Search the Community

Double feature this time boys! So I finished up the Path of Daggers, and said to myself "I'll just read the prologue, that's all. Just the prologue...Ok, maybe chapter one, then I'll post my reactions." Next thing I knew I was over halfway done and decided to make the two of them into one big post. I feel like it almost works out better this way. The two books seemed to be more companion pieces than separate novels. I can definitely see how people would be frustrated with these later books if they were fans when the books were first released. I was spared the agony of having to wait to read the next book, so I really didn't have any problems with these two. I could see how missing Mat for the entire book would annoy of great many people with that cliffhanger, but it seemed fairly obvious he would survive considering the number of side characters that were left behind with him. After reading through Winter's Heart, I was glad his story wasn't pushed in tPoD. The (relative) shortness of the book was refreshing, and the story flowed together really well. I'm equating these later books to be similar to A Feast for Crows and A Dance of Dragons, in that they are more about further establishing the characters' places and reactions to the events as they unfold. I'll try to keep this as well organized as I can, but the whole story is really starting to blur together. Aviendha chapters are absolutely splendid. I wish that he'd have utilized her more as a POV. I especially enjoy that there are specialties in the power that the Aiel have which the Aes Sedai think to be impossible. (It was especially gratifying to see Elayne attempt it and have it literally blow up in her face.) This may be weird, but I'm not sure how I feel about the Chosen not knowing that it was possible. The dynamic between the Aes Sedai, the Kin, and the Seafolk was interesting to watch develop, however, I found myself hating the Sea Folk. When I first met them, I had a much different impression of them. Since then though, it seems that they are only displayed in a pejorative light since the inital meeting. They used to be one of the bigger mysteries in my head, as they seemed to be calm, cool and collected, and willing to make sacrifices for the greater goal. Now I find myself not caring about them, as they are obnoxious, obtrusive, and uncompromising. I find myself able to relate more to the Seanchan at this point. Egwene was the most gratifying chapters for me in tPoD. Seeing her come to power and maneuver the other Aes Sedai is great. Suane in particular I think really has come into her own as a character, and is a great companion to Egwene. In fact, I think this story arch has been my favorite in the whole series so far. I particularly enjoyed seeing Aran'gar's reactions and that of Delana as Egwene unknowingly even outmaneuvered them. It was quite a shock to find out that Sheriam is either Black Ajah or controlled by the Black. I was quite sad to not see any Egwene chapters in Winter's Heart. It was good to see Elyas again, and him giving Perrin Marriage advice was absolutely priceless, even more so since he was correct. This revelation alone cleared up so much confusion for me. I just don't understand women the way Mat or Rand does. It surprised me that the wolves were that upset by the events at Dumai's Wells. It makes sense, however, I just thought that the wolves would know the risks of heeding Perrin's call, and would not hold that against him. Perrin didn't force that on them after all. I take back all the griping I did about Morgase's story arch, since it ended with Balwer in Perrin's service. I can't even pinpoint why, but Balwer is quickly becoming one of my favorite minor characters, right behind Lini. Their party meeting up with Perrin was not something I would have predicted, but it definitely is one of those events that just seem to click with the story. The Shaido capturing Faile and their party surprised me more than any other event to date. Rand...Oh Rand. Cadsuane can't teach you fast enough. I didn't think that Rand was going to fight the Seanchan, so his first chapter really annoyed me. When I caught up with him again, I groaned internally and prepared myself for some drudgerous (this is a word now) reading. Then there was all the awesome that was the campaign against the Seanchan. I hope that a good portion of Rand's poor decision making is because of the taint. Up until now, I hadn't been acknowledging his attitude as arrogance, but he crossed that line somewhere, and has dived head first into folly. It's impressive he was still