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Live Blogs The Liveblog of Time: The Eye of the World
Eegah2012-03-02 12:13:32

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Prologue: Dragonmount

I’m thrilled that Vampire Buddha is back with A Song Of Ice And Fire, as his journey through that incredible series has long been one of my favorite works here. And recently I’ve decided to start reading another epic Doorstopper fantasy series, The Wheel Of Time, so I thought, what the heck, I’ll try one of my own again. I’ve done a few liveblogs that were pretty well received, though my last one for Codex Alera didn’t last long, basically because I got impatient and just wanted to tear through the whole series without bothering to write about it. Wheel of Time seems much more suited to this format, as what is apparently a big and sedate story you can just get swept up in.

I know pretty much nothing of the story going in, with my knowledge just being that Robert Jordan suffered Author Existence Failure, though at a time when the series’ popularity was declining anyway, and Brandon Sanderson is currently one book away from finishing it based on his notes, with his work being very well received. Also, that the first book, The Eye of the World, is thick enough that a copy served as a real life Pocket Protector in Iraq. I’m using an Ipad, so I can’t say for sure, but it’s actually far from the most intimidating book in my library (hello, Ken Follett!)

Basically, I hope to at least provide some entertainment for people who have read the series, as well as force myself to really think hard about what I’m reading, as I’ve heard both very positive and very negative things about it. Also, it may help me keep track of what I’ve been told is one of the biggest casts of characters you’ll ever see, either that or provide some cheap laughs as I become hopelessly lost and broadcast my inability to remember anyone I’ve met before.

So, the prologue. It’s the aftermath of a battle, and our viewpoint character is Lews Therin, whose castle has just been conquered and who’s gone a bit nutty. He’s met by the enemy leader, Elan Morin, who is frustrated that he can’t take satisfaction in his victory without Therin knowing how badly his ass has been kicked, so he casts a spell to restore his sanity, as well as a ton of pain, just to be a dick. The writing is vague on what exactly happened, but I think what’s going on is that Therin made a desperate last ditch attempt to tap into a piece of powerful forbidden magic, which backfired and caused him to kill everyone left on his side, including his whole family, in a berserker rage.

Morin goes on a bit about how the two of them have actually been fighting since the dawn of time, as agents of this world’s equivalents of God and Satan, the Creator and Shai’tan. I smell some Screw Destiny coming down the road. Then things get pretty trippy, as Therin begs the Creator to forgive him and...creates a volcano? Whatever it is, he’s gone afterward, which pisses Morin off for some reason. And then the volcano causes a river to change its course and create an island where I suspect we’ll be spending some time.

The prologue has some confusing bits, particularly at the end, but at this point that’s really how it should be. Its job is just to give us a few vague details that are hopefully intriguing enough to want to keep reading. For me, it’s worked. I can’t say Therin and Morin are particularly compelling characters, but I get the sense this is actually a Distant Prologue, so it won’t be a problem if that’s the case. On to the actual story!

Comments

94.237.121.161 Since: Dec, 1969
Apr 4th 2012 at 12:17:58 PM
So that's the Moria equivalent, the Ways.
Arilou Since: Dec, 1969
Apr 4th 2012 at 2:53:34 PM
It won't exactly spoil anything, but the Ajahs are basically divisions of Aes Sedai, they each have their separate "goals" (and a bunch of traditions in addition to that not related to their goals) add to this that individual Aes Sedai may go off and do their own thing, but you'll get MORE than enough of Aes Sedai politics in the series...

Sabbo Since: Dec, 1969
Apr 4th 2012 at 5:37:35 PM
The whole thing about Ajahs gets expanded upon starting in the next book, to be exact.
71.93.175.114 Since: Dec, 1969
Apr 4th 2012 at 8:41:50 PM
RJ screws a few things up in the gender politics of the series, but at the very least, I appreciate that he at least is willing to examine the subject and that he tries. You'll see a lot of gender-flipped points throughout the series. For instance, one that I'm sure you've already come across, and that isn't spoilery if you haven't, is the fact that in Wo T, there's a constant assertion that men are the gossips, versus our society, which typically views the *women* as such. So, you see what I mean about a gender-flipped point there? The READERS know that such a thing is ridiculous, because we're inside the guys' heads enough to know that they don't really gossip (or talk to each other much at all (especially when it'd REALLY HELP IF THEY DID SO), frustratingly enough), but by flipping the genders on us, RJ makes us pause and think about the inherent absurdity of the assumption that all women are incurable gossipers.

Which, again, I commend him for being willing to examine the topic of gender disparity, because trying is a hell of a lot more than most people do. But...well. Let's just say that, in my opinion, it backfired on him a little bit, because sadly putting such a bright spotlight on the female characters only makes them easier targets, as the readership is outraged at their unfair treatment of the men, and then the HATE THOSE BITCHES is on. Which, really, misses the entire point.

I'm not saying that Jordan doesn't have some problems with sexism in his books, because he does (more on this in later books though). But I don't blame him, and I certainly don't think he had any malicious intent to purposefully be sexist. And I'm not saying that people don't have a right to hate Nynaeve, Moiraine, Egwene, or Elayne, or any other female who shows up, because whatever floats your boat. But I think a lot of hate that the female characters get hit with is simply Misaimed Fandumb. At least, that's the way I see it. *shrugs*

ANYWAY. Ah, the Ways. Both Moria and the Ways are High Octane Nightmare Fuel for me, but I'd totally pick Moria, hands down, over the Ways if I had to journey through one of them. The reason why will become clear once you get there. *shivers*

As Mark would say, you are not prepared. ;)

Anyway, have fun on vacation, and I'll definitely be looking forward to hearing your views on the next chapters! :)
71.93.175.114 Since: Dec, 1969
Apr 4th 2012 at 8:44:09 PM
^above comment is made by me, Kiryn, by the way. :)
Sabbo Since: Dec, 1969
Apr 4th 2012 at 9:24:13 PM
Two things: Firstly, Kiryn, why don't you log in before posting? Secondly, it's not that the "men are gossips" thing is a genderflip, it's that Robert Jordan decided to make it obvious that both men and women gossip. If you don't notice the latter, it's because you're not paying attention and are so used to women being the gossips that it doesn't stand out when they do.
169.235.163.219 Since: Dec, 1969
Apr 6th 2012 at 2:59:15 PM
Sabbo, I'm not logging in because I don't have an account here.

As for the gossip thing, we'll just have to agree to disagree. I think he's making a gender-flipped point, but whatever works for you. And I pay attention just fine, thank you kindly.
Sabbo Since: Dec, 1969
Apr 6th 2012 at 6:41:19 PM
You could always, y'know, make an account.

So you notice how often Mat calls women gossips, and yet ignore it? He does it about as often as women claim that men gossip.
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