$anderson was like, "DUDE!!!...OMG....Harriet! YO!!! I was just playing some MAGIC! - The GATHERING and thought the coolest thing EVAR would be to have OLVER blow the horn like LOL!!!" Thats how I heard it anyways... Fish p.s. i will soon be addng as an official SIG that AMOL is not canon...have been personally assurrd by mods thats a perfectably acceptable SIG ;)

HOLE E MOLEY...LOL...Here we are a year later and I review my own post above where I list the things (pre-release for AMOL) that I said would upset me and Im in shock over how things tunred out, lol. Lets look at these, shall we? Nakomi turn out to be ''imaginary''?? - Well...PRETTY MUCH happened!!! If Rand grows himself a new hand!? - He did me one better!!! Grew himself a whole new BODY!!! Moiraine being disrespected in her Big Return?? - Uhhh...WHAT ''Big Return'' lol???...I could spend YEARS on THIS one!!! :( Mat not getting to ''General'' too much in the Last Battle...Sadly, I got screwed on this one too...speaking of screw...that was the whole problem...Mat spent the whole Last Battle engaged in Garden-Sexing Tuon and making soul-crushingly bad jokes with Rand!!! Moiraine and Lan's...and...Moiraine and Rand's reunions not being as special and magical and powerful as they needed to be???!!!...I think we ALL know what happened with THIS item on my list :( Spooky, ain't it?? More than a little eerie how much I ended up pulling a Nostrildamus...I have a whole new sympathy for Masema now: prophetin' ain't easy :( - Fish

Interesting outlook, Goldeneyes...Mat kept trying to recapture his youth and every attempt put him one step closer to a ''boring'' life...Mat, his thoughts, words and actions always so in contrast to one another, lol...gotta love him. What was weird was, Brandon's handling of Mat was *far* from the thing that bothered me most about his stewardship of the final volumes. No, it was what looked like attempts to appease to or gratify the wishes of fans by making odd, abrubt changes for no apparent reason...if Mr Panderson had just stuck to his guns, and RJ's established continuity, I could have forgiven much more in the very end. Fish

Just high on truth, mate. I really did in all seriousness just intend to make ONE post sharing my genuine amazement at how a year's time hasn't altered my first impression of the masterpiece known as AMOL a single whit...but...you know how these things go...you start thinking about things...remembering things...get a bit of momentum going and BAM!!! Bloody ASHES you find yourself with just so much to SHARE! Fish

Thanks, Mate!!! As for being back with a ... well...Ill just say: ''Bloody Ashes I am!!!'' ;) Fish

Well...in fairness...to do it right you can only really rank New Spring and Eye of the World up until Knife of the Dreams. The last three...''books''...can't justifiably be considered canon. Looking more and more like this position is gaining more and more support among those who matter... Fish

as we near the one year anniversary of AMOL's release I have to tip my hat to this guy...Im serious; I really do! Think about it! Think about what this guy has pulled off...through all his grinning and ''awww shucks''/shoulder-shrugging/Gee-WHIZ behavior and hatchet job on a cherished series of books, his use of sooo many people doing much of his work FOR him and his immersion in MAGIC - THE GATHERING and Twitter, this guy has somehow gotten his NAME on the last three WHEEL OF TIME books, become known as ''the guy who finished wot'', made millions of dollars, earned legions of fans, set his family for life and secured a lifetime's worth of publishing contracts!!! SMH Incredible...I really do tip my hat to this guy. Mr Sanderson; you pulled it off, pal!!! Well done!!! Fish Edited because...never let it be said that im NOT a Team Player!!! :)

Rambo Magnum P.I. Captain Kirk. Cookie Monster. - Fish

I don't care what manure we get fed...I will ALWAYS believe RJ intended for Mat to still be the one at the end of the day to blow that damned old horn...having Olver be the one to do so just screams like one of those things [removed] thought would be a ''neat'' plot ''twist.'' - Fish

