How old are you? What gender?

[Moments]

19, male.

 

Rand and Perrin are easily my favorite characters in the beginning, though Aviendha's sort've assimilated during tSR and tFoH, and slowly ends up settling on Mat during the final three books by RJ. Lan's full of constant ownage, but that goes without saying.

 

Luckily, I'm consistent enough that I hate Egwene all through the series. I wasn't too fond of Nynaeve for the first few books either. After initially reading the series in my mid-teens, I quickly took to seeing her the way Rand, Mat, and Perrin did; a girl that barely had the age to scold them, yet did so anyway and was ungrateful to boot. (Well, the latter's true, anyway.) Gawyn's irrational and stupid, thinking he can kill the Dragon Reborn and doom humanity, so I'm perfectly alright with him and Egwene hooking up so I can hate them together rather than separately.

[AdamPollard]

Male 20.

 

I am starting my third read through and I am about half way through TEoTW and it has been a few ears since i read the series all the way through. I am interested to see how my view of characters might have shifted since the last time i read the first 5 or 6 books like 4 years ago.

[Sleeper]

Looks like I'm one of the younger ones on here.

 

I am a 16 and I'm a guy.

 

Favorite character: Rand for sure. I sympathize for him and identify with him.

[Areopagitican]

Male, 18.

 

And damn I love Min. Also, Mat.

[Jblaylock]

Favorite character: Rand for sure. I sympathize for him and identify with him.

 

 

 

How?

lol

 

Where you a farmer? Have you been chosen to abandon your former life in order to dedicate your entire existance to a fight that will ultimately (at least in your mind) end with your death? Have you traveled the known world, conquered and brought nations under your heel, broken bonds and forged new unimaginable ones, gained riches beyond measure, which you will never get to enjoy, lost a hand, got three hot chicks to agree to a permanent sexlationship in which they are all okay with each other's parts in it? Can you balefire evil folks?

 

 

In what way(s) can/do you "identify with him."

 

[Lessa Nikia]

Jeez way to criticize...I think that is the word I'm looking for You're not the only young one Sleeper, I'm 16 too

 

But I get how you can relate to Rand. I find that I can relate to Birgitte

[Sleeper]

Favorite character: Rand for sure. I sympathize for him and identify with him.

 

 

 

How?

lol

 

Where you a farmer? Have you been chosen to abandon your former life in order to dedicate your entire existance to a fight that will ultimately (at least in your mind) end with your death? Have you traveled the known world, conquered and brought nations under your heel, broken bonds and forged new unimaginable ones, gained riches beyond measure, which you will never get to enjoy, lost a hand, got three hot chicks to agree to a permanent sexlationship in which they are all okay with each other's parts in it? Can you balefire evil folks?

 

 

In what way(s) can/do you "identify with him."

 

You're thinking of physical events. No, I have not had any of those things happen, except for the balefiring evil folks. .

 

However, I do know how it is suffer and have too much responsibility placed upon me at a time when you're was not prepared for it. I know how it feels to attempt to harden yourself from the world around you and try to not care about things, even though you do. I know how it feels to be, in a way, completely isolated.

 

I think that's kind of similar, no? Maybe I'm off base in my reading of his character.

 

[dapianoplay3r]

I know what you mean sleeper. He's one of my favorites too

[RyanDuranGeiger]

Time for some stats:

 

So far there are 95 submissions, 27 Women, 68 Men

 

The average age is 25 years old, with men averaging 25 years and Women averaging 24 years

 

The youngest was 13 and Oldest was 55

 

There are 17 people who can not vote (under 18)

 

There are 31 people who can't buy a beer (under 21)

 

Not one person among us can collect Social Security (above 65)

 

Out of 95 people 22 of us can not be trusted (30 or better)

 

44/95 are in their 20's and I hope they enjoy it while it lasts.

 

As for whose favorite character corespods to what age I'll try later but our sample size wont yeild firm results yet.

 

 

In most of the world, you only have to be 18 to buy a alcohol.

