Leigh Butlers Review

[Luckers]

This got lost in the accident, so I'm reposting. Here are the things Leigh mentioned.

 

1.“I totally cannot decide whether to be pleased about this, or kind of freaked out.”

2.“Okay, that may or may not have been quite a Crowning Moment of Awesome for _____, exactly, but that is unquestionably one of the coolest things that has ever happened in this series. All is forgiven, man.”

3.“Is it possible to have a complete seal-clapping moment of YAY, and shriek in utter fannish outrage at the same time? Because I have a feeling I’m about to find out.”

4.“This is suddenly seeming veeery familiar…”

5.“Well, finally, I have only been asking for this for like fifteen years. This is awesome. This is—wait. Uh, what’s going on… what are they… what does that… oh crap.”

6.“Man, it’s like a Barry White song up in here, except hilarious.”

7.“Wow, and just when I thought it wasn’t possible to despise you more. Nice job RUINING EVERYTHING, ____. Gah.”

8.“Oh. Er. So, I totally called that wrong. Am a bit red-faced now.”

9.“Okay, so maybe – maybe – you have redeemed yourself a little bit here, ____. You are provisionally allowed off my shit list. FOR NOW.”

10.“I think this is what they mean when they use the term ‘logical extreme’. About time, really.”

11.“WHAT? That is… that is horrible. No, no, no, no. THAT HAD BETTER NOT HAPPEN, TEAM JORDAN, DO NOT MAKE ME HURT YOU. I need a cookie now. And a hug. I HATE YOU ALL. (But, uh, man. Good writing, right there. I never would have seen that coming in a million years. P.S. I STILL HATE YOU.)”

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.”

13.“Holy hell, _____ just had a Moment of Awesome. Of all freakin’ people! I didn’t even think that was possible.”

14. “Oh for the love of Pete, _____, will you please DIE already? What’s it going to take, a nuclear goddamn strike? Sheesh.”

15.“Wait, what the hell just happened? I am so confused. And also, what?”

16.“HAHAHA I TOTALLY KNEW IT HAHAHAHA”

 

 

Based on the fact that the meeting between Rand and Egwene is in chapter two and without more build up, I'd say this...

 

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.”

 

Fits with Rand knowing the Amyrlin's anger.

[Charlz Guybon]

 

Based on the fact that the meeting between Rand and Egwene is in chapter two and without more build up, I'd say this...

 

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.”

 

Fits with Rand knowing the Amyrlin's anger.

How do you know it's in chapter 2? There could be a 200 page gap before we see Rand again.

[TheBeerPatriot]

 

Based on the fact that the meeting between Rand and Egwene is in chapter two and without more build up, I'd say this...

 

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.”

 

Fits with Rand knowing the Amyrlin's anger.

How do you know it's in chapter 2? There could be a 200 page gap before we see Rand again.

Hmmmm....unless the original poster somehow knows because they may have gotten an ARC? ;)

[Luckers]

 

Based on the fact that the meeting between Rand and Egwene is in chapter two and without more build up, I'd say this...

 

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.”

 

Fits with Rand knowing the Amyrlin's anger.

How do you know it's in chapter 2? There could be a 200 page gap before we see Rand again.

 

Brandon stated, when explaining why he chose chapter 8 for the wotgh, that chapter two builds upon chapter one. I suppose its possible that Rand doesn't make it to the Tower to meet Egwene--because, say, he runs into Gawyn. But I don't think its likely.

[Deadsy]

I think quite a few people have assumed since seeing her review that it meant the Amyrlin's Anger. I've never thought it would be bad though, since Egwene has been mad at him several times before and it wasn't a big deal.

[Morsker]

14. “Oh for the love of Pete, _____, will you please DIE already? What’s it going to take, a nuclear goddamn strike? Sheesh.”

Graendel! I wonder who fails though. I feel like she's going to be part of Rand's plot not Mat or Perrin's.

[Elend]

I kinda thought that would be Fain w.r.t the nuclear strike, actually. But is also a distinct possibility.

 

7.“Wow, and just when I thought it wasn’t possible to despise you more. Nice job RUINING EVERYTHING, ____. Gah.”

 

I kinda think this is Gawyn.

[ajfurst]

Brandon stated, when explaining why he chose chapter 8 for the wotgh, that chapter two builds upon chapter one. I suppose its possible that Rand doesn't make it to the Tower to meet Egwene--because, say, he runs into Gawyn. But I don't think its likely.

I believe you, but can you point me towards it?

[TreeJoe]

Graendal has been fortunate to escape dying one time, and through her own intellect not through pure luck or supernaturalness.

