I am disappointed (spoilers)

[Graf al’Ton]

I don't understand the intense critisism of the book. Sanderson did an amazing job coordinating the last battle with the constant shifting between perspectives. It really helped show how dire the situation was on all fronts. I agree that some of the characters roles were not resolved sufficiently, or at all for some, but I can't see how that could have been done without another book or two--this appears was never going to happen. I really can't see how RJ himself could have finished the series without it being 6 more books after KoD--remember AMoL was supposed to be the LAST book after KoD. When RJ died I knew that no author would be able to duplicate his style of writing, so I prepared myself to except something different and enjoy it. And I have. I am hoping that the encyclopedia will be very extensive and provide some closure for some of the characters that didn't make it to prime time.

 

[AnAnonymousWOTFan]

And here I thought one of the main complains was against WoT was that RJ had, supposedly, milked them for as much money as possible? Should they just make up new stuff that Jordan hasn't taken part of, just to continue the franchise?

I'm sure he left notes. If not, yes - for minutiae that is important to some people but not to the story, etc.... and I would love to see some synopsis of what comes after. Now that the series is over, I will pay as much money as I need to get the endings I want. I'm fine with them making money, they just need to do a good enough job to justify me giving them my money.

 

[Eluial Aldaran]

the last days of the Fallen Blacksmith's pride shall come. Yea, and the Broken Wolf, the one whom Death has known, shall fall and be consumed by the Midnight Towers. And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself.

The Fallen Blacksmith is indeed (I believe) Perrin. His pride was probably all those issues he had with ruling. In a sense it was arrogance and pride (though not as we normally think of them) that prevented him from being the leader he needed to be.

I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere on these forums that the Broken Wolf was Perrin's guide in TAR (in other words... Hopper?). Either way, he was a wolf that was in TAR. "One whom Death has known" makes sense, cause dead wolves go to TAR. Fall/consumed, as in dying the final death when you die in TAR. I don't really remember his death affecting people other than Perrin that much, though, so I don't know what to make of the final line.

Alivia will help Rand die? WTH??? She gets him a horse and a bag of coins and that was that great role she had to play?

Brandon Sanderson said that in RJ's notes there were lots of comments about Min's visions not always being as important as people thought they were (and also that some visions were about things not related to the events in the books). In a way, she did help Rand die. Her help let him disappear at the end. The vision was true, but not as spectacular as the other characters (and the rest of us) believed it to be. Such is the way of life, sometimes.

 

[Jas'yn Al'Dragoran]

I dont think Sanderson needed to or could tie up every loose thread. I think Aviendha's second trip to Ruidean is relevant, because the entire series is based on a prophecy and the tension between freedom and fatalism runs through the whole thing without ever being resolved. I think that is a good ambiguity.
Where this book falls down for me is the structure. Jordans great strength was always character development, while this book is totally event driven, one thing after the other happening with little attention to the people it is happening to. Then odd things come up like a couple pages on the Tearian thief catcher who is a tertiary character at best and seems to have nothing to do with the story. Someone find him an editor please. I had hoped more for a meaningful engagement with the characters i loved more than a clear tying up of what happened or a series of battles. That said, I liked it , i just hoped for more.

 

[Serenla Tamowith]

A few thoughts, good and bad.

This entire book is essentially a battle. I hate battle scenes.

RJ told us himself as long as 8 years ago that the last book would not resolve every plot line/character arc in the series. I'm okay with that. Otherwise, this would be a neverending series.

Some tertiary characters did make a reappearance as they are pretty much "fan favorites" and it's fun to get a quick look at them again.

I hate with a burning fiery incandescent passion the telepathy between Pevara and Androl. HATE.

Aviendha's second trip through the columns in Rhuidean is still relevant. Once she's seen this glimpse of the future, she set about to change it. As soon as the Aiel were included in the Dragon's Peace accord, it changed the future.

Alivia's part still kind of pisses me off even with the explanation of "red herring" prophecies.

I really, really dislike the epilogue. Really.

Overall, satisfied with the book though.

