The best moment in towers is when rand tells cadsuane:"you can call me rand sedai"

@aharris206

3 жыл бұрын

YES!! I think I remember it saying that her face went pale or something lololol! It IS true though . . . He IS the only male in the world at that time who was both formally raised Aes Sedai and did not go over to the Shadow! :)

@ChristmasLore

2 жыл бұрын

This was so, so satisfying! I could picture her in my mind, mouth agap, all AS' restrain shattered.

@lorddekuscrub

Жыл бұрын

Also in the prologue of the 1st book Ishamael says Rand was the Tamyrlin Seat. Most probably the male equivalent of Amyrlin. So they should call him Father too lol

“It’s just a weave,” Perrin said

@ChristmasLore

2 жыл бұрын

Perrin, not even aware of how ugly Egwene has become, just putting her and all AS in their place, just like that! This was highly satisfying.

Lots of great comments, but I want to throw something totally different in there. During the prologue, at Heeth tower. "This weapon is offered to a boy when he becomes a man. It seems it is too late in coming, for I see a man before me." This scene had not characters we knew of, but was one of my favorites in this book. Magnificent.

@0Arman0

2 жыл бұрын

💯 agreeeeed

@belovedobserver

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I was crying like a baby. When the son had the younger boy deliver the message to save him from battle since his mother had already lost her other kids….wow. Thank you for pointing this out again!!

@GnarledStaff

Ай бұрын

Robert Jordan did great with the side characters, arguably better than the main characters.

Something that I liked when the Trollocs attack the Whitecloaks is that you see how unprepared they really are. Even Galad realises how inexprerienced they are

@mikesbookreviews

4 жыл бұрын

I've thought they were an unorganized mess since the beginning. Being previously led by rapey Valda, it makes sense.

I think Perrin's arc would have been a lot better if they had integrated his searching for Faile with training in TAR

i thought when perrin stopped the balefire that was thrown by messanna in the white tower at him and egwane and he said to her "it's only a weave egwane" was a great moment. it played a part as well for the "Armylin" you say :) to go ahead and defeat messanna later on.

@gokbay3057

4 жыл бұрын

That is also how worst girl got the Adam of her neck.

@odiums_taint

4 жыл бұрын

agreed jeremy. when she sees aybarra control the dream world, it makes her capable of overpowering mesaana.

Hammer scene was one of my goosebump moments in the series.

I love Perrin's "It's just a weave" line to "the Amrylin." He's so much more competent in TAR than her now.

@tadious9415

Жыл бұрын

Lol yes! I love that the main limitation on TAR is what you think you can't do. Just about anything else you can do.

My favorite Mat moment is in this book, the conversation with Mistress Anan about a man and his boots. edit: syntax

@travisminger9529

3 жыл бұрын

It was okay but very out of character for me IMO

Re-reads also pay off when you realize all the blended myths and stories Jordan used throughout. Rand is Tyr (one handed Norse God), Perrin is Thor and Matt is Odin who had two ravens named Thought and Memory, was hung from the Tree of life and fought with a spear. There are many Arthurian bits mixed throughout the series as well, san-graal is French for Holy Grail for instance.

@0Arman0

2 жыл бұрын

Light !

@TealTheDropster

Жыл бұрын

Saint Graal, oh yeah it makes sense

@barliechoy

Жыл бұрын

Legends turn to myth

The most amazing thing about Mat's ashandarei is not that what it is but how in the face of everything it managed to fly past the radar for like 20 years.

@ActionNerdGo

4 жыл бұрын

I really only saw it as really overt Odin symbolism until that moment. The Odin is so strong in Matt. Magic Spear. Two ravens. One Eye. Hung from a Tree by his neck.a gambler, a Trickster and a warrior. Even the wide-brimmed hat he wears is a nod to Odin.

Good points with Perrin having mid series breakthroughs at the end. Might have been something cool to tie in during the slog to help rescue his wife.

Sad that you didn’t talk about the Kandori tower POV in the prologue - makes me tear up every time when the captain’s son takes up his sword

@duckchickenpenguin6178

4 жыл бұрын

This is part two I beleive. There is a part one.

@jasonfarley9025

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I'd love to hear Mike's thoughts on that.

