#and in what world would min and elayne and egwene be talking together about who is going to get him like he’s a weird prize

[deeplyridiculouslyinlove]

Two books in, I can’t help feeling like people who are upset that Rand isn’t getting enough screen time in the show just have some sort of wish fulfillment with book!Rand. He’s a totally fine “chosen one” character, but in typical chosen one fashion he’s trope-y enough to be one of the less interesting characters in the books so far imo. But you know, every girl is in love with him for some unclear reason, people give him respect when he’s quiet and then even more when he gets bossy, being petulant makes people like him *more,* and nothing he has to do actually takes that much effort or challenge (and his mistakes don’t ever backfire). There’s a certain type of person, and especially a certain type of young boy, for whom I feel like that would REALLY resonate.

[iviarellereads]

The Eye of the World, Chapter 43 - Decisions and Apparitions

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Wheel of Time, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(Dragon's Fang icon) In which plans are made, though you know what they say about the best-laid thereof...

Rand asks, so, what are the ways, and why will they die? Loial and Moiraine are both reluctant to answer. Loial says that after the Breaking, some stedding made offers of sanctuary to male Aes Sedai who hadn't yet gone mad from the taint. In the stedding they were cut off from the True Source, which meant they couldn't use it and go mad, but they were so used to its presence in their souls that they started to go a different kind of mad. One by one, they left the stedding. Moiraine adds that some, particularly the Red Ajah, hold that the sanctuary of the stedding only prolonged the Breaking, but the Blue Ajah, of which she is one,(1) holds to the view that if all the men had gone mad at once, there would be nothing left of the world.

In gratitude of the offer, even if it didn't work out, the male Aes Sedai made the Ways, where you could walk for a day and come out of another Waygate one hundred, five hundred miles from where you started. Time and distance work differently there, they're not part of the world, and how long you take to get somewhere may depend on which path you choose to take. Ogier would no longer have to go into the world to go from one stedding to another, and there was no Breaking in the Ways.(2)

Egwene asks how they could do such a thing, if the stedding cuts off the Source. Loial adds that the Waygates were built just outside the borders of stedding, and a thousand years ago, they began to change. Travelers started talking about feeling watched, and raving about Machin Shin, the Black Wind. Aes Sedai healers could help some, but not all, and none were ever the same. They all forgot what happened, they never laughed again, and they all feared the sound of wind.(3)

Nynaeve asks if Moiraine expects them to walk into that, and Moiraine points out Whitecloaks in the city, Trollocs outside, they can't leave without being seen by one, the other, or both. And they must get to the Eye before it can be turned to the Dark One's purpose, there's enough power in it to break his prison entirely. Three threads, chosen by the Pattern itself, have come together. They may not think they can do anything to help, and they could just run away, but they could also go and try. The choice is there, for each of them.

Rand is the first to say he'll go, Mat and Perrin quick behind him. Egwene refuses to be left behind, and Nynaeve says Moiraine still needs her herblore. Loial is still reluctant to break the laws of the Elders and open the Way, but there's little other choice.

They plan well into the night, though at one point Rand takes Egwene aside and begs her to go home, go to Tar Valon, go anywhere but with them. Egwene says no, Min said she was part of this business, too. She has to go.

“But, Egwene—”

“Who is Elayne?”

For a minute he stared at her, then told the simple truth. “She’s the Daughter-Heir to the throne of Andor.”

Her eyes seemed to catch fire. “If you can’t be serious for more than a minute, Rand al’Thor, I do not want to talk to you.”(4)

Eventually, they make their way to bed, and Rand has another dream. Blah blah, Baa uses the same old lines. When he wakes, Mat's not long behind, and afraid the Dark One knows who he is. Rand isn't so sure, Baa keeps hinting he doesn't know which of the three is... he trails off, and realizes he has a splinter from the table in the dream, deep in his hand. Moiraine comes in, realizes they've dreamed again, looks at Rand's hand, and tells them time is short.

=====

(1) So, we now know the name of a second Ajah of the Aes Sedai, the Blues, and they appear to be in direct opposition to the Red, and Moiraine is one of them. Interesting. She does always seem to be wearing blue, though she said that every other Aes Sedai in the city is red last chapter, which means obviously they don't all dress according to their Ajah colours, since Elaida's dress was green, and Mo knows who she is. (2) I do find it interesting that the Ogier thought anything crafted with tainted saidin would ever be safe to use, but I guess they got two thousand years of use out of it so it couldn't have been that bad. But boy, that Machin Shin sounds pretty mean. (3) Not great in a pre-industrial sort of society like this. (4) I think this is my favourite moment of the chapter, maybe of the book: Egwene refusing to take Rand seriously, after literally everyone else has repeatedly refused to take him seriously when he talks about the trouble being ta'veren has gotten him into. Poor Rand. And yet another "Perrin knows how to deal with women" for the tally sheet.

