The Dragon Reborn Readalong Week 3

The Dragon Reborn Readalong

Sorry for missing last week D: Finals kicked my butt and I didn’t quite finish the reading in time. But I made up for it this week, yey! I have to say, I’m having a lot of fun with Egwene and the team being the main focus of this section. I apparently like the Aes Sedai plotting more than Rand, haha.

1. We see Verin hoarding a collection of Corianin Sedai’s writings on Dreaming. Do you think that she should share them (or selected portions) with Egwene or do you think that blundering around in the dark is the best way to learn how to do something?
Haha, I hate the teaching style of making your students blunder around (from the student’s perspective). I get so frustrated when I keep getting things wrong and I just want my mentor to freaking tell me the right way to do something! In Egwene’s case, given the dangerous nature of the task she is trying, I thing Verin better have a darn good reason to be hiding things. If Egwene gets hurt because Verin refused to tell her everything she knew, I’m going to be pretty suspicious.
2. In her testing for becoming Accepted, we see Egwene as Amyrlin. Can you accept this as a possible future for her or is it too improbable?
I think it’s definitely a possibility. Given how powerful Egwene apparently is (once she learns all she can), she seems a prime candidate. Nynaeve would be a good candidate as well if she could learn to control her temper. The Amyrlin needs to have that too cool for ice demeanor down ;-). Is my memory faulty or has the Amyrlin already hinted that it is a possibility for Egwene?
3. Mat seems fairly nifty with a quarterstaff, even when he is half dead. Did his defeat of Galad and Gawyn seem to be based upon his skill, rather than luck, and did you find it convincing?
I don’t remember Mat having any amazing skill with a quarterstaff before, so it seems like something magical/lucky had to be going on. It’s interesting that he still has the luck given by the dagger. I wonder if the Aes Sedai knew that they were leaving that to him when they Healed him.
4. It seems that the realm of Dreams, Tel’aran’rhiod, is very important to the Black Ajah because they have stolen many ter’angreals that were thought to be associated with Dreaming or Corianin Sedai. Why do you think they are so interested in Dreaming?
I’m suspecting that some part of the Dragon Reborn prophecies have to do with the realm of Dreams or the Dark One is plotting to turn Rand through his dreams. When Egwene ran into Rand in the realm of Dreams, it sounded like the Dark One has already been trying to trick Rand in his dreams, poor guy.
5. Now that we know that Else was definitely an impostor, it seems that Lanfear has more than one set of tactics. Do you think that she might also be the true identity of Silvie, the old woman that Egwene encounters in her Dream of the Stone of Tear and are you surprised by the way in which she approaches women?
Huh, I had never thought of Lanfear being Silvie, but that does make some sense. She seemed a bit too helpful in Egwene’s dream, so I’m not sure. Lanfear just keeps surprising me all over the place. I can’t really figure out her goals, since she’s already stated that she serves herself more than the Dark One.
6. We know that the Black Ajah ‘evidence’ is a trap set by Lanfear. Do you think their plan to spring the trap intentionally will work or will it lead them into some other trouble?
Trouble and mayhem! It’s always more exciting when things don’t go quite as planned right?? I’m not sure that our heroes really have a good idea of how to spring the trap anyway. I mean, they’re just going to show up at the Stone of Tear and try to keep their eyes out for Black Ajah? It doesn’t seem like we fully know what the trap is anyway. It’s not like anyone besides Rand can get the sword, so perhaps Egwene and party need to help him?
7. Suddenly, Mat has been revealed as a gambler with incredible luck. Does this fit with the young man that we met in the first two books and did you detect any unusual luck before his Healing in the White Tower?
He did seem to fight quite well in the few battles they were in, but I marked that up to him spending too much time practicing with his bow and too little time helping on the farm, haha. He was always a gambler too, and he remarked on how he used to be more lucky than not, but not winning every single hand. Perhaps someone/something mystical has decided to help him out for a while for devious or noble purposes.
How are you liking this section? Are you okay with the focus of this book being mostly on the women of the heroes so far? Or do you miss Rand?
Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings -A

The Dragon Reborn Readalong Week 1

The Dragon Reborn Readalong

Yey, first week of The Dragon Reborn readalong! Finals are majorly kicking my butt, but I got the reading done just in time (like literally 10:20 Saturday night D:). Time for some awesome discussion-ing (or discussing, whichever you prefer, haha). This week is hosted by Nrlymrtl at Dab of Darkness.

1) Both Niall and Carridan seem to be playing with two-edged swords. Niall wants the Dragon Reborn to create enough panic, sorrow, and destruction to have the populace begging the Children of the light to do something. Whereas Carridan vows to one lord to keep the Dragon Reborn alive and vows the opposite to another. Did you enjoy this beginning more or less than the first two books in the series?
I definitely was able to understand what was going on better than the second book, haha. I have mixed feelings about prologues in all honesty, but I think the last two have done a good job of painting the scene from the bad guys’ side of things. This just furthers my low opinion of all the Children of the Light though, since they are definitely more evil than a lot of the other *ahem* Darkfriends we have met.

