Favourite Character in Your First Read-Through

[Shimmer]

In my first read-through of the WoT series (until KoD) my favourite character was Egwene (yes, I know...*shock*). In my defence I was only 11 years old and I thought she was the most relatable character.

So, anyway, who was yours? And why?

 

Note: It must be on and/or throughout your very first read-through and not after you've had a chance to reflect.

[Guest Lazyking]

Mat

 

I guess you'd call me a casual WOT reader cause while I've read through knife of dreams... their was some considerable time between reading each book...I just got the gathering storm and will read it soon but so far, I've always liked Mat the best... He's laid back, fun...just love him and his gambler attidude... and his romances are the most intresting imo.

[Nightstrike]

Rand, but Moiraine was also one of my absolute favorites.

[coolpool]

Rand... i always found it hard getting through a book with little or no rand in it.. i can't really explain propally why he's my favourite.. i just think his charater is interesting and the way he changes throughout the series, especially with LT in his head was cool also, as he progressed in the books, you never really knew what crazy thing he was going to do next... and the most action always happened around rand, so naturally he will be me favourite

[Jay Aldridge]

Mat is my favorite. I love the way his storyline has always been him fighting tooth and nail against responsibility. His gambling, drinking, skirt chasing, and cavalier attitude has always made him a character I can relate to. I also find it funny how the pattern and his taveren nature has forced maturity, marriage, fatherhood, and a sense of responsibility onto him.

[Sleeper]

Rand, closely followed by Mat. That's the way it's always been. I find Rand's story arc to be the most human; I understand why he did the things he did, and I enjoy the way he's in many ways an anti-hero throughout much of the series.

 

The entire mythos of the Dragon is fantastic as well.

 

Mat's just a classic badass. He wields one of my favorite weapons, a glaive, and provides both a good dash of comic relief and quite a bit of heroism to the series.

[SylviaDoreen]

I voted Nynaeve. When I was younger I had a bad habit of not controlling my temper too. I tended to 'blow up' at lost of ridiculous things. Like her, though, I matured. I still blow up, I just channel it into more productive outlets lol.

 

Her ongoing love problems with Lan makes her more real than Rands harem that like him 'just because'. And not NEAR as dull/dry as Faile's attempt at controlling and using Perrin. I actually have a suspicion that Faile might even be a darkfriend, something Nynaeve definitely is not.

 

Just my thoughts

[JohnMilan]

Ya know, Lan isn't around for much of the series, compared to others, but I have liked him from the beginning. He's BA to start and he's only gotten better. AND, he does it as a normal guy(w/a Warder Bond I know). I love Mat and Rand, but whenever I get the good Lan storyline, I dig it.

[Zhipp]

Mat bloody Cauthon, who else? Rand was already kind of an ass by book 4, and I didn't really like Perrin until book 6. I didn't realize Fain's awesomeness until I re-read books 1-4, so, yeah. Mat.

[sandoz12]

Rand followed closely by Lan. On re-reads I have found Rand less likeable and Mat more. On the first read it took me awhile to get over my dislike of Mat caused by the first few books.

[The Watcher and Wanderer]

In my first read through it was all about Perrin, Nynaeve and Thom for me. I still love all three characters, but I have also come to really like Mat, Moiraine, Lan, Galad and Min.

[Vambram]

In my first read through, which started back in 1991, my most favorite character was Rand al`Thor.

20 years later, and many many re-reads later, Rand al`Thor is still my most favorite number 1 character in the WOT series.

[Barid Bel Medar]

Rand. Always.

 

He deserves to be treated like a God for what he needs to do, yet everyone treats him like a demon. And yet he still is willing to die for all the ingrateful fools that hate and try to use him.

 

A lesser man would have succumbed to the Shadow a long time ago. The DO has driven him insane, wounded him, taken his pride, his humility, his whole life and set half the world against him, but he still endures.

 

I didnt care that he was a dictator. Thats what the world needs. He had a damn right to be an ass as people think. But it was not him being cruel, he was only doing what needed to be done. He even hated himself for doing those things and it would have been easier to say, "oh yes, i shall just be nice so peoople dont think I am mean", but he endured their hatred and annoyance, he let them think he was a "criminal".

 

Basically, he sacrificed every ounce of his being to save the people that dispised him. That takes a damn sight more courage and love than anything anyone else has done in the series.

