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 ...

Yes the whole "Wheel" idea is a great one , even if some aspects are perhaps a little at odds with our science based historical reality 🙂 I do wish RJ hadn't killed off Herid Fell so early as I would also have enjoyed seeing a bit more from him. Wonder if Jordan originally intended to use him more but eventually decided he didn't have room in the story ? Which would be somewhat ironic given the amount of space given to various channelling women cat fighting and Andoran political struggles in the middle books !)

You are going a lot faster than me on this re-read , WotwasThat... My impression of this book hasn't changed all that much yet. To be honest , I don't hate the Elayne succession stuff in itself : it is the relentless fussing and fighting about between Aes Sedai/Wise Ones/Kin/Sea Folk (in all parts of the story , not just this volume) that has me glazing over : basically it is surely just filler and could be cut down drastically with no impact on the narrative. Looking forward to the cleansing : not so much to Far Madding though I may like it better this time around. We will see...

Rendering Cadsuane pointless and therefore removing her from the story completely would have been a magnificent contribution to the whole series 🙂 (OK , I know - my personal bias , just can't stand the character. Sorry............. sort of.) Moiraine & Thom did end up feeling a bit underdone but in truth I don't really have any problem with the timing of the rescue. Given all the other stuff various characters were up to I think it was necessary. Was a great episode in itself , anyway.

You are a few chapters ahead of me... Yeah it isn't that awful. My only real gripe with the Faile in Captivity thing is it just went on a bit too long. And I know I have that coming 🙄 I guess Jordan had to do something with his other main characters while working his way through Rand's battle with madness and his belief that he had to become hard as rock against his own nature. One of the drawbacks of creating a story with so many interlocking plots and multiple leading characters ( as George M has found !) Some good stuff coming with Mat as I recall - and a good finish to the book ; but I doubt it is ever going to become one of my favourites ...

All sort of makes sense. But an excruciatingly boring use of 81 pages 🙄

And the worst thing about Book 8 : Total absence of Mat !

If I have to pick favourites : Verin , Suian and Pevara. Actually didn't mind Joline either - though I really can't blame Mat for dealing with her in rather ungentlemanly fashion in Knife of Dreams 🙂

Mat and Nynaeve make me laugh often throughout the series. Talmanes good for a chuckle or two also but those two the star comics - if mostly unwittingly.

Patiently and in no hurry on this reread : into what is generally considered to be The Slog at present. Not finding it too arduous - but certainly not as "lively" as 1-6. Actually didn't mind Book 7 this time around. Not much to complain about , bar perhaps a little too much Perrin introspection early on. Oh , and the arrival of my Most Annoying Character who should have been Eaten by Trollocs (Yes , Cadsuane 😠 ) But otherwise OK...I quite enjoyed Ebou Dar (all those Feast Days !) ; and nice to spend a bit of time with Darkfriend and Chosen POVs. Plus some vigorous action sequences in the latter pages. But 8 is trying my patience a little. Far too much Egwene playing politics with Lelaine and Romanda ; or Elayne worrying about friction between Seafolk Kin and Tower women. Can't get too excited about Rand's campaign in Illian against the Seanchan either : just getting there now so maybe will be better on this reread. Will maybe comment on 9 and 10 when I get there.

Currently taking a very leisurely trip through the whole series ( having read I think three times before , and many times more for the early books) after a bit of a break from them. And yes , finding bits I had forgotten - even quite significant incidents : the fracas in the Whitecloak HQ that rather upended the chain of command took me completely by surprise as I had totally forgotten the timing and circumstances 😉 Some parts enthrall as much as ever ; some more so : and a few annoy a bit more ! But always a pleasure to go on the journey again...

So a pity WOT didn't have a similar commitment - to 8 ? But realistically that was never happening . I suppose they only have so much money to invest in a new show and if it isn't raking in the big sums it ain't going to last...

Could well be true. But I guess one telling factor in this might be that ROP could fairly easily be wrapped up in (maybe two more ?) seasons , but WOT really was never going to be viable in less than 8.

