In which a whole heap of us re-read Wheel of Time

[Dianna Melear]

Wow it's been a while since I posted here. We've all made so much more progress!
I'm still on EotW. The group has just been thoroughly freaked out by Padan Fain showing up in Fal Dara. They're so close to going to the Blight I can almost taste it!

Thanks to @Fenya al'Caem and @Siera al'Cere I have links to fun fun signatures for all of us! Show your re-read pride. I'll also add that link to the first post, so that people don't need to dig through our discussion to find it.

How's everyone's progress so far??

 

[Phen al'Rohan]

I am - very timely I must say - arriving to the White Tower with the Amyrlin, Egwene and Nynaeve, from Fal Dara.

Totally sharing Nynaeve's stomach for boats

 

[Fenya al'Caem]

I haven’t managed to get the team any further 😅

 

[Alexr al'Petros]

Finally made it to the Green Man. Fal Dara (and the Padan Fain scene) was exquisite. I particularly enjoyed Loial learning an appreciation for a different kind of aesthetic. And then using his feelings to explore it. But this read thru, I was particularly taken by juxtaposition of the "quiet talk" between Lan and Nynaeve and Rand promising to be Egwene's warder (even though he was aware of Min's vision).

Reminded me that life often does not conform to our expectations, perceptions, or desires.

Deep gassho.

 

[Toral Delvar]

I got distracted last week by the release of the new Sarah Maas book, which then inspired me to re-read her first series. I should finish book 7 today, so can get back to this and do Eye of the World

 

[Phen al'Rohan]

Love your observations, @Alexr al'Petros !

I have reached Chap 22 of TGH and it starts very much like you said, with Moirane exclaiming: "Nothing is happening as I expect!" and continues in one of my favorites sparring exchanges between her and Lan: "Your humility, Lan Gaidin, has always been more arrogance than most kings could manage with their armies at their backs". CLASSIC 😁

Yet for all that's happening at the surface of their exchange, it is in what shifts underneath, in what remains unsaid, that half the magic of this scene operates. A quiet, decisive, turning chapter. Every line in the first half of the chapter is absolutely brilliant!

 

[Aduiavas Ida]

Yes, that chapter might look a bit boring and strange on first read through, but when you know more about the events that are referred to, it becomes so entertaining, and also a bit sad
It also shows that RJ had already created much of Moiraine's and Lan's backstory already, despite New Spring not being released for many years...

 

[Elleria Sevrinde]

Lovely progress all of you! By this rate you'll catch up to me before I finish my first read-through

Want to send a Candygram??? CLICK!

 

[Jorell al'Racha]

Late to the game, but I just started the Rosamund Pike audiobook. She is SO GOOD! The Bel Tine antics are about to begin.

 

[Jorell al'Racha]

Chapter 4: The Gleeman

This is my fourth time through this book and this didn't click before.

“Tell us about Lenn,” Egwene called. “How he flew to the moon in the belly of an eagle made of fire. Tell about his daughter Salya walking among the stars.”

Is "Lenn" Neil Armstrong? Is "Salya" Sally Ride? But clearly the Eagle is the name of the Apollo lunar module that Armstrong and Aldrin used to land on the moon.

Robert Jordan is too clever for me!

 

[Leala ni al'Dareis t'al'Caleum]

Just a note here that I finally found motivation to start reading again, but I think my ADHD isn't ready for another WoT re-read yet. Maybe next time.

 

[Alexr al'Petros]

Chapter 4: The Gleeman

This is my fourth time through this book and this didn't click before.

Is "Lenn" Neil Armstrong? Is "Salya" Sally Ride? But clearly the Eagle is the name of the Apollo lunar module that Armstrong and Aldrin used to land on the moon.

Robert Jordan is too clever for me!

Yep. He has scattered these nuggets throughout...

 

[Jorell al'Racha]

Yep. He has scattered these nuggets throughout...

We must find the nuggets and place them in our dragon's hoard, er, I mean the Library.

 

[Alexr al'Petros]

We must find the nuggets and place them in our dragon's hoard, er, I mean the Library.

Look for a Mercedes Benz and a Giraffe coming up....

 

[Alexr al'Petros]

Finally finished EoTW. And on the last page...I found this nugget as Rand and Egwene talked "Oh, I won't touch it again. Not if I have to cut my hand off, first" (don't worry Rand...that's going to happen!!). And I picked up that Moraine while eavesdropping smiled at his plan to never return home.

I was very careful and slow reading about his battle with Aginor and Bazalmon (Ishmael). And picked up some interesting nuggets, such as the pure One Power thread coming from the EoTW. So his first serious real use of the One Power was with pure untainted Saidin, not the tainted Saidin of later in the books. And also, I understood / heard the ALL CAPS as the Creator and the Creator's advice / message as a foreshadowing that the fight would have to be elsewhere. It seems to me, Rand thought the elsewhere was in the Fireplace room...but the elsewhere is Shayol Ghul.

Finally, I wonder if subconsciously, given the purity of the EoTW Saidin, that Rand intuitively learned (but did not realize yet) that the cleansing of the taint had to be done with both Male and Female Aes Sedai working together as was done shortly after the Breaking to create the EoTW. As the Male half would have been tainted at that time of the making of the EoTW. (I'm going to watch for more of these suggestions that Male and Female have to work together. I like that.).

Well, I guess I'll wait for the rest of the party before I begin Book 2....so hard to wait...HURRY UP!!

 

[Aduiavas Ida]

I think Rand also got a glimpse of that when he has that last vision in Rhuidean, and hears how the Eye was created, by doing something like what Rand was doing, only on a smaller scale.

 

[Phen al'Rohan]

So many references to a hand cut off... in TGH, it is part of Min's visions around Elayne.

 

[Ruslan Rynar]

Is "Lenn" Neil Armstrong? Is "Salya" Sally Ride? But clearly the Eagle is the name of the Apollo lunar module that Armstrong and Aldrin used to land on the moon.

Lenn could be Len Worlund, an astronaut who worked on the Apollo program.

ETA: And over time, people's actual roles were lost to time.

 

[Arinna Katal]

I believe Lenn is a reference to John Glenn. (Library confirmation: https://library.tarvalon.net/index.php?title=Lenn)

 

[Boreas Silverfir]

Why not both? There are lots of engineers, scientists, and mathematicians who worked on the Apollo program