WoTaLong (Wheel of Time Readalong) discussion

Remember these are spoilery discussions - so stay away unless you've finished this section! Also, please keep spoilers to the things we know in this section of the book.

I'm splitting this book up into four sections for discussion. As we go along (and the books gets longer :P ), we may split into smaller sections for discussion. I thought starting with four was a nice number to correspond roughly with weeks in the month. January this year technically is more like 4.5 weeks, but that just means you'll finish ahead of time!

What are your thoughts on this section of the book? Need a reminder? Here are the chapter summaries.

My favorite chapter: Again, hard to pick just one! Chapter 36 is awesome because Loial is introduced and I LOVE him. Chapter 37 is a lot of fun because of all the action. :)

Happy reading!

I thought the raven chase was really intense. Elyas and the wolves are such great characters, so I found this section very gripping. The Whitecloaks make wonderful villains as well!

Rand and Mat's travels are also very suspenseful. Mat getting sicker, the two of them in constant danger, darkfriends after them...

Overall, this definitely is a great section of the book since there is so much going on and you're worried about the survival of the characters.

And I agree - Loial is adorable!

Yes, the raven chase was SO intense. It's a scene I can always picture in my mind, it's so cinematic. I agree that the Whitecloaks make good villains, but they also aren't necessarily evil, which is such an interesting dynamic. One thing I love about this series is that while it's about good versus evil, it also shows a lot of morally gray areas - good guys that do bad things and bad guys that do good things too. I dunno how obvious that is in this first book but it's definitely a trend I noticed about the series overall.

I was so worried about Rand and Mat the first time I read this. Loial is such a cool character, love him so much!

Agreed about the gray areas! I appreciate how subtle some of it is, such as Galad being so good as to be unlikable, or Moraine often manipulating people in a way they hate in order to serve the greater good. I'll be excited to take note of these as they pop up.

I definitely agree with Shannon about Rand's and Mat's travels being really interesting.
And the best villains are morally grey, in my opinion.

Definitely Roya, the best villains are morally grey! What I love is that Robert Jordan also makes the GOOD guys a little grey as well.

So! I've finished this section of the book.

I find Perrin's new-found identity thrilling, Jordan captures really well how I imagine it being a human/wolf. I find all the supernatural elements and epiphanies of the characters in this section super cool: I like the idea of Rand (most likely) smiting down the Darkfriends in the scene where he and Mat are cornered by Gode's men. His magical abilities will be interesting to follow (Again, if he actually used any!)

I agree with you that morally grey characters are great, they feel relatable and believable. On a similar note, powerful characters like Moiraine and Lan show some weakness at the end of this section. Moiraine and Lan are not sure whether the Dark One has changed Perrin or not. Nothing seems certain! Exciting.

Ps. Loial seems like a chill dude. Ds.

Yes! I love Perrin's wolf stuff, it's an interesting take/different mythology on the werewolf idea. I think Perrin is my favorite character if I had to choose just one. Loial is super chill haha, he is often the calming force of the group and talks a lot of sense. The Ogiers are also a really interesting culture and type of creature too!

I cried over Hopper. I love the scenes with Perrin and Egwene, I agree about the Raven Scene and the whitecloaks. They remind me of the Children of corn 🌽

Perrin is my favourite male character, I love his development so far and the whole wolf 🐺 mythology is fascinating. Much better than that of Twilight 😛

I definitely cried over Hopper! So incredibly sad. And Perrin really is far and above my favorite of the main three males.

Yep Sharon, Team Perrin all the way, I think it because I have two Springers 😁I was more upset over Hopper 🐺than Thom 🧙‍♂️

I deleted my above post because It should have been in the next book's discussion. The first book really does a great job introducing the characters. I have a hard time picking a favorite I like them all. I used to not like Nynaeve but now find her quick temper pretty comical

Scott wrote: "I deleted my above post because It should have been in the next book's discussion. The first book really does a great job introducing the characters. I have a hard time picking a favorite I like th..."

I agree, Nynaeve really makes me laugh, she is up there with Perrin as one of my faves.

Perrin is my favorite character out of everyone I think! I also was a sobbing mess over Hopper, so SAD :( I'm a sucker for animal deaths in general haha.

I really like how this sections expanded the world SO much! We have now been introduced to other races (?) in the world (Elyas & Loial) when before we only really knew that anything that wasn't human, apart from those who can do magic, were dark & evil characters. It gets me excited to learn more about people like Elyas and Loial and how their kind lives. I guess Elyas is still a "human" but he's one of the first they've come across that has powers that isn't an Aes Sedai.

I'm also really enjoying that while the book has really great suspenseful moments, the story in general is getting suspenseful itself! We barely know more than the main characters (the boys + Egewene & Nynaeve) which I kind of like. Usually I get frustrated when books hide things but it seems like there is SO MUCH going on that we can really only learn it in bits and pieces anyway.

Did anyone else catch that chapter 33 starts and ends in a wagon of a Hyam Kinch?? Is it the same guy who pretends not to know Mat and Rand or two people with the same name? A very odd coincidence if you ask me...

I agree with focusing on the five two rivers characters in the first book was a good idea. The personalities of each are unique enough so it’s helps not confusing them.

Mo, just wait until you get a few books into the series. THEN you'll see how big this world is! There are more and more characters introduced as you go through the series, so that's also just the beginning. I don't remember the specific scenes you're referring to in chapter 33 but I can guarantee it was not a coincidence - there are no coincