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The Great Reread - The Shadow Rising


Shivertongue

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THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 4, The Shadow Rising. This is the fourth book, and you should probably not be here if you have not read the three books that came before it. Honestly, I can't stop you from starting here, but I will make fun of you if you do.

For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

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I just got to the bit where Thom is guessing at what the WoT story will become in another few Ages

"Thom Merrilin... the hero of it... Not a gleeman, but what? Who can say? Not eating fire, but breathing it. Hurling it about like an Aes Sedai...Merrilin, the mysterious hero, toppling mountains and raising up kings."

Sound familiar?

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I just got to the bit where Thom is guessing at what the WoT story will become in another few Ages

"Thom Merrilin... the hero of it... Not a gleeman, but what? Who can say? Not eating fire, but breathing it. Hurling it about like an Aes Sedai...Merrilin, the mysterious hero, toppling mountains and raising up kings."

Sound familiar?

I haven't made it this far in my reread yet - still on Eye of the World - but I had to respond to this.

This is a section I have delved into a lot since the first time I read it, for a long time convinced that it was foreshadowing on Jordan's part. Something like, while Rand may save the world, something Thom did will give the gleeman all the credit. It was an idea that bothered me, because I thought that with everything Rand has had to go through, and everything he will likely go through, being remembered by history would be his reward.

Then again, I never made the connection to Merlin. And it fits, though, with Rand being the one who pulled the sword from the Stone and became king....

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So far, the boys have undergone the attack. Elayne has expressed her interest. Avi and Egwene are developing a friendship.

One of the things I love about this series is the way that Jordan wove all the threads together. He may spend half a page describing the carpet, but the threads are amazing.

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Well, the Illian thing as well. Could also be foreshadowing the Aiel and Sea people prophecies. Remember that him becoming a titled King becomes important in the later books. Egwene uses it to her advantage. Vin sees one of the false dragons with a crown doesn't she? Mat and his "wife."

Could be any number of different interpretations.

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I like this one a lot I never noticed it the first time. But I feel it's the small moments done well that make WoT so great. And especially in this book the small moments (or should I say emotional moments) are done very well. I love the wedding and how rushed it is really puts into perspective the dangerous time they live in more than any battle could I think.

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Just started Shadow Rising myself, and I am looking forward to them leaving for the 3-fold land.

Also saw the first instance of Nynaeve not accepting that something can't be healed. She is talking to Avi about stilling and she didn't say it wasn't possible to heal, just that it hasn't been done yet. Nice foreshadowing, especially since we know what happens further on.

I also appreciate how Avi is slowly becoming more of a part of the story, instead of just being thrown into the mix right away.

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Finished Shadow Rising. Man, I love the ending of this one, particularly the scene where it looks like they're going to have to fight their way through the Shaido, and the Aiel start singing their battle song. Something about the lines of the song interspersed with the action gets my blood pumping and my heart racing as if I was about to go into that battle myself.

And the final battle in the Two Rivers... that has to be one of my favorite battle scenes in the entire series. Short, but full of action - and the single line describing Marin al'Vere calmly severing a Trolloc's spinal cord at the neck. Man, if only Egwene had inherited even half of that awesome...

I love these books. ^____^

Moving on to Fires of Heaven now. I keep meaning to slow down, but it's difficult...

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Heh, I have slowed down, but not by choice. I still can't believe that I've made it this far so quickly. I just ran across Slayer for the first time, and the most recent books haven't stuck with me like these original ones have, so I can't remember if that story has been finished or if there is still resolution to come in AMOL.

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  • 1 month later...

finished about two days ago. According to my original plan I should've finished two weeks ago, but I might go faster when I'm done with my last exam tomorrow.

TSR is the first really big read, 1000 pages in my paperback edition.

I remember a blog post where someone tried to evaluate what the Forsaken did to stop Rand. Asmodean, being the weakest channeler really did better than most. Ishi with his three attempts, Balthamel being crushed by the Green Man, Aginor battling stupidly for the Eye of the World which Rand probably wouldn't have used without him. Be'lal with his trap in the Stone and getting balefired immediately by Moiraine.

Asmodean at least managed a nice battle.

Of course, later, Lanfear and Rhavin won't suck that much either.

But it's funny. Asmodean. Becoming forsaken because he wanted endles Ages of music, immortality. Of course we know he must have done some pretty bad things, but he really does not seem that evil. Semi the torturer, Aginor creating Shadowspawn, Demandred and Sammael being generals in the War of the Shadow, destroying armies and cities. Graendal compulsing just anyone in sight and guarding pets, Rhavin equally guarding female pets for his pleasures.

They all have some traits that show why they were feared in the Age of Legends. Yes, Ishi is just a philosopher, but we know nothing about Asmodean. But he is one of the Forsaken, the thirteen most powerful channelers in the AoL, so he just can't be as harmless as he seems.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

This has to be one of the best books for seeing the Age of Legends through the ter'angreal in Rhuidean. I still found it weird trying to adapt my imagination from contemporary medieval settings like the present day to the futuristic setting where jo-cars (anti-gravity technology) existed.

The Breaking sounds even rougher when you're actually reading a first-hand perspective too, as opposed to just hearing how bad it was.

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