I'll buy that (mostly 
). Got a good beat and I can dance to it; I give it a 7.
Joel Send a noteboard - 01/12/2010 02:32:59 PM
). Got a good beat and I can dance to it; I give it a 7.
Joel Send a noteboard - 01/12/2010 02:32:59 PM
Good, but not great.
Having written my share of protracted sentences, I'm obliged to note that simple ones aren't always bad. If I can respect the early books, where Jordan ran various idioms into the ground, I can handle a certain amount of colloquial mannersisms from the characters now. What you gain on the swings you lose on the round abouts, right?
on character and development:
- the whole "perrin defies his destiny and tries to be a blacksmith" thing was supposed to have been somewhat resolved two books ago the way i read things. why bring it back up, and with such a strong, visceral reaction from him every time he turns around? i feel like there could have been at least three fewer chapters if perrin would have just had his epiphany at the beginning instead of in the middle of the book like he was supposed to, and the series was leading up to during the plodding middle books before RJ died.
- mat is more like himself in this book than tGS thank goodness. i think the whole "epic adventurer" motif was a little overdone on the tower of ghenjei plotline but it's at least good to see that the character of mat did not change much from the mat in KoD. now i can pretend the bumbling buffoon from tGS doesn't exist
- can someone give elayne a quickie c-section so that she can finally get herself killed on one of her little forays? i used to be indifferent towards elayne but now i'm downright pissed off that she would be written with an overarching motivation to protect crown and realm and then take it upon herself to assault the black ajah singlehandedly, without telling anyone what she's up to, knowing that she can barely channel if she doesn't concentrate hard enough.
- it's great that rand has finally gotten in touch with his human side, but it's like he's making up for lost time with the things he's trying to atone for with everyone. i dunno, maybe that was the whole point of his plotline, how he's trying to tie up his loose ends while he still has a little time left to him. it was still hard to read the same type of scene every time he showed up though
The less Perrin the better, and I say that despite being convinced he's a stand in for RJ himself. Yes, he should've been past all this crap by now, but I've been saying that since KoD. Jordan seemed to have difficulty letting go of Perrins plotline (hence he spent most of KoD putting a bow on Failes rescue) and it looks like Sanderson is stuck with the consequences as much as the rest of us. Most unforgiveably, every time Perrin "matures" a character I liked a helluva lot more than him dies.
I agree Mat too often seemed more caricature than character in TGS, but think some of that may have been a nod to the large minority tired of seeing Mat fall backward into a pile of diamonds thanks to his luck. There are people who've always thought Mat a mouthy buffoon and WANTED to see him not just humbled but humiliated. I don't think it was as bad as some do, but also agree this Mat was more like the one we know, and better for it.
Elayne definitely should've learned her lesson by now, 'cos she smarter than that, but she seems to have some kind of mental block there even after Birgitte explains that having healthy babies doesn't preclude a Christopher Pike scenario. It's frustrating since she's my second favorite character, but it's apparently not going to change without a truly monumental disaster. More and more it feels like RJ was building to something there; Elayne may not be Queen (or anything else) very long....
And, yes, I think tying up loose ends and trying to cram a lot of atonement into not much time is EXACTLY what's going on with "Post Epiphany Rand". It's understandable in light of his new perspective, past abuses and likely imminent demise. Plus LTT is no longer a raving voice in the back of his head with occasional flashes of memory; from all appearances Rand and LTT are fully integrated now; he can remember the Kinslaying as vividly as he does Colavere and Liah, with an added bonus of knowing all the death, destruction and misery that followed in the wake of the Strike, something LTT lacked until recently. He now appreciates that the world, if not Rand, must SURVIVE the Last Battle as well as win it, and realizes that both Rand and LTT have done a lot of things counterproductive to that. Meanwhile, the DOs touch spreads everywhere and Rand has to mitigate the damage done by himself, LTT AND the Shadow in whatever days or minutes he has left to live. All of that makes for a rather daunting character to write--especially when it's not YOUR character.
Heh. You'd think Harriet would be keeping a better eye on that, but then, some would say that if she were a decent editor where her husbands work is concerned Failes kidnapping would've wrapped by the end of CoT.
on the writing style and structure:
- too many single, simplistic sentence structures. this book *felt* like it was cribbed from an outline that hadn't been fully developed yet. i didn't get that impression from tGS at all with the exception of "anyway" being used way too much for my enjoyment.
- i realize this book is over 850+ pages of new(ish) material, but ENOUGH WITH THE TYPOS & GRAMMAR/SPELLING MISTAKES!! was this book really that rushed that NOBODY had time to proofread it before it went to print?
- it seems obvious to me that sanderson is trying his hardest to write to a higher level than his usual audience but is struggling with the content, so i can forgive some of the more colloquial mannerisms he's given some of the characters. at least in this book, mat is not a slapstick buffoon trying to create some madcap hijinks in order to sneak into some village using a terribly convoluted plan
- too many single, simplistic sentence structures. this book *felt* like it was cribbed from an outline that hadn't been fully developed yet. i didn't get that impression from tGS at all with the exception of "anyway" being used way too much for my enjoyment.
- i realize this book is over 850+ pages of new(ish) material, but ENOUGH WITH THE TYPOS & GRAMMAR/SPELLING MISTAKES!! was this book really that rushed that NOBODY had time to proofread it before it went to print?