[jaqobis]

i finished the path of daggers last night and i have this whole jumble of incoherent thoughts about rand’s and egwene’s leadership storylines in this book

but tl;dr it remains fascinating how you have these two characters with similar personalities, dealing with similar circumstances (trying to take ownership of these leadership roles they’ve been thrust into because the alternative is watch time being frittered away at the end of the world), with similar traumas and trauma response and similar frustrations with the people they’re dealing with! some lines egwene’s had about romanda or lelaine are beat for beat what rand’s had about shitty nobles he’s been forced to work around! she dealt with moghedien exactly how he dealt with asmodean! both of them think on and use advice from moiraine! the SAME advice from moiraine! it’s incredibly sad that amyrlin seat egwene and the dragon reborn rand will never just hang out and commiserate about their jobs because they’d have so much to talk about.

the biggest difference, of course, is isolation. because even with nynaeve and elayne gone and essentially out of contact for most of this book, egwene has both a friend and mentor figure in siuan. yes, siuan cares about and tries to help her, but importantly, siuan is also teaching her and reining in her behavior! siuan warns her about overreaching, siuan gives her that important perspective on why wanting to throw away the three oaths is dangerous and even offensive to aes sedai, siuan keeps her patient. rand spends most of this book with no one can he really trust or rely on, and even when he does (bashere, min), he’s dismissing and disobeying the advice he’s given. he’s also getting it hammered home over and over again that whenever his (or lews therin’s) sins come home to roost it’s other people who get hurt. ta’veren means he has plot armor and he knows it and he knows that it means he has to watch people pay for his mistakes while he comes out alive, because he has to come out alive, or the world ends before tarmon gai’don. 

i think part of it has to do with how their respective captivity traumas played out, too. both rand and egwene at this point have very horrible, very formative experiences where they were captured and tortured and beyond help for several weeks. egwene’s was, of course, longer ago at this point. but she was also saved by her friends in her darkest moment, and she was not alone after that, either; they traveled together that whole winter going back to the tower, they were together at the tower, and they were together on their other adventures too! she had nynaeve and elayne and aviendha and others to help her cope. rand was in a situation where, with no idea if help was even coming (and lbr how would they have found him even if they’d reached him first?), he had to free himself, he didn’t run into a friendly rescuing face until several minutes after that, and was pretty much immediately pushed into a position of having to make painful calls and getting reamed out for them and reminded how much it cost to save him. perrin was under a lot of pressure at that moment too! but oh boy what a thing to say to someone Right Then And There, and rand clearly internalized and took it in stride because that’s not very different from how he thinks about people around him getting hurt anyway. 

rand’s had to wear arrogance as a shield the same way egwene’s learning to wield aes sedai coldness, and clearly a big part of his storyline right now is how the arrogance is starting to wield him instead of vice versa. (though i’d argue that he’s always been very proud, it just didn’t have avenues to come out as glaringly obviously as it does nowadays.) cadsuane’s trying to position herself to be to him what siuan is for egwene, which is great because he needs that and terrible because cadsuane is not equipped to actually provide what specifically he needs. i suspect if moiraine were still around (and lan by association, his emotional support sworddad), his behavior might better resemble egwene’s right now. and if egwene didn’t have siuan, it’s easy to imagine she might grow more prideful about her own power too -- completely well-meaningly, completely born out of the same impulse that rand has, that she has tremendous access to this Power and should be allowed to do things with it (including, say, things the oaths disallow), and because being strong in the Power will keep her safe. a sentiment they both share, honestly! 

rand and egwene are extremely similar personalities, such beautifully articulated narrative foils, and tbh i will die on this hill

[fedonciadale]

So, just watched episode 7 and I loved it! The actors are all so good and really 'channel' the characters.

Cold open was amazing! The choreography of the fighting was very good and I think we got a good idea of how Aiel fight.

I guess they had to do something with the actor of Mat leaving and I think it was a good idea to have some tension in the group because of that. They are all stressed out and that leads people to lash out against each other, even people they love. Not sure I'm sold on the idea that Perrin holds a torch for Egwene. In hindsight some of the scenes could be understood that way.

The ways were creepy and I loved them. They gave me the feeling of cobble stone pavement that had gone completely wrong.

Loved how Machin Shin was done, visually and with the self-doubt voices. That was a good idea to show some of the conflicts of the characters.

And another bad-ass Nynaeve moment with ragged weaves instead of Aes Sedai orderly weaves! Nynaeve!

What can I even say to Lan / Nynaeve? That was well done. Loved that Lan basically introduced her to his family. Loved that Nynaeve was the bold one. She was also the bold one to talk about feelings first in the books!

I think that Moiraine still had no idea who the Dragon was and that she thought the person themselves might know. So she tried to instigate a reveal. Or she wanted to prepare everyone for possible death?

I don't know why she set the Red Ajah on Mat? Does she want to tie up lose ends? In case he is the Dragon he must be gentled? Or did she want to teach him a lesson?

I think the visuals for Min's viewings were great. I really dislike the character so I'm a bit wary but the scenes fit well.

