Mat's Arc

[Hand of the Creator]

Mat + sack full of badgers = SO MUCH WIN.

[guyminuslife]

I did assume it was Moridin, but if Moridin *did* go to the Tower to get Cyndane/Lanfear, what price did he pay?

 

On the other hand, he probably spent 3,000 years figuring out how to beat snakes and ladders.

[Majsju]

I did assume it was Moridin, but if Moridin *did* go to the Tower to get Cyndane/Lanfear, what price did he pay?

 

On the other hand, he probably spent 3,000 years figuring out how to beat snakes and ladders.

 

Well, the finns seem to have a liking for objects of the OP, of which Moridin appears to have a considerable collection. Or, he paid them with a sack of babies.

[ShadowsFell]

Mat is neither stupid, illiterate or rude on purpose. Elayne would know this upon receiving the letter. So maybe there is a hidden message in there somewhere? Cryptography anyone?

 

I beg to differ. I agree, Mat is not stupid. However, he says what he thinks, things that he knows could be taken offensively, so of course he's rude on purpose sometimes, especially when the situation calls for it.

 

And being smart really does not necessarily have to translate into excellent written communication skills. And being literate, in the sense of knowing how to read, does also not translate into good written communucation skills.

 

And maybe before he had several drafts of a letter, whereas this one was first draft, one he didn't bother to rewrite, as he said. Or maybe he was in a hurry, which he was, and was really irritated with Elayne, which he was, which could have affected things. Or maybe he's a class A author in the old tongue, that wouldn't transfer to current words/sentence structure.

 

Bottom line, I think it was in character for Mat, it made me laugh, and I thought it fit in the story.

 

I also think people arguing over the letter are thinking too much :)

[Sharaman]

Mat is neither stupid, illiterate or rude on purpose. Elayne would know this upon receiving the letter. So maybe there is a hidden message in there somewhere? Cryptography anyone?

 

I beg to differ. I agree, Mat is not stupid. However, he says what he thinks, things that he knows could be taken offensively, so of course he's rude on purpose sometimes, especially when the situation calls for it.

 

And being smart really does not necessarily have to translate into excellent written communication skills. And being literate, in the sense of knowing how to read, does also not translate into good written communucation skills.

 

And maybe before he had several drafts of a letter, whereas this one was first draft, one he didn't bother to rewrite, as he said. Or maybe he was in a hurry, which he was, and was really irritated with Elayne, which he was, which could have affected things. Or maybe he's a class A author in the old tongue, that wouldn't transfer to current words/sentence structure.

 

Bottom line, I think it was in character for Mat, it made me laugh, and I thought it fit in the story.

 

I also think people arguing over the letter are thinking too much :)

 

Most of us have read ACoS and some of us remember Mat writing a letter (just one draft) to Elayne & Nynaeve where he was equally blunt but far more literate. No spelling errors, no crossing out.

That was while he was fielding Tylin's cleavage.

So the unorthodox orthography in this seems stretched to the point where you'd expect Elayne to wonder what was wrong, assuming she remembered the earlier document.

Of course, maybe he found Thom more distracting than Tylin?

[ClubCaved]

Considering that just asking questions/making requests of the 'Finn that touch on the Dark One is dangerous, I don't think the Naeblis would risk going into the Tower of Ghenjei. Slayer probably got that job and Moridin took out the Tear gate. It's possible, though, that the doorway in Tear melted at the same time as the one in Cairhien did. I was also pleased to see that my theory about Norry not recognizing Mat was the correct answer to why Elayne hadn't answered his letters.

[slacker123]

Mat is neither stupid, illiterate or rude on purpose. Elayne would know this upon receiving the letter. So maybe there is a hidden message in there somewhere? Cryptography anyone?

 

I beg to differ. I agree, Mat is not stupid. However, he says what he thinks, things that he knows could be taken offensively, so of course he's rude on purpose sometimes, especially when the situation calls for it.