able to pull a victory off despite going against the advice of his general and Asha'man. So...Bashere is going against Tenobia's wishes? That's interesting...if that storyline moves any faster. I had expected Rand to cleanse Saidin at the end of tPoD. That not happening contributed heavily to me reading through both books before posting this. The attack in Cairhien made a good deal more sense though for the sake of realism though. I knew that it had to be the work of Taim before it was confirmed in Winter's Heart. I knew he'd turn, but as I said last thread, I don't think he's one of the Chosen anymore. Moving on more into Winter's Heart. There were enough gems in this book to get me through it without paying too much attention to the stagnant storyline. Elayne bored me this book. While Egwene finding a way to turn her puppet status into the puppeteer was enthralling, I didn't find much excitement in the Daughter Heir inheriting her throne. The ceremony to make her and Aviendha first-sisters was splendid though, the channeling component, but especially the interactions forced on them. This definitely is my favorite piece of culture from the Wheel of Time so far. Far Midding intrigues me. I wish there had been more time spent in the city. Of all the cities we've visited, it seemed to have the most unique culture and government to explore, at least in the mainland, but it didn't get as much attention as I'd like. I'd love to learn more about the history of it, such as how they got the Guardian. Also, I thought it was a good twist to make it Cadsuane's hometown. I'm glad there was confirmation that Cadsuane's hair ornaments are ter'angreal. I've suspected that from the start, and I've been waiting to see what she could do with them. I do find it a little odd that she should be able to recognize Nynaeve's ter'angreal and establish what they do. After nine books of continuous talk stating that no one knows what they do, it seemed very odd. Especially that Nynaeve was able to pick out the exact ter'angreal that would be useful to her without knowing what they were. Thank god Rand addressed the fact that Lan gave him advice about protecting any woman he loves by leaving, and then did the exact opposite. So Mat went from having a royal rapist to having a royal stalker huh? I guess that's an improvement...kind of. I correctly guessed that he would kidnap her about a chapter before it happened. A little bit better than some of my other predictions being proven right EXACTLY as I make them. A little. I wasn't too impressed by Mat's story here though, other than Egeanin, Bethamin, and Domon resurfacing. As with the rest, it was necessary reading, and I enjoyed it, just not as compelling as it had been. Until the end. When it rejoined Rand in Far Midding, I was worried that the taint would wait another book. I was so happy to be mistaken. This is an event that I've been waiting for since the first book, and the scene didn't disappoint. Having Cadsuane show off her abilities was a cherry on top of my storyline progression sundae. The battle was very well executed, with a couple of nice revelations thrown in, such as Lanfear returning. On that note, my magic 8 ball says that all signs point to Moiraine still being alive. Can't wait for her to come back. It mentioned that Lanfear is the other one caught in the soul trap, so there goes my Asmodean theory. Did I pass the hint up already? Shadar Logoth being destroyed in the process of cleansing Saidin was another surprise, and pleasant at that. I wonder if that will limit Fain's magic death fog ability at all. Either way, in the game of "mess your day up" tag, it seems Rand is up. I was a bit disappointed they didn't address the anomalies in the source around Ebou Dar in WH. Unless it all just dissipated over time. I'm curious to see if the same will happen around Shadar Logoth, though it seems that it would've manifested during the battle if it was going to happen, and as remote a location as it is, I find it unlikely that anyone will encounter it. It was an intriguing dynamic to contend with, and I hope that there's more of this type magical disturbance to ruin people's day later on. I'm still waiting for Mat and Alludra to invent cannons/ballistic warfare. I've been expecting that since the Stone fell, and I was hopeful this book when they were mentioned together so often. It seems unlikely that he left Ebou Dar with her though. That's what I've got for now. More to come if I think of it. Edit: *Sigh* I need to stop posting this at work, it kills my formatting every time because of our stupid internet.

