The "OMG I just finished!" Thread

[Guest guest]

Don't worry Fozzle, you will start feeling better in a few days. I finished the book last week-end, and felt just as you did. I keep thinking there will be more, despite what BS and Harriet say.

[Guest Fozzle]

Thanks, I live in hope of a follow up ;)

[Guest Guest]

seems many wanted some sort of epilogue or happy endings.  the book end reminded me of the finale of the sopranos.  my guess is they wanted you to use your own imagination, whatever that may be......

[Treesong]

seems many wanted some sort of epilogue or happy endings.  the book end reminded me of the finale of the sopranos.  my guess is they wanted you to use your own imagination, whatever that may be......

The whole campscene where Rand sneaks off, chuckling and pipesmoking, to go sightseeing, thinking about how to juggle his 3 girlfriends while leaving his friends and father to moarn at a pyre that is actually consuming Moridin just felt totally inappropriate and very unlike Rand. These people have lived and suffered together for 12k pages, and now he sneaks off?

 

There should be some resolve, maybe a few scenes in the Two Rivers, of key-characters licking their wounds together, a few glimpses of things being rebuild.

 

It is not that I want every loose end explained, just something more emotional and deserving then Rand sneaking of for his "well deserved peace" through some bodysnatch trick. I feel that RJ would not have really used this ending like this if he had lived to finish the series(I heard this chapter is his) just that this was how he imagined how he could let Rand live in the end. I guess RJ also wanted to give Rand back his own life to live normally again, but what about the others? The thousands that were killed, maimed, burned out and emotionally wrecked?

 

Also, not the most unique iteration of "How to trick a Prophecy of a Hero's Death" imo. "The hero lives on, we only made his body die, neener, neener!" I kept thinking there was more to the Moridin bodysnatch, but I guess in the end it was just to give Rand a fresh body with 2 hands. Oh, and off course a different face so he could sneak off while his friends think he is dead. 

 

Anyway, I hope Tam kicks the *** out of Rand when he finds out that he is still alive.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Treesong

[Tud]

I finished the book and felt a little numb as I closed the book. I really liked the way that AMOL's last two or so paragrpahs were a mirror image of the first two or so paragraph's EOTW. That made it all the more sad to read. Overall, I liked the book, but like others, I felt it was a bit "rushed" and it left out details I would have had addressed.

 

My biggest complaint about the book comes at the end. I think it would have been a better ending if Rand had met Perrin and Mat at some private spot after he'd left the camp. Just a short meeting explaining what happened and why he had to leave. After all, without the efforts of the two of them, he would have certainly failed. He may have been The Dragon Reborn", but they were his "Great Captians". As Min saw, without them being there, he would have failed. That being the case, it would seem fitting that he take a personal leavetaking from both of them.

 

Then he could have ridden off with them watching until he passed beyond sight and then have the wind rise that wasn't the end, but was an ending..

 

IMHO, that would ahve been a great (If cliched, but as someone pointed out, his whole body switch was something of a cliche) way to end the series. either that, or flash forward a year and have Rand/Moridin approach Tam's farmhouse at sundown and end as he walked into the house..

 

At least that's the way I would have ended it...

Edited March 6, 2013 by Tud

[Guest Guest]

 

seems many wanted some sort of epilogue or happy endings.  the book end reminded me of the finale of the sopranos.  my guess is they wanted you to use your own imagination, whatever that may be......

The whole campscene where Rand sneaks off, chuckling and pipesmoking, to go sightseeing, thinking about how to juggle his 3 girlfriends while leaving his friends and father to moarn at a pyre that is actually consuming Moridin just felt totally inappropriate and very unlike Rand. These people have lived and suffered together for 12k pages, and now he sneaks off?

 

There should be some resolve, maybe a few scenes in the Two Rivers, of key-characters licking their wounds together, a few glimpses of things being rebuild.

 

It is not that I want every loose end explained, just something more emotional and deserving then Rand sneaking of for his "well deserved peace" through some bodysnatch trick. I feel that RJ would not have really used this ending like this if he had lived to finish the series(I heard this chapter is his) just that this was how he imagined how he could let Rand live in the end. I guess RJ also wanted to give Rand back his own life to live normally again, but what about the others? The thousands that were killed, maimed, burned out and emotionally wrecked?

