Just wrapping up my re-read, and a few regrets...

[Beidomon]

Spoiler alert.

 

I finally finishing my re-read of the series. I confess, I skipped Crossroads entirely, all the Faile Shaido captivity chapters until KoD, most of the Matt/Tuon chapters, and all the Elayne Andor succession chapters. Made the re-read a LOT faster and more enjoyable for me.

 

Anyway, as I wrap up Towers of Midnight, I'm starting to realize just how much potentially awesome stuff got shortchanged, and is going to be shortchanged in the final book. I'll just name two:

 

1. Moiraine's rescue, and Moiraine in general. Moiraine was a badass. She is as close to the Gandalf character as you can get for the series. One of the few female characters in the series I have constantly enjoyed. But her ultimate rescue came way too late and, when it finally happened, it felt very rushed. Now we'll get, at best, a few more chapters of Moiraine scrunched into the final book.

 

2. The Black Tower. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was excited by the creation of the Black Tower in Book 6. I was literally like "Oooh, this gonna be good!" And then RJ almost completely ignored it for the next 6 books. HATE that. There was so much potential here, and I know we're going to get some sort of showdown in the final book but, again, one book just isn't going to be enough.

 

So my regret is that, instead of fleshing out these really interesting storylines, RJ devoted 4 books or so to a bunch of Aes Sedai squabbling, Andoran politics, and a ridiculous and annoying romance between Mat and Tuon.

[zshadez]

Mat and Toun I mostly enjoyed... but the Succession? I'd think a mass of men learning to channel and being tainted is a tad more important. I'm with you on this one.

[Barid Bel Medar]

For those who don't want pre-release spoilers, I'll keep this topic open as the "last thoughts before reading aMoL" thread. Although understandable, we don't want to clutter the forum with hundreds of people creating topics about their own thoughts before aMoL, so lets keep it to this one eh?

[Viperswhip]

I am with you on this. The Black Tower had a lot more story options, however, I will say, getting little snippets here and there has left a nice general air of mystery and foreboding about the place that may have been diluted by more PoVs there.

 

I really liked Moiraine and I think I even teared up a bit when I thought she was dead. That's why the link with Lan was broken, not matter what the writers say, it was to make us think she was dead. Of course, then you go on the forums and are mollified because people have more attention to detail than you do and realize she's probably got to end up with Thom and all the hints from Min.

 

I do not think the rescue was rushed, where would you have added to it?

 

My regrets stem from certain stories taking so long, or existing at all. If the Seanchan were almost entirely excised from the books, would that be a bad thing? Why does Mat have to marry the little torture queen? Mat came to terms with leading men way, way, way faster than Perrin, and Rand resigned himself to it in the Great Hunt. We did not need all that. But, maybe Faile is necessary because she teaches Perrin all the things he needs like Elayne and Moiraine did for Rand. Would it have been horrible to make her a nice person though and excise the bloody Prophet altogether?

 

If we get rid of Mat marrying Tuon, make a smooth Succession and no Perrin discovering his inner violence (like he didn't do that in the Two Rivers already), does Robert Jordan finish the books before he dies? It would have been closer. That's my regret, although I like what Brandon has done, I don't love it.

[zshadez]

So I'll be picking my copy up tomorrow... how terrifying. I've started the Eye of the World 20 years ago, when I was 9. I don't really remember a time when I wasn't waiting for the next book. This series has been one of the biggest parts of my development. I know a lot of us here feel the same way. To see an ending, Jordan's ending despite his sickness and death, is a wonderful thing. But for there not to be a next book? To know there will never be another awesome Rand chapter, or even an annoying Elayne chapter? Inconceivable.

[Beidomon]

So I'll be picking my copy up tomorrow... how terrifying. I've started the Eye of the World 20 years ago, when I was 9. I don't really remember a time when I wasn't waiting for the next book. This series has been one of the biggest parts of my development. I know a lot of us here feel the same way. To see an ending, Jordan's ending despite his sickness and death, is a wonderful thing. But for there not to be a next book? To know there will never be another awesome Rand chapter, or even an annoying Elayne chapter? Inconceivable.

 

Don't worry. I'm sure there will be spinoffs. Franchise is too valuable. I'm hoping for a series devoted just to White Tower intrigue. I always felt Saerin, Seaine, Shemerin, and Sheriam were way underdeveloped characters. A lot of potential there. Also, Elayne's succession to the throne was cool enough, but can she keep it?! Just how important is Dyelin, really? What becomes of Valan Luca? Does the circus survive? Does he add an act or two? Do Mat and Tuon have kids? Are they little one-eyed, sadistic, slave owners?

[SylvanFox]

I just got mine today, but I haven't gotten to read past the pre-release material yet. I am so ready, and yet I so don't want it to be over. I keep wishing that I had started the series earlier, when they had caught my attention the first time. 

[Hagazussa]

I definitely agree that I would have liked to see allot more about the Black Tower and I care about that allot more than the politics of Andor, it would have been fun to read more about the daily life at the Black Tower and the training that gos on there for let's face it we hardly know anything about it. I also would have loved to see some point of view chapters from Logain, he is such a big character but if I am not mistaken he do not get one single point of view chapter in the entire series.

 

As for Moiraine, I do like her character and in a way I had hoped that she would come back earlier, but at the same time if she had just been taken off the playing board and then been rescued right away then her sacrifice would have felt that much less satisfying and important.

 

I have not bought the last book yet as I am not done with the re read yet, my hubby is a bit in front of me with the re reads and he read faster than me so hopefully he will get done, pick the book up and then be done with it in time for me to read it when he have completed it. It do feel a bit strange though, I begun reading these books when I was 16 and I will be 31 next month so the series have been with me my entire adult life, it will be strange to not be waiting for the next book to arrive anymore. It seams all my favorite fantasy series are completed at the moment, it is time to get into some new ones.