The "OMG I just finished!" Thread

[Malivis]

Finished it about 8 hours ago. Got some sleep.

 

I didn't like the book as a whole, not particularly, but I loved the end. The VERY end (the last page or so).

 

Rand deserves that. It's what he wanted from the very beginning.

[Axon]

Loved the ending.  Kind of no-nonsense for me.  Sure, I would have loved a glimpse in the future, but no big deal.  

 

Egwene's death was entirely understandable and worthwhile.  

 

Demandred was just a bad ass.  Finally, a forsaken who ISN'T just waiting around for Rand to kick his or her ass.   Moridin's despair was equally entertaining.  

 

M'Hael/Taim...this was unnecessary.  I was hoping for something else, but hey. 

 

My favorite scene is Avi's brief POV when Rand releases the giant beam of light - something like "he was winning.  He was winning.  He was so strong.  She saw the true warrior in him now."   For me, that's as good as "They will pay, I am the Lord of the Morning" and "Would you be Nae'blis?"

 

The book was damn good.  People are going to complain, that's what people do, and this particular group being so "married" to their pet theories will be even more difficult to please.  But it was a great ride, and the ending actually worked.  

[Shomofo]

I finished a few hours ago and I'm still trying to make sense of it all. Total information overload! (But in a good way).

I had been anticipating this so much. Feel a little deflated and have so many unanswered questions.

Did a complete reread before this so have been living in WOT for the last month.

Need to process it all.

Great end to the series it all just flew by

[NitroS]

All I can think about is how much I wish RJ would have been able to finish the series himself.  Imagine how great it would have been.

I disagree i think the things i didnt like was the plot of how it ended and that was all jordan, the unanswered questions was all from the notes where jordan said leave this open.

 

Also if jordan had done it i dontt think we would have had a trilogy but probably 2 books and the fight scenes wouldnt have been as epic. I loved all the fight scenes demandred reveal flying around in a circle with a saarangreal, full proper circles the new sanangreal egwenes death, the 4 battlefronts with each great captain and grendals compulsion then the final stand with mat, mat and rand meeting. i Loved all the red herrings that tricked so many people and the roedral scene. the merrilor argument was one of my favourites too with elaynes quote "come in try the soup". I loved how finally the aes sedai done things right with their battle tactics, healing hospital greys for travelling then the rest on the front lines.

 

Few things i wish we had. Siuan reunion moiraine, more moiraine, explanation to the letters of verrin, the seanchan taking sharan prisoners and a bit more explanation into their hierarchy, rand fighting someone in a proper channel battle aka demandred. The whole colours thing didnt mean much i was expecting something good to happen when they all reunited. Lack of nyneave. Lack of black tower in the last battle i wish it would have been good white/black tower vs darkfriend/black/white and then sean chan vs sharans.

 

Overall my favourite book in the series and thats when i was rushing through the book trying to get to the end.

 

My new ordr is probably:

 

MOL

TGS

LOC

WH

 

Also i think that the absolute die hard fans (the ones that spent theorising most of their day here luckers, terez etc) will not be satisfied because of all the open ends and the fact that they spent so much time trying to crack the nakomi, prophecy of shadow, mins viewings etc to end up with no answer/totally different interpretation then what they expected.

Edited January 9, 2013 by NitroS

[egwene1225]

I started reading and did not stop.

 

Not everything happened exactly how I wanted it to or had envisioned it over the past 18 years, but that makes it a good book.  A story that we can predict is a boring story.  The world RJ created is not a fairytale world made up of too-good-to-be-trues and happily-ever-afters.

 

I really loved that Rand understood at the end that there could be no "good" without "evil", no "light" without "darkness", that it is our free will and our ability to choose that creates our humanity.

 

Demandred and the Sharan were brilliant.  I'm sure there will be a lot more backstory in the upcoming Encylopedia.  If they had tried to put much more explanation - Shara, Fain, Slayer, etc etc etc - into this book it would've had to be split again.  I thought Sanderson did a nice job typing up lose threads, considering how many there were.

