#wot 1

[laoih]

Reading WoT for the first time… 4/X

Recapping my thoughts on: Book I – The Eye of the World

Tag for previous posts or to block: #WoT first time read

Chapters 40-47: Caemlyn & Fal Dara

I didn’t expect to meet Elayne in this book, having met her in the Amazon series only in season 2 I think. I get why they left her out of season 1 though, it’s really a brief introduction here. But I was glad to see that she’s very likable in this first introduction as well, having liked her before in the series already. 

Chapter 40 is actually filled with lots of introductions: Elayne, her brothers, her mother Morgase, Elaida… I know Elaida is a dangerous woman, and that’s exactly the impression she gives here. Meanwhile, Morgase impressed me by granting Rand the benefit of the doubt. He really behaved like a bit of a fool here, though perhaps that was simply his ta’veren-ness being at work (not auto-correct trying to change “ta’veren” to “tavern”…).

After Rand is let go we get a lovely reunion, everyone is happy that everyone is alive, and Mat gets healed by Moraine more or less. It’s a bit regretful that he barely remembers his journey with Rand. They had a lot of bonding moments there I think, and for Mat it’s mostly forgotten now? I never like when that happens, but I guess Rand still remembers it, and it was a good reading experience either way. Just nothing to further Mat’s character growth I guess?

What follows then is lots of exposition: everyone throws in some bits and pieces of knowledge, plans are made, plans are updated, and since the plot, pardon, the Wheel gave them an Ogir as a guide for the Ways, that’s where they are going. 

This together with the way through the Ways, followed by the short stop in Fal Dara, was where the book slowed a bit down for me. I suppose this is all setup in a way and necessary for the story to move on, but it’s not my favourite part of the book. 

It was interesting to get more information on Lan’s background though – although as already teased, it wasn’t all that surprising, given his resemblance to Aragorn. There is a huge tragedy in his backstory, when there is literally a whole kingdom wiped from the map by the Blight, and there’s basically nothing left of Lan’s home and people. Yet in a way I feel this is too huge a tragedy for Lan here – it’s barely imaginable, really, how terrible that must have been, how terrible it must still be, and yet through Lan’s coldness and distance this tragedy, too, remains distant in a way. Maybe that’s necessary for the character because otherwise he would simply break, and maybe it’s necessary for the reader as well, because otherwise that tragedy would eclipse the present looming danger? Maybe that’s it. It still feels weird to kind of skip over this, considering how huge a deal this is for Lan and how massively it has affected him. 

Padan Fain’s appearance irritated me a bit. How and why is he still around? Is this the Gollum of Wheels of Time, following the fellowship through Moria/the Ways? He’s a creepy character, and at first I didn’t get why he turned up at that time.

Chapters 48-53: The Eye of the World

The end of the book isn’t the strongest part of the story. It’s a bit all over the place, describes some events and actions in a bit confusing way where it’s not all that clear what actually happens, and it randomly introduces the Green Man only to get rid of him shortly after.

If the Green Man was hinted at early in the books, I don’t think I remember any of it, and maybe that’s my bad. I know Loial mentioned him but aside from that he is introduced really late as a player in this game, and his main purpose seems to be a sort-of backup in the fight against the Forsaken so that he can be sacrificed in the fight in order to avoid that the good side comes out victorious without any loss. After all, the main characters can’t die at this moment, right? And why is both the Horn of Valere and the Dragon banner here? It feels like getting to loot a chest with quest items for the next chapter, only that in games it’s less awkward if the loot isn’t necessarily connected to the place it’s found in. I mean, maybe there is a reason for all of this being here, and I just didn’t get it? Maybe it’s going to be revealed later? At the moment, it mostly feels a bit too convenient. All in all these aren’t particularly elegant writing choices.

The fight of Rand vs Aginor and eventually Ba’alzamon was hard to understand because I didn’t get a good grasp at what the Eye of the World was doing, what the One Power can do, and what was happening with Rand and Ba’alzamon. I suppose this is particularly on me, because when I reached that part of the story I was a bit disconnected with the story due to losing interest a bit in the previous chapters. But how the fight is written, jumping from this to that, makes it difficult to determine where the characters are and what truly happens and what’s only visions. After all the dreams where it wasn’t reality, now there is a fight between the army of Shienar and the Trollocs, and Rand intervenes, but what this actually connects to is easily missed. So is the moment with Rand’s mother – was that real, or just a vision? It works either way, but it causes more confusion. I hope to get more clarity out of the end in a re-read, because first going through it was a strange experience. 