 

[Madrin Al'Carthon]

I didn't read through all the comments so maybe this was explained, but Robert Jordan had wanted to write 3 sequels. He didn't want the series to become a legacy story though, meaning he didn't want another author to take over completely. Jordan only wrote 2 sentences about the three before he passed, and so Harriet and Sanderson agreed that it was best to leave them unwritten.

All of Jordan's notes for the 14 books will be posted online in the future though, so perhaps they will explain some things. Never Nakomi though, I have my suspicions as I'm sure many people do, but even Sanderson has been told he's not allowed to talk about who she is if I understand correctly.

 

[Aulrick Vendour]

My guess is she's a character based on his wife Harriate.

 

[Jeffan Caliarthan]

Robert Jordan has stated that all of the female characters in the series have a part of Harriet in them. Likewise, Harriet says the same for him and the male characters.

 

[Maibella ni Rhoiden t'al'Varrak]

Ok, now I don't feel so bad about not asking Brandon about Nakomi at the book signing ... looks like I wouldn't have gotten a good answer anyway!

 

[Ayraii Daedrin]

I have to say im very surprised that no-one has come up with the though that the
*Yea, and the Broken Wolf, the one whom Death has known, shall fall and be consumed by the Midnight Towers. And his destruction shall bring fear and sorrow to the hearts of men, and shall shake their very will itself*

Could refer to Rodel Ituralde? He was known as The Wolf, and its been said that the 13 Midnight Towers could represent the Forsaken. So the Wolf(Ituralde) whom death has known(Maybe something to do with Maradon?) shall fall and be consumed by the midnight towers(Grendael?), and he did demoralize the people at Thakan'Dar.

Its a little stretch in some places but seems as strong as most of the other theories.

 

[Morrighan Daghdera]

See this thread. The Broken Wolf was Perrin's spirit guide.

 

[Ayraii Daedrin]

damn i thought i finally had it. i had not seen that thread before though, thanks, lots of interesting stuff on there!

 

[Corwin Matheos]

See this thread. The Broken Wolf was Perrin's spirit guide.

Btw, can anyone clarify this for me? Spirit guide? Hopper? Something else?

 

[Don al'Gooch]

I agree with a number of your points (though I wouldn't say I'm disappointed -- I was mostly satisfied with this book. Especially when I compare it to, say, most of POD...or the awfulness that was COT). One of my meta-criticisms of Sanderson's trilogy is that a number of the plot resoultions simply don't make sense in context or, worse, they lack any existential meaning. I think your example of Rhurac is a good one -- yes, something changed in the vision and as a consequence other things could change (like Rhurac dying)...but it is hard to see how the 'changes' wrought by Ave would have resulted in Rhurac being captured by Graendal and being mega-compelled out of existance. There doesn't seem to be a logical connection between those two...even though it isn't technically a plot inconsistency. I was also disappointed by the lack of existential meaning in some of the deaths. Bashere, Hurin, etc. are hustled off the mortal coil in the space of a few sentences, with no POV's to give those sacrifices meaning / depth. When you think about the character deaths, really the only meaningful one I can think of is Egwene's. I get that some deaths in a massive war like TLB are going to be somewhat random and 'meaningless'...but this is fiction...we didn't spend 14 books to watch a main character trip and break their neck. Suian/Byrne in particular bothered me. While Sanderson tries to give it meaning (Suian saying she doesn't care if she dies...right before she dies and, consequently, kills Byrne)...he also set it up to not have much of a meaning as a choice (Suian thought the prophecy had already been fulfilled...though why on Earth she wouldn't have asked Min herself is beyond me..."Hey, Min. Ya know that prophecy of doom you had for me and GB...that still in the cards?"). It would have meant more if we had had a POV with Suian and Byrne were they *had* to choose to seperate in order to accomplish something and chose to sacrifice themselves. I would have grieved their loss, but it wouldn't feel so...empty. It seemed to me that Sanderson was kind of ticking off some of these prophecies (i.e.: "How do I fulfill all of these prophecies in X pages") rather than either incorporating them as necessary plot points or, in the case of optional deaths (Gawyn / Suian-Byrne)...just having it end the other way. I'd have prefered that to the meaningless deaths (though I cared so little aobut Gawyn by the end, his death was more of a relief than anything else). D.GOOCH

 

[Don al'Gooch]

Btw, can anyone clarify this for me? Spirit guide? Hopper? Something else?

