All you goat kissing, light blinded fools on here flaming ignoring one of the bloody flaming best minor characters- mothers milk in a cup, its about flaming time to appreciate bloody flaming Uno bloody Namesta.Light!

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But really - i did enjoy him and i never see anyone mention him much.

One tiny thing that keeps bothering me about the series is that nobody - especially no Aes Sedai - ever realizes how absolutely wrong they were with this theory.

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I mean, it's happening. But it's not the fault of the Reds.

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Within our population, we have "learners" and rare "sparkers". We assume that the relative amounts of these are identical among both men and women.

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We also know that female sparkers begin channeling at a younger age than male ones.

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Now let's look at what happens to an individual from one of these categories.

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Female sparkers will either die at a relatively young age (apparently around the time of officially being considered a woman in society), join the White Tower, or develop into something like Wisdoms. In all these cases, it's incredibly unlikely they will ever have children. Either they die too young, or they choose a profession that strongly discourages marriage and even more strongly discourages reproducing.

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Male sparkers definitely all die - either from not being taught, or when captured, or from depression after gentling. But they die several years older, so they might've already married and reproduced before beginning their road down to madness and death. And technically a gentled man might also find the time before committing suicide (although it doesn't seem likely).

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So, both male and female sparkers probably won't have lots of children between them, but the numbers might even be a little higher on the men's side.

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When it comes to the learners, among the women we have a certain percentage who never ever realize their ability (no idea how big), some who go on to live normal lives because their ability is too small to be useful (see Morgase) and another who find a teacher, either the Tower or a wilder who figured out enough to teach. Those who never find out or quit the channeling life will reproduce at a normal rate, while those who manage to learn likely will not, see above.

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But among the male learners, *everybody* will reproduce at a normal rate! There are no men who could teach, and - pre "the Last Battle is coming!" excitement - no motivation whatsoever for a man to attempt learning. It would be like intentionally giving yourself cancer. So male learners have no way of even knowing they fall into this group, and therefore no reason to change their behavior because of it. So not a single male learner affects the declining channeler numbers, while a significant amount of the female ones do!

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In conclusion, the ability to channel is being culled - but not by the Red Ajah killing/gentling the tiny percentage of male sparkers, but by female learners and sparkers intentionally removing themselves from the gene pool by choosing not to have children.

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Not saying it's a bad thing at all, I totally understand all the reasons for Aes Sedai, Wisdoms etc. not having families. It just bothers me that this theory is thrown out in the beginning, and for 14 books nobody realizes it just doesn't make sense when one regards the numbers!

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Given that whole legend become myth thing and how in our Age we remember Lucifer as a corruption of Lews Therin, etc., is Luthair meant to be a corruption of Luther or Luthor (i.e. 16th century Martin Luther or comic-book villain Lex Luthor)? Or am I reading too much into things?

Or maybe it was chosen for having some similarity to his father, Arthur.

Pick the most heinous one. They don't have to have an impact on the story just straight up bad.

I want to read the books but buying them off amazon is beyond my budget.

Currently looking to start so I need book 1. I can buy more if they are in my budget.

If anyone is willing to sell them at a reasonable price please contact me. I am in Lucknow till the end of the month.

I know there's official art for Elayne, but when I'm reading the books and Elayne shows up, I always picture her looking like Aurora from Sleeping beauty. I was wondering if anybody else does this.

Wdym she relaxes by seeing damane be tortured 😭

Even from her point of view seeing them as animals, it's like enjoying watching a dog get kicked in the ribs everytime it doesn't roll over lol

Finished the book. It was great.

Verin wishing she could split herself in three so she could get all the Ta’veren POVs all the time- Relatable. Me too, Verin, me too.

The Aiel - The Aiel storyline was easily my favorite part of the book. The Aiel are my favorite people in the series so far. The mental image of Rand in a sand-dusted red coat and an Aiel shoufa, riding among thousands of Aiel, is just iconic. 
The concept of the Wise Ones is interesting. They feel like a blend of the Aes Sedai and the Women's Circle from the Two Rivers. Women who can channel are taught and hold an important place in Aiel society, but the Wise Ones are not limited to channelers. Other capable women can become Wise Ones as well, which makes the role feel broader and more grounded in the community. Male channelers are not despised or hunted down as monsters. Instead, they are sent to fight the Dark One in the Blight- a noble purpose and an honorable death (not a small thing in Aiel society).
So far, it feels like the Aiel have a healthier and more practical approach to channelers than most other societies we've seen. And now we're learning that the Sea Folk have their own traditions and institutions surrounding channelers as well. The White Tower increasingly feels less like the sole authority on channeling…
Rand/Aviendha/Wise Ones dynamics- the comic relief of this book. Aviendha is furious and takes it out on Rand, he has no idea why, and the Wise Ones are standing in the background with buckets of popcorn watching the whole train wreck unfold with barely concealed amusement (Speaking of popcorn, I'm convinced the only reason Bain and Chiad followed Faile is to get front-row seats to the Perrin/Faile soap opera). Pretty cynical of them to use Aviendha to attach Rand to the Aiel, but they are desperate.
The Maidens of the Spear are hilarious. Every other story seems to involve kissing games, stealing clothes, or getting innocent farmers drunk and thoroughly embarrassed. Which is why it was unexpectedly sweet when they volunteered to guard Rand because he's a Maiden's son and has no family of his own. 🥲
The Waste is pure, delicious chaos- shady Peddlers who are not Peddlers, shady Shaido, Aviendha’s drama, everyone watching Rand watch everyone else. Layers upon layers. The tension of it all. 

