The Wheel of Time

[Bilbo536]

Warning: If you plan to read this series, there may be spoilers ahead.

Very few people I know have read this series (The Wheel of Time), so I rarely get the opportunity to discuss with others what is perhaps my favourite book series of all time. I'd love to hear what you like/dislike about it, what are your favourite moments, etc. Perhaps even ask a few questions or speculate on what will happen later on in the series (as it isn't finished yet).

I have one question about it that has bugged me for ages, and I can't seem to figure it out:
Who the hell killed Asmodean???

 

[An Obscure Reference]

I got distracted after the 4th or 5th book, and never tried to start up the series again, for fear of forgetting specific details from the other books. As for what I can remember from the first 5, Egwene (sp?) became a huge ***** 4 books in. Of course, I'm not in a big position to judge. Great book series, though. I might even try to read the rest of the books...

 

[Katnap_Devikat]

At one of the cons (i don't remember which), Robert Jordan told everyone that he simply killed off the character and never intended to explain it, but if you go to (http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Who_killed_Asmodean%3F) that should answer all your questions.

As it says Jordan decided that because it was such a big mystery to readers (and people kept asking him constantly) that he decided to write it in at the end, with his passing Brandon Sanderson says that he will write it into the last volume.

 

[Georgie_Leech]

Personally, I'm just glad that his bio on the back page turned out to be wrong. At the risk of being insensitive, despite them nailing shut his coffin, his series is still being written.

 

[Audemas]

Warning: If you plan to read this series, there may be spoilers ahead.

Very few people I know have read this series (The Wheel of Time), so I rarely get the opportunity to discuss with others what is perhaps my favourite book series of all time. I'd love to hear what you like/dislike about it, what are your favourite moments, etc. Perhaps even ask a few questions or speculate on what will happen later on in the series (as it isn't finished yet).

I have one question about it that has bugged me for ages, and I can't seem to figure it out:
Who the hell killed Asmodean???

I think it was either Graendal or Lanfear who killed him. I would say Graendal because Lanfear she would have needed to escape very quickly and even then we're not even sure if she survived Moiraine's last attack.

 

[Bilbo536]

haha I'm really looking forward to hearing the explaination! I had a feeling it may have been just an excuse to kill him off, but as a fan I wanted to be able to piece it together logically. Kinda like how Zelda fans always try to put the games into an exact timeline, even though there was never an intended one.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Love the series. The Gathering Storm quickly became my favorite (though some of the earlier ones rival it), and I'm one of the few people who didn't mind Crossroads of Twilight.

Also, I am officially in love with Egwene.

I mean...holy shit. She is flaming awesome. If you don't know why I say this, you haven't read the last two books.

Hint:

Spoiler

Egwene vs. the Seanchan is probably the most epic fight in the series. At the very least, it was the only one I couldn't get through without turning on some music (specifically, "Divine Hate" from Devil May Cry 3).

Warning: If you plan to read this series, there may be spoilers ahead.

Very few people I know have read this series (The Wheel of Time), so I rarely get the opportunity to discuss with others what is perhaps my favourite book series of all time. I'd love to hear what you like/dislike about it, what are your favourite moments, etc. Perhaps even ask a few questions or speculate on what will happen later on in the series (as it isn't finished yet).

I have one question about it that has bugged me for ages, and I can't seem to figure it out:
Who the hell killed Asmodean???

I think it was Lanfear. RJ seemed surprised that people hadn't guessed, and he said it would be obvious by book eight...

I think it was either Graendal or Lanfear who killed him. I would say Graendal because Lanfear she would have needed to escape very quickly and even then we're not even sure if she survived Moiraine's last attack.

She survived. After all, Cyndane is around, not to mention

Spoiler

Moiraine survived, herself.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I got up to book 10, then just having a couple boring ass characters babbling on and on for 100 pages about nothing finally killed it for me.
Love the dark tower (a bunch of insane killer mages, whats there not to love?), hate the writing style. Put the series in the hands of a competent writer who understands things like pace and it would have been pretty damn cool.

