My First Time through the WoT

[Demos]

Hey all!

 

My Aunt bought me the first three books of this series about 10 years ago. For some reason I just did not get into them then (Was into a reread of Lord of the Rings with the movies coming out), and didn't quite make it through the first book. Not sure why, especially with how similar the first book was to the LoTR series seemed to me. Or so I remember

 

Anyway a buddy of mine recently saw the books on my shelf and got all excited asking if I had read them. Once realizing I had quit he began saying bloody this and bloody that (he said everyone here would get that?), but that I should give it another try. If I hated it he'd buy me a round of golf with a 12-pack of my choice. Who was I to say no?

 

So anyway I gave it a shot and WOW. I have no idea what I was thinking back then. I started reading the first book again last weekend and realized I had no memory of what went on, and I would end up staying up 2-3 hours longer into the night then I meant too. So in the past week I've finished the Eye of the World, which leads me to here.

 

My buddy mentioned that everyone here loves the series and loves to hear about new people’s experience. Luckily he caught me before I hit the main forums with all the spoilers, but he did show me the two threads of people currently going through their first read to give me an idea if I wanted to try something similar. I only read about halfway through their reviews of the first book but it was funny to me how different of a view I had vs. one of the writers. They had a great great write up that I have no hope of even coming close to matching, but I just couldn't stand the amount of male vs. female talk. To me fantasy is about taking us to places we can't go to normally, and letting our imagination go wild. I doubt RJ really wanted us to worry too much over if males or females dominated the other and we forget how badass Lan is. Even without getting any of his point of views in the first book. Don't get me wrong, it definitely adds to the story and it's good to see how things work, but sometimes a discussion is dragged out too much. But to each his own, and if you enjoy that you may not enjoy my reviews. As I'll most likely tend to talk about how I really want to learn to use the sword now.

 

So I now ask if anyone would be interested in me doing a little write up of my experience through the books. English has never been a strong point. Especially when it comes to something like this, I tend to just let my mind roll and my fingers do the typing. So you may see some typos .I'll do my best to spell check it all. Since there are already at least two others that are doing this, a third may just get redundant. Which I completely understand. I have no problem coming back here once I finish all of them.

 

I was thinking of doing one major write up of the first book. Then adding smaller ones (a couple chapters at a time) as I go along through the rest. I apologize if no one has much interest in this. I've never done anything close to this, so was a little nervous about posting.

 

Anyway I'll work on a quick review tonight/tomorrow and get it up to speed of where I am now.

 

D

[nojnomad]

Any thing you write will delight and please all of us old fans

Bring it on!

[Sleeper]

Trust me, there is always a market for these. People love to live vicariously through other people's experiences.

 

I, for one, would enjoy some more write-ups from first timers. So by all means, type away!

[Bluedust9]

My god please do. I was so excited for Always Sunny's reviews until it became obvious they weren't chapter thoughts but real world anger lectures.

 

By all means let your thoughts flow.

[Mordaunt]

Haha, Always Sunny does seem to channel Terry Goodkind a bit... By contrast I loved reading that injured USMC bloke's thoughts (although they've stopped now incomplete).

[Agitel]

We love these threads. Please do. Don't think you have to do as much writing as say, Always Sunny, they really went all out in the write ups they did. Just do what you're comfortable with and we'll gobble it up!

 

I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed it so far. And be wary of spoilers! Some people can't help but blurt things out sometimes (myself included!).

[Demos]

Thanks everyone. No worries on spoilers. Obviously i'd like you not to tell me the end now, but stuff slips sometimes and I'll just ignore it the best I can. Seems like it'll be tough to keep track of everything anyway. So chances are I may not understand it the first time reading the post, and if I find out its spoilerish, I'll just avoid reading it again.

 

The eye of the world was a great way to get me semi hooked into the series. I'll start out by saying I loved the Lord of the Rings series and at least in the first book I saw a lot of similarities between the two. Now they are similarities yet at the same time this book just feels so different that I feel bad comparing the two. I think about halfway through the book I mentioned to my buddy that this was like Lord of the Rings, but with attractive females that play major roles. Already I have more female characters that seem to have an impact then the entire LoTR trilogy combined. You then have the DO and Shayol Ghul which to me made me think right of Sauron and Mordor. I’ll leave the references at that since I’ve been told this has been discussed in full in other places. So I’ll save that for after I’ve read some more.