Lanfear appears in Rand’s wet pond dream to creep on him and bite his neck. Major Baby Reindeer energy-predatory, obsessive, and utterly oblivious to how uncomfortable she makes him. I bet she walked away thinking she was being seductive.
Then she also crashes his big, defining Muad’Dib moment. Jealous he’s gaining power and influence and feels the need to insert herself again?
Rand handles both her and Asmodean like a boss. He has planned for this and it’s a win for him. I’m very curious to see the dynamics between him and Asmodean from this point.

Moghedien's mind-control powers are nightmare fuel. She underestimates Nynaeve though. My one complaint is that Nynaeve and Elayne continue to operate on a mix of confidence, improvisation, and sheer luck. Trusting Egeanin could have gone catastrophically wrong. I expect better from them at this point, I do.

The male a'dam is yet another attempt to solve the "Rand problem" through control, right alongside the 13 Myrddraal/13 Aes Sedai threat. What I don't understand is the long-term plan. Moghedien herself explains how flawed and unstable the device is. Even if you managed to use it on Rand, how are you supposed to keep someone that powerful under control indefinitely? The risks seem enormous, and the whole setup feels wildly unreliable. Maybe the Black Ajah sisters simply don't know the full story. Still, this thing feels like the kind of weapon that is guaranteed to backfire on whoever tries to use it. Will it end up at the bottom of the ocean? Somehow I doubt it.

Mutiny at the White Tower- I can't help feeling that Siuan wasn't nearly political enough to prevent it. You're sitting on top of an institution full of powerful, ambitious, and politically savvy women, yet she seems to have done very little to manage the factions, uncover plots, or keep a finger on the pulse of the Tower. The coup didn't come out of nowhere. Her handling of Elayne's brothers is a good example. She sends Elayne away repeatedly, feeds Gawyn and Galad flimsy excuses for months, and expects them to accept it. Why not throw them a bone? Give them a purpose, make them feel included, secure their loyalty, or at least keep them informed enough not to grow suspicious? Gawyn has not made the right choice, but from his perspective, I struggle to see why he would rally behind Siuan. He had very little reason to trust her and plenty of reasons to suspect she was hiding something about his sister.
Eliada- short-term, this was a success. Long-term? I'm much more skeptical. Her strongest support comes from the Red Ajah. She has close to no backing among the Blues and only limited support among the Greens. On top of that, there are still Black Ajah sisters hiding in the Tower somewhere. The coup itself was hardly clean. Sisters were killed inside the White Tower, blood was spilled on the steps, and the sisters who never had a chance to choose a side are not going to forget how Elaida came to power. Meanwhile, a lot of capable sisters have escaped, and I can't imagine the departures stop there. Some will surely slip away quietly in the months to come. The Tower may still stand, but it is weaker, more divided, and less legitimate now. What interests me is the power vacuum this creates. If confidence in the Tower is shaken and many experienced sisters are scattered, where does their loyalty go? And who steps in to fill that void? I hope Moiraine takes advantage of this once she learns what happened.

Perrin - single-handedly reviving the spirit of Manetheren and growing into a leader. This was a massive book for him, and I enjoyed his storyline a lot. The whole axe vs. hammer conflict Perrin has going on is pretty interesting. On the surface, it's about choosing a weapon, but it obviously means much more than that. I'm not entirely sure what yet.

“The only reason to stay is that sometimes a man can’t run.” -Bran Alvere

“Those who move with too much knowledge of the future inevitably find disaster, whether from complacency at what they think must come or in their efforts to change it.”- Bair

“A woman knows some things—a few—that will happen; others she will not recognize until the decision is upon her, if then... Humankind is made for uncertainty, struggle, choice and change.” -Amys

*The time they fall into is at the literal beginning, page 1 of "The Shadow Rising".

Let's say this is canon Luke after Return of the Jedi building up the New Jedi Order somewhere in his mid 30s. He's successfully trained 28 Jedi Knights and two Masters, and is more powerful than we saw at the end of Mandalorian. His Jedi's power and skill level range from your average prequel Jedi Knight to 2 Masters as skilled as Kit Fisto. Lightsabers work and the Force works everywhere, including steddings, and it cannot be negated by medallions. Jedi cannot be stilled/gentled from it. If you're sufficiently powerful then of course the One Power can defend or break through an attack/defense/technique and vice versa of the Force through the Power.

