Ryan

I think I remember that quote. IIRC he was talking about natural reincarnation. So people that get balefired can still be spun out by the wheel at some future time; they just can't be brought back by the Dark One. Edit: Here's a reference. See #2 on this page. That's not to say this is the quote you're remembering, just that it's the quote I'm remembering.

I get the impression that the Dark One isn't that into third chances. Second chances seem exceptionally rare. I could well be wrong, but my money's on Balthamel/Aran'gar staying dead this time as punishment for sheer incompetence.

He is in love with Tuon. My money says that he just wants to be with his wife.

I took a very long break away from reading this book because of events, but I've now begun again. I'm on the last of the trio of chapters describing Rand's disastrous and ultimately pointless anti-Seanchan campaign. And I'm finding them slightly dull. First of all, I can't keep track of all these goat-kissing nobles that now surround Rand everywhere he goes, and I don't see why Jordan felt the need to give us a whole chapter of Rand's thoughts on them. Second, this isn't like your typical war narrative. Rand is now a general, so what you get are scenes about planning, and then scenes about aftermath, skipping over the action in between. I do appreciate the effect this creates (war is dismal, horrible, and often dull), but I'm struggling to push through it all the same.

I think this thread has run its course, hasn't it? The original question was asked in Dec 2011. I think they have their answer by now.

The two times I've read New Spring, it has been before a reread of the rest of the series. I find that reading it thus gives perspective and insight into Moiraine in the early books, just as you found by reading it after. However, I do agree with the general wisdom that, on a first reading of the series, it should not be read first. Many recommend reading it after book 10, but I actually think it would very well read after book 5, as you did.

The only way I could see it working would be if you could convince yourself, completely and utterly, that what you are doing with your hand is not opening the catch, but something else entirely. I'm not sure that's possible. Maybe via hypnosis? (I mean, if this were the Kingkiller Chronicles a sympathist could probably pull it off, but the mental gymnastics in those books don't seem very possible to me either. ) Incidentally, this method could work for circumventing any Oath taken on the Oath Rod. All Oaths rely on the information in your own mind. Change that information, and you change how the Oath is enforced. But, well, again...probably not possible.

Once you understand that: a. Aviendha loves Rand, b. she is honor-bound to Elayne to keep him from other women, and c. every time she feels love towards him, it turns to shame; then you understand a little more why she acts the way she does towards him. It isn't fair, and IMO she incurs toh for the way she involves him in her own honor, but she doesn't see it that way, and as I'm not Aiel, what do I know of toh?

Not paradoxical. They read all possible futures, and told him what to do in order to get the best one: namely, go to Rhuidean. If he hadn't gone to Rhuidean, he wouldn't have the battle memories, and he wouldn't have been in Cairhien to mean Talmanes and Nalesean. He wouldn't have had the Band, wouldn't have been sent to Salidar by Rand, wouldn't have been in Ebou Dar at all when the Seanchan hit. All his searching for the Daughter of the Nine Moons never came to anything. He married Tuon by accident, unaware of who and what she was. All because he went to Rhuidean.

You're in good company, Jack. It's Brandon's favorite book. Personally, I still find it dull. On a scale of Melville to Correia, I'd put it a couple notches above an Austen.

Well, she could tell generally where he was, but Bornhald returned Perrin's coin to him, allowing her to pinpoint his exact location.

I got this book the first week it came out, but for various reasons (my WoT reread among them) I haven't finished it until now. I wasn't particularly engaged with the first part of the book, and it wasn't until part 2 that it really grabbed me, and the reason why was Kira. I just didn't connect with her very well. Even once the plot really picked up and got crazy, I didn't really connect that well with her. I suppose the fact that I kept reading is a testament to the compellingness of the plot. A large part of why I didn't like her is because she is a very realistic teenager, and a lot of her attitudes and actions are cringeworthy. Worse, I remember being a lot like her as a teen. At least, the arrogance, the assurance that I was right and everyone else was wrong, the anger and railing against things I saw as stupid, but which in hindsight I just didn't understand. I know everyone is stupid as a teen, but it still causes me embarrassment to remember it, and I think for that reason I was extra annoyed by Kira. There were other things about it that bugged me. Mostly inconsequential things, like how Jayden and Haru's punishments of imprisonment and hard labor never seemed to ever be carried out. But that aside, and despite my annoyance at Kira, I found it brilliant. I loved how it's a bleak post-apocalypse, but without the bleakness and depression and despair that usually fills that genre. There is a lot of brightness, and happiness, and hope in the face of overwhelming odds. Life is mostly normal, though it's a different normal than we know. Big spoilers, now: One thing that I wish I'd done is look at maps of NYC and Long Island so I knew the places in the story were like. I get the feeling there are a lot of famous places in the book that I don't recognize because I know essentially nothing about NYC in general and Long Island in particular. You know what would be awesome? If someone marked out all the places in the book on Google Earth. If I ever reread the book, I think that's what I'll do. Anyway, all told, and despite complaints, I loved the book, and recommend it wholeheartedly.