 

It tore me apart when Egwene died.  She's always been my favorite character, perhaps because I felt I was growing up with her (I started reading tWoT when I was 12), though she did disappoint me with her narrow-mindedness in this book.  But to be so incredibly young, to have fought so hard against so many foes and succeeding - chaised by trollocs, fleeing Shagar Logoth, captured by Whitecloaks, captured by the Seanchan, chaising darkfriends, surviving the Waist, being propped up as Amyrlin, being beaten repeatedly by Elaida, securing the Tower, beating Maseana, facing the Seanchan in Battle, cleansing the Tower, gaining the respect of the Sitters and the rulers - and finally being married to the flawed but wonderful man she loved, only to face his death so soon and fight to kill one of the Forsaken because there was no one else to do it.  Her life was cut so short.  No matter what anyone says about her whining in the first books (she was like 17, for goodness sake!) or stubborness or faults, she had the courage and determination of a lion and she gave all of herself to whatever her task was.  I found her death the greatest tragedy.

 

Avienda being crippled was also a big "why" to me, except that perhaps RJ wanted each of the characters to persevere through the loss of what they considered their identity, their core.  Avienda and her agility, Perrin going to Dragonmount even when he believed Faile to be lost, Matt facing the dagger (though his was a bit less intense for me).  

 

I agree the reunion scenes between Moraine and Lan / Suian were missed. 

 

And, if Alanna could so easily get rid of the bond with Rand, why did she do it as soon as she realized the Shadow was going to use her against him? She had to wait till the last possible moment? That doesn't seem very Aes Sedai noble...

 

And I have to say, even after reading through the RJ-written books, I got very little to no clues about the Moiraine / Thom connection.  Anyone else?

 

Oh and anyone else think that Birgette is being reborn as Elayne's daughter?

 

There are a lot of unanswered questions - 

What exactly WILL happen with the throne of Saldea?  If Faile takes the throne, do they split their time between the Two Rivers and Saldea? Elayne was trying to prevent that with the rule about the kids...

Casuane knows Rand lives; will she, as Amyrlin, ever call on him? for what?

How WILL the Three decide to share Rand?

I also missed Nyneave's reaction when Lan was struck down fighting Demandred.  WAS he dead, or just mortally wounded?  Did Rand bring him back from the dead or just Heal him?  Nyneave's reaction would've told us.

What is the future of the Aeil?

Where was Morgase during all this? What happens to her now?

What the heck did all of Verin's letters say?

Will Min go back to the Seanchan to be Tuon's TruthSpeaker, or not?

Will Logain be the Tamyrlin? How will that hierarchy be set up?

What was the "onyx" fist vision Min had actually referring to?

Was Rand lighting his pipe at the end showing he could Will the Pattern / affect the world through his will? he couldn't do that when he could channel, so it was a bit confusing exactly what that meant

Who will be the new Prince of the Sword?

Will Galad and Berelain wed (assuming Galad survived) and how will the Whitecloaks fit into the New Age?

WHO THE HECK WAS NAKIMA AND HOW/WHERE DID SHE APPEAR TO RAND AS HE LEFT THE BORE?

 

Letting it digest for a bit then reading it again to really absorb everything.  It's such a surprisingly powerful feeling, having it finished.  I feel at once painfully sad that a part of my life as ended and finally complete that our story has come to a close.  It's amazing how BOOKS and CHARACTERS can play such a profound role in our lives.  It's a bit silly, really.  

 

Oh well.

Edited January 10, 2013 by egwene1225

[Lynchgrinch]

The only word to describe me right now is "melancholy"

The Wheel of Time is in my opinion the greatest story ever told. And now it is finished. I will never again read another Wheel of Time book without knowing what will happen next. He wrote more than just a story. What you he is in the language of Thom Merrillin "Exquisite".


