Reading Sanderson's WoT entries was my introduction to his work. The fact he did such a good job is very revealing. Respectful of a man whose work he loved, genuinely trying to fulfil all of the promises RJ made and, if you ever listen to his commentary on the subject, EXTREMELY humble about the flaws he sees. We were robbed of what RJ might have made of the last books, but I think every WoT fan can have nothing but respect for the man who gave us the resolution that the story deserved. I personally also think Taim was meant to be an original forsaken, indeed Damandred. I actually think I like the change tbh. The idea that a forsaken was operating ENTIRELY unapposed and was very much the hero of his own story... I like that. As much as Jordan absolutely loved the trope of evil being its own worst enemy, I also think he very much pointed to the flaws of even the best of people planting the seeds of malice. If Lews-Therin had not been such an arrogant jerk, it is unlikely Demandred would have switched sides. His first steps towards the Dark One were made through jealousy, for sure, but ALSO through mistreatment both real and perceived. And I think that is often mirrored in the real world. (almost every bully was a victim first. But not every victim chooses to become a bully. Demandred's choices are not justified, but they are not without genuine motive. Including wanting to save people... he just lacked the hope to do so by opposing the dark one) And you absolutely smashed the Semirhage interrogation Cadsuane goes for. Humiliation is *absolutely* used as a technique to break people, and Cadsuane is VERY aware of her own pride. Her thinking in these scenes is part of why I love her character so much. She might be old and wise, but that doesn't make her perfect. She simply understands herself better than most.

@conorreads

8 ай бұрын

I agree

Elayne for sure. Perin's story is I feel the most looked over. Having your entire family killed, then finding love just to have her kidnapped. I can't imagine what's going on psychologicaly.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I agree, he has had a very mundane battle also, in comparison to Mats rollercoaster ride being kept on the rails by his luck and Rands (although awful) being aided by his incredible chanelling ability. However I’d much rather have Perrins arc then Rands, the madness would be too much for me

Love watching your videos. It reminds me of my first time reading the Wheel of Time :). And your speculations are always interesting too. Sometimes astoundingly accurate, sometimes wrong, but even those make sense most of the time :) I'm excited for your upcoming videos as you finish this journey through one of the most epic stories ever written (IMO) :)

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Rumble! It’s been fun, frustrating, epic, surprising, beautiful and at time dulls. However, the sheer vastness of the world and the story itself coupled with the depth of characters and lore it definitely puts it near or at the top of the list of epic fantasies.

@rumblechannel6343

Жыл бұрын

​@@conorreads I suppose it's a different experience when you read everything in one go. When I started "only" the first 7 books where released, so whenever the the next one came out I was all too happy to return to Rand Land :). And the last three books had a profound impact on how I view the series as whole. Enjoy the ride :)!

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

@@rumblechannel6343 yeah overall I think being able to read them all at my leisure is better because the waiting would kill me. However, I do think I’d be a bit disappointed after waiting a year or two for one or two books. Overall though I like being able yo go through them, and I feel like it is probably a very different experience

I thought at first we were picking from the Emonds Fielders, but yes Elayne has not had to pay as much dues as the rest of them. She thought she lost her mother too. Nynaeve was my next pick even though she paid lots of dues too. I love how all of these young people have become absolutely legendary. There is such a great need for them to do great things and to rise to the occasion, with the occasion being the Last Battle. I loved that Rand and the female Emonds Fielders were able to learn some lost weaves from the Forsaken. I’m finishing up book 13, but I’m sure you’re gonna beat me to it Conor lol. I think I’ll be sad to finish, but it’s gonna be fun to read it all over again.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Yeah it’s incredible the impact that these people have had! Even people like gawyn and Galad etc!

The thing i enjoyed the most about all the sanderson books is that i think he got to think like an editor and write what was needed which means he was less likely get lost in the world like jordan did during the slog.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I see that, he must’ve trimmed a fair bit to make it so streamlined

I’ve never died either 🤪 Lol I also really liked Masema’s moment of clarity, it doesn’t get a ton of attention from readers and fans so thanks for acknowledging it! I think upon reread, you’ll notice the hints for Masema, especially in the second and third books.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I’m sure Jordan foreshadowed it

Ahhh, Avienda's punishment. Such great memories....

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Yeah it seems to keep worsening! Excited to find out what the point is!