I loved how they did the reveal. Rand must have realized in the ways at the latest. The black wind plays into fears that are already there, so he must have thought about that for some time. In hindsight that makes his conversations with Mat and Thom even more interesting. And the acting was top notch. The arrows that struck in the bull's eye with each puzzle piece was well done.

And Moiraine and Rand leaving together is so much in character!

I guess the rest of the team will decide to follow them next week. So much for self- sacrifice. 🤣

*book spoilers below *

I never thought of Perrin and Egwene as a couple - and I thought about many possible pairings because of my general dissatisfaction with the canon pairings. Lol. We'll see where this will lead. As of now I don't really see what the change adds to the story?

I have no idea what Min's viewing of Rand with the baby means. I'm intrigued about that.

She viewed three beautiful women. So I guess we'll get that awkward male fantasy of three beautiful women (a dark haired, a redhead and a blonde 🙄🙄🙄) falling in love at first sight with a man just because the pattern wants it. Here's to hoping that Min will do more than stalk Rand and that Elayne will not behave so ridiculous (I always thought that her love was the least believable because she basically doesn't know the man, like at all). Here's to hoping that they will at least give Aviendha and Elayne a wlw relationship in addition. That would at least tone down the whole male fantasy part. (Be still my heart, you knew you wouldn't get Mat/Elayne. 😭)

I like that Rand just accepts he is the Dragon. His reluctance to accept that was almost a bit annoying in the books (I always wanted to scream at him: you basically channeled the biggest amount of saidin that was ever collected, the dragon banner was found at the Eye. How could you not be it?) It was a good decision they let Moiraine be open about the fact that she looks for the dragon.

I liked the little world building at the side with Lady Amalisa who didn't get past accepted (and has no stone in her ring)

Also I liked the proud Borderlanders. Their fight against the shadow is such an important part of their identity that I didn't mind that Agelmar was unfriendly towards Moiraine.

And we got Lan's back story! And Lanaeve really sped forward. I guess Lan will have a bad conscience about Moiraine leaving without him and it will possibly put their blossoming relationship under strain.

I really like that book readers cannot be sure what happens. I'm ready to get surprises on the way. 😃

[wot-tidbits]

RJ’s notes Part 76 by Matt Hatch

SOURCE

THE EYE OF THE WORLD

OUTLINE/EXPANDED VERSION

Book One: The Eye of the World

(handwritten note: 3rd)

Box 20, Folder 2

File includes an early TEOTW concept from Beginning to end.

-         “The Two Rivers” is not a thing yet.

-         Tam dies. Moiraine is unable to heal him.

-         Moiraine convinces all men of a certain age from villages nearby they should go to Tar Valon to discover why this attack happened.

-         Nyneve and Eguene accompany them, and the party stays together. As every village they visit has been struck by misfortune. They are often attacked by Trollocs.

-         In Tar Valon, Rand meets Queen Morgase of the city-state of Caemlon, who is married to King Maric Damodred. She hopes that Moiraine finds the true Dragon Reborn so she can rule at his side (until he is gentled, of course)

While there in Tar Valon in this version of the story, they get word that the forsaken and the trollocs are moving through the northern Blight (there is more than one Blight). But the Great Northern Blight is the main one. And they are threating the Eye of the World. So they go rushed to the Blight to protect the Eye of the World from this invading army. And that is how they end up there.

The whole Ba’alzamon blindsiding the Eye of the World doesn’t come in until the next version of the story. Egwene is get raped by one of the Forsaken and then Rand has to heal her. And he does it like in his sleep or something. Or he thinks he is sleeping. And that he uses the power of the Eye of the World. And then Moiraine tells him he is the Dragon Reborn on the spot.

 THE EYE OF THE WORLD

OUTLINE/EXPANDED VERSION

Box 20, Folder 2, p.9

One of Morgase’s sons, Galad, who is also in Tar Valon, hates the way his mother flirts. As a reaction to his mother, he not only does not consort with women but has become a total ascetic, expounding on the need for complete purity of the flesh. Also he evinces a strong dislike for any man in whom Morgase shows interest. He goes out of his way to snub the village youths, and even tries to humiliate them.

The one man Galad does not dislike is Lan, who returns the friendship. Lan, co-incidentally, is one of the few men for whom Morgase apparently holds no attraction, and for whom she shows total disregard [NOTE: The last was not always so, for unknown to any but Lan and Morgase, Galad is Lan’s son. Morgase married Maric instead of Lan, and Lan has ignored her existence ever since. She reciprocates. Lan cares for his son a great deal, however, though he cannot reveal his fatherhood.]

 Eye of the World [Part One]

FILE: OUTLINE1

and

Book One: The Eye of the World

[Part Two]

FILE: OUTLINE2

Box 20, Folder 2

Highlights of some changes from the prior file:

-         The “Two Rivers” take shape including names like Mountains of Mist & Taren Ferry.

-         The pre-Festival trip to Emond’s Field takes shape in all its detail including the Fade.

-         The gleeman Thom Merilyn was brought down from Baerlan, and Edward White the peddler is in the village with his stories.