I loved it, totally loved it...especially Demandred and Lan.....

 

It was all just so good!

[NitroS]

I started reading and did not stop.

 

Not everything happened exactly how I wanted it to or had envisioned it over the past 18 years, but that makes it a good book.  A story that we can predict is a boring story.  The world RJ created is not a fairytale world made up of too-good-to-be-trues and happily-ever-afters.

 

I really loved that Rand understood at the end that there could be no "good" without "evil", no "light" without "darkness", that it is our free will and our ability to choose that creates our humanity.

 

Demandred and the Sharan were brilliant.  I'm sure there will be a lot more backstory in the upcoming Encylopedia.  If they had tried to put much more explanation - Shara, Fain, Slayer, etc etc etc - into this book it would've had to be split again.  I thought Sanderson did a nice job typing up lose threads, considering how many there were.

 

It tore me apart when Egwene died.  She's always been my favorite character, perhaps because I felt I was growing up with her (I started reading tWoT when I was 12), though she did disappoint me with her narrow-mindedness in this book.  But to be so incredibly young, to have fought so hard against so many foes and succeeding - chaised by trollocs, fleeing Shagar Logoth, captured by Whitecloaks, captured by the Seanchan, chaising darkfriends, surviving the Waist, being propped up as Amyrlin, being beaten repeatedly by Elaida, securing the Tower, beating Maseana, facing the Seanchan in Battle, cleansing the Tower, gaining the respect of the Sitters and the rulers - and finally being married to the flawed but wonderful man she loved, only to face his death so soon and fight to kill one of the Forsaken because there was no one else to do it.  Her life was cut so short.  No matter what anyone says about her whining in the first books (she was like 17, for goodness sake!) or stubborness or faults, she had the courage and determination of a lion and she gave all of herself to whatever her task was.  I found her death the greatest tragedy.

 

Avienda being crippled was also a big "why" to me, except that perhaps RJ wanted each of the characters to persevere through the loss of what they considered their identity, their core.  Avienda and her agility, Perrin going to Dragonmount even when he believed Faile to be lost, Matt facing the dagger (though his was a bit less intense for me).  

 

I agree the reunion scenes between Moraine and Lan / Suian were missed. 

 

And, if Alanna could so easily get rid of the bond with Rand, why did she do it as soon as she realized the Shadow was going to use her against him? She had to wait till the last possible moment? That doesn't seem very Aes Sedai noble...

 

And I have to say, even after reading through the RJ-written books, I got very little to no clues about the Moiraine / Thom connection.  Anyone else?

 

Oh and anyone else think that Birgette is being reborn as Elayne's daughter?

 

There are a lot of unanswered questions - 

What exactly WILL happen with the throne of Saldea?  If Faile takes the throne, do they split their time between the Two Rivers and Saldea? Elayne was trying to prevent that with the rule about the kids...

Casuane knows Rand lives; will she, as Amyrlin, ever call on him? for what?

How WILL the Three decide to share Rand?

I also missed Nyneave's reaction when Lan was struck down fighting Demandred.  WAS he dead, or just mortally wounded?  Did Rand bring him back from the dead or just Heal him?  Nyneave's reaction would've told us.

What is the future of the Aeil?

Where was Morgase during all this? What happens to her now?

What the heck did all of Verin's letters say?

Will Min go back to the Seanchan to be Tuon's TruthSpeaker, or not?

Will Logain be the Tamyrlin? How will that hierarchy be set up?

What was the "onyx" fist vision Min had actually referring to?

Was Rand lighting his pipe at the end showing he could Will the Pattern / affect the world through his will? he couldn't do that when he could channel, so it was a bit confusing exactly what that meant

Who will be the new Prince of the Sword?

Will Galad and Berelain wed (assuming Galad survived) and how will the Whitecloaks fit into the New Age?

WHO THE HECK WAS NAKIMA AND HOW/WHERE DID SHE APPEAR TO RAND AS HE LEFT THE BORE?

