Wheel of Time Books

For many - many years the Wheel has been an anchor in my life... Something I could always return to when I needed to re-focus on all the day to day dramas of Work, Family, and all "that other crap" that I sometimes wish would "Just Go Away". The LAST BOOK is on my bookshelf... (Print and CDs)... and I've read the first few pages but I "Can Not" bring myself to actually read it. There are reasons... RJ died...Despair... BS picked up the story... Elation... The day that my pre-ordered copy of Memory of Light arrived... My Best Friend (35 years) died of brain cancer... Probate, estate sale, lawyers, judges, bureaucratic nonsense, and here I am... So …

Its hard to really get a sense of it because she hasn't fought since getting it all those books ago apart from a few miraculous healing scenes which didn't require her to draw on it. I hope in the final book she gets to use that angreal and all the other cool jewelry stuff she was given. Cadsuane seemed to think she was bad at anything other than healing. But at other times she seems to learn weaves instantly and had no problem using balefire to kill shadowhounds. Its always been a pet hate of mine that the supergirls have almost never got to blow stuff up in this series. I mean is Nynaeve basically a walking tactical nuke with that thing if she wanted; but the situation …

So during the course of Mats travels he's acquired a few useful items. But out of all of them, which is the most important? the dagger - this is loosely connected with Mats luck (he notices that despite always being lucky it increases drastically after he's been healed in TV). More importantly Fain uses it to stab Rand. It's the 'sealing' off of this wound and the 'fight' between the two evils that allowed him to cleanse saidin. His immunity to the dagger is also important when it comes to protecting Rand from Shaisam in the Last Battle The Horn of Valere - used at Falme to save all three taveren. Even though Mat didn't blow it, it was also necessary in…

Does anyone else find it strage that it was the fans that had to name Randland? I can't imagine the people not having a name for the land that they live on. But just as strange is that no one in 14 books mentions it by name. Is there some long lost interview where RJ explains this? And if not, theories? I'm predicting this has been answered before, but I didn't see it in the search...

When I was reading the book I had a hard time accepting the Chosen name Mhael for Taim, I thought it meant leader, but with the specific connotation of "over everyone" that did not seem to fit to me, particularly as there were several Forsaken who the DO would have been even happier with.

I mean she was working with Verin for a long time in the Two Rivers n we later learn her allegience and the advantage of bonding Rand to learn where he is would have been a huge advantage. Plus, it would explain her odd behaviour when linked to the dragon.

Did anyone ever figure out who killed Asmodean?

I was recently talking with a friend about the concept of nadirs (the low point, the part where the character hits rock bottom and suffers the most they can withstand while still being capable of growing from it) and zeniths (opposite of nadir, generally occur as a major hight point achieved due to growth brought on by experiencing their nadir) as part of character development in literature, and got to trying to figure out what they were for each of our main cast (if indeed they have them at all). Some of them (or some possible candidates) seem very obvious, e.g. For Rand his nadir would be the scene in tGS where Semirhage uses the domination band on him, forcing hi…

I mean, you know, Suldam leashing and breaking their good damane slaves (in fact I think the undertone is meant to alleviate just how evil the practice is). The Aes Sedai punishments. Egwene being birched till her bottom was sore. Cadsuane spanking Semihurge because pain won't break her but humiliation will. The Aeil Wise Ones brutally treating Egwene as well. Descriptions of clothing and women. Birgitte in glossy black heeled boots. Min in heels which Rand likes. How much ample bosom is on show and how tight the dress fits the womens forms. I am sure people could make a more comprehensive list. But its really strange. A Song of Ice and Fire is more explicit an…

She has spent an ungodly number of books to become head of the Aes Sedai. She spent whole books with her army just drifting towards Tar Valon and around Salidar. Then she spent a few more besieging the place. Then more when she is captured. Then she finally gets to do something and fight the filthy Seanchan. To be fair to Brian Sanderson he does at least try to present a real threat to Egwene in these chapters with Messana and the Seanchan. Yet he spends WAY too many chapters devoted to this and Egwenes relationship with Gawyn. At least he tries to use a few invented threats to kill time rather than complete filler like in the previous novels where Egwene literally does n…

I cannot believe that the Seanchan are portrayed as the victims in that war. They've taken Aeil wise ones and have made no effort to try to mollify their feelings. This is a great and unforgivable crime. The Aeil are supposed to just accept this? No country on earth would accept hundreds of its people being enslaved. I get that they want to make it so that the Aeil stubbornness leads to their genocide and BTW, seriously, genocide. Matt is a completely pathetic human being if he failed that resoundingly to change anything about the Seanchan. I really do not understand the authors conviction that the best response to the Seanchan is to accept them and not provoke them. Why …

