Just finished KoD, and...

[Risapeters]

It is a shame that Jordan was unable to finish it, and Sanderson will not do the same job that Jordan would have. However, Sanderson still did an excellent job. Not perfect, but excellent nonetheless.

 

 

As i said before im like 400 pages into TGS and i feel like Sanderson is making Nynaeve very bitter. i always felt that she was a little bitter but not to the degree he seems to make her. makes me sad...

[Erunion]

Keep reading Risa! The Gathering Storm / Towers of Midnight have some of Nynaeve's best chapters (imo, of course).

Please also remember that Nynaeve just sent Lan to his probable death at the end of KOD, so no surprise if she's a little grumpy, especially when people don't seem to want to help him/her.

 

Yes, some of the characters voices are a little different, especially in TGS when Brandon was just getting his feet in Jordan's world, but I think that overall he's done an admirable job with the material.

[True Source Creator]

Major difference between Sanderson and Jordan: Whereas Jordan would devote 4-5 chapters at a time to a single character/group's story arc, Sanderson splits it up more. It does cut down on the monotony of storylines like Perrin's, which were tedious as they would span as many as 6 chapters at a time. But it also makes the focus jump around a lot more than before. However, I'm just glad Rand has not been reduced to a cameo or near-cameo performance, which had happened a couple times under Jordan's focus, especially in "Crossroads of Twilight" and, suprisingly, "The Dragon Reborn." - in which he only really appeared in like the last act. WTF!

 

Also, Sanderson's been giving us more Forsaken. I like that, although I have a feeling that had JOrdan wrote the last book, we'd have got about as much Forsaken as Sanderson has given us because it is, well, the last book.

[cookiecrisp]

Egwene tower bondage fetish and Perrin's jittery anticipation over Faile were my least favorite story arcs in the series. Having less of them makes this book better.

 

CoT and WH also has terrible pacing, making this book a breath of fresh air.

[Risapeters]

Major difference between Sanderson and Jordan: Whereas Jordan would devote 4-5 chapters at a time to a single character/group's story arc, Sanderson splits it up more. It does cut down on the monotony of storylines like Perrin's, which were tedious as they would span as many as 6 chapters at a time. But it also makes the focus jump around a lot more than before. However, I'm just glad Rand has not been reduced to a cameo or near-cameo performance, which had happened a couple times under Jordan's focus, especially in "Crossroads of Twilight" and, suprisingly, "The Dragon Reborn." - in which he only really appeared in like the last act. WTF!

 

Also, Sanderson's been giving us more Forsaken. I like that, although I have a feeling that had JOrdan wrote the last book, we'd have got about as much Forsaken as Sanderson has given us because it is, well, the last book.

 

 

Lets face it Jordan had pacing issues. But i guess one thing i really liked about his writing was how i felt like i was right next to the character and practically knew what the character was thinking, which created a intimacy with the characters that i really enjoyed. It drew out the books alot and i feel he could of shortened it, however i feel he really caused almost a relationship between the characters and i.

[Risapeters]

i can really stop a convo! ha

[True Source Creator]

Hmmm? How's that?

[Sid]

On the subject of Forsaken and character voices, Sanderson's Graendal and Semirhage don't quite seem to fall in line with how they thought in previous books. They seem more obvious, less intelligent, and less subtle. Of course they're supposed to fail they way they did, but it's almost as if all of the weaknesses in their character were multiplied and their strengths lessened or disappeared completely. Like they're bad guys so they don't have any redeeming qualities anymore. Sure, Graendal did some quick thinking and reasoning-out in a certain place, but she was also thinking about a lot of frivolous things instead of it being a façade for others to think her less dangerous than she really was. It's kind of disappointing, but also kind of expected I guess.

[Risapeters]

On the subject of Forsaken and character voices, Sanderson's Graendal and Semirhage don't quite seem to fall in line with how they thought in previous books. They seem more obvious, less intelligent, and less subtle. Of course they're supposed to fail they way they did, but it's almost as if all of the weaknesses in their character were multiplied and their strengths lessened or disappeared completely. Like they're bad guys so they don't have any redeeming qualities anymore. Sure, Graendal did some quick thinking and reasoning-out in a certain place, but she was also thinking about a lot of frivolous things instead of it being a façade for others to think her less dangerous than she really was. It's kind of disappointing, but also kind of expected I guess.

 

 

It went quiet for days. Im totally in agreement so far with you Sid. Sad

[True Source Creator]

On the subject of Forsaken and character voices, Sanderson's Graendal and Semirhage don't quite seem to fall in line with how they thought in previous books. They seem more obvious, less intelligent, and less subtle. Of course they're supposed to fail they way they did, but it's almost as if all of the weaknesses in their character were multiplied and their strengths lessened or disappeared completely. Like they're bad guys so they don't have any redeeming qualities anymore. Sure, Graendal did some quick thinking and reasoning-out in a certain place, but she was also thinking about a lot of frivolous things instead of it being a façade for others to think her less dangerous than she really was. It's kind of disappointing, but also kind of expected I guess.