Robert Jordan’s story is the strongest, I feel, when he examines what the events that have happened actually mean for the affected characters. I think Rand’s realisation of what he has done and what it means for him: that he can wield the One Power – that turns the last chapters around again. The action before that is necessary to get to this point, but this point is what brings the story full circle. This is why Moraine had come to the Two Rivers, this is what Ba’alzamon had been looking for as well all this time. The tragedy is in that moment when Rand realises and Egwene turns away from him for a moment, before hugging him. It’s such a vulnerable and raw emotional moment.

Perhaps it’s not a new trope: the idea of turning into a “monster” that parents tell their children about at night has been used in many stories, but if done well it’s a very fascinating story to tell. It has the potential for many interesting and also emotional stories: the exploration of the nature of the “monster”, the confrontation with the origin of the “monsters” as well as the fight against the truly monstrous aspects of this transformation. And of course all the emotional turmoil that brings both for the person in question and every relationship he has with anyone, past, present and future. Jordan positioned Rand perfectly in this scenario, and that continues to make him an incredibly fascinating protagonist. 

One note on this comment from Moraine though: “A tool made for a purpose is not demeaned by being used for that purpose.” – Dear Moraine, reducing any human to a tool is indeed dehumanising and therefore demeaning. It may be part of the Pattern or the Wheel or whatever, yet there is still a human being there no matter what the person’s purpose for the fate of the world is. If anything, showing some compassion surely can’t hurt? You may have had years to figure out your role in all of this, but the boy in question here is pretty young and pretty new to all of this.

Rand’s last words in the last chapter are pretty sad, all in all: “I’m going away, but not home. Not ever home.” He never wanted to leave his home, he wished to go back home all the time. Now it’s closed to him, and at best he is now hoping to find a place where he can be alone so that he won’t hurt anyone. This hurts me, and that’s how I know I want to continue reading.

Next Up: The Great Hunt (As soon as I find time to write down my thoughts... it may end up less detailed.)

[laoih]

Reading WoT for the first time… 3/X

Recapping my thoughts on: Book I – The Eye of the World

Tag for previous posts or to block: #WoT first time read

Chapters 21-40: Nynaeve, Moraine & Lan

Let’s start with my first impression of Nynaeve, which was basically a second impression due to the Amazon series. I didn’t like her then, and… I didn’t like her in this book either. She’s not badly written or anything, I simply just don’t like her character. Worst was probably her attitude towards Moraine right from the start, the constant antagonism felt unjustified and became annoying very quickly. Unfortunately she seems to antagonise everyone, and that also became old very quickly. And that slowly developing relationship with Lan? I don’t buy it, because especially from his perspective I don’t understand what he sees in her.

Which brings me to Lan: he is a cool character in so far that he’s an amazing fighter and tracker and generally very competent. He also has this distant and silent attitude about him, which supports that flair of coolness around him. He’s fine as a character – but beyond that? At this point I don’t really know, I think he doesn’t have all that much to offer. He certainly cares for Moraine and their mission, and that dedication is applaudable, but I don’t really see much complexity about him (yet). Which isn’t necessarily needed, as I said, it’s fine. Not everyone needs to be an overly complicated character.   

Moraine, as I have said previously, is one of the most interesting characters in the whole book. She is written as someone who is soft in her demeanour, but can also be very hard and ruthless if need be. She is very committed to her mission, to the degree that she threatens the boys directly, and in a way she still means well. Her dialogue is fun to think about because she cannot outright lie, and I think at first it must have been quite interesting to write such a character.

Chapters 21-40: Perrin & Egwene

Egwene and Perrin are both likeable characters, there is no doubt about that. However, at this point in the story I don’t think they were particularly interesting characters. 