 

And being smart really does not necessarily have to translate into excellent written communication skills. And being literate, in the sense of knowing how to read, does also not translate into good written communucation skills.

 

And maybe before he had several drafts of a letter, whereas this one was first draft, one he didn't bother to rewrite, as he said. Or maybe he was in a hurry, which he was, and was really irritated with Elayne, which he was, which could have affected things. Or maybe he's a class A author in the old tongue, that wouldn't transfer to current words/sentence structure.

 

Bottom line, I think it was in character for Mat, it made me laugh, and I thought it fit in the story.

 

I also think people arguing over the letter are thinking too much :)

 

Most of us have read ACoS and some of us remember Mat writing a letter (just one draft) to Elayne & Nynaeve where he was equally blunt but far more literate. No spelling errors, no crossing out.

That was while he was fielding Tylin's cleavage.

So the unorthodox orthography in this seems stretched to the point where you'd expect Elayne to wonder what was wrong, assuming she remembered the earlier document.

Of course, maybe he found Thom more distracting than Tylin?

 

it was not "blunt"

he specifically says that they could not ask for "pleasanter"

[slacker123]

Considering that just asking questions/making requests of the 'Finn that touch on the Dark One is dangerous, I don't think the Naeblis would risk going into the Tower of Ghenjei. Slayer probably got that job and Moridin took out the Tear gate. It's possible, though, that the doorway in Tear melted at the same time as the one in Cairhien did. I was also pleased to see that my theory about Norry not recognizing Mat was the correct answer to why Elayne hadn't answered his letters.

 

they did in fact imply that it was also melted on this side because it was melted on the other side

[masty]

Am I the only one who is little disappointed with the ToG sequence, I thought it was shorter and hurried. I bet this was the sequence which Jason was talking about in Podcast which all the beta testers wanted changed but BS said this was how jordan wrote it.

 

Other than that Mat was Mat enjoying the world(may be little bit lesser than usual since he is married) even though the last battle is breathing down the neck.

 

Also I am little bit disappointed that he didn't open verin's letter he was much more nobler than that.

 

Again I might have been the only one thinking "Save the cheerleader Save the world" when Mat's rescue of Moriane was equated to saving the world :-).

[Mulk]

I suppose he could have dragged it out some given how long Birgitte said she was trapped in there. Honestly, though, the whole rescue struck me as a raid scenario - get in, grab, get out, hopefully before they kill you all. In that respect, the frenetic pacing made perfect sense to me. My main complaint (a small one given how much I enjoyed the book) was how late in the book it fell.

[Bob T Dwarf]

Am I the only one who is little disappointed with the ToG sequence, I thought it was shorter and hurried. I bet this was the sequence which Jason was talking about in Podcast which all the beta testers wanted changed but BS said this was how jordan wrote it.

 

Other than that Mat was Mat enjoying the world(may be little bit lesser than usual since he is married) even though the last battle is breathing down the neck.

 

Also I am little bit disappointed that he didn't open verin's letter he was much more nobler than that.

 

Again I might have been the only one thinking "Save the cheerleader Save the world" when Mat's rescue of Moriane was equated to saving the world :-).

 

Hayden Panettiere is in The Tower of Ghenjei????

[bushleague16]

So is it safe to say the lettering on Mat's spear was the big unnoticed thing? I feel like the reviewers said that it had "massive implications" for this book, and getting those guys out was cool and all, but I feel a little bit let down after all the hype.

 

Also, I'm in the boat that Moridian was the one who visited the finns... he wouldn't have cared to kill Moiraine because he would have to bargain for her... he just wanted Lanfear dead so they could bring her back.

[masty]

So is it safe to say the lettering on Mat's spear was the big unnoticed thing? I feel like the reviewers said that it had "massive implications" for this book, and getting those guys out was cool and all, but I feel a little bit let down after all the hype.

