Robert Jordan's:The Wheel of Time discussion
Who is your favourite character?
Egwene. The strength she shows in this series in incredible. Not strength in the Power so much as strength in her conviction and her selfless dedication to the White Tower. She really amazes me.
I am in the middle of Lord of Chaos (#6) and I still really love Perrin, but Mat is growing on me too. Also really enjoy Aviendha. Can't wait to learn more about all of them. But if I had to choose, it would be Perrin Goldeneyes for me all the way.
***** MINOR SPOILERS *****Such a difficult question. My obvious three favorites are the 'trinity' of Rand, Perrin, and Mat; all three have interesting and unique qualities and massive impacts on the story. There are many less prominent characters that I also enjoyed but for one that hasn't been mentioned here is Tam Al'Thor. He actually plays a big part in his own right but his impact on his son gives him a much broader importance. His part at the end was agonizing!!!!! (if you know what I mean)
E. wrote: "And no one has mentioned Ishamael yet. He is one of the most interesting characters in the whole series. You can never know what he has up in his sleeves and I also like how crazy he is."Ishamael/Moridin is probably my favorite. I see his story as a tragedy that makes me almost as sad as some of the other characters deaths.
Tough choice either faile, Matt, or tuon may she live forever.
Perrin Goldeneyes is my favorite. I love the internal struggle of character that he goes through and the evolution of his character throughout the books.
When I think of favorite characters, I think about how The Wheel of Time will never end and that these characters, unless burned out of the burned, will be a part of the future battles as well. And this is where my imagination gets to set up their lives and next lives contingent on what was learned from the prophecies: A disguised Rand traveling and enjoying the world, Mat and Tuon coming to terms with their love for one another as they strengthen the Seanchan dynasty and he makes her stick to the agreement she signed, Perrin and Faile as they help to rebuild the Two Rivers areas, Min, Aviendha, & Elaine as they are a part of rebuilding the world while tracking and meeting up with Rand when they find him. Lan rebuilding his kingdom and Nynaeve who I see eventually becoming the Amerlyn years after Cadsuane has rebuilt the White Tower and corrected some of the secret knowledge doctrines so that those left alive to fight the next Battle will be better prepared.
Faile was supposed to be the queen of Saldaea after Bashere died, don't know what she chose...
Above and beyond it has to be Egwene, she is the ultimate Phoenix! Starting off as a lowly innkeepers daughter and absorbing all the lessons the world throws at her to become a great leader, knowing when to listen and when to act on her own instincts. Balancing bravery and caution. To me she probably overshadows Rand and I was more eager to find out what had been happening to her!
Egwene is my favorite female character and Mat is my favorite male character. Of course during different moments of the books my favorite may temporarily change, but I usually go back to loving those two in the end. I love how Nynaeve helped make sure Lan had an army and how she stuck by Rand's side the whole time. It puts her in a pretty close second for my favorite female character.
It was Moiraine and then after some developments in the books Nynaeve/Lan and then Mat too, although he is immature. At some point I liked Faile when she first appeared but she seems to boss Perrin around too much for my liking. Haha.
Mat. Now I even love to read about him in TEOTW and TGH. haha.
Mat is my favourite male character, Nynaeve is my favourite female character.Neither started off that way, I just love how both have developed over the books/years.
Mat was my favorite character up until the last 2 books where he really began to irritate me because he seemed to become a lot more submissive; and I liked him for his talent for irritating yet still coming through for those around him.Perrin has to make number one though, perfectly flawed character with unquestionable love and loyalty for those close to him.
Mat comes in at number two.
For females Verin and I'm going off of the fruition of the series.
And for the record I truly disliked egwene she was infuriating and as wise and selfless as she was for the white tower she was ignorant and single minded.
Moiraine because she seems very intelligent and resourceful. I dig powerful characters.Demandred since he is a tactical genius. And deliciously evil.
Aviendha; she can run for miles at a sprint. MILES! Also, as an Aiel, she is automatically badass.
Aiel in general are just awesome.
Seanchan because I dig imperialistic societies. In fiction that is.
Mat!Then there's Ingtar. Good character and conflict. One of the most dynamic characters in the series in my opinion. :)
Nynaeve because I can really identify with her and get what she's all about. Have a soft spot for Mat too :)
I absolutely endear Moiraine, Siuan, and Nynaeve. Moiraine is my ultimate favourite though. Elayne is another favourite. Then again, I'm only on the 6th book so I've got a long list of characters that I have yet to be acquainted with...XD
Lan. He is the most steadfast, unwavering, uncompromising character in the whole series next to the Dark One. Lan serves a singular purpose that he believes will ultimately kill him with an unchecked resolve. He's all in right from the beginning and never looks back.