 

Fain & the Gholam are more likely - The gholam has been stabbed, channeled at, and fought Mat (who NO ONE beats)....and lived. So that's a strong possibility.

 

Fain - Fain attacked Rand while surrounded by Aes Sedai (and no one wove air around him, Gah!), Fain fought Rand when Rand had both hands and a sword in them, Fain has been hounded by Slayer and thousands of trollocs. Fain brought the mist into existence in Cairhien, not a bubble of evil. Fain slew 3 renegade Asha'man....blah blah blah.

 

I could see Fain surviving anything short of a nuclear blast. He's like the poisonous cockroach of Randland.

 

Joe

[GB]

7 & 9 gawyn?

 

11- end of a legend?

[TankSpill]

Answers in bolded red, too much work to requote every item. :)

 

 

2.“Okay, that may or may not have been quite a Crowning Moment of Awesome for _____, exactly, but that is unquestionably one of the coolest things that has ever happened in this series. All is forgiven, man.”

Gotta be Perrin situation - hopefully something to do with bringing Galad into his Circle of Trust

 

5.“Well, finally, I have only been asking for this for like fifteen years. This is awesome. This is—wait. Uh, what’s going on… what are they… what does that… oh crap.”

Though I don't necessarily agree with her theory verbatim, this does seem to have a feeling of what we may all feel if Terez' theory about Moraine coming back, only to have to kill Rand to save him, is in fact true! :)

 

7.“Wow, and just when I thought it wasn’t possible to despise you more. Nice job RUINING EVERYTHING, ____. Gah.”

Gawyn, Fain, or Cadsuane, based on the amount of vitriol in Leigh's post.

 

8.“Oh. Er. So, I totally called that wrong. Am a bit red-faced now.”

The answer to the Asmodean question?

 

9.“Okay, so maybe – maybe – you have redeemed yourself a little bit here, ____. You are provisionally allowed off my shit list. FOR NOW.”

Seems like a Cadsuane moment to me. Leigh doesn't seem to absolutely loathe Cads as much as others, so her being on (and thus, being off) a "shit list. FOR NOW." seems an accurate description.

 

11.“WHAT? That is… that is horrible. No, no, no, no. THAT HAD BETTER NOT HAPPEN, TEAM JORDAN, DO NOT MAKE ME HURT YOU. I need a cookie now. And a hug. I HATE YOU ALL. (But, uh, man. Good writing, right there. I never would have seen that coming in a million years. P.S. I STILL HATE YOU.)”

Possibly the Moraine/Rand thing I mentioned above? Or the death of a well-beloved character (Lan, Loial, Min?)

 

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.”

Definitely going to just bandwagon-it-up in here and say the Egwene/Rand thing.

 

13.“Holy hell, _____ just had a Moment of Awesome. Of all freakin’ people! I didn’t even think that was possible.”

I called it before, I'm calling it now - either Byar or Dain. Probably in relation to the whole Perrin/Galad/Whitecloaks/Asunuwa (sp?) thing.

 

14. “Oh for the love of Pete, _____, will you please DIE already? What’s it going to take, a nuclear goddamn strike? Sheesh.”

People are calling Graendal on this, but I think that's too obvious - going with Fain again.

 

16.“HAHAHA I TOTALLY KNEW IT HAHAHAHA”

Or, in re: #8, Leigh knew all along who Asmo's killer was!

[Gor]

1.“I totally cannot decide whether to be pleased about this, or kind of freaked out.” - No clue really, perhaps Rand's new found powers

 

2.“Okay, that may or may not have been quite a Crowning Moment of Awesome for _____, exactly, but that is unquestionably one of the coolest things that has ever happened in this series. All is forgiven, man.” - I am taking her literally with "man" and assuming male: Perrin, Gawyn, or Galad (in that order)

 

3.“Is it possible to have a complete seal-clapping moment of YAY, and shriek in utter fannish outrage at the same time? Because I have a feeling I’m about to find out.” - buh...?

 

4.“This is suddenly seeming veeery familiar…” - Mat and Thom (and Noal) on Bayle Domon's boat going to the Tower of G.

 

5.“Well, finally, I have only been asking for this for like fifteen years. This is awesome. This is—wait. Uh, what’s going on… what are they… what does that… oh crap.” - Tower of Ghenjei scene with Moiraine, or Lan reaching the Gap

 

6.“Man, it’s like a Barry White song up in here, except hilarious.” - Egwene/Gawyn, Mat/Tuon, Rand/Avi (in that order)

 

7.“Wow, and just when I thought it wasn’t possible to despise you more. Nice job RUINING EVERYTHING, ____. Gah.” - Gawyn or Cadsuane

 

8.“Oh. Er. So, I totally called that wrong. Am a bit red-faced now.” - Possibly Asmo's killer but I doubt it. More likely about Graendel's fate (if she did call that wrong I don't remember).