 

Also, not the most unique iteration of "How to trick a Prophecy of a Hero's Death" imo. "The hero lives on, we only made his body die, neener, neener!" I kept thinking there was more to the Moridin bodysnatch, but I guess in the end it was just to give Rand a fresh body with 2 hands. Oh, and off course a different face so he could sneak off while his friends think he is dead. 

 

Anyway, I hope Tam kicks the *** out of Rand when he finds out that he is still alive.

In many ways i feel the same....it would have been nice to have something...anything.  my other self feels, well, with out jordan to put the final stamp on this series...i will let my imagination run wild and finish it in my head (with serious input from other posts and comments and perhaps hints from the books)

[arwoodk87]

OMG I just finished! I liked it, I would love to know what everyone's plans are but I'm satisfied.

 

I learned something very important, reading this book while all hormonal from pregnancy and at work is not a good idea. I spent a good amount of time crying, luckily I work at a library so everyone understands.

[Basel Gill]

I just got done. Wow. I continued to sit there in my chair for ten minutes just saying "Wow... oh my god" and variations thereof over and over. I had no quibbles with the ending; I loved it.

[Rhea]

I know exactly how you feel!

[Paul H]

I actually finished the book maybe two or three weeks ago, but I am only now finding time to post some thoughts, so this thread seems like a good place to start.  I have much that I want to say and discuss, but I will try to give my overall thoughts here, and then look for other threads where I can get more into specifics.  I don't mind if no one replies to my thoughts here, since I am sure I am saying things that have been said already.  Look at this as my chance to vent a bit, though replies are welcome if you want.

 

First of all, I don't mean to be too negative toward either RJ or BS.  I am in complete awe of RJ for the complexity of the series, for his brilliant foreshadowing, for his world and his characters that seem so very real.  And I think that Brandon did an admirable job of taking the series to completion.  I think that he had a Herculean task of trying to take a series that had gone in dozens of different directions, and trying to corral it back to a coherent ending -- and overall he accomplished that task.  Apart from my complaints about Brandon's writing style and some timeline issues in ToM, I think that Brandon did a terrific job on both TGS and ToM.  Both of those books did what they needed to do, wrapping up plot lines, moving us toward the ending, and doing it in a way that made both of those books very exciting with lots of memorable scenes, and with deeply satisfying endings to both books.

 

But as I consider AMoL, I would say that I enjoyed reading most of AMoL, and there were some memorable scenes, but overall it left me with mixed feelings.  On the one hand, it was wonderful finally to read the ending to a series that I started reading in 1995, and about which I have been reading internet theories and speculation since probably 1996.  But on the other hand, I found the ending deeply dissatisfying for a number of reasons.  Here are the top three reasons that the ending left me a bit cold and dissatisfied:

 

• Rand didn't kill the Dark One, even though he could have!!!  Rand made a terrible choice here, in my humble opinion.  I don't buy the idea that men and women could never conceive of doing evil if the Dark One were destroyed -- that somehow the Dark One's death would remove free will.  I think there would still be plenty of evil in the world, but at least there wouldn't be extreme evil coming from outside the world and trying to destroy the world, every time the end of the Age of Legends and the Third Age come around again.  We even saw an example earlier in the series of evil that does not originate from the Dark One (the evil of Shadar Logoth), so this idea that men can't be evil without the DO just doesn't compute for me -- based on the example of Shadar Logoth, and on simple moral common sense.

 

• Dissatisfied with the body-swap:  The whole body-swap and Rand-rides-off-into-the-sunset just wasn't handled particularly well, in my humble opinion.  It left too many open questions for me, such as:  What happened to the "three on the boat" prophecy?  Why can't Rand channel?  How did the body swap happen?  How did Alivia help Rand die?  (Was it just gathering gold coins and clothes for him, or something more?)  Are Min, Aviendha, and Elyane still going to want to be with Rand, now that he has a different body?  Wouldn't that be a little weird?  I know that RJ didn't want all questions to be answered at the end, but still . . . .  (I am happy to leave these as rhetorical questions here, to be explored on other threads.)