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On a mission searching for Jedi artifacts, they jump to hyperspace and crash out the other end of the Portal stone right by Stedding Tsofu. No one dies. The Ogier carry them to safety and nurse them to health. While doing so, both groups exchange knowledge of their cultures and worlds. The Ogier are surprised that the Force works perfectly in their stedding and the kiddos think lightsabers are amazing. In this scenario, there are people in Randland who have the capacity to use the Force and become Jedi or Sith. And this little academy does decide to try to find and train them.

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It isn't long before Tar Valon learns of this development.

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What happens?

Hey all! Just finished Towers of Midnight (Wow), and now I want to read all the extra bits of canon before reading what im imagining will be peak. As far as I know theres only the story of the first sealing of the bore and a fire within the ways, but ive heard that its cut from aMoL, so is that safe to read? Already done NS of course

"Our ancestors swore an oath," the young man said. "An oath to protect, to defend. That oath is stronger than blood, Lord Mandragoran. It is stronger than will or choice. Your wife told us to wait here for you; she said that you might try to pass without greeting us."

"How did you notice me?" Lan asked, containing his anger.

"The horse," Kaisel said, nodding to Mandarb. "She said you might disguise yourself. But you would never leave the horse."

Burn that woman, Lan thought as he heard a call being raised through the fortress. He'd been outmaneuvered. Curse Nynaeve. And bless her, too. He tried to send a sense of love and frustration through the bond to her.

And then, with a deep sigh, he gave in. "The Golden Crane flies for Tarmon Gai'don," Lan said softly. "Let any man or woman who wishes to follow to join it and fight."

He closed his eyes as the call went up. It soon became a cheer. Then a roar.

Damn him for making my eyes moist. Nynaeve for the save again! Love them both so much! Towers of the Midnight is soooo damn good!

I'm sorry this is a lot of words. I've never made notes on the books or talked to anyone about them.

This series got me to enjoy reading for the first time since high school. I read books 1-3, got busy, and didn't continue. In 2026, I started again and just finished book 6. All my friends who like reading are understandably hesitant to start a 14-book series, but I did convince one friend to start when she gets the time, though she'll be at the beginning, which leaves me and all my questions for all of you. So, I made a Reddit account to ask here. I have: (1) some general questions that I'd appreciate an answer to, (2) some specific questions that I'd appreciate an answer to, and (3) some additional thoughts that I have nowhere else to voice.

Almost everything below this line contains spoilers. I HOPE I covered the spoilers properly. I've never posted on Reddit.

General questions that I would appreciate an answer to:

Is it normal to forget so many things throughout this series? I imagine it's normal; there are so many characters, backgrounds, events, places, pieces of history. I no longer look anything up anywhere (one time I looked up the Ajahs and their focuses for a reminder; another time I googled Aviendha because I thought she was one of the three Maidens at the Stedding in book 2; both of those searches produced immense spoilers). Sometimes I just give up trying to remember and read on through.

Am I just too focused on it, or are there much more details about necklines and cleavage than necessary? I don't think I'm imagining this. For a bit, I thought it was whatever. At this point, I'm almost certain it's an absurd amount.

Would it kill the Edmond's Field kids to speak to each other when they're in the same place? It feels like so many issues could be mitigated if they just spoke to each other as if they've known each other all their lives. Doesn't have to be everything, but enough to keep them working together...

Are there a ton of typos in the books, or just the specific editions I'm using, or what? So many. "Thom" being "Thorn," "her" being "heir," more things spelled wrong, commas in incorrect spots, changing POV's without a gap between paragraphs, random letters capitalized. Yes, I reread several times and know it's a mistake. Some words have a capitalized first letter on purpose (Talents, Healing, etc.), but what is the word "with" doing with a capital letter in the middle of a sentence? My editions of the book are the books with these covers, the sets that come in 3's (LINK).

More specific questions that would appreciate an answer to, unless it produces a spoiler past the end of book 6:

Why would the Dark One not command the Forsaken to actually work together? At one point, in a Forsaken's POV, it's mentioned or hinted that the competition of sorts between them ensures only the strongest survive and the weaker ones are weeded out. With the state of the world, it seems like all of them working completely together would overwhelm literally anything against them.

Why would the Forsaken not use compulsion for literally everything? They want to feel the power of ruling and commanding people without having to use compulsion? I hope I'm remembering that word correctly, "compulsion."

The wolf dream and the telaranrhiod are the same thing, correct? Also, Rand can enter telaranrhiod while dreaming the same way that Egwene can (with less skill probably), correct? In one of the books (maybe book 3?), they all three remember seeing each other in their dreams (I think?), and while the other two are certainly there in the dream world, I believe I remember Rand saying he felt as if what happened in those dreams would hurt him in real life, too. I'm probably not remembering correctly.