 

Letting it digest for a bit then reading it again to really absorb everything.  It's such a surprisingly powerful feeling, having it finished.  I feel at once painfully sad that a part of my life as ended and finally complete that our story has come to a close.  It's amazing how BOOKS and CHARACTERS can play such a profound role in our lives.  It's a bit silly, really.  

 

Oh well.

Morgase was revealed in the last pages among the supply groups i think cant remember.

Pretty sure the onxy hand was moridin taking callandor and then rand forcing a circle with him.

[egwene1225]

Morgase was revealed in the last pages among the supply groups i think cant remember.

Pretty sure the onxy hand was moridin taking callandor and then rand forcing a circle with him.

 

I saw her organizing supply groups, but it was odd to me there wasn't anyone who thought, at some point during the entire book (particularly in the beginning when Elayne asked Perrin to organize the camp) "Morgase chose to stay back with the refugees in Cairhein not to interfere with Elayne's authority" or "Morgase was in Mayne helping at the hospital" or SOMETHING.  I mean, this is three somewhat-major character's mother, and no one gives her a passing thought?  She was at the supply lines AFTER the battle, but before? during? it just seemed like a bit of an oversight, to me.

[KrisAnton]

What was she supposed to do? Her arc was finalized in ToM.

[Muirenn]

My husband is a Chosen!  Love it!

[ozimandias]

Just finished, truly loved it.  Laughed, cried (multiple times, have headache - and I don't often cry) and felt truly satisfied about how it all wrapped up.

 

All questions were not answered - as it should be for a world as large as this one.  It is not for one man to know all things about a world, not even Robert Jordan, and certainly not me the reader.  

[madpoet]

Most natural part to me in the entire 3 that BS wrote was that awesome 1 up contest between Matt and Rand.  The thing to remember (and Perrin points this out) is that this entire story takes place over 2 years.  Not the 23 years I've been reading it! :)

[Galium]

Morgase died I thought. When Mellar captured Elayne and then brought the woman dressed up like Elayne who looked just like her, I thought that was Morgase. Maybe it was just some random person and they used the Mask of Mirrors but I'm pretty sure it was Morgase. When she was mentioned, it was in Ila's POV. Ila saw Morgase helping and then saw Mellar and his men looting the corpses. I just assumed that they took her before they went to go capture Elayne.

[Daruya]

I just finished and I feel . . . I don't know what. Unutterable loss, for one.  So many old friends lost.  It broke my heart to see Egwene die but at the same time, I saw it coming as soon as Gawyn chose not to tell her about the rings.  Siaun - her death shattered me.  Rhuarc being Compulsed broke my heart.

 

Tuon infuriated me when she met with Egwene. I could cheerfully have throttled her.  Egwene . . . well, she positively shone in this book in spite of her flaws.  

 

But, yes, I feel like I lost many old friends.

[esvath]

I just finished it after a marathon read.

 

Wow... The book blew my mind. Sure, the book is not perfect in my opinion; there are too little casualties from main and not-so-minor characters. Faile died, Elayne died, Rand died would be better imho. These deaths will have strong effects on the readers, while the death of dozen minor characters will only be statistic.

 

There were also some loopholes during the book, such as where was Gabrelle during Logain's turning? Why Faile's group was sent to the Blight?

 

But, despite some flaws the book have, I still found the book very, very much enjoyable.

[doseyclwn]

Just finished it and...well, I'm at a loss for words. I feel like I've lost a friend, but I'm satisfied.  There were, of course, other things I'd like to have seen (Isle of the Madmen?!?!). things I wished hadn't happened (Egwene dying, for example), but it wasn't my story.  It was RJ's.

 

Yes, I wish he would have finished it himself. I think probably Brandon would say that as well. But I'm glad that Brandon finished it.  I don't care what others say, I think it felt like RJ's work precisely because Brandon didn't try to imitate his voice.  I could feel RJ's hand in it all, and I think he would be proud.