Hopper. He had "known Death" is scarred (hence "broken") and "falls." Not really sure how that was supposed to shake "will" itself...unless "men" is just Perrin (the Fallen Blacksmith). Of course, I'm not sure whether Dark Prophecies are supposed to be fulfilled. Really -- would it make sense they could be if they conflict with Light Prophecies? I had thought of them as "What will Happen if the Dark One Wins"...but there seems to have been some effort to make those as 'true' as the Light Prophecies (with the difference being interpretation). Just as, for some reason, Sanderson tried to 'fulfill' the Seanchan prophecies...that was a tough one for me. Maybe RJ always intended it, but it always made more sense to me that the Seanchan had twisted the prophecies to fit their culture (just as they had with channelers). D.GOOCH

 

[Madrin Al'Carthon]

You know what disappointed me most I think? There was never a Luc/Lan confrontation. I mean, I know Perrin ultimately had to defeat him, but Lan never even found out what happened to Luc, and that was kind of sad.

 

[Corwin Matheos]

All good points, Don and Madrin.

 

[Rhandhal al'Deez]

I agree with a number of your points (though I wouldn't say I'm disappointed -- I was mostly satisfied with this book. Especially when I compare it to, say, most of POD...or the awfulness that was COT). One of my meta-criticisms of Sanderson's trilogy is that a number of the plot resoultions simply don't make sense in context or, worse, they lack any existential meaning. I think your example of Rhurac is a good one -- yes, something changed in the vision and as a consequence other things could change (like Rhurac dying)...but it is hard to see how the 'changes' wrought by Ave would have resulted in Rhurac being captured by Graendal and being mega-compelled out of existance. There doesn't seem to be a logical connection between those two...even though it isn't technically a plot inconsistency. I was also disappointed by the lack of existential meaning in some of the deaths. Bashere, Hurin, etc. are hustled off the mortal coil in the space of a few sentences, with no POV's to give those sacrifices meaning / depth. When you think about the character deaths, really the only meaningful one I can think of is Egwene's. I get that some deaths in a massive war like TLB are going to be somewhat random and 'meaningless'...but this is fiction...we didn't spend 14 books to watch a main character trip and break their neck. Suian/Byrne in particular bothered me. While Sanderson tries to give it meaning (Suian saying she doesn't care if she dies...right before she dies and, consequently, kills Byrne)...he also set it up to not have much of a meaning as a choice (Suian thought the prophecy had already been fulfilled...though why on Earth she wouldn't have asked Min herself is beyond me..."Hey, Min. Ya know that prophecy of doom you had for me and GB...that still in the cards?"). It would have meant more if we had had a POV with Suian and Byrne were they *had* to choose to seperate in order to accomplish something and chose to sacrifice themselves. I would have grieved their loss, but it wouldn't feel so...empty. It seemed to me that Sanderson was kind of ticking off some of these prophecies (i.e.: "How do I fulfill all of these prophecies in X pages") rather than either incorporating them as necessary plot points or, in the case of optional deaths (Gawyn / Suian-Byrne)...just having it end the other way. I'd have prefered that to the meaningless deaths (though I cared so little aobut Gawyn by the end, his death was more of a relief than anything else). D.GOOCH

I think a lot of it had to do with Jordan having 4 books in the middle where little to nothing happened, which made the last three race through stuff.

 

[Squishiemouse 'al Squish]

I dont think Sanderson needed to or could tie up every loose thread. I think Aviendha's second trip to Ruidean is relevant, because the entire series is based on a prophecy and the tension between freedom and fatalism runs through the whole thing without ever being resolved. I think that is a good ambiguity.
Where this book falls down for me is the structure. Jordans great strength was always character development, while this book is totally event driven, one thing after the other happening with little attention to the people it is happening to. Then odd things come up like a couple pages on the Tearian thief catcher who is a tertiary character at best and seems to have nothing to do with the story. Someone find him an editor please. I had hoped more for a meaningful engagement with the characters i loved more than a clear tying up of what happened or a series of battles. That said, I liked it , i just hoped for more.