 

Anyway it’s hard to go back and give a full review of the first book so I’ll just give some thoughts I had and maybe talk about some of the characters.

 

• Moiraine - Seems a little sketchy at some points, yet there’s something about her that I just want to trust. So I really hope she doesn’t turn out to be on the wrong side.
   
  
• Lan - Do we ever get any POV from him? Yes or No is fine, but I feel like he’s got to turn into something more than just a Warder. His background story I really enjoyed reading about.
   
  
• Two Rivers Girls - Foolish as it might be, I enjoyed the Rand/Egwene romance in the beginning and hoped it might work out in the end. Min’s viewing doesn’t give me much hope, though, if her viewings are always right. I don’t know what to think on Nynaeve yet. Didn’t mind her at first, she irritated me in the middle, came close to disliking, then it’s back to neutral near the end.
   
  
• Thom - I feel like Moiraine knows something and that he is not dead. I hope not. Seemed like there was more to him then let on yet. Another one I'm not sure I trust yet, though the way he went out left him in better light.
   
  
• Perrin - The wolf thing seems pretty nifty and cool. Hope they explain it more as it goes on. I’m not sure why he fights it so much though. I mean obviously Elyas is doing fine and he’s been running with wolves for a while now? Anyway he’s got Moiraine and Lan to back him up, he shouldn’t be going around with his head down. Hopefully he figures it out in the next book.
   
  
• Matt - Not sure if I like him or not yet. I like his trouble maker attitude he seemed to have, it goes well with the other two boys. Yet he seemed to be "sick" most of the book. Hasn't really showed any cool power like Rand or Perrin aside from maybe the dagger? Since he's infected will he be able to spawn some of those "things" that killed all the Trollocs in Shadar Logoth? I can see him being the one that turns on the other two and joins the dark side.
   
  
• Rand – Probably my second favorite in this book. I’m guessing he is indeed the Dragon Reborn, otherwise there could be some great twist in the book if he is indeed being used. Now does this mean he is Lewis Therin, as in he will find a way or simply have a revelation and gain access to all his memories? I’m trying to look back and figure out stuff I may have missed but was a little confused on that. Or does Rand simply meet the role as the “Dragon” and unless something goes different then last time, destined to go mad and kill everyone?
  

 

The ending seemed a little rush to me. With everything that was building to the "Eye of the World", I figured it would turn out to be this epic battle. There was a battle in the Gap, but we had little of that aside from Rand channeling the heck out of the Trollocs. At the same time, you can't have the best ending in the first book can ya? So I'm sold on starting the next book and already a chapter into it. More on that later though. Why don't they just blow the Horn now and go tearing through the Blight? Or is it a one-shot type deal?

 

The tinkers were very interesting to read about. While I admire their way of life, there is no way I could live that way. The dancing and nomadic travel is somewhat appealing, but I just could not run away or let someone hit me without at least defending myself. Dogs are one thing, but what happens if bandits attack? They have to know the Tinkers for what they are; I would figure it can't be safe at all for them to go around.

 

I feel like I need to start writing all the names of people introduced in the books to keep track. I'm only done with one of like what, 14 books? There's no way all 14 deal with just Rand, Mat, Perrin and company. Half of the people introduce will be coming back I'm assuming?

 

Speaking of names, is there a good place for how to pronounce them all? I know I'm way off on some of the ways I've been saying. Some I think I've just matched in my brain to be a certain character, and just skim over the name. Like Moiraine, I've just been saying "more - rain".

 

Anyway like I said, without really writing down notes, its hard to go back and write a review on all 800 pages. I'll go into more detail on the next book on a more chapter by chapter basis. If anyone wishes to know what I thought about a certain scene or anything else just ask, I'll gladly go into more detail on that.

[Elend]

Haha, Always Sunny does seem to channel Terry Goodkind a bit... By contrast I loved reading that injured USMC bloke's thoughts (although they've stopped now incomplete).

 

I'd not say Terry Goodkind. Sunny writes at least three times better, though that isn't saying much necessarily. Now, the pompous lecturing tone at times, like Goodkind has? Its there; I don't mind it, personally, but that's because I largely consider the criticism either hilarious or I somewhat agree with. A couple times I just kinda shake my head though and have to disagree.