The reason I was so fascinated by Jordan's Semirhage was because she was like barely there, seemed so mysterious (not exactly Demandred-level mysterious, but close) and was just this monstrous tormentor. I was cool with her under Brandon's supervision up until Shaidar Haran set her free and she just got way too cocky and stupid. I had perceived her as one of the smarter and more powerful Forsaken, and so she should certainly have been smart enough to heed Shaidar Haran's words more carefully. Shame, shame.

 

...I haven't yet seen Graendal transform into a stupid bimbo yet, but I sense it coming. Shame, too, because she was also somewhat shrouded in mystery, although not quite as much as Semirhage had been.

[Superhal]

Just finished Knife of Dreams, and I'm impressed. The series has been going downhill since Lord of Chaos and reached its lowest point with Crossroads of Twilight. But Knife of Dream redeemed it. But my question is: Is it liked because it's the closest to reach the levels of Lord of Chaos since that book, or is it liked because after CoT, it just seems so good?

 

Both, imho. KoD was mediocre compared to the early books, but slightly better than the later books. It was an improvement, but still not great. There were enough climaxes to hold my interest, but there were just as many plodding chapters as previous books. I really don't know why he spends 500 pages or more going over the same events from 10 different POV's.

 

What really redeemed it for me though is the Tuon/Mat storyline finally wraps up and they finally threw in a battle told from the present tense. Mat is my favorite character and like Tuon, I want to see the lion on the hillside, not in a stable. I don't like knowing that he already won, I want to "see" his strategy.

 

The rescue of Faile stank. There was absolutely no attraction for me in that storyline. For Perrin, it took 50+ days over like 3 books/3k pages and the battle skipped all the good parts. You can't build up a battle like that and then just have Perrin wander around by himself through an abandoned city. This storyline, like many before it, was like going up the first ramp on a roller coaster, each second builds suspense, and then when you hit the crest, it levels out and the ride ends. He didn't even have a good fight Rolan. In fact, the high point of the entire storyline was when they bought the forkroot from the Seanchan dealer.

 

The battle with Sermihage stank too. Rand gets knocked out and by the time he wakes up the battle is over. What did I just say about roller coasters?

[True Source Creator]

I was expecting Semirhage's duel to be slightly longer, too. Most of it was a blur, and by the time Rand comes around she's captured already.

[Superhal]

Really? After Falme, the Forsaken vs. Rand battles were pretty lame. They would chase each other around, shooting randomly, jumping from place to place, kind of like playing Whack-A-Mole blindfolded. Nynaeve vs Forsaken are way better because there's none of this "I don't kill chicks" BS going on. What would have been hot is if they all got spanked, then Alivia comes in and rescues them.

[Sid]

I thought Rand v. Rahvin was pretty damn cool.

[EpitomyofShyness]

I thought Rand v. Rahvin was pretty damn cool.

 

Rand vs Rhavin rocked my world. It was intenseness... intensified!

 

Seriously though. I loved that fight.

[True Source Creator]

I'd put Rand versus Rahvin up there as one of the greatest fight sequences in the books. And although it wasn't much of a duel, Lanfear being total badass at the docks was exciting and then upsetting when two of my favorite characters supposedly "died." Well, I suppose one of them technically did die, and she's not been as awesome since.

[Dakota]

Just finished Knife of Dreams, and I'm impressed. The series has been going downhill since Lord of Chaos and reached its lowest point with Crossroads of Twilight. But Knife of Dream redeemed it. But my question is: Is it liked because it's the closest to reach the levels of Lord of Chaos since that book, or is it liked because after CoT, it just seems so good?

 

Both, imho. KoD was mediocre compared to the early books, but slightly better than the later books. It was an improvement, but still not great. There were enough climaxes to hold my interest, but there were just as many plodding chapters as previous books. I really don't know why he spends 500 pages or more going over the same events from 10 different POV's.

 

What really redeemed it for me though is the Tuon/Mat storyline finally wraps up and they finally threw in a battle told from the present tense. Mat is my favorite character and like Tuon, I want to see the lion on the hillside, not in a stable. I don't like knowing that he already won, I want to "see" his strategy.

 

The rescue of Faile stank. There was absolutely no attraction for me in that storyline. For Perrin, it took 50+ days over like 3 books/3k pages and the battle skipped all the good parts. You can't build up a battle like that and then just have Perrin wander around by himself through an abandoned city. This storyline, like many before it, was like going up the first ramp on a roller coaster, each second builds suspense, and then when you hit the crest, it levels out and the ride ends. He didn't even have a good fight Rolan. In fact, the high point of the entire storyline was when they bought the forkroot from the Seanchan dealer.

 

The battle with Sermihage stank too. Rand gets knocked out and by the time he wakes up the battle is over. What did I just say about roller coasters?

 

This.

 

KoD is certainly better than most (if not all) books from 7 on up, but it's still pretty mediocre in comparison to many of the earlier books. Most of the praise it gets is along the lines of "OMG, things are actually happening now!"

 

McDonalds is by no means a gourmet meal, but it can certainly seem like it after eating nothing but cat poop for the better part of a decade. KoD is the McDonalds to the cat poop of 95% of the content from 1996 (Crown of Swords) to 2005 (KoD).