That makes a lot of sense.

Reckon RJ killed off several of his Evil characters early on , thinking at the time he would be finishing the whole work in another book or two... Then as he realised the story was going to run a whole lot longer he needed to have a couple more villains so resurrection became fashionable. Of course Ishamael really had to return somehow . And I think he just liked his Lanfear character so much he couldn't resist bringing her back too - even if she doesn't do so much in her second incarnation.

Just thought I would share the famous ballad about this chap... can't supply the musical notes I'm afraid 🙂

When John Henry was a little baby, Sitting on his pappy’s knee, He grabbed a hammer and a little piece of steel, Said, “This hammer’ll be the death of me, Lord, Lord. This hammer’ll be the death of me.” Now, the captain said to John Henry, I’m gonna bring that steam drill around. I’m gonna take that steam drill out on the job, I’m gonna whop that steel on down, Lord, Lord. Gonna whop that steel on down.” John Henry told his captain, “A man ain’t nothing but a man, But before I let that steam drill beat me down, I’ll die with my hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord. I’ll die with my hammer in my hand.” John Henry said to his shaker, “Now, shaker, why don’t you sing? ’Cause I’m throwing twelve pounds from my hips on down. Just listen to that cold steel ring, Lord, Lord. Just listen to that cold steel ring.” The man that invented the steam drill, He thought he was mighty fine. But John Henry, he made fourteen feet While the steam drill only made nine, Lord, Lord. The steam drill only made nine. John Henry hammered on the mountain Till his hammer was striking fire. He drove so hard he broke his poor heart. Then, he laid down his hammer and he died, Lord, Lord. He laid down his hammer and he died. They took John Henry to the graveyard, And they buried him in the sand. And every locomotive comes rolling by Says, “Here lies a steel-driving man, Lord, Lord. Here lies a steel-driving man.” Now, some say he was born in Texas, And some say he was born in Maine. But I don’t give a damn where that poor boy was born. He was a steel-driving man, Lord, Lord. He was a steel-driving man.

Just a little 🙂 Blimey , Caelan : I am getting exhausted just reading all your new topic posts ! Still it is probably good for this site to have someone new setting off debates (again) on subjects that have doubtless been already thrashed out years ago ... but from a new perspective. As someone relatively new (just 2 years in) who therefore wasn't across those presumed archival debates , I am happy to contribute to your topics when I feel I can add anything. And I rather like the Brown Ajah too.

Seanchan are a weird lot all round , are they not ? Their society is based on some appalling customs - the enslavement of the damane being only one example . Look also at the way da'covale are treated ; and the cheerful expectation that members of the royal succession will constantly try to murder each other 🙂 To say nothing of the barbaric punishments handed out to opponents who fail to yield ... Yet on the other hand , once the invaded peoples accept their conquest , they allow them to go on with their normal lives unmolested and free to act as they wish (as long as it isn't rebellion) ; and don't demand they take up Seanchan ways at all. Of course they still seek to collar any potential channelers ; though since they believe marath'damane are a threat to society if let loose you can see why they think this is reasonable. (And this has some echoes on this side of the ocean too with the way Aes Sedai treat wilders - and of course the compulsory "gentling" of any unfortunate male who has the power) And as the story goes on we encounter Seanchan who are clearly both honourable and very decent people : Egeanin of course ; but also several military types we get to know through POV s and various meetings with our heroes. And Tuon is OK... Guess no society is without its flaws (even today , no ?) though some are more obviously lacking in what we would regard as appropriate. It is still not far off a medieval period...

Had a look back at the relevant chapter.... It really isn't clearly explained ; but Mordeth completely changes when Rand notices - and says aloud - that he doesn't have a shadow. He looms up in what seems to have been a bit of an illusion - and then suddenly retreats at the same time as Mat picks up the Dagger - so I presume it is something to do with that ? Is it that his scheme is achieved by having Mat take that implement ? Or does he somehow fear it himself ? As I say : never really explained. But it gets Mat's tale another feature so imagine we are not supposed to worry too much about the details ...

