Knife of Dreams

[AshSnow 0]

I did not expect Rand to lose a hand...

[Olivia 26]

Didn't one of Min's viewings foreshadow it? Besides, I think it's just to further demonstrate how inhuman he's made himself, what with his nonchalant attitude towards the whole thing.

 

Maybe Cadsuane and Sorilea should stop having wild scissoring sessions and focus on their silly "make him LOL and ;_;" deal.

[Asmodean82 0]

Okay, I went to reread Knife of Dreams (in prep) for the Gathering Storm and something began to irk my Gleeman sensibilities. Every book in RJ's saga has a title that helps to inform the story.... except this one. Good as this one is, what's with the title? Any thoughts, anyone?

 

Maybe there's a whole thread on this but I've been sleeping in the Bore lately.

[Olivia 26]

what's with the title? Any thoughts, anyone?

 

It's from the book's opening "quote".

 

The sweetness of victory and the bitterness of defeat are alike a knife of dreams. — From Fog and Steel by Madoc Comadrin

 

I guess "victory and defeat" could refer to a lot of the battles/conflicts in this book. Perrin/Faile vs the Shaido, the Seanchan vs Mat, Rand vs Semi, Egwene captive in the Tower but still "winning", Elayne vs the BA and trying to get the throne, etc...

 

The "knife of dreams" part could either mean "they're not real; they're just made of dreams" or it could mean just the opposite, since in WoT dreams are very real and can be utilized as weapons.

 

Or it could just be RJ trying to be poetic and mess with the readers again. *shrug* Beats me.

[Marie 73]

Well at least someone started a KoD thread. I have been very lazy. I will say I liked hearing how whenever there are a few Aes Sedai gathered cats come drawn to them like a moth to a flame. I like cats. The image of cats stalking Aes Sedai made me go "awww"

[Marie 73]

Clearly no one cares about the cats as much as me. Ah well.

 

One thing I noticed was that yet another Seanchan who I thought of as pale as Moiraine is in fact black. And then I started realizing that most of the blacks are "exotics" as well as the lesbians (because gay men apparently like to keep hidden in wot). As in, one lesbian Maiden. Or a lesbian fake Aiel (that is one of those idiot nobles playing Aiel).

 

And then there is the mention of how blue eyes is rare in Tear and yet it seems like every other character from there has blue eyes.

 

Anyway I have nothing of real value to comment on about my reread. It felt a little anticlimantic this time around probably because I just really want the next book at this point.

[Olivia 26]

Clearly no one cares about the cats as much as me. Ah well.

 

I like cats! I just always assumed it was a shout out to the old "cats are witches' familiars" myth. That, or just the stereotype that cats are more "feminine" and dogs more "masculine", since cats like the AS but not the Asha'man, and vice versa with dogs.

 

Or a lesbian fake Aiel (that is one of those idiot nobles playing Aiel).

 

Oh yeah. Arrela, right? She's black and a lesbian, so I guess RJ figured she'd be a "two for one" minority in his cast of mostly straight white people.

[Kaitlin 22]

Oh yeah. Arrela, right? She's black and a lesbian, so I guess RJ figured she'd be a "two for one" minority in his cast of mostly straight white people.

 

I think that is her name!

 

I agree with all of the things Olivia and Marie have said about this.

 

I don't know why the Sea Folk are described as exotic other than that they fit RJ's stereotype of what abnormal is to him. How are they any more exotic than Cairhienin with their big giant hair and skirts or Andorans for their people with light colored hair and the tobacco farms? :/

 

There are token lesbians... but they can't be main characters either. Moiraine and possibly Avi/Elayne are more the hot bi girls (who really just like Outies after all). Tuon is the only black main character but she is not in the books very much. Why couldn't Perrin, Mat, or Rand be gay? Or Thom, Lan, or one of the other male chars? Why couldn't they be black? Where are the asian characters?

 

It doesn't make sense that the people scattered all over the globe after the Breaking, but somehow only the whites congregated in the Westlands.

 

:/ If I ever write books I want you all to smack me if I include tokens or "exotics".

 

I like cats. But it bugs me that dogs bark at Aes Sedai but cats are afraid of Asha'men. I mean that it is universal with both. Once again the men are set up as more powerful and the women as catty and weaker. (I have two cats and a dog. The dog has lost her dog bed to them... at least whenever they want to lay in it. They are little but clearly are the ones in charge. So maybe I am biased!)

[jan 14]

It doesn't make sense that the people scattered all over the globe after the Breaking, but somehow only the whites congregated in the Westlands.

 

It's kinda like how most people in Star Trek speak with an American accent or that most Doctor Who adventures only take place in England!

 

:/ If I ever write books I want you all to smack me if I include tokens or "exotics".

Done! But only if you'll return the favour!

[Marie 73]

I remembered something not really important: Elayne is a screamer. I don't mean it like that, Jan, you perv. Just that this book marked the second time she has thrown her head back and screamed when frustrated.

[Olivia 26]

Elayne is a screamer. I don't mean it like that, Jan, you perv. Just that this book marked the second time she has thrown her head back and screamed when frustrated.

 

You're right! I hadn't realized that. I think it is to show that she is still a bit childish or "spoiled princess". Like when she gets drunk and angrily stomps her foot, or when Avi says she throws the ter'angreal dream ring on the floor and jumps up and down on it because she can't make it work. Temper, temper.

 

(Btw, it wasn't only Jan who thought of a different kind of screamer upon her first glance at your post. )

[Cerendrallion 32]

Pfft. I don't think throwing your head back and screaming when frustrated is a biggie. Sometimes you're just really frustrated.

[Marie 73]

Are you a screamer, Laura?

[jan 14]

Elayne is a screamer. I don't mean it like that, Jan.

Damn

[Cerendrallion 32]

Are you a screamer, Laura?

 

Of course I am, dear. I'm Irish. That's what we do.