Egwene is a driven young woman with a curiosity to see other places and to learn more. She has a lot of respect for Moraine and is excited about what Moraine can teach her – and naturally so! Finding out that she has the potential to become Aes Sedai, that she could learn how to control the power, is an exciting revelation for her, especially since I don’t think that she really feared Moraine at any point. That’s a good and solid character setup, and Egwene can go many places from there, but at the moment this isn’t all that exciting, especially in combination with Moraine, who is the far more interesting character at this moment.

Something else I have noticed about Egwene is that she seems to be emotionally quite self-sufficient. While she clearly likes Rand and the others from Emond’s Field, I think she doesn’t have the same connection to Emond’s Field or the family members she leaves behind. As I said before: Egwene wants to go on this trip for her own sake, for her own future. She won’t let herself be tied down by connections. While there may be some truth in that she is also worried about Rand, I don’t think that would be reason enough for her to go.These two people clearly don’t speak the same emotional language.

The journey with Perrin does little to further any of Egwene’s plotlines so far though. Meeting Elyas, the Tuatha’an, and the White Cloaks – all that relates a lot more to Perrin than Egwene. This may be of course because it’s all told from his POV, but it is what it is.

Moving on to Perrin, his journey seems less obvious. The Wolf thing came out of nowhere, and I was as confused by it in the books as I was in the TV series. I’m sure Perrin was confused, too. It felt a bit aimless at times, because its origin was so unclear. In general, I think the wolf connection is fine as an idea, but the execution isn’t anything special (especially since I’ve read Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Eldering books, and if you know the name “Nighteyes”, you know). Elyas is a likeable character as a companion though. He gets to the point, while Perrin seems to be read to think around all relevant points as much as possible.

Meeting both the Tuatha’an and the White Cloaks is a bit of an exercise in patience. They are not bad plotlines or anything, but both are extremist groups in opposite directions, and therefore in their nature exhausting. The distaste of the Tuatha’an towards any violence, even to defend a single helpless life, is hard to understand. The eagerness with which the White Cloaks deal out violence all while believing they are basically god’s chosen children is very frustrating. 

It’s of course interesting to introduce these two groups so close next to each other. The Thuatha’an are probably the more nuanced and more complex group, because at least in theory and action, their commitment to non-violence doesn’t hurt anyone. But of course it’s never that easy, and that’s why Perrin doesn’t feel all that comfortable there – especially while making connections with wolves, who surely won’t share that non-violent approach to life. Meanwhile, the White Cloaks are hypocrites, and they lack nuance and complexity almost completely. They behave worse than the people they accuse of crimes. They live the opposite of what they preach, but they cannot see that. Religious fanatics will be like that…

These are, I feel, the two extreme sides of a struggle that Perrin is supposed to be fighting, and it’s somehow supposed to be reflected in his choice of weapon. I think on a theoretical and intellectual level, this is an interesting setup for a character. I just don’t think it hits me emotionally, really. Perrin doesn’t seem to be the character who gets me emotional. Sure, I understand his fears when they try to hide from the White Cloaks. I understand his pain when Hopper dies, even though I cannot feel the rage (I’m not a very rage-y person myself). But while I felt sorry for Perrin (and Egewene) when they were captured and Perrin is at risk of being executed soon, I was more frustrated by the hypocrisy of the White Cloaks and their baseless accusations.

I wonder if it would have made a difference if I hadn’t known that they would get away? I’m not sure. I don’t think even readers without TV series knowledge expected Perrin to die here.

Chapters 21-40: Rand & Mat

The most memorable part of this book was actually Rand & Mat’s journey. It didn’t happen right away, because at first the journey on the river was one of the most boring parts for me. 

Maybe it happened by accident: at some point, I had a 5 hour long drive and had to stay awake somehow. For that time, I decided to listen to the audiobook. It was a long day, a day with gray rain clouds. I think in that time I listened to a large part of Rand’s and Mat’s chapters, and their journey made quite an impression on me. No matter the White Cloaks trying to kill Perrin, in no other chapters did I ever feel the exhaustion as much, the fear as much, the threat as heavy as in the chapters of those two.

It started with losing Thom in Whitebridge. I did know that he wasn’t dead, but Rand and Mat didn’t know that, and Thom’s sacrifice to allow them both to get away wasn’t lessened through this knowledge, either. This action had an impact, because Thom has been with the group for many chapters now, and so I could see the bonds created between him and the boys. (I’m sorry to bring it up again, but it is reminiscent of Gandalf’s sacrifice against the Balrog.) 

