Just finished Book One

[pyre]

Wow!

 

My Aunt gave me the first couple books(along with her strong recommendation) for Christmas a few years ago and for whatever reason I never read them. I finally picked up EotW, and I was enthralled. At first, I found that RJ's writing style made it a little challenging to stay focused...once I got used to it however, I tore through the book.

 

 

But the reason I made this thread is to show appreciation for one specific line. It just hit me as so powerful, I know it's one of those things that, for me, I'm just never going to forget.

 

It's near the beginning, after Trollocs first attacked their farm and Rand came back to the house to gather supplies and such. He just killed the Trolloc and RJ writes this piece of brilliance:

 

"He wiped his hands on a tattered rag - it had been one of Tam's shirts only that morning - and tugged the blade free."

 

WAM!

That hit me.

 

Such a simple line yet so potent. RJ take a bow.

[Suttree]

Welcome Pyre! Glad to have you on board and I almost envy how many more epic "lines" you have yet to discover for the first time.

[Feral]

Glad you enjoyed it and welcome. Just a little warning, be careful on this forum because some thread titles contain spoilers! I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the books as much as the first :)

[Mongoose]

Congrats pyre! Yes, you have a wild ride ahead of you.

 

There may be some slow patches, but I found the quality of the books increaes as the series goes on.

 

Yes, a wild ride indeed. Cheers.

[UGAShadow]

I'm happy for you. You'll be glad to know EotW is one of the least favorite book in the series. You're in for a treat.

[Byzantine279]

Some thread titles? Almost all of them are spoilers. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy the series, there will be many good quotes to come. Sadly my favorite would spoil somethign important so...

[pyre]

So I'm about halfway through The Fires of Heaven now. I am right at the part where Morgase comes to her senses and flees Caemlyn. Why is Morgase so bitter towards Gareth Bryne and refers to him as a "traitor." Am I missing something? Did I read too fast through some parts? Did he try and mutiny before he was exiled? Morgase exiled other nobles and she realizes that these nobles didn't do anything wrong, that there was just something wrong with her(she doesn't know compulsion was used yet). Why is it not the same situation with her for Bryne..is it lingering effects of the compulsion?

 

 

I'm shocked how fast I can go from liking some of the female characters to not liking them. I think it has to do with the fact that when, for example Egwene(among others), demonstrates her, lets say "strong personality" that she becomes disrespectful. It is possible for someone to be strong and still respectful at the same time. The scene with her going off on Nynaeve in Tel'blahblah before searching Elaidas' desk made me so frustrated..and I do not think I even like Nynaeve that much!

 

 

One last thought: Rand wants to stop Couladin before he starts to attack the west. Why not let Couladin attack the west and then ally with whichever nations to stop Couladin? All the while making it abundantly clear what he has to do at Tarmon Gai'don and lobbying for support. Rand still may have to conquer a few nations to get their aid but if he does this at least he has a basis of which to work with. He may do this or her may not..or more likely something completely different is going to happen. Guess I'll find out!

[Southpaw89]

if I remember correctly, Morgase was under compulsion by Rhavin

[Hopebringer]

So I'm about halfway through The Fires of Heaven now. I am right at the part where Morgase comes to her senses and flees Caemlyn. Why is Morgase so bitter towards Gareth Bryne and refers to him as a "traitor." Am I missing something? Did I read too fast through some parts? Did he try and mutiny before he was exiled? Morgase exiled other nobles and she realizes that these nobles didn't do anything wrong, that there was just something wrong with her(she doesn't know compulsion was used yet). Why is it not the same situation with her for Bryne..is it lingering effects of the compulsion?

 

It is most likely something like this: The nobles she just was forced to punish for no apparent reason.

 

However it seems like Bryne as her lover did something like "Morgase come to your senses - you are not behaving normaly", maybe it came to shouting or even more.

 

This is something she even later feels is something no man should do to his queen, although it is of course made much stronger due to compulsion.