 

Also, I'm in the boat that Moridian was the one who visited the finns... he wouldn't have cared to kill Moiraine because he would have to bargain for her... he just wanted Lanfear dead so they could bring her back.

 

But the explanation kind of made sense why would the finns give mat the Ashandarei it was given because mat wanted a way out and it was key to getting out, glad mat figured it out.

 

We have seen Luc/Isam visit the Tower before. If Lanfear cannot escape how could Moridin escape?

[Sharaman]

So is it safe to say the lettering on Mat's spear was the big unnoticed thing? I feel like the reviewers said that it had "massive implications" for this book, and getting those guys out was cool and all, but I feel a little bit let down after all the hype.

 

Also, I'm in the boat that Moridian was the one who visited the finns... he wouldn't have cared to kill Moiraine because he would have to bargain for her... he just wanted Lanfear dead so they could bring her back.

 

But the explanation kind of made sense why would the finns give mat the Ashandarei it was given because mat wanted a way out and it was key to getting out, glad mat figured it out.

 

We have seen Luc/Isam visit the Tower before. If Lanfear cannot escape how could Moridin escape?

Luc-Isam may or may not have entered the ToG. We don't know.

Lanfear was trapped because she did not have asked for a free pass out. Remains to be seen what she did ask for.

Moridin would certainly have the knowledge/ nous to bargain carefully before going to Finnland - ensuring he got out alive and unharmed.

He would also brief anybody he sent.

Plus Moridin can channel TP, which may not be something the Finns can handle.

[lordofsoup]

Rand got out channeling Saidin. So it is possible to channel. Lafear and Moriane probably both lost the power when they tumbled though the doorway, or maybe stunned. They also would not know how to get out, so even if they escaped for a time, eventually they would have been caught.

[Rootbeer]

Reading the Mat's letter ruined that scene for me.

It didn't make "sense". Mat was shown as lazy, mischievous, and even slow at times, but since when is he an idiot? It was completely out-of-character for him. I literally paused in the middle of reading it and sighed. And I thought making fun of Mat's wits was going a bit too far.

 

Well, Mat's journey into the ToG was pretty good. I wish there were more hints that his spear was a key, perhaps his wish could have worded better to fit the role, but it wasn't BS's fault.

Not much complaints here, but is it just me, or are there hints that Mat's memory are fading?

[Bob T Dwarf]

Reading the Mat's letter ruined that scene for me.

It didn't make "sense". Mat was shown as lazy, mischievous, and even slow at times, but since when is he an idiot? It was completely out-of-character for him. I literally paused in the middle of reading it and sighed. And I thought making fun of Mat's wits was going a bit too far.

 

If I had to bet money, I'd bet that the letter was written by Jordan.

[bushleague16]

Reading the Mat's letter ruined that scene for me.

It didn't make "sense". Mat was shown as lazy, mischievous, and even slow at times, but since when is he an idiot? It was completely out-of-character for him. I literally paused in the middle of reading it and sighed. And I thought making fun of Mat's wits was going a bit too far.

 

If I had to bet money, I'd bet that the letter was written by Jordan.

 

Nah definately BS. It's a small unimportant thing that I doubt RJ would have pre-written ahead of time... plus we've been told RJ wrote a bunch of Rand/egwene stuff but not much for Perrin and Mat. BS is just trying to find his stride with Mat but he's overdoing it a little... if you read his other works, BS loves to add in sarcasim and characters that like to goof around (see Lightsong in Warbreaker and Breeze/Kelsier in Mistborn)

[Rootbeer]

Reading the Mat's letter ruined that scene for me.

It didn't make "sense". Mat was shown as lazy, mischievous, and even slow at times, but since when is he an idiot? It was completely out-of-character for him. I literally paused in the middle of reading it and sighed. And I thought making fun of Mat's wits was going a bit too far.

 

If I had to bet money, I'd bet that the letter was written by Jordan.

Really? How much money?

 

P.S I don't think RJ wrote it.

 

P.P.S Not in his right mind, of course.