@Skyhunter826

3 жыл бұрын

Sadly I don't think he touched on it in part 1 either

And now for part II of my comments/opinions. My 2 favorite books in this series are The Shadow Rising, and Towers of Midnight. The reason for that is: I see them as "bookends" within the series of the growth of our 3 ta'veren. In the first 3 books, they are just reacting to everything that happens to them. The Shadow Rising, to me, marks the beginning of all 3 ta'veren truly beginning to act and take control of their own destinies (within the ta'veren framework of course). Towers of Midnight marks the "end" of their growth. They are fully realized ta'veren each in their own right. Mat is, and knows he is, in command. Perrin is the Seanchan's "Wolf King". And Rand is whole for the first time in a long time. They are no longer fighting against everything. They "have embraced death", as the Aiel say. Could choices have been made differently with the story telling? Sure. But they have each completed their metamorphosis. Now all that is left, is Tarmon Gai'don! On to the Last Battle! Forward the Golden Crane!

@jeremydanchuk1897

4 жыл бұрын

Very well said

@Rand_al_Thor372

4 жыл бұрын

Fuckin A!

One of the reasons Messana's plan was more easily foiled was because the dream spike was brought to the tower...she had planned a much more elaborate ambush until it was brought there.

The three boys represent the 3 choices someone faces when presented with a role of leadership. Rand tried to force his leadership, Perrin tried to reject his leadership, those 2 had adverse reactions to both of those paths. Matt more quickly accepted his role in leadership as what it was and did not try to force it, Matt suffered the least consequences of leadership, when Rand relaxed his pressure on leadership, and Perrin stopped running from leadership both of their major problems resolved almost immediately.

@Rand_al_Thor372

4 жыл бұрын

Interesting observation. Check THIS shit out... Ok we know Rand/Lews/Artur is based on the real life Artur Paendragon and that spirit also reincarnated in this world. Abraham Líncoln was the reincarnation of Arthur, King of the Britons. Lincoln indeed dealt with a broken world when the Confederate States seceded from the Union. Abe then led a vast army to war against the forces of darkness who sought to preserve the depraved institution of slavery. Lincoln's gift as a writer would again surface in his next life as none other than F. Scott Fitzgerald. America's greatest president was also it's greatest writer. It all ties together in the greater pattern of the tapestry. Uncannily so...

@lukasmoser3469

3 жыл бұрын

@@Rand_al_Thor372 what are you talking about..

@Rand_al_Thor372

3 жыл бұрын

@@lukasmoser3469 reincarnation.

@lukasmoser3469

3 жыл бұрын

@@Rand_al_Thor372 okay mate

I hear you about the Mat part! I cracked this book open expecting the majority of it to be devoted to Mat and his heroic expedition into the realm of the "elves". What strange landscapes would he see, how would he outsmart the xenos, would he be able to escape the clutches of the eldritch entities within the tower? Instead it was Perrin, Perrin, Perrin (I know it wasn't 100% Perrin, but it felt like it) and only the last little sliver was saved for Mat Its like taking a girl on a date, but for the first two hours of the date you have to talk to her burly armed dad about Andor politics/law and then she rushes you out the door with a kiss on the cheek.

@mikesbookreviews

4 жыл бұрын

I felt like it was karma for me always asking for more Perrin 😂

@0Arman0

2 жыл бұрын

God that cracked me up hahahah

One of the things I didn't realize/missed on my first two read throughs that I caught on my third: The first time Mat goes through the doorframe and they tell him "Go to Rhuidean or you'll die"(paraphrased). . . Shortly after they leave Rhuidean and are on their way to Cold Rocks Hold, there is a massive Trolloc attack on the caravan. Mat is out fighting them with his nifty new Ashandarei, and feels his new Foxhead medallion growing cold. He looks around to see who it was but can't figure it out. . . I believe that was the time he was supposed to have died if he never went to Rhuidean!

@ChristmasLore

2 жыл бұрын

Difficult to decipher, with his luck and all. He escaped death several times. But he would have died without Rand when he was hanged, it's the only time he really did die, for a few moments.

If this book were a movie the Perrin/Hopper training scenes would be like a Rocky IV montage.

Mat's part in the tower is great, but I agree that it feels a bit rushed. This is something we've waited for a long time for and while it's good, it takes so long to get there and it is over really fast. But hey it's a nice book that prepares of for the final battle

Good stuff again Mike. Love seeing you or anyone enjoying the WOT. Can't wait for your conclusion and am curious how long it takes for you to do a reread. I know you said not any time soon, but it kinda calls to you like a reunion with old friends. Plus the best part is skimming those chapters that dont need to be there and hammering through the best parts. Enjoy AMOL!!

Good stuff, Mike. Thanks. I was never interested in Egwene until these last books. LOVED the battle scene with Rand. I pictured him on the battlefield facing hundreds of thousands of shadowspawn with a couple of Aiel crouching at his feet with shields. Gives me the feels!