Random thing I learned, I read way faster on ebook than regular. I can't contribute it all to that, since this past month was crazy busy for me, but considering there was about a week between the other books and about a month between this one, I have to conclude that ebooks are a faster read for me. Now that the random fun fact is out of the way, on to the book! The first thing I want to say is I noticed the pacing problems in this book more than the other three. And by noticed, I mean I flat out wanted to throw the book at a wall in random placed because I was so tired of waiting for things to happen. Then, when the plot did finally decide to show up, it was only around for a few pages or so. It didn't ruin the read for me, but this was probably my least favorite of the books so far, as it felt more like a chore to read at points than it did recreation. One of my big problems up to this point has to be the female characters. We touched on this in my previous thread, but I want to expand on it here. Most to all of the female characters in the books so far do not seem believable to me. They seem more like caricatures of women rather than fully developed characters. I had extremely high hopes for Elaida, but that was quickly squashed during her rebellion. She spent her whole life attaching herself to Andor in order to help with the final battle, then, when it falls apart, she just walks away to completely undermine the Aes Sedai, in order to grab power for herself? What? So because you know that the final battle is coming, you decide to destroy half of your number because you didn't like the leadership? Maybe, just maybe, if she didn't know that Rand was the dragon but figured out he could channel I could understand this, but it seems too egregious a mistake when you know the biggest threat to the world is just around the corner. Especially considering how many greens they take out, who are supposed to be prepared for battle (that confuses me because they should have put up more of a fight, and they seem to be a more important Ajah for when the end comes.) I guess if you're going to make Elaida into a villain that outright and vanilla, at least have the decency to give her the Snidely Whiplash mustache. Along those lines, are all the Aes Sedai just carbon copies of each other? This frustrated me a great deal as well. Sure, they might have similar personality types that are drawn to those Ajahs, but they all can't be clones of each other. I'd like to meet a Red I can relate with, or at least have a Red whose reason for hating men is shown through character development. And where are the Grey Ajah at? I didn't even know that was their color until I got frustrated and looked it up online. Suane actually is much more interesting to me now that she's been stilled, and I'm hoping to see some great character development from her in the next few books. I was also highly satisfied to see I was right about her being stilled, and I still expect her to rally the Aes Sedai to her. But while I'm on the subject of Suan, what in Kelek's tongue was she thinking?!?! After reading through the book and learning about the different societies of channeling women, and thinking about her sending Egwene, Elayne, and Nyneave off to hunt the Black Ajah, I can't help but feel like she did deserve to lose the stole. Sending those three off could very well endanger everything the tower has worked for, and the little amount of trust that they have in the world. Especially considering their little display in front of Bornhold, and Verin's reaction, why would you send them off into the world to cause trouble, whatever results they bring? Min was one of the few exceptions to my frustration with female characters, but the fact that she's mostly impotent and driven along still leaves me dissatisfied. Egwene. The most satisfying moment in the book for me was her having to braid her hair. Everything she thinks about Rand's head being too big and all her frustrations with him all seem to be her projecting her own actions onto him. Having the luxury of getting both their points of view shows Egwene to be the immature little girl that the braids paint her to be. This disappoints me because she seemed to be such a promising character while reading Eye of the World. I still like Elayne. She seems to at least try to be a force for good and decency, and fairly well developed. She also seems to drive the story forward the least though. I won't say that Nyneave isn't well developed. All I will say on her is that she reminds me of my older sister, if my older sister didn't listen to reason, was crazy with rage most of the time, and if my sister wasn't right about just about everything. If anyone needed to be taught how much of a child she is, it's Nynaeve. Faile seemed to me that she was an entirely different person than she was last book. I was very excited for her, but she just frustrated me throughout most of the book. Not that I don't understand where she was coming from, not even that I don't like her, or think she's underdeveloped. I guess I'm just getting a little tired of all the internal squabbling and politics withing the protagonists. Can anybody even try to just get along? Egeanin really excites me. The inner turmoil she's having about her cultural upbringing is fascinating, and she's definitely humanized the Seanchan for me, at least a little. Perrin's story was very interesting, but I felt like it was very much lacking after the Whitecloaks came into the defenses. That seemed extraneous, and there's no real point to having that happen. They didn't contribute to the defenses much, and at the end of the conflict, absolutely nothing had changed. For all I care, the Whitecloaks could have never come to the Two Rivers, and it could've just been Ordeith, or Fain, or Mordeth, whatever you want to call him (I still like MorFain, but I'm a fan of puns) without any of the Whitecloaks. Call me crazy, but between Verin and Alanna, I trust Alanna. There's still something about Verin that just makes me very suspicious. Though I'm curious to see where Verin's talens lie after her comment about healing and being skilled in another area. That was an offhand comment that seemed very important to me. Rand has finally come around, and is now my favorite character. Although I still think he's an idiot for the way he's treating Moiraine. Ok, maybe not an idiot. I finally understand where they are coming from not trusting Aes Sedai, but Moiraine is the exception to that rule. She's more than proven herself, and he could at least listen to her advice, even if he doesn't take it. LAN KEEPS CRACKING JOKES! STOP PROVING ME WRONG! Mat makes me smile. Nuf said. I loved everything about the Aiel, and was glad to learn more about them and their culture. I was also fascinated by their origin. That revelation leads me to believe that the Tinkers are the "remnant of a remnant" that Rand is going to not destroy of the Aiel. Geeze, now that I'm finally writing this, I've forgotten all of the predictions I had while reading through. I certainly didn't see the ending coming. I was dead wrong about the 'lines' coming out of the forsaken. I had thought that was their connection to the true source. It will be interesting to see how Rand interacts with his new teacher. If I think of anything I've left out I'll post it on the comments. I think I lost a lot of my thoughts because I went on vacation last week, and was having so much fun I just plain forgot!