I was always divided over this one...Mish is right: a lot about it was beautiful...just beautiful...two adults, later in life, meeting, developing a friendship and mutual adoration for each other...so much to like about Moir and Thom...cool hints in book 1 and 2 and of course KOD. And the BIG CHAPTER in book 4 is one of the best chapters in the entire series where they spar with each other in Thom's quarters. OTOH...HUH???...It also suffered like many of RJ's relationships did...from the HUH??? Syndrome...many have mentioned this before me. It bothered me less with Thomraine because I liked them so much. Perrin/Faile/Nyn/Lan/Galad/Egwene/Gawyn/Elayne/Rand all were beyond insulting and outrageous. a few i KINDA could buy...Rand and Avi and Rand and Min...also Tuon and Mat...at least these three couples spent a lot - A LOT - of time together in close proximity. I was always happy fort Mat and Perrin that they managed to keep Tuon and Faile away from Rand for the most part...we all know what Rand did to any chick he spent too much time with...ask Avi or Min or Elayne what they mean by the term ''Dragon Bone''... - Fish

A Memory of Light... ...on my recent, first and last ever attempt at re-reading the damn thing. Bloody Ashes!!! - Fish

Ahhh...another Straight-Forward Answer from Mr Panderson!!! Fish Edited because...never let it be said that im NOT a Team Player!!! :)

Im pretty sure Nakomi was the same chick that was in ''End of Time'' and helped out The Doctor so very much before he regenerated. Fish

Hey Charlie, Dragonmount gives us plenty of ways to contact each other when we feel we have something amusing to say. If you're so worried about being warned, (and have the stones to do so, which I HIGHLY doubt) why don't you go ahead and PM me with your ''clever'' remark about my ''deficiencies'' and I promise you that we can take it from there privately. Yes, I freely admit that sometimes after working a 12 hour shift to support a family my mind can get a bit wacky. Oh, and speaking of editing your post...his name is ''Barad'', NOT ''Berid'' - you might want to correct that, Mr Funny Man. Fish

Oops. I just realized something REALLY STUPID. For some reason I was READING ''Mat/Aemon'' in this thread but my brain was SEEING ''Gaidal/Mat'' - don't ask me why; it's been one of those days. I agree that there is much behind Mat/Aemon. My apoplogies. Now I know what a TOTAL ARSE feels like :( Fish

There is no direct evidence that Mat is not Santa Claus reborn either, but based on my years and years of rereading tWoT, I know that it would be a pretty silly theory. I would never even choose to consider it even if my life depended on it. As for ''no other choices''... I live in a world of infinite choices. I never consider ANYTHING to be impossible. Fish

LOL!!! The things some folks will cling to!!! Take my word...MAT IS NOT AEMON ''REBORN''!!! Gee whiz!!! Fish

Mat DID ''out-general'' the forces of Team Dark. It was only through Mat constantly shifting his forces and diversionary tactics that many people were left alive at all to see the 4TH Age dawn... Fish

I actually could care less (yes, that's how you use THAT phrase, lol) who Nakomi is. I NEVER cared. ... What works me up is the PRACTICE that Team Jordan has now taken in refusing to asnwer questions fans have. It is inexcusable. See my above post. It is sickening. Fish

It's almost inexcusable to take the approach ''Team Jordan'' is taking on this. Brandon admits that HE - not RJ - created Nakomi and that he did NOT intend all the mystery to happen. If this is true, then clear it up - clean up your mess. Whatever happened to the now imfamous quote ''Once AMOL is out I can be much more free'' ? There are multiple questions going tangibly unanswered. We know that Brandon does not call the shots and some of the unanswered things were not specified to be unanswered by RJ so it means that Harriet/Team Jordan are mandating this. I love Harriet more than anybody, and don't mean disrespect, but she has not come off well in this process. She seems sooo ''stern.'' Her refusal to move up the date, her attitude about E Books, her telling Brandon not t answer fans questions, a few other things...I used to see her as this saintly, kind caretaker...I now see her as overly-stern. Again, not an insult - just my view as an admitted outsider. Also, building anticipation for the Encylopedia or Short Story by not answering certain questions now is not acceptable either. Youve sold hundreds of millions of these books...dowe really need to keep milking the cow? The ones wanting answers to these questions are the very same people that BOUGHT all those millions of books and halfway built TOR with their purchases. We have been loyal beyond belief. Is it too much to give us what we want? There will still be plenty of ''mystery'' left - there aren't ANY MORE BOOKS COMING. I am so let down that many times in this process Brandon has promised something and then when his promised point in time has arrived...been wishy-washy and refused what was promised citing that it had been mandated not to do it after all and he wasn't allowed. Brandon's been left with egg on his face a few times and I now wonder if, in these instances, he's done it for kicks and said and promised things without ever really intending to deliver. All that said, what Brandon HAS done is appreciated. Fish

