The Gathering Storm Thread

[Iris 0]

i thought Egwene was awesome in this book. im rereading EOTW and man she's come a long way.

 

i HATE the seanchan! HATE HATE HATE! i think i prefer the Forsaken.

 

i randomly felt sad about Daigan. she was cute.

 

i cried when i read the Verin part.

[FortyFiveAuto 1]

Hey y'all.

 

Just got done reading TGS. Some observations/reflections:

 

-The Hinderstap scene was hellacious in my mind. I envisioned something like Dawn of the Dead.

 

-What in the world are Aludra's dragons supposed to be? Gigantic cannons or missiles or something? They seem to require A LOT of raw materials.

 

-RAND CHANNELED THE TRUE POWER. Amazing stuff; this is what caused the Forsaken to become the Forsaken, IIRC. I could see him doing more of this in the future, should the situation require. Although at the end, was it to be assumed that he "cured" himself of his madness and nausea of saidin by destroying the Choedan Kal? If not, then it seems like the True Power would be a more pleasant, more effective alternative to channeling saidin.

 

-Many Aiel Wise Ones don't come back from their final trip to Rhuidean, but somehow I'm not worried about Aviendha. Here's hoping she makes it!

 

-Elayne was NOWHERE in this book. No complaints, however. :-D

 

-Min's last viewing, of Nynaeve standing sorrowfully over a corpse. Who is it? Lan? Rand?

 

-Egwene kicked ass and took names, literally! Glad to see Elaida in the hands of a suldam, a fitting end for her.

 

-Sheriam the Black knocked the wind out of me. I was pissed! Then when reading about Verin the Black, I recoiled in horror, saying aloud, "NO NO NO NO!!!" but then it was like "YES! Verin FTW!!!"

 

-Rand's dispatch of Graendal was a stroke of genius; although technically there is no proof that Graendal is the one who put Compulsion on that man.

 

-We still need to ascertain the identities of Mesaana and Demandred. Could Mesaana be in the hands of the Seanchan after all? RJ had said long ago that Mazrim Taim (regrettably not mentioned in TGS) was NOT Demandred. That's a tough one, for me.

 

-It appears the Seanchan are doing a better job of taking care of their conquered people than Rand could (i.e. Arad Doman). Will fighting the Seanchan backfire because of this?

 

 

Finally,

 

-Moiraine will be back. I have a feeling that she will be the one to direct the weaves against the Dark One using Callandor, with of course Rand and some other female (Nynaeve? Min had a viewing about one of the new initiates, I can't remember if it was Alivia or Sharina or someone else, but they are both supposedly as strong or stronger than Nynaeve in saidar. Of course, it could also be Egwene, now that she's legit).

 

For those of you who hate Thom (who, by the way, is all that is man), don't forget he is to play a very crucial role in breaking Moiraine out of the Tower of Genjei.

[Iris 0]

Fortyfive, i also think Moiraine will be the one to use Callandor along with Rand and my other guess is Nynaeve. I'm rereading EOTW right now, and I'm reminded of why I like Thom so much. I feel like RJ tries to take him down a few pegs later in the series, but he's awesome in this book.

[AshSnow 0]

Hey y'all.

 

Just got done reading TGS. Some observations/reflections:

 

-The Hinderstap scene was hellacious in my mind. I envisioned something like Dawn of the Dead.

 

-What in the world are Aludra's dragons supposed to be? Gigantic cannons or missiles or something? They seem to require A LOT of raw materials.

 

-RAND CHANNELED THE TRUE POWER. Amazing stuff; this is what caused the Forsaken to become the Forsaken, IIRC. I could see him doing more of this in the future, should the situation require. Although at the end, was it to be assumed that he "cured" himself of his madness and nausea of saidin by destroying the Choedan Kal? If not, then it seems like the True Power would be a more pleasant, more effective alternative to channeling saidin.

 

-Many Aiel Wise Ones don't come back from their final trip to Rhuidean, but somehow I'm not worried about Aviendha. Here's hoping she makes it!

 

-Elayne was NOWHERE in this book. No complaints, however. :-D

 

-Min's last viewing, of Nynaeve standing sorrowfully over a corpse. Who is it? Lan? Rand?

 

-Egwene kicked ass and took names, literally! Glad to see Elaida in the hands of a suldam, a fitting end for her.