I read the tower scene similar to how you did it sort of reminded me of the movie Aliens when they are going through to the bottom to the Queen, dark creepy stuff all over the place. "Jain Farstrider died clean" was a great line.

My reaction was exactly that of mat we have been with moraine and Thom from start, when did they get into each other?

Mike. Great review once again. IIRC back in the day Jordan's plan was the last book to be book 12. He and Tom Doherty of TOR Books discussed the physical publishing of the 12th book when it was growing to be over 2,000 pages. Tom promised RJ that he would find a way to bind the huge tome in any way possible. It wasn't until after RJ passed and Harriet and Brandon determined that it would be more helpful to split the last book into 12,13 &14 to give Brandon time. He could concentrate on each scripted section in smaller more manageable chunks. This would also benefit us readers as then we wouldn't have to wait until all 2000 pages were done to read part of the story. So had it been originally been published as planned everything happening in TGS and TOM would have happened at the beginning and middle of the last book.

Mike, the WOT was the first fantasy series that I ever read and it made me fall in love with fantasy. I loved watching your take on this and really appreciate the honesty. You rock! Can't wait to see you react to that ending :D

you're a homie man. keep being honest, that's why I watch

i cant agreed with your assessment and break-downs anymore than i already do. keep up the great work mike!

This felt like the proper sequel to The Shadow Rising (my favorite WoT book so far) that I’ve been waiting for from Perrin and the Whitecloaks to Mat revisiting the snakes and foxes and finally to Avienda’s journey to Rhuidean. Safe to say I loved this one!

It's been a year of my life....lol. I started this series in 98 and lived through the panic of the author passing. That being said the most amazing thing about tgis series has always been the story arcs. Ive read series where I didnt think the characters grew or changed much from begining to end. But these do. The pay offs overall are really amazing. Even for characters who I didnt like much( egwene elayne perrin) go back and reread eye of world and see how much they changed from book one. I never thought that this series would have a great ending. Just didnt think Jordan would pull all the strings together. But he did. FYI the last 3 books where supposed to be one book. And Sanderson ( who did a great a job but I think sometimes gets too much credit) has said that there was a ton of hands putting in their comments and wants to the end. Who knows how much bigger that made the story. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on memory. Enjoy!!

Mat and Rand meeting up again is one of the most hilarious moments of the entire series. Hope that doesn't spoil too much.

@ChristmasLore

2 жыл бұрын

They did not meet in this one, did they? How would have I missed it? (I just finished ToM)

I agree with you on almost everything with Egwene. I believe that an improvement would be to focus on her power in tel'aran'rhiod because that is her unique area among the super girls and I think it makes sense for her to beat mesana. but that is the only OP part of her I want to keep when they adapt this into a show. Narratively speaking we can give these three girls ways to be powerful and unique. Egwene being strong in tel'aran'rhiod, Nyneave being strong in the power and healing. and Elayne can be the rand-loving, tier'angreal making one. I heard some say that egwene should stay with the aiel up to the end when they adapt it to a show and I wont complain if that is what they do. Also Gawyn is not a good character but not as bad as they say. and what you said about him being the swordsman will be elaborated on in AMoL

Perrin making the hammer was my favorite scene for him the whole series. Nyneave rocks. Jordan's original plan was for the last 3 books to be one, I think it was difficult for Sanderson to condense all of the material into one book, that is probably why Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight felt so poorly paced. I don't blame Sanderson for that, imagine trying to get into someone else' head and figure out how they wanted the books done. It took me a few years to pick up the last book to finish the series, I started reading WoT when I was in grade nine back in 1993 and it is like you said, this is it, no more next book to pick up. Keep up the good work Mike.

Great review again Mike. Can't wait to hear your opinion on the finale. Enjoy the ride on the winds of time!

I have LOVED these videos so much. Thank you for sharing your opinions about the Wheel of Time and thank you for sharing your journey with the books. I happen to agree with 95% of your opinions about these books, so keep on going and I can't wait for a re-read and for "Why you should read WoT" videos.

I’ve loved watching these reviews as I make my first way through the series, though we don’t agree on everything, hearing you speak your thoughts on the books and lay out how you process things is something I always look forward to as I get to the last few chapters! I share your sentiment at the end in regards to starting AMoL almost word for word. Thank you for making my Wheel of Time reading experience that much better. Very much looking forward to this last book and oddly enough am almost as excited to come here after I finish and see what you thought. Again, thanks heaps Mike :)

Man I can't wait for your aMoL review. You'll have to do one video on JUST the last battle chapter.