 

In the case of Panama, the clerks don't ID you, so I can buy a beer.

[Lessa Nikia]

That sucks Sleeper. I know what it's like to have a bunch of respondsiblity placed upon you. Hope it's okay now though.

 

*hugs Sleeper*

[trench]

 

 

In most of the world, you only have to be 18 to buy a alcohol.

 

In the case of Panama, the clerks don't ID you, so I can buy a beer.

 

Updated to include a more global view

[teutonic]

30, female, been reading since the mid-90's, though I had a long hiatus around CoT when I lost interest. The Gathering Storm resurrected my interest. I'm not absolutely happy with what Sanderson's done with the characters, but every author handles things differently. Short of cloning Jordan with his memories and personality intact, we'll just have to expect and accept a few stylistic differences.

 

Favorite characters in brief: Mat, Rand, Mat, Verin, Mat, Birgitte, Mat, Min, Mat, Nynaeve, Mat, Logain, Mat, Elayne, Mat, Tam, Mat, Androl, Mat, Ishamael

 

Least favorite characters in brief: Egwene, Gawyn, Egwene, Faile, Egwene

 

Characters I'm ambivalent about: Cadsuane, Aviendha, Perrin, Tuon

 

Longer explanations:

 

Mat. Mat, Mat, Mat. He's the rogue with the heart of gold, clever as a fox and a lot more complicated than he likes to portray himself. He's witty and silver-tongued, though not as much as he thinks he is, and it's a toss-up whether he'll charm his way out of a tight corner or trip over his own tongue and have to fight his way out. Either way, though, with the aid of his wits and his stupid crazy luck, he'll somehow come out golden, and reading about it will be the most fun I've had while still vertical. And, yes, there are times when he plays the bumbling fool as a con, and there are times when he is a bumbling fool, but to answer Siuan's long-ago question, Mat Cauthon will be there when the flames are high. He's a bad boy, but a good man.

 

It's hard not to like Rand, too. He may get petulant and arrogant and more than a little coo-coo at times, but he's our hero. And while nobody can relate to being the Dragon Reborn, I'm sure everyone can relate to the pain and isolation he's had to suffer. Underneath his flaws, though, he's as passionate and as compassionate as Nynaeve, in his way, and deeply honorable, so I'm willing to cut him a break. Poor guy's had the weight of the world plonked down on his shoulders, for god's sake. It's inevitable that he'd go a little bonkers, even without the taint.

 

Besides (spoiler for ToM):

Mahatma Rand al'Telamon. I mean, is he not a reward for all of that angst we had to wade through, or what? :D

 

 

Verin, now. Is there anybody else here who thinks she's one of the rockingest Aes Sedai ever? Look first, and you see a stout, mild-mannered little Brown, sketching butterflies and nattering seemingly aimlessly. Look again...(spoilers for TGS)

 

 

...look again, and you see that the butterflies are actually detailed maps of Black Ajah hierarchies, cross-referenced to an apparent treatise on sea turtles which is actually a list of names, in cipher. Look a third time, and you see the only Aes Sedai with the brains and gumption to infiltrate the enemy ranks and spy on them as they've been spying on the Light side. She used people's preconceptions against them, pretending to be a typical Brown with her head in the clouds, while in reality she was taking in everything and had maybe a better view of the truth of the fight between Light and Dark than most. She was the ultimate spy, and she sacrificed her life and maybe even her soul to bring down the Black Ajah. And she might even have succeeded.

 

 

Verin rocks. Plain and simple.

 

Nynaeve: Badger with a sore tooth doesn't even begin to describe her disposition, but her compassion and sheer gutsiness redeem her. She tries very hard to do the right thing. Not to be the right thing, not to do what she thinks others believe to be the right thing, but to act according to her own (very admirable) moral code. I like that. Plus, unlike Egwene, she doesn't lose sight of the forest for the trees, or rather lose sight of the White Tower's real purpose in the world for her devotion to the Tower as a symbol and an institution.

