Discuss Prologue Through Chapter 25

[Luckers]

Go.

[Gor]

God, Nyneave has been such a badass so far. Can't believe I just said that. Healing the madness was awesome.

 

I hope she continues to smack some sense into the rest of the Aes Sedai, and sadly Egwene (/stab /stab! Gawyn has more sense than you now!) as well who really has become an Aes Sedai in the worst sense.

 

Elayne did something stupid again, but at least this time she rescued herself (with Mat's somewhat indirect help though) so that was good to see.

 

Also, anyone else thinking of Demandred + (presumably) Murandy's army being the invading force that is going to hit Caemlyn? I can't think of anyone else that Chesmal could be referencing. Geographically it at least makes sense at least, but gateways nullify geography so meh. I suppose it could also be the Black Tower + escaped BA...or all three. Oh, and I guess this means Sylvase is a DF...she actually seemed fairly competent, ah well.

 

Hmm, let's see...Mat has been absolutely perfect. I was bracing myself for the death of Birgitte in "An End of a Legend" as soon as I saw the Dice-icon for that chapter, very sneaky result RJ/BS...and *very* interesting 'finn infos!

 

Perrin/Galad, just get to it already. Morgase, tell everyone you're Morgase already. I like where I think their arcs are going, I just want them to get there already so I can start liking them all again.

 

That's all I got for now...can't wait to get home and continue!

[Bob T Dwarf]

Morgase, tell everyone you're Morgase already. I like where I think their arcs are going, I just want them to get there already so I can start liking them all again.

 

Amen to that.

[AnthonyJamesEnglish]

Lan is such an amazing idiot lol He's compared often to Rand but he's alot like Perrin atm, with he's whole "im not friggin king nor am i taking people on " talk.

[A2597]

He's never viewed himself as king though. And he's always viewed the war with the shadow as HIS war...not others. Moriane was the only other person who he saw that shared his task - maybe rand as well. This little journey will change him I think, make him a leader rather than just a warrior.

[NetSlider]

Lan is such an amazing idiot lol He's compared often to Rand but he's alot like Perrin atm, with he's whole "im not friggin king nor am i taking people on " talk.

 

HAHA!!! I can also see parallels between Nay and Faile.

[Alanna]

I totally thought Birgitte was going to die in that chaper too! When we got her POV in that chapter, I was sure she was going to die LOL.

[capuga]

Lan is such an amazing idiot lol He's compared often to Rand but he's alot like Perrin atm, with he's whole "im not friggin king nor am i taking people on " talk.

 

I found Lan very frustrating. If you are just planning to die why not just kill yourself. If you want to actually strike a meaningful blow to the Shadow then gather an army that can actually make a difference. These men are Borderlanders and will fight the Shadow at the Last Battle anyway. Why not provide your expertise, leadership, and moral boost to give them a fighting chance?

[abremms]

yarr, I never really got Lan's reluctance to accept the help of his people. Why does he have the right to ride to his death, but none of the other Malkier have that right? Unless Rand shows up with help, they are pretty likely to find their death at the gap regardless of how many people ride under the golden crane.

 

omg i didn't even think about Birgitte dieing in that chapter! oh man, im so relieved in retrospect. Although, I have been on edge the entire book! every little victory or happy moment or good thing that happens just increases this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, All thanks to that damned prologue chapter from Grendal's POV! something bad is going to happen, and every little victory just makes the inevitable fall harder!

 

putting that Grendal POV in the prologue was a stroke of genius by Jordan/Sanderson, this is one of the lightest books in the series so far, th Light is fighting back and seems to be gaining some ground but thanks to one scene in the prologue, i am filled with dread through it all. I am really impressed.

[Dredlord]

Lan is such an amazing idiot lol He's compared often to Rand but he's alot like Perrin atm, with he's whole "im not friggin king nor am i taking people on " talk.

 

I found Lan very frustrating. If you are just planning to die why not just kill yourself. If you want to actually strike a meaningful blow to the Shadow then gather an army that can actually make a difference. These men are Borderlanders and will fight the Shadow at the Last Battle anyway. Why not provide your expertise, leadership, and moral boost to give them a fighting chance?

 

 

Hard to not be ticked at Lan right now. He walks around telling Rand all that "Duty is heavier than a mountain, death lighter than a feather" stuff... then pulls this? How about taking your own advice there? Its easier to talk the talk than walk the walk isn't it Bub?