Great reviews. You don't need everyone to agree with your thoughts on a given character. Be you, I enjoy the point of view!

I love your reviews! And remember that the last three books were supposed to be one, so the final trilogy is structured like one WoT book. You are entering the final third and I'm so happy to have seen you go through it! Edit: I think I'm even starting the last book along with you! Enjoy the ride

My dad and I started reading this series together from the start and kept checking with our bookstore for the next one and then found out that Robert Jordan had died. We were really sad. Then we heard another author was finishing the books and were a little skeptical but really wanted to know how it turned out. My dad's last book was ToM. He never got to finish but I did and I was so pleased how it ended. I have since reread it several times and love it more each time.. (I usually skim over Egwene and Elayne's parts) Hope you enjoy MoL!

I agree with the Perrin stuff. He is a great character overall and I have no problem with him being the king of the wolf dream or so totally devoted to Faille. The problem is that a couple of examples are all we needed to show his devotion, and three or so short visits to the wolf dream would have been enough to demonstrate his growing mastery of the world. What we received was probably a Robert Jordan sized book worth of the two subjects. Editing, editing editing.

@ChristmasLore

2 жыл бұрын

Till the end of this book I held on to the wish that Faile was a dark friend, and he would ultimately end up with Berelain.... I like Perrin's character, and he deserved such a better wife.

Unfortunately, I just don't think that Jordan built enough for Perrin to do within the series, so he had an amazing arc up to a point, as you noticed, then since the series wasn't supposed to last this long, he had to put him on ice for a half dozen books before getting him ready for the end.

Ive been enjoying your reviewes, thanks for doing them. Not sure why peeps are attacking your opinion of she who shall not be named but oh well. I am just starting book 14 and I have enjoyed her arc more than wolf eyes but i didnt want to. Her arc has been most enjoyable to me even though i find your points to be valid. Wolf eyes has been getting a raw deal and went from one my favs to one of my least favs. Keep up the good work.

Hello Mike, As always great video! I really like listening to your opinion on the series. I, for one, wish to start reading this series, several times--always tempted to pick-up the first book..but I always felt intimidate by it--strangely I cannot pinpoint why :D Yet by following your journey through this series--I am planning to start it off in the coming months :) and experience it for myself. Absolutely, once you complete reading it, you should consider a video where you discuss this journey and your feelings towards the "whole series" instead of individual books. Greetings, from Sofia, Bulgaria!

Honestly, this book was in my top 5 books of the wheel of time series. Mat experienced a massive growth here and somehow Perrin became my favorite character in the series. Now of course, if you did not like it then I understand. I think why I liked the book personally is because I've been waiting for his BIG moment you know? Rand and Mat have been on completely different power levels ever since shadows rising. This book sets up Perrin to be a powerful player who basically OWNS the dream world at this point. Perrin is just such a relatable character to me that gets a lot flack for not being chosen one or the clever one. He's the person that gets the job done, and we see that with him making his final decision to be the hammer. Which is hilarious because obviously, his hammer made with freaking channeling is freaking god-like compared to an ax. R.I.P Hopper You're gonna love the final book man!!!

Great job as always

A year of your life, Mike? I started reading this series in the early 90s, when I was a student. I have never done a re-read, although my wife would re-read them all before each new one came out. Only picked up again within the last year after faltering at PoD, despite three attempts to get past the first 100 pages - Audiobooks have done it for me this time, on the daily commute

@Rand_al_Thor372

4 жыл бұрын

Remember the excitement and anticipation of the next book coming out??? I got THE EYE OF THE WORLD like a monh after it dropped in softcover ed. And every subsequent hardcover release thereafter! I think it was 1990 when i got the first Book.

@briangal71

4 жыл бұрын

Remember it well. It was every November for many years. At my birthday. Then it started to become farther between each book. This series saw me thru my degree exams in the 90s.

@Rand_al_Thor372

4 жыл бұрын

@@briangal71 That's RIGHT, it WAS November. I couldnt recall but yeah yr absolutely right.

Mike makes a great point if you have a story this big some major characters better die off. It better not be bubble gum and roses for everyone with a happily ever after. Something I think old Santa George RR Martin got right with the early Game of Thrones books.

Ive loved all your videos. Speak your truth about the characters. We all have our love hate relationships with them all. Long time fans of the series have learned patience and R fine with your assessments. Let the haters hate. On that note, prepare yourself Mike, the last battle is here.

