For the record, I care very little for Lanfear's strength - and WoT as a whole. I'd say my passion for this series is on the verge of vanishing permanently...I'm certainly not going to fight for Lanfear's strength as I did three years ago.
That's a shame, but I've actually considered not bothering to read the next book. It's amazing, but I have truly reached that point which I was talking about months ago where I am so used to very great stories being told in less time that I don't really have it in me to see WoT out through to the end! I think I reached this realization when I heard that the next book would be heavy with Perrin and Mats' storyline.
Whether I outgrew the series, the "epic trilogy +" genre or just don't find the setting that cool any more, I don't know, but I definitely gave away my copy of TGS a few months ago, and haven't re-read it since.
I still find the channelers and channeling the best part of the series, but it ended up being a re-tread of so many other systems, except with different names (plus random, sexist limitations), that my affection for it has taken a major hit.
Indeed. WoT's slow plot progression always surprises me. It has to be the most verbose series, and I think that RJ himself regretted it, and thus demanded a rapid closure of the series.
When reading other books, plot progression hits you on the head like a hammer. Most well-regarded authors write a huge story in a concise and dense form, which I'm much more partial to. The character will think that he needs to go somewhere, and the next chapter will start from his arrival in that place. In WoT, when someone wants to go somewhere, it marks the beginning of a new quest and side-plot that could take half the book or more to initiate.
Anyway, I don't like to rant on about this too much. People who complain about plot progression are generally told that they're impatient readers who want instant satisfaction. But it's not that. When reading WoT, sometimes I feel like an Ent who needs to attend a meeting for a whole day to obtain a simple outcome. Most people want a story, not the experience of being caught in a giant web not knowing which of 1200 characters is going to get their two cents. In many ways, I think RJ regretted the outcome of his series more than anyone. He must really have been desperate to insist that there was only one book left - even if it turned out to be a 2000-pager in three parts.
Wheel of Time board admin
Fan of Lanfear
Fan of Lanfear
Matching the Dragon with a mate
02/06/2010 10:09:49 AM
- 1400 Views
I think there is more to these women than simply being the Dragon's Mate
02/06/2010 12:09:10 PM
- 728 Views
What more IS there to being a woman?
02/06/2010 03:52:23 PM
- 790 Views
Re: What more IS there to being a woman?
02/06/2010 04:58:36 PM
- 650 Views
Re: What more IS there to being a woman?
03/06/2010 08:51:25 AM
- 590 Views
riiiight
03/06/2010 11:20:31 AM
- 503 Views
Re: riiiight
03/06/2010 01:53:49 PM
- 622 Views
the problem with your working out how strong they are is that it always begins with how much
03/06/2010 02:14:08 PM
- 644 Views
Re: the problem with your working out how strong they are is that it always begins with how much
03/06/2010 02:23:32 PM
- 721 Views
I never said that's all they were
03/06/2010 08:49:53 AM
- 615 Views
Re: I never said that's all they were
03/06/2010 11:44:51 AM
- 651 Views
Yeah Nynaeve is fantastic
02/06/2010 12:48:56 PM
- 671 Views
oh dear god no
02/06/2010 02:41:13 PM
- 620 Views
Back in the concept days I believe the DR was more like Tam and the love interest
02/06/2010 02:55:45 PM
- 662 Views
Re: Matching the Dragon with a mate
02/06/2010 02:15:35 PM
- 824 Views
Great post, but I would disagree with the top part
02/06/2010 05:58:59 PM
- 691 Views
Re: Matching the Dragon with a mate
03/06/2010 09:27:05 AM
- 703 Views
LOL
03/06/2010 12:01:27 PM
- 559 Views
Re: LOL
03/06/2010 12:41:20 PM
- 569 Views
Excellent point!
03/06/2010 12:50:03 PM
- 591 Views
Re: Excellent point!
03/06/2010 01:34:04 PM
- 778 Views
Re: Excellent point!
03/06/2010 02:05:19 PM
- 680 Views
Ah, so by great you mean Ghandi, and not Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great...
05/06/2010 08:57:52 AM
- 514 Views
I think there is more to these characters than being a mate, and I don't think the Pattern cares.
02/06/2010 03:23:13 PM
- 630 Views
Re: I think there is more to these characters than being a mate, and I don't think the Pattern cares
02/06/2010 03:40:38 PM
- 625 Views
I doubt he needs one. They just get in the way.
02/06/2010 05:14:08 PM
- 796 Views
Re: I doubt he needs one. They just get in the way.
02/06/2010 08:30:32 PM
- 593 Views
02/06/2010 10:42:17 PM
- 591 Views
Meh. How do we know they aren't awarded the way the Nobel Peace Prize is in our world?
02/06/2010 11:33:48 PM
- 620 Views
I don't know if Lanfear, the perfect woman didn't have a 3rd name it must have been
02/06/2010 11:49:02 PM
- 533 Views