2) Throughout this section we see that Min believes herself in love with Rand. What do you make of this one-sided romance?

Aw, poor girl. I’m not sure how I feel about this whole “I have to share him” thing and the three girls that are fawning over him. It seems a little excessive ya know? Taking love triangle to a whole new level at least, haha. In any case, I think it is worst for Min since she had that run in with Lanfear and can see the fates of all the other girls and Rand. She actually has an inkling of how things are going to turn out for all of them romance-wise, and it doesn’t sound like it is making it any easier for her.

3) Within a few chapters, the big picture story arc of this book starts to follow the story arcs of Book 1 and Book 2 – trollocs unexpectedly appear and shortly thereafter our main heroes are separated for one reason or another. What do you think of this pattern?
Uh… Also we are chasing after something essential to the final battle :D. Yeah, I have to admit that I’m not a fan of this repeated plot. It just doesn’t seem very inspiring in terms of writing. I can see this being a typical problem for a long series though, so I guess we need to wait and see how things go.

4) Rand has run off and some of our heroes follow, tracking him. At one place they come across a village that recently suffered a bout of weddings and Whitecloaks going AWOL. Did Rand make the right choice, leaving? Do you think the decisions made by folks while Rand is around will hold after a few days?
Hehe, a bout of weddings! I’m worried that Rand’s weirdness might affect the rest of our heroes if they aren’t careful. Though I suppose they all are needed for the Pattern, so they are probably safe. Perhaps that’s why Moraine sent the rest of the soldiers away? I’m hoping this was a permanent change in the pattern, otherwise those girls are going to be pretty unhappy. Also that will keep the Whitecloaks off in la-la land :D.

5) Do you believe that Moiraine had not caught fish before in the manner Perrin and Loial ‘taught’ her or do you think it was some clever ploy of hers?

I’m thinking she made those fish appear somehow >.>. Even if she had caught fish before, it seems unlikely that three huge fish would just show up when and where she is fishing, and not be seen by Loial and Perrin. Either she summoned them from deeper parts of the stream, or she is able to magic up food >.>. I’m going to go with summoning.
6) Perrin’s wolfish gifts are growing in strength. Then we come upon a man, Noam, who has lost himself completely to such gifts. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation as Perrin, facing what you might become if you lack self-control?
I don’t know if it’s his strengths growing so much as his will to resist this new force weakening >.>. I think it’d be pretty sweet to talk to wolves, but alas I haven’t had that problem ;-). In all seriousness though, no, I can’t really relate. I’m a bit of a control-freak, haha.
Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings -A

Eye of the World Read Along Week 8

Eye of the World Read Along

 

Welcome to the final discussion for the Eye of the World read along! It’s been a great run and thank you to all of you for making this book so much fun to read!! I hope you continue with us on to the next one (or join up if you are new :D). We have decided to take a one week break to give everyone a chance to get their ducks in a row (ie get the book) since Nrlymrtl’s hubby and I both are having slight issues getting copies to actually show up when they were supposed to (gah postal service, why do you hate meeeeeee). But the format for the next book is going to be basically the same as this one, reading about 100 pages a week and bouncing between Dab of Darkness and here :). The schedule is up here and I’ll have a reminder for you next weekend as well.

As for this week, Linky is working again, so we’ll be using that :D.

1. Oo la la, Nynaeve and Lan are finally confirming there is something going on between them, and of course Rand has to creepily eavesdrop…. What do you think of this brewing star-crossed love?
Oh Rand, strategically placed to observe important things ;-). I feel bad for Nynaeve, since it’s quite understandable that she would be attracted to Lan, he’s the typical tall, dark and deadly handsome. However, he makes a good point that she would be probably guaranteeing herself to be a widow eventually, given the way he lives. I also had gotten the impression that Warders had more of a lifelong commitment, but it doesn’t seem that Moraine is all that bothered, and that wasn’t one of Lan’s objections…. I definitely think we (including Nynaeve) need to learn more about the bond between Aes Sedai and Warders, and Warders in general, before jumping into anything….
 
2. Wow, the Blight is a scary place, but what did you think was the creepiest critter/thing that the team encountered or fortunately didn’t encounter?
I have a fear of deep water and the scary critters that live in it, so the weird tentacle covered critter that was way too big for those pools freaked me out! I would definitely be the one that walked over to the nice pool to dip my feet and got sucked down screaming *shivers*. I’m glad that Lan kept the boys from getting into any trouble!
 
3. We got to meet the Green Man! We discussed last week what everyone thought he would look like, how did he measure up to your expectations? What did you think of his head scar?
The Green Man was awesome in my opinion :D. I loved that he was literally made out of plants, not just covered in them. The scar on his head was interesting, I assume it was because of the Blight? Though that didn’t seem to be totally explained, and maybe doesn’t quite add up. I’m interested in if we ever find out more about how the Eye of the World was created previously and perhaps if that is how the Green Man’s head got injured, though it seems like the time for those revelations is passed. Maybe I just missed something?
 
