#kod reread

[eytancragg]

knife of dreams final thoughts

i know i haven’t blogged much lately at all, much less to talk reread stuff, but i just finished up kod. here is some thought vomit.

I am terrifically glad to see Perrin and Faile reunited (and it feels so good). Perrin’s killing of Rolan, the Mera'din who desired Faile, was kind of awesome. The guy was a major creepazoid, although he never assaulted Faile. Of course, now P&F get to deal with the whole “maybe slept with Berelain” thing, but that doesn’t last for three books or whatever, thankfully. Tuon’s return to Ebou Dar and taking of Suroth as da'covale was so damned satisfying. Taim has entered Fully Villainous Territory. What a douche. Egwene as always is a true champion of the light. Beset constantly on all sides by treachery, torture, and in justice, she continues to hold true to herself and care for those in the Tower, even when they don’t care for her. Elayne has finally, finally taken the Lion Throne. It took some doing. Her trials with pregnancy are fairly amusing to read. I’m glad the midwife ordered her to eat real food instead of like porridge. Mat gets credit for being the first general in history to use shrapnel grenades, invented by Aludra of course. His last chapter ended with him doubled over laughing because of his new title as Prince of Ravens. And of course Tuon married him! That was pretty funny and adorable. On the whole, this was quite a satisfying book. Couple of arcs ended to make room for new ones. Couple of arcs begun to continue into The Gathering Storm. So let’s see, what’s waiting for me in tgs? The Seanchan attack on the tower, and Egwene’s true ascension to the Seat; Rand’s total blowout with the True Power….that’s all I really remember. It’s been a few years. Kod is of course the last book that rj wrote in its entirety before his death, and that’s quite a bittersweet thing for me. I’m so thankful to have this series in my life. It really captured my imagination as a teenager and continues to do so today, nearly a decade after I first read eotw. I think if there was one question I could ask him, it would be: what real-world cultures inspired your fictional cultures that western readers, especially American readers, might be unfamiliar with?

[eytancragg]

9 things to update you

1. Work is going well. It's the reason I have been very quiet. I was on overtime last week, and in at 0400 for several of those six days, plus this past Monday. 4am shift is fucking rough, but you get to leave at 1230, so that's nice. I have the lunch situation under control. I move a lot of fruit and veggies around. My days off this week were consecutive for the first time. Today and yesterday have been quite relaxing: working on my rg 00 raiser, reading knife of dreams. Mostly. Some other stuff. 2. The Internet is out at my house, along with phone and TV service. There was a big lightning storm two nights ago which didn't damage any equipment, but has totally cut us off from the network. Someone should be coming tomorrow evening to take a look and hopefully hook us back up. This is another reason I have been maintaining radio silence. 3. My paternal aunt and uncle visited me at work. That was extra weird, as I hadn't seen either of them in about 10 years. Thankfully my sperm donor hasn't seen fit to grace me with his presence, but who the fuck knows what that lunatic will decide to do. Conversation centered around visiting my grandparents, who have made extremely minimal effort to keep in touch with me since I broke from the old bastard. I may visit them, but probably not, as much as that hurts to say. I know what's best for me. 4. I feel like I discover something new every day about how my autism informs my behaviors and habits, whether it's something I currently do or something I did as a child. guapet can attest to this, as I text them pretty regularly about it. It feels strange to have such intense self-revelations when I'm almost 25, but such is life. The process always continues. 5. I've made one good friend at work and several decent ones. My assistant manager is a titanic nerd just like me, and we get along quite well. Everyone else in my department is pretty nice and we have fun. I have a few friends and acquaintances in other departments as well. I speak German to the deli manager constantly, as he grew up there, although I feel pretty self-conscious about it because mein Deutsch ist sehr schlecht geworden and I was never that quick on my feet anyway. 6. Knife of dreams reread is going swimmingly. I'm about 3/4 through the book. Rand just lost his hand and Mat and the Band ambushed a couple thousand Seanchan with great success. Egwene is claiming bits of the Tower back from Elaida, a little at a time, just by being a good influence. Something I'm loving about this book is the support it gives to my asexual (albeit strongly aesthetically attracted) reading of Mat. He stares at Tuon all the time, loves her smiles, etc. It's adorable and makes me feel quite vindicated. Perrin is about to invade the hell out of Malden and I'm so ready for he and Faile to be reunited, even though they will still have some rough times if memory serves, and it always does. 7. My rg 00 raiser is coming out amazingly well, at least to my estimation. I'm taking a lot of time with it and doing it right. I've finished the gundam, and built the central body of the 0 raiser, but haven't sprayed it with top coat yet. I'm going to try painting on top of the top coat this time, and give it another coat after. It's a fucking good model. I think it's the newest one I've ever owned. Feels good man. 8. I reread Anne Mcaffery's Dragonsinger. That was the first book of hers I read, waaaaay back in middle school. Tiny me was instantly infatuated with the World of Pern, although almost a decade and a half later, I still haven't read all of them. Not even close. Maybe a project for after I finish the wot reread? 9. I'm saving a lot of money, at least compared to how much I was saving before I started at the supermarket. I've been putting $500 a month into my savings, which is awesome. Hopefully when Maria gets a job somewhere far away from here, I'll have a good cushion to sit on while I look for a job in that other place. Hope it's soon. Very soon.

