First Post

[MattB]

Hello, first post here.

Background:

I first read "The Eye of the World" back around 1993, and was hooked from the start. During those angsty teenage years, I often found solace in WoT.

I have a poor memory, so whenever a new book comes out in a series, I re-read the entire series from the start. Over the years, I've read the first six books over half a dozen times.

I fell off for many years, and when it came time to read CoT and KoD, I made the mistake of starting one book earlier (WH) instead of from the beginning. The end result was that I was confused with plot-lines and characters. I decided that I would wait until the series was done, and at one point in my life, re-read them from the beginning.

I imagined this time would be way in the future. But last November, I fell ill and spent two weeks in pain, practically immobile. It was then I picked up tEotW again, and as of last Thursday, have officially completed the series, from start to finish.

I've been wanting to check out a forum, but wanted to wait until I finished the series, as to avoid spoilers and distractions. Now that time has come. Hi =)

I spent a few days lurking here, and I've come to a realization ... reading the entire series is simply the first step in coming to understand the story and mythology of WoT. I don't currently have the time to dive in as deep as I'd like, which is why I like this forum - connections are drawn, references are dug up from interviews and web logs, subtle details are discussed - I gain the benefit of the hard work of others. And I truly thank those who immerse themselves in this story and all its details, and share that education with others (such as myself).

I've already found answers here to many questions I've had on the series, while lurking.

So, happy to be here, and look forward to discussing WoT with like-minded individuals.

- Matt

[MattB]

lol I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, that my first two ideas for conversation-starters have already been covered.

The second was whether anyone else though Setalle Anan would be Healed before the end (I thought this was so obvious, that it would have to be done). This has already been discussed at great length, to no great surprise.

The first was something I naively thought somehow went unnoticed. This was the apparent similarity between Min's ability and that of the Aelfinn. Some quick forum searching earlier yielded no results, so I thought maybe I was on to something. After I signed up, and began to prepare a post, I did some more in-depth searching ... and found it was not only already discussed here, but apparently directly shot down by Jordan himself. http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/73381-min-and-the-aelfin/

Oh well =)

[Ryrin]

Welcome, Matt. I hope you are feeling better. The discussion groups will be very interesting and fun for you. I'd like to invite you to stop by the social groups too. It's a great place to meet other WoT fans and there are activities there too. :)