We all know that Aes Sedai are recognizable by their "ageless" look, and that various characters throughout the entire series mention that it takes 3-5 years for the Ageless look to kick in. We also saw that when Siuan and Leane were stilled, the Ageless effect was lost fairly quickly. Same for the women that Rand accidentally stilled at Dumai's Well. So, I would assume that being released from the Oath Rod means that you immediately lose the Ageless effect. But later in the series, we see the BA Hunters unswear the Oaths to no loss of the Ageless effect, and then we see the entire White Tower unswear the Oaths, and no mention is made of any loss of the Ageless effect…

This scene was perhaps my favorite in the entire series. Certainly, few can match it. Dumai's Wellls was a monumental event for many different reasons. It significantly worsened Rand mental state. It resulted in massive losses to the Shaido which would lead Sevana to seek Sammael's help. The Aes Sedai were humbled and brought low. The Wise Ones participated in battle for the first time. And the Asha'man made their entrance as a power to be reckoned with in the nosiest fashion possible. It is difficult to say what was the most important effect of this battle. Rand, who was already mistrustful due to the Tairen nobility, the Wise Ones, and Moiraine would become skep…

G'day fellow WoT Community, Could someone perhaps explain the symbol of the Wheel of Time? I'm reading The Gathering Storm and I just realised that I'm actually not aware of what it is... It looks like the Aes Sedai ring entwined perhaps with a seven spoked Wheel of Time? I'm only speculating but it would be comforting to be told exactly what it is and what it represents. Thankyou, RLH

"Into the heart he thrusts his sword, into the heart, to hold their hearts. Who draws it out shall follow after. What hand can grasp that fearful blade?" Rand sends Narishma to get Callandor which Prophecies of the Dragon give the above quote about whoever draws out the sword. 'Who draws it out shall follow after' I know some people feel that that this line means Narishama will be loyal to Rand. It seems to me this should refer to more... but I do not recall anything in the series it could mean. Thoughts?

Why? Why does it exist? Other than as a cheap forshadowing tool? It's the most annoyingly arbitrary ability in the entire series (with the exception of Ta'veren-ness) and it makes me want to slaughter someone when it only shows some things but not others. It only shows auras around non channelers SOMETIMES. She can understand what they say. SOMETIMES. SOMETIMES her visions are set in stone. Othertimes they aren't. Again. SOMETIMES. Arbitrarily. When the author wants to. As far as I can tell, this isn't an ability that Min has ever gotten better at using or controlling. If she improved over time and had actual reasons for understanding what she sees some of the tim…

One of the main things I noticed while looking up stuff about WOT is that people seem really torn on Perrin's, Elayne's and Egwene's arcs. As a result I was really wary when I finally got to it but so far I've been really enjoying it. We have a relatively competent darkfriend antagonist and there's lot of politiking. Maybe I like it more since I went in expecting it to be bad so I was pleasantly surprised. So why is it so often critisized? Is it a length thing? Will it get more annoying now that I'm past book 10?

I just read that chapter in Gathering Storm. Tuon believes that 300 soldiers flown in by raken is sufficent to capture and collar every Aes Sedai in Tar Valon. She says doing this as a night raid is sufficient. This completely ignores the fact that there are 60,000 soldiers led by Gareth Bryne surrounding the Aes Sedai outside the walls with a similarly large army inside one of the greatest fortress cities in the world. Seriously, if this plan actually works, even just to steal a few channelers then I will call serious bullshit. There is no way a bunch of suldam and damane can just walk into Tar Valon and expect all of them to be like timid sheep for the slaughter. T…

So, we know that Mesaana was in the White Tower, and really only interacted with Alviarin. And every time she interacted with Alviarin, she was fully cloaked (Mask of Mirrors, weaves inverted, strength hidden, etc.). But when Mesaana (we assume) Travels to the rebel camp to have a talk with Sheriam in Towers of Midnight, she's still disguised, but Sheriam specifically marvels at how much stronger Mesaana is than she is. So I guess my question is WHY? Why does she hide her strength from Alviarin and not from Sheriam? The only thing I can think of is that the rebel camp has lots of strong channellers around, so a Forsaken-level channeller wouldn't be too out of place t…

A particularly prominent Darkfriend; all the more intriguing that he has no power beyond any regular human. We first hear of the mercenary in aCoS where he is working for Toram Riaitin in Haddon Mirk who we know is advised by Padan Fain. Min has a viewing that prophecies that he will kidnap, rape and kill in the future. He plays no real role in that chapter, and before we continue on to his list of offences, let's first look back at his past. He has served as a mercenary for as long as we are made aware of his history. He saw - and probably participated - in the looting of Cairhien in the Aiel War [PoD:28] Fast forward 20 years to the present - he has…

This weeks topic will be about the relationship between two very interesting characters: namely Rand al'Thor and Logain Ablar. These two characters met relatively few times in the course of the books. The saw each other from afar when Logain was brought to Caemlyn, and later met once more in CoT, when Rand learned that Logain was an Asha'man. We see them together once more in KoD, and presumably they never met again. Until they meet in CoT we have no knowledge whatsoever of what they think of each other. When they do meet, they immediately appear to be antagonistic. Circumstances are admittedly unfavorable. Rand is falling into madness and despair, and Logain has …