 

Min: I don't understand the people who don't like her, or see her as a drag on Rand. She's genuine, funny, down-to-earth, probably one of the least misandrist women in the books, and she actually regards other people as human beings rather than chess pieces to be moved and manipulated as she sees fit. She's also not a super-powerful wonder girl, which is kind of refreshing after all of the badassery we've seen elsewhere. She's no wilting lily, but she's no warrior or channeling prodigy, either, and she knows her limits. There's a refreshing humility in that, which is nice after all of the big-headed arrogance we see in, say, almost all of the Aes Sedai to date.

 

Besides, she serves a very important role: her devotion to and love for Rand may have been the only thing keeping him from going completely off the deep end. Or, well, postponing his dive off the deep end, anyway. He needs someone who views him as a man, not the Dragon Reborn, and who doesn't have other duties conflicting with her ability to be there for him. He needs someone he can trust absolutely and confide in and rely on for emotional support, and that's Min.

 

Birgitte's, well, Birgitte. She's down-to-earth, funny, wise, and drama-free. And, speaking as a woman who likes her men ugly and her beer uglier, I can only commend her good taste. :D

 

Elayne: I know, I know, she can be arrogant, and her entitled attitude does sometimes grate on me, but on the other hand she has a surprisingly good sense of humor, she ruefully acknowledges many of her faults, she's a good peacemaker when she wants to be, and she has a devil-may-care approach to danger that's almost endearing, in its way. While also making you want to grab her by the scruff of the neck and shake her. Still, a smidgeon of self-insight and a decent sense of humor can go a long way. I wish she'd stop kvetching about Rand getting her preggers, though. For god's sake, she's the one who knowingly skipped the contraceptives AND did so after cornering the man. Granted, she hardly had to force him to sleep with her, but he wouldn't have if she hadn't insisted. You wanted to get pregnant, and the blame for it's all yours, Elayne. Stop trying to shift it.

 

Tam: Dull, but steady, and fierce when he needs to be and only when he needs to be. Hard not to like the guy, especially considering that he's the one who helped instill that basic decency and compassion in the Dragon Reborn which might end up being the thing which saves the world this cycle.

 

Logain: Morally gray and embittered, but overall a decent man with a good heart, and he shows flashes of surprisingly gentle humor here and there. I'd let him bond me anytime.

 

Ishamael: He's a bad guy, but he's the only Forsaken to have reasoned himself into serving the Dark One, not for power's sake, but because his thoughts could lead him to no other end. I can even sympathize with his viewpoint. Having to be reborn again and again to fight the same battles again and again, to suffer the same pains again and again, is not a pleasant fate to contemplate. Oblivion might come as a relief, in the face of that.

 

Ambivalent characters:

 

Cadsuane's a canny old bird. I admire her intelligence and the insight her age and experience have given her, but she suffers from the usual Aes Sedai problem. Believing that you know what's best for everyone doesn't necessarily give you the right to strongarm them into doing what you think they should. I will give her credit for one thing, though:

Rand thought that she bungled her handling of him, but it was her idea which led to his little epiphany. Maybe it didn't work out quite as she intended, but it got the job done in the end.

 

 

I'm also strangely ambivalent about Aviendha, and I don't know why. She has the introspection and the desire for self-improvement that a lot of female characters in these books lack, and I like her for it. At the same time, I wouldn't miss her if she just spontaneously vaporized out of the storyline, either. She just never 'clicked' with me, for some reason.

 

Then there's Tuon. Underneath all of the Imperial pomp and the craziness of Seanchan culture, she seems like a genuinely compassionate and loving person, with a surprising streak of mischief. When she dons the Imperial mask, though, she turns into...someone else. And I understand that she's been very sheltered, and she's been told certain things all of her life, so a certain narrow-mindedness is to be expected. She has even showed signs of being willing to change her opinions - slightly. But boy, does she have a long way to go before I can really come to like her, and her 'hobby' of breaking damane gives me the heebie jeebies.