I always love coming to these videos after I finish a book. Im so excited and sad that I only have one book left 😢 after a year and a half im about to have no new wheel of time to read

I hated the trial. I hope the tv series just cuts it, and also super condenses the captured Faile stuff arc. But damn I loved the Moiraine rescue! I do agree that I wish it had happened sooner because by the time you get to this book you know it is happening. I mean the title alone promises it, and there was the letter in the last book. So you know it is coming, but it took forever to get to there. Still so good though!

great video as always

Hi. Good and Versatile Review. TOM had a few of my favorite WOT chapers, e.g., The Amyrlin's Anger, Return to Bandar Eban, A Storm of Light plus a couple of other chapters. . There were great battles in the book and the plot patterns combined nicely. It was also best to see ZenRand emit little steam through one power. Once you have read the series in its entirety ,let's talk about one power levels in more detail.Should gather together the Top 50 chapters, among WOT fans.

All the official artwork does a great job at shadowing Matt's eye and Rand's hand! One half of Matt's face is usually shadowed

Thanks for the review!

It's interesting to me to see where -how- someone reads the book impacts their views on characters or plotlines. Fans who have been reading since the first release of EotW see things very differently than people who picked up after Sanderson took the reins. When you wait for years and years between books, you feel differently about the slog than someone who came in later. First read throughs are also very different from re reads. It's not better or worse, neither is good or bad, just different, and interesting, to me. I'm glad you've taken this journey! I came in after Jordan died but before Gathering Storm was published. So it felt different, to me, when I did a reread of the whole series as one as opposed to years in between books. It's fascinating, to me!

I loved the Tower of Ghenjei- best part of the book for me

Congrats on 7k !!!

Love the houston representation!! I think characters like Morgase arent really there to advance the plot (aside from certain points) but more to make the world feel more large and complex. I am going to make a bold prediction that one of, if not your favorite part of AMoL will be Perrin in tel'aran'rhiod

Regarding characters, I think that altough it sounds a bit counterintuitive, the fact that we like and dislike different characters actually exemplifies the quality of the character work in WoT. When you spend so long getting to know these people you reach a point when it starts to come down to how well your personality would mesh with theirs. And since we are all different people with different experiences we tend to gravitate to different characters. The fact that you have a multiple character that one reader just cant stand and another absolutely loves is extremly rare and speaks to a real three-dimensionality of most of the cast. For example, I really, really love Elayne. And i know a lot of ppl cant stand her, including you & thats ok, I can see why :D Shes a spoiled self-important princess. But at the same time every single time she gets too full of herself or makes a stupid move and gets a reality check, she is humble enough to admit her faults and instead use it as a learning tool. Those are some traits I personaly really value. Add with her stubornness and determination to succeed and to always be better channeled in the right direction and with her full appreciation for the responsibility being a queen really is, you can see that if the given time to fully mature she is on a trajectory to become a very skilled politician and a capable ruler. Thats why I dont mind royal pomp and childishness from her. Shes a kid, trying to be what she needs to be for others, and slowly coming to actually fit that role. TLDR: I love Elayne and I think its actually great that you don't, and that goes for disagreements on all characters :) Enjoy the last one, its insane.

@Hash1531

2 жыл бұрын

I love elayne too!! Finally someone who thinks about her positively like me. Apart from all her great traits . The thing that made her my favorite is her sense of humor.

Nice review!

Man is crazy how similar our views are on those books. Maybe is a first time reader thing but I felt the same thing towards Egwane and that feeling never faded away.

A central concept to WoT is how our reality is the source for some of their myths and the events in the books are the source for some of our myths. With that said, did you pick up on that our 3 Ta'Veren is now a precursor to Norse gods. Rand have similarities to Tyr with his missing hand. Perrin as you said now wields Thor's hammer. Mat's loss of his eye completes his transformation to Odin. He's connected to battle, ravens, has a special spear, been hanged from a tree and sacrifices his eye. It's not a one to one comparison but it's intended to be twisted legends that the myths are based on.

I did notice an error Mike. Perrin moved the dream spike to dragonmount.....

Morgase did something. Me screaming in the background: Who cares? Last Battle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@robertlester641

4 жыл бұрын

SAME. She was useless always and the trial was stupid.

Hey Mike! Been following your journey for quite a while now and love seeing your thoughts on these books i love so much. ToM was the weakest of 11-14 (my favourites) but still pretty good imo, albeit a bit sidetracked from the main story. While i personally love Egwene, kind of for the reasons you hate her lol (for some reason i really like the OP stuff in nearly every fantasy novel i have read) your criticisms are completely valid and people really to grow tf up and realize we are not a single hive mind. For me, the series stuck the landing fantastically and i really hope you feel the same. Keep a tissue box nearby while you read aMoL and don't feel pressured to put out content on it, god knows i needed time to think about what the series meant to me and what my feelings about it were when i finished it. Enjoy!