RJ really didn't say much about the remaining Ages (except for some foreshadowing re the Fourth) . And to be honest it doesn't bear much scrutiny as the expected advance from this pre-industrial world would surely see things into a replica of our own age sooner rather than later , no ? Unless perhaps some magical nonsense upended everything quickly and sent the world back to primitive times , shorn of magical abilities for Fifth Age...but that still leaves us two Ages short 🙂 Probably best to just enjoy the story without trying to make some of the background principles concrete...

The obvious one : Tarmon Gai'don > Armageddon.

Of course if you believe that statement of Brandon's that Lanfear actually survived by somehow messing with Perrin's perception (and therefore basically got clean away ) then I guess she has to take the prize , no ?

Yes . I always found it a little amusing to think of an eyeless creature being able to "see" his potential victims, etc... Suppose we just have to put it down to "magic" - of which there is plenty to go around 🙂

Oh dear I am struggling with this one . More even than I expected because the "underwhelming" Elayne chapters have given way to Egwene laying siege to Tar Valon : and have to confess these are far worse - to me at least. Bias admitted : I really don't like Egwene at all . Sure, she does some great stuff (if scarcely believable at times given she still seems like a silly teenager whenever she thinks about Gawyn) ; and we know she will eventually have an heroic scene. But her personality just rubs me up the wrong way throughout...like I say , just personal bias. Sorry 😉 But even if I loved her to bits I don't think I could easily get through all this sitting around having evasive conversations with sundry Aes Sedai , fussing about headaches and subtly hinting at Plans to take down Elaida... The one bright bit being the moment when she realises she sort of regrets not having Nicola and Areina murdered and is shocked by how she has changed. Ah well , onward - only 200 pages to go....

Ah yes...what Elayne is up to... Should have remembered. Think this is probably the most excruciating part of the whole story : not the actual succession thread but all the fussing about the Aes Sedai/Servants/Guardswomen and their reactions ; not to mention Aviendha and Birgitte nurse-maiding her through pregnancy . I mean I love those two characters but not so much their roles in this part : just overdone. Moving on slowly but finding these chapters the Ultimate Slog... I know it will get better soon end eventually... 😎

Nearly half way into Crossroads (reading much slower than you , WoTwasThat ) and not finding it quite as bad as I feared...probably because I had resolved to make this series read through a very leisurely stroll. Prologue seemed to be about introducing several new strands into the story : one could argue the necessity ; but obviously RJ wanted to fill in a lot of detail about what was happening in the land away from our regular characters...and the threads started here did actually go somewhere in later books so can't really complain about it too much. Lot of time with Perrin : a distinctly mixed blessing. He does a fair bit of interesting stuff over the series ; but boy does he waffle on in his head for pages on end - I could really do with less of his introspectives , especially fussing about this and that Aes Sedai or the scents surrounding his companions. The whole Faile Capture thing is well under way and I honestly find some of it quite readable ; but here at times RJ does seem to get bogged down in too much intricate detail. Example : pages 240/241 and nearly a whole page devoted to detailed description of How to Wash and Dry Silk Garments in the open air...OK only a page , but still... On the other hand one might say it is the way in which he paints every little detail of the scenes that makes the WOT such an immersive experience : more than many works , in this one you can actually feel you are present in this world and witnessing the action. Of course in all the various POVs up to here we are getting flashes referring to characters' awareness of Something Big happening , ie The Cleansing ; so marking where everyone is at this particular point in time. Necessary , I guess , with all the different groups scattered around the continent ; so if it does seem to be a bit of a Going nowhere fast volume , we can understand the reasons. As for Mat and Tuon I can always enjoy any time with Mat. Even in the Circus. On to chapter 10 and will see what Elayne is up to ...

Having just finished Book 9 on this re-read , I am embarking again on Crossroads of Twilight (a volume I confess hasn't remained as vivid as many in my memory) with something of a heavy heart... So probably was an unwise choice of mine to read your above comments , WoTwasThat 🙂 But I did get a laugh out of some of them. Hope I don't suffer as much as you going through this one : it is only 600 odd pages , after all ...