How has TofM affected your opinion of Perrin?

[The Watcher and Wanderer]

Well what do you think?

[Ananta]

I made this post in Perrin's Arc -thread, but this seems more suitable thread for it:

 

 

Up until this book I've hated Perrin. I've found him annoyingly emo and annoying. This book changed it all, finally I started to like the man and I didn't hope that someone would just stab him in the back and be done with it.

 

His "OH MAI GAWD IM TURNING INTO WOLF LOL" was getting stupid and it was dragged on for too long. Now that he's done with that he's likable. Also, finally accepting that he's leader not just a blacksmith was good. That too was dragged on for way too long.

 

 

I loved the amount of control Perrin had over TAR. I just wonder how Egwene hadn't figure out that she can just imagine the weaves away etc. One would think that that's the first thing the dreamwalkers figured out.

 

The scene where Perrin made his hammer was pretty intense, too. I liked it a lot.

 

 

 

Now I'm waiting for Hopper to be somehow turned into Darkhound and somehow breaking free of the "shadows" hold on him and turning good when he meets Perrin again.

 

Or maybe Hopper ends up killing Perrin because Perrin simply can not raise a weapon against him xD

[gary0044187]

I have always liked perrin. I have found many of his chapters annoying since he met faile, but I have always thought him one of the cooler characters of the story. Now, he is even better.

[Vambram]

I have always liked perrin. I have found many of his chapters annoying since he met faile, but I have always thought him one of the cooler characters of the story. Now, he is even better.

 

 

Despite the many criticisms WOT fanatics like myself, have leveled against Perrin; I never did agree with those criticisms. He has always been one of my top 5 characters in the series. But now, after ToM, he is my second favorite. Rand al`Thor is still my most favorite character.

[moratcorlm]

“Do you think Weaving the Winds is like throwing the helm over on a darter?” she demanded contemptuously. “I just moved the rudder on a skimmer with a beam as broad as the world! He will take time to turn, time to know he is supposed to turn. That he must turn.

The last six books may not be quite as broad as the world, but Perrin had a lot of momentum in the wrong direction.

[deathgate]

My opinion is unchanged. I always felt the characters had to have troubles to grow into what they needed to be at the end. How boring if they were exactly the same the whole time. I have always liked the big 5 (Perrin, Mat, Rand, Egwene and Nynaeve) and love the way they've grown while not realizing the others have too. I sometimes think about some random Two Rivers character thinking back five years to when they were all just kids and how now they are in charge of the world.

[Eht Slat Meit]

Sigh of relief sums it up.

 

Angst'ing over his wolfiness and omg-faile is way overplayed.

[bandaidctrl]

I loved Perrin from the get go, I was getting kind of perturbed at how long it was taking for him to just accept the fact that he's too is changing. This book solidified it for me. The scene where he makes his hammer was absolutely my favorite scene in the entire book to be honest. I get giddy just thinking about it xD

 

He's always been a favorite (Mat being at the top of that list), but you know, I don't blame Faile for ALL of his moodiness. He was just being malcreado (I don't know how you would translate that into english), but he's grown into his beard now so I can't wait to see how it pans out!

[moratcorlm]

I don't blame Faile for ALL of his moodiness.

Why would you blame her for any of it?

[cgk84]

I've had little time for Perrin for like the last 4 or 5 books. The whole not accepting leadership and Faile issues were quite annoying and dragged on for several books too long. During re-reads now I tend to just skip his chapters where he is trying to get Faile back.

 

But after the latest book it has completely redeemed him in my eyes and brought out the Perrin we've all wanted since the Battle of Emond's Field. He finally can again match Mat and Rand for moments of sheer badassery. It's been too long coming.

[WMTom]

I am so glad Perrin got out of the self-loathing and emo driven attitude and finally took the mantel of leadership. He was awesome in the first books, dropped off during the middle books and finally is back to where I felt he should have been after two rivers.

[David Selig]

I like him much better than before, but this is not that much of an achievement, since I couldn't stand the Perrin of Books 7-12. Thankfully he finally accepted his role as a leader and stopped whining "I don't want to be a Lord". If only this had happened 9 books ago...

 

The Berelain - Faile feud is finally over, which goes a long way towards making me like the Perrin chapters from that point on more. This love triangle and the childish behaviour of everyone involved in it was beyond irritating for me.

 

I still prefer to read about the other main characters though.

[Goramier]

I can only speak for myself. I only add that because I think a few people try to speak for others. Anyways, I used to feel rather nuetral towards Perrin. I liked him but felt that he was a rather small part of the story. I felt like that had the story been real, I would likely have had most in-common with Perrin but that I wanted more from him. Anyways, we were just burried in what I felt was a crap load of crap coming from him. I was so sick of Faile and how he was willing to do anything for her. In some ways he is the closest to who I am IRL. That is far from being a character in a fantasy series though. I suspect Faile was some one many people disliked. But Perrin loved her. He was willing to give his life for her. That I can accept. That I can understand. But at what cost? It was the cost that I disliked him for. He was willing to, in some ways, sell his soul to the DO for a woman that was so easily unliked by many.