They wanted to make sure they got shipped back to Seanchan, away from the main conflict. Sounds to me like they just wanted to get rid of them.

I want to mention two things that stood out to me when I reread this book, but which I didn't mention in my thread. First, I find it striking how badly the Shadow seems to want the Wonder Girls out of the picture, even from book 2. I wonder if their prophecies include them? They really do a lot of amazing things, more than any Aes Sedai (who mostly just blow hot air). Second, recall how Moiraine has the three ta'veren's clothes burned, saying that someone could use an article of theirs to find them? This ability is neither mentioned nor used throughout the entire rest of the series, which I find odd.

I agree that knowing the Black sisters ahead of time adds a different dimension to the story. Whereas before you were always wondering and worrying who might be Black, on a reread you can *see* the Black sisters doing their thing. Verin, on the other hand, is a special case, since she's a double agent, so I didn't worry too awful much about her. As for how Moiraine found the boys, recall that she said that she would be able to find them even if they lost the coins, just not at a distance like she could if they held on to them. Remember that, in order to find them, she zigzagged through the streets of Caemlyn until she got close enough to feel them.

This book is one of the hated middle books, wherein the plot progression slows to a crawl. As such, I was dreading it a little going in. Pleasantly, however, I am enjoying it more than I did in my last reread, and that is entirely due to the content of books 11, 12, and 13, which I had not read prior to my last read-through. Interestingly, knowing where all these endless plotlines are headed and how they will resolve makes reading the midst of them more interesting. You can see the dominoes being set up more clearly after you've seen them fall. However, there is one exception to this, and that is Morgase's plotline. I have skipped all of her chapters in prior books because I just didn't care. However, now her stuff is all intermingled with that of characters I actually do care about, and it's much harder to skip. Another thing I wish I could skip is all the Sea Folk stuff. It's just a lot of drama to no apparent end, and I find it tedious. Reading this book, I am more and more impressed by Min. How she can stay so hopeful and happy while the man she loves goes insane before her eyes I cannot say. How she can be so hopeful when she's had a viewing that Rand will almost certainly fail without the help of Moraine, who she thinks is dead and gone, I cannot say. I am very much looking forward to Rand and Min's reunion with Moiraine. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through. I may or may not post more when I'm finished.

I'm in. I've actually been doing this since December. I made a thread about my wot reread that I haven't posted to since somewhere in book 4, but I'm actually about two thirds of the way though book 8. So long as I complete a book per month, I'll hit the deadline. Yes, I've been a bit busy. I also read more slowly than many here.

Dude, bra, you can TOTALLY start with book 12. Totes. Like, there ain't no reason why those first 11 books got wrote, dog.

I was considering seeing this, but the truth is, I'm just not really into Pokemon.

Spoilers for the finale:

The way I see the world of Randland heading, I think that male channelers will eventually gain the same status and recognition afforded to female channelers...but it will take awhile, a generation or three at least, since the stigma against male channelers is so strong it is unlikely that those currently living will ever change their beliefs about them. Of course, the influence and importance of channelers will wane throughout the next Age as non-magical technology progresses (which progress is already being greatly bolstered by Rand's schools). The Seanchan will play a role in this, but I will note that anti-magic sentiment is hardly unique to them; all peoples of Randland (except perhaps the borderlands) seem to resent the influence of channelers, and would happily cast them aside if they could.

Thanks for that link! I like them a lot. Who do you think the two women are? Personally, I think they're Moiraine and Nynaeve, and that they are linked with Rand to help him control Callandor. My reasons: Look at the 2560x1600 versions, and you can see what they have on their foreheads. Nynaeve has a Ki'sain, and Moiraine her blue stone. Rand trusts those two more than any other woman who can channel (besides Elayne and Aviendha, who he wouldn't take into this fight for anything). Their dresses are the same color as their ajahs.

I caught a bit of the hype surrounding this show and thought, what the hey, now was as good a time as any to see if the original was any good. That was last week. I have now watched the entire series, and what's been released of Korra besides. Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm graduated now. My evenings are my own. I am definitely getting an Alloy of Law vibe from this show. Similar tech level, similar setting, similar concept of being set in the future of a world that has undergone a massively transformative event. I'm not a huge fan of Korra so far, and the threat/conflict is considerably weaker than in the first one. But the art is prettier and it's in HD, which does help some. That said, I can't help feeling that the best episodes are yet to come. And I agree with Kuri, Taph was the very best part of the original series. I wish she had had a cameo or two. Her stuffy police chief of a daughter doesn't approach her awesomeness.