Someone correct me if I'm remembering wrong because I haven't read the series in a few years but I believe that Moridin actually went and retrieved Lanfear and killed her so her soul could be placed in a new body rather than the snakes and foxes killing her.

lol @ Olver. This whole series you wonder why this kid is around. The Finn were feeding off his emotions which adds another layer of creepiness. Looking forward to the next and last one of these videos. There will be sooooo much to talk about.

Yeah i was not a fan of the perrin/gallad trial it reminded me of Roran from eragon but i absolutely loved perrin in the last book looking forward to hearing your opinion on him after the final book. Matt is just so good in this book and the next. RJ really is a master of foreshadowing.

I really thought the scene with Perrin barreling down the from the heights into the trollocs would have hyped you up more. Was one of my favorite Perrin scenes.

@mikesbookreviews

4 жыл бұрын

It did, I just didn't take the time to mention another battle sequence got me hyped. Trying not to sound like a broken record in these.

I love your reviews man, the fact that you had very similar impression to mine in the first few books and gushed so much on Sanderson is what convinced me to pick up Mistborn, which I'm really enjoying :). I get why you don't like Egwaine... but at the same time, it's why I like her. She is an asshole. And that's fine. I feel like it's okay when you have a cast with so many character that a few of them are not good people. She's an asshole, yes, but she is their asshole... and it feels that the only way to actually get on top with the Aes Sedai is to be an asshole. Perrin... oh man. I used to love him, he was my favorite character early on. But then they basically assassinated him. He has a reluctant hero from book 1-2-3... and book 4 is essentially 'peak perrin' - He marries Faile, he leads the two rivers against the trollocs, he sends the white clock packing and he defeats Slayer in the wolf dream. While you wouldn't think he'd all of a sudden be done with his arc and be done growing, all of this hint at significant progression for the character... right? But no. He's still unsure - he doesn't want to be a leader, he's afraid to lose himself in the wolf dream and he's uncertain about Faile... for 9 FREAKING BOOKS. It feels like he's regressing, not progression... it's a character slope, not an arc. Drive me nuts. And yeah, it sucks that a character you loved makes you go 'here we go again...' and sigh heavily when you see you've hit one of his POV chapter. Oh, and he's stuck dealing with the Shaido too... who honestly, shouldn't have been wiped out at Dumai's Well for the sake of the story. So book 13 is where they finally decide to make him progress a bit... way to little to late for me. I understand why people like him early on (I did too) but I don't understand how people can finish the series and like him. It also always annoyed me how 'skilled' he is with no real reason. Ta'veran i guess... but Jordan made an effort with the other 2. Matt's got tons of memory of battles and fights from dead warriors and heroes on top of it being established that he's good with a box/staff early on - so him being a great warrior makes sense. Rand spend the most time training for fight of any of the 3 and living up to the Heron mark on Tam's sword is a huge part of his early character. Perrin is 2v1 Aeil and other 'warrior from birth' with ease... because? He got a throw away line that Lan was helping him train in Book2, and that's it. Even book 14 as stuff with him that annoys me, but I'll wait until your next review to address those :P

@mikesbookreviews

4 жыл бұрын

I feel like Perrin was so wasted. He was a boss through Lord of Chaos. I feel like maybe it was the point of no return for him with me because I haven't even been wild about what Sanderson has done with him.

Hey i still love your reviews! Its interesting i missed noal on my first read but i did pick up on the importance of Oliver's game. I disagree about egweene but i do understand where your opinion comes from. My problem with gawn is his personality just becomes an extension of egweene kinda like with perin and faile. IMO

Been reading these books this year. I have really enjoyed your reviews. It helped keep it all clear in my head 13 books deep. I agree about ...."she who must not be named", haha. Her power level is off the charts, although her ability to make the A'dam fall off made sense to me with her being a Dreamer. While she was panicking, I just kept thinking, "Are we not in Tel'Aran'Rhiod? It isn't really there. How are you not realizing you aren't actually collared?" However, her play against Rand was what annoyed me the most. It just feels so pointless. How many people have to agree with Rand for her to understand it has to be this way? Just seems a bit dumb and her wanting to be in control of everything. Elayne is my least favorite. I agree she was better in this book, but there is something about her I just don't like.