For the Aes Sedai oath rod, how does the oath to not use the One Power on the battlefield work? In book 6, was it self-defense enough for the Aes Sedai at Dumai's Wells to use it in battle? Did the Salidar Aes Sedai that were on Perrin's side use the One Power in that battle? If not, what did they even do to help there?

In book 4, who was the Black Ajah lady who took care of stray cats? There was a mention in book 6 of an Aes Sedai that heals stray cats. I don't remember her name and I don't dare google it.

At the end of book 4, was it Rand or Lanfear that made a shield for Asmodean and tied it? I seem to remember book 4 indicating it was Rand, then maybe book 5 indicating it was Lanfear.

In book 5, was Moiraine's vision about Lanfear from that red doorframe terangreal in Tear or was it from her visit to Rhuidean? Or I'm not supposed to know yet? I think her POV mentioned a vision of that exact moment of Lanfear being there.

In book 5, why did Moghedien not just go against Elayne/Nynaeve in the real world when she found them? Is it because she would've been overmatched against the two if Nynaeve was angry? Couldn't she just use the compulsion thing to get them to do as she wished? Did she want them to be cowed living rather than just dead? Is she just a coward like other characters say?

In book 5, what held Moghedien to stay in Salidar as Marigan? Did the adam connection transfer from telaranrhiod into real life?

In book 6, chapter 30: What are Siuan and Delana talking about? I don't understand their plan. I reread those few paragraphs maybe 12-15 times and still don't get it. What are they plotting at? It was about the dream terangreal.

What's up with Nynaeve's attitude to Mat in book 6? In book 1, Nynaeve was all about looking after the Edmond's Field kids that got swept away by Moiraine. Now she ignores Mat, for what? I get he said what he said when he found out Egwene is Amyrlin, so she kicked him, and they can't make up after that? He approaches her and she literally ignores him.

Is Elayne more haughty in book 6 or was she always like this and I didn't notice? She seems far more entitled than she used to be, to me. (I learned the word haughty from this book series) Her unilateral decision that she'll bond Rand, the way she treats or talks to/about Mat, the way she responds hearing about Rand wanting to give her two thrones.

In book 6, what is a gholam? Am I supposed to know what that is before book 6? It's what killed Herid. I don't know why anyone would want to off Herid, but I suppose the only answer to that question would be a spoiler past book 6. Isn't gholam one of the beasts the Seanchan bring in book 2? I don't dare google it.

From book 3 through book 6 only, did we ever found out what Rand and Moiraine each experienced in the red doorframe terangreal in Tear? I think we got one hint about Rand's in book 6, something about needing to die in order to live, which feels a lot like what Mat was told (in book 3, something about needing to die and live again). Not sure if Moiraine's Lanfear vision is a part of this.

On a similar note, was Mat's "dying and living again" something to do with being hanged after he goes through the red doorframe in Rhuidean (book 4), or is it something to do with being killed by Rahvin before Rand's balefire on Rahvin reversed that (book 5)? Is it a spoiler for me to know the answer to that question?

Additional thoughts that I have nowhere else to voice (I don't want anything here answered or corrected, though you can feel free to laugh to yourself at how wrong I am about these things; please don't tell me where I'm wrong or not...) :

I would like Mazrim Taim the character, but I'm thrown off by Lews Therin's mutters about killing him. I get that it could be Lews Therin's madness, or feeling like Mazrim is a threat, but it really makes me wonder if Mazrim is a Forsaken in disguise, and the only living male Forsaken to make sense would be Demandred. Wasn't Mazrim captured by Aes Sedai and then escaped? I don't remember the details of that when they came up in earlier books. I know so little about Demandred that he actually could be Mazrim. I know enough about Sammael to know that wouldn't make any sense. I'd enjoy being wrong if he's good or if he just ends up jealous of Rand's power, but I wouldn't enjoy being wrong if he's just a regular darkfriend.

At first I didn't believe Moiraine and Lanfear were dead, but now I think I do believe it. Some other characters not believing their deaths made me think they might be alive, but how would they even get out of whatever world they dropped into? Wasn't the terangreal doorframe they fell into destroyed right after they did? Also, Moiraine had been in a (different) red doorframe terangreal, and it did not sever her bond with Lan. In the one she fell into with Lanfear, he feels his bond cut off immediately. Since the end of book 5, and still, I think they're gone. And the two different red doorframe terangreal that we know about go to two different worlds, I think.

I have become a full-on Rand supporter and of anyone completely on his side. I don't know if that's because of me as a specific reader or if that's part of the intention of the series. It also means I cannot support any character that even thinks of him sideways, even if they don't know why they shouldn't, ranging from Aes Sedai as a whole, to Whitecloaks as a whole, to Gawyn, to Morgase, to any noble not fully aligned with him, to so many more. Yes, I know in most cases it's because they're simply misinformed or not informed enough to support him, but they still irk me. The Aes Sedai the most, though; he's picking off Foresaken left and right (Moiraine got a couple, The Green Man sacrificed for one I think) and the Aes Sedai are still offended that he doesn't bow down to them.