4. The epic battle ended up being mostly in the dream realm apparently, what did you think of Rand’s various battles?
That was honestly not what I was expecting and I was a little disappointed that Moraine was tossed aside so easily :(. I suppose it’s understandable that Rand had to do most of the fighting, though, but it was a little disorienting that it all happened in the dream world. The battle intervention was also disorienting since I didn’t realize that he was intervening with the battle at the Gap until after it was all over, so I thought for a while that it was a revelation about some historic event, not the present day. Also, I thought it a bit odd that Aginor had a white cord, since he was so tightly bound to the Dark One, though I guess he was accessing the One Power at the Eye of the World which was still white? It seems like it should have had black in it somehow since he was so dark….
 
5. Congratulations everyone, we finished! What did you think overall? If this was a re-read for you, how was the second time around? Are you planning to read book two (with or without us, no pressure, hehe)?
So I’m obviously planning to read book two ;-). Overall I definitely enjoyed The Eye of the World, though it didn’t pull me in in the beginning as fast as I thought it would. The similarity to Tolkien through me off a bit, though I got over that in a way some people have apparently had trouble doing. I’m looking forward to getting into more of the world-building and beyond the hectic running for our lives stage, since most of this book had the party separated. I’m really excited about the promises of The Great Hunt with the horn that has just appeared :D. 

Here is the Linky:



Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings-A

Eye of the World Read Along Week 7

Eye of the World Read Along

 

Sunday sunday sunday! This week we are over at Dab of Darkness so make sure to link up :D. Also, of course, there will be spoilers for most of the Eye of the World up to this point!

1) Out of all the minor characters we have come across so far, Lamgwin and his body guarding (of inn and cats) has made me laugh the most. I do hope he gets swept up into things for a bigger piece. Who has been your favorite or most interesting minor character so far? 

I suppose Loial doesn’t count as a minor character anymore huh? The Princess Elayne is pretty awesome I have to say. The was she is found Rand in the garden and reacted was great, since she seems just the kind of girl I would want to be friends with. If I didn’t already want Rand and Egwene to work out, I’d think he would be really cute with Elayne…. I do hope we run into her and her nicer brother again!

2) Hooray! The reunion has finally happened, and the only stain is Mat and his dagger. How do you think Mat’s long-term relationship with his dagger will affect things? 

Hopefully in the next book, we will get Mat to Tar Valon and get him permanently fixed! It did sound like there was hope as soon as more Aes Sedai could work together. And fortunately Moraine seems to have mostly fixed things for now…. I’m just hoping that this doesn’t make any sort of wrinkle in the final battle….

3) Finally, on page 641 (of my book anyway), the boys break and start to tell all to Moiraine. Do you think the Two Rivers folk will trust Moiraine with things more easily in the future? Why didn’t Moiraine strangle the boys there and then (I know I would have!)? 

Finally!!! Hopefully they will, there really isn’t any reason to hold back now after all. She hasn’t threatened them recently and has done plenty to protect and help them (even saving Mat’s life directly). She probably didn’t strangle them because she knew that she needed them ;-). And it seems she might understand that they were very frightened of the dreams and didn’t quite know what to do.

4) The party kicks around several theories about the Waygates. Which was your favorite, or do you have one of your own? How about those things that lurk in the Waygates? 

I was never really sure about the theories everyone came up with. I understand the idea that time goes differently in the Way so that you can travel quickly, and that they grow naturally almost. It would also explain how the magic got polluted and twisted of its own accord. The Wind was freaking scary *shivers*. Maybe it’s the insanity from all the male Aes Sedai that broke the world?

5) This section introduces the knowledge of the Green Man. How do you think he will measure up to your cultural knowledge of the legend of the Green Man? 

I have a lot of mixed stories of the Green Man in my head, so I’m wondering if he’s going to have antlers ;-). I think it’s really interesting that he normally can only be found once in a lifetime, but Moraine is determined to find him again. I’m curious if the Green Man is going to react to that at all, haha. I just hope that he can help them in time! Or they him….

6) The Lord of Fal Dara, Agelmar, seems to have some previous business with Moiraine and Lan, Lord of the the Seven Towers. What do you think their collective past dealings have been?

It seems likely that Lan fought with Agelmar in the past, though perhaps Moraine has helped them as well. Agelmar does tell us a bunch about Lan’s past and wow what a past it is! Perhaps it really is just that Agelmar knows about Lan’s past, since Lan probably didn’t have much time to do anything besides his Warder duties…. 

Next week is all the way to the conclusion and an epic battle! :D

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings-A

Eye of the World Read Along Week 6

Eye of the World Read Along

Yey, it’s Sunday! Time for more Eye of the World awesomeness! As always, this is an in-depth discussion so there will be spoilers for the book up to Chapter 40. Since Linky doesn’t work with WordPress nicely right now, just post your link in the comments :).

Also, we’re doing a poll over at Dab of Darkness for how long of a break to take/gauging interest in the next book, so even if you didn’t read this book with us, feel free to vote if you are interested in reading along with The Great Hunt.