Oh boy, finished with another volume. Honestly, I don't think I have much to say on this one. Which is actually very sad because this has been my favorite so far. (Funny, when you don't like something as much, you've got a lot more to say about it, but when you love something, when you go to talk about it, everything flees from your mind.) I thought that this was the best constructed so of the books so far. I noticed with the last five they all basically had a hundred pages of fluff catching up with the characters and beating us over the head with details we already know, followed by trolloc attacks, and finally, plot line for the book. Fires of Heaven broke away from that, and I loved it. The Darkhounds kinda fit the role of the Trollocs, but it introduces Balefire officially, and blood and bloody ashes is that stuff cool! I has already been convinced that Moiraine was going to die, and the further I got into the book, the more I realized this was the book it was going to happen. Not cool, but it how she died really took me by surprise. I didn't really expect Lanfear to be gone this early in the series (and having already read a bit of the Lord of Choas, I expect she's the female chosen in a new body.) Her death was fitting though, and only reaffirmed my love for her as a character. Especially her developing relationship with Rand through the books. I was happy to correctly guess that she knew exactly who Nateal was, and her grudging acceptance of it just tickled me. Also, I feel justified in my distrust of Verin, since Moiraine feels the same way. Nynaeve was very satisfying to read this time through. The arch with Elayne felt a lot less artificial than it had in the past, and it's wonderful to see her confronting her own shortcomings, and even more so to see a protagonist fail, as those situations seem to have been few and far between so far. The interactions between all of the characters also felt more honest. My favorite part of their portion definitely was Thom's daggers flying at her. Imagining the scene just made me smile. With Moiraine gone, Aviendha definitely is my favorite female character. The Aiel continue to delight me, and their humor is especially good. My favorite scene between her and Rand had to be their reactions to the Maidens knowing what happened thousands of miles away. Their whole relationship feels very real. Oh Matrim, you are hysterical. "I'm just gonna leave over this way, don't mind me. Oh look, and ambush. Well, burn me, I'm leaving. Right after I stop this ambush. Ok, right after this next skirmish. Alright, well, I guess I'll kill Couladin first, but I'm leaving right after that." I'm very interested to see what comes about for Elayne and Birgette, and especially when the tower finds out about it, which I see as very likely to happen. Birgette was one of my favorite parts of The Shadow Rising and I'm glad she'll continue to be a large role in the books. I did expect Aludra to do more than have a cameo role though. I can't think of anything else to add right now. I really enjoyed this installment, and just like when reading The Dragon Reborn, I enjoyed it too much to spend as much time theorizing. P.S. I miss you Perrin

Halfway through the series! Which is a good thing. You see, I made a mistake. Before I was too far into the book, I looked up the page count for the entire series, and tried to put it into perspective. By the time you finish The Fires of Heaven, you've read more pages than in Harry Potter, and have double that left to go. I'm starting to feel about daunted, but I'm going to keep on slogging on. Having three Brandon Sanderson books as my carrot has kept me moving at a fair speed so far. I mentioned this already, but reading through the battle again through another perspective. In fact, the perspective choices were the saving grace throughout the book in key places. Aviendha really lightened the mood between Elaine, Birgette, and Nynaeve, and I don't think I enjoyed any of the three girls' story archs as much as I did in this book. I think my favorite line in the entire book was from Aviendha: There were several times throughout the book that I was very thrilled with perspective choice. Choosing Min's perspective during the incident with Padan Fain instead of Rand's or Cadsuane's was a brilliant decision. It raised the tension so much, and that scene was made so much more compelling for it. On that topic (I've got the feeling already that I'm going to flit about madly this post. Don't judge me.) What was