[NitroS]

cadsuane then nyneave

[dscott8]

On the first read-through, definitely Mat. He reminded me of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

[Himiko]

Nynaeve, definitely. Loved her from book 1 onwards. Lost some of my love for her towards the later middle part of the series, where a lot of her scenes seemed to be "Lolololol, now lets cut to Nynaeve being walked all over and acting like a fool"- that was the impression I had at the time of the first read through, though looking back, I do still love her in those books, it might just have been that she didn't have as bigger role as in some of the other books, I don't know... Think my favourites at that point were Mat, Perrin and Faile. However, Nynaeve became awesome again in the later books, so I'm going to have to go with her as my favourite overall.

[Vambram]

Rand. Always.

 

He deserves to be treated like a God for what he needs to do, yet everyone treats him like a demon. And yet he still is willing to die for all the ingrateful fools that hate and try to use him.

 

A lesser man would have succumbed to the Shadow a long time ago. The DO has driven him insane, wounded him, taken his pride, his humility, his whole life and set half the world against him, but he still endures.

 

I didnt care that he was a dictator. Thats what the world needs. He had a damn right to be an ass as people think. But it was not him being cruel, he was only doing what needed to be done. He even hated himself for doing those things and it would have been easier to say, "oh yes, i shall just be nice so peoople dont think I am mean", but he endured their hatred and annoyance, he let them think he was a "criminal".

 

Basically, he sacrificed every ounce of his being to save the people that dispised him. That takes a damn sight more courage and love than anything anyone else has done in the series.

 

 

 

Word for word, I completely agree with almost everything you said there.

Excellent post, man. And if I were in church, I would say, "Amen, brother!"

 

 

[True Source Creator]

I loved Moiraine from the start and was sad when she "died".

 

Rand is a very good character, very complexly crafted, fighting not only the Shadow but himself and his fate. He's a wonderful character and his story arc is always fascinating.

 

I honestly don't care all to much for Mat or Perrin. The latter's stories after Faile is kidnapped all seem to go the same way in each book with little progress (up to KoD). Mat gets more interesting, especially when he's on his own and then stumbles into Tuon.

 

When Elayne first came in, I almost groaned. She just seemed tacked on at first and the scene in the garden in EotW didn't make me think she'd become a major character, but I've grown to like her.

 

Egwene actually isn't bad, either.

 

And Nynaeve is wonderful. She's fierce, and she fits Lan so well.

 

I also love Lanfear and Mesaana. Of the Forsaken, they're my favorite.

[CrossArmant]

I voted for Mat. In the first few books, I was apathetic towards him. But around the time he came out of Rhuidean I felt he became a much more interesting character, his drunken hijinks and smoothness definitely made him more of a likeable character to me. Combined with the fighting prowess and military skill he's more than just a simple trickster. He's a normal person, thrust into a position of power and responsibility that he really doesn't want.

 

Though, for the first few books, Perrin was my favorite, but once Faile arbitrarily threw her way into the book he became significantly less relevant and likeable.

 

I've never been a fan of the female characters, except Moiraine. I like Egwene well enough, she's capable and is open to learning new things. Nynaeve, I felt, has done nothing except be a total stubborn pain the neck for thousands of pages, been resistant to ever admitting her own ignorance or trying to accept other cultures, and all she does is yell and scream at people for half the series. I seriously am confused as to why anyone even took her seriously most of the time anyways, all she did was act haughty and sulk. Everytime Nynaeve shows up I cringe and painfully make my way through sections with her in it, confused as to how she has a fan following.

[True Source Creator]

I'm starting to see that Cadsuane is also a great character. She reminds me of Moiraine.

 

And how could I forget Thom? He's a great character, especially with his shady past. I think, in a lot of ways, Mat's own behavior is a reflection of being around him too long.

[brolie]

thom, noal, juilin, and elyas are all characters i would have fought between, were they on the list. i chose min though because there hasn't been a moment where i disliked her, or her story line

[Isahn]

Although i voted for Perrin as my favorite;while still true, was more intrigued by the "darker" characters. RJ just had a way of describing the forsaken. Even though we have really only had snipits of insight into most of the Forsaken, I find them far more interesting than most of the "good" guys. And up until book 8 or 9, i loathed most of the female characters in the series except for Min and Moraine. Wool Brained Idiot<-------

[True Source Creator]

Although i voted for Perrin as my favorite;while still true, was more intrigued by the "darker" characters. RJ just had a way of describing the forsaken. Even though we have really only had snipits of insight into most of the Forsaken, I find them far more interesting than most of the "good" guys. And up until book 8 or 9, i loathed most of the female characters in the series except for Min and Moraine. Wool Brained Idiot<-------

I'm glad someone else agrees with me. The Forsaken are my favorite, as well. They have an interesting past and are very secretive. I love any moment they appear or are talked about in the books.