 

-Sheriam the Black knocked the wind out of me. I was pissed! Then when reading about Verin the Black, I recoiled in horror, saying aloud, "NO NO NO NO!!!" but then it was like "YES! Verin FTW!!!"

 

-Rand's dispatch of Graendal was a stroke of genius; although technically there is no proof that Graendal is the one who put Compulsion on that man.

 

-We still need to ascertain the identities of Mesaana and Demandred. Could Mesaana be in the hands of the Seanchan after all? RJ had said long ago that Mazrim Taim (regrettably not mentioned in TGS) was NOT Demandred. That's a tough one, for me.

 

-It appears the Seanchan are doing a better job of taking care of their conquered people than Rand could (i.e. Arad Doman). Will fighting the Seanchan backfire because of this?

 

 

Finally,

 

-Moiraine will be back. I have a feeling that she will be the one to direct the weaves against the Dark One using Callandor, with of course Rand and some other female (Nynaeve? Min had a viewing about one of the new initiates, I can't remember if it was Alivia or Sharina or someone else, but they are both supposedly as strong or stronger than Nynaeve in saidar. Of course, it could also be Egwene, now that she's legit).

 

For those of you who hate Thom (who, by the way, is all that is man), don't forget he is to play a very crucial role in breaking Moiraine out of the Tower of Genjei.

 

I believe Auldra's Dragons would be something akin to a rocket. Light end, fire, hits ground, explodes. Much better than a cannon. Not as precise as a missile. Something like they used back in WW2 days.

It's effects will be quite devastating. In casualties produced and psychologically.

 

@ The Rand Cured thing in your quote....what?

Is that, that thing he could channel massive amounts of Saidin through? No he did not destroy it for that purpose. He destroyed he because he figured it was too much power for one man to have.

He cured himself. He had a nice chat with Lewy Therin, about how his girl would be reborn in the pattern, yatta yatta, how they were insane, yatta yatta, they didn't need to die. Blah blah. He had a job to do and to save the world. Lewy was kind of getting in the way lately. He'd like to not have split personalities anymore.

And Lewy said : "You know your right! Thanks for the pep talk I'll stop making you think your crazy, and you'll go back to "nice Rand" mode. Instead of harder than steel heartless Rand dictator mode who does what he must". Had a nice refreshing laugh to get it off his chest. And he was as good as new. It just takes a good old reunion with your Dad to remind you to come back down to earth once in awhile.

 

Wala he was cured. I do agree that he will probably channel the True Power more later. That was...interesting...the effect it had on him when he did channel it.

 

Egwene did kick ass. But I am still utterly sad that this whole book had virtually no battles written, no sword dancing, no personal up close 1v1 combat being described. The only thing close was Egwene's taking name's. And even then we never got to really "see" the enemy. They were all just BBQ quite quick, and from a distance. Done. Terribly sad . But I guess I am alone on this. Maybe it has something to do with being an FPS gamer...

The only other sword fight being described was Gawyn's practice with the Two warders.

 

I also liked how Rand did away with Graendal *Assuming she's actually dead*.

 

Fighting the Seanchan? I do not follow. I thought he was no longer going to fight the Seanchan and direct all his attention North and to the Last Battle. And what happens from behind, happens from behind by the Seanchan.

Fighting two fronts at once is a bit**. Especially when you can barley get your own people to listen and not fight each other. He no longer has the will, resources, or man power to do so. Well he could...but it would greatly hamper his ability to prepare for the Last Battle. And who knows when the war with the Seanchan would end. They may not even have enough people left for the Last Battle that way. I couldn't believe the Seanchan demanded that they all surrender and they'd take care of it. Well I could, but that's what I don't like about them. Their self-righteous belief they are vastly superior. (Even if they are/were...your really willing to jeopardize the whole world like that?).

 

Then again I read the book several month's ago so my recollection of any of these events may be wrong.

Edited January 21, 2010 by AshSnow

[Iris 0]

by the way, did anyone find Rand's self-healing at the end sort of korny with the all you need is love bit? i personally thought it was sort of cheesed-out.

[Olivia 26]

-Min's last viewing, of Nynaeve standing sorrowfully over a corpse. Who is it? Lan? Rand?

I sure hope it's not Lan, but it very well could be. But I think it has to do with the coming "Rand faking his own death" plotline that has been so heavily foreshadowed in other books.

 

but then it was like "YES! Verin FTW!!!"

I agree! Verin is probably my new favorite AS (after Moiraine, of course).

