaking THANK YOU from someone. Geez.

 

Agreed- what's more, it is rather momentous to get any kind of recognition from Aes Sedai! I know they can make words stand on end and their middle name is "manipulation", but to see one come forward that is honest... wow... and Teslyn even acknowledged her actions in the past to Mat. I know the dice are rattling, but and even like this- Mat needs to go out and buy a lottery ticket, these things don't happen very often. Woof™.

 

Question of topic - Did you really trade marked "Woof?" :)