 

• The Seanchan will be the real victors (and I hate the Seanchan!):  I still have the same sinking feeling that I had after reading ToM, regarding the future of Randland in the Fourth Age -- based partly on Aviendha's vision of the destruction of the Aiel, and based partly on the history and nature of the Seanchan.  Namely, I assume that the Seanchan will eventually take over all of Randland, leashing all channelers that they can find.  Aviendha's vision of the Seanchan eventually taking over everywhere has a ring of inevitability to it, even if the part about the crushing of the Aiel can perhaps be changed.  I see this as a terrible fate for Randland, mostly because of the Seanchan's leashing of channelers, but also because of other objectionable aspects of their society (e.g., the authoritarian nature of their government, the fact that high-level officials regularly try to assassinate each other, the way that people can be owned as property, etc.).  Basically, I really don't like the Seanchan, so for me, this is not a happy ending.

 

There are many, many more things that I would like to say about the book, but that is enough for this thread, at least for now.  Thanks for letting me vent.  ;)

 

Oh, and I may come back here later and add some more general thoughts on the book, if I don't find a good thread for them elsewhere. 

Edited March 9, 2013 by Paul H

[Ian Nag]

I really enjoyed the way Rand rode off  (would have been better with Bela  ) into the sunset type ending. Im sure he will seek out Tam, Mat, Perrin, etc. soon but for now he had to leave and let everyone think he had died so he could restart his life. One of the best parts of it though was when Cadsuane saw him it was perfect for her character and her interactions with Rand. They both knew it was for the best.

[roocifer]

Just finished AMOL (finally). Wish I had more free time to read. I loved it and thought it was a superb ending. Just a couple thoughts.

 

#1. I think people oftentimes confuse a bad ending with that melancholy feeling and sense of loss when a good book series ends. I thought the ending was perfect, and liked how the living character's plotlines were left open. It would have been impossible to give closure to all the different character's plotlines. I also was glad Rand lived and rode off into the sunset. He deserved a just reward for everything he went through.

 

#2. To anyone who says Brandon botched the ending, I got the impression before AMOL was released that a significant amount of the end was already written by RJ. I also remembered reading that his notes were very detailed about how everything was to end. So I'm pretty sure the ending was exactly how RJ planned. Furthermore, due to the change in writing style from beginning to end, I surmise that BS wrote the majority of the first half of AMOL, and RJ wrote the majority of the second half.

 

#3. Does anyone know where to find a list of Min's viewings so we can compare what was fulfilled and what wasn't?

 

#4. I'm quite confident that the ALL CAPS voice that Rand hears before entering SG is also the THE VOICE in tEotW. I'm sure it is the Creator. Everyone keeps bringing up that the Creator is supposed to not have any involvement in the world, but I distinctly remember Terez or someone pulling a quote out of the annuls where someone asked RJ about the Creator's involvement and RJ responded by asking said person what made them think the Creator wasn't interested or involved with the affairs of the world. Can anyone find this for me?

 

#5. As for the Outriggers... I feel like an attempt to squeeze tEotW into a movie would be a much bigger atrocity than allowing more WoT books to be written. Unless it's a TV show with a big budget like Game of Thrones, I will not be watching it. There is no other way they could do the series justice. But I would love to see the world expanded upon through literature

[Paul H]

Just finished AMOL (finally). Wish I had more free time to read. I loved it and thought it was a superb ending. Just a couple thoughts.

 

#1. I think people oftentimes confuse a bad ending with that melancholy feeling and sense of loss when a good book series ends. I thought the ending was perfect, and liked how the living character's plotlines were left open. It would have been impossible to give closure to all the different character's plotlines. I also was glad Rand lived and rode off into the sunset. He deserved a just reward for everything he went through.

 

#2. To anyone who says Brandon botched the ending, I got the impression before AMOL was released that a significant amount of the end was already written by RJ. I also remembered reading that his notes were very detailed about how everything was to end. So I'm pretty sure the ending was exactly how RJ planned. Furthermore, due to the change in writing style from beginning to end, I surmise that BS wrote the majority of the first half of AMOL, and RJ wrote the majority of the second half.

 

I can't speak for others, but my complaints about the ending are not intended to be directed at Brandon.  I know that RJ wrote most of the epilogue, and possibly all or part of several of the preceding chapters as well.  When I complain about the ending, I really just mean to point out what I see as shortcomings of the story itself, not shortcomings of either of the authors.

 

 

#3. Does anyone know where to find a list of Min's viewings so we can compare what was fulfilled and what wasn't?

 

Here you go:

 

http://wotfaq.dragonmount.com/node/166

 

It isn't updated for the most recent books, but it's a good place to start.