On to the questions :D.

1. Looks like Rand and Mat met another ally finally. What do you think of Master Gill? Do you think his hope in Thom is well placed?
Well, he’s a chubby innkeeper, so that’s a good start! And anyone who is willing to let an Ogier into their inn to keep him from being attacked in the streets seems like a very good fellow. Then there is the whole, Thom wouldn’t have sent the boys there if he wasn’t pretty sure that his friend would be trustworthy. However, while I really really hope that Thom is all right and Gill knows something that we don’t, we know that Thom was facing a Fade and Gill doesn’t. Combine this with the fact that Thom hasn’t shown up yet and I’m really worried that this is permanent. It just doesn’t sit right though, something more has to happen with Thom’s story….
 
2. Loial the Ogier! How adorable right? We only get a brief glimpse into this new race, but what do you think? What part do you think he’ll play in the story?
I don’t know if we’re supposed to think that Loial is adorable, but I can’t help it! He’s so sweet and alone and just wants a friend. This is another instance where I was stronger reminded of the Lord of the Rings however, since the Ogier are so similar to the Ents and this is about the right point in the plot for the Ents to be mentioned, which is a bit annoying. I was sad that Rand was so hesitant to take Loial alone, I’m sure they could disguise him someone (get creative Rand!) and a giant for a friend would certainly be helpful if anymore Darkfriends attacked….
 
3. During the rescue of Perrin and Egwene, did it seem like Lan was overly concerned about Nynaeve to anyone else? >.> <.<
Maybe I’m just reading too much into this, but Lan was about ready to go back in for Nynaeve and Moraine had to remind him that Perrin was way more important and still in a bunch of danger. Then I started thinking about it and there have been all of these little competitions between the two of them for being super quiet and Nynaeve seems rather found of Lan….
 
4. The Dark One has been blamed for all sorts of things lately. Do you think that the Dark One is the root of Perrin’s power like Moraine fears? How about Rand’s?
I really don’t think that the Dark One is the root of the wolf power in general, based on what Elyas said and the way that Elyas act around the ravens. However, I guess it’s possible that the Dark One decided he wanted Perrin to have this wolf magic, and made the Pattern shift so that he would, if that is possible…. I don’t really know why he would do that, though I’m sure we’ll find out in some awesome evil monologue in the future if that is the case ;-). However, I still really hope that Perrin’s power came first and the Dark One just isn’t sure which boy he wants.
 
5. Very briefly Rand encounters a beggar who is obviously determined to find him specifically. Who do you think this is? What do you think is going to happen with this beggar in the future?
Padan Fain perhaps? If he got beat up a bit or driven insane by a Fade, he would fit the description pretty well. And the whole random encounter previously thing, sine that is still a dangling thread that needs to be tied up. However, there wasn’t any resolution in this section, so I’m thinking that as soon as Rand is back in the streets, he is going to run into the beggar again and find out what the man wanted for good or ill. Probably ill, knowing our luck….
 
6. We learn a whole lot about Queen Morgase in this section, including getting to meet her in person! What do you think? Do you like the tradition of sending the royal children to study with the Aes Sedai and Warders?
First of all, I love that there is a Queen, without any need of a King. I think it’s interesting that the royal children are sent to learn what the Aes Sedai can teach that is so shunned by most of the world. It certainly makes sense as an old tradition, since it would be a very useful set of skills to have, and Tar Valon is probably home to the best education in the queendom, however I’m very surprised the people still accept royalty that are so closely tied with women they consider servants of the Dark One. There is a lot of tension between the classes it seems. As for Queen Morgase herself, she is obviously cunning and discerning with her ability to learn so much about Rand, however the edge of severity she showed was a bit frustrating. It is understandable given the current state of her city though.
 
7. Rand had quite an adventure in the palace there, wow! And we finally get to meet another Aes Sedai. What do you think of Elaida and her dark assessment of Rand’s future? 
Oh Elaida, why so crazy? Seriously, the knitting, the glances, the dark proclamations about some poor kid…. Morgaine doesn’t seem so bad after all! From what we can guess about Rand’s future, Elaida’s prediction does make sense, but her interpretation is obviously wrong from where we are standing. Just because Rand’s future holds a bunch of death and destruction, doesn’t mean he causes it, maybe he prevents it, or helps heal it…. Elaida doesn’t have to always assume the worst in every young man who trespasses in the castle gardens after all >.> <.<

In other news, congrats to Matt P. for winning the audiobook giveaway! We’ve already contacted Matt and got his prize sent out (he picked the Eye of the World, so maybe he’ll be able to catch up and join in with us :D).

Remember to just post your discussion link in the comments since the Linky isn’t going to work and try to visit everyone’s discussion to, you know, discuss :D.

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings-A

Eye of the World Read Along Week 5

Eye of the World Read Along

It’s time for another edition of the Eye of the World read along :D. As always, this is an in-depth discussion so there will be spoilers for the book up to Chapter 33. Head on over to Dab of Darkness to link up this week :D.

