Read the ending last night. I read the last 2 chapters and the epilogue out loud to my wife so that we could discuss immediately - which was a great idea because it allowed me to share it with my wife.
My fear had been that Robert Jordan would be portraying a world view that I find absurd - for those who have read Augustine, I was afraid he was something of a Manichean dualist. Based on the ending, I don't think that's what he was trying to express. It actually seemed more like a free-will defense for real life and a free will theodicy within the world of the wheel of time. That is to say, he's giving a reason that evil might be necessary in a world controlled by a good being - the value of people having free will.
Since that's a contentious thesis, I tend to think it's going to leave a large part of the fan base rather displeased. As for myself, well, that part fits my world view and was very comfortable and satisfying. Now if only the Wheel of Time could answer the question of why contingent things (e.g. the Wheel) exist.
There were a number of moments when you were beaten about the head and face with an answer to a question (e.g. Mat's fulfillment of the die and live again bit), but there were more subtle answers/corrections/reveals as well (Perrin's hawk). There were plenty of satisfying "I saw it coming a mile away" moments that I thought were well set up (Noal and the Horn). I really appreciated the Tinkers on the field at the last battle. My first reaction was that it was an unsubtle way of telling us that Daved Hanlon was about, but the changes it showed in Raen were great. Given the words dropped ahead about RJ leaving instructions that some things not be resolved made me worry that there would be too many loose ends for a satisfying ending - most got resolved and the ones that don't are about the right amount to give a sense that this remains a breathing and interesting setting. And at the end of it all, Rand gets what he always wanted, a chance at a quiet life without the burdens of fate looming.
I was also sad that Tam had to go on thinking his son dead. I read the series a lot differently than when I started because I've gotten married and had a son since I picked up the books in 1997. I'm glad, the college kid who picked these up in '97 wouldn't have been able to appreciate the ending very well. The college kid who read the ending today (working on a higher degree now) was a little better prepared, but as a husband and father, I found a lot more value in it than I ever could have almost half my life ago.
The "OMG I just finished!" Thread
in Wheel of Time Books
Posted
Read the ending last night. I read the last 2 chapters and the epilogue out loud to my wife so that we could discuss immediately - which was a great idea because it allowed me to share it with my wife.
My fear had been that Robert Jordan would be portraying a world view that I find absurd - for those who have read Augustine, I was afraid he was something of a Manichean dualist. Based on the ending, I don't think that's what he was trying to express. It actually seemed more like a free-will defense for real life and a free will theodicy within the world of the wheel of time. That is to say, he's giving a reason that evil might be necessary in a world controlled by a good being - the value of people having free will.
Since that's a contentious thesis, I tend to think it's going to leave a large part of the fan base rather displeased. As for myself, well, that part fits my world view and was very comfortable and satisfying. Now if only the Wheel of Time could answer the question of why contingent things (e.g. the Wheel) exist.
There were a number of moments when you were beaten about the head and face with an answer to a question (e.g. Mat's fulfillment of the die and live again bit), but there were more subtle answers/corrections/reveals as well (Perrin's hawk). There were plenty of satisfying "I saw it coming a mile away" moments that I thought were well set up (Noal and the Horn). I really appreciated the Tinkers on the field at the last battle. My first reaction was that it was an unsubtle way of telling us that Daved Hanlon was about, but the changes it showed in Raen were great. Given the words dropped ahead about RJ leaving instructions that some things not be resolved made me worry that there would be too many loose ends for a satisfying ending - most got resolved and the ones that don't are about the right amount to give a sense that this remains a breathing and interesting setting. And at the end of it all, Rand gets what he always wanted, a chance at a quiet life without the burdens of fate looming.
I was also sad that Tam had to go on thinking his son dead. I read the series a lot differently than when I started because I've gotten married and had a son since I picked up the books in 1997. I'm glad, the college kid who picked these up in '97 wouldn't have been able to appreciate the ending very well. The college kid who read the ending today (working on a higher degree now) was a little better prepared, but as a husband and father, I found a lot more value in it than I ever could have almost half my life ago.