A First Time Reader's Impression of The Wheel of Time

[dexterryu]

Noam; the last books reveal stuff about him.

 

your question about Perrin's future; part of the answer is revealed in the same set of chapters.  the rest, in the last books.

Dude! What is it with you and spoilers?

[mb]

only told where the info would be; not the info itself.  like other posts of mine in this thread; and the original poster seemed to not think of "too much" being revealed with those posts.

[flinn]

only told where the info would be; not the info itself.  like other posts of mine in this thread; and the original poster seemed to not think of "too much" being revealed with those posts.

 Why not just stop anyway? 

[dexterryu]

only told where the info would be; not the info itself.  like other posts of mine in this thread; and the original poster seemed to not think of "too much" being revealed with those posts.

 

Hey man, I highly encourage discussion of the plot and such (that's why we are all here), but maybe at least wait until Aragem here has read up to those points. One of the amazing things in this series is the subtle foreshadowing. Pointing those things out to a first time reader ruins that to a certain extent and also breaks the intended tension when you reveal when the answers are coming. There are countless sites and wiki's about the series if the reader/OP wants to find out the answers ahead of time (or she could ask).

[Cambry Varner]

 

only told where the info would be; not the info itself.  like other posts of mine in this thread; and the original poster seemed to not think of "too much" being revealed with those posts.

 

Hey man, I highly encourage discussion of the plot and such (that's why we are all here), but maybe at least wait until Aragem here has read up to those points. One of the amazing things in this series is the subtle foreshadowing. Pointing those things out to a first time reader ruins that to a certain extent and also breaks the intended tension when you reveal when the answers are coming. There are countless sites and wiki's about the series if the reader/OP wants to find out the answers ahead of time (or she could ask).

 

 

MB, please, don't discuss anything that will happen beyond what I haven't read yet.  Let's keep discussion to what I have already read.  And I make a point to keep you up to date on what I have covered each time I post my thoughts so please, if Character A suddenly disappears in a thunderstorm or something, DO NOT tell me when he or if he'll show back up.  That gives away too much information.  If you aren't sure whether something is a spoiler or not, then don't post anything at all.  

[Cambry Varner]

Aragem, how would you rank the books? (so far)

So far my top book is the Great Hunt because of the wonderful character development for Rand.  If the Wheel of time was an RPG, I would say that Rand leveled up a few times.  

 

Also, we got some cool scenes with Nynaeve and Egwene in dealing with the Seanchan.  The Great Hunt feels like a game changer in a lot of ways.  

[jack of shadows]

agreed.out of the first three,the great hunt is the best one.

 

"i would say that rand leveled up a few times."-YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET.

[Ban thBomm]

Loving your journal, Aragem; love your writing style and insight and intuition.  Please dont stop :D

[Cambry Varner]

Been watching a lot of Archer and I thought what roles the cast of Archer would play in Wheel of Time.

 

Rand = Sterling Malory Archer   Because of attracting multiple women and because Archer would totally dig being the legenday Dragon Reborn. 

 

Perrin = Cyril.Figgis   Because Cyril and Perrin are smart, but tend to overthink things and for some reason I think it would be hilarious for Cyril to run with wolves.

 

Mat/Ray Gillette =  Because neither one is afraid to call someone on their BS.

 

Moraine / Malory Archer = Both are strong women who have to struggle with their underlings and also I would love to see Moraine's peaceful assertiveness replaced with Malory's scathing remarks.

 

Nynaeve/ Lana Kane = Both of them seemed to be willing to get physical to get things done and get impatient with foolishness.

 

Egwene / Pam Poovey = Because I imagine Pam going 'sploosh' a lot during her time in Tar Valon and she might get off on the whole Leash thing.

 

Min / Cheryl Tunt = Because I can see her making fun of the terrible visions she would see around people.

 

Loial/ Doctor Krieger = Simply because I can see Krieger mutating himself into a tall inhuman being.

 

Ba'alzamon / Barry = They are both Rand/Archer's arch nemesis and seem to get beat up and hurt after each encounter with them.  

 

Lan / Woodhouse = Just because.  

[szilard]

 

Aragem, how would you rank the books? (so far)

So far my top book is the Great Hunt because of the wonderful character development for Rand.  If the Wheel of time was an RPG, I would say that Rand leveled up a few times.  

 

Also, we got some cool scenes with Nynaeve and Egwene in dealing with the Seanchan.  The Great Hunt feels like a game changer in a lot of ways.  

 

 

Thanks!

[flinn]

Been watching a lot of Archer and I thought what roles the cast of Archer would play in Wheel of Time.

 

Rand = Sterling Malory Archer   Because of attracting multiple women and because Archer would totally dig being the legenday Dragon Reborn. 