1) Perrin, Egwene, Elyas, and Bela had quite the intense ride. What did you think about the ravens and what dark magic could motivate birds, even carrion birds, into such behavior?

Gah, so creepy! I actually kept being reminded of the three-eyed raven from Game of Thrones, haha. But seriously, this just went all Birds on us D: and while I was on the edge of my seat, I’m glad they didn’t get attacked by the birds. Who knows what else would have showed up if the birds saw them?? It seems possible that the Dark One is able to control the ravens mentally even though he is still bound. For the most part, it seems like these poor birds are completely mind-controlled though, since I don’t think that’s normal raven behavior *watches skies suspiciously*.

2) In Chapter 29, we hear part of the legend of Artur Hawkwing. How do you like Robert Jordan’s nod to such an ancient legend and his use of it and other mythologies in building his world? 

I have to admit that I’m not super up on my King Arthur knowledge, though Artur Hawkwing ended up sounding like kind of a jerk. Are there stories with King Arthur acting that horribly to anyone who disagrees with him? It was a nice touch though, since it makes it seem like their world is just a little ways away from ours :D. At the same time, it pulled me out of the story a bit because I started thinking about King Arthur legends, and in some way would have preferred to stay engrossed in the EotW world ya know?

3) Do you think Lord Captain Bornhald and Child Byar capture the two ends of the spectrum for the men who make up The Children of the Light?

I’m going to go with I hope not, because Bornhald is still a real prick! Because the Children of the Light are supposed to be good, even though we clearly don’t agree with them, it seems likely to me that many of the men that join really do want to do something good with their life. Perhaps they get corrupted by hate, or perhaps that is just a necessary quality to ascend the ranks. In any case, I’m rooting for a nice foot soldier that doesn’t think Perrin should be put to death and helps him escape :D.

4) Mat and Rand have a little fight over whether to sell Mat’s dagger, as they are running out of food. How do you like the solution they came up with?

Awesome! It makes a lot of sense too, since they did learn some useful skills traveling with Thom. I wish that Rand had been able to convince Mat to sell the freaking dagger, but Mat did make a good point that they really weren’t in the right area to sell it anyway. Makes me wish I lived in a world where I could travel anywhere for free if I sang at the inn….

5) At Four Kings, Mat and Rand play for food and bed at a dive of an inn run by Saml Hake. During the course of the night, Rand spots a man, who turns out to be a Dark Friend, Howal Gode. And this naughty Dark Friend disturbs their sleep in a locked room. What do you think happened there?

From the way that Gode was rushing from inn to inn, it seems like he was specifically looking for the boys and didn’t just stumble across them. Maybe the Dark One sent Dark Friends to every town along the road in the hopes of finding them? But again, it seemed very pointed that Gode was looking in this town. More likely a Dark Friend at another town saw them performing and guessed who they were, then got word to Gode to bring reinforcements to the next city down the road. It seems unlikely that we’ll ever find out for sure though, the boys will just have to keep watching their backs!

Awesome questions this week! All right everyone, remember that the next section is 34-40 and we’re back here next weekend :). Also, I’m so excited since we’re getting towards the end of the book and something epic is bound to happen right??

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings-A

Eye of the World Read Along Week 4

Eye of the World Read Along

Welcome to week 4 of the Eye of the World read along awesome people! This week goes through Chapter 27 so there will be spoilers for those who haven’t read that far. As usual, if the linky isn’t working when you stop by (because it likes to torture me like a Trolloc!) then just throw your link in a comment and we’ll do this the old fashion way ;-).

1. Moraine and Lan were discussing how the Trollocs could be amassing such large numbers and other strange occurrences such as the Forsaken and possible opposition from the White Tower early in this section. What do you think about all of these revelations?

It seems like magic that hasn’t been around for a while might be coming back, since otherwise how could the Trollocs have been transported? As far as the opposition from the White Tower, is worries me that Moraine may be alone in her firm opposition to the Dark One, or maybe just in her belief that the boys are connected? Though it seems that our magic guides are always standing alone doesn’t it? ;-)

2. Turns out a side effect of using magic is taking foolish chances and acting giddy, sound like any boys we know? What do you think is happening to Rand? Mat?

It seems like Rand must have been suffering a side effect of using magic, but I just can’t think of what he used the magic for…. Since it would have had to happen a while before the incident with the Whitecloaks and have been something he desperately needed and “magically” got to happen…. That doesn’t bode well for when Moraine figures it out though. Mat, however, may not have that excuse, since he could just have been being giddy and foolish as he normally is. And now we know that this dagger he stole may be affecting him…. Oh Mat :(.

3. Egwene and Perrin end up wandering very far afield, why do you think the land is so thoroughly abandoned? Not just of people, but also of animals, if we assume that Perrin isn’t that horrible of a tracker ;-)?

I’m not quite sure, but did they venture into land that was closer to where the Trollocs had been troubling? Maybe the people moved away because they couldn’t deal with all the violence any more, but that doesn’t explain why they couldn’t seem to find any animals at all. There definitely seems to be some deathly influence scaring things away, though I’m not sure why Elyas didn’t mention it, or didn’t have trouble finding game. Maybe Perrin is just a horrible tracker, ha!

