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Eegah2012-02-27 17:33:40

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Chapter 6: The Westwood

Those bits of wood were for making a litter, though Rand is still forced to drag Tam behind him, which seems like it should leave a big trail. A large part of the chapter just focuses on how hard it is to keep moving in the dark and cold, not knowing if the Trollocs are nearby with their heightened hearing and smell. And once he gets to the road, he sees the Black Rider leading twenty of them away from Emond’s Field, which doesn’t look good. So, I guess that makes him the Fade, though Rand doesn’t make the connection.

After a quite suspenseful bit where he almost catches Rand, Tam starts babbling as the fever from his wound gets worse, revealing that he used to be a soldier, in a war fought over a guy cutting down a tree that was a symbol of peace for 500 years. Shades of Babylon 5 there. And more importantly, Rand was actually a baby he found with a dead woman from the other side after a battle, which he took as his wife couldn’t have children herself. The way he spills the whole story is pretty hokey, but that’s made up for with Rand’s quite moving reaction, first trying to convince himself that it’s just nonsense from the fever, then making a Survival Mantra of telling himself he’s Tam’s son.

This chapter’s really just a bunch of buildup to the reveal, but it’s still pretty engaging for that. The descriptions of the elements’ effects on Rand during the trip really lets you feel what he’s going through, and then when the reveal comes it’s kind of a cliché, but Rand’s reaction still sells it. It’s really a bridge chapter, hopefully building us up for more engaging material once he actually gets to help.

Comments

Sabbo Since: Dec, 1969
Feb 28th 2012 at 1:37:46 AM
I like how Robert Jordan made this story mesh in so many ways. Rand's real mother is just the beginning of it. You know the "six degrees of separation" thing (for example, the Bacon number)? Rand is around five degrees away from Lan, ignoring the fact that they just met. In a fantasy world, that's impressive.
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