I have to say Mat is in my opinion one of the best characters ever written, alongside Kaladin Stormblessed and Tyrion Lannister (the latter is the clear winner every single time in my opinion, absolutely perfect character). Rand, I have a huge soft spot for. Perrin I also really love but Faile ruined him for me. Mat, however is the epitome of the reluctant hero. Never wants to get involved, very verbal about not wanting to be there, or involved, but comes through time and time again. The kind of man who goes back in to the burning building to get the cat out. In the early books he's a scoundrel, but I think that just adds to his character. He's cracking jokes just minutes before defeating Galad and giving Gwen a concussion. I just love him.

His own series are definitely worth the read. I read the Stormlight Archives just because I thought 'surely he can't genuinely be that bad an author, everyone raves about him' and I was right, he IS a great author. Give the Archives a go. I'd even go so far as to say that they are maybe (shhhh!) better than WoT.

Hi all, new here but not new to the series. Been reading the books since around 1997. Read 1-8 c.6times, 9-11 x 3 and 12-14 once. I'm a huge FF fan, and having read Sanderson's (abysmal) efforts in the final books, read the Mistborn and Stormlight Archive in print and have to say, he had a tough gig trying to finish off RJ's legacy. Started my FF journey at the age of 13 with the Shannara books, then the Belgariad, Sword of Truth and on to the Wheel of Time at 15. Sarah