- it seems obvious to me that sanderson is trying his hardest to write to a higher level than his usual audience but is struggling with the content, so i can forgive some of the more colloquial mannerisms he's given some of the characters. at least in this book, mat is not a slapstick buffoon trying to create some madcap hijinks in order to sneak into some village using a terribly convoluted plan
Having written my share of protracted sentences, I'm obliged to note that simple ones aren't always bad. If I can respect the early books, where Jordan ran various idioms into the ground, I can handle a certain amount of colloquial mannersisms from the characters now. What you gain on the swings you lose on the round abouts, right?
on character and development:
- the whole "perrin defies his destiny and tries to be a blacksmith" thing was supposed to have been somewhat resolved two books ago the way i read things. why bring it back up, and with such a strong, visceral reaction from him every time he turns around? i feel like there could have been at least three fewer chapters if perrin would have just had his epiphany at the beginning instead of in the middle of the book like he was supposed to, and the series was leading up to during the plodding middle books before RJ died.
- mat is more like himself in this book than tGS thank goodness. i think the whole "epic adventurer" motif was a little overdone on the tower of ghenjei plotline but it's at least good to see that the character of mat did not change much from the mat in KoD. now i can pretend the bumbling buffoon from tGS doesn't exist
- can someone give elayne a quickie c-section so that she can finally get herself killed on one of her little forays? i used to be indifferent towards elayne but now i'm downright pissed off that she would be written with an overarching motivation to protect crown and realm and then take it upon herself to assault the black ajah singlehandedly, without telling anyone what she's up to, knowing that she can barely channel if she doesn't concentrate hard enough.
- it's great that rand has finally gotten in touch with his human side, but it's like he's making up for lost time with the things he's trying to atone for with everyone. i dunno, maybe that was the whole point of his plotline, how he's trying to tie up his loose ends while he still has a little time left to him. it was still hard to read the same type of scene every time he showed up though
The less Perrin the better, and I say that despite being convinced he's a stand in for RJ himself. Yes, he should've been past all this crap by now, but I've been saying that since KoD. Jordan seemed to have difficulty letting go of Perrins plotline (hence he spent most of KoD putting a bow on Failes rescue) and it looks like Sanderson is stuck with the consequences as much as the rest of us. Most unforgiveably, every time Perrin "matures" a character I liked a helluva lot more than him dies.
I agree Mat too often seemed more caricature than character in TGS, but think some of that may have been a nod to the large minority tired of seeing Mat fall backward into a pile of diamonds thanks to his luck. There are people who've always thought Mat a mouthy buffoon and WANTED to see him not just humbled but humiliated. I don't think it was as bad as some do, but also agree this Mat was more like the one we know, and better for it.
Elayne definitely should've learned her lesson by now, 'cos she smarter than that, but she seems to have some kind of mental block there even after Birgitte explains that having healthy babies doesn't preclude a Christopher Pike scenario. It's frustrating since she's my second favorite character, but it's apparently not going to change without a truly monumental disaster. More and more it feels like RJ was building to something there; Elayne may not be Queen (or anything else) very long....
And, yes, I think tying up loose ends and trying to cram a lot of atonement into not much time is EXACTLY what's going on with "Post Epiphany Rand". It's understandable in light of his new perspective, past abuses and likely imminent demise. Plus LTT is no longer a raving voice in the back of his head with occasional flashes of memory; from all appearances Rand and LTT are fully integrated now; he can remember the Kinslaying as vividly as he does Colavere and Liah, with an added bonus of knowing all the death, destruction and misery that followed in the wake of the Strike, something LTT lacked until recently. He now appreciates that the world, if not Rand, must SURVIVE the Last Battle as well as win it, and realizes that both Rand and LTT have done a lot of things counterproductive to that. Meanwhile, the DOs touch spreads everywhere and Rand has to mitigate the damage done by himself, LTT AND the Shadow in whatever days or minutes he has left to live. All of that makes for a rather daunting character to write--especially when it's not YOUR character.
and, despite the shortcomings, i found it to at least be a good enough read that it was easily better than RJ's last three books put together. the last book (and last battle) has been set up pretty nicely, and i'm expecting all (or a good many) of the loose ends to be tied up by the end of the next installment. maybe by then they'll have found a proofreader 
Heh. You'd think Harriet would be keeping a better eye on that, but then, some would say that if she were a decent editor where her husbands work is concerned Failes kidnapping would've wrapped by the end of CoT.
Honorbound and honored to be Bonded to Mahtaliel Sedai
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Post your review of Towers of Midnight
- 07/11/2010 04:20:11 PM
10720 Views
Liked it pretty good
- 07/11/2010 10:34:23 PM
1340 Views
*NM*
No Spoilers, just a review (Accidentally posted in a thread, supposed to be stand-alone review)
- 13/11/2010 08:41:58 AM
1103 Views
5/10 *spoliers*
- 08/11/2010 07:54:10 PM
1332 Views
About not sensing gholam. Nobody sensed him. It's the ability of the thing, I think *NM*
- 08/11/2010 08:03:45 PM
527 Views
You wanted MORE of Elayne's political maneuvering ?
- 08/11/2010 11:18:42 PM
1172 Views
Yes. I personally would've liked all that to be more detailed.
- 09/11/2010 06:11:44 PM
1013 Views
8/10. Fairly solid plotwise with some great moments but structurally flawed. *NM*
- 10/11/2010 02:46:09 PM
580 Views
this book made me sad, and not because it's the penultimate chapter
- 30/11/2010 03:27:35 AM
1098 Views
I'll buy that (mostly ). Got a good beat and I can dance to it; I give it a 7.
- 01/12/2010 02:32:59 PM
1213 Views
). Got a good beat and I can dance to it; I give it a 7.
- 01/12/2010 02:32:59 PM
1213 Views
After a very long break from WoT... I'm back into it and loving it!
- 05/12/2010 03:08:57 AM
1096 Views
It was ok. Not brilliant but certainly better than a lot of the middle ones.
- 19/12/2010 11:28:32 AM
1303 Views
Solid but not great continuation of the series, both exciting and flawed
- 05/04/2011 08:34:48 AM
1077 Views