The Egweyen Julius Caesar, parallels made my ❤

Nobody really has an easy go of it, but Elayne perhaps to this point has a relatively smooth ride. She _was_ almost killed by the Golem but Mat saved her and she was also almost killed when her gate exploded but there's still a couple of thousand pages left. Anything can happen.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I’m sure nobody has an easy ride at the end! True with regard to the Golem and the gate, there is definitely a lot of things I’ve forgotten as it’s such an epic sized adventure! Thanks for commenting

Glad you are enjoying the book and haven't been put off by the writing style. Sanderson has said he didn't want to just emulate Jordan because it would feel wrong and simply not be as good anyway, so the content is what Jordan laid out but the writing is Sandersons. I do believe as well that Harriet gave huge amounts of freedom to fill the gaps with characters and stories that hadn't specifically been penned by Jordan. On top of that the end was supposed to be 1 (maybe 2) books and not 3. As for your question, if you include Elayne on that list it has to be her who had the easiest time. As you said, she has achieved and developed in her own right but she has rarely if at all had to struggle to do something completely alone. Also many of her struggles (approaching the Black in Caemlyn) were caused directly by her not taking advantage of those people she has relied so heavily on. I think everyone else has had aspects of support and things handed to them but have really had to overcome things completely alone a number of times.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

His style is more simplistic I would say, I’ve not read from all the characters perspectives yet so and on out about 250 pages in rn so hard to make a judgement. But I don’t think it’s noticeably worse, in any way, just not as descriptive. I have enjoyed the lack of skirt smoothing so far though! He also tends not to comment on the size of every woman’s buxom aha. Yes I saw it was supposed to be 1! Glad there is 3!

@raea29

Жыл бұрын

@@conorreads Nail on the head with that one. He is often criticized for having basic prose but I guess it comes down to what you want/appreciate in reading. I love Tolkien but for his world and stories first and his style after. So true, what you lose in general description you gain by not having as many arms crossed under breasts. As an aside, it would be nice to have something after this book or the next (definitely before the final book) where you make some bigger predictions about the 'Last Battle' such as casualties (if you think there will be any), more than just the general theorizing during these videos.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

@@raea29 that’s a good idea, I could do one before the final book, or attach those into the final video of the penultimate book! Thanks! Yeah I feel like this deep into a beautifully described world I automatically imagine every woman crossing their arms under their breasts, smoothing their skirts and sniffing at anything they disagree with. So not having it constantly written in is not a problem 😂😂

@raea29

Жыл бұрын

@Conor Reads I know what you mean because on my most recent reread I didn't even notice they stopped being included in the text and I had just been mentally adding them throughout.

Elayne gets the princess ride for sure

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Agreed

I think Mat up to this point had it easier, the first two books with the sickness from the dagger were rough on him but that was self inflicted. Elayne's few calamity came from other people.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Mat did die though…..

@kutlwanomongae152

Жыл бұрын

@@conorreads Twice basically 🤣.

Elayne would also be my pick.

Nice start. This novel had some of the worst and best of post Jordan Death writing because it largely focuses on two main staging areas, with relatively short detours. The answer to your question actually might help with the later Seasons of the TV adaptation, if they’re open minded enough to understand how best to use it. Elayne is definitely the Main Character who has had the smoothest run. And that makes sense because she was part of the ruling fabric of the world when the story started and given the relative independence she’s enjoyed as a result of teaming up with our Duopotamian Adventurers, she’s been able to largely avoid the worst travails things like her Aes Sedai Training might have entailed. She’s had her skull cracked a couple of times while questing, but like you said, someone (Nynaeve in this case) has always been there to save her skin. Also, even though her Mother ‘Died’ according to what she knew, she was insulated from that by both her upbringing and expectation of Succession as Daughter-Heir. Not to mention her deep involvement with unfolding events in Salidar, at about the time she would have found out. Moiraine has also had a pretty easy run of it, given that while she may have occasionally been frustrated by Rand and Mat and to a lesser extent Perrin and the girls, she ended up in a kind of purgatorial stasis, waiting for Mat to come and save her, after ambushing Lanfear into Finnland before she could complete her destruction of a nonsensically chivalrous Rand. I was never a fan of Egwene, but this is perhaps her best Arc throughout the series, because she’s awesome throughout the whole book. Looking forward to seeing your reaction to Mat from here on out. Cheers Conor. Almost there mate!

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

You use some very fancy words and that was very fun to read! I really didn’t like Egwene at all (not sure I do now!) but I can’t argue against her being the most effective leader and the purest to her ideals now! Buzzing for the rest of the book!

Great recap! The foreward was incredible and had me tearing up for sure haha. He doesn't do it in either other book just so much respect for RJ. If you do go for a Sanderson book try mistborn era 1! Storm light archive is his epic but you probably need something short after this haha ;). Probably agree with you on Elayne. I really felt like the prologue too felt like this ominous spooky pre Halloween vibes like you know shits going down soon. Gahhh ending of this book is so good. Can't wait to see more vids!

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Yeah it was very respectful and got me excited to read it! The farmer bit was so well done! Very Halloween now that you mention it. Yes bro I’ll see you at the end!

Agreed among the 6 characters, Elayne has had the easiest road so far. You’re in for a treat. A fair number of people consider book 12 to be the best, and almost everyone agrees books 12-14 are a superb end to this epic journey.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

What did you think of the writing style change bro?

@mcina001

Жыл бұрын

@@conorreads Didn’t bother me too much, since I assumed it would happen. I felt Mat was written most differently. I appreciated the focus on moving the plot along for sure!