 

9.“Okay, so maybe – maybe – you have redeemed yourself a little bit here, ____. You are provisionally allowed off my shit list. FOR NOW.” - Gawyn or one of the Sea Folk peeps

 

10.“I think this is what they mean when they use the term ‘logical extreme’. About time, really.” - No clue which, but some theory is getting proven/disproven here

 

11.“WHAT? That is… that is horrible. No, no, no, no. THAT HAD BETTER NOT HAPPEN, TEAM JORDAN, DO NOT MAKE ME HURT YOU. I need a cookie now. And a hug. I HATE YOU ALL. (But, uh, man. Good writing, right there. I never would have seen that coming in a million years. P.S. I STILL HATE YOU.)” - Something with Olver

 

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.” - Rand vs Egwene

 

13.“Holy hell, _____ just had a Moment of Awesome. Of all freakin’ people! I didn’t even think that was possible.” - Some secondary character...Master Norry, Weiramon, Basel Gill, Teslyn, /shrug

 

14. “Oh for the love of Pete, _____, will you please DIE already? What’s it going to take, a nuclear goddamn strike? Sheesh.” - Gholam, Fain, Graendal, Lanfear (that order)

 

15.“Wait, what the hell just happened? I am so confused. And also, what?” - Huh?

 

16.“HAHAHA I TOTALLY KNEW IT HAHAHAHA” - Asmo's Killer (Graendal). Or Graendal living if she did call that right.

[Sentinel78]

1.“I totally cannot decide whether to be pleased about this, or kind of freaked out.” - No clue really, perhaps Rand's new found powers

 

This is exactly what I was thinking.

 

5.“Well, finally, I have only been asking for this for like fifteen years. This is awesome. This is—wait. Uh, what’s going on… what are they… what does that… oh crap.”

 

Well, something that's been expected for a long time is not going to go as planned, probably through some type of betrayal. Either Mat/Thom/Noal being captured upon entry into the ToG, the Borderlander meeting going REALLY badly (i.e., Rand is attacked in the male-only restricted are of the Guardian) or Ituralde confronting the Trolloc horde and getting his ass kicked for some unexpected reason, like the Ashaman turning on him.

[Gor]

 

13.“Holy hell, _____ just had a Moment of Awesome. Of all freakin’ people! I didn’t even think that was possible.”

I called it before, I'm calling it now - either Byar or Dain. Probably in relation to the whole Perrin/Galad/Whitecloaks/Asunuwa (sp?) thing.

Oh nice call, I like that idea a lot.

[Crossroad]

11.“WHAT? That is… that is horrible. No, no, no, no. THAT HAD BETTER NOT HAPPEN, TEAM JORDAN, DO NOT MAKE ME HURT YOU. I need a cookie now. And a hug. I HATE YOU ALL. (But, uh, man. Good writing, right there. I never would have seen that coming in a million years. P.S. I STILL HATE YOU.)” - Something with Olver

 

I agree its where we find out that like the ugly duckling Olver is far more than that. I have always thought he was a inactive DF but maybe not When Matt, Tom and one other go to the ToG he will reveal himself. What that maybe I have no clue.

[Thanatos]

13.“Holy hell, _____ just had a Moment of Awesome. Of all freakin’ people! I didn’t even think that was possible.”

 

Definitely going to go out on a limb and say Balwer. Everyone who knows him has said at one point or another that there is much more to him than being a secretary or spymaster.

[Cyf]

I always had a loony theory with Olver that would fit the details but go with Jordan's 'he is not Gaidal Cain' thing. Doubtful, but hey, it's fun. Basically Gaidal is trapped in the Tower of Genjei, having gone there for some reason, or gotten trapped there or something. And when Olver goes in, he 'dies' and Gaidal takes over his body or merges with him or something.

 

Loony, yes, but still.

[Carrie]

6.“Man, it’s like a Barry White song up in here, except hilarious.”

I really hope it's Mat/Tuon.

 

11.“WHAT? That is… that is horrible. No, no, no, no. THAT HAD BETTER NOT HAPPEN, TEAM JORDAN, DO NOT MAKE ME HURT YOU. I need a cookie now. And a hug. I HATE YOU ALL. (But, uh, man. Good writing, right there. I never would have seen that coming in a million years. P.S. I STILL HATE YOU.)”

I first thought it was possibly Min dying after Graendal attacks her, but maybe it does have something to do with Olver.