 

 

#4. I'm quite confident that the ALL CAPS voice that Rand hears before entering SG is also the THE VOICE in tEotW. I'm sure it is the Creator. Everyone keeps bringing up that the Creator is supposed to not have any involvement in the world, but I distinctly remember Terez or someone pulling a quote out of the annuls where someone asked RJ about the Creator's involvement and RJ responded by asking said person what made them think the Creator wasn't interested or involved with the affairs of the world. Can anyone find this for me?

 

I agree with you, and I really have no doubts about this either.  I can't see any other explanation that fits.

[Suttree]

#1. I think people oftentimes confuse a bad ending with that melancholy feeling and sense of loss when a good book series ends. I thought the ending was perfect, and liked how the living character's plotlines were left open. It would have been impossible to give closure to all the different character's plotlines. I also was glad Rand lived and rode off into the sunset. He deserved a just reward for everything he went through.

I always get somewhat surprised when people don't like the fact that we didn' get the stock pulp fantasy everything tied up ending. RJ was very clear all along that things would be open ended. I found the ending quite fitting, it felt right.

 

#2. To anyone who says Brandon botched the ending, I got the impression before AMOL was released that a significant amount of the end was already written by RJ. I also remembered reading that his notes were very detailed about how everything was to end. So I'm pretty sure the ending was exactly how RJ planned. Furthermore, due to the change in writing style from beginning to end, I surmise that BS wrote the majority of the first half of AMOL, and RJ wrote the majority of the second half.

When people say that I think they are speaking primarily of Branond's work in the wheel over all. There are major issues with these last three books(ToM & AMoL especially). We do know that RJ wrote most of the epilogue and some of the fight with the DO though

 

As for your thoughts on how much RJ wrote we know that is incorrect. Out of the 2,500 pages that made up TGS, ToM, and AMoL RJ only had 200 written pages. Out of those 200 only a portion where fully written scenes. The rest were outlines, snippets etc. Also keep in mind that while the notes were detailed towards the end Brandon had creative control to change things as he did with the nature of/fight with the DO. Also the notes over all were not near as detailed as some people seem to think(and even contradicted themselves at times. Brandon created over 50% of te material with no guidance from RJ). It's why they needed an actual writer not just a ghost writer to copy RJ's voice.

 

Everyone keeps bringing up that the Creator is supposed to not have any involvement in the world, but I distinctly remember Terez or someone pulling a quote out of the annuls where someone asked RJ about the Creator's involvement and RJ responded by asking said person what made them think the Creator wasn't interested or involved with the affairs of the world. Can anyone find this for me?

RJ was very clear on this in a number of interviews. The Creator is totally removed from the workd and takes no part. There is a quote where RJ touches on interest, but again he is very clear that the Creator does not interfere. Check my recent post in the Nakomi thread for quotes on it.

 

Interview: Mar, 2000

Letter to Paul Ward (Verbatim)

Paul Ward

Possible question: Is the Dark One pure True Power? Why does the Creator ignore Randland except to talk to Rand at the end of The Eye of the World?

Robert Jordan

No, the Dark One is not pure True Power. Who says the Creator takes little interest in the activities of mankind? And I will neither confirm nor deny that the Creator spoke to Rand.

Now people have argued for years about the voice, that is one of the things that will never be answered.

 

#5. As for the Outriggers... I feel like an attempt to squeeze tEotW into a movie would be a much bigger atrocity than allowing more WoT books to be written. Unless it's a TV show with a big budget like Game of Thrones, I will not be watching it. There is no other way they could do the series justice. But I would love to see the world expanded upon through literature

There will be no Outriggers. That has already been decided. There is no material and RJ was very uncomfortable with anyone else writing in his world. Totally against anyone else writing his characters. Further Team Jordan has said the last thing they want to happen with the WoT is for it to end up like Star Wars or any of those other terrible shared world series. Edited March 18, 2013 by Suttree

[Guest darrylovia]

First time poster here.  Just finished the series and I agree with some who didn't like Rand sneaking off in the sunset.  As a dad, I can't image Rand abandoning his 2 almost here babies.  It struck as cowardly which is un-Randlike. 

[serpounce]

A bit late to finish, but have to write something :)

 

Basically very satisfied.  It was overall a wonderful and well written book.  I laughed and cried, and stayed up way to late (I intentionally stay in the dark about book release developments because I get so frustrated about it, so I didn't actually know it was out until a week ago).

 

That said, I just can't help but complain on two points.