[AuldGoldBeard]

The letter was absolutely awful; can't believe the editors let that through after ACOS. Sanderson's humor is more over-the-top and slapstick, but Harriet should have said something when he screws with the character that badly.

 

Overall, Mat was much better written than in TGS. I would put money on RJ having written the ToG scenes, which I thought were very well done. (These chapters and the two with Aviendha in the columns are the only ones I'm sure RJ wrote; the writing style is just completely different from most of the rest of the book.)

 

I was a little disappointed with the gholam thing. The fight itself wasn't really the climax--we've seen Mat fight it before, and with more immediately at stake. What was important, and made this different, was the Gateway, and we didn't get to see any of the thought process behind that, and didn't even learn it was there until the gholam was falling.

 

I somehow always interpreted "half the light of the world," as "half the Light in the whole wide world," not Mat simply losing an eye. I of course knew that would happen, just always thought of them as two separate events, so I loved the connection there. Not sure why an eye should be all that valuable, though.

[Rootbeer]

The letter was absolutely awful; can't believe the editors let that through after ACOS. Sanderson's humor is more over-the-top and slapstick, but Harriet should have said something when he screws with the character that badly.

 

Overall, Mat was much better written than in TGS. I would put money on RJ having written the ToG scenes, which I thought were very well done. (These chapters and the two with Aviendha in the columns are the only ones I'm sure RJ wrote; the writing style is just completely different from most of the rest of the book.)

 

I was a little disappointed with the gholam thing. The fight itself wasn't really the climax--we've seen Mat fight it before, and with more immediately at stake. What was important, and made this different, was the Gateway, and we didn't get to see any of the thought process behind that, and didn't even learn it was there until the gholam was falling.

 

I somehow always interpreted "half the light of the world," as "half the Light in the whole wide world," not Mat simply losing an eye. I of course knew that would happen, just always thought of them as two separate events, so I loved the connection there. Not sure why an eye should be all that valuable, though.

Oh, it's not the eye itself.

They just love the taste of ta'veren in pain. I think it's like their drug, and Mat's the only dealer around. I bet they'll agree to anything for a taste.

 

*Sigh*

Could probably trade in the other one for superman vision. Like laser eyes and x-ray.

[r4t5y6u7]

I agree with most people the letter was a bit over the top. But it was the second letter he sent to Elayne. It had to be offensive/over the top to make sure it was sent to Elayne rather than dismissed like the first one. Anyone else wish there had been 100+ more pages of Mat in the book and less of Perrin/Egwene? I really hope the last book has a heavy dose of Mat/Fortuona.

[Elend]

Anyone else getting the vibe that Moiraine's importance is linked to the giant meeting about ready to be held? Or perhaps rooted in the defense of Caemlyn in some manner? Both are possible directions for her to go at this point.

 

I highly doubt she's just going to be a cheerleader.

 

And the letter really did bug me. Other than that I thought Mat was not only dead-on, but funnier than any other Mat I'd read while still reading like Mat. If that makes sense. It just seemed so perfect for his character and I loved the points of view of Mat from non-Mat people (I split WoT characters into two groups- Mat, and notMat).

[Sharaman]

I agree with most people the letter was a bit over the top. But it was the second letter he sent to Elayne. It had to be offensive/over the top to make sure it was sent to Elayne rather than dismissed like the first one. Anyone else wish there had been 100+ more pages of Mat in the book and less of Perrin/Egwene? I really hope the last book has a heavy dose of Mat/Fortuona.

It's not the content or the tone - it's the spelling and grammatical errors, etc.

It was the third Letter Mat's written to Elayne - see the first in ACoS to figure out why this one strikes such a wrong note.

[FarShainMael]

How he escaped was masterful. I have not seen that theory on any board, ever.

 

Nor have I. A number of us did wonder how the ashandarei fitted into Mat's three 'purchases' - I called it a Post-it note - but we didn't see that one coming.