[NetSlider]

11.“WHAT? That is… that is horrible. No, no, no, no. THAT HAD BETTER NOT HAPPEN, TEAM JORDAN, DO NOT MAKE ME HURT YOU. I need a cookie now. And a hug. I HATE YOU ALL. (But, uh, man. Good writing, right there. I never would have seen that coming in a million years. P.S. I STILL HATE YOU.)”

Somewhat dieing? Rand maybe. And after that we see this:

14. “Oh for the love of Pete, _____, will you please DIE already? What’s it going to take, a nuclear goddamn strike? Sheesh.”

Obviously Graendal!

15.“Wait, what the hell just happened? I am so confused. And also, what?”

Confusion...

16.“HAHAHA I TOTALLY KNEW IT HAHAHAHA”

Total happiness (I think related to point # 14.)

So, here it comes, Rand is killed (thus tied to the horn as hero) maybe while trying to kill Graendal and everyone think he did it, Graendal appears again (maybe trying to take out Elain), someone takes her out (maybe Silverbow) and than Elain (she has copy of the ring to get to TAR i think) pulls Rand out like she did silverbow!

Go ahead and shut it down.

[Gor]

I'm pretty sure Leigh said that the reactions were not in any chronological order; so don't read too much into the order of quotations.

[Tom Sawyer]

I think that 2 or 9 is Gawyn. He's become a little emo twit, but he does have kick-ass potential and it would be nice to see him man up a bit.

 

7 is screaming Faile to me. There's a major Perrin storyline in this book, so you know she's going to be fucking things up out of pure bitchiness at some point. Maybe 4 is her too - she could get kidnapped again.

[crazyone]

In regards to number 5: Fifteen years ago was about the time that Lord of Chaos came out, and we first began wondering about a Dem/Taim mix. I think this will be something to do with revealing who Dem is posing as these days. (But then again....I am crazy)

[Tom Sawyer]

Hey, I still think that Taim's Demandred despite all the overwhelming and conclusive evidence to the contrary.

 

I think that one does refer to the rescue of Moiraine, though, and the bit at the end is to do with Olver.

[Impressive Bosom]

 

Based on the fact that the meeting between Rand and Egwene is in chapter two and without more build up, I'd say this...

 

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.”

 

Fits with Rand knowing the Amyrlin's anger.

How do you know it's in chapter 2? There could be a 200 page gap before we see Rand again.

 

Brandon stated, when explaining why he chose chapter 8 for the wotgh, that chapter two builds upon chapter one. I suppose its possible that Rand doesn't make it to the Tower to meet Egwene--because, say, he runs into Gawyn. But I don't think its likely.

This is how I read it:

 

1.“I totally cannot decide whether to be pleased about this, or kind of freaked out.”

Chapter 1 that we all read, referencing Rand's new Zen-like state.

 

2.“Okay, that may or may not have been quite a Crowning Moment of Awesome for _____, exactly, but that is unquestionably one of the coolest things that has ever happened in this series. All is forgiven, man.”

All if forgiven 'man'? If this is building on chapter 1 and Rand is definitely headed towards Tar Valon to speak with Egwene, then this has to be Rand's meeting with Gawyn on the way, or possibly Gawyn's complete capitulation to Egwene though I'm strongly leaning towards the former. What other man would need to have everything be forgiven by the reader and would be in that situation?

 

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.”

Typical cut away after Chapter 2 finally brings us back to the actual Rand-Egwene meeting.

[TheBeerPatriot]

 

This is how I read it:

 

1.“I totally cannot decide whether to be pleased about this, or kind of freaked out.”

Chapter 1 that we all read, referencing Rand's new Zen-like state.

 

2.“Okay, that may or may not have been quite a Crowning Moment of Awesome for _____, exactly, but that is unquestionably one of the coolest things that has ever happened in this series. All is forgiven, man.”

All if forgiven 'man'? If this is building on chapter 1 and Rand is definitely headed towards Tar Valon to speak with Egwene, then this has to be Rand's meeting with Gawyn on the way, or possibly Gawyn's complete capitulation to Egwene though I'm strongly leaning towards the former. What other man would need to have everything be forgiven by the reader and would be in that situation?

 

12.“Well. I was kind of thinking that was going to be a bit more… dramatic. Or at least have a lot more yelling. But, you know. Okay then.”

Typical cut away after Chapter 2 finally brings us back to the actual Rand-Egwene meeting.

Regarding the 2nd point from Leigh's review, I first thought (and still think) it refers to Perrin. I think his character development has really stagnated since TSR, and I'm looking for a big rebound from him...I hope. But if it isn't referring to Perrin, then yes it's got to be Gawyn.