We know that saidar users can sense each other's ultimate potential, which was why there was such a fuss over Elayne, Egwene, and Nynaeve. And there are several times in the first few books where it's mentioned that none of them have reached their full potential yet. As A Memory of Light states SO frequently, the entire series takes place over two years. However, Siuan and Moiraine were not at their full potential after being raised Aes Sedai in New Spring, after spending around 6 years in the Tower. So my question is: By A Memory of Light, have any of them reached their full strength? None of them compare their strength to each other, except for once early in the s…

It happens A LOT in this series. Especially to the supergirls who are beyond useless at this. Despite us knowing that the servants of shadow are supposedly ruthless killers without scruple none of them will ever just slit the throat of any of our main character. Why take the risk and time of corrupting them? Plus in later books where the likes of Elayne are clearly enemies of the shadow they still refuse to just kill Elayne when they have her at her mercy. To me, especially given the sheer number of instances where this happens, it is really silly and unrealistic. If your opponents are supposed to be ruthless and void of humanity then they should have no qualms in murderi…

I'm talking about Dain Bornhald. He is a character often looked over as a petty villain and reluctant ally pulled in by Ta'veren and Galad's story. However, Dain has an interesting story of his own and goes through more than many give credit for. We first meet Dain in EotW, interestingly enough, as the first interaction with a Whitecloak. That is, when Rand and Mat decide to pull their prank on the Whitecloaks and spray them with mud. We get a very polarized view of the Whitecloaks established as minor villains, however, while the Whitecloaks are far from perfect, the circumstances need to be put in to perspective. First of all, Rand (who's PoV we see)…

To summarize: Rand shows DO a pattern where the DO no longer exists. Rand is horrified by the world as everyone seems to have lost their personalities. Rand later decides not to kill the DO and instead reseal the DO to avoid this fate. The idea really bugged me when Rand showed DO the pattern and I hated the plot of not killing the dark one. So essentially, every part of life that isn't kittens and babies is brought about by the DO? Every petty fight, disagreement, small vice are all called by the DO? Mat stealing pies from windows: DO made him do it. Rand breaking into barns and stealing eggs: DO made him do it. Gambling, drinking, arguing, fighting: all from the DO.…

Not sure if this has been explained already. Rand thought he was going mad because he had Lews Therin in his head. For a while I thought this was the madness due to the taint in Saidin. When it became clear Rand was an incarnation of Lews, and they were essentially the same person, I never quite resolved whether the taint had anything to do this. If Saidin had been clean to start off with would Rand still have Lews in his head or as a result of being TDR they would have merged anyway?

I've picked up on hints here and there from the original Star Wars universe (IV, V, and VI) such as Rand's power-wrought blade being like a light saber among some few other things that struck me as laughably being potentially George Lucas inspired, but I was kinda clubbed over the head when I found Yoda Gawyn lying on the field of Merrilor when Galad finds him and tells him that there is another...a sister brother. Then later Galad gets his forearm cut off and is tossed aside like a rag doll. Did RJ's library in his Carriage House have Star Wars books or is this a play off Brandon adding in some newer-age myth and lore? Not that I minded too much, but that scene had so…

There are tons of dangling plot lines left at the end of MoL. I don't mean that as a bad thing, if anything else, I like letting my imagination fill in some of the blanks. I'm curious what others think about how some things turn out, or other danglers that people have thought about themselves. The ones I've really wondered about are: Will the Seanchan honor the treaty or go back to their conquering ways. If they do break the treaty, will they be stopped or will Avi's vision come to pass? --I like to think that Hawkwing did as Mat asked and Spoke to Tuon, and she will see that coexistance is the way to go. What becomes of the WT and BT? Will the Asha'man stay…

It seems a strange decision to make. It can't be seen as an actual sacrifice since she can still be stronger than she was with the angreal. Whilst it does add to the sense of suffering she endured at having this taken off her, there's no reason this can't be done by their normal method of consuming her emotions. I mean, for me, Moiraine has always come across as a bit of a badass. Thats not her only defining trait but its a big one. It would be like if lan had his sword arm cut off before the last battle. For a minor character I don't see the need to take a stab at that. I suspect the reason this was done is that, exactly like with Siun, its a plot device to prevent the o…

I'm looking for First Edition copies of all of the Wheel of Time books. Signed copies are perfered, but I will take any FE copy. I found several copies on this site....http://www.abebooks.com/books/first-printing-collectible-modern-books/first-editions.shtml?%2520cm_mmc=ggl-_-US_AbeBooks_Collectibles-_-First+Edition-_-first_editions&gclid=COHc_PnIkq8CFQVoKgodayR21w But, not all of the books are there. Does anyone know where I can get copies of the others? Hardcover only, no paperbacks...