 

Perrin just puts me to sleep. I've got nothing against him, really. I just find his chapters a drag, and his taste in women questionable.

 

Which leads us to:

 

Dislikes:

 

Faile. Ye gods, Faile. She's improved recently, but before she was the most manipulative, irrational, insanely hot-tempered, insanely jealous, spoiled little brat in the entire cast. For a long time there, she behaved like a friggin' fourteen year old. A particularly selfish fourteen-year-old. She held him up to standards which she expected him to automatically be aware of, and punished him when he failed to meet them, despite the fact that he'd never been informed of how she expected him to act and in any case was the last guy to act the way she wanted him to, and if she knew him at all she should have known that. She really wasn't ready for a committed relationship, and it's a testimony to Perrin's inhuman patience (and poor taste in women) that he didn't just snap her in half and find someone a little less crazy.

 

She can't hold a candle to Egwene, though. Egwene has always been a self-righteous know-it-all who's full to the brim with ambition for ambition's sake, and grates on me now more than ever. That episode with Nynaeve and that foul-smelling tea in Tel'aran'rhiod just about sealed it for me. She bullied and humiliated the other woman, hard, and it wasn't even for a good reason. It was just because she didn't want her lie to be found out. She lacks any kind of self-insight. If she does change her behavior or the way she thinks about something, it's because it's necessary to achieve her ambitions, period.

 

Gawyn gets an honorable mention just for being the biggest bonehead of them all.

 

And most of the occupants of the White Tower get an honorable mention for being unable to see the forest for their colons. Because that's where they've permanently parked their heads.

 

E: Had to hide spoilers, because that's what you get when you type in a hurry.

[Jblaylock]

Favorite character: Rand for sure. I sympathize for him and identify with him.

 

 

 

How?

lol

 

Where you a farmer? Have you been chosen to abandon your former life in order to dedicate your entire existance to a fight that will ultimately (at least in your mind) end with your death? Have you traveled the known world, conquered and brought nations under your heel, broken bonds and forged new unimaginable ones, gained riches beyond measure, which you will never get to enjoy, lost a hand, got three hot chicks to agree to a permanent sexlationship in which they are all okay with each other's parts in it? Can you balefire evil folks?

 

 

In what way(s) can/do you "identify with him."

 

You're thinking of physical events. No, I have not had any of those things happen, except for the balefiring evil folks. .

 

However, I do know how it is suffer and have too much responsibility placed upon me at a time when you're was not prepared for it. I know how it feels to attempt to harden yourself from the world around you and try to not care about things, even though you do. I know how it feels to be, in a way, completely isolated.

 

I think that's kind of similar, no? Maybe I'm off base in my reading of his character.

 

 

First, I was just joking with you: tongue in cheek. Hope the sarcasm came off, and I appologize if you took it as a completely serious criticism. No offense intended.

 

Word of advise, though, try not to view the world/your life (up to this ponit) in such a dramatic light. When you get a bit older, you'll look back on the things you thought were tough, isolating, too heavy, etc... and you'll feel a bit silly, maybe even embarrassed. You're only young once. Have fun, make friends, DO NOT isolate yourself. When you get older, you'll be forced into isolation to some degree or another. Now is the time for you to have as many friends, aquiantances, enemies, family members, etc as possible. And try to view your burdons as lighter than they probably really are, rather than viewing them as heavier than they probably really are, like most young people do. You'll be a much happier adult, with much fewer regrets.

[randsc]

Teutonic Titwillow, that's a great write-up. Almost as good as your user name.

 

While I'm not one to defend Faile, I would say that part of reason that she acts younger than the others is because she is younger than the others. Not 14, but when we meet her she is described as a couple of years younger than Perrin, so she was probably 16.

[capuga]

@Teutonic Titwillow - Welcome to the boards. Really enjoyed your character writeups and explanations. Mirrors my feelings on a lot of the characters but put much more eloquently than I could. You do have a ToM spoiler in there though.