And afterwards, Rand (and Mat I suppose but without POV) have to deal with the guilt of having to believe that Thom sacrificed himself for them, and also being completely on their own without any guide from there on until they reach Caemlyn. No Moraine or Lan around who are very skilled and experienced, no Elyas around to give advice, or Tuatha’an to dance with – they’re left with nothing. They have to learn how to fend for themselves, and barely get by with playing instruments, singing songs or performing tricks. And they can never ever feel safe. They have to balance their basic needs with their safety, and it feels with each time this becomes more harder. Whenever they get in danger, they somehow get away, but it becomes more difficult each time. And each time they become more distrustful, I also become more distrustful. And I love that it didn’t feel repetitive at all, and that’s a testament to how masterfully Jordan wrote these chapters. It didn’t feel like reading the same all over again, it was a downward spiral they could escape only barely. And Mat’s condition getting worse and worse obviously didn’t help, but that, too, is a slow development that isn’t obvious at first. I’m really looking forward to reading these chapters again at some point.

As for Mat’s character: I didn’t really connect with him in the beginning of the book, but through this journey learned to appreciate him, especially the dynamic he has with Rand. On all these different roads to Caemlyn, I feel their relationship was the best written one for sure, despite Mat being compromised by the dagger. I think they were also the ones that got the most consistently written development here: both being followed by fades and darkfriends and dark dreams. I think after all these chapters, of all characters I have the most vivid image of these two as characters, and feel most connected to their part of the story. 

A last note on Loial:  I didn’t understand this character in the TV series, but he makes so much more sense in the book to me. Having such a soft and gentle nature come in at this time provided a nice change for Rand – he only had like one (long) conversation with the guy and Loial is basically a stranger, but Rand feels like taking him along anyway just to have a comforting presence (with Mat becoming more and more difficult thanks to the dagger). Loial as a character isn’t particularly exciting, but Rand is right: he’s comforting. He doesn’t need to be exciting, it’s just nice to have him around as a character, and I appreciate the quick friendship that he forms with Rand.

To Be Continued...

[laoih]

Reading WoT for the first time... 2/X

Recapping my thoughts on: Book I – The Eye of the World

Tag for previous posts or to block: #WoT first time read

Prologue: Starting the book

Getting into the story was difficult for me because I didn't really understand what was going on in the prologue, and whenever I don't understand what's happening, I tend to lose focus. For a moment I suspected that this wouldn't work and was already destined to fail right at the start. I then decided that prologues probably aren't all that necessary for a first read and ignored my confusion. I barely remember the details as a result, they were hard to memorize and I didn't have any emotional connection to it yet. It'll be interesting to revisit that prologue in a re-read.

Chapters 1-10: The beginning in Edmond’s field

Getting into the first chapters was a lot easier. The beginning is a bit slow, but after my initial confusion I did appreciate the slow development of the setting and the characters. At that time, the characters aren't really fully formed yet, but you get a tough idea, and it doesn't take long for Rand as the de facto protagonist to become an interesting character.

There is a really sweet and tragic innocence to him at the beginning of that story. Even if I hadn’t already seen in what direction this is going in the Amazon series, it was clear that the character would be seeing a lot more of the world than he is expecting right now – that the key characters would all be seeing more of the world than expected. And right now Rand cannot even fathom the idea that Egwene could move a couple of villages away. Oh sweet summer child… 

Probably because he is the POV character, for a long while he was the only interesting character, but that's fine. I think his fear of the black rider was well portrayed, as well as his fear of not being believed. The strongest aspect in this first part is, I think, Rand’s relationship to Tam, and how Rand loves his father and feels such a huge conflict when discovering that Tam is not his biological father, all while fearing for his life.

These are the moments that stayed most clearly in my mind and provided the primary emotional focus. Emond's Field being attacked while Rand is not around was surprising since the series shows the battle, and left me disoriented for a bit (I thought I had missed something), but overall I like this version of the story.

Something else that stayed with me is the mysterious atmosphere that Moraine brings into the village when she arrives. Jordan does a great job at portraying how out of place she feels there for the villagers, and how fascinating her presence is to them. It's well set up by the village being so disconnected from everything, and when it comes to the highlights of a feast, it's little things like a gleeman, or fireworks. So aside from Rand’s emotional moments, the meeting with Moraine where she hands Rand and Mat the coins also stayed with me quite clearly.