As for Asmodean. "Robert Jordan stated in an interview with CNN that Graendal killed him." from Wiki.

Skip book 10. You'll only miss a few things (Ituralde starts fighting the Seanchan, Renna dies, and Alviarin gets kicked from her post as Keeper). It picks up with book 11, when certain plot threads start getting resolved.

And book 12 is ungodly good.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I only read as far as Path of Daggers, and even then only part way through that one, before I got tired of it. It started off strong, but I think it just ran on too long. Or it could've just been me.

 

[Katnap_Devikat]

I have to admit i love TWOT but it kinda phoned it in for book ten, but Brandon Sanderson totally rebooted it and is an awesome choice to continue the series

 

[pyrojam321moo]

As for Asmodean. "Robert Jordan stated in an interview with CNN that Graendal killed him." from Wiki.

Not quite true, actually. The question asked of him was "Why do you think everyone has a hard time figuring out who killed Asmodean? Graendal killed him." while his answer was "I don't know why people have a hard time figuring that out. To me it seems intuitively obvious even to the most casual observer. The reason I won't tell people though is that I am enjoying watching them squirm entirely too much. It's probably bad for me." He says in his ANSWER he refuses to tell anyone, so he's not confirming the conjectured statement, he's answering the question.

Personally, I think it's Lanfear using Slayer as a dead man's trigger. She didn't want him teaching Rand too much, she promised to kill him, and she probably was smart enough to think she may actually die one day.

 

[MimsySnark]

A few years ago, I spied "Eye of the World" on a friend's bookshelf and idly decided to borrow it, which promptly led to my checking out and reading the rest of the series from the library. I absolutely love this series, and while I understand other people's criticisms on an intellectual level, I simply never shared their feelings and I love his massive, sprawling cast of characters. I've chosen to refrain from reading "Gathering Storm" just because I want to prolong the joy of still having it out there, but in these final installments, I'm desperate to see Moiraine return, as well as for Rand, Mat and Perrin to be reunited.

I'd love to share favorite moments, but...hmm, unfortunately my memory's just too damn fuzzy at this point. In general, though, one of my favorite relationships is the way Rand and all three women who loved him figured out a way to share their love. It's so unconventional, but really touching, I think. Jordan just did a phenomenal job of creating fully fleshed out characters whom I love and love reading about, flaws and all.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I've chosen to refrain from reading "Gathering Storm" just because I want to prolong the joy of still having it out there, but in these final installments

Rand, Mat, and Perrin? Try Rand and

Spoiler

Tam.

 

[Guyovick]

I've read through the series a couple of times. I love the saidin/saidar description of magic. It seems like a natural phenomenon rather than an unexplained plot device. I also enjoyed most of the scenes with Mat. The Myrddraal were pretty cool in the Eye of the World.

The political stuff is really boring, especially Elayne in Caemlyn. I also don't buy that Rand can not beat the shadow while being emotionally distant. I thought Rand's explanation in the Gathering Storm of why he was emotionally distant was good. I think that Cadsuanne's assertion that Rand needs to "learn to laugh" again is total BS. Especially since she is going about it the completely wrong way. I almost think that assertion was put in there just so there would be some sort of tension.

 

[Bilbo536]

Love the series. The Gathering Storm quickly became my favorite (though some of the earlier ones rival it), and I'm one of the few people who didn't mind Crossroads of Twilight.

Also, I am officially in love with Egwene.

I mean...holy shit. She is flaming awesome. If you don't know why I say this, you haven't read the last two books.

Hint:

Spoiler

Egwene vs. the Seanchan is probably the most epic fight in the series. At the very least, it was the only one I couldn't get through without turning on some music (specifically, "Divine Hate" from Devil May Cry 3).

Warning: If you plan to read this series, there may be spoilers ahead.