[autobus]

putting that Grendal POV in the prologue was a stroke of genius by Jordan/Sanderson, this is one of the lightest books in the series so far, th Light is fighting back and seems to be gaining some ground but thanks to one scene in the prologue, i am filled with dread through it all. I am really impressed.

 

Graendal's POV did not give me the sense of dread. There are hundreds of thousands of trollocs/shadowspawn in Saldea. An ocean of trollocs in Kandor. Don't worry though, the Band of the Red Hand has 10,000 men. No problem. I'm not worried about Graendal.

[EAS812]

Have I missed something...how can Tam be with Perrin's army AND at Tear at the same time?

[smileyman]

Have I missed something...how can Tam be with Perrin's army AND at Tear at the same time?

 

Different timelines. Perrin's timeline is running behind that of Rand's.

[martianblues]

I just posted this in the "Typo/Errata" thread, but I need to post it here to:

 

ARRRG! I downloaded the audiobook, since I usually wait until the paperback is out (to match the rest of my collection) so I don't see the typos on the page, but I just discovered a very frustrating glitch in the audio version of chapter 24: there is a chunk missing!!! The part where Perrin is talking to Hopper after chasing the wolves, it skips ahead to the very end of a fight with Slayer, and I can't even tell how much is missing!!!

 

I will go to the appropriate spoiler thread for this part of the book to ask this question: WHAT HAPPENED OMG??!! I might need to run to the book store just to read those few pages, if I can find a copy.

[alexeip]

I'm in Chapter 21 right now, just started Ituralde's POV. Am I the only wondering when he's going to pull his head out of his ass and properly use his assets? I mean, for the love of Pete, he's got a bunch of Asha'man assigned to his command. They could have taken out those trebuchets instantly, but he had them on healing duty. Now he's retreating piecemeal, and not really using them either. WTF?

 

 

And seriously.....those Saldaeans in Maradon are pissing me off. I HAD respect for the country before, but.....seriously??? Hiding behind the walls and letting someone ELSE fight their battle for them at their own fortifications??? And then, to add insult to injury, they don't allow him and his army solace to retreat to the city? Seriously??? I thought these guys were supposed to be valiant defenders of the Blightborder. Death is lighter than a feather, all that.

 

 

Saldaea. Epic FAIL!

[EAS812]

Have I missed something...how can Tam be with Perrin's army AND at Tear at the same time?

 

Different timelines. Perrin's timeline is running behind that of Rand's.

 

Thanks for the explanation! The different timelines are extremely unclear (and unnecessarily puzzling) given the book's structure. Seems like ToM and BS could have benefited from an engaged editor.

[EAS812]

I'm in Chapter 21 right now, just started Ituralde's POV. Am I the only wondering when he's going to pull his head out of his ass and properly use his assets? I mean, for the love of Pete, he's got a bunch of Asha'man assigned to his command. They could have taken out those trebuchets instantly, but he had them on healing duty. Now he's retreating piecemeal, and not really using them either. WTF?

 

 

And seriously.....those Saldaeans in Maradon are pissing me off. I HAD respect for the country before, but.....seriously??? Hiding behind the walls and letting someone ELSE fight their battle for them at their own fortifications??? And then, to add insult to injury, they don't allow him and his army solace to retreat to the city? Seriously??? I thought these guys were supposed to be valiant defenders of the Blightborder. Death is lighter than a feather, all that.

 

 

Saldaea. Epic FAIL!

 

It's called "padding" -- extending the story for no other purpose than to stretch it out...a syndrome ToM (and GS) suffer from (but then a 3 book contract is probably more lucrative for writer and publisher than a single book contract)

[gunderwo]

 

It's called "padding" -- extending the story for no other purpose than to stretch it out...a syndrome ToM (and GS) suffer from (but then a 3 book contract is probably more lucrative for writer and publisher than a single book contract)

 

 

Perhaps you should read the real reason behind the split rather than making baseless accusations. http://www.brandonsanderson.com/article/56/Splitting-AMOL

[gunderwo]

Thanks for the explanation! The different timelines are extremely unclear (and unnecessarily puzzling) given the book's structure. Seems like ToM and BS could have benefited from an engaged editor.