-         Tam still dies.

-         The party still goes to Tar Valon but includes an unspecified number of boys from only Emond’s Field. Nyneve goes with, Eguene followes them and joins in Taren.

-         This time the party splits, and some are driven to the land of the Ogyr near the Dragonwall, Rand befriends Jak Vladad, a young Ogyr, who joins the party.

-         Morgase is now the ruler of the city-state of Arranellon. Still married to Maric.

Padan Fain (Edward the White) met with the boys and tells the story of his escape in Tar Valon instead of Baerlone.

 Book One: The Eye of the World [Part Two]

FILE: OUTLINE2

Box 20, Folder 2, p.5

One of Morgase’s sons, Galad, who is also in Tar Valon, hates the way is mother flirts. As a reaction to his mother, he not only does not consort with women but become a total ascetic, expounding on the need for complete purity of the flesh. [NOTE: Galad will become a Power Wielder of great ability after Rand cleanses the male source of Power, but he will go over to Sha’tan] Also he evinces a strong dislike for any man in whom Morgase shows the slightest interest. He goes out of his way to snub the village youths, and even tries to humiliate them.

The one man Galad does not dislike is Lan, who returns the friendship warlmly despite Galad’s somewhat cold nature. Lan, co-indcidentally, is one of the few men for whom Morgase apparently holds no attraction, and for when she shows total disregard. [NOTE: This last was not always so, for unknown to any but Lan and Morgase, Galad is Lan’s son. Morgase married Maric instead of Lan, for Lan was already a Warder and Maric was powerful lord in his land. SEE NOTES AT END. Lan has ignored her existence ever since. She reciprocates. Lan cares for his son a great deal, however, though he cannot reveal his fatherhood.]

NOTES/BOOKS TWO – SIX

Notes on Books Two Through Six

Box 20, Folder 2, p.3

This is notes on books 2-6, but it is not clear that they follow the outline in previous files. Maybe written earlier?

-         In previous outlines, it may be that after the events at the Eye of the World. Rand flees his fate, ends up shipwrecked on the coast of a Blight, though Elyn/Arinel (earlier names for Elayne) is not with him as she was in TEOTW outlines when he fled.

-         The Aes Sedai are rulers of city-states in this land (like pre-a’dam Seanchan was in canon). He is captured and given to a woman and a general who is the daughter of one of those Aes Sedai rulers. They fall in love, but Sha’tan is moving there too and he reveals himself as a Power wielder and has to flee. The woman lets him go but her army takes Stair (Tear) for him later.

-         Rand spends some time with the Sea Folk.

-         Rand’s mother is Morgase’s sister in this version.

After Rand decides that he is indeed the Dragon his first ally will be Morgase, who becomes his lover for a time. This makes Galad his bitter opponent, and sends Galad over to Sha’tan.

 THE GREAT HUNT

Continuity #1

Box 45, Folder 1, pp.19-26

A few Highlights from this File

-         Galad overhears Nynaeve, Egwene, Elayne, and Min talking about Toman Head, insists on going with them because they won’t stay behind.

-         Jordan considers how much Galad hear about the Black Ajah, and maybe that convinces him he has to go.

-         Liandrin isn’t happy but accepts taking Galad along through the Ways.

Elaynes’ feelings about Galad. She despises him. All her life she has seen him doing good, doing the right thing no matter who was hurt. It is his lack of compassion, his lack of give for human weakness, that makes her sure he is a fraud in his goodness. She cannot trust him.

They travel the Ways (safely, despite Egwene’s/Nynaeve’s extreme nervousness about Machin Shin. Is Liandrin surprised at their knowledge of the Ways?), and on Toman Head Liandrin turns them over to the invaders, but Galad, Nynave and Min escape. (Galad causes this escape.) NOTE: Galad is alone, but Nynaeve and Elayne may be together. Nynaeve is angry enough to be able to channel, but she is foiled by the leashed channelers of the invaders. (?Does Liandrin take part in this? Some small confrontation between Liandrin and invaders?)

[This is part of Ba’alzamon’s plan. He intends to draw Rand to Toman Head and force him to fulfill one of the prophecies, namely proclaiming himself across the sky. Nyneave and Egwene, imprisoned and endangered, are meant to be keys to forcing him to use the Power. Foreshadowing in dream/not dream in pale land, when B speaks of what Rand (whom he calls Lews Therin, and Kinslayer) will do when those he loves and cares for are in danger and enslaved.] Galad takes up partisan activity. Has some contract with Bornhald, or at least with the Whitecloaks. He intends to rescue the women, especially Egwene and Elayne, for he does not know that Elayne and Nynave also escaped. Thinks he failed them. Small Galad POV for this?

NOTE1: considering that he sees Liandrin betray Elayne (if she goes) and Egwene, much less the others, he will certainly lose even the little trust of Aes Sedai that he has.