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

@@mcina001 yeah your right that it was never going to be the same! The plot is flying now!

@mcina001

Жыл бұрын

@@conorreads Soak it in. Looking forward to the rest of your reactions.

I would love for you to go back and do a "where my predictions right or wrong" video at the end !

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

I think I will do a look back at my predictions for Eye Of The World, I could be very funny as it was one of my very first videos on KZread also

As always awesome vid bruv - I dont think anyone's cruised to success lol BUT who has had it the least hard? Out of the EF5 i'd have to say Nynaeve. Of our main cast i'd have to say Elayne

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Yeah Nynaeve really had her development arc banged out in the early/mid books

You at least one very good spot on prediction in this video😉

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

Gotta be right every once in a while

Your Demanded=Mazrim Taim theory is great! After you finish the books, I hope someone will be able to tell you a certain detail. Please remember to pick up that theory once you are all done, especially trying to figure out how you came up with this prediction.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

I’ll be deep diving all conspiracy theories and rabbit hole ideas around wheel of time once I’m finished!

@Nathius_16

Жыл бұрын

@@conorreads Great! I am so looking forward to that! But for now, I am looking forward to each and every episode of your reading experience! Enjoy the ride! The rollercoaster has begun! 😉

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

@@Nathius_16 thanks brother

I’d be interested in hearing you go through the last 3 books. I loved this one, but liked them less and less as they continued, and for specific reasons.

@conorreads

7 ай бұрын

I went through them all my friend, why’s that?

Hello Conor. Great review as usual. I'd probably have to agree about Elayne being the one who has had it the (relatively) easiest up to this point. I can't wait for you to get further into the book. It happens to be one of my top 5. So-o-o-o-o-o-o much good stuff happens. Tons of OMG moments :). BTW, season 2 of the Wheel of Time on Amazon is coming out on September 1st! do you think you will be done with all of the books to watch season 1 & start season 2...? Enquiring minds wanna know :)

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

I believe I should be done by then! I haven’t gotten around to watching it yet…. Your thoughts 💭 ?

@shellysedai1930

Жыл бұрын

@@conorreads well, I liked the show. Although there were some who did not. I would suggest you watch the shows and do reviews for your channel about them. How you like them overall, as adaptations, and stuff you like and don’t like (both based on books and not). Book fans would watch your reviews 😉

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

@@shellysedai1930 that’s a good idea, I’ll add it to my list!

Great video as always. I agree with Elayne having the easiest time so far. I'd almost say Mat had an easier time, but he has to deal with some of the most arrogant & obnoxious women ever written, including Elayne, and that can't be easy. I have a question for you. Did you notice any difference in writing style for this book? I noticed there seemed to be more dialogue and less descriptions of things in some chapters, but there were many chapters that felt like the same old Robert Jordan. If I had to guess this book was mostly written by Robert Jordan and the later ones will feel more Sanderson.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

It was more simplistic and faster moving! I agree I think things would’ve moved quickly if Jordan had written it also. But I enjoyed the directness of this one so far!

@1m1s

Жыл бұрын

@@conorreads With Sanderson we don't get horses' names anymore, or people's clothes, or what kind of rug there is on the floor in a tent. The world is a bit more bland. Instead we get a lot of characters that appear once for no plot reason just to drop the name of a friend or fan of Sanderson. I think he always does this kind of fan-service, I just wished he hadn't done it in WoT. But the biggest difference for me is that Jordan often wrote scenes with a lot of ambiguity. A lot of things were not spelled out in the inner monologue, and you had to guess. Or the PoV person doesn't understand what's going on, but the reader does, like when Perrin accidentally talks Alliandre into fealty just because he doesn't know how to talk to a queen. With Sanderson there's no room for misunderstanding anymore. The plot is spelled out clearly. From what I heard, it seems a lot of people actually prefer it that way. But I think Jordan was the way better writer. However, I'm sooo glad we got the final three books at all. And I doubt any other writer could have done a significantly better job than Sanderson did.

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

@@1m1s that’s such a good explanation of what is now missing, I loved how Jordan didn’t spell it out, it felt like the real world!

I don't think there are easy paths, not in life, not in a good written book. The POV 's show the world and their self image through their own character. Elayne has a good-hearted, positive nature. She isnt the person who mulls over a setback for long. She won't share her struggles with you the reader as dramatic Rand, self-important Egwene, gloomy Perrin and whining Mat do. Elayne is claiming the throne without her brother, without her mother, while being pregnant of twins, whose father is missing in action. Chew on that. There is another arc that seems to be especially written to make the point that there are no easy paths. We all struggle in our own ways: whether nobly born or a farmer. It's an arc that will activate shortly. Already said too much!

@conorreads

Жыл бұрын

A cool viewpoint I haven’t heard on Elayne, some good ideas! You have made me even more curious as to the future now!

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