 

I'm shocked how fast I can go from liking some of the female characters to not liking them. I think it has to do with the fact that when, for example Egwene(among others), demonstrates her, lets say "strong personality" that she becomes disrespectful. It is possible for someone to be strong and still respectful at the same time. The scene with her going off on Nynaeve in Tel'blahblah before searching Elaidas' desk made me so frustrated..and I do not think I even like Nynaeve that much!

 

Many people stop liking Egwene after some books, you are not alone. Although I have grown to like her chapters.

 

I personally hate everything about Faile, she is just a bother. Although she is the source for most of Perrin Aybara's development of character.

 

One last thought: Rand wants to stop Couladin before he starts to attack the west. Why not let Couladin attack the west and then ally with whichever nations to stop Couladin? All the while making it abundantly clear what he has to do at Tarmon Gai'don and lobbying for support. Rand still may have to conquer a few nations to get their aid but if he does this at least he has a basis of which to work with. He may do this or her may not..or more likely something completely different is going to happen. Guess I'll find out!

 

Well the plot is the plot, and the "What if" question can grow frustrating ;) Some reasons I can give are, that he most likely never thought about it and that he sees stopping the Shaido as a personal duty as he believes he is the reason they leave the Three-Fold land. And if it occurred to him he is not the one to allow avoidable causalities.

 

Hope that helps.

[Stitch]

I think from memory he was exiled just after Morgase had one of her vassals flogged he complained... from what we have heard of him I doubt he was very circumspect in how he approached it - probably something along the lines of her being a fool likely to cause a rebellion or whatnot. As for why she wasnt able to see that nothing was wrong with exiling him after the fact... it was probably something along the lines of a stronger nudge of compulsion being needed than was used for the other nobles (chances are she would have been attempting to resist the order more strenuously because she needed him and because of her feelings for him), but that is just a guess.

 

That scene in Tar was really a tipping point for me too with regards to Egwene (and maybe even Nynaeve) up until that point I also liked Egwene and didn't really care much for Nynaeve as a person; however that caused me to completely rethink those characters... and further into the series my altered tastes for those two characters were reinforced time and time again.

 

For stopping Couladin, I agree, letting him run rampant before stepping in is very similar to what Pedron Naill was going to try with Rand - its a good plan especially when you consider that the only possible reinforcements that the Shaido might get are those that leave the other clans due to the bleakness. However I believe he was simply acting as the typically presented traditional 'hero' type character - i are good! There is the question of how badly the Shaido would savage the wetlanders and thus diminish the power of those other nations that might otherwise follow Rand, but personally I don't consider the Cairehain(sp?) as much of an impressive military force and certainly more of a political pain than they are worth.

[True Source Creator]

"Fires" is the best book, Pyre. I'm sure you'll be as enthralled by the ending as I, and most others here, were. And then you'll get to "Lord of Chaos", which is brilliant. After that, the series takes a downward pike, but don't worry; if you've enjoyed it thus far, I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy it. I remember how exciting it was when I was reading the 4th-6th books. That was the height of my intrigue in the franchise and also the greatest point, and it's not been the same since. Cherish it.

[Sakaea]

I'm jealous, LOL. I remember reading the books for the first time...Yes, definitely jealous...

[Erunion]

"Fires" is the best book, Pyre. I'm sure you'll be as enthralled by the ending as I, and most others here, were. And then you'll get to "Lord of Chaos", which is brilliant. After that, the series takes a downward pike, but don't worry; if you've enjoyed it thus far, I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy it. I remember how exciting it was when I was reading the 4th-6th books. That was the height of my intrigue in the franchise and also the greatest point, and it's not been the same since. Cherish it.

 

Not to start a debate or anything, but in terms of action the series does dip a little bit after LOC, but picks back up in KOD.

Of course, I was completely enthralled by all the books anyway, but in re-reads most of the skimming I do is in books 7-10.