that? MorFain can summon crazy fog demons with his mad giggle? More seriously, it seems like a local manifestation of Mashadar caused by the connection between Fain, the dagger, and Shadar Logoth. But blood and bloody ashes! It's interesting how the wounds are being played out, that maybe the corruptions will fight each other. Not sure how accurate that prediction is going to be. That scene did annoy me though. I understand info dumps have to happen, but it really could have been more masked than: "Hope you don't mind if I tell you my life story since I've suddenly become a very important plot device." It seemed like it was take the bad with the good this book. For every scene that delighted me, there were almost as many that really felt useless, or completely unnecessary; the foremost of those being Mat and Tylin. It really felt to me that rape was being taken extremely lightly, and I'm just personally not ok with that. Elayne laughs and him, and Nynaeve comments about him tasting his own medicine, and in the end, Mat admits to himself that he'll miss the whole experience. Rape is rape, and it shouldn't be glossed over like this, and made out to be a non-issue, especially when it doesn't help drive the story forward in any way. Another was the Children of the Light. At the end of the day, everything that happened before that with Morgase, and Nial was pretty much whitewashed by this book. If Sebban Balwer becomes a major player in events, than I will happily eat my words, but otherwise, it felt very roundabout, and frustrating. The Kin will be an interesting addition to the boiling pot of Aes Sedai. I think if they all flock to it, that will secure Egwene's power absolutely, not that she hasn't gotten a fair start on her own. It was a disappointment when her arch didn't pick back up again. It seemed like she was caught back up to Rand, and now we're way behind on what's going on there. Especially when it ended with 'Halima' tending to her. I would have much preferred to have her story arch spread throughout the book, but with Lan being required to be in Ebou Dari, with what little we were given that couldn't have happened. Mat and Birgette becoming friends should have been obvious to me. I thought that maybe he might remember her from past lives too, and it will be interesting if that ever turns out to be the case, but still what a great friendship! Especially when Elayne got some blowby from their first encounter. Another one of those scenes that I particularly enjoyed. I was really frustrated by the Sammael/Graendal sequences. Sammael lies and their entire interaction paradigm shifts? What is it about their relationship that would make Graendal fall with him? Why did he even need her? It didn't seem like she really did anything, just observed. There hasn't been enough revealed about the Chosen's politics for me to really grasp anything of significance in those exchanges, and that really bothers me as a reader, even if it's explained more next book. It doesn't seem like the book would be any less without their chapters, and it might even had enhanced the mystery surrounding his visits with the Shaido. I suspect that Alanna is going to die, knowing what I do now about the way the warder bond works. It seems like that was a decision that could only end in disaster, and seeing what it did to Lan, I suspect that's another burden that's going to be placed on Rand's shoulder's. Cadsuane is my new favorite character. She's a boss. Apparently, Leanne was able to teach Min more than enough to get the job done. Elaida continues to astound me. She's so incredibly short sighted in regards to almost every decision she makes. Her doing something relatively competent actually was one of the biggest surprises in the book. I'm glad we've finally established what a gholam is. That was one that's been bugging me for a while. Now if a shocklance could make an appearance that would be great. I tried to keep an eye open for any hints about who killed Asmodean, and I didn't run into anything this book, but reading through the prologue for The Path of Daggers it seems likely to me that it was either Moridin or Shaidar Haran. It mentioned two soul traps with Moridin, and as Mogheidien was given to Moridin for being captured and teaching the enemy, the same punishment would be given to Asmodean. It seems more likely to me that it is Shaidar, as Asmodean recognized the killer, but Mogheiden did not recognize Moridin. That's my guess for now, As always, I'll post more if I think of it.