 

First, the book really did suffer from Jordan's and Sanderson's (to a lesser extent) unwillingness to resolve plot-lines.  So much random crap thrown in at the end epitomized by Fain showing up right at the end just to get punked by Mat. That plot could have been wrapped up half a dozen books ago in a much more dramatic and satisfying manner.  Plenty of other stuff like that; the ending would have been just as climatic without a bunch of tangential story-lines wrapping up in the last 200 pages.  The book was still great despite these someone anti-climatic resolutions, but I can't help but feel it was a flaw to the series.

 

Second, the epilogue was awful and completely unsatisfying.  Rand goes from Dragon Reborn to deadbeat dad? All that great stuff when he was fighting the dark one about accepting everyone's sacrifices, that everyone was fighting the same fight and not just taking part in Rand's fight, just to have him walk away at the end like it really was just his fight that's now over?  All his obligations are now void because he won the fight against the dark one fulfilling his roll as the Dragon (and only his roll as the Dragon), even those to his children?  I'm sorry I just can't buy it.  I'm so glad that we got everything up to that point to finish the story, but I just can't accept that ending as legitimate.

[Agitel]

My father just finished. He was the one who introduced me to the series, though he's a more casual fan than me. He loved the last book, and said it exceeded his expectations. He's not close to a literature critic, but he's sixty-two and has been reading the series since the mid-90s or so. He's an avid reader in general, as well.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Agitel

[Paul H]

Second, the epilogue was awful and completely unsatisfying.  Rand goes from Dragon Reborn to deadbeat dad? All that great stuff when he was fighting the dark one about accepting everyone's sacrifices, that everyone was fighting the same fight and not just taking part in Rand's fight, just to have him walk away at the end like it really was just his fight that's now over?  All his obligations are now void because he won the fight against the dark one fulfilling his roll as the Dragon (and only his roll as the Dragon), even those to his children?  I'm sorry I just can't buy it.  I'm so glad that we got everything up to that point to finish the story, but I just can't accept that ending as legitimate.

 

I agree on the deadbeat dad issue.  That is one thing that didn't occur to me right away, but which bothers me more and more as I take time to reflect on the ending.

[Suttree]

 

 

Second, the epilogue was awful and completely unsatisfying. Rand goes from Dragon Reborn to deadbeat dad? All that great stuff when he was fighting the dark one about accepting everyone's sacrifices, that everyone was fighting the same fight and not just taking part in Rand's fight, just to have him walk away at the end like it really was just his fight that's now over? All his obligations are now void because he won the fight against the dark one fulfilling his roll as the Dragon (and only his roll as the Dragon), even those to his children? I'm sorry I just can't buy it. I'm so glad that we got everything up to that point to finish the story, but I just can't accept that ending as legitimate.

I agree on the deadbeat dad issue.  That is one thing that didn't occur to me right away, but which bothers me more and more as I take time to reflect on the ending.

Thing is that is your own personnel intepretation of what Rand will do. There is no indication whatsoever that he will just permanently ignore his children and never be a father to them.

[serpounce]

 

 

 

Second, the epilogue was awful and completely unsatisfying. Rand goes from Dragon Reborn to deadbeat dad? All that great stuff when he was fighting the dark one about accepting everyone's sacrifices, that everyone was fighting the same fight and not just taking part in Rand's fight, just to have him walk away at the end like it really was just his fight that's now over? All his obligations are now void because he won the fight against the dark one fulfilling his roll as the Dragon (and only his roll as the Dragon), even those to his children? I'm sorry I just can't buy it. I'm so glad that we got everything up to that point to finish the story, but I just can't accept that ending as legitimate.

I agree on the deadbeat dad issue.  That is one thing that didn't occur to me right away, but which bothers me more and more as I take time to reflect on the ending.

Thing is that is your own personnel intepretation of what Rand will do. There is no indication whatsoever that he will just permanently ignore his children and never be a father to them.

t 

 

What do you mean "no indication"?  "he figured he wanted to go someplace away from it all for good."

 

Oh sure, you can just make up your own ending in your head, which is exactly what I've done.  I assume rand rounds the next bend, turns for one last looks at his friends and family and sees all their unrealized hopes and needs.  He sighs and says "death would have been as light as a feather" and turns around to head back to the pyre smoking his impossible pipe.

 

But that's not the ending we were given nor the trajectory implied.  We see him heading off intending to abandon responsibility (including to his children). Sure he might redeem this awful choice, but that choice is the ending that we were given, and in my mind it is not an acceptable ending.