 

Does it perhaps make Jordan the great writer he is? Perhaps. Mayhaps writing such a sequence of events surrounding a character and how ones feelings change towards him is some intentional genious of writing. Or perhaps there was something else there. I do not pretend to know the motives of RJ.

 

Basically I was left fairly much tired of Perrins point of view. I was half worried that when the latest book came out I would be very tempted to simply skip his parts. I didn't. For a bit, I was reading Perrins POV like I had previously. I was kinda just waiting for it to end to move on to important matters. I was sick of how he struggled with the wolf within. Especially since, personally, I would have embraced it so. I was sick of reading the POV of a character who I felt was simply walking the fence for so long.

 

Lets be honest. It can be so easily evaluated now but for awhile Perrin was shadow-meat. He had all the signs. I know that in such an epic series is seems so unlikely but at the end of the day he is a character who could have moved into the shadow and we would all then have been like, "I knew it all along." He had a treasure he was willing to do ANYTHING for. That treasure happened to be Faile. And some of us, me at least, felt that Faile was an extremely bad part of the series. Had however, Faile decided to go to the dark side and had Perrin followed her, I have to say, he would have been IMO one of the greatest written characters ever in a series. But he wasn't. Faile didn't turn. They turned out to just be an emo couple that simply added more to a story line that really didn't need their imput.

 

Then he forged that weapon. The second best scene in the ENTIRE series if you were so inclined to ask me. Only one other scene was so intense, powerful and commanding as that. I changed my opinion of him in an instant. I was the biggest fan. The weapon changed it all. Things made so much sense now. I bowed to Perrin and what he did. I was really bowing to the writers who made the scenes and the character happen.

 

Was the entire sequence of Perrin thus far intentional? Was RJ looking for us to be able to find a home in a character who was more like us then the rest? Perhaps we were to struggle with Perrin along his journey? I don't know. I just know that I felt whatever the intent, his character was way, WAY over-written and some of us, me at least, had given up on him awhile back.

 

I think he would have been the most powerful character I had ever read had he turned to the shadow. Imagine how powerful of a scene, how much that would have had affected us, had Perrin switched sides. But he didn't. The scene where he made the weapon redeamed himself in my eyes but when I eventually do the re-read (again) and eventually sit down, knowing the ending, and think about the entire series...Perrin will still be the first character on my choice of "nix them if there is a move" list though his weapon scene in the last book, was very simply, Epic.

[Mats Spare Hat]

I'd like him a bit more if the word "gruff," in all its forms, were eliminated from adjective use in constantly describing him, and his mannerisms...Sanderson, we get it, now stop...please?

[Guest Murphy.JP]

It has come too late for me. I did enjoy his parts in the book.. but over-all, Perrin in my mind's eye will be forever tarnished by the foolery of his actions between books 6-10. It is a great shame. He is also responsible for for afflicting other characters such as Faile who without her relationship to Perrin could have made for a great character.

[The Watcher and Wanderer]

I for one have never been a Perrin hater and quite Frankly I have been astounded by the short-sightedness of so many fans. Yes, his constant struggles with the inner wolf, obsession with Faile and general emo attitude was kind of annoying but I always knew that this was an inner struggle that he was meant to overcome and that RJ would eventually bring him back around. The real problem I think is that between Dummi's wells and Maladen RJ kind of ran out of things for Perrin to do. In essence Perrin was stuck in plotline limbo, and so the Faile rescue got drug out more than it should have. Something to remember is that this entire series so far has taken place in about 2 years time so Perrin really wasn't in his emo phase as long as it seems.

[Yates_]

For me, Perrin had some of my favorite scenes in the defense of Emond's Field in the Shadow Rising. The awesomenes of Rand in the Aiel Waste tended to overshadow the Perrin bits, but Perrin's arc was awesome.

 

He and Faile were a little Emo, but that was kind of a nice balance (at times, but eventually, enough already) to the descent into emotionlessness of Rand. Given that Mat did his best to avoid emontional attachments, it was a nice balance. For me Perrin was the one who humanized the struggle against the shadow. Rand was chosen by destiny, and he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders as he struggled to protect all living humans (and all future ones). Mat had these memories and strategic skills shoehorned into his head, so he was sort of forced to take a major role, despite his many attempts to sidestep his calling. Perrin was just sort of doing what needed doing at the time.

 

As for he and Faile, I always thought she got sort of a raw deal, not just from fans, but from Jordan. Faile was sort of a GF from hell. She was jealous and manipulitive (unlike any other girlfriend, ever). A lot of people seemed to hate her because they were expecting her to be a darkfriend, and that didn't pan out. But, all her manipulations stemmed from love and fear. She loved Perrin and she feared him dying. Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, Nyn, and all the other main characters knew they were a part of the Last Battle, and they were up for it, albeit some unwittingly (Matty Ice). In the Dragon Reborn (book), we get a few glimpses that she really feels that she is in over her head. She snuck away from her responsibilities to go off and have a few adventures. Instead, she got caught up in something that truly scared her. She doesn't know Rand from way back in the day from the hood like the others. She met a guy, fell in love, and then found out he was tied to the most dangerous person alive. She found out her man was probably going to be standing pretty damn close to the Dragon Reborn when he throws down with THE DEVIL.