Another book down! This was another one of those that I just couldn't put down. I had small get together with friends on Saturday that I almost cancelled simply so I could spend the day reading. (I did manage to silence Lews Therin's rumblings that I should be reading and spent the day being social.) I'm very torn between which of these last two I enjoyed more. I'm leaning more towards the Fires of Heaven simply because I felt like there was more wonder and discovery, between learning more about Balefire and Asmodean hanging around. I also felt like the climax of Fires of Heaven was just a bit more engaging. I was fairly skeptical going into the last hundred pages or so when it seemed that it wouldn't wrap up, but the ending was definitely explosive enough for me, just very unexpected. I'm jumping ahead of myself though. From the very beginning, Jordan did a fantastic job of building tension throughout the entire book. Especially in the beginning with the dynamic between Taim, Bashere, and Lews Therin. At this point, I'm not convinced that Taim is one of the Forsaken, it seemed that he didn't know how to make a gateway, so that really eliminates that possibility. Beyond that though, I'm certain he will not be a force for good, after witnessing the efficiency in which he trained the Asha'man to kill. I'm suspicious that the Black Tower will grow to be as sinister as the name suggests. The one portion of this book I cannot praise enough is the amount of character development that has been worked up to this point, and finally come to fruition. It seems that with the exception of Elayne and Mat, most characters have had a grueling story arch that has left changes that are both tangible, and believable. While Nynaeve and Egwene used to leave a bad taste in my mouth, now I'm just astonished by the changes apparent and that continue to take shape. The amount of respect I had for Egwene increased exponentially after she met her Toh. Gawyn was surprising for me. I understand how he's come into the place he is, but I can't help but regret it. He seemed such an earnest and well intentioned character that has been twisted by the trust he had in Elaida and the tower. I really hope that he is able to learn what events have truly transpired, and that his story is less dark than it seems to be heading. The viewing Min had was very sinister, and he seems to grow more dark every time I get his viewpoint. I suspected early on that Egwene would get made into the Amyrlin, but I doubted myself over and over due to not knowing that technicality. When she was summoned before the tower I knew for certain, but it takes away the ego boost when you solidify your theory a chapter before it's revealed. (This is probably a commendation to Jordan, as he puts in enough foreshadowing in for me to realize immediately before, but it's also frustrating to have things happen immediately after.) One thing that surprised me was the Little Tower beginning its march. Since about midway through The Fires of Heaven, I've been expecting a large scale battle at Salidar, between the Aes Sedai, the White Cloaks, and then the events of this book. I understand the Band is following, but I'm wondering if the White Cloaks are also following, which would make three fairly substantial armies marching close together. That's a powder keg waiting to blow if I've ever read one. I expect it will come to a head before they reach Tar Valon, as it wouldn't be advantageous to have a hostile army behind you while you lay siege to the bloody White Tower. Mat and Olver also were a pleasant surprise. It seems like a great relationship starting to build, and one that will help temper Mat. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy him as a character, but there's a lot of things he says that really goad me (and not just because he makes life harder for himself and Rand.) It seems like a bit of personal responsibility will transform him in a similar way the Aiel did for Egwene. I don't expect him to become a straight arrow, but at least learn to be slightly tactful. It put a giant smile on my face when I learned he'd be heading to Salidar. I was only slightly off when I imagined him strolling into Salidar by himself and causing a huge uproar when they learned he was immune to Saidin, but when he threw the dynamic between himself and Nyneave on its head, I couldn't have been more pleased. I did guess long before that his medallion would not stop things thrown by the power. I really didn't expect the Ebou Dar storyline to stay unresolved, and I'm looking forward to that storyline. I assume from Min's viewing of Berelain that she'll fall for Galad. When it comes to Min and Rand, having seen it from Rand's POV, I have to agree with Min: Rand's a complete woolhead. I'm glad Perrin came back for this book, but I'm back to being incredibly frustrated with Faile. I had hoped for a scene early on when Bashere and Rand met with Verin, Alanna, and the Two Rivers girls. I would've loved to have seen the result if one of the girls had let slip who Faile was with Bashere present, but alas, it didn't happen. Alanna bonding Rand was a huge surprise. I can't even begin to theorize what will come of that, other than Elayne is going to be a very unhappy daughter heir Loial on the run from his mother is hysterical! I did expect a good deal more involvement from the forsaken this book, but I did notice at the very least some clues of the Black Ajah, such as the cats being healed in Camelyn.I had expected a few of the sisters to be around Salidar and end up rescuing Mogheiden, so I was wrong on that account. I'm very curious about what they are actually up to. Jordan kept popping the Shaido up, and I kept ignoring it. There's no reason I should've been surprised by them popping up at the end. If the clue as to who killed Asmodean was in this book, I missed it. I'm starting to come up blank now, though I know I'll have more to say, so I'll leave it here for now, and post more as I think of it. The Morgase storyline was intriguing. Unless there were some involvement from the forsaken, it was very interesting to see the role chance played into her eventual surrender. That situation is explosive as well. Edit: Posting killed all my formatting for some reason.

