Be Happy!

[RedAjahWarder 0]

Hey folks. Long time lurker here. I finally decided to sign up because I think something needs to be said:

 

Cheer up, all!

 

Perhaps I’m misreading the tenor of the comments here, but I sense I noticeable drop in enthusiasm for…pretty much everything Wheel of Time, including Moiraine ( ). This little site is such a gem in the WoT fandom (you guys are funny) that it would be a great shame if it followed so many others down into the black oblivion of apathy, the date stamps on long dead conversation threads like epitaphs on moss-covered graves.

 

Yes, Towers of Midnight was a mediocre book. And yes, certain plot developments, like Elayne getting the Sun Throne, were…disappointing, to say the least (though I don’t think we’ve read the final word on that particular matter).

 

But after all, it is the Wheel of Time, a series so massive that its very essence is mediocrity punctuated by brief flashes of awesomeness. Take me, for example. I absolutely loathe Rand. One might think that hating the protagonist would discourage me from reading the books in the first place, but I stick with it because there are so many other characters that I love, namely Moiraine, of course.

 

If we can slog through tripe like Crossroads of Twilight, then surely we can hang on for the end of the series and maybe beyond. And in any case, Moiraine is finally back! I wish she had more screen time in ToM, but I thought the rescue sequence was the best scene in the book, and I enjoyed the campfire scene afterward. New Spring showed us that Moiraine had a romantic streak buried deep within her; it was no surprise to me that she let it out after being rescued from several months of abject torture.

 

There’s much more to come in aMoL, so hang in there everybody.

 

Who knows…maybe Moiraine will even ditch Thom and get back together with Siuan.

[RedAjahWarder 0]

Also...forgive me for being a total Luddite, but just how in the hell did my WordPress avatar show up on my profile? Freaky...

 

EDIT: Never mind...figured it out.

Edited December 16, 2010 by RedAjahWarder

[Sam 19]

I didn't like the latest book as much as other books but I'm still happy with the series! I have faith Moiraine will do something AWESOME and I also hope she'll get the throne.

[Vertex 23]

I think a certain post-high low is to be expected after a new release. Maybe MW fans kinda need a refractory period...it happens to boys all the time.

 

Oh, and hello RedAjahWarder.

Edited December 17, 2010 by Vertex

[Marie 73]

Yes, first off hello.

 

I know I ranted a few days ago, and I'll probably rant again soon. But, I think it is mostly due to my really high expectations for the book and it not living up to them at all.

 

Not to mention a combination of very little Moiraine (she was knocked out for most of her part) and Elayne being crowned. Phaw!

[jan 14]

Who knows…maybe Moiraine will even ditch Thom and get back together with Siuan.

Ah, now you're talking! *cheers up considerably*

[Sam 19]

I think Moiraine needs someone younger than Siuan now. She has earned it.

[Deadsy 19]

I totally understand all of the negativity. I would put ToM in the bottom third of the series.

 

But I'll never fall out of love with the series because no matter how bad the last book is (and I don't think it will be bad) I will always love the earlier books (or most of them).

Edited December 19, 2010 by Deadsy

[RedAjahWarder 0]

Hello everyone!

 

Towers of Midnight certainly had problems, namely the structural defect of being the second book in a trilogy that wasn't supposed to be a trilogy. No central plot arc, and some of the existing arcs drag. Badly. Like Perrin's.

 

Furthermore, I think Sanderson was so pleased by the positive response to The Gathering Storm that he became overconfident and "coasted" during the writing of this volume. It wouldn't surprise me if his work on The Stormlight Archive severely distracted him from WoT over the past year.

 

I know many people were disappointed by the Ghenjei chapter, but it's pretty hard to live up to expectations for one of the most widely anticipated scenes in the series, foreshadowed 17 years ago. Still, I enjoyed it. Aside from seeing more of Moiraine, it could have been improved by a gradual increase in tension, perhaps with a Mat PoV as they hiked along the river toward the tower. Instead, they go through the gate...next scene they're at the tower...and in they go. Some more tension beforehand could have alleviated the complaints about the rescue being anticlimactic.

 

In any case, I think Jordan wrote most of that chapter. The giveaway was the intricate descriptions of how the steam floated in the corners.

 

But I'm glad to hear none of you are completely disillusioned with the series. For the most part I think Sanderson is doing a good job, and with his attention focused solely on aMoL next year, I'm confident the conclusion of the series will be worth the 22-year wait.

 

Who knows…maybe Moiraine will even ditch Thom and get back together with Siuan.

Ah, now you're talking! *cheers up considerably*

 

LoL. You know I actually found out about Siuan and Moiraine's "pillow friendship" via this site, before I read New Spring. The scene at the inn in Chachin took on a whole new meaning...

[Asmodean82 0]

Hello RedAjahWarder! Welcome to our humblest of excitable abodes. (*Bows, flipping gleemen cloak and so forth*)

 

Okay. The time has come to break my silence!

 

I finished ToM and have digested it.

 

There is much to be said... as it is good, but not great. Ala, it was not the awesome ride I had with TGS! But nobody bats a thousand.