 

And as far as some of your post goes Demos, I'll say what I can.

 

Lan is generally not a PoV character. You see him, somewhat, in New Spring and Towers of Midnight. That's really about it.

 

You'll like Mat later on.

 

That is all. Enjoy the rest of the books and hope to see more posts :D

[Mongoose]

Hey Demos, welcome.

 

Yes, the first two books have a very LotR feel, I believe it was semi-intentional. As the series progresses, though, it more and more establishes its own themes and vibes.

 

Without giving anything away, I can say for certain that men aren't neglected in the series, you'll see more than a fair share of cool male characters.

 

Mat also comes into his own. It takes a few books, but he rapidly became one of my favorite characters. You'll have to read the rest of the series if you want to see why!

 

I've done four readthroughs of 1-11, two of 12 and just finished 13. Far less than some, but for someone who almost never reads a book or watches a movie twice (unless it happens to be on TV and there's nothing better on), I think that's pretty remarkable.

 

So anyway, thanks for joining our community, and keep reading! The Great Hunt isn't one of the stronger books in the series, IMO, but The Dragon Reborn and The Shadow Rising are two of the best, and if you don't end up liking them, I'll eat Mat's hat.

[Sid]

The ending of TEOTW left me thinking "What??" but then I read TGH and there were very few of those moments from then on. I like what you have to say about the characters. A lot of that stuff is indeed explored in future books, but I'm not telling what is and what isn't. Except that you will like Mat eventually. Enjoy book 2! (lots of great scenes in book 2)

[Agitel]

The ending to EotW is generally considered weak and, on top of that, it's just plain confusing because you have no idea what was going on. Rand's POV has no understanding of what he's doing. On rereads it'll make much more sense, not that it justifies a weak ending that early, it doesn't. Just saying. The endings of books two and three are much better, though still kind of confusing, though I think it does a much better job than EotW did. You'll see.

 

As has been said, Mat starts off very much as a whiner and a joker. He grows on you as he develops. It takes some books before he develops into the character most love.

 

And as for Rand. Well, RAFO (Read And Find Out). We can't really say more at this point in the story.

[Demos]

The ending was definitely a bit confusing but things are clearing up a little as I go on.

 

Onto TGH!

 

The prologue was neat, giving us some insight into the Darkfriends and how they seem to work. Interesting to see everyone trying to hide their identity though. Wouldn't you figure it would be easier to help each other out if you knew which other Darkfriends you could work with? Maybe it's for the best if one of them were to get caught; you couldn't bring the whole thing down. Still, I would think it would be good to know at least 3-4 others. As I read it, I get the feeling each one of the characters described is important in some way, but I have no idea what they are supposed to mean. The Shienaran could be something coming up soon? We'll see when we get back to Rand and them. So how is Ba'alzamon not dead, didn't Rand kill him? I wasn't sold on him being the DO, but figured it was just one of the more powerful Forsaken that the DO had some favor in. Maybe he promoted another one in his place. Anyway all the Darkfriends seemed to get some special orders which no one else heard and were sent on their way.

 

So trying to figure out the order of Darkfriends. You have the DO who is trapped but is starting to break free (what exactly is the DO) and he has some super powerful men and women from the Age of Legends that were trapped with him, but now starting to break free themselves. These are the guys and gals that could pretty much destroy Moiraine and Lan without blinking, and Rand too if it wasn't for his luck. If the rest of them all came at them at once, couldn't they just end it? Or are they not all free yet? Ba'alzamon seems to want to try to turn Rand, but at the same time the Dragon is the only one who has a chance to destroy them all. Guess it's giving Rand the chance to learn what he needs to hold them all off. Pretty lucky there

 

Anyway so under the Forsaken you then have the Trollocs and Myrddraal on one side, and regular human darkfriends on the other. Pretty nasty stuff. Especially the darkfriends, makes you wonder who you can really trust. I'm going to be suspicious of everyone I meet now. Can't have it too easy on the boys I guess. Especially Rand, I feel bad for him. Just through the first book he finds out Tam may not be his real father, he may not even be from the Two Rivers. He grows up hearing horror stories about the Dragon and men who can channel, then finds out he himself can do it. He's having these dreams saying the Aes Sedai will use him, and then Moiraine goes and says he's the Dragon Reborn, but none of them are able to teach him to channel. I wouldn't know what to think at this point. Hopefully it gets better for him. Meanwhile Perrin is over there being sulky that he is starting to see better and has golden eyes. Oh and he's buddy buddy with some wolves.

