Shivertongue

Currently on the second episode of Breaking Bad, having just finished watching every episode of Psych for the second time. The show already has me hooked, and I'm almost terrified to see where Walter White goes in his character development.

You know, it's really funny you mention that line, because that one in particular stuck out to me as well, and I don't remember ever noticing it before. It might be because, this time around, I'm taking my time and trying to absorb every word. Edit: Something I never noticed before, at least not that I can remember. On page 40 of the hardback, during Thom's first scene, he mentions "Fain was always one to carry bad news quickly, and the worse, the faster. There's more raven in him than man." It seems Thom has known Padan Fain in the past, enough to know his reputation at least. Subtle foreshadowing, I think, about Fain's true nature...

Hey Aerosmith, welcome to the Reread and to the forums! I know all too well what you mean by The Big Book of Bad Art. I have it myself, and as an artist, I can;t tell you how... disappointed I was when I first saw it. I had been so excited to see my favorite characters and places in a visual form for the first time - outside of Darrel K. Sweet's less-than-awesome cover art - and what I got... was a let-down, to say the least. I have heard that it was a bit of a rush job, and the artist himself is disappointed with how it all turned out. Hopefully, if they do another one after A Memory of Light comes out, they give the artists all the time they need to make it awesome.

My immediate reaction to that is 'I hope it's boring'. Honestly, though, that would really turn the archetype on it's head, wouldn't it? Mysterious warrior having a totally dull and un-exciting backstory. I actually do want to see that now.

So I have begun my reread, setting aside my reread of The Way of Kings to do so. I started The Eye of the World at approximately 5am, reading through the prologue and several pages of the first chapter before I went to sleep. It's funny - I remember when I read this book for the very first time, the beginning seemed so slow, all the way up until they arrived in Caemlyn. Now, though, and just about every other reread I have ever done of it, it is much more engaging. I don't know if this is a result of me growing older and more mature in my tastes, or a subconscious acknowledgment that, despite where the characters are in later books and what I know happens to them, they start off in such a simple, innocent place, where their biggest concerns are who they're going to dance with at Bel Tine, and if the sheep are safe for the night, and crazy little stunt is Mat going to pull next. Although admittedly, that last one remains throughout the entire series.

Glad to have you, Windy! And everyone else, of course!

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 13, Towers of Midnight. This is the penultimate volume of The Wheel of Time, and the second written by Brandon Sanderson. I know I've been admonishing you if you started at any book other than Eye of the World, but seriously... this is NOT the place to start. And if you're stubbornly clinging to your erroneous decision, then... well, you're only embarrassing yourself. Everyone else, this is it! I hope you've made it here before January! For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 12, The Gathering Storm. This is book number twelve, the first written - using extensive notes from Robert Jordan - by Brandon Sanderson. And for those of you who thought you could just read the Sanderson books... Well, YOU'RE WRONG. You're missing so much backstory! You don't know who leads the Band of the Red Hand, what saa is, and you don't yet hate Cadsuane NEARLY enough! Come back when you even know what I'm talking about without Google. Everyone else, great job! For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 11, Knife of Dreams. This is book number eleven. Yes. Number ELEVEN! This is the last of the books written by the original author, Robert Jordan. Are you going to disgrace his memory by starting so late in the series? I thought not. You have obviously read everything that came before, and maybe even New Spring as well. Good job! For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 10, Crossroads of Twilight. This is book number ten, which means we are in double digits now. And I will admit, to the new readers, this is where it might start to get tough. You can do it, though! I BELIEVE IN YOU! Unless you started with this book, in which case you deserve every bad thing that has ever happened to you in your entire life. For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 9, Winter's Heart. This is book number nine, which means you have come a very long way. This is one of my personal favorite books in the entire series, but everything in it means nothing if you haven't read the others. I'm proud of all of you, for coming so far. Here, have a waffle. For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 8, The Path of Daggers. This is book number eight, which means you have come a long way. If you decided to read this one first... well, I am ashamed of you. Everyone else went in the right order, but no, you just HAD to be different, didn't you? For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 7, A Crown of Swords. This is book number seven, which, yes, means six books precede it. You've jumped in way too deep if you decided, against all logic, to start with this one. For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 6, Lord of Chaos. This is the sixth book, and you should probably not be here if you have not read the five books that came before it. Seriously, dude, do NOT start with this book. Nothing in it will mean anything to you unless you have been reading in order, and there is so much awesome in this book even spoilers will make your head explode. For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 5, The Fires of Heaven. This is the fifth book, and you should probably not be here if you have not read the four books that came before it. Unless you're some kind of weirdo who enjoys reading things out of order. For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

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.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 3, The Dragon Reborn. This is the third book, and you should probably not be here if you have not read the first two books. Seriously, things will not make sense if you read them out of order. For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 2, The Great Hunt. This is the second book, and you should probably not be here if you have not read the first book. It's only common sense. For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to book 1, The Eye of the World. This is the book you should be starting with. Anyone starting with New Spring, if this is your first readthrough, put that book down and pick up The Eye of the World. Trust me, it's better this way. For those who have read them all, and are starting with New Spring for the reread, please go here. Keep in mind that New Spring is optional. For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

THIS THREAD WILL MOST LIKELY CONTAIN SPOILERS. Discussion thread for the Great Reread, pertaining to the prequel novel New Spring. Anyone starting with New Spring, if this is your first readthrough, put that book down and pick up The Eye of the World. Trust me, it's better this way. It should be noted that New Spring is completely optional for the reread. Basically, if you want to, do it. For information and to join The Great Reread, please go here.