4. Elyas and his wolves! What do you think of this new type of magic and Perrin’s new skills? How about what Elyas said about “Old things coming again” and the Aes Sedai not being happy about it?

Generally I don’t approve of there being too many types of magic in one world because it gets confusing, unrealistic and convenient. However, I like the explanation that there was an older magic there before the Aes Sedai came and that the wolves have been separate from the humans for a long time, and for some reason the wolf magic has come back. I’m not sure how Perrin’s skills are going to integrate into the plot as a whole, though, since it seems like that won’t allow him to be a part of some crazy Aes Sedai magic plot. I love the “Old things coming again” line, since it starts to explain why the Trollocs invaded when they did and why everything is happening now for the boys. Something major is coming and has been building for a while, and by something, it seems to be something that has to do with the very magic of the world.

5. Rand had another dream, but we can’t be sure if the other boys did or not…. In it there was mention of the Eye of the World serving him, what do you think the Eye of the World is? Any other ideas for what this dream meant?

The Eye of the World might be some sort of magic device? It seems likely at least, though it must be semi-sentient or have some programming on it that enables it to choose who it will serve and who isn’t worthy ;-). From what we read of the other boys, it sounds like their dreams have been fine, at least Perrin mentioned that he didn’t have any of those nightmares. Maybe it was proximity to Rand that was causing them? At the end of the dream, it seemed to Rand that his face became the Dark One’s, which makes me worry that the Dark One is trying to possess him or something similar…. Just tell Moraine!!!

6. Domon told many tales about fantastic sights across the land, which was your favorite? :D

The crystal lattice covering the island that hums when the moon is up! I would totally go study that and try to figure out if it was alive or not >.> but I’m not a nerd or anything haha.

7. The Tinkers’ had an interesting and scary tale to tell. What do you think about this new omen about the Dark One? Why do you think the Tinkers’ thought Elyas would know more?

I think it’s safe to say that Elyas doesn’t want to reveal his past yet, but it will be important to Perrin and Egwene’s journey in the next couple sections. Perhaps he fought against the Trollocs himself at one point? The tale is further confirmation that the Dark One is stirring and up to no good, and Perrin and Egwene need to find Moraine to tell her this even more now.

Your turn! What did you think of this section? We learned a lot more about the world that the boys and Egwene have been thrown into and what a world it is! I just hope Thom is okay… he wouldn’t really have been killed already would he?? But no spoilers if you’ve read ahead! ;-)



Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings-A

Eye of the World Read Along Week 3

Eye of the World Read Along

Welcome to week 3 of the awesome Eye of the World read along :D This week is hosted by Nrlymrtl at Dab of Darkness so pop over there for the linky :D. Also a reminder that this week goes through Chapter 20 so there will be spoilers!

1) In this section of the reading, we learn that Perrin and Mat are also having wicked dreams. Add to that, Min’s visions for each of those in the small party. Prophesy, portents and dreams are playing a bigger and bigger role in this epic tale. Are you enjoying this plot device?

Yup, I am loving all the foreshadowing! Though I have to say that I don’t have much of an idea what it all means yet :D. I think it’s hilarious, though, that I said last week “wouldn’t it be funny if we found out the other boys were having the same dreams” and then just that happened. Mr. Jordan certainly wrote that plot development well to trick my brain into it ;-). Min’s visions were certainly an interesting edition though, since they went beyond the subtle portents that only the reader realizes are important and basically smacked us over the head with foreshadowing, however strange a lot of it was. Those will certainly be paragraphs to refer back to in the future though! Rand should have written them down, haha.

2) The Whitecloaks (AKA Children of the Light) make their first real appearance in the tale and of course, Mat has to play one of his tricks. Funny? Dangerous? What did you think of Rand’s reaction?

Of course Mat had to go and get himself noticed, he wouldn’t be Mat otherwise right? ;-) However both of the boys seemed to be acting a bit less terrified than they should have been. This was of course most noticeable with Rand’s reaction since we were privy to his thoughts and there was definitely something strange going on there. Some sort of possession starting perhaps? If so, then by whom? I really wish that he trusted Moraine enough to tell her, since this seems like something she should be aware of….

3) Nynaeve found them! What do you think Moiraine and Nynaeve said to each other behind that closed door at the inn?

Haha, I agree with the children, not a conversation I would want to be there for! Though it seems like the women have developed a grudging respect for each other as they have spent more time in each other’s company. I mostly assume the conversation was along the lines of Nynaeve saying stupid things and Moraine working very hard not to throttle her ;-).

4) The party has to do a swift exit from the inn because of the Fade Rand saw during his milk run. How do you think they were found?

Excellent question. I’m worried it was because of the peddler that Rand ran into on the streets and so wonderfully told everything to. Especially since nothing else came of that encounter that we found out about, and that would be a horrible oversight on Jordan’s part if it was just a random encounter, it seems possible that the peddler sold them out. I thought he would sell them out to the Whitecloaks, but I suppose he could have decided to let something slip to a Darkfriend *shiver*.