 

-We still need to ascertain the identities of Mesaana and Demandred. Could Mesaana be in the hands of the Seanchan after all? RJ had said long ago that Mazrim Taim (regrettably not mentioned in TGS) was NOT Demandred. That's a tough one, for me.

I still think Mesaana is Danelle, even though she didn't show up in this book. I don't think she would have just slipped away during the Seanchan attack/aftermath. I agree that Demandred's whereabouts are worrying - we know he's got a hand in the Black Tower, though not as Taim, and I'm afraid he may have done something to that delegation of AS that came to bond Asha'man at the end of KoD, even though Taim agreed to it. Maybe Aran'gar has something to do with that too? I wonder where he/she fled to.

 

-It appears the Seanchan are doing a better job of taking care of their conquered people than Rand could (i.e. Arad Doman). Will fighting the Seanchan backfire because of this?

Gawd I hope not. I hate those people. It doesn't matter how happy a conquered people are if their empire is built on the backs of slaves like damane and da'covale. I wonder how Tuon, er, Fortuona lol, will handle the revelation of sul'dam being able to channel too, since she found out while with Mat. Sadly, as I think someone else already pointed out before me, she doesn't seem to have changed.

 

-Moiraine will be back. I have a feeling that she will be the one to direct the weaves against the Dark One using Callandor

My first instinct was that it would be Elayne and Aviendha who would complete Callandor's circle with Rand, to emphasize the whole "Power of Love" theme we have going now. But you're right, Moiraine is another good theory - I think if Momo does it then the other will be Cadsuane. Heh, Rand's old and new "advisors" working together, or maybe just as a symbol that he can trust those two enough to let them lead a circle.

[AshSnow 0]

Heh really? Personally I loved the ending (For Rand). And didn't even see it as such as you "only need love". (I typically do not like those ending's for anything, it is too corny). (Or maybe the whole Father's concern for a son thing got to me in a soft spot).

I'll have to re-read that part again though for what I did think of it.

But from what I can remember, I thought it had something to do with him finally coming to his senses. Or full circle? On how things work. Or that he was on the edge and ready to break.

Like he could just end it all right then and there, the world, hismelf, etc, but he finally saw the "light" and opened his eyes. Something like that anyways for lack of a better recollection.

 

Having people tell you what to do all day, and believe your every choice is wrong, always going behind your back, interfering in all you do, betraying you at every turn, can't find anyone who will listen once in awhile and just help with something you asked, grows quiet tiresome. Though that's not an excuse to do what he's done and act as he has acted which was exceedingly hard at times to put up with. But I can imagine becoming what he did because of that (What everyone has done and act's like). As Min told everyone in the end, they all need to shut up and back off. None of them like taking orders, how much more do they think he would like it? They all need a new approach that doesn't involve the line of thinking of guiding "a child". Young or not...he is the Dragon Reborn.

Then again that's something I never quiet liked, how everyone can still be all so secretive and to themselves with the world ending, lol. (That includes Rand).

 

Seanchan are awful. One of my guesses though with Mat's prophecies (?) from the Door Way was "You must give up half the light of the world to save the world". Or something.

I'm thinking he may give up have of the land (Some of Rand's), to the Seanchan? But not for his "Wife" (Though to her?). But he'll be face with some dilemma and that's the only solution.

At least that's the only guess I could come up with so far on what that means. Anyone else have any ideas? Maybe something involving one of the Forsaken?

Edited January 22, 2010 by AshSnow

[Olivia 26]

One of my guesses though with Mat's prophecies (?) from the Door Way was "You must give up half the light of the world to save the world". Or something.

I'm thinking he may give up have of the land (Some of Rand's), to the Seanchan? But not for his "Wife" (Though to her?). But he'll be face with some dilemma and that's the only solution.

At least that's the only guess I could come up with so far on what that means. Anyone else have any ideas? Maybe something involving one of the Forsaken?

 

The prevailing fan theory is that "give up half the light of the world" means Mat will lose one of his eyes. I think this was supported by one of Egwene's Dreams had where Mat had blood streaming down one side of his face, but the wound was hidden by his hat.

[Dawntango 0]

I absolutly LOATHE the Seanchan. The descriptions of Egwene's captivity made a chill go down my spine. I'm almost sad Renna died, because I wish Egwene got to BBQ her. I think that's just me being sadistic.