 

I wanted to like this book. I have never wanted to be a person that looks for the flaws in the work and seethes over how it could have been better. I make no judgements on that course of action/way of being.

 

I'd rather enjoy the story.  I'd rather walk away satisfied.

 

And I can do that without feeling like I've given up or compromised anything.

 

I never had the pleasure of meeting RJ.  I did get to meet Harriet a few years ago.  I thanked her for allowing Brandon to finish this work.  She smiled a genuine smile at me and gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek.  It's easy to see what RJ saw in her.  What a remarkable woman.

 

RJ has inspired me to create stories of my own in a way nobody else has.  He's been with me since I was in my mid-20's.  Now I'm 41.  

 

Thank you Brandon.  You did a wonderful job.  Thank you again, Harriet.  You are one of the classiest ladies I've ever met.

 

And thank you RJ.  May the last embrace of the mother welcome you home.

[KrisAnton]

The scene I pictured most vividly was when Eqwene was bursting with the One Power, her eyes ablaze with light, as she mowed down the Darkfriend channelers. So awesome.

 

Demandred's scenes were neat too. I'm glad they held the best Forsaken for last. I pictured him wearing an almost Space Marines kind of plated armor, or kind of like Urza from M:TG.

[TLHansum]

Just finished it.  Didn't really like the epilogue or Padan Fain's death.  Didn't like that Rand was burnt out.  Didn't like the lack of resolution with him just riding into the sunset and we don't know what will happen with the wondergirls.  Was upset that Cadsuane didn't forsake the oaths and become younger so she could be amrylin for 300+years. 

 

That being said, i really enjoyed it, and it was very satisfying.  Loved the pace and the action, the sense of overcoming impossible odds.  Loved that anyone could die, and found myself rereading paragraphs when Siuan, Romanda, Gawyn and a few others died.  I thought Galad and Lan had died in their scenes and was kinda confused when they turned up again.  I thought at first that Lan was standing over his corpse as a HotH like Birgette was.

 

I plowed this book in 2 days, so definitely need a reread. 

[JRey]

Nothing

Edited January 10, 2013 by JRey

[KrisAnton]

Rand wasn't burned out, he ascended beyond the need for channeling. He triumphed where LTT had failed and cost him his life and the life of other male channelers and was rewarded for it. Had LTT been successful, he would have probably enjoyed the same power. Well, maybe not, LTT's fault was his pride but nothing says the Dragon doesn't deserve to be a Bad A after defeating the DO. The prophecies said that he would walk the land with his sword Justice, which I didn't get until after reading the ending.

[JRey]

I just read the book today. I enjoyed it for the most part but, Bela DIED! I think this may have truly affected me more than anything else. That horse came from the beginning to die here. Which is noble I guess but sad even so.

 

Well, here's one to you magic horse! Nostrovyia, Bela.

 

Sad.

[JRey]

DP

Edited January 10, 2013 by JRey

[Songstress]

After two marathon nights of reading (about 8 hours each), getting less than 3 hours of sleep per night, I finished at 4:45 this morning.

 

Loved it.

 

I teared up.  I laughed.  I said "OH MY GOD" aloud to the cats several times.

 

I cheered. A lot.

 

Well done, Team Jordan. 

[KrisAnton]

My wife thought I was crazy because I would laugh out loud and say "F yes!" one minute then tearing up and whimpering the next. Man, when the white tendril emerged from Mat's chest I had to put the book down and go smoke. Losing Mat would have broken me, utterly and completely.

[Ashaman Valen]

I thought the ending was great! I fully expected Rand to die and was pleasantly surprised and the scene with Tam in the epilogue got me pretty good. I really didn't mind the open ended ending mainly because I am some what used to it from watching anime (Japanese love those type of endings). It also didn't bother me that much because we got kind of a general feeling of how things would be after the last battle from Avi's vision and Rand's visions with the DO.