 

Perrin = Cyril.Figgis   Because Cyril and Perrin are smart, but tend to overthink things and for some reason I think it would be hilarious for Cyril to run with wolves.

 

Mat/Ray Gillette =  Because neither one is afraid to call someone on their BS.

 

Moraine / Malory Archer = Both are strong women who have to struggle with their underlings and also I would love to see Moraine's peaceful assertiveness replaced with Malory's scathing remarks.

 

Nynaeve/ Lana Kane = Both of them seemed to be willing to get physical to get things done and get impatient with foolishness.

 

Egwene / Pam Poovey = Because I imagine Pam going 'sploosh' a lot during her time in Tar Valon and she might get off on the whole Leash thing.

 

Min / Cheryl Tunt = Because I can see her making fun of the terrible visions she would see around people.

 

Loial/ Doctor Krieger = Simply because I can see Krieger mutating himself into a tall inhuman being.

 

Ba'alzamon / Barry = They are both Rand/Archer's arch nemesis and seem to get beat up and hurt after each encounter with them.  

 

Lan / Woodhouse = Just because.  

I absolutely love Archer, the ONLY cartoon I watch, but...

 

 NO.

[Ban thBomm]

lol, I watched my first ep of Archer last night... have much to discover of it (Rick and Morty have been my current tv crush)

 

Back to your reading discovery of WoT... I read Eye of the World and The Great Hunt basically one after the other in the mid-90's, so it was easy enough to maintain momentum right up until circa book 7 (I think I had to wait for that one to be released, after just buying the next one as I finished the last one up to that point).  I was well and truly hooked by the time I had reached the point you're at now...

[Cambry Varner]

Currently at 26% of the Dragon Reborn

 

In which  . . .

 

Egwene and the girls return to Tar Valon and piss off the White Cloaks.

 

Amrylin likes fishing.

 

Egwene and Nynaeve form an undercover team I will call the Braid and Dreamer to locate the Black Ajah gang and get special permission slips to do it.

 

* * * 

 

Egwene has definitely grown since Book 1.  She's willing to act to protect herself and others.  I like how being Leashed has affected her and she's willing to act out to keep from being restrained or entrapped again.  Alas, doing so have given the White Cloaks  more reason to hate and suspect the Aes Sedai of attacking with the Seanchan.  

 

Egwene now understands that she can no longer marry Rand, but can't help the jealousy she has for Min being by Rand's side.  Yet, she insists on becoming Aes Sedai that she often takes the road that leads her away from Rand.  I respect a girl that chooses to led her own life and not giving up her dream to be with a man.  And she's well on her way to becoming an Accepted, that is until after her appointment in the study with a switch.    

 

I also like how Nynaeve recognized Egwene's growth and cannot be considered the Wisdom. Egwene is no longer the girl she looked after in Two Rivers and I expect to see them working side by side on the Amrylin's quest for them. I've noticed that she no longer insists on getting the kids back to Two Rivers, but seems to be on another mission of getting back at Moiraine.  I can only hope she realizes that events were leading up to this long before Moiraine's arrival in their village.  

 

I like how since there the Dragon Reborn announced himself the False Dragons all fell in different ways.  There can only be one Dragon Reborn and he's off in the boonies making dogs disappear while on the run from friends and Moiraine.  

 

 

 

[szilard]

Currently at 26% of the Dragon Reborn

 

Who are your favourite characters? Do you dislike anyone? Do you see anyone in different lights now?

[jack of shadows]

'amyrlin likes fishing.'

 

not surprising really lol,siuan sanche was born in tear as the daughter of a poor fisherman

and was probably  a fishergirl herself,before she arrived at the white tower her language

was coarse and she couldn't read or write***MILD SPOILER**when someone unexpectedly

arrived at the white tower siuan said"well,this is a pot of fisherman's stew made only with the

heads.'***END OF SPOILER.

 

by the way,siuan sanche is about 40 years old in the beginning of our story,2 years younger

than moiraine.

[Cambry Varner]

 

Currently at 26% of the Dragon Reborn

 

Who are your favourite characters? Do you dislike anyone? Do you see anyone in different lights now?

 

So far my favorite is Rand because of the awesome character development he received last book.

 

My impression of Nynaeve has improved since the first book because she's starting to grow on me and I love how she handled the Seanchan.  Also, I'm digging her relationship with Lan though I wish she would just let it go with Moiraine, but time will tell.

 

My verdict is still out on Mat until I see some development with him which I'm sure is coming in this book.  

[mb]

about whitecloak hate; my impression was (and is) that the attack gave reason to hate that group.  not necessarily more reason to hate Aes Sedia in general.

more reason to suspect; it seems to me that the attack did not change whitecloak's level of suspicion.

 

about Egwene being jealous; from what I recall of those scenes, she did not express any jealousy in thought or speech or action.  I recall only concern in those scenes towards Rand.  and I do not recall Min being mentioned within any character's thought or speech in those scenes.