Mat is awesome. Perrin has a period of time where I think he's unbearable, but overall is good. I think Rand gets a bad rap. I mostly feel bad for the crap he has to put up with and go through. Elayne starts of ok, then gets extremely annoying. Nyneave is the opposite. She starts out annoying but by the end is, I think, the strongest character of the series. Rhuarc and Aviendha are booth cool, but I wish there was more of their PoVs.
There is no character i don't like. ALL of them are so complex its hard to choose a favorite, but if I had to choose one it would definitely be Perrin.
Note: My list displays characters from the entire series. Don't read if you haven't finished.Characters I've liked through the entire series:
Rand, Mat, Perrin, Lan, Loial, Aviendha, Nynaeve, Thom, Olver, Tam al'Thor, Rhuarc, Rodel Ituralde, Birgitte, Egwene, and Androl Genhald
Characters I liked in the beginning but disliked by the end:
Elayne
Characters I did not like in the beginning but did by the end of the series:
Moiraine, Verin, Min, Cadsuane , Siuan, Galad, Alanna, Logain
Characters I never liked:
Gawyn, and Taim
And even though he was a late addition, Androl Genhald was probably my favorite character.
Mat is definitely my favorite character. I didn't really like like him on the first two but the third one made me live in love with him. I love how he remains the same throughout and doesn't let all this change him and is so resistant to the pattern. Love it. And Lan he is amazing
Lanfear is my favorite and currently the only woman that does not annoy me to death other than Nyneave. I really like all the Aiel and Lan.
After reading the first two books, I love Mat, because of his juggling (I learnt to juggle only a couple of days before I started reading "The Eye of the World), and Nynaeve because she is a female character who can be strong and powerful without "hating dresses and all things feminine"-cliche. She knits, wears a dress and is a total badass.
For me it has to be rand he goes crazy and it not afraid to do whatever means nessaaury to get the job done he got collindoor it's hard to top that
Lan and Mat among masculine characters. Moirain, Verin and Egwene among the women
Egwene for her strong will, creative smarts and clear head! Mat for his humor and realistic, congenial grumpiness and Bridgette for her big sister clearheadedness, and Aviendha for her strength in her culture yet willingness to learn.
Also I need to add Thom for his dark versatility and hidden talents and Moraine for her knowledge and total linear thinking (reminds me of my stepmom and husband☺️)
Hated Mat's character through the first couple of books. Now he's the most hilarious/likable character in the series. I still have 1.5 more books to read so we'll see if that changes.
Mat and Egwene.The first time I read through (when only 8 books were out) I didn't like Egwene, but rereading I really came to love her.
As for Mat, what's not to like? ;)
Loial has always been my favorite, Egwene and Mat are pretty well up there too. I used to adore Perrin til his infatuation with Faile.
Mat, he is really quite funny, most of all though probably Nynaeve.
Overall, I enjoyed Mat the best. I felt he was the most constant character troughout the series. I enjoyed Tam and Lan quite a bit and Engwene becomes a different character by the end of the series. Because I read New Spring before te series, I felt that Moiraine should have been given more depth, but those that have not read NS will find her description and actions more mysterious, which is good
I've read all the books more than once, and I can say without a doubt that Nynaeve is my favorite character, because she's strong (her character and power) , she's funny, she cares a lot for everyone, and she's really talented. After her, Rand, Egwene, Elayne, Perrin and Mat are matched for me.
It's probably either Moiraine or Siuan! Hard to pick, though...
Mat for sure, who doesn't like a gambler?
RandEdit: I meant Lews Therin...Ilyena, my love, forgive me!
Fav character is Moiraine. Really like her strong personality, determination and care for Rand and others.
My favorite character is Loial:) Reminds me a lot of Treebeard, which is my favorite character in Lord of the Rings.
Moiraine would have to be my favorite, followed by Nynaeve, Perrin, and Verin. Being on book 12, I was cheering (in my head) for Egwene in her chapters. I'm loving the series so much, that once I had a dream that Moiraine and Lan were in the pew in front of me during church. I've also started making all of my usernames from the Wheel of Time. I am eternally grateful to my dad, whom introduced me to the series in the beginning of 6th grade.
My favourite character is verna cause out of all the other characters she makes one of the greatest sacrifices in the story she not only gifts her life to the tower but also her death.
Egwene and Mat. I think you have to finish the whole series or atleast half to appreciate their characters. One of the best parts of this series is that we see huge character development. I like both these characters because we see how much they grew with time. I don't want took be out any spoilers but people who've completed those parts know what I'm talking about.
Mat for sure, but Thom Merrilin should definitely go on this list. He's like Mat but with a past to add to all the madness he goes through. Always conflicted over which way to run, and constantly being outdone by Moiraine. I'm a little surprised I haven't seen Moiraine on this list, too. She has countless transitions as the story unfolds and always seems to gain the upper hand in her dealings with everyone.
Among female characters I like Moiraine and Leane. Also Melaine is an attractive Dreamwalker. :)