Is CoT going to be as bad as I'm told?

[jmikea]

I thought it was a worthless addition to the series the first time I read through it. Very little happened in any of the arcs I really cared about. I seriously thought they were padding the series and fleecing the readers.

 

The second time through I liked it a lot better. Maybe lower expectations and not having that 'I waited 2 years for THIS!?' feeling helped. That, and as the previous poster mentioned, being able to put it down when I was done and immediately pick up the next book. Whatever the reason, I picked out some subtleties that I completely missed the first time and as a result revised my opinion. Still the worst in the series, but not a bad book. Hey, someone's gotta finish last, right?

[rsahae]

For the Mat and Tuon scenes alone, this book is a winner. A WINNER! Yes I'm saying it: I like this book. The worst parts are everything in the Perrin story arc. But some of the coolest moments of the series are in this book! Isn't this the one with "UP AXES AND CLEAR THE FIELD!" in it? All the Ogier stuff in CoT is just way too super cool.

 

We get to explore the relationship between Aes Sedai and bonded Asha'man further (I'm specifically thinking of the gold dragon pin business).

 

And we get our first breaths of fresh, un-tainted air in a world with clean saidin! And we get to watch all the other idiots wonder just what could have caused that much channeling.

 

We get some Harine POV, right? We get more insight into the world of the sea folk.

 

And, Mat Mat Mat! And is the scene where Tuon and Selucia try to re-establish the a'dam in this book? I totally love that scene. On a read-through, I'll go back and read that scene over and over. Mat is a true superhero!

 

Yeah, it's safe to say CoT rocks! And only RJ could pull off a book without a climax...go figure. Although if I had to put my finger on a climax, I would say Mat killing the rogue marath'damane is actually a pretty legit climax.

[moratcorlm]

Isn't this the one with "UP AXES AND CLEAR THE FIELD!" in it?

No, that's KOD.

We get some Harine POV, right? We get more insight into the world of the sea folk.

Also KOD.

And is the scene where Tuon and Selucia try to re-establish the a'dam in this book?

Once again, KOD.

 

KOD is, I agree, one of the best books of the series. COT... well, I agree with this:

For the Mat and Tuon scenes alone, this book is a winner. A WINNER! Yes I'm saying it: I like this book. The worst parts are everything in the Perrin story arc.

Though I'd disagree with "winner." It's passable.

[David Selig]

So there are actually readers who thought having Harine's PoV in the books is a good thing? You learn something new every day, I guess. ;)

[moratcorlm]

Harine's actual POV chapter is fairly amusing, and I thought Shalon's POV in Winter's Heart was one of the few redeeming things about the Far Madding storyline. Pretty much everything else the two of them or Zaida get into is obnoxious, except the interlude in the 'bath chapter' where Zaida is outfoxed by Elayne.

[David Selig]

I liked Shalon and her PoV, but Harine annoys me to no end. And I really could've done without a whole chapter from her PoV about the Sea Folk leaders. The fact that this chapter happen to include the infamous "gasp moment", which didn't affect me in the least, also didn't help.

 

Back on topic - I was rereading parts of CoT lately, it was better than I remembered. Of course, I only read the parts I liked, mostly the prologue and the Elayne storyline, and stayed well clear of the Perrin parts.

[Sid]

I've never heard anyone say that the Elayne storyline in CoT was a 'part they liked' before. Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion

[randsc]

I've never heard anyone say that the Elayne storyline in CoT was a 'part they liked' before. Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion

 

Not that opinion, they're not. Some things are unforgivable.

[moratcorlm]

Some of us are Elayne fans.

[rsahae]

lol...clearly I need to embark on another read-through because half my favorite moments from CoT weren't even in the book! But yeah, KoD is awesome, and I'll be honest, my first few times through I paid the sea folk stuff little or no heed (my very first read of KoD I skipped the whole chapter!).

 

However, when RJ passed, he became almost martyr-like to me, and his unsurpassable prose became like Scripture, I realized there would be no more and I needed to savor every. singe. word. (but not, apparently, remember which book the words were in). So after that I would read the Sea Folk stuff closely, and fact is, I was missing out. They have a very interesting culture and government, explored by RJ in his usual superb way.

 

I like Elayne (I admit that may be more than partly hormonal) but CoT might just be her worst book. Speaking of hormones, she's starting to feel the pregnancy and it's a little annoying. But I like how Dyelin operates, and the whole Andoran Succession thing drags on, but I guess it's important because Elaida had a foretelling to that effect.

 

Is the Aviendha ter'angreal scene in this book? That scene is pretty cool, so by default that would put it in KoD not CoT, eh?

 

Do you guys agree that Mat doing what no male Emond's Fielder is capable of doing and gunning down the marath'damane would have to constitute the climax? If so, that's a positive mark for CoT just for variety's sake, a rare WoT book that doesn't include Rand in the climax. (KoD might be the only other one...but there was that Semirhage scene, another perpetual re-read for me)

[moratcorlm]

Is the Aviendha ter'angreal scene in this book? That scene is pretty cool, so by default that would put it in KoD not CoT, eh?

Yes, that's in KOD too.

[rsahae]

OK, I went to a chapter summary site so I can get my head screwed on straight regarding what's in CoT. Here's some more parts of this book I liked:

 

Some Seanchan POV - always interesting because of how different they are.

 

Egwene totally manipulating those moron Aes Sedai - super cool!

 

Elaida finally getting hers against that loathsome troll Alviarin (Elaida is a good guy, just stupid)

 

The whole hunt for the Black Ajah. Pevara = favorite red of all time?

 

The whole dynamic between Daved Hanlon, Lady Shiane, and the servile black ajah. Always fun to read from the bd guys' perspective.

 

Solid Cadsuane POV (big cadsuane fan here)

 

And as much as I am bored by the Perrin story arc...that scene where he chops the Aiel hand and threatens him with little kids was GREAT!

 

And I guess I could be wrong...maybe the Egwene capture is the real climax?