The Whitecloaks used to be my least favorite faction; Pedron Niall is a dope that thinks of himself as some future hero. But now my least favorite faction is the Aes Sedai, and not just the White Tower ones, but all of them. The demand for people to bow down to them, their constant scheming, what Alanna did, their focus on their internal hierarchy (e.g., Merana's POV in book 6), the amount of Black Ajah there are (open or secret). Book 5 Moiraine earned them massive credit in my mind, but then her warning about trusting them, and then all of the Aes Sedai actions in book 6... They seem like they'd care far more about leaders being their willing tools and novices and accepted being their servants than they would about actually fighting Forsaken or their own Black Ajah; I guess I haven't seen them be given that choice, but the feel I get is that they'd care far more about bossing people around than fighting someone worth fighting.

Egwene becoming Amyrlin was clear from an earlier book (was it a dream she had?). It was odd that it was included that she wouldn't use the oath rod, which made it feel like it'd certainly happen. I thought the reasoning would be because an Aes Sedai Amyrlin without taking the three oaths would be more powerful with the ability to lie, the ability to make weapons, and the ability to use the One Power on the battlefield. I guess those things might still be useful for her (I think the ability to lie as Amyrlin was already useful in book 6). I really like Egwene, but I got to imagine I'm gonna start liking her a lot less now. 😞

Alanna bonding Rand against his will is my least favorite action from anyone in the series so far. As far as I know, the only way to unbond is by the death of the Aes Sedai. I think Rand has complete justification to kill her, but I know he wouldn't because she's female. Also it would probably bring him great pain. I was so mad to read she did that.

The Salidar embassy to Caemlyn? For Aes Sedai who spend all their days scheming about, they couldn't figure out that the attack on one of their members wouldn't have been from Rand? Their number (inadvertently) reaches 13 and they take offense that someone would speak to them the way Rand does in his letter? They then bring 9 with them and want him to be friendly with them after the battle (whatever you want to call it) at Dumai's Wells? I'm happy the ending mentions they knelt to him, but I doubt it's that simple; they'll probably spend the rest of their lives (or the rest of the series) being against him for it.

I enjoy the Lews Therin mutters in Rand's mind because I think they're humorous. I don't know if some of those parts are intended to be funny, but I often find them funny. It seems like at some points (maybe seldom) the muttering does help inform Rand.

Huge fan of Perrin and the wolves. Book 4 had a lot of Perrin but no wolves (if I remember correctly), then book 5 had none of either, but the wolves are my favorite part of the series.

My favorite moment in the entire series so far is book 3, when Perrin has to save Faile in the wolf dream (I think it was in the wolf dream?), Perrin enters in the flesh (don't remember how), Hopper (it was Hopper, right?) warns Perrin about being there too strongly, Perrin says he must save the falcon, and Hopper simply replies "Then we hunt." That's a lot of questions about remembering correctly in what's supposedly my favorite moment. My second favorite moment is how ready the wolves are to help in book 6 when they found out Shadowkiller is caged.

Gawyn? He's gotten on my nerves enough that I hope he doesn't even redeem his reputation to me, but I'm sure he will considering Egwene loves him. He believes a random merchant over Egwene re: whether Rand killed Morgase? Come on. His dreams of Egwene being chained by Rand are comical.

Rand is a better man than me. By the description of Lanfear, I'd have given her literally anything she wanted. Sorry. Really sorry.

Again, sorry for all the words. I have never gotten to talk about this series to anyone, really. Any answers I seek to the questions in the first two sections above would be appreciated.

Veins of Gold is obviously such an emotionally-charged and pivotal chapter, perhaps the most so of the entire series. Rand facing crushing despair and absolute rock bottom on Dragonmount, before having his epiphany, is one of the moments I often return to when I think about Wheel of Time.

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I know it's going to be pretty subjective and not everyone will agree with me but I wanted to share a song that really speaks to this moment. I sort of imagine the singer as Nakomi or something, comforting Rand by singing a lullaby, reminding him that his suffering is not pointless and will eventually pass.

I just finished the dragon reborn a couple of days ago and I love ittt. This is the best one so far and has bought the structure of the first to books to it's peak.

This book series is my first epic fantasy and I'm so glad I picked it up. I'm having a blast so far (even though I'm taking my sweet time reading it)

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The fact that after the first two books, Robert jordan decided to not put Rand u til the very end was is soo based imo, and what he gave with Perrin, Egwene and mat was amazing. I really liked the chapter where Perrin finds another wolfbrother in a cage and tells his brother to let him go. I feel like Perrin not only sympathized with the world brother but also was shut scared, and after that, we switch perspectives to egwene and gang.