As a Tolkien fan…

At this point I need to mention that as a huge Tolkien fan, I knew that Jordan himself had confirmed that his first book drew quite a lot of inspiration from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. And it feels impossible to ignore, really, the similarities are too many and too obvious. In the first chapters already the frightening black rider (Myrddraal/Nazgûl) appears, then there is the magical mentor (Moraine/Gandalf), and the stern and brooding swordsman (Lan/Aragorn) – and of course the tight group of friends (Rand & Matt & Perrin / Frodo & Pippin & Sam) that have to flee the mostly isolated rural region (Two Rivers/The Shire). There is a ferry that has to carry the across a river (Tarn Ferry/Buckleburry Ferry) while pursued by their enemies, they are attacked in an inn in a town by the Nazgûl stand-in, even Shadar Logoth at this time feels inspired by Moria – the ancient kingdom that was destroyed in a previous war and is now haunted by a deadly shadow…

I don't mind it though. Jordan took inspiration from Tolkien, but certainly created something that's entirely his own. It’s a compliment to Tolkien, and a testament to Jordan’s creativity how he used that inspiration to create his unique world, characters and story. It's also entertaining to find all these parallels (but no worries, I won’t go on about this – I just couldn’t let it go without any comment).

Chapters 11-20: The journey begins 

The next couple of chapters do a good job at a) showing how skilled and clever Moraine is and b) creating a sense of looming danger that is sometimes closer, sometimes farther away, but never gone.

It also makes the Two Rivers people look a bit immature, because despite all these dangerous things happening around them, they are at times surprisingly careless. I could never – but I like safety, so I'd try being safe at all cost.

That's mostly not what especially the boys are thinking (looking at you, Mat & Rand). Mat isn't the type for listening to instructions, and Rand doesn't want to be on that journey at all, and wouldn't be there if it wasn't to protect his home. He remains distrustful of Moraine, and I can understand it a bit, like...

 “Before I let the Dark One have you, I will destroy you myself.”

What the fuck, Moraine? I mean, I also get her position, but I'm also not surprised Rand has trouble sleeping after that. I can also see why it's hard for him to see Egwene being so eager to learn from Moraine and wanting to become a Aes Sedai all while Moraine is telling the boys "I will kill you if I think I have to".

Rand and Egwene already had different ideas about what the future should look like in Emond's Field. The journey makes the gap between them wider: the boys are on the journey because they have to – Egwene is on this journey because she wants to. She is looking forward to the end of this journey because there is something to be gained for her there. For the boys, the best they can hope for at this time is not to lose something.

When the group arrives at Bearlon, Min is introduced as a new character. I honestly haven't given her much thought at this point, neither in the TV series nor in the book. The introduction, I think, wasn't handled all that well because it was quite a lot of exposition ("hi, I'm Min, I know Moraine, I have powers, here is how they work"), and that in a city were already lots of exposition is given. I wonder if that's why Jordan kept Thom around? He's one of the best sources for exposition, and I have to admit that a lot of the stuff he's explaining went over my head. Lots of history, lots of prophecies... I'm sure that will have some re-read value, but I think a lot of it didn't stick. 😅 I keep wondering who had made the prophecies though...

As far as the dreams go, I was a bit torn. It's an interesting element for sure, especially since I don't think that was really a part in the TV series. I just wish at times they were a bit shorter.

Once the group reaches Shadar Logoth, I had to shake my head once again over how careless these boys – especially Mat – can be. You were just running for your life, you are in an extremely suspicious city, you were told how to behave – and Mat turns it into a treasure hunt. Is anyone surprised this is a bad idea? I think no one is surprised that this is a bad idea.

Mostly I remember Shada Logoth being the point where everything turns chaotic and they all get separated in roughly three groups. The group with Nynaeve, Moraine and Lan is the least chaotic group because Moraine and Lan actually know what they are doing. Perrin and Egwane are not all too hot headed, so they can think for themselves as well, and Rand and Mat have the good fortune of having Thom at their side to help them with thinking.

To Be Continued...