NOTE2: once he sees Rand in the sky, fighting as the Dragon, he will certainly see him as the worst danger possible. If Rand is the Dragon, he must be able to channel the Power and the evidence of it is certainly in his battle projected across the heavens. Such men are worse than merely dangerous; they must be killed or gentled (which last takes Aes Sedai, and he is not so hot on Aes Sedai, now.), therefore, Rand must be killed, in his view.

NOTE3: Note 1 and Note 2 make Galad a prime candidate for the Children of the Light.

 THE GREAT HUNT

Continuity #3

Box 45, Folder 2, p.7

Galad had been sent off to Kairhein as a child to be raised at the court there.

Box 45, Folder 2, p.8

Both Elayne and Gawyn have dichotomous feelings about Galad. He is their brother (half, sure, but they have grown up with him), but he is strange. He believes in doing what is right, and often does not seem to care who gets hurt by it. He professes to have no jealousy that he will not become the First Prince etc, and indeed has never showed any. He even saved Gawyn’s life despite the fact that Gawyn’s death would have made him next in line for that position.

But he has always seemed very conscious of differences between them, that they will be Queen and First Prince, although they have tried to make him feel there were no differences. He is always too protective toward them, and always tries to get them to do the right thing, to behave as they should, which means he has often been a spoilsport as they grew up. His view of good and right is absolute, untempered by mercy or humor.

 Continuity #3a

Box 45, Folder 1, p.6

NOTE: Galad did not, at first, intend to come to Tar Valon. Perhaps he felt that taking Warder training would seem as if he were attempting to challenge Gawyn’s place. It was his encounter with Rand in the garden that made him ask to go along, Elayne, as he sees it, needs someone to look after her.

 INDIVIDUALS

Box 46, Folder 1, p.22

Mat will leave Tar Valon (after making an enemy of Galad). He will end up in the Aiel Waste with Rand.

Knife of Dreams notes, undated

(Contains base notes on Egwene, Leane, the Loyalist Aes Sedai, the White Tower, Elaida, Alviarin, Seaine and Pevara.)

Box 61, Folder 8, p.90

Gawyn’s death. Galad is present. Galad promises to protect Egwene (and child?) Gawyn either tells him that Rand is his half-brother or starts him on the way of knowing or confirms something learned earlier. This comes after Gawyn married Egwene, and she is pregnant

 Memory of Light Outline

II. MAIN BODY [NOT NECESSARILY IN ORDER]

Box 44, Folder 2, pp 1-2, p.7

Egwene and Gawyn

[…]

5. Egwene becomes pregnant.

K. The Last Battle

[…]

12. Egwene is nearly killed and is saved by Egeanin.

13. Gawyn is mortally wounded, and, as dying, tells Galad about Rand being his half-brother.

(Handwritten note: “by Demandred/Lan then kills Demandred)

 Notes on Galad

Folder Unknown

Galad’s emotional connections to various women. He flirted with Nynaeve, and believed himself in love with Egwene, but once he learns she has become not only Aes Sedai but the rebel Amyrlin, the impossibility of it hits him. It may not be for quite some time that he does Berelain, maybe not until near the very end of it all, but that is when he is struck head over heels, and so is she.

[nonbinarysasquatch]

I decided this time to just copy my review of The Dragon Reborn straight from Reddit rather than copy my not really detailed Goodreads review:

I'm back in the saddle again!

Yeah, my one week to finish this turned out to be a month. Oops. But it sure wasn't because I didn't enjoy this book, oh no.

As a reminder for the final time: I read New Spring first and if you are a fellow new reader who hasn't read it that might be something to keep in mind. That said, I'm not planning on referencing anything to it in this review as I don't feel it has any bearing on my thoughts for this one.

Overall thoughts on this book:

Woo, this series just keeps getting better. Even though this book is the shortest yet it really felt like so much happened. Jordan is really getting a feel for the story he's telling. This felt in many ways like the culmination of a lot of things from the first two books. Rand is the Dragon Reborn and is now embracing that role.

Do I have any complaints about this book? You know, not really. Well, beyond issues with one character which I'll get into below. This was a really solid entry.

Character thoughts:

Egwene: Egwene is starting to fight Nynaeve for being my favourite. I loved how much more brash and harsh she's become. It feels a bit like she's mirroring Rand in terms of becoming more powerful and becoming less nice. She's not at his level yet but she's showing herself to be comfortable with, even enjoying, torture. It's a dark turn but I like it. Complex, flawed characters are always more interesting than safe characters who never make mistakes. I am surprised by how fast she, Elayne and Nynaeve are moving up the ranks in the Aes Sedai but it's not super shocking since if they all spend a decade moving up the entire plot would have to be put on hold which would kill the dramatic tension.

Perrin: OK, I guess, saying that I'll admit Perrin isn't that complex, but I still continue to love him. He's also kind of mirroring Rand, at least in terms of power. I loved the wolf dreams (and all the dream stuff in this in general, I'm weak for dream stuff.) Unfortunately, Perrin's plot has a mark against it but I'll get to Faile further below.