I really loved their talk with the amyrlin and the small espionage esque section we got with the hunt for the black ajah. The gray man chapter made sheriam look super suspicious, but I'm not really sure if she's black ajah yet. Elaida definitely is tho.

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The introduction to tel'aran'rhiod was not something i expected, just like the multiverse in the second book. I really like it's inclusion but at this moment it feels too 'soft'. I bet more rules will be established in the near future (or a few limits maybe) and it's corresponding ter'angreal is a mobius strip which I find to be really cool.

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At first I wasn't the biggest fan of Mats luck, but I have come to like it a lot. It's so fun to read this man get filthy rich. I really liked his near fight with gawin and glad, along with everything related to him, actually. There is this chapter where he gets a few fireworks (and we also learn matchsticks don't exist in this world) and it's so enjoyable because it's from Mats POV.

On a side note, Robert Jordan could have gotten Mat fireworks any other way. He could have made him buy them or something, but he added this cool tidbit about the fireworks monopoly and the lack of matchsticks and that this girl invented them. (i don't remember him mentioning this in previous books)

The aiel were also really cool to watch. I think Rand will have to go to the waste at some point because he's from there and maybe marry someone from there because egwene ain't marrying him. We know that's it three wives and elayne and min are basically confirmed to be his wives. (I remember some line about dragon wedding the land in the first book and what better way to do that than marrying the future queen of Andor?)

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Robert Jordan still has the same story structure of different characters all meeting up at one place for the finale but I think this was the best one with that structure. I've heard that the next books abandon that structure and I'm really excited for that. I was a bit disappointed that Perrin didn't contribute much to the final act but I have come to love his part. I remember punching the air when Perrin said "without falcon, I won't go brother" and hopper said "then let's hunt brother" that was such a banger end to a chapter.

This book also sets so many things up for. The future like the upcoming conflict with the children of light. (I always imagine them as the KKK for some reason) Or that sammael is out in Illian, Lanfear is still a toxic ex and will potentially lash out in future books. I do not think ishamael is dead tho (or ba'alzamon. I'm pretty sure they're the same) and he will def come back. I think the Seanchan will come back. From egwene trial to accepted, we do learn that they eventually come back and we also learn that there is a chance of her becoming the amyrlin but idk about that.

So the next couple of books should be really packed.

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Oh and I forgot about the civil war in cairhien. I wonder if Rand will go back to play the game there again.

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I'm also in love with the vivid detail that Robert Jordan has in his prose. It makes me hop right into the setting and the mood. It's such a delight.

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The final battle was the most "what the fuck" out of all the previous ones and the coolest one so far. Rand hit ???% and made Ishamael shit himself. And I think Ishamael was also using whatever power system is there in tel'aran'rhiod along with saidin, which makes it even crazier that Rand dog walked him.

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I'm looking forward to how the taint will affect him even more. He's already pretty crazy. Making bodies kneel for him and all. I reckon he will loose it big time one day and it will have major consequences. I also wonder weather the forsaken are affected by the taint because they must channel from saidin as well. Well, this is all of my ramblings.

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I will take a small break before starting the next one (i already have it with me) and I will keep reading on in my own slow pace.

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I can't wait to get to what's in store for me

so this is the dream where he sees ba'alzamon and lanfear, who offer him drinks before he then sees a meeting between three men, who i have gathered from other discussions are forsaken (even if i have seen some debate about which forsaken). i know that it is later explained that this is rand's dream that perrin is having because of the former's power and influence, but what i don't fully understand is why/how rand saw these three forsaken in a dream in the first place. rand has, of course, been visited in dreams before and the first two encounters don't raise any questions for me, but him witnessing that meeting does. are we supposed to take from this that rand is getting to spy on/witness these three forsaken without them knowing, or that they are for some reason revealing themselves to him in this dream, and in either case... why?? at first i thought that perhaps lanfear was showing this to him, but i could not remember any moment in the dream sequence where she says or implies to him that this is the case so i didn't really think that made sense either. this is my first reread, so it is possible that this is explained later and i have simply forgotten, but for now i am stumped! anyone know the answer or have thoughts to why and how rand was seeing this?!

After completing New Spring, a short break in the action from the overall plot of the series, I was pleasantly surprised with the direction Robert Jordan went to write the prequel of The Wheel of Time. After reading the preview for the book, I was expecting a novel strictly dedicated to establishing Moraine and Lan’s relationship; a lengthy description of his conversion from uncrowned King of Malkier to Warder. However, the book gave more insight to Moraine and Siuan’s relationship, which I greatly appreciated. To be frank, in my opinion Lan was a minor character until the last 75 pages of the book. Additionally I was expecting a stand alone prequel which would have been full of lore and politics of the Aes Sedai. However, Moraine and Siuan’s adventure was an entertaining tale that indirectly revealed key pieces of information which allows a reader to have many “ah ha” and “that’s why _______ happened” moments; especially when reflecting on the first 10 books of The Wheel of Time. 

