Here's the thing - openness and honesty about your feelings is a part of good communication. Rand is communicating well (imho, anyhow).

Something that most people in the WOT world don't do, so it sticks out. I'd say like a sore thumb, but that would imply that it's a bad thing. It's not. It sticks out sort of like a single flower in a field of grass.

Three cheers for good communication!

I was under the impression that he was in Ghaeldean (sp?). The current reigning monarch of that nation has sworn fealty to Perrin, so charges would not likely be pressed.

@A. Pseudonym

I absolutely disagree with you, but hey, free speech and all. I think Sanderson is a very, very talented writer.

I really like Sanderson's work, and while yes, Mat is different, I attribute this more to his growing (and reacting to the changes he is seeing in his own character) than to Sanderson 'getting him wrong'.

I think the only real mistake was the major spelling mistakes in the letter - a few mistakes would have been subtler, funnier and been more in keeping with Mat (a character who would make mistakes, I'm sure). There were too many, and they were too glaring.

But the elephant didn't need to jump! It just needed to be dropped .

I, personally, liked how the Gholam was killed. I had personally expected it to be dropped into Dragonmount (or WOT's equivalent of the Mariana's trench), using a very similar method, but dieing of starvation is good enough, I guess.

I suspect that the Gholam was given a target, then it's commander either forgot about it, died, or lost track of it. It should have been sent after any number of people, but thankfully, it went for Mat.

Which child, which character?

- When you become very, very, very good at Aes Sedai answers to questions you don't want to answer.

I remember one particularly frightening dream involving a Gholam, icicles and me desperately looking for a foxhead medallion...

I had a nightmare too with the Gholam, it was terrifying xD And it ended up with me being eaten by the Gholam xD

 

- You have attempted to use the Flame and the Void in a fight. More than once. And it sort of worked.

I've always wondered if it would work well. If I ever pick up martial arts again, maybe I should try...

My Gholam nightmare was one of the most terrifying ones I've ever had. I didn't get to the ending, so in the wee hours of the morning I made up my own. One where I survived, so that it would be slightly less terrifying.

On the Flame and the Void - Well I've never experienced 'Oneness', it does help to calm the nerves down a lot. And I mean a lot. Very useful in tournaments.

I remember one particularly frightening dream involving a Gholam, icicles and me desperately looking for a foxhead medallion...

I also (especially while doing a re-read, but during other times too) use WOT curses instead of RL ones.

- You dream of creative ways of using the power (Airplane made of Air, anyone?)

- You plan on solving today's problems using Saidin.

- You have attempted to use the Flame and the Void in a fight. More than once. And it sort of worked.

I must admit, that on my numerous re-reads of tWOT, Elayne is my single-most skipped over character. While I read her chapters through thoroughly the first time, she is quite firmly skimmed on subsequent read-throughs. I. Just. Don't. Like. Her.

But eh, that's me. Some people do like her, I'm just not one of them.