Mat: Heyyy, Mat actually got to do stuff. He's evolved being a foolhardy prankster to being a gambler with luck on his side. I'm a little unclear if it's literal magic luck or just general good luck from being ta'veren. I liked Mat in this one. He's not my favourite but he's fun.

Rand: Sir Barely Appearing in this Book. I thought keeping Rand to a minimum in this book was an interesting choice. It gave the other characters more room to breathe and I also think it highlights how he's changing. And boy is he changing. Rand using the one power to make a bunch of corpses kneel before him is pretty eerie. I also thought it was interesting exploring the effect he's having on the world and those around him by simply existing instead of focusing on how the changes happening are affecting him. This book felt more about the world than it was about Rand.

Nynaeve: Still my favourite for the time being. She did get overshadowed by Egwene in this book.

Elayne: I'm not really super certain what my feelings are on Elayne at this point. I like her but don't have strong feelings about her yet. I just like reading about the friendship between the three ladies.

Moiraine: Moiraine really upped her intensity in this one. Whatever niceness and patience she had before are getting shed. I do feel like the characters should start putting more faith and trust in her. She's saved their lives a whole heck of a lot at this point and been right about basically everything, that should earn her something.

Lan: Not much development for Lan in this but he was great as always. Even the Nynaeve romance only got little mentions here and there.

Loial/Thom: You know, I like both these two but I'm starting to feel like they aren' that important to the plot? Granted, maybe there was just not much for them to do in this book. Thom definitely could've been cut from Mat's plot without losing much. I'm glad he wasn't since I like Thom but I'm not really clear what his and Loial's places are in the overall narrative.

Min: I was hoping I'd get more of her beyond the opening bits. We haven't gotten that deep of a look at her yet. I guess she must've arrived at the Tower at some point.

Siuan: Glad we got a fair bit of her in this. I feel like her fishing metaphors increase with every appearance haha.

Faile: I'm always really reluctant to be negative about a female character. I've noticed in pretty much every fandom I've ever interacted with the female characters tend to... get more negative attention for doing less wrong than the male characters. A flaw that adds complexity to a male character will be seen as something unforgivable when given to a female character.

That said, hooboy, Faile has really tested me. Faile stalks Perrin, forces herself into their group, forces her way into their plans, is inappropriate and creepy with Perrin the entire time, is given numerous opportunities to bail but sticks around because she wants to be part of a good story but then complains the entire time like she's being put-upon even though literally no one forced her into this and then for some reason at the end I guess she and Perrin are in love now? And the saddest thing about that is its somehow the best-developed romance these books have been given so far.

My guess is we're supposed to find all her inappropriate behaviour charming? Perrin's the sweetest, kindest character in these books, what'd he do to deserve this? Hopefully, this is just a rocky start and she'll be toned down in the next book. I can honestly deal with harsh and not necessarily nice characters but Jordan's choices with her are really strange. The way she acts just isn't earned. There's no good reason for her to demand to be a part of this then complain about it as if she were a child.

Apologies to anyone who loves her. Just remember I didn't care for Mat at first either haha.

Ba'alzamon: Well. I'll admit, I'm confused at what the point of this character was. Rand kicks his ass 3 times then we find out he was just a pretender who was this other bad guy that seems to have been built up but now he's dead. It's particularly odd since I didn't think he was the Dark One in the first place. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Robert Jordan's plans for this character may have changed along the way. Perhaps in EOTW he was meant to be the Dark One or possessed by the Dark One but decided that the series was growing longer and having Rand beat the main villain several times would cheapen him in the long term. I'm hopeful that the next book will clear things up since Moiraine didn't have much time to explain things at the end.

Some broad stroke thoughts:

I'm starting to feel kind of numb to all the different inns and innkeepers. I know some of them may come back and be important but 3 books in there really have been a lot of them. I can't really blame Jordan for giving them all names and descriptions but I don't think my brain can really retain that much information haha.

I felt a similar thing with all the different captains in this book. He goes into so much detail about the ships and the captains but it just kind of blurs together. Also, I missed Domon in this book. Kept expecting him to show up. Alas.

I really would read an entire series of books just about the Aes Sedai. I want to read about all the inner Tower politics and the nuances between all the different Ajahs. It's a shame there aren't enough female leads so that we can have one character joining each Ajah. I'm looking forward to seeing which Ajah Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne will join. Elayne does seem to be leaning green. I do hope they all go for different ones just to get the different looks.

The entire climax was so great. For every book the climax has gotten better than the last. Just so many cool pieces with Egwene trying to get them out of the cell, Perrin trying to save Faile, Mat trying to rescue the ladies and Rand being an absolute beast and taking down not one but two forsaken. I love a good magic sword. They might be cliche but Callandor is still pretty rad.

Ohhh I haven't said anything about the Aiel. I'll admit having desert people look Nordic is definitely different. I thought the characters in this were interesting and I'm glad that we're seeing everyone's preconceptions of them being proven false. Given the ending, I assume the next book will have a lot more of them (and at some point Rand will need to dig into his past.)