**** To sign up for The Great Reread, just go here! **** To keep things nice and orderly, I decided we should have separate threads for the sign-up, for the discussion, and for individual book discussion, just so things don't get too confusing. Too keep things from getting too cluttered, please keep all posts relating to your reread in one of these threads, preferably the thread it belongs in. This thread, as you may have guessed, is specifically for discussion pertaining to the reread. Any thoughts, decisions, insights, revelations, questions, debates, idle speculation, predictions, insane rambling, sane rambling, inane rambling, foretellings, dreamings, viewings, tomfoolery, Thomfoolery, Mat-love, Matt-love, or general hobnobbery is welcome here, as long as it relates to the noble endeavor of rereading the entire saga of The Wheel of Time. This thread is intended as a spoiler-free thread. Please, for the sake of new readers who do not wish to be spoiled, put all spoilers within spoiler tags. The individual threads, linked below, are going to be full of SPOILERS. New readers, much like General Theories, enter them at your own risk. Prequel - New Sping Book One: The Eye of the World Book Two: The Great Hunt Book Three: The Dragon Reborn Book Four: The Shadow Rising Book Five: The Fires of Heaven Book Six: Lord of Chaos Book Seven: A Crown of Swords Book Eight: The Path of Daggers Book Nine: Winter's Heart Book Ten: Crossroads of Twilight Book Eleven: Knife of Dreams Book Twelve: The Gathering Storm Book Thirteen: Towers of Midnight

This is it. After more than twenty years, we are nearing the end. I don't know if I can speak for anyone else on this, but for me, it feels almost bittersweet. I'm eager - so, so eager - to read A Memory of Light, but knowing it's going to be the end has me almost wishing I could push it back, just a little longer. I started The Wheel of Time when I was nine years old, a year or so after The Lord of Chaos came out. I am now twenty-six, and the series is coming to it's conclusion. Many long-time fans speak of the books and the characters as if they were old friends, in a manner that sometimes confuses those who aren't a part of it. But that is how it is, for many of us. For many of us, The Wheel of Time has lasted longer than jobs, longer than friendships, longer than romantic relationships. I know the characters in this epic better than I know anyone from my graduating class. The Wheel of Time has been a constant in my life, one of those things that I could always fall back on when things began to get crazy. The series has it's detractors, as all things with large fandoms do, and this is the reason we so vehemently defend it. It's not something that can truly be explained. I've tried - I'm trying right now - and I find myself wishing I could find the words. There are some things no words can explain. All stories must come to an end. And I would be upset if the Wheel of Time did not. However, as all Wheel of Time fans know, this is not an ending. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it is an ending. And to lead into this ending, I propose a beginning. The Great Reread, for any on 17th Shard who wish to participate. Whether you can quote the prophecies by heart, sing Jak o' the Shadows pitch-perfect, or have never before cracked open one of the books, all are welcome. A Memory of Light is scheduled to come out January 8th. That gives us just under six months to read 13 very large books - 14 if some of you want to include New Spring. That's a little less than two weeks per book. If you've already begun a reread, that's totally cool. If you were planning to, now is your excuse to start. I'm in the middle of rereading The Way of Kings right now, but I'm setting it aside for The Eye of the World as soon as I finish this post. The rules are simple. Read, or reread, the entire Wheel of Time series, finishing Towers of Midnight by the time A Memory of Light comes out. Post that you are participating, and post when you finish or start a book. If you want - and I highly encourage this - post any thoughts you have on the book, and how you think they might pertain to the upcoming finale. There is no set pace everyone must follow, only that you must finish by January 8th in order to "win". All participants will receive a forum award of my making. All participants who finish within the time frame will receive an even more prestigious forum award, also of my making. Think you can do it? Then sign up and start reading. Dovie'andi se tovya sagain. Official Participants Shivertongue Rubix Master_Moridin Lyrebon JamesW KChan almeldiel Voldy Windrunner Brendan Vandelyk Lance Alvein lyssie95 Aerosmith47 LevenThumps ReaderAt2046 Tulir Eerongal Ryan Aethling Lantern13 Morderkaine frozndevl Telcontar zas678 Iredomi Jack the Halls Lysid igolbug McCullough Geoffray Voidus E.Hyde

Every imitation of Will is a poor imitation of Will.

Basically, since Mat sounded the Horn, as long as he lives, only he will be able to sound it. To anyone else now, it's nothing more than a horn. In that sense, the Heroes bound to it are bound to Mat as he is the only one who can summon them.

Good morning, would you like some breakfast? We have no rotten vegetables - those would hardly be a hospitable welcome - but we do have a fresh, complimentary waffle for you! Welcome to 17th Shard. Don't listen to the others, we Admins can totally be trusted.