 

Oh and last note, as Bors gets to leave he gets out a Whitecloak uniform? Not sure what his rank is but by his laugh he seems to be pretty high up. Aren't the Whitecloaks supposed to be like all for the light. Now you have a high ranking officer working for the DO, there really is no safe place now is there? I get the feeling the Whitecloaks are like the Gestapo. They run the law the way they think is right, and are brutal in the way they go about it.

[Mongoose]

The Dark One is the antithesis of the Creator, the embodiment of evil. The 'devil' to the Creator's 'God' (though more of an equal than a cast-down subordinate).

 

Along those lines, the Whitecloaks are like religious zealots. They do what they think is right, but a lot of times their methods are extreme and their prejudices blind them.

 

Darkfiends work by subversion. They can't march around openly, so they seed themselves in nations and organizations and work from the inside.

 

The deal with Ba'alzamon and the Forsaken will become clear as you keep reading.

 

 

[trench]

Your hitting on some important themes in regards to the Darkfriends working alone and not together. Cooperation is something RJ always comes back too. As for the little details Bors see's, its funny every time I reread that prologue, I notice more clues as to which characters were darkfriends all along.

 

The shadows hierarchy is Shai'tan-Forsaken(chosen)-Myrddraal-Darkfirends-Trollocs/shadow spawn of all sorts. There is also the term Dreadlord that get thrown out a lot. Dreadlords are Darkfriends who can channel. Durring the Trolloc Wars Dreadlords lead the Myrdraal and Trolloc armies. There is no direct order as to which of the Forsaken is in charge of the others as of yet, they basically get orders and carry them out as they see fit.

 

(This space once contained accidental spoilers and has been removed)

 

The whitecloaks, your use of Gestapo is appropriate. They see what they want to see. In their opinion you are a darkfriend until proven innocent. But are they evil, that is the question, and RJ is not the type of author who readily supplies you with answers. So opinions vary in respects to which non-shadow aligned cultures you will find yourself siding with as we progress. Its one of my favorite aspects of WOT, there are not many half-good bad guys, but there are a lot of half-bad good guys.

[Demos]

Darkfiends work by subversion. They can't march around openly, so they seed themselves in nations and organizations and work from the inside.

 

 

 

Yeah I understand that. I guess I was more implying why they had to be so secretive with each other. Especially at a meeting which surely was all for Darkfriends. Then again, from the little I've seen of darkfriends they all seem to think of how things will benefit them. Even the way Bors acted a little, he wouldn't want to give anyone else a hint of who he is or what he is up to. Thus giving them an advantage over him.

[Bluedust9]

Darkfiends work by subversion. They can't march around openly, so they seed themselves in nations and organizations and work from the inside.

 

 

 

Yeah I understand that. I guess I was more implying why they had to be so secretive with each other. Especially at a meeting which surely was all for Darkfriends. Then again, from the little I've seen of darkfriends they all seem to think of how things will benefit them. Even the way Bors acted a little, he wouldn't want to give anyone else a hint of who he is or what he is up to. Thus giving them an advantage over him.

 

It's said in later books the DO looks for selfishness in DFs he wants, as it's easier to control them with promises of power.

[Demos]

 

It's said in later books the DO looks for selfishness in DFs he wants, as it's easier to control them with promises of power.

 

Yeah I can see how a trait like that would help the bad boy out. Anyway, here's a little more catching up to where I'm at..

 

Same quote as the first book starts out this one, guessing it’ll be a theme for them all. Back in Fal Dara we find Land and Rand going at it on top of one of the towers. Maybe it’s just the guy in me but, I can only imagine how sweet that would be. On top of this tower overlooking all this land, the Blight like RIGHT there, learning from what seems to be one of the better swordsman we’ve been introduced too. Doesn't get much better then that. Moiraine has been avoiding Rand, and all a sudden the Amyrlin Seat and bunch of other Aes Sedai show up. Looks like he’s SOL at this point.