[the-wheel-weaves]

Knife of Dreams: parting thoughts

After the dearth of Book Ten, this book was a cool, refreshing drink of water.

First, I am quite furious with Rand and Perrin. 

Perrin, because he was so plodding and unbearably focused on finding Faile that he turned away from or ignored or dismissed anything else, especially if it was interesting. At least that’s over now.

(If I remember correctly, he gets better over the next books.)

And RAND. Ohh, that boy, I swear… 

“Rand, this is a trap!”  “Oh, yeah, I know.”  “We should avoid it!”  “…No, I think I’m gonna walk into it and see what happens.”

Everyone knew that that ‘meeting’ with ‘Tuon’ was a bad idea. Everyone knew something was not right. Everyone mentioned their misgivings to Rand.

I just…I will never have enough time in my entire life for all the head-shaking I want to do. That was just so…unnecessary.

And what the hell is going on with Logain?? Why does everyone hate him? I get the ego contest between him and Rand (though I don’t like it). But all the snippiness directed at him from Min and Nynaeve and even the Sea Folk, for crying out loud. The poor man is severely under-appreciated and it pisses me off.

Logain, you’re fine the way you are, sweetie. Get away from those nasty people. Come get a hug and some breakfast.

Also, he’s pretty handy to have around in a fight against Trollocs.

…Though maybe not as much as Lews Freaking Therin. Oh man. I like that guy. He’s dangerous but capable. And he gets all of my sympathy for his torments. 

“Honey in the Tea”: Egwene is awesome and I love her.

“The Golden Crane:” Lan is awesome and Nynaeve just as much and I love them.

Elayne…she’s pretty great, but she desperately needs a full time babysitter. Or she just needs Aviendha around more often, because I love their connection with each other. See how often she dismisses Rand but wants her sister? 

And of course, Mat “not your bloody highness” Cauthon. 

Mat and Furyk Karede and Tuon all interacting is beyond lovely. I love those three and I love them together. Karede’s devotion to Tuon moves me, and Tuon and her not really understanding Mat or love or kissing (aww) is endearing, and of course Mat is Mat. He doesn’t understand much but he loves her. And they’re officially married! 

The first time I read WoT, I didn’t like Tuon. I think I wanted someone else to end up with Mat, not this short, bald Seanchan, but I heartily approve of her now. She is a good match for him, and not for his snarkiness, but because with her, his snarkiness doesn’t even matter. It doesn’t earn him anything. He has to find other ways to get to her, to earn her respect and her favor. 

Now, on to The Gathering Storm! And I am terribly excited. I have fond memories of the last three books, and I’m curious about how well they’ll hold up in my reread. I am certainly FAR better acquainted with the various plots and characters and cultures and therefore the stakes than I was during my first read through. But I remember my jaw dropping at a particular point in TGS, and I’m looking forward to revisiting some of my favorite parts of the entire series.