I also agree. I've heard jokes that you can read every third page and not miss a thing plot-wise, which is pretty close to true with all the details Jordan adds in. Despite this, he's still one of my all-time favorite authors.
Ah, I realized that I completely forgot to actually tell you about myself. So here goes!
*I'm from Chicago, IL
*I'm currently 17 years old, and a senior in high school
*I started reading the Wheel of Time series a little over 3 years ago, when I got TEotW for Christmas
*My favorite characters...
I always thought that Rand only gained Lews Therin's memories, not all of his past incarnations. If he had, he would've been able to remember things from ages long past, yet only the Age of Legends is mentioned.
As for Perrin and Galad, I personally think that Galad will be pretty lenient after what Perrin did at the last battle. Then again, these are the Whitecloaks we're talking about...
Don't forget that much of Rand's grand plan for peace depended on him being dead, and that the last time we see the 3 girls is during his "funeral." I agree that some sorrow may have been in order for appearances sake, but if they had showed joy, it might have done more harm than good.
You can't forget that the True Power is the entire reason that the Bore existed in the first place. If the DO never offers the TP to the Forsaken, why would any channelers voluntarily switch over to the Dark Side?
I'm fairly certain that it was the future where Rand killed the DO. I'm sorry that I can't provide a direct quote (I had to rent a library book), but I remember that was the future where Rand was in Camelyn, where he looked through the windows to all the other major cities right before he saw...
The Flame of Tar Valon might have been some foreshadowing, but then wouldn't the Dragon's Fang also have to be something meaningful?
Also, in TAR the rules of the waking world don't hold. Perrin was able to counter the balefire because he bent TAR to his will. I still don't think that gives...
I'm not quite so sure about Shara. Even in Rand's "perfect" future where he killed the DO, he mentioned that the war was still going on in Shara. If this is happened in a world where 3 dead constituted a battle, I have to think that Shara will still go to war in the current future.
I simply took Min's viewing to mean that the world's perception of the Dragon had changed to a hero instead of a madman. The Dragon's Fang was scratched onto the Inn's door in TEotW, so maybe they're just keeping it as a tribute to Rand in his hometown.
True, that would be epic foreshadowing, but we can't forget that Jordan is a pretty epic foreshadower. I've reread most of the books, and a lot of times what seem like throwaway lines wind up foreshadowing a major event later in the book. But even on my second read-through of AMoL, I didn't...
I'm fairly sure that is wasn't Laman's sword that Rand gave Tam. I think that Rand actually went into the Last Battle with Laman's sword, along with Callandor, because he mentioned how long it had been since he had actually carried a real sword with him. Also, since Tam fought in the Aiel Wars...
I went to Arizona, which gave me two 3 and a half hour plane rides along with a few hours in the car after the flights. I managed to read about the last 350 pages in one day my first time through :D.
I had a couple of long trips that let me read a lot in a short amount of time :) I thought that the ending was good. It wasn't as great as the Last Battle, which I thought was amazing, but when you have to wrap up 14 books in a chapter, it's never going to be perfect. But overall, AMoL...
I had "I Don't Think Now is the Best Time," the music for the huge battle from Pirates of the Caribbean 3, running through my head for the entire Last Battle.
Also, I agree that Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night fits the battle perfectly.
Re: Rand's new body
1) I believe that they are still bonded, especially because at the end when the three girls are watching the funeral, it says that they felt the bond growing stronger (or something like that, I can't remember the exact quote).
2) I agree that that's likely up for...