 

The Graendal thing disappointed me. Here we have one the most badass Forsaken and she dies..like that??? The Semirhage thing saddened me, for all that Cadsuane is frickin' awesome, becauseshe was my favourite because she was one of the few fictional characters that gave me a chill.

 

And Egwene was awesome. Enough said.

 

But by far Verin's part was my favourite. She even pushed pre-stilling Siuan out of the second favourite place. Of course, I can't wait to get Moiraine back. (I cried so hard when I thought she was dead. My poor girlfriend, not knowing what was wrong with me XD)

[FortyFiveAuto 1]

I absolutly LOATHE the Seanchan. The descriptions of Egwene's captivity made a chill go down my spine. I'm almost sad Renna died, because I wish Egwene got to BBQ her. I think that's just me being sadistic.

 

The Graendal thing disappointed me. Here we have one the most badass Forsaken and she dies..like that??? The Semirhage thing saddened me, for all that Cadsuane is frickin' awesome, becauseshe was my favourite because she was one of the few fictional characters that gave me a chill.

 

And Egwene was awesome. Enough said.

 

But by far Verin's part was my favourite. She even pushed pre-stilling Siuan out of the second favourite place. Of course, I can't wait to get Moiraine back. (I cried so hard when I thought she was dead. My poor girlfriend, not knowing what was wrong with me XD)

 

The elimination of Graendal was genutoid...but as I said before, there's no proof that that was her that laid the Compulsion trap.

 

Could have been a talented Black sister. I can't help but think of this possibility, because you're right -- how could one of the sneakiest, most talented Forsaken simply go out like that? Not sure if I buy it, but if Rand did succeed at killing Graendal like that, then it was a smart, albeit ballsy move.

 

 

 

I, for one, am glad that Rand exiled Cadsuane. I hope she accidentally shows her face so he can destroy her, or at least still her. Nynaeve is starting to come around on the whole "controlling Rand" thing, Cadsuane needs to as well. I just despise her haughty I-am-so-goddamn-old-so-I-know-better-than-you attitude. She needs to be taken down a peg or ten. Perhaps when the three Super BFF's come together one of them will show her a thing or two. I'm thinking Mat will do something, like woo her then humiliate her. Ah to see that woman humbled will make the entire series for me. I actually applauded when my audio book came to the part where Rand basically said "ok that does it GTFO".

[Cerendrallion 32]

 

I, for one, am glad that Rand exiled Cadsuane. I hope she accidentally shows her face so he can destroy her, or at least still her. Nynaeve is starting to come around on the whole "controlling Rand" thing, Cadsuane needs to as well. I just despise her haughty I-am-so-goddamn-old-so-I-know-better-than-you attitude. She needs to be taken down a peg or ten. Perhaps when the three Super BFF's come together one of them will show her a thing or two. I'm thinking Mat will do something, like woo her then humiliate her. Ah to see that woman humbled will make the entire series for me. I actually applauded when my audio book came to the part where Rand basically said "ok that does it GTFO".

 

I, for one, loath that kind of attitude. What I especially loath is that there seems to be a theme in WoT regarding women being 'taken down a peg or two', and sometimes it becomes so apparently obvious that its almost sickening.

[jan 14]

I'm with Laura there.

[Kaitlin 22]

 

I, for one, loath that kind of attitude. What I especially loath is that there seems to be a theme in WoT regarding women being 'taken down a peg or two', and sometimes it becomes so apparently obvious that its almost sickening.

 

I completely agree.

[Sivart Reborn 7]

While I'm not all for the taking women down a peg or two thing in general, Cadsuane needs it. I don't want Rand to kill her, nor do I attribute her attitude to her sex, but good night to her behavior. That goes for a large majority of the characters, in fact.

 

There's a reason Moiraine was more effective in general than Cadsuane, and it doesn't just come from her breakdown in the Fires of Heaven. Moiraine was always NICER than Cadsuane. She treated The Dragon Reborn like he was a person (as far as that goes with someone as wool-headed as Rand.)

 

If I had to pick an issue in WoT to hate, it'd be how EVERYONE in power (political, One Power, skill, etc.) abuses it. Cadsuane's too used to being top dog. Yes, I hate the way the White Tower determines informal rank.

Edited January 27, 2010 by That Sometimes Member

[Marie 73]

I don't like how the Tower ranks its Aes Sedai: I really really hope that changes soon. It was so annoying how Elayne was all "but they have to listen to me: I'm stronger!" with the delegation of Egwene's.

 

But I love me some Cadsuane. You go, girlfriend!