[teutonic]

ransc: You have a point about Faile's age, but if I can make a counterpoint, I wasn't as bad as Faile even when I was 16. I'm sure that, if you ask many women here, they'd say the same. Her age only excuses her up to a point.

 

Oh, and regarding my username, I'd say, "Long live Madeleine Kahn!", but, well, I'd be several years too late.

 

Mark: I think I know which spoiler you mean. If so, I've gone back and fixed it, thanks.

[randsc]

"It's twue, it's twue!"

[theicewitch]

Late to the party... I am trying to become involved...it is not working out so well.

 

I am female, 45

 

I adore Mat, who doesn't love a rogue.

I like the calmness,dignity and confidence of Moiraine and I have missed her.

 

I have been reading this forever and my preferences have never wavered due to my changing place in life.

[Majsju]

Bloke, 34

 

Favourites: Egwene, Mat, Nynaeve, Logain, Rand, Cadsuane, Verin

Dislikes: Tuon, Gawyn, Elaida,

[teutonic]

"It's twue, it's twue!"

 

You got it! Just for that, I'll let you have some really ugly beer with your schnitzengruben. ;)

 

/end derail

[t.shaleva]

female 17 (from the posts I read it's not such a common combination :( )

 

favorite characters: Matt, Egween, Rodel Ituralde,Nyneave used to annoy me but tGS definitely changed my mind...I also kinda lost respect for Perrin and Rand although they were some of my favorite characters when I started the series (I hear they are pretty awesome in ToM though - I still haven't read it) and YES Elayne...why do you all hate her so much? i find her pretty fun to read

 

dislikes: hmm I really can't think of any...except Padan Fain who is kinda creeepy

[sfgiantsfanmike]

Male, 31 years of age. Itroduced to the series +/- 10 years ago.

 

Favorites: Bridegette "bowazon" Silverbow (have played Diablo 2 since 1998), gotta love that we get to interact with a living legend and known hero of the horn.

 

Perrin, as he's the one I see myself as the most. Pretty much had me in his intro, "he picked his way carefully through the crowd, leaving appologies as he bumped people in the crowd, though he was big enough to just move people out of the way." Also was likened to a "loan wolf" when I was a freshman in high school so that part of his character clicked as well.

 

Other favorites: pretty much all the main characters (Rand and company are 'made of win' but 'win itself is made of Mattrim Cauthon') and Paddan Fain due to how much I dislike him/how well he is written.

 

Dislikes: The bad guys (I tend to favor the good guys) and the "will lead you because I know what's best" characters, most of which tend to be Aes Sedai.

[Ozzie_aiel]

30 male

 

Fave characters are Fain (gotta love a guy that can nail a fade to a barn door), Mat (naturally), Ishy/Moridin (WoT's ultimate moustache-twirling macheavellian-style bad guy), Rand, Lan, Min, Aviendha, and Verrin

[Guest ryan_skll]

19 Male

 

My favs. are Mat(He reminds me of myself =D), Moiraine, Min, Tuon, and Rand.

 

Don't really have much of a dislike for any.

[Hillfood]

Male, 23.

 

Favorite character is Perrin, due to how much I feel that I can relate to him. I like Nynaeve because she's stubborn, which is something else that I can easily relate to, though I dislike her at the same time because she seems to have little respect for authority unless she's the authority, at which point she expects everyone to bow down to her. Min because she seems like someone straight out of real life, as if she was only given the ability to see Auras when she was moved to the page. I also like Lanfear, since of all the bad guys she seems to have the most realism to her. To me, everyone else just seems evil for the sake of being evil, but I can see some sort of reasoning behind the things she does. Several others, but those are among the top few.

 

Really not a fan of Rand; I have my reasons but they could be seen as spoilers, so just take it as it is. Don't really hate any characters though; even the people who most people don't see as necessary to the storyline, I accept that they do play a part, however small. There are a few more that I'm really not a big fan of, but like I said I don't really hate any of them, simply not my cup of tea.