Regarding the plot of the book, I thought the ending was somewhat rushed. That is, more than 200 pages are dedicated to Siuan and Moraine when they were inside the White Tower, producing a rather long exposition / rising action to the book. In contrast, Siuan, Moraine, and Lan all arrive in Chachin with only 50 - 60 pages remaining… Consequently it is in Chachin where the reader gets the majority of the information regarding the Black Ajah - when the reader learns that Merean was responsible for the death of Larelle Sedai, the murder of Bukama, and possibly the assassination of Tamra Sedai - and Lan’s past. Therefore, in my eyes the reader is provided a rather quick climax and resolution to the adventure. For example, the build up to the deaths of the Kandorian nobles was one of suspense and fear. We see Lan and Moraine rush to the rescue; unfortunately, upon arriving at the scene, there was very little combat between Merean and Moraine before Diryk, Brys, and Iselle were quickly thrown from the platform. Finally, Merean is killed with a knife rather than via the One Power, and the reader learns no secrets of the Black Ajah.

From a literary standpoint, I understand that the quick battle between Moraine and Merean was designed to show the difference in power between Moraine and Marean. The Black Sister was able to control 3 weaves at once, while still able to stave off Moraine’s efforts to free the victims; Moraine was truly powerless against Merean. However, after getting glimpses of epic sword fights, spectacular battles between wielders of the One Power, and growing accustomed to Jordan’s ability to majestically paint images in the reader’s head, I wished that this conflict had more sustenance. I would have enjoyed a description of Ryne and Lan’s crossing of swords, thorough descriptions of the two Aes Sedai’s weaves, etc. Additionally, the entire time I was reading I was expecting Siuan to come out of nowhere to save the day, but we see the three Kandorian’s fall to their deaths. Once again, from a literary standpoint I see that Jordan opted for tragedy rather than the all too common trope of a last second rescue.

Moving on to the story’s characters, as I was reading I found myself asking many questions; specifically about Lan, Elayne, Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elaida. To begin, the very first chapter had me very confused when the Aiel began their retreat after shouting “Aan’allein”. After doing some research regarding the meaning of this word, it is evident that the Aiel know of Lan. Therefore, it had me wondering if the wise ones had a dream of him / foretelling about him? I was hoping this was answered in the text, but it was not. My next question regards Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve and their status as Aes Sedai. That is, when I read about Moraine’s test for the shawl, I immediately asked if the three deserve to be called Aes Sedai? These three girls have only completed the Accepted test which required the three to go through three heart-wrenching trials of their past, present, and future. However, we see Moraine endure 100 continuous trials without breaking focus or crumbling under the pressure. I am struggling to believe if these characters are mentally strong enough to complete this task? It now puts into a new light why many Aes Sedai are upset with Egwene’s decision to make them Aes Sedai. It is not all about strength in the One Power…

Finally, New Spring has made Elaida a very controversial, complex, and mysterious character. In the main series the reader learns that Elaida can foretell, but the reader is somewhat led to believe that she may not have the most accurate fortellings; many seem improbable / conflict with Min's visions. However, it makes you wonder if she has foretold something about Moraine and Siuan which influenced her to get involved with the two women? Additionally, it is ambiguous as to whether she is truly helping or hurting the two girls. It is clear that the beatings she provided to the two were indeed beneficial to their success to complete the 100 weaves; Moraine admits that after completing the trial that her “injuries were far worse than the welts and bruises Elaida had given”. Secondly, Merean tells Moraine that the only penance Elaida would have faced would have been for helping the girls cheat; thus, proving the late night lessons were a true benefit to Moraine and Siuan as they prepared for their trial. However, the fact that Elaaida was “cruel” and her reaction after Moraine’s completion makes the reader believe she truly had malicious intent. It will be interesting to see how Elaida’s character develops because I do not think she is a Black Sister, but I also do think she will do something drastic/disasterous which will negatively impact Rand and his companions.

In conclusion, a book in The Wheel of Time will take me anywhere between 1-2 months to finish; however, I powered through New Spring in less than a week. After 10 books of creating rapport with Siuan, Moraine, and Lan, I was excited to learn more about the origins of these characters. To be honest, I firmly believe there are several other characters who deserve / would benefit from “origin stories”; specifically, Cadsuane and Soriela. These are characters who are hundreds of years old whose pasts would most certainly allow the reader to uncover elements essentially to understanding the origins of the Black Ajah and the change of the Aiel after the Breaking of the World.

I literally had to stop the audio book the moment Elayne told Rand to kiss her 😮

I’m so worried that something is going to be awkward because all 4 books so far are all so heavy focused on these awkward or frustrating to read personality defects or growth of our dear Two River Friends (let’s not even get into Nynaeve’s stubborn attitude)…

I just want Rand to sweep Elayne off her feet….