 

She didn't handle it well.

 

In Faile, Jordan created a character that he ultimately mishandled. To be fair, I don't think it is possible to write a character and walk the line between annoying and still likeable.

 

We as readers know that Rand, Mat, and Perrin are usually right, and that the war would probably be over by now if only everyone else (and particularly most of the female characters) would just listen to the Tripod of Awesomeness. Faile was the chick who broke up the Bros, and we hate her for that, and we let it carry over to Perrin. He is a guy in love who doesn't concern himself with the wider repercussions until late in the series.

 

Yes, Perrin got annoying during books 6-10. Given how the entire series almost ground to a halt despite having no end in sight, it was a little understandable.

[moratcorlm]

We as readers know that Rand, Mat, and Perrin are usually right, and that the war would probably be over by now if only everyone else (and particularly most of the female characters) would just listen to the Tripod of Awesomeness. Faile was the chick who broke up the Bros, and we hate her for that, and we let it carry over to Perrin.

...Really?

[Elan Tedronai]

Sigh of relief sums it up.

 

Angst'ing over his wolfiness and omg-faile is way overplayed.

 

never has truer words been spoken here before

[Durinax]

actually I always liked perrin.

 

I really enjoyed his emo'ness because I always remembered that he has no one except for faile, his family is dead, Faile is his entire world because he suffered a huge and sudden loss.

 

and like another poster said it is a short timeline in the books, 2 years. I see him as a real person, and if I where in his shoes I wouldnt want to be a wolfbro either, especially since it makes me different when the shadow is trying to get me I would want to blend in with a crowd to try and avoid monsters. Plus if I where in his shoes, found the love of my life, returned home and found my entire family dead, I would go crazy if she where kidnapped

[Fable]

Faile was the chick who broke up the Bros, and we hate her for that, and we let it carry over to Perrin.

 

Yoko Faile?

[Vermillion]

I have a much better opinion of Perrin.

 

I think some of thing Perrin did are supposed to be chalked up to being Taveren and the Pattern needing him defend the TR so it can take care of the refugees and killing the Aiel threat as well as the profit. He also brought in tons of people to his army. That's not to say what he did wasn't annoying but I think that Pattern is the cause of some of it.

[jemron]

I've always liked Perrin as a character, but his storyline sucked the last few books. For me, I don't like/hate Perrin more after ToM, I just like his storyline more now.

[Hillfood]

I've always very much liked Perrin; he is and, really, always has been my favorite character. I can see why people might say he'd been emo for a few books, but I see him as being less so than Rand was. I mean sure, Rand had the wieght of the world on his shoulders, almost literally, plus some wierd dude in his brain with him, but Rand's the one who's been talking about allowing himself to die. Perrin though, he never was actually set on dying, discounting when he was willing to give up his own life to save Faile, but really that's not emo so much as simply not being a dirtbag, in my opinion. I'd always wanted him to come to terms with his wolf, but I respected that he was wary of it, and even afraid, after seeing Noam. I'll agree that maybe it was dragged out a bit much, but at the same time the only alternative that I see would have been to leave out his chapters for a little while (not terribly unlike they did with Rand). In the end, my opinion is that they handled Perrin's character right. He needed to have a time where he was in inner turmoil (though just dealing with the wolf or just dealing with suddenly being "Lord Perrin" would have probably been sufficient) to feel like a legitimate part of the story, to me, and he needed to overcome it toward the end. If he'd have gone to the shadow, I could have gone with it, and admitted it was a plausible outcome, but I'd have been sad about it.

 

What I'm really looking forward to/hoping for is a talk between Perrin and Egwene concerning the Dream World. I think that could really turn into something interesting. Perrin's POV on it is that that's something that really belongs to the wolves, since that's where they go when they die (unless they die the "true death" inside of it), and Egwene's outlook would be that it's something that belongs, basically, to Aes Sedai and Wise Ones, or at least women of Power. Plus I think Perrin could put the business to Egwene in the Dream World, he seems to understand it alot better than any of the Wise ones or Egwene, and I want to see them put in their place a little bit, haha. :) Not like I expect one to be able to talk the other into their line of thinking, I just think that it has potential for a good chapter.

[capuga]

I voted that I liked him a little more.

 

However, by the end of the book I actually liked him a lot more than I have for many books. The reason I only voted a little was because it still took him frustratingly long to accept his leadership role and his wolf-side. While the Faile capture story-line was a little too drawn out and boring, I didn't hate it (more just mildly irritating). However, I find it extremely frustrating that it takes him so long to just step up and accept his place as a leader and to come to terms with the fact that he has a bit of wolf in him.

 

Similarly, I found Lan's POV very frustrating with his refusal to accept leadership over the Borderlanders that wanted to follow the Golden Crane. Sometimes you just need to be a man and play the hand the Pattern has dealt you without whining over it.