Robert Jordan's:The Wheel of Time discussion
This topic is about
The Great Hunt
The Great Hunt Read Along Part I
date
newest »
newest »
Is it OK if I only answer one question?
5. Aes Sedai fascinate me. Since I take the view that Rand is the Messiah, and the Dark One is Satan, I see Aes Sedai as nuns, with a calling to serve their religious community. Despite their calling, they cannot shake their true nature, be it good or evil, and they are always tempted, if not by the pleasures of the secular world, then by the urge to shape events and individuals' responses to their environment. The Aja would then be different orders, each with its own philosophy and guiding principles.
Liandrin Sedai is clearly a villain, while in Moiraine I see shades of grey.
Sorry if the religious overtones of this answer offend anyone...
5. Aes Sedai fascinate me. Since I take the view that Rand is the Messiah, and the Dark One is Satan, I see Aes Sedai as nuns, with a calling to serve their religious community. Despite their calling, they cannot shake their true nature, be it good or evil, and they are always tempted, if not by the pleasures of the secular world, then by the urge to shape events and individuals' responses to their environment. The Aja would then be different orders, each with its own philosophy and guiding principles.
Liandrin Sedai is clearly a villain, while in Moiraine I see shades of grey.
Sorry if the religious overtones of this answer offend anyone...
Jennifer wrote: "Is it OK if I only answer one question?5. Aes Sedai fascinate me. Since I take the view that Rand is the Messiah, and the Dark One is Satan, I see Aes Sedai as nuns, with a calling to serve the..."
Answer as much or as little as you like - tis for fun!
Interesting take on the Aes Sedai = nuns. I hadn't quite thought of it like that because I thought they occasionally had...liaisons? with men and if more rarely actually married. Is sex forbidden to them?
I don't find your answer offensive. After all you are just drawing parallels between a fantasy world and what you know/examples from your own life.
Because they are not infallible, and because they are always seeking a means to the end pursued by their particular order, i think it follows from that that sex can be an opportunity to achieve an objective. Look at the single-mindedness of the Browns. The world crumbles about them, yet they continue to pursue their aim - knowledge.
Jennifer wrote: "Because they are not infallible, and because they are always seeking a means to the end pursued by their particular order, i think it follows from that that sex can be an opportunity to achieve an ..."I would think that the pursuit of power would be a big temptation to any of the aes sedai. But I am still learning about them. I love how there are Researcher aes sedai Go Browns!)
While I'm not in on the reread - (I've gone through this series a few times now and am on AMoL) I am following comments and wanted to poke my head in on the discussion. The Aes Sedai did facts ate me at this point in the book, I just grew to be irritated with the pretentiousness. One of those, the idea and core purpose is great and just but it becomes twisted. While in the end their goals are (in theory) for the good they become lost in their own magnificence. I should probably stop here because you don't see much more than this at this point.
Magicmike wrote: "While I'm not in on the reread - (I've gone through this series a few times now and am on AMoL) I am following comments and wanted to poke my head in on the discussion. The Aes Sedai did facts ate..."Thanks for joining us. Yep, I am starting to see what you are saying about the aes sedai. In Book 1, we really just have Moiraine (and a tiny bit of Elaida) to go by. So, seeing all these other aes sedai and the various factions....well, it appears some are just in it for the power.
That being said, you can't choose whether or not to have a calling, so you come to that calling as you are, warts and all.
I am beginning to feel sorry for Nynaeve because this is clearly not the life she wanted for herself. She will either approach that calling with resentment or acceptance, and that will affect how she uses it, for good or evil.
I am beginning to feel sorry for Nynaeve because this is clearly not the life she wanted for herself. She will either approach that calling with resentment or acceptance, and that will affect how she uses it, for good or evil.
Jennifer wrote: "That being said, you can't choose whether or not to have a calling, so you come to that calling as you are, warts and all.I am beginning to feel sorry for Nynaeve because this is clearly not the ..."
We haven't seen too much of Naynaeve yet, and I have to wonder what she makes of Egwene's visits to Fain, and Rand's idiotic half-hearted attempts to leave the keep. I mean, out of the 2 Rivers folks, she is really the only one who has deductive reasoning skills. Plus I miss her acerbic remarks.
Rand is torn. Either I leave to avoid harming my friends, or I leave and abandon said friends? (This dilemma is resolved later on).
Jennifer wrote: "Rand is torn. Either I leave to avoid harming my friends, or I leave and abandon said friends? (This dilemma is resolved later on)."I can see why he is torn, and he has never had to make a decision like this before either....uh.. except when he left two rivers and his dad recovering from serious injury. I wonder if Jordan is showing rand's indecisiveness now to give us better insight later when his wishy-washy-ness really brings harm to his friends.
It could be part of his coming of age - learning to make the tough decisions and live with the consequences of his actions. It certainly was for me (I'm 41 now, and much more centred than I was at his age).
I believe you'll have most of your answers soon by the end of the book. Well, I am not reading TGH right now, but I had read it just around two months ago and I think I still remember most of it.As for 1, you;ll at least learn 1 of them at the end, but as for some, you may have to read some more books of the series.
2, 3 and 4, maybe its upto you to make out. I cant give any absolute answer. But Fain, she visits as still thinking of a friend, perhaps.
5, you'll learn a lot about Siuan, Verin, Liandrin, and maybe other Aes Sedai along with the series.
6, yes the Trollocs appear abruptly in both EotW and TGH. But there are/were reasons as how they got in. It was Fain clearly, who brought Trollocs to the Two Rivers. If you remember, there was also a Shienaran darkfriend mentioned in the prologue.
Hope you'll like this book. It's a better read than the first book and perhaps one of the finest in the series.
Victor wrote: "I believe you'll have most of your answers soon by the end of the book. Well, I am not reading TGH right now, but I had read it just around two months ago and I think I still remember most of it.A..."
Thanks for stopping by. I am glad that we will have some answers by the end of the book. At the end of Book 1, i felt left with a way too quick ending and not enough answers. So I am glad we will have a few here.
I am enjoying Book 2 more and I have to say a chunk of that is because we have gotten away from the LotR references. The Wheel of Time is becoming real for, it's own world and not just Middle Earth revisited.
You won't see any comparison to LoTR as you go froward. One thing I definitely credit Jordan with is he builds an all encompassing world and characters (a LOT of 'main' characters) unique to itself where, I felt, you really feel a part of and are given much insight and history because of the levels of detail. Very entrenching.
1) That prologue was pretty intense. If you haven't read the book/don't remember, any wild guesses as to who all these spooky characters are? If you know, feel free to make snarky comments.
2) Hehe! What do you think of all of Rand's attempts to escape from the keep?
3) What do you make of Egwene's visits to the dungeon and to specifically visit Padan Fain?
4) We have a shift in point of view pretty quickly in this book (as opposed to The Eye of the World). Has your view of Moiraine altered any by riding around in her head?
5) We finally get to meet some more Aes Sedai - in force. What are your impressions?
6) Trollocs! Any guesses as to how they got in? Anyone else amused that the overall atmosphere is abruptly jarred by the unexpected appearance of Trollocs in both The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt?
Finally, feel free to add anything else that stood out for you.