Carla’s Comments (group member since Feb 01, 2019)

Carla’s comments from the A Wheel Of Time Read Along group.

1. I really liked this book! I did read it previously, around about 5 years ago now, and I think my reading taste has changed enough that I now really enjoy this style of writing. I can still see some things that Jordan could do better storytelling-wise, but so far, I enjoyed this so much more the second time around and definitely see myself committing to reading the rest of the series.

2. I do like Rand. He's a bit of a "Harry Potter" type character, where he's a "chosen one" but the supporting cast's personalities are much more prominent than his. I also love Loial. Who doesn't love a gentle giant.

3. The scenes with Mordeth were great, they really reminded me of a classic horror movie. Also the bits where Perrin and Egwene were traveling with wolves.

4. I would say that it seems to be one of the bigger themes of this book and what really drives the story forward (the fact that these characters were chosen to be a certain thing, and they are forced to do it because no one else can). I'm used to this theme from reading other fantasy, so it doesn't quite bother me. I want to see what everyone's destined path turns out to be in the end.

5. I think the final fight was probably akin to the kind of fight Harry and Voldemort had in the first HP book- in a way that, you think it's over, but really, it's only just beginning. There are bigger things that are just starting to unfold from the events of this book. What interests me a lot is the significance of the great serpent- the fact that (like Kane mentions!) battles that have been fought and won this time around, have been fought and won before, and will continue to be fought and won in the future. I'm curious to see how the events of present day mirror what's been happening in the Ages past, and whether this knowledge will help our heroes defeat the big evil in the end.

Jennifer wrote: "Carla, I think Rand is leaving because the male Aes Sedai have a tendency to go crazy and hurt those they care about. From the last paragraph though, Moiraine was expecting him to leave them all no..."

Ohh! Thank you! I must've missed it. Also, it probably had to be that way because Egwene and Nynaeve were eager to see their possibilities as Aes Sedai.

I agree with everyone's thoughts on the final fight. I was a little bit confused by it and also felt it was anticlimactic, but everything else in this book has been amazing, so I can't complain too much.

I agree with Jennifer, the Blight was really cool, but I wonder if the Green Man will come back later on in this story to play a bigger role. (view spoiler)[I mean, he already died, but still. He played such a part, I refuse to believe his character at least doesn't have any huger implications in the future. (hide spoiler)]

I don't think I quite understood the reason why everyone had to separate? There is still the Great Horn situation to take care of, and after all their talk of "staying together because it's in the Pattern" I'm not sure why everyone is so easy about splitting up. Especially since so many of the others don't know what happened with Rand during the final fight.

Really enjoyed this book, though! I'm definitely anxious to start the second one and see where the story takes us. :)

Sunil wrote: "Ch9-
-Moriaine really came in her own in this part for me. Her speech about the history of the two rivers was awesome as was her unleashing her power
-Great to see more of Matt and Perrin too. Matt..."

That last question- it's funny, because I don't even consider Rand and Egwene as a couple. If anything, even Egwene/Perrin is more likely to me than Egwene/Rand. I do think Robert Jordan is pushing some romance storylines a little bit, but they feel a bit out of place with the story sometimes. There's a lot more cooler things going on, like the worldbuilding, lore, and politics.

Welcome Tomas! I'm ok as long as you're enjoying yourself, haha. Glad to have you on board!

Lol I know what you mean, Yinka. I enjoy seeing people walking stupidly into traps (hence why I love horror movies), which was why I loved the Shadar Logoth part. Rand and the Emond's Fielders are pretty naive themselves, I guess that scene goes to show just how really naive they are 😂

Joe wrote: "After finishing CH.1 - 14, I can say I am really liking this series. I really want to learn more about Lews Theron from the Prologue. I can tell the world in this story is rich with lore. I looked ..."

Hmm, according to the WoT Wiki, Randland is a name that fans adopted for the entire world that WoT takes place in. Hilarious name for such a seriously rich fantasy world, though 😂

I could be wrong and there may actually be a name for this world, but I was being really sparing in my reading of that wiki in case my eyes wander over to a spoiler, lol.

Erik wrote: "Carla wrote: "I'm curious as to why Rand views Aes Sedai so negatively. I know they've been associated with Darkfriends and all that, but so far I haven't seen a single hint of any of that in Moira..."

I've now read much further than this point, so I can completely see what you're saying Erik. Having travelled in this world further now, I can see what everyone's saying about Aes Sedai and why they're not 100% trustworthy.

Crazy how reading this through new eyes feels kind of like experiencing the world through the eyes of Rand & the Emond's Fielders themselves. You don't know who to trust, what people's motives are, etc.

Jason wrote: "I enjoyed the Perrin and Elyas section too. Every time I’ve read those parts I can’t help but to picture Willem Dafoe as Elyas."

Hahaha that's so spot on! I picture Elyas looking exactly like that too.

Jason wrote: "Chapters 15 through 28 takes us from The Stag and the Lion to the city of Whitebridge. Some of my favourite things happen in this span, including (perhaps especially) Shadar Logoth!"

I'm still in the middle of Chapter 25, but I agree, I *love* what happens in Shadar Logoth. Mordeth reminds me of a (much) creepier version of Varys. Also love the fact that each main character's unique powers are starting to come into play in this section. Perrin and Elyas's sections in particular, are really cool to read about.

Agree with all of the above! Robert Jordan is descriptive, but by no means is it close to purple prose.

A note on the female characters: I've heard horror stories that Jordan writes terrible female characters. And my first time reading this, I remember not liking Egwene very much.But on this read-through, I'm coming to understand more that she's a woman who doesn't want to conform to the status quo of her town - which is basically to just become a farmer's wife, settle down, and have some children. She has ambitions beyond Emond's Field and I can appreciate that.

I'm curious as to why Rand views Aes Sedai so negatively. I know they've been associated with Darkfriends and all that, but so far I haven't seen a single hint of any of that in Moiraine? Could it be part of the societal expectation in this world, where the extent of women's power should JUST remain in being someone's wife, etc?

I know what you mean, Luke. I just finished chapter 14 on my lunch break too, and found that the writing was so good, I didn't want to put it down yet either. Definitely not as bland as I remembered it to be when I first read it years ago. (I think maybe my reading taste has matured and I appreciate the prose more now? Who knows.)

Just wanted to mention that I'm going into this series completely blind with no prior knowledge of anything about Wheel of Time. So all of this is really informative! And really wanted to say that Robert Jordan's storytelling is really straightforward, I expected a mad scramble for details of names and places, but surprisingly that hasn't been the case. :)

Sadly, I don't have a camera right now :( but I would most definitely join in as an audience member! :D

Navi wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Navi. I did start a booktube channel a few months ago but found making videos took away from my precious reading time. I may come back though!

It's actually kind of crazy b..."

Hi Navi! I remember your Youtube channel, I loved watching your videos. Soo good to see you on here too!

On a side note, I'm glad so many people are joining us for this! It's getting closer, so hopefully we all have fun!

Brock wrote: "Hello, my name is Brock from. Excited to read up on the discussions and reactions to The Wheel of Time as you go."

Glad to have you on board, Brock! Hopefully the discussions for these books will be good ones.

I tried to read The Eye of the World about 5 years ago and remembered really struggling with it. It was at a time when I preferred really plot-heavy books and struggled with slower-paced ones.

My tastes have since changed a bit, though, so I'm thinking maybe now that I'm older I'll enjoy this series coming back to it. And it's always more fun to read with others!

Hello! I'm Carla, and I booktube at Carla's Book Bits and I read a lot of genre fiction.

Looking forward to reading this beast of a series with you guys!