Thank you so much, Terez! !!!!!!!!!! Fish

Who's ''Matt'' ??? Fish

If that is how you truly feel concerning Brandon's very own books, then nothing anyone says would change your mind about him. I completely disagree with your opinion. However, who would you have chosen to be the author to finish the WOT series? Nonsense! Plenty of things could have changed my mind! I doubt those things will ever come to pass in such a way as to pass MY judgment, though. You say you ''completely'' disagree - please tell me HOW you disagree? Do you disagree that Brandonlikes rather silly dialogue and humor? Do you not agree that he really likes comic book type weapons and terms? Or that he seems to shy away from some of the more grim and serious subjects that Jordan indulged in? As to who I would have had finish it...that is a loaded question and I would never presume to come off as someone who though themselves worthy of opining on who should have such an august duty. Fish

Vambram, it is not that he could not be as good as RJ. What I wonder is, why did Brandon not take advantage of all the help readily available to him? Why did this sense of ''we just want this thing FINISHED!'' seem to pervade? Why were corrections from Betas dismissed? Why is he now refusing to answer direct questions when the man promised he would be ''much more free'' to answer RAFOS after AMOL was released? Why did Brandon...obut I could ''Why?'' all day... I never expected or WANTED Brandon Sanderson to be ''as good'' as Jordan. I wanted Sanderson to take the resources, steps, attitude and time needed to make AMOL as good as BRANDON could have done. Everyone keeps saying how ''good a writer we know Brandon is'' - and I have yet to see it. Ihave read thru WOK and some of his other stuff and he makes David Eddings look like a serious, professional master of fantasy. Brandon's 'humor'' and dialogue makes me cringe. It is beyond silly and juvenile. His descriptivness and handling of prose seem like a very inexperienced writer. The ''jokes'' he has his characters tell remind me of 10 year-old boys telling fart jokes! This is a manthat will be turning FORTY ina few years!!! Maybe Ijust don't understand who Sanderson's target audience is. It sure isn't me and in hindsight the fact that a young, northern, nonmilitary guy was chosen to write the end of this epic based on a EULOGY blows me away more and more. Hell, people HERE wrote lovely eulogies! Maybe I should have finished it. Or Jason. Or Mr Ares. Martin writes ''R'' rates stuff. I like that. Jordan wrote PG 13 - I like that. ... Sanderson seems to write G to PG...I HATE that. I hate silly, banter between characters and comic book type weapons. He is not my cup of tea and I am saddened beyond measure that he was the choice to finish my WOT. JMHO Fish

I totally agree with Suttree on this one. Brandon was actually embraced BEFORE he had even written TGS. Mainly due to - and to his credit - his efforts to warmly and freely communicate with the WOT fanbase. We could SEE how devoted he was. How honest he was. What a FAN he, too, was. And then TGS was released...and, you know what? In retrospect, I STILL feel like TGS was a pretty fair book. It had some imperfections and we all know the Mat Situation, but, overall, it was a tight, focused first effort and I still like it to a certain extent. And, after many people felt similarly positive about it, the praise for him REALLY went through the roof. Then...for me, at least. it all fell apart with contradictory statements and missed timelines regarding TOM. When I actually READ TOM I felt shocked that such a messy, sprawling disaster was actually published. Dreamspikes and Cutsey-Poo Sandersonisms were the LEAST of my problems with the book. Jason Denzel himself destroyed the book - accidentally publically. When AMOL was read by yours truly, all I could do was wish all the time spent on Lord Golden and Master Crimson's zany antics, pet characters like Andol, silly letters and pointless Horn Delivery Storylines had been deleted and those pages used to add depth to many scenes fans had been waiting years for. I am still willing to credit many things Brandon Sanderson can do well. He is excellent at communicating with fans. He is very proficient. He will battle for anissue he feels fans are right about - like the E-Book situation. I LOVED the way he wrote Galad and Faile. But, the negatives grew to be such a significant list that my overall impression of his handling of the end of the series will always leave me with a VERY sour taste in my mouth. And its sad. I wanted more than ANYTHING for him to hit a home run with AMOL. Fish