I just finished up the great hunt. Again, Jordan ruined one of my predictions that I caught early on-Lanfear. I knew there was something up with her as soon as they found her in the portal stone world. It wasn't until after the fireworks scene that I figured out she was Lanfear though, between Egwene's dreams, and the prophecy. I was really disappointed that he didn't reveal Mordeth more subtlety. Right from the start having him refer to himself as Mordeth actually insulted me a little as a reader. By the time I had gotten to the Fade's death, I was wishing that it was more of a mystery, especially with all the hints that they played. I figured out that he was a Fain/Mordeth amalgamation when they revealed why the group couldn't decide on direction. I also suspected that Matt would be the one to sound the Horn, but I didn't expect it this book. Everyone else was focused on the Horn, but Matt only cared about the dagger, or his salvation. I did suspect Ingtar, but only immediately before it was confirmed. He wanted the Horn way too badly. I think it was right before they went into Falme that I fingered him. I think I'm starting to understand what you mean by Ta'veren not being able to be controlled and whatnot. I saw Thom's lover's death as the Wheel pushing him back into things because of his interactions with Rand. Also...way disappointed with how that went. During the fireworks scene, I kept expecting Thom to be the one to save the day. I'm hoping my faith in him will be justified in future books. Rand continues to frustrate me. I much prefer Perrin, but he's just as frustrating, as he didn't really do anything this book. I don't know what it is about Rand, but I just don't find myself as attached to him. Liandrin was pretty obvious, even before he stunt at Fal Dara, but I don't think the Reds are all corrupt, in fact, I would have to estimate that the Black Ajah are very few in numbers, and maybe even Liandrin being the only Red who is black, but I'm not as sure on that. Liandrin will be Nynaeve's to deal with eventually, the way I see it playing out. The damane....oh god the damane...I was just short of being physically pained by reading that, it disturbed me so much. Although the experience certainly heightened my opinion of Egwene. She's a trooper. Best line in the book: "Stay and get married, or travel the Ways." Loial grimaced ruefully. "Life is very unsettling with ta'veren for friends." I still am in the camp that Matt won't be separated from the dagger, especially with the revelations of 'MorFain.' He's the only one who can stop it from spreading the rot, and they definitely can't let it fall into MorFain's hands, lest it become some sort of superweapon (more than it already is.) Captain Doman be a great character, I no wish harm to him. Min is not what I expected from the little she was in last book, but I still like her a lot, I just pegged her wrong as far as temperament. I think the Amyrlin seat will fall, and then become a martyr, despite scrubbing floors, while Moiraine escapes regretfully. Moiraine will die. I had that thought before he conversation with Lan. All in all, I actually enjoyed the majority of The Eye of the World better than the majority of the Great Hunt, but the ending was killer. I thought halfway through the book that the ending would be unfulfilling with a very Fellowship of the Ring cliffhanger, and I was very pleased to be proven wrong. So the better ending goes to the Great Hunt. If I think of anything I missed, I'll post some more.