Life after Wheel of Time.

Well I've just finished reading AMOL. I've savored it right out as long as I could but I couldn't put it down any longer. When I came towards the last segments of the book it was a cascade of reading that I couldn't hope to hold back.

Blood and Bloody Ashes but that was so fantastic!

I was a little worried there that there would be some deus ex machina that would some how bring back all those characters who died so bravely but no, they held firm to the story (Rand aside).
I almost felt like they could have let Rand die in his sacrifice but I was quite happy that he didn't have to in the end. So many great characters that have come and gone and so many great memories and lives I felt like I have shared. I thought that I would be sad with the finishing of such a wonderful saga but I wasn't really. Not in the way I've have done with other books. I felt in some ways like it continues on with us...

One of the beautiful things with Wheel of Time is how it is spliced in with our own world tied in with Arthurian Legend and with relics of The Age of Legends being our own and with mythology of our own cultures. To me this really helped with letting go of the series as well as with my enjoyment through out. It's almost as if because we are alive today and with echos of the saga in our own history it's as if the story in a way endures.

This isn't really something that we can enjoy about most other series. Through some are also set in our distant past like Lord of The Rings and Conan The Barbarian, they lack the ties built into them with the modern world and our own legends and mythology.

I was, I admit a little worried that when Rand defeated Shai'tan that it would somehow snuff out the The One Power from existence in some sort of balancing of the forces and thus explaining why there is no magic in the world today but I'm really glad they didn't as it leaves us the readers to imagine that it is still possible and open to us, if only we were able to relearn the knowledge lost of ceasing it for ourselves. (and don't even pretend you havn't tried: YOU KNOW YOU'VE TRIED!)

Do others among you feel this sort of ongoing connection with the wheel of time and it's inputs from our legends or am I just a massive fan-boy who can't get enough for a book series I love?

Im still undecided, the last battle or rather the non rand bits were great but Rands whole fight was generally dissappointing (and i loathed the use of capslock to portray the DO) and the ending just left too many questions which considering there will never be any more WoT books is a bit infuriating.

I'm glad they didnt bring back the dead aside from Rand as that would have cheapened the whole victory but I was sad we didnt see more of the Sharans culture and how they got mixed uip with Bao rather than just tada more evil people here to kill you.

Hated the whole "can't kill the DO" part. Made no sense and contradicted a lot of the book. Also felt that it was anti climatic. Hated how he ended Fain.
All in all great book, bad ending of the series for me.

I felt not being able to kill the DO was actually pretty consistent with the series as a whole.

Euriel Gaidin, I had the same fears WRT the One Power being locked away, etc, as well. XD And the same delight when it wasn't, haha. I'm glad I'm not the only unmitigated romantic in that sense. <3

The ongoing evolution of the mythos is definitely something I'm looking forward to; 'spart of why I joined up here initially, eh?

Elorenya d'Rahien said:

I felt not being able to kill the DO was actually pretty consistent with the series as a whole.

Click to expand...

That he couldn't be killed disappointed me as an anticlimatic moment, but my problem wasn't so much that he couldn't be killed as much as the WHY he couldn't be killed.
But we've had a whole thread of this discussion, so I really don't think we want to make this thread about it too

I agree that there are WAY too many unanswered questions. Of course there will always be conflict in spite of the treaty signed. That's just human nature. Not to mention continued conflict with the Sharans, since they haven't signed the treaty, and the reclaiming of Seanchan by Tuan. I believe there was a viewing of Min, Tuan, Mat, and one of the women (I think Nynaeve) on the deck of a Seanchan ship. Gotta wonder what accommodation the Aiel and Seanchan come to regarding captured Wise Ones. Also we have to wonder how Cadsuane builds the tower back up, while maintaining the agreement struck between Windfinders, Wise Ones, and Aes Sedai regarding the cross-training of young channelers. Makes me wonder if unofficial novels based on the Wheel of Time will be written. Or did they legally block that already?

I'm not sure you CAN legaly block fanfic, so long as no money is made of it (that's what I understand by "unofficial" anyway).

I always thought it would be fun to write "The Travels of Jain Farstrider"

If you do I look forward to sitting in the corner of a tavern somewhere reading it while smoking a pipe.

I always wanted to read the prophecies of the dragon (e.g. the Caratheon Cycle). I wish someone would write it like J. K. rowling's "Tales of Beedle the Bard," with little side notes from Harrid Fel and stuff.

Robert Jordan always said if it were ever written it would only ever bring disappointment.

I agree with you, Tehmpus, on "The Travels of Jain Farstrider". It was referenced more often than the prophecies, I think.

It's often refrenced as being read but it's not often actually 'read aloud' to us like the cycles.

I want some historical stories, like from the Age of Legends, or later, like the times from Aviendha's visions. Even though I hated learning history in school, I tend to love elongated fantasy history. I was almost sure RJ was going to pull a tiny scene at the end that tied the WoT in with our modern age, maybe some boy finding something from the story.

Actually I think it's kind of cool that there isn't too much account of it as The Age of Legends is our future and you'd hate them to ruin it by being too futurist about it and getting it too wrong. We're effectivly at the start of the age of legends already.

This is probably true.

Alright... where do I sign up to learn to channel? :P

I was hoping that it would be tied in with the whole 2012. Breaking of the world, Nostrodamus' depiction of the wheel of time and all that.

Maybe it's been unlocked now and no one has just realized it yet.

That could be true. Some things aren't obvious right away, but considering most of AMoL was battle, there was not a whole lot of secret artifacts being shown. Unless, I missed it, which is entirely possible.