[Puny]

"Fires" is the best book, Pyre. I'm sure you'll be as enthralled by the ending as I, and most others here, were. And then you'll get to "Lord of Chaos", which is brilliant. After that, the series takes a downward pike, but don't worry; if you've enjoyed it thus far, I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy it. I remember how exciting it was when I was reading the 4th-6th books. That was the height of my intrigue in the franchise and also the greatest point, and it's not been the same since. Cherish it.

 

Not to start a debate or anything, but in terms of action the series does dip a little bit after LOC, but picks back up in KOD.

Of course, I was completely enthralled by all the books anyway, but in re-reads most of the skimming I do is in books 7-10.

 

Pyre, ignore everyone. Tbh... My advice to you is to read all the books alone or with a friend irl who is reading them at the same time as you and just enjoy the books, speculate for yourself before going all in on the forums. There is a high chance that your perception will be colored and people saying it will go downhill from book so and so will make you think it did, when if you hadn´t heard that at all, you´d actually think they were pretty good.

[pyre]

"Fires" is the best book, Pyre. I'm sure you'll be as enthralled by the ending as I, and most others here, were. And then you'll get to "Lord of Chaos", which is brilliant. After that, the series takes a downward pike, but don't worry; if you've enjoyed it thus far, I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy it. I remember how exciting it was when I was reading the 4th-6th books. That was the height of my intrigue in the franchise and also the greatest point, and it's not been the same since. Cherish it.

 

Not to start a debate or anything, but in terms of action the series does dip a little bit after LOC, but picks back up in KOD.

Of course, I was completely enthralled by all the books anyway, but in re-reads most of the skimming I do is in books 7-10.

 

I loved tSR..especially the parts with Rand in the Waste. As a reader, discovering a whole new culture and the complications that arise with it was fascinating. The introduction with slayer really piques my interest as well...cannot wait to find out his background and his further part to play in the series.

 

Padan Fain is a chillingly frightening antagonist. I have this lingering nag in the back of my head that when all is said and done, Fain will have been the quietly become the primary villain, and cause more trouble then the Dark One.

 

FoH is really starting to get going..at this rate I am going to be finished the series by the end of summer!

[pyre]

Pyre, ignore everyone. Tbh... My advice to you is to read all the books alone or with a friend irl who is reading them at the same time as you and just enjoy the books, speculate for yourself before going all in on the forums. There is a high chance that your perception will be colored and people saying it will go downhill from book so and so will make you think it did, when if you hadn´t heard that at all, you´d actually think they were pretty good.

 

Truth. I always try and keep an empty slate going into new books.

 

Just posting a few rhetorical thoughts if you will..I cannot wait to finish the books and then come back and see what I thought at the time!

[icspots]

Well as most will agree the books and the plotline's forward motion slows down significantly in books 7-10. There are just so many plotlines at that point that it pretty much had to. Many people call these the worst books in the series, and some go even so far as to skip some (esp. CoT). I say just try to think of those several books as one really long book in multiple covers. :)

[brolie]

And it is definitely all up to personal taste. I hated LoC. Hated it. But I liked the books after that. Plowed through them and enjoyed each of the stories. CoT was a little anticlimactic, but the style is solid and structured. So as long as you're enjoying the books, you will probably continue to enjoy them. Some are better than others, sure. But it's all about your personal taste. I am a classic literature reader (Oscar Wilde, JD Salinger, Harriet Beecher Stowe) so constant action and constant climax isn't really what I need in a book for it to be good. Personal taste man, personal taste.

 

Anyway! feel free to get out those thoughts while your reading! I wish I could have had something like that when I was reading through them. It's hard to find an outlet for the excitement :)

[Erunion]

And it is definitely all up to personal taste. I hated LoC. Hated it. But I liked the books after that. Plowed through them and enjoyed each of the stories. CoT was a little anticlimactic, but the style is solid and structured. So as long as you're enjoying the books, you will probably continue to enjoy them. Some are better than others, sure. But it's all about your personal taste. I am a classic literature reader (Oscar Wilde, JD Salinger, Harriet Beecher Stowe) so constant action and constant climax isn't really what I need in a book for it to be good. Personal taste man, personal taste.