 

As he’s running through the halls, it’s funny how everyone is addressing him as a Lord now. Funny, but true, how the people you know and maybe a change of clothes can change your appearance in the eyes of others. Anyway the Amyrlin seems to have this presence that just says you’re going to do what I want, whether you want to or not. Rand meanwhile is freaking out trying to get away. Unfortunately someone had Lord Agelmar (I’m guessing Moiraine) give the order for no one to leave. So he eventually runs into Matt and Perrin and gets into a little fight with them, trying to keep them away from him. I understand why he does this, but I don’t get why Matt and Perrin get all upset with him so quick. Obviously it was pretty nasty stuff Rand says, but a good friend would be able to tell he isn’t acting normal and it’s probably pretty clear he’s freaking out about something. He eventually finds Egwene and she takes him right into the Lion’s Den in the women’s apartment.

 

Now it gets interesting, apparently the Amyrlin and Moiraine are old friends and have been trying to find Rand forever. Not a bad ally to have for Moiraine. So did they have to bring all the Aes Sedai to try and control Rand? Doesn't seem like it, especially the way Siuan and Moiraine go about it. It'll be a hard secret to keep though.

 

Fain just creeps me out. He’s like gollumn but more dangerous. So it appears he’s about to be freed, maybe the guy from the prologue.

[Zhipp]

Ah, yes, Fain. One of, if not the, best villain in the series. He does resemble Gollum early on, but...you'll see. He's come to be one of my favorite characters, you'll probably hate him, though. Most people do.

[sVieira151]

Nice. Always good to read a first timer's views(I'm not even a second timer yet though ). You are noticing good things, if i may say. Hope you keep on enjoying the books.

 

 

 

Also,

The Dark One is the antithesis of the Creator, the embodiment of evil. The 'devil' to the Creator's 'God' (though more of an equal than a cast-down subordinate).

 

 

To bolded, I think you get this wrong. It's not like the DO wasn't imprisoned from the moment of creation or anything . He is in my eyes cast down. He may not be subordinate in name and power but the fact he has been imprisoned kinda makes him subordinate anyways

[Demos]

Apparently Fain wasn’t set on simply escaping, but had to make a messy scene out of it too. There’s blood everywhere and everyone else either dead or going insane. Matt and Egwene seem to be alright, though the dagger was taken from Matt. Doesn’t look good for him now, and we also find out the Horn was taken as well. That’s what Rand gets for naming the DO, smooth move.

 

Luckily they were able to heal Matt somewhat, but still need the dagger to finish it off completely. This sets up what the name of the book seems to be about, The Great Hunt. There was a ton of prophecy written in blood on the wall which some Aes Sadai begin to translate. Is it bad that I have noooo idea what any of it is supposed to mean? Went back a little to see if I missed anything but can’t remember anything about Luc or Isam, though I feel like I heard the names before. Not sure if I should look in the back of the book at all to see if the names are in there. I do recognize Toman Head from Fain. None of it seems to say anything good for the world.

 

For some reason I loved the scene with Lan prepping Rand to act like a BAMF and tells him what to say and how to act. Hard to explain, maybe you all can understand leaving it at that. It just got me excited. Then Rand manages to keep his cool for the most part and stand up to the Amyrlin. Maybe not completely but he sure did a hell of a lot better than most others I’ve seen so far. Moiraine telling him about the foretelling Siuan and her heard while still in training, and how their search for him began then explains a lot. Although they spend what, 20 something years searching for him, they find him, and now will just let him go? Seems pretty crazy.

[Songstress]

For some reason I loved the scene with Lan prepping Rand to act like a BAMF and tells him what to say and how to act. Hard to explain, maybe you all can understand leaving it at that.

 

Indeed. I loved that scene as well. Heck, I'm a huge fan of Lan anyway, and that scene was just full of win.

[Kadere]

If you look back at TEotW Chapter 34 at the end of it Bunt talks about Luc, and TEotW Chapter 47 Agelmar mentions Isam.

[Luckers]

Hey guys, given the number of threads being started by people documenting their first read or first re-read of the Wheel, I am now directing people to two alternatives. Firstly, there is our blog system wherein you can relate your thoughts and feelings upon the series, secondly there is the Structured Wheel of Time, where you can discuss things with others up to the book you have currently read.

 

But multiple threads on the same topic are getting excessive, and I do not see how a joint thread can work--therefore, the blog for relation of your thoughts, and the Structured forum for discussion.