Mike, there was no "spin off" between Moraine and Thom. They met in book 1. I didn't believe their romance until I reread their interactions and looked for it. It's surprisingly there. You have to remember that he was Master Court Bard and she is a very adept Aes Sedai both very good at subterfuge and hiding their emotions. When you get done reading this series, read his page on A Wheel of Time Wiki for a couple of events he was entangled with.

Egwene is a frustrating character. Her scene fighting the Seanchan from the tower was one of my favourites, and she has some other great moments, but I certainly understand why you don't like her. On re-reads (after several times through) I usually skim her stuff. Also, agree on Nynaeve. She grew and became such a more nuanced, interesting, powerful character in the later books.

Hey just want you to know even though I do disagree with some of your opinions on the plot beats (and other things), I still like your reviews! Don't get too beat down by backlash.

While I didn't like some of Egwene's storyline in the next book, I think you will actually like a part of it. While I like Eg, um, the Amyrlin, I don't have any problems with your differing opinion. Would recommend the last book review be 2 parts too. I would even recommend to read up to start of the battle and stop and do review for that part before continuing reading.

Overall really enjoy the review. I know there is a finite amount of time to talk in these reviews. I was just interested to see your opinion as a first time reader on the whole borderlanders and rand confrontations. Sad they had to get left out but I think you did a pretty good job of summarizing. I will say for the Memory of Light I will tell you I just wanna see the emotion and see the reaction to the big moments more than the recap.

@joehunter5472

4 жыл бұрын

Also, forget Eggs she sucks. She has always sucked. I wish she was better but overall idk how anyone can compare her to Nyn, or even Thom. I think the only redeeming thing is how satisfying it is every time she gets punished that those moments make up for the shitty acting for me.

Regarding Morgase - my most recent reread was through the lens of the author(s) exploring power (and Power) in as many forms as possible, including the fall from power. What are the effects of power on those wielding it and those who are subjected to it? What does it mean for someone to be the most powerful person in one of the most powerful country in her known world to fall? To be under compulsion in her own castle robbed of any agency, breaking free and trying to maintain dignity until again any illusion of control over your own body is stripped by sexualized power abuse? What kind of power and dignity can she maintain as a servant of no apparent influence? How different beyond levels of brutality is her Shaido captivity vs. swearing fealty to Faile and Perrin, who is ready to demand she marry without consulting her? And then when she is revealed and trusted as impartial, will she do with the power? She could have become all Stockholm-y and agree that defense of animals is worth the lives of men in opposition to the laws of her country. She could have gotten off on restored power and administered the harshest punishment. She chose to decline the power of choosing the method of justice to someone she knew always did the right thing.

I think the main reason Mat took up so little compared to what you might expect, is Sanderson likely felt uncomfortable writing Mat and needed to keep it as short as he could. That's just my thoughts as I've heard him say Mat was a weak point when writing Mat in his opinion.

We always want more Mat! 😁🙃😎👍

In my opinion Perrin gets better with each re-read, but on the first read through I completely agree with you

Great review and I feel the reason they are not 4 or 5 out of 5 is because you didn't connect with some of the characters arcs, developments I think I'm lucky that I started this series in 1996 and caught up before Path of Daggers came out. Was able to read all the books again just before it. All the main characters Egwene I see part of her character in book 1 She will learns from the person she wants to be like or adapt to the culture/ custom e.g. training to be a wisdom like Nynaeve , learn the one power and be Aes Sedai,i from Moiraine, when with the tinkers there care free attitude. Book 2 she learns some of the Shienar customs She is captured and trained like a dog. Book 3 starts to be her own person and is on level footing with Nynaeve so there's a power struggle Book 4 Moiraine notices that Egwene will not be easily influence The Aiel wise one teaches her about the dream world while there starts learning there way's. Especially Ji'e'toh, Ji is honor, and toh is obligation She meets her toh for lying to the wise one We learn she is hungry for knowledge and to learn. She wins the power struggle with Nynaeve. Comes to understands why Moiraine submits to Rand This prepares her to be able to deal with Aes Sedai

i see alot of what you get from the story to be the same, but i would say there are things i read a little different as well. having listen to the audio books makes a little difference to i think. more in the first part than this one i think and in past reviews but still, i enjoy the reviews. you do a fine job.

The 8th wonder of the world!!! I'm just north of Austin.

Elayne acting like she's bullet proof was annoying the hell out of me. I was expecting her to be paralyzed from the waist down when she got stabbed in the back in that jail cell fight sequence. Her losing the wolf head copy was bad enough tho. Also the way she kept threatening to execute Perrin and Faille had me eye rolling after Perrin saved her mother and her half-brother.