 

Anyway! feel free to get out those thoughts while your reading! I wish I could have had something like that when I was reading through them. It's hard to find an outlet for the excitement :)

 

This.

 

I really, thoroughly enjoyed every book in the series. The only reason I skim at all is because I'm not a fan of certain characters, and simply don't enjoy reading from their POV's as much as I enjoy reading from some other characters POV's (and some of these characters POV's are centered through books 7-10).

My advice to you is this - treat these books as one very long book split into multiple volumes (with the possible exception of A New Spring). They are, really. That's why I always love reading them back to back.

[True Source Creator]

Well, because Pyre hasn't gotten to CoT yet, I'll spoiler this.

 

 

I imagine if I had been told beforehand that CoT was tremendously disappointing, I may have liked it less. As it stands, it is easily the worst book in the franchise, but I do conform to the idea that reading it and then KoD without any waiting period made it less awful than if I had had to wait for it. Also, I wasn't aware until I started reading CoT that it was generally considered the worst of the franchise. When I finished it, I was somewhat let down because I felt nothing happened, and the only scene that I really liked was Shaidar Haran beating Mesaana and marking Alviarin. Otherwise, the only thing of importance that happened, IMO, was Egwene's capture, and that happened at the end. It was annoying that Rand had only a cameo performance in the novel. That pissed me off. And no one knew what was going on but assumed it was something with the Forsaken. So it got lame.

 

[True Source Creator]

 

My advice to you is this - treat these books as one very long book split into multiple volumes (with the possible exception of A New Spring). They are, really. That's why I always love reading them back to back.

That's what I've been doing. It makes it flow better and seem more linked rather than having 13 (soon to be 14) novels as individual works in a greater context.

 

And I've loved (or liked) all the books too, even CoT (as far as ratings go, though, it would be like a 7/10 tops). But KoD has been sooo much better. And today I start The Gathering Storm.

[Puny]

 

My advice to you is this - treat these books as one very long book split into multiple volumes (with the possible exception of A New Spring). They are, really. That's why I always love reading them back to back.

That's what I've been doing. It makes it flow better and seem more linked rather than having 13 (soon to be 14) novels as individual works in a greater context.

 

And I've loved (or liked) all the books too, even CoT (as far as ratings go, though, it would be like a 7/10 tops). But KoD has been sooo much better. And today I start The Gathering Storm.

 

You´re on Gathering Storms.. lucky you! You´re in for a ride. It´s a great book =)

[True Source Creator]

This is where Verin makes her big reveal, right? Well, I'll RAFO. I already have an idea of what she's going to do that makes her such a beloved character on this site.

[Rufae]

Verin has been a favorite character of mine since Great Hunt. I was estatic that she pwn'd in Gathering Storm.

[solarz]

It is most likely something like this: The nobles she just was forced to punish for no apparent reason.

 

However it seems like Bryne as her lover did something like "Morgase come to your senses - you are not behaving normaly", maybe it came to shouting or even more.

 

This is something she even later feels is something no man should do to his queen, although it is of course made much stronger due to compulsion.

 

I think this is due to the nature of compulsion. Compulsion doesn't simply turn you into an automaton and do what the Forsaken wants for no reason. Instead, it makes you believe that you yourself decided to do what was just ordered, and your mind makes up some reason for why you carried out that order.

 

Therefore, Morgase thinks Bryne is a traitor *because* she sent him into exile. Notice how she can't actually remember what he *did*, only that he betrayed her.

 

 

 

Well the plot is the plot, and the "What if" question can grow frustrating ;) Some reasons I can give are, that he most likely never thought about it and that he sees stopping the Shaido as a personal duty as he believes he is the reason they leave the Three-Fold land. And if it occurred to him he is not the one to allow avoidable causalities.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Wetlanders do not distinguish between Aiel clans. To them, an Aiel is an Aiel is an Aiel. Letting the Shaido loose and cause all sorts of destruction would have set the entire wetlands against ALL Aiel, including his own followers, not just the Shaido. It would easily have turned into the 2nd Aiel War.