They will be making a real mistake if they don't open with the prologue IMO. It was what drew me into the world, rather than the bland generic "boy has to run from home because evil beings are hunting him" that has been used so many times before.

That theory was well worth the wait! Thank you Mik, your attention to detail astounds me. :)

We are asking that criticism is kept to the designated threads, instead of certain people de-railing almost every thread with sniping about Sandersons' interpretation of a character, his writing style, his prose or lack-there-of, whether he wrote this bit or not, blatant attacks on his work ethics, whatever. That is exactly what is happening at the moment. I have already given info on how everyone can help to improve the situation. You can't just say "go fix it" and then crawl back into a corner. This requires effort from everyone who cares enough to post on DM. I know you have been doing your best to keep it contained Barid and it is very much appreciated. Hopefully the hostile feeling around the forums will dissipate and we can look forward to the new book without being on the defensive all the time.

Honestly, what do some of you want us to do? Sit back and just pretend we live in candy land and act like nothing is wrong? Just theorize about something that may be a blatant error? Do you want everyone to just pretend like things are OK when they're not? This is important and it's all that needs to be said: Half the time we cannot even discuss theories because the new author has been so inconsistent that we honestly cannot tell if something is a clue or if it is just an oversight. I would love if we could all just hold hands and pretend that everything was okay. I would love if we could all just sit back and theorize what is going to happen next. I just find it hard to theorize about dreadbanes and dreamshards when the reality is that they are simply poorly conceived plot devices used by the new author to plaster together a scene he envisioned. So ya...you're not the only one pissed off that the forums aren't the same. The rest of us are too. We are asking that criticism is kept to the designated threads, instead of certain people de-railing almost every thread with sniping about Sandersons' interpretation of a character, his writing style, his prose or lack-there-of, whether he wrote this bit or not, blatant attacks on his work ethics, whatever. Even if they are valid criticisms, it is dragging the community spirit down to be always discussing the negative aspects. As for the "poorly conceived plot devices", unless you have access to RJs notes, how do you know these are the inventions of Sanderson and not laid out in the notes?

QFT Very well put Alanna

Speaking as a woman who is not at all weak or defenseless, I have to say I found nothing wrong with Perrin spanking Faile. She was acting like a child and deserved to be treated as such. There is a major difference between a spanking (which doesn't hurt the body, merely pride) and beating the living daylights out of someone. As to Faile wanting Perrin to stand up to her, I can relate to that. She wanted to be treated as an equal, not have Perrin walking on tiptoes around her. She was trying to find the boundaries, what she could and could not get away with. If my man just caved in to whatever I demanded and would not debate with me about our differences in opinion, I would have zero respect for him. To the people arguing about the relative strengths of men and women, I have to say I am stronger than most men I know. However, regardless of strength, there is more than one way for a woman to defend herself. A woman has the ability to make life hell in ways you could never dream of in such a way that it can not be traced back to her. The idea that a woman has the ability of a child to defend herself is HIGHLY offensive to me, and no doubt to all the other ladies who come across this thread. With regard to the idea that Perrin should run with his tail between his legs back to Rand, as Mr Ares said seeing flashes of Rand when he thinks of him in no way gives Perrin the ability to pinpoint his location. Yes, he could have sat on his arse for days on end, thinking about Rand and getting flashes of Min and Rand going at it like rabbits, or various undistinguishing rooms. But there was also the problem of the Prophet, who flat out refused to travel via gateway and had no intention of going to Rand in any case. Perrin relected on a few occasions that he'd love nothing more than to shove Maesema though a gateway, but there was the issue of his army of murderers and madmen who would have done their best to wipe Perrins' forces off the face of Randland. Should Perrin have let the Prophet go, pillaging the countryside and increasing the size of his army? Perrin did what he had to do to save the only family member he has left in the world. If he lost her, I believe he would have turned to the Dark so he could get her back.

May I ask why? Do we have evidence that the golden haired version of Birgitte is her latest incarnation? Or that the "Hawkwing" Rand saw at Falme looked exactly like Artur Hawkwing? Is Rand somehow more the Dragon than Lews Therin, or any of the other predecessors? I guess if we had dates for the stories in The Flame, the Blade, and the Heart, it would help date the golden haired appearance of Birgitte. The story of Anselan and Barashelle is from the Trolloc Wars, and is in the book with the story of Birgitte and Gaidal (by those names). However, the story of Rogosh Eagle-Eye is in there too, and he was in Hawkwing's court. So, there is really no way to date the appearance of golden-haired Birgitte. And given the various periods she seems to remember, no reason to believe that the golden haired Birgitte is her most recent appearance. On these boards, there has been speculation in the past about how Moghedien knew Birgitte and why she seemed to hold a grudge against her. In the BWB, it is noted that she acted as a spy for the Shadow in LTTs staff. The Spider was able to keep her true allegiance hidden for several years and caused several major disasters. One of her plots for bringing down Lews Therin was foiled by Birgitte Silverbow, then known as Teadra. This made Moghedien swear to take a gruesome revenge on the hero. While it is unknown how she was exposed, she barley escaped capture and had to sabotage a public transport system to escape capture, resulting in several thousand casualties. I believe Birgitte was the one to expose The Spiders true allegiance, foiling her plan to bring down LTT. If the body she wears in T'A'R is the same as her last incarnation in the Age of Legends, this would explain how Moghedien was able to recognize her, as we have no evidence that she is somehow able to recognize souls.

In Australia, we have to wait at least 6 months for the new seasons to be aired. I normally get impatient and watch them on youtube.

Well, Sian DID know exactly where and how to touch Moiraine the the Power to distract her when she was practicing for her test for the shawl. Siuan liked to use tickles at the worst possible moment, sudden pokes in unpleasant places, embarrassing caresses and starling noises.

Arn't the Aiel described as tall, blue eyed, fair skinned and redheaded?

can you back that statement up? other wise i have to go with builder esprcially where tuon is concerned. she has always been describe to have almond shaped, up turned eyes... sounds kind of asian to me ??? Tuon, tough? True, she was the Daughter of the Nine Moons and all of that,and she had been able to get under his skin with a look back in the Tarasin Palace, when he thought she was just another Seachan noblewoman with her nose in the air, but that was just because she kept turning up where he did not expect. No more than that. Tough? She looked like a doll made of black porcelain. How tough could she be? Mats POV from Crossroads of Twilight "A Fan of Colours"

I was looking forward to owning the first ever book to come with its own wheelbarrow to carry it around in! ;)

I love my plain covers with the Wheel of Time logo on them. I used to have some with cover art, but I gave them away because they were so hideous!