Adaptation Talk:

Even though this is the shortest book so far, I really feel it's the one I'd want to see given the most episodes. You can easily squeeze the first two books into a ten-episode season but this one might be tough to fit in if you try to put another book in there. But it's hard to say what they should do without having read the next one (and hooboy, TSR appears to be the thickest yet.) I hope the show at least gets a second season so we can get the visual feast of the Heart of Stone battle.

Ranking:

The Dragon Reborn

The Great Hunt

New Spring

The Eye of the World

So far no stinkers. TDR was very, very good with my only real complaint being Faile in general. Starting the Shadow Rising this evening and I actually already have The Fires of Heaven waiting at the library because I just want to keep momentum going and not get sidetracked like I did this time haha.

[morgansternley]

Yuletide 2018

Requests:

Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik) - Irina / Mirnatius

The Lost Fleet series (Jack Campbell) - CEO Jason Boyens

Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan) - Logain Ablar

My AO3 username: morganstern

Dear author,

Thanks for writing a fic for me this holiday season!

Here are the 3 fandoms I requested this year. My prompts are mostly about suggesting possible directions for a fic, and brainstorming about what I like about the characters. If you have an idea that I didn’t list here, feel free to run with it!

Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik)

Irina / Mirnatius

I enjoyed watching Mirnatius's emotions toward Irina evolve from a resigned apathy to frustrated, fearful bewilderment to a terrified awe. Irina may have saved his life and his soul, but how are things going to stand between them in the aftermath of the canon events? I'd estimate that his stunned gratitude lasts for a total of half a day at the absolute outside, before his suspicious and cynical instincts lead him to the conclusion that there's no reason for Irina's supposed plans for his future (one, at most two heirs, then a knife in the back for him and a cosy regency for her family) to have changed.

How will Mirnatius, who has probably never trusted anyone in his entire life, going to deal with Irina continuing to competently take over the responsibilities of state? Power and obligations that he doesn't want and is 100% unequipped to deal with, but the loss of which means that his position is even weaker. How does he heal with overtures of kindness and affection from Irina (now that her own conscience will finally allow her to offer them), when he is desperate for both of those things, but also alert to every scrap of possible evidence that she is intending to seduce and then kill him?

I see Irina taking a little while to catch on to Mirnatius's concerns, since from her perspective with the demon gone she'd be quite happy to settle down for the long term doing all the admin work, while her pretty trophy husband is free to spend his days sketching flowers and fashion designs in the garden. Irina's father, on the other hand, is likely to be thinking along the same lines as Mirnatius. Does Irina think to explain to her father that, no, she'd actually prefer that her husband not suffer any tragic accidents… and if so, does her father listen to her?

I'd expect Mirnatius to have a number of issues when it comes to sexual intimacy (indicated pretty clearly in the book). And that's even without his acute awareness that once Irina produces an heir, he himself is superfluous to her and to her father. What happens once Irina begins to address the urgent need for a royal heir? Does Mirnatius find another Tatar-looking soldier to assign to Irina's guard so she can take care of the problem and leave him out of it... only to find himself coming down with unexplained stomachaches that are absolutely not due to jealousy, every time Irina comes within 50 feet of her new guard?

The Lost Fleet series (Jack Campbell)

Jason Boyens

"How ex-CEO Jason Boyens learned to stop worrying worry less and love not living under an authoritarian police state"

Boyens is just a tiny bit of a weasel, but I love him. I was intrigued by his character when he was introduced - someone pretty decent for a Syndicate CEO, even if he doesn't buy into all of this 'democracy' propaganda nonsense yet. Willing to stick his neck out for the sake of the star systems he was assigned to defend, even though that put him at risk both from (as he had every reason to expect) the Alliance and especially from the Syndics themselves (who tend to frown on anything smelling of collaboration with the enemy).

He didn't have many scenes, but the important aspects of his character were clearly drawn. CEOs can lie like no one else, but Boyens was introduced to us via his actions, ones that entailed a direct risk to himself. So I was extremely frustrated when he turned up with a new fleet, talking like a pompous asshole and threatening to bomb Midway system. It contradicted everything firm that we knew about Boyens, and seemed like lazy characterization used just to further the plot. When he defected to Midway and later turned out to have previously been under duress, I was gleefully satisfied at having been proven right.

How is he doing on Ulindi? It would be fun to see a post-canon look at his adjustment process (original characters welcome). How does he get along with Iceni and Drakon now? Or, if he ever runs into Geary again, how does that awkward conversation with a confused Geary go?

Would also love seeing some past offscreen events from his POV. What was going through his mind after the defeat of the Reserve Flotilla, when he decided to risk himself by trying to bargain with the Alliance? How was his stay in custody on the voyage with the Alliance fleet to fight the Enigmas? How did his interrogations with Allied intelligence go? What happened back in the central Syndicate system after he was returned from Midway the first time… or when he returned there after his failure under Happy Hua's command?