I love the books ; and it is probably fair to say I have been ...underwhelmed ? Moderately disappointed ? with what they have produced as a show - although I do feel the writing improved a lot in the third series. I certainly wasn't voting to have it cancelled : flawed or not it was still something that obviously entertained many , and I was going to continue to watch it and see how they carried this complex project to a conclusion. So I am sorry to see it gone. But to be honest I wasn't that surprised. I fear the first couple of seasons just didn't grab - or keep - enough viewers so left it vulnerable to budgetary risks. Which I suppose is on the people that made the show and didn't quite manage to do it justice. No need for hate though , or glee at its demise as it benefits no one. Will anyone else have a go at this ? Not for a while , I'm afraid. So for Rafe & co I will say at least thanks for trying , even if you never quite won me over - or , sadly , enough people overall. Guess we will still kick a lot of this around for a while anyway. But won't quite have the same intensity , will it ?

I don't altogether agree with the criticisms of the first three books around RJ being unsure how long he had to tell the full story. And was interested to see the "Six Book" contract HHMB referenced above as it seems to contradict the idea that he was writing each book as if it were his last. It is certainly true that he did finish at least the first two books with rather messy endings that could be viewed as attempts to make them promotable as stand alone volumes ; but it was obvious from the amount of foreshadowing scattered throughout that he was preparing for the long term. And I for one found these early parts of the series hugely interesting , despite the obvious similarities to the hero's journey familiar to not just LOTR but numerous other fantasy novels. His characters were mostly interesting , the world building fascinating throughout , and it had me hooked from the start. Definitely a strong sense that there was a lot more to come : and although I only started reading the series after its completion , I am sure I would have been just as determined to stick with it had I picked them up at the time of first release. Was everything perfect ? Of course not ; "untidy magic systems" is probably a fair complaint ; but I don't think the minor flaws detract to the extent that they needed editing out.

I think the same ... but am not holding my breath.

Oh and sorry to see Siuan go out early (what has happened to Leane , I wonder ?) Maybe means no Gareth Bryne either. Or just less complications for him when he arrives. Not as sad as I was to see Loial exit last week though ! ☹️

I actually enjoyed the episode. Partly relief that it wasn't a trainwreck like the first two finales but also because I have by now settled for overlooking the silly stuff at least to an extent (though this regular business of main cast characters being impaled by swords/arrows/spears and basically shrugging it off is getting a bit tired). Lots of changes ; but mostly not unreasonable. We haven't been to Tear yet so no Juilin (we may not get him at all , I suppose) ; so Mat assisting the girls in Tanchico is a decent idea - enables meeting Thom again ; and the museum setting supplying a doorway a convenient way to replace his Rhuidean scenes. Min on hand to do Rand's CPR , fine. She is perhaps the character most changed from her book version , so if she is going to be Mat's sidekick on a regular basis I am OK with it. Would have liked Nynaeve v Moggy but guess that is for the future. Of course Liandrin really should have killed her out of hand instead of that Dumb Villain trope of leaving the hero to die eventually while merrily skipping away but that is just one of the logical holes that one has to accept in this sort of story : I can live with it ; and it did get Nyn a spectacular Block Break ! Since the BA now have the a'dam , I wonder if they are thinking of having Rand collared at some future point ? Perhaps instead of being boxed in the leadup to Dumai's Wells ? WAFO I guess. Alcair Dal was fine. Maybe having the clan chiefs and wise ones anointing him as the Real Car'a'carn to swing the Aiel masses to acceptance as in the books would have been more convincing than Rand calling "Oathbreakers !" and making it rain ... but , spectacle , eh ? Moiraine and Lanfear punch up after the prophesy of her death a sort of postponement of the inevitable ? We tricked you , audience : but wait for next season... Poor old Lan still doesn't get to do anything useful...maybe next year. Liked Elayne/Thom. Bit heavy with the balefire perhaps but good to get the Gaebril ain't the real thing reveal. Sammael went from probably dead to prisoner and potential Rand teacher to dead again...so maybe the actor who thought his future appearance as Asmodean had been cancelled can get back to practising his harp playing ? All good fun. Loads to nitpick if you want but generally this season was lightyears ahead of the first two. Will keep watching assuming the fourth takes place...