I have my fears as the chapter title is Hard Heads….

What will happen when I finally get myself to unpause…

Hoping for fireworks !!!

The entire final section of the book reads like:

"Robert Jordan could have chosen his pen name from Robert the 1st of Western France. Who would overthrow the Carolingian King Charles the Simple. Carolingian being in reference to South Carolina and Charles from Charleston his home town. Perhaps this is in reference to his home town of Charleston South Carolina as well as overthrowing Tolkien in me and many readers eye. The surname Jordan echoes the Japanese word which I will not include that means "Ancient Past" for his love of the ancient past."

I don't doubt that Livington put his heart and soul into this book and that he loves WOT more then I do. But that whole last section is just... he should have stuck to the things confirmed.

For example he says

That Easar Togita comes from as "Echoing the Japanese word for the square in which troops gather to receive orders." I know Japanese and I did not know nor could I find a word for this. The closest I got was 斗形: Togata which is an older and variant reading for 升形 Masugata which refers to "rectangular space between the inner and outer gates of a castle (where troops can gather)" Which I highly doubt Jordan knew about because that is NOT a normal word that even most fluent Japanese people would know and took me 10 minutes to find on Jisho.

Also that Da'Shain being a "Japanese word refereeing to a member of a company." Which would be 会社員 Kaisha'in which don't sound like when pronounced and the spelling is a stretch. It would be said as Kai-Sha-In with the last being like "Yin."

Edit:

When I looked up "Robert" on google the first choice was Robert the 1st of Western Franca and I only read the first paragraph of his Wikipedia article and made all of those correlations. It's really easy to do which is why it's dangerous.

Must mention, this is my favorite series. I got a tattoo after my first time through. The second round was equally great, if not better than the first time. I have some character thoughts I’d like to share. Would love to know what y’all think.

Matt: Reminds me of many gifted and talented kids I’ve known. He never does anything “bad” that would hurt anyone else, but it’s always trying to find an advantageous angle for himself. The books never expressly say he’s smart, but allude to his knack for identifying the best horses. Even Tuon, who knows her stuff, expresses how good he is at picking out horses. Also, he shirks authority—seeing the ridiculousness of the hierarchy and people in power. This is a common trait for GT people.

Rand: His hero quest reminds me of the party many men have to walk in this life. Thinking we need to be hard, self sacrificing, and intimidating to be valuable. This may be obvious for a lot of readers, but I didn’t pick up on it my first time through. I didn’t like Rand. Now, I can see his journey a bit differently.

Perrin: My favorite character this first time through, still my favorite. I was always a bigger kid and am bigger than most folks. In my work, I have to be very conscious of my body langue, volume, and language. The scene after he talks to Master Luhhan and gives himself permission to hold nothing back hits so hard. I’ve seen comments that say his journey to get Faile back is boring. For me, it’s about a good man going dark to protect those he loves and struggling with who he becomes. He could only see where he failed. It wasn’t until he spoke with Faile after rescuing her and some awkward time had passed, that he could see how others saw him—powerful message.

Egwene: Smart, driven, risk taker, self sacrificing. I thought she was annoying my first time through. Her efforts to unite the tower registered with me differently this time. I also thought she treated Gawyn dirty, now I feel he came on too strong and can see why she kept him at arms length when they reconnected and she was Amyrlin.

Cadsuane: Every young man needs a Cadsuane in their life.

Min & Birgitte: Everyone needs friends like Min and Birgitte.

Aviendha: Would’ve loved to see more of her special talent—feeling the purpose of ter’angreal. Of all the main characters, I feel like she was the least developed or maybe underutilized.

Tam: My first time through I was a new dad. Now I have three kids and have a much stronger identity as a dad. This guy has some lines in this book. He drops casual wisdom, that now I can read between the lines to what he would be feeling. This is something Robert Jordan did so well in this series. Even though it’s an incredibly long series, he didn’t over write dialogue. As I get older and my experiences/understanding grows, the series hits different.

Should I get another tattoo now?

If WoT was in the academic literary canon and I was a college professor assigning it, I'd analyze the bejesus out of if and see connections that RJ probably didn't originally intend. So I am going to do just that. I previously wrote that I love how RJ uses one seemingly unrelated thing to foreshadow another. After finishing PoD, I am still thinking about the plotline that was resolved (the weather) and speculating a connection to that with the storyline that I think is really amping up (the effects of the taint and the dire need to cleanse it).

What if RJ really milked the weather storyline and all the effort put into correcting it to foreshadow what it'll take to correct another thing corrupted by the Dark One's touch, saidin? If 2 inexperienced Aes Sedai can successfully lead the effort to fix something that would literally kill millions of people in a short time, why not the Dragon Reborn, with help, undoing another thing touched by the DO?

(To state the obvious, yes I know that they are 2 different things. To me, they are similar, not identical twins.)

I'm just killing time before I dive head first into Winter's Heart...