Edited March 18, 2013 by serpounce

[Paul H]

 

 

 

Second, the epilogue was awful and completely unsatisfying. Rand goes from Dragon Reborn to deadbeat dad? All that great stuff when he was fighting the dark one about accepting everyone's sacrifices, that everyone was fighting the same fight and not just taking part in Rand's fight, just to have him walk away at the end like it really was just his fight that's now over? All his obligations are now void because he won the fight against the dark one fulfilling his roll as the Dragon (and only his roll as the Dragon), even those to his children? I'm sorry I just can't buy it. I'm so glad that we got everything up to that point to finish the story, but I just can't accept that ending as legitimate.

I agree on the deadbeat dad issue.  That is one thing that didn't occur to me right away, but which bothers me more and more as I take time to reflect on the ending.

Thing is that is your own personnel intepretation of what Rand will do. There is no indication whatsoever that he will just permanently ignore his children and never be a father to them.

 

I agree with you that the text is open to interpretation.  But based on what little we do know (Rand's attitude of wanting to wander around and see the world, and no explicit thought of raising his kids), I see no indication that Rand plans to be a father to his children.  Yes, I could be wrong, but to me the text seems to imply that Rand wants to live a life that just isn't compatible with being there for his kids.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Paul H

[Rhienne]

I agree with you that the text is open to interpretation.  But based

on what little we do know (Rand's attitude of wanting to wander around

and see the world, and no explicit thought of raising his kids), I see

no indication that Rand plans to be a father to his children.  Yes, I

could be wrong, but to me the text seems to imply that Rand wants to

live a life that just isn't compatible with being there for his kids.

I would take the scene with Elayne prior to TB where he is really upset because he believes he will die and won't be able to see his children grow up as evidence to the contrary.

[Samuraiflip05]

Ha, give him some time to decompress people.  I would venture to say that he is set for a little R&R after more than 2 years of constant stress and mental torture.  I doubt he intends to stay away from his children.  He ponders how to handle the three loves knowing he will have to face them again.  Also indicating that he will eventually return. 

[Paul H]

 

I agree with you that the text is open to interpretation.  But based

on what little we do know (Rand's attitude of wanting to wander around

and see the world, and no explicit thought of raising his kids), I see

no indication that Rand plans to be a father to his children.  Yes, I

could be wrong, but to me the text seems to imply that Rand wants to

live a life that just isn't compatible with being there for his kids.

I would take the scene with Elayne prior to TB where he is really upset because he believes he will die and won't be able to see his children grow up as evidence to the contrary.

OK, point taken.  I did recall that scene with Elayne, but to me it seemed that Rand had changed his mind at the end, and wanted to live life as a wanderer rather than settling down with Elayne (or Min, or Aviendha) to raise his children.  Though honestly, I guess I can't really see a way that Rand could be a conventional father to his children, because of two problems:

 

(1)  He is involved with three different women, and all three of them have important responsibilities that they can't just back out of, so it's not as if they could all move in together somewhere.  (Maybe buy a farm in the Two Rivers and start a polygamous commune!)    At best, he would have to choose one of the three women exclusively (for example, stay with Elayne and help to raise his children by her), or he would have to divide his time among the three.  But it would be difficult for him to be a good father to any of the children if he is gone two thirds of the time.

 

(2)  It would surely look suspicious if Rand openly marries or spends time with Elayne, Aviendha, and/or Min, because he now has a new body.  This would especially be suspicious if he stays with all three of them, and people begin to wonder why all three of Rand's loves have taken up with the same man.  It would also be especially suspicious if anyone recognized him as Moridin!

[Feral]

Finished AMOL last week. VERY mixed feelings about the book. Some bits were great, some bits were meh, some were disappointing. Other bits were just plain bad writing as far as I'm concerned. Some of my issues:

 

The book often crossed the line between mysterious/vague and just plain unfinished/pointless (Nakomi!)

 

Not enough Forsaken!

 

Not enough focus on the deaths of side characters.

 

What was the point of Fain and whatever he turned into? Seriously, he appears with zombie army kills a few things then dies so easily in a very un-epic manner.

 

Rand just goes off by himself, leaving his three "wives" and letting everyone else think he's dead... I'd rather he'd died. This just made him seem like a massive jerk with no idea what love really is.

 

No explanation for body swap?