Wheel of Time series (Robert Jordan)

Logain Ablar

This series has so many characters. SO. MANY. And out of all those ~500k named characters, Logain is my favorite. He is extremely proud and stubborn. He loves drama and has always craved power. However, his abundant potential to be the most Extra person in canon is curtailed by the fact that he is also burdened by a large amount of common sense, calulating practicality, a strict ethical code, and a firm sense of kindness and decency. He has been through like 90% of the unpleasant things that the world could possibly throw at him, and has always come out the other side with his self and his moral code intact.

I also just love how absolutely Done he is with Rand's bullshit once they work together directly. Like, to the extent that he is forced to side with Cadsuane in an argument.

Rand: *mutters out loud to the voices in his head, almost turns everything in a 5 mile radius into a glowing crater*

Logain: *stares into the camera like he's on The Office*

I mainly want a glimpse at how Logain is doing now that the Last Battle is over. He hasn't had a chance to process anything since escaping from Taim. I feel that now that the fighting is over, the minute he stops to rest, all of his demons are going to come out at once, like they almost did during the battle itself. I'd love to see him work through some of the various traumas, especially with help from another person - since a good part of those issues are rooted in his feelings of isolation and his fear of others. Gabrelle, Cadsuane, Pevara, Min, Elayne, someone else?

What does Gabrelle actually feel for him, and vice versa? I'm pretty sure neither of them have any idea during the canon period, with both the problem of the one-sided bond and the general landslide of events. (I found it a little ironic that he was hurt by the fact that Gabrelle was jealous of Toveine for being released from her bond to him… when Logain himself would never in a million years willingly suffer such a bond being placed on him for even five minutes.) I have an image of him releasing her from the bond during a general normalization of relationships with the White Tower, or offering to do so... and then her coming back and hammering some sense into his head. Personally, I don't know how well their relationship would hold up for the long haul, but I believe that there is genuine fondness and affection. I think that Gabrelle also knows him better than anyone else alive, and

I love the fact that Logain is going to have to deal with Cadsuane as his counterpart in the White Tower after the Last Battle. The upcoming M'hael-Amyrlin meetings are going to be FANTASTIC. Equal parts tea, embarrassing stories from That One Time he tried to conquer the world, general roasting, and unsubtle inquiries about his mental stability. Would not put it past her to kidnap him and hold an intervention if she thought it necessary.

A helpful list of the most important scenes with Logain (at least IMO), since the series is just SO LONG:

The Shadow Rising, chapter 47 (escape from the White Tower)

The Fires of Heaven, chapters 26-28 (arrival at Salidar)

Lord of Chaos, chapters 8 (Logain's audience with Altaran nobles), 29-30 (Nynaeve heals Logain - "Is that what she says she did?"), 52 (Egwene talks to Logain and arranges his escape)

Winter's Heart, Prologue (Toveine thinks of nothing but murder all day)

Crossroads of Twilight, Prologue (Gabrelle thinks about Great Sex)

Knife of Dreams, chapters 18-19 (Cadsuane, Min and Logain gang up on Rand to convince him not to wipe them all of the face of the earth), 22 (meeting with the Sea Folk)

A Memory of Light, chapters 4 (failed rescue attempt), 14 (escape), 30 (attack by lava), 37 (The Last Battle: several scenes), 43 (Temptation), 48 (Concerning Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared)

[torashisama]

That's precisely because he's this type of character that I still don't like his character in the show.

The books being told through his perspective and everything converging toward him 99.99% of the time is why I might never read them. It's such a turn-off for me. I'm giving myself until the last season to see if i ever change my mind about this.

And yeah, even without reading the books, knowing that he'd have 3 girls loving him, I just knew that the explanation would have "he's the dragon reborn", "he's the hero of the story" 😩

I've been telling bookreader and bookcloaks that his character just wouldn't have worked on screen as well as any other one as the main because of the type of character that he is and because of when this adaptation is happening since I first engaged with the fandom. Glad a show first book reader is confirming what I thought about him.

Rand's the least appealing and interesting character to me, even with Josha being incredible at playing him and him not being the main angle of focus anymore.

Add to that the fact that Robert was a naturally plot driven writer and not a character driven one, and that it's overly apparent which makes this problematic as it means that it's imbalanced, also the books are ridiculously descriptive, each the size of an encyclopedia (except New Spring) and there's 14 of them plus I have ADHD.

I probably will never join book readers except for the New Spring ones, but who knows. Someday, maybe.

Two books in, I can’t help feeling like people who are upset that Rand isn’t getting enough screen time in the show just have some sort of wish fulfillment with book!Rand. He’s a totally fine “chosen one” character, but in typical chosen one fashion he’s trope-y enough to be one of the less interesting characters in the books so far imo. But you know, every girl is in love with him for some unclear reason, people give him respect when he’s quiet and then even more when he gets bossy, being petulant makes people like him *more,* and nothing he has to do actually takes that much effort or challenge (and his mistakes don’t ever backfire). There’s a certain type of person, and especially a certain type of young boy, for whom I feel like that would REALLY resonate.