 

Due to splitting up the massive amount of content supplied by RJ upon his passing and the subsequent decision that it needed to be split up so the whole story could be told the story had to be split. In order to get a cohesive set of story arcs and plot lines that fit into The Gathering Storm the Perrin story arc was left behind to be completed in this book. It may not be ideal but it's not that hard to follow if you're paying attention.

 

Apparently you just want to find out what happens at the end as fast as possible, so I suggest you wait till the last book comes out next year, skip to the end and just read the ending. However some of us that have been reading the books for almost 20 years now would be really disappointed if we missed out on the entire story just to get the ending faster. I prefer the detail. I prefer the fact that BS and the engaged editor, and wife of RJ, Harriet have taken the time to do it right rather than fast.

[EAS812]

Thanks for the explanation! The different timelines are extremely unclear (and unnecessarily puzzling) given the book's structure. Seems like ToM and BS could have benefited from an engaged editor.

 

Due to splitting up the massive amount of content supplied by RJ upon his passing and the subsequent decision that it needed to be split up so the whole story could be told the story had to be split. In order to get a cohesive set of story arcs and plot lines that fit into The Gathering Storm the Perrin story arc was left behind to be completed in this book. It may not be ideal but it's not that hard to follow if you're paying attention.

 

Apparently you just want to find out what happens at the end as fast as possible, so I suggest you wait till the last book comes out next year, skip to the end and just read the ending. However some of us that have been reading the books for almost 20 years now would be really disappointed if we missed out on the entire story just to get the ending faster. I prefer the detail. I prefer the fact that BS and the engaged editor, and wife of RJ, Harriet have taken the time to do it right rather than fast.

Thank you gunderwo, for your explanation and direction to the explanation site. Excellent eye-opener! Thank you, too for your generosity of spirit in sharing the information and helping me to develop a much deeper appreciation of the work that has gone into the creation of the climactic novels.

 

Of course, I will confess that I am a bit impatient...in reading as in other aspects of life. Time to take a breath, slow down and savor the details. Oddly enough, you've helped me in more ways than one!

[apbadd]

While this book does jump quite a bit from POV to POV (even in a single chapter) I do not agree with those that say this book deals with long standing arcs in short order. Unless of course neither Matt nor Perrin accomplish anything until the final chapters, which at this pace might be.

[Impressive Bosom]

I'm getting a little nervous - I've gotten about half-way through the book now and they haven't even left for the Tower of Ghenji yet, there's barely been a hint of anything having to do with the Black Tower, nothing on Aviendha yet... please tell me they get to at least some of this stuff before I run out of pages!

[Rybal]

Based on the Cover alone, you should know to expect to see the Tower of Ghenji.

 

All I can say to the other items is that you will see them at some point.

[gunderwo]

Thanks for the explanation! The different timelines are extremely unclear (and unnecessarily puzzling) given the book's structure. Seems like ToM and BS could have benefited from an engaged editor.

 

Due to splitting up the massive amount of content supplied by RJ upon his passing and the subsequent decision that it needed to be split up so the whole story could be told the story had to be split. In order to get a cohesive set of story arcs and plot lines that fit into The Gathering Storm the Perrin story arc was left behind to be completed in this book. It may not be ideal but it's not that hard to follow if you're paying attention.

 

Apparently you just want to find out what happens at the end as fast as possible, so I suggest you wait till the last book comes out next year, skip to the end and just read the ending. However some of us that have been reading the books for almost 20 years now would be really disappointed if we missed out on the entire story just to get the ending faster. I prefer the detail. I prefer the fact that BS and the engaged editor, and wife of RJ, Harriet have taken the time to do it right rather than fast.

Thank you gunderwo, for your explanation and direction to the explanation site. Excellent eye-opener! Thank you, too for your generosity of spirit in sharing the information and helping me to develop a much deeper appreciation of the work that has gone into the creation of the climactic novels.

 

Of course, I will confess that I am a bit impatient...in reading as in other aspects of life. Time to take a breath, slow down and savor the details. Oddly enough, you've helped me in more ways than one!

 

Excellent, I wouldn't want us to put to long a handle on our axes. I've always felt life is more about the journey rather than the destination. Glad I could help, despite what may have been a bit of cattiness.

[mikedh]

Elayne died!!! almost