 

It continues the story which is most wonderful. And honestly I didn't realize how much I missed characters like Elayne until this. Overall, the foreboding minute before midnight themes were well presented and vivid, which as a gleeman and a Forsaken I was delighted by. Arches were problematic as this volume did indeed suffer from middle child syndrome. Most of the climaxes housed in the center of the story.

 

I LOVED the battles in the white tower Egwene/Perrin/and Gawyn. Edge of my seat!

 

I could go on in some many ways, but for the sake of time I'll do bullet points.

 

-What was with the spelling errors????? That was weird, as this is a NY times bestseller and the second to last book in a 25 year novel journey! Very dodgy.

 

-Two minor annoyances- Two words that were greatly over used, CURSED and SELL-SWORD.

Everyone cursed.... it happened so much it lost its punch. I mean, I know we're at the end of all things, but I don't buy Nynaeve cursing.

and the expression Sell-sword is new and I liked it the first three times. After a while I wondered why BS couldn't come up with another word to describe these people. (Nit picky, I know but it made me miss RJ something fierce)

 

Okay, on to characters.

 

BS did better with Mat this time. He still wasn't RJ's Mat, but he wasn't painful to read either. Though I think half the BOOK could've been the awesomeness of saving Moiraine... but it wouldn't be the Wheel of Time if hundreds of pages weren't committed to thinking about going and doing something. Though I really enjoyed the wrap up with the Gholam.

 

Perrin- Did we regress somewhere? I felt like I was back six books ago with the start of his story. However by the end, I dug it alot, though that brings me to this.

 

SLAYER!- I love this character and I love he survived.... that said I think he could've have been used SOOOooooo much more in the last few books. RJ shelved one of his most interesting creations for so long. I would have liked to have seen more of him during those let the Lord of Chaos reign days.

 

Gawyn/Egwene- Good tension there. Gawyn and his ever charming prince one track mind! He finally does something note worthy.

 

Galad- Great character arch. Him and the White Cloaks.

 

Graendal- Oh lovely Graendal...I loved she survived, though she went on to screw up royally.... this was her true downfall. It was appropriate but it seems to me she could've done more...

 

MESAANA- Okay, I used to loathe her but she won me over in this book. All her plots finally coming to a head were great, but something about her downfall troubled me. BS has a tendency to write the scenes that inspire him in almost RJ awesomeness fashion (TGS). But Egwene's battle of wills with Mesaana felt hollow. Like it was a plot point he needed to fill and he did... but THIS WAS EGWENE VS THE FORSAKEN. Even a few more sentences to really send home the difficulty and near defeat would have been welcome. Its the end of one of the Forsaken. Let it really crash home when Egwene wins so that it doesn't feel so much like a foregone conclusion once she decides to match wills. Come on! Elaida was a more difficult foe. BS took away the importance (said it instead of showed it as it were). RJ would not have done it that way. Its zero hour. Give your BIG characters a send off they deserve. Sorry it bothered me. "Plucks a harp string for the fallen"

 

Rand- Loved Jesus Rand... though his visit to Bandar Eban felt like a song out of a Disney Movie....

Give me Storm of Light any day. The visit to Tar Valon was a great kick off! (A small part of me missed Darth al'Thor. I wish he could've Balefired the Seanchan before returning to the Light)

 

Padan Fain/Mordeth- NOW THAT WAS A COOL LITTLE SCENE! More of that please.

 

Avi and her vision of the future- I have ALWAYS felt this way. The Seanchan's whole society was crafted from the shadows by the acts of Ishmael! They are sooooo twisted. I hope THAT plot thread is resolved in a satisfying way. Their entitled enslavement of all things one power has made me hate them since book two.

 

BS writes Cad and Nynaeve so well it confuses me that he does better with his females than his males. Nynaeves healing of madness and bonding of Lan were HIGH HIGH points for me in this book.

 

Lanfear- Nice twist (maybe)

 

Okay and finally, Thom and Moiraine.

How I love her, how I missed her. But RJ did a poor job of foreshadowing it and BS did a worse job of bringing it to the forefront. If these two had a romantic pass (or even made a pass at each other at some point before now) I'd buy it, but NOPE. Just turns out theys a gonna get married.

 

Weakest part of the whole damn saga for me. An unpopular statement I know, but Moiraine is my favorite. If they were interested in each other way back when, I want more of the build.

 

Oh well. All and all I really enjoyed it and I can't wait for the end!

[Deadsy 19]

Meh, Cadsuane's ruined, IMO. Fortunately she was never one of my favorites in the first place. She's definitely not the same character though.

 

Same with Tuon. Though I'm hoping that will be remedied in the last book.

[RedAjahWarder 0]

Meh, Cadsuane's ruined, IMO. Fortunately she was never one of my favorites in the first place. She's definitely not the same character though.

 

Same with Tuon. Though I'm hoping that will be remedied in the last book.

 

I would have to agree about Cadsuane, unfortunately. Sanderson is on record as stating he hates the character and would give her a gruesome death if he could. That's not a healthy attitude for a writer, and it illustrates one of the pitfalls of recruiting a fanboy to finish the series instead of a disinterested author. I get the impression that Sanderson was pandering to his own biases and those of the fanbase with the degree to which he reduced her character. The whole essence of Cadsuane was that she "paled visibly" at nothing, let alone a sanctimonious speech by a 22-year old kid.