[szilard]

So far my favorite is Rand because of the awesome character development he received last book.

 

Then I'm very interested in your opinion 74% later.

 

My impression of Nynaeve has improved since the first book because she's starting to grow on me and I love how she handled the Seanchan.  Also, I'm digging her relationship with Lan though I wish she would just let it go with Moiraine, but time will tell.

 

It was a low base, wasn't it?

 

My verdict is still out on Mat until I see some development with him which I'm sure is coming in this book.

 

So, your opinion is now a little more positive about him?

 

Mat is my least favorite character, in fact I rather dislike him.  I have never been a fan of troublemaker characters, especially when those characters want to play tricks and cause trouble during what is a very dangerous situation from exploring what appears to be a dangerous place and then on top of it all stealing a cursed dagger and telling no one about it.  And he has a bad habit of running his mouth and literally spilling the beans on the things they rather keep hidden.  Everytime he has dialgue in the back of my mind I think, "Shut up, Mat."  For someone who likes playing tricks, he doesn't seem that smart.

[Cambry Varner]

 

So far my favorite is Rand because of the awesome character development he received last book.

 

Then I'm very interested in your opinion 74% later.

 

My impression of Nynaeve has improved since the first book because she's starting to grow on me and I love how she handled the Seanchan.  Also, I'm digging her relationship with Lan though I wish she would just let it go with Moiraine, but time will tell.

 

It was a low base, wasn't it?

 

She just came off as a nosy, stubborn, git that thought she knew better than someone older and wiser than her.  It seemed to be in the beginning was that she didn't like another woman coming to her village and playing the role of the Wise Woman when that was her role as the Wisdom.  

 

My verdict is still out on Mat until I see some development with him which I'm sure is coming in this book.

 

So, your opinion is now a little more positive about him?

 

It's too early to say as I have yet to get to the chapter with him not passed out from all the evil he's absorbed from the Dagger.

 

Mat is my least favorite character, in fact I rather dislike him.  I have never been a fan of troublemaker characters, especially when those characters want to play tricks and cause trouble during what is a very dangerous situation from exploring what appears to be a dangerous place and then on top of it all stealing a cursed dagger and telling no one about it.  And he has a bad habit of running his mouth and literally spilling the beans on the things they rather keep hidden.  Everytime he has dialgue in the back of my mind I think, "Shut up, Mat."  For someone who likes playing tricks, he doesn't seem that smart.

 

[Finnssss22]

I have no doubt at all that by the time you finish book 5, "The Fires of Heaven", you will feel a flutter of excitement every time you flip a page and see those 5 dice on a chapter heading ;)

 

There will be no fighting it, it will just happen.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Finnssss

[flinn]

 The Shadows Rising is my favorite fantasy book ever. When you finish that your character list might change some.

[Finnssss22]

The reason why most people dislike Mat or don't take a lot of interest in him early on, other than his personality being tainted by the Dagger, is because we don't get a single POV from him until tDR chapter 19.

Once we start getting his internal monologues and thought processes behind his actions, you just can't help yourself. 

[mb]

actually, each reader's reason/reasons could be different.  and I recall some readers that seemed to dislike him after his first POV; if I recall correctly, the things those readers disliked were around books 10 & 11.

from what I recall of the first books, he seemed to change quite a bit before his first POV; so his thoughts could have been different in his earlier scenes.

Edited November 18, 2016 by mb

[Finnssss22]

actually, each reader's reason/reasons could be different.  and I recall some readers that seemed to dislike him after his first POV; if I recall correctly, those were around books 10 & 11.

from what I recall of the first books, he seemed to change quite a bit before his first POV; so his thoughts could have been different in his earlier scenes.

 

Books 10&11?

 

Mat's first PoV is chapter 19 of The Dragon Reborn when he wakes up.

Up till that point we had only seen Mat though someone else's eyes and, except for a handful of chapters in the beginning, a tainted Matt at that.

[Cambry Varner]

Currently at 28% of The Dragon Reborn

 

In which . . .

 

The Braid and Dreamer become a trio with the inclusion of the Princess . . .

 

Nyneve chase two boys out of her room . . .

 

And the Wicked Bitch of Caemlyn makes a sudden appearance . . .

 

* * * 

 

I'm going to come out and say it, I do not like Galad.  He's too good looking and too good to be true.  Usually when a sister or half sister (or in Elayne's case, not-sister) dislikes her brother and it has nothing to do with sibling rivalry, it usually means something.  My respect for Nynaeve went up when she refused to succumb to his charm and chased him and Gawyn out of her room.  It's none of their business of what happened.  Elayne can write a letter to her mother about what had happened.  

 

And then Elaida pops into the room.  Nynaeve just gets the most interesting visitors in her room.