Very few people I know have read this series (The Wheel of Time), so I rarely get the opportunity to discuss with others what is perhaps my favourite book series of all time. I'd love to hear what you like/dislike about it, what are your favourite moments, etc. Perhaps even ask a few questions or speculate on what will happen later on in the series (as it isn't finished yet).

I have one question about it that has bugged me for ages, and I can't seem to figure it out:
Who the hell killed Asmodean???

I think it was Lanfear. RJ seemed surprised that people hadn't guessed, and he said it would be obvious by book eight...

I think it was either Graendal or Lanfear who killed him. I would say Graendal because Lanfear she would have needed to escape very quickly and even then we're not even sure if she survived Moiraine's last attack.

She survived. After all, Cyndane is around, not to mention

Spoiler

Moiraine survived, herself.

Sanderson did a phenomenal job didn't he? I must admit I was a tad worried when I heard that someone else was going to have to finish the series, but I was blown away. Number 12 easily became my favourite in the series (and yes, Egwene kicks a lot of ass in this one lol)

Spoiler

I especially liked Rand's revelation on Dragonmount and Mat's fight with the insane townspeople

 

[NeutralDrow]

Sanderson did a phenomenal job didn't he? I must admit I was a tad worried when I heard that someone else was going to have to finish the series, but I was blown away. Number 12 easily became my favourite in the series (and yes, Egwene kicks a lot of ass in this one lol)

Spoiler

I especially liked Rand's revelation on Dragonmount and Mat's fight with the insane townspeople

Hell, Mat was surprisingly good through the whole book. That was a great chapter crossover, with Fortuona wondering about how he was, then cutting to Mat explaining to Talmanes exactly why women act like goats.

And yes, that first part was great, too. Almost a manly tears moment, that.

_>

Nothing on the impromptu funeral in the beginning, though. That was genuinely touching.

The political stuff is really boring, especially Elayne in Caemlyn. I also don't buy that Rand can not beat the shadow while being emotionally distant. I thought Rand's explanation in the Gathering Storm of why he was emotionally distant was good. I think that Cadsuanne's assertion that Rand needs to "learn to laugh" again is total BS. Especially since she is going about it the completely wrong way. I almost think that assertion was put in there just so there would be some sort of tension.

Rand was being somewhat reasonable. That's why Nynaeve couldn't figure out how to argue against his logic that he had to be detached to do what he did (and killing <color=white>Graendal was amazing).

On the other hand, there are valid reasons why he couldn't sustain that. The one given earliest was that his victory might be as bad as his defeat (considering the Dark One's true goals, that's blatantly false, but still), but considering his aborted decision to <color=white>slaughter all the Seanchan this side of the ocean, he had already jumped onto the slippery slope long ago. Having one devil save you from another may work, but it isn't ideal.

The other thing, revealed in full in book 12 but hinted as early as the very first prologue, is that Rand has to learn to trust people again.

Spoiler

The Hundred Companions failed the first time in sealing Shai'tan because they only used saidin. With the female Choden Kal destroyed, Rand would pretty much have had no choice but to do the exact same thing as before, and again, even his success would be disasterous.

My favorite part? It's actually building up Callandor's significance beyond "macguffin revealing the Dragon." All the revelations about it (it reveals the Dragon Reborn, book 3, and it can only be safely used in a certain way, book 7 or 8) are starting to make sense.

But yes, Cadsuane was going about exactly the wrong way to do it (she even admits in 12 that her main weakness is her colossal ego). It made <color=white>Tam finally calling her out on it incredibly satisfying...

 

[NeutralDrow]

*revives thread*

<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.174894-Obsidian-Entertainment-To-Collaborate-on-Wheel-of-Time-Games>WOO-HOO!

*resumes geek dance*

 

[Berethond]

I find the books are very good and well written, but way way way way WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY too long.

There's only so much of those guys I can take.
Though I did like it when Mat invented cannons.