There is a short story called "River of Souls" that is four chapters that were cut out of "A Memory of Light". It is not "essential" reading, but it fleshes out what one of the Forsaken was doing offscreen, a Forsaken who is quite important to the Last Battle.

@DanielSClouser

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, but you REALLY should not read that before A Memory of Light.

@jonathancampbell5231

4 жыл бұрын

@@DanielSClouser Well, it changes the experience, but it isn't necessarily "worse". Depends on whether you prefer a surprising twist, or more character depth.

Interesting listening to your thoughts on Perrin. I loved his arc in this book. But then I also like a feast for crows, so what do I know 😂

Since arround the Shadow Rising and Lord of Chaos the community has speculated now the Ta'veren are kinda inspire and will fit the roles/motiffs of Norse gods. Rand is Tyr/Tew. God of war, law, order. Put his hand in the giant wolf Fenrir's mouth to distract it whille it's chained up. Naturally it bites off the hand and Fenrir will break out for Ragnarok. Mat is Odin. Wear's a black hat, has ravens, hung on a tree to discover runes, and is missing one eye. Perrin is Thor. However the community suspected that Perrin's role as Taverin will be as a Builder. The Dragon has to win this Final Battle, but someone has to clean up afterwards. That would be more of Perrin's role. It doesn't excuse the Slog though. And we don't talk about that Trial with Morgase as Judge.

No Spoilers. Looking forward to your final thoughts. Gonna have to run back to the first of these and see if your original wishes/hopes for the series came true!

I'm finally getting to your reviews of the last two WoT, sorry I'm so late! We agree on many things and disagree on some, I'm just so glad you finally finished the whole series! We ALL Hate that awful trial plotline. Seriously, THE WORST plotline. ughhhhhhh!! I don't skip hardly ANYTHING when I do re reads or re-listens. But I skip the whole damn trial. It's entirely unnecessary and a waste of pagespace. His forging of that war hammer, however, is my favorite Perrin moment! It's so good! I love watching the channelers figure out, almost by accident, really ta'veren, how to make power wrought weapons again! GAH I love that scene!! This is when I finally start to like Mat. I really struggle to like him before this book. I know a lot of people don't like Sanderson's Mat, but I prefer this version! That golum scene was fantastic! Really the only logical conclusion, given all the mcguffin's in the air at this point in the story. Kick him into the never ending void they've seen sprinkled throughout the story (the Ways, the other skimming moments, losing an Aiel during one of those) I REALLY want a series of short stories of Birgitte and Gaidal

On a re-read I have found the Trial is always shorter than I initially thought. It's one of those things which isn't as bad a second time around. But I remember feeling the same way you do my first time through.

I now agree with you about Egwene.

Told you Oliver Was going to have a payoff. LOL

Did you recognize some of the charters from New Spring who meet with Lan in this book?

This book contains the what I consider the worst scene in the book: Rand vs Egwene over cleaning out the seals. The Amyrlin Seat thinks she knows better how to win the last battle than the Dragon Reborn. So much better that she is willing to go to war with him. Ridiculous storyline. She could have at least giving him the benefit of the doubt and listen with an open mind. Instead it looks like forces fighting for the Light will enter Tarmon Gaidon without being united.

@anobjectiveninja

4 жыл бұрын

Well, Egwene and Gawyn are made for each other... they need to exhibit equal levels of stupidity. On a serious note, I think the Rand-Egwene tension towards the end is supposed to parallel LTT and the Hundred Companions and their disagreements with the female channellers which eventually led to the taint on Saidin.

@ferransilves907

4 жыл бұрын

But I think Rand wasn't very communicative at all. The seals were the only thing keeping the Dark One back, and he's just like imma break them bye. He offered no explanation so how did you expect her to react?? They should just TALK

I agree with almost everything about Egwene, EXCEPT I really liked her in the time between her capture by Tower Aes Sedai through the Seanchen attack on the Tower.

Love the reviews! I disagree with some things but hey, everyone has a right to their opinion. If you ever do want to re-read the series I highly recommend audiobooks! They give it a bit of a different feel. - I don’t get why some people absolutely hate Perrins trial, I understand if it wasn’t your favorite or if you don’t care for it very much, but I really enjoy it, you see growth from Perrin galad and bornhold, and bayar gets what coming to him. If you HATE the trial please tell me why.

I think the more apt GoT comparison is Winter's Heart is A Dance with Dragons as Crossroads of Twilight is A Feast for Crows, especially given the two pairs cover the same time frame but follow different characters. As a fan of both however, Feast was so much easier to get through then Crossroads, imo.

I agree about the trial - could have lost it completely. Never could get the hang of The Children