narrator

[mb]

this thread is about the narrator of this series; both main series and prequel.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

I think it's the POV character most of the time.

[Occams whiskey bottle]

I always felt that somehow it would all tie back to Loile because he was going to chronicle all the events. They never did though, so maybe it is the POV.

[mb]

voted the first 4 options.

 

of pre-series characters, a Dreamer might be most likely.  the series coming to him/her while he/she Dreams then he/she recording them.  characters with other predicting abilities might be second likely.

of post-series characters, some descendant of Tarmon Gaidon survivors might be most likely.  the events of the series being told orally til it reaches that character.  or notes/documents/etc of those events being passed from character to character til they reach that character.

of in-series characters, Loial or Thom might be most likely since they were the only ones to show interest for the task.  other Tarmon Gaidon survivors might be second likely; and/or characters that had some predicting ability.

[Orderofolde]

I felt that the only pieces of the series that were not the POV narration were the introductory pieces/writings/translations at the start of the books that were from past ages with the exception of Loial's futuristic writings from his yet to be completed book.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

Yeah, I think that's about right.

[Taei]

Most of the time you're seeing what's happening from the PoV character's view point. You get their experiences, sensations, view points, and internal monologue. It's more evident earlier in the series when you're looking at the same set of events from multiple view points, but it stays consistent. The only times that it breaks this PoV character view point are in the intro paragraphs (before the wind gets to the characters at which point they pick it up) and the quotes at the beginning. As for the wind intros they are pretty much the "In the beginning..." statements of the books and I like that. They're the author's way of introducing you to where they are without having to make the character pause and take in their surroundings.

[OlwenaSedai]

I felt that the only pieces of the series that were not the POV narration were the introductory pieces/writings/translations at the start of the books that were from past ages with the exception of Loial's futuristic writings from his yet to be completed book.

Exactly.

 

Some of the prologues are not told from any specific POV if I remember correctly, but apart from that, it's all POV. Which also makes for some of the running jokes in the series, such as the boys all believing they are the worst at understanding women. 

[Kesiera_Sedai]

I want to say POV, but I really think it's Loial. Not rice its written in past tense.

[Animus.Tesseract]

I always thought the narrator is Jordan himself, telling us the story in our Age as a Myth from the Age of Legends.

 

“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.”

 

Explains any mistakes and holes in the story as it is a retelling of a true story which got twisted and mystified while the wheel is turning.

[szilard]

this thread is about the narrator of this series; both main series and prequel.

 

Excellent question! (I did not vote though.)

 

I think it's the POV character most of the time.

I felt that the only pieces of the series that were not the POV narration were the introductory pieces/writings/translations at the start of the books that were from past ages with the exception of Loial's futuristic writings from his yet to be completed book.

 

And what do you think about e.g. Chapter 9 in TSR?

 

Especially this sentence is very, very o d d:

 

And Rand?

 

And Rand? And Rand? Who are you, Narrator? Iirc, from the beginning of the chapter we are in third person omniscient pov.

 

 

I always thought the narrator is Jordan himself, telling us the story in our Age as a Myth from the Age of Legends.

 

Animus, I have a really crazy theory about what had happened with Jordan between 1990 and 1994:

 

after struggling with the writing for so long, he actually saw/watched the story as a regular viewer.

 

So, his job was easy: he just had to 'edit' the scenes.

 

But something bad happened because of that particular connection between him and WOT, which resulted in bad health, plus he lost the connection, so he had to write everything from memory/his own head.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

The VA presumes the following diseases are caused by exposure to Agent Orange:

 

AL Amyloidosis A rare disease caused when an abnormal protein, amyloid, enters tissues or organs.

....

[szilard]

The VA presumes the following diseases are caused by exposure to Agent Orange:

AL Amyloidosis A rare disease caused when an abnormal protein, amyloid, enters tissues or organs.

....

 

Yep.

 

edit: + too much work

[Animus.Tesseract]

 

Animus, I have a really crazy theory about what had happened with Jordan between 1990 and 1994:

 

after struggling with the writing for so long, he actually saw/watched the story as a regular viewer.

 

So, his job was easy: he just had to 'edit' the scenes. 

 

But something bad happened because of that particular connection between him and WOT, which resulted in bad health, plus he lost the connection, so he had to write everything from memory/his own head.

 

I can very well believe that. Stephen King reported the same with his Dark Tower series.

So who knows... maybe a Fantasy Author Timey Wimey thing... Temporal Narrative Reminiscence Paradox.

 

Where is my aluminum hat? 

[szilard]

I can very well believe that. Stephen King reported the same with his Dark Tower series.

So who knows... maybe a Fantasy Author Timey Wimey thing... Temporal Narrative Reminiscence Paradox.

 

Where is my aluminum hat? 

 

 

Writers (and musicians too) sometimes mention this phenomenon.

 

Other people use other 'techniques': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s#Personality