5) Moiraine burns a lot of power in these chapters: appears to become a giantess to step over the city wall; a wall of flame to hold off the Trollocs; laying a false trail; setting wards in the spooky city. Do you think this shows the limits of her powers, or has she got more to give?

No way, there is definitely going to be more in some epic battles in the future :D. For one thing, it sounded like her powers are stronger when she works with the female elements of water and air instead of fire and earth (those are the correct ones right?) and so I think when she is working with the correct elements and in the right setting she will show even more epic power. I mean, from a literary perspective, you can’t show all the cards in the first half of the book ya know ;-).

6) A lot happens at Shadar Logoth, where the party hopes to hide from the Trollocs and Myrddral. What do you think Mordeth is? And the misty Mashadar? As Lan contemplates, the Myrdral must drive the Trollocs into the city to search for them, but what is driving the Myrddral?

It sounds like Mordeth is some spooky ghost that has hung around cursed since he brought about the fall of Shadar Logoth right? And Mashadar is the embodiment of the evil that got created/called through all the bad things Mordeth caused…. Maybe? I was a little hazy (haha) on all the bad voodoo stuff from the story, but got the gist of ahhhh bad place! ;-) The question of what is driving the Myrdraal is an important one though! I’m wondering if the Dark One has become able to exert his will again, even if he is trapped somewhere still.

7) This section certainly leaves us on a cliff-hanger with the party separated. Worried? Perrin and Egwene found each other, but then galloped headlong into the river. Mat, Rand, and Thom made it onto a boat, The Spray, captained by Domon. Now Captain Domon makes a comment about the Trollocs following him; why do you think that is?

I’m pretty sure no one is going to die yet, it just seems too early in the book and Jordan doesn’t seem like that kind of an author (don’t break my heart man!). It could be that the party stays separated for a while (Moraine should really learn the first rule of dungeon crawls….), but Moraine did say that she could find them all, so I’m thinking she’ll be able to reunite everyone as long as Egwene can make it to a shore without Trollocs. I’m hoping that Domon has just been in country where the Trollocs are roaming a lot, but perhaps there is more going on with them than we realized in our little farm boy adventure!

And with that, let’s discuss :D. Let me know what you think of the chapters this week and whether you agree with my answers ;-). Next week we are back here with chapters 21-27, yey!

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings-A

Eye of the World Read Along Week 2

Eye of the World Read Along

 

Hello everyone and welcome to the second week of the Eye of the World Read Along! I’m hosting this week and I hope your holidays and travels were wonderful if you were doing such things ;-). A reminder that this week’s questions cover through chapter 14, so there will be spoilers for all chapters up to that chapter. Also, Linky hasn’t been behaving, so if it doesn’t work, just throw your link in your discussion comment and we’ll do this old school until I fix it :D.

1. The stories of Moraine and her sisters don’t seem to always match up with who she is, but other times they do (the whirlpool). How do you think these two versions of Moraine compare?
So the stories definitely seem way darker than the reality. This makes me wonder if perhaps the Aes Sedai were forced to make very difficult decisions in the past, which earned them horrible reputations, or if they have purposefully spread false rumors…. While Moraine has made it clear that she is not all fluffy bunnies, she does clearly stand against the Dark One, so I’m not sure how stories could ever have confused the Aes Sedai with his minions. Maybe this is hinting at what happened in the past being much more complicated than she’s let on though….
 
2. Rand has now had two dreams that seem to be more than dreams. What do you think they mean?
The first one could have just been a dream, and at first I was tempted to think that it was prophetic of good things, but with the second dream it seems clear that the Dark One is trying to manipulate and scare Rand. While we could just write it off to Rand’s over-active imagination getting scared from stories, it seems unlikely given the nature of stories ;-). I’m also wondering though if the other boys are having similar dreams, or if this is the Dark One’s way of marking Rand as the only one he is interested in.
 
3. There are two other boys that could be significant to the Trollocs, but Moraine seems to be paying special attention to Rand. How do you think all of them are involved? Also why do you think all of this is happening now all of a sudden, instead of when the boys were younger?
Speaking of! Since The Eye of the World is written solely from Rand’s perspective (third-person I realize ;-)) so far, it seems likely that he is a major player. It’s possible the other boys are involved somehow as well, but I think that we’ll end up finding out (once Rand tells someone about those dreams….) that Rand is the one they are really after. I could be wrong though! I like Moraine’s theory that all three are important and maybe they are all involved in different ways; that would certainly be an awesome twist, haha!
 
4. Thom has hinted at an interesting past and reacted to Moraine’s presence when she first appeared. What do you think of this mysterious gleeman?
There is definitely something going on with him. Why did he react so much to Moraine and Lan? Why did he work so hard to come along with the boys’ mission? He hinted at having a past as more than a gleeman and then falling from grace and is it just me or does materializing a dagger seem like more than a parlor trick? He also knows a whole lot about the Aes Sedai and stories that apparently no one tells anymore…..
 
5. We’ve been learning more about the Aes Sedai, but also about the lack of male counterparts. What do you think of this? Is it somehow related to the prologue?
This was a really interesting spin. So now I’m having trouble remembering the prologue completely, was that the Breaking of the World that the male Aes Sedai were involved with, or am I getting my cataclysmic events mixed up? I really want to know more about what drove the male Aes Sedai to do what they did, and why it was only the males, since it would be rather horrendously stereotypical to say it was some innate “maleness” that drove them to do something foolish ;-). And now of course the door is open to the male magic source needing to be cleansed by a hero who then taps into it in an epic battle to save the world :D.
 
6. Lan noticed Rand’s sword and commented on how Rand’s father taught him to concentrate. How do you think these coincidences are related?
This is starting to reveal more about Tam’s past, since apparently Lan and Tam’s swords and coaching techniques are similar? Tam couldn’t be an ex-Warder though right? I get the impression that Warder is kind of a life-time commitment…. However maybe there is some sort of peripheral occupation that Tam was involved in, not a Warder, but fighting and training with them or something. I’m surprised that Lan didn’t push the issue further though, it doesn’t seem like his nature, so that seems to me like there are some important secrets being hidden that even Lan is willing to respect….

Also I mentioned in the email that there was a map of the new areas in my book before chapter 13. Did anyone else’s copy have this map? I’ve never actually seen an author do this before (putting partial maps in as new areas are entered by the characters), but I kind of like it. I get overwhelmed by big maps, so it allowed me to focus on the specific area that was currently relevant. What do you think of this formatting strategy?

Remember, if the Linky below doesn’t work, just post the link to your answer post in your discussion comment and we’ll hop around old-school :D.



Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings-A

Eye of the World Read Along Part 1

Eye of the World Read Along

 

Welcome to first part of The Eye of the World read along! This week is hosted over at Dab of Darkness and I’m just playing along with Nrlymrtl’s awesome questions :D. If you’d like to join in, feel free, and the banner above links to the main post for the read along. And remember that because this is a read along post, there will be spoilers for up to Chapter 7.

1) The prologue is a pretty bleak and dark place. Then we enter Two Rivers and meet the young folk, mostly farmers. Do you think these two very different scenes show the bookends of the spectrum we can expect for the book?

It seems likely, though I hope most of the book is more on the Two Rivers end! The prologue gave a good idea of the intensity of the “bigger things” that are going on in the world, but there is only so much of that that a girl can take, haha. I much preferred the peek into the lives of Rand and his friends and the start of the adventures in Two Rivers, though it’s getting pretty dark there too….

2) Overall are you enjoying the level of description and the portent telling (the crow, the black-robed man on horseback, etc.)?

Yes! The description makes Eye of the World feel a bit Tolkien-esque, but hasn’t been too over the top ;-). I am, however, a big fan of portents. I love guessing what they might mean and trying to intuit whether they are good or bad. I find it adds another layer of richness to a story and Eye of the World is living up to my expectations on that front already :D.

3) What do you think the story is for Rand and Egwene up to this point?

Haha, oh those two are so cute. I’m guessing they were childhood sweethearts, but when Rand started getting nervous around girls, he stopped being as obvious in his affection for Egwene, which has obviously caused some confusion between the two. Some of Egwene’s references to how he hasn’t been paying attention to her lately make me suspect that they have a history that just never got fully played out, and Rand obviously doesn’t know what to do about his feelings, poor guy!

4) The story takes a most serious turn once the trollocs attack the al’Thor farmstead. It also raises plenty of questions about Tam’s past. Care to guess on what some of that past is?

Oo, such a good question! I was hoping you’d ask something like this ;-). He must have been a soldier of some kind, since he was in battle in order to come across another soldier. I suspect that he has also traveled and adventured much more than he even told Rand. While I think Rand guessed his father had traveled some, (since wasn’t his mother an outsider?) I would be surprised if Tam had told Rand everything about what sounds like a very exciting past.

5) Chapter 7 leaves us with many questions, like Rand has many questions: Why trollocs? What was his father going on about in his fever? Who are Moraine and Lan and why are they really in Two Rivers? Will Tam survive? Which of these (or other) questions are you most anxious to see answered in the coming chapters?

I’m worried that the Trollocs and the man in black are in Two Rivers for Rand, like his birth was somehow connected to all the bigger things going on. It seems like the main force of Trollocs came through the town on their way to the farm, as if they were looking for Rand or Tam…. So I’m definitely wondering what is going on with the trollocs and the man in black (though it seems likely he is the same man in black from the prologue?) and how Moraine and Lan are connected. My other biggest question is can we trust Moraine? She seems really nice so far, but all the stories say otherwise… and it seems like it will be really important in the future!

I’m so excited to keep reading and to see what everyone else thinks :D What do you think of the start of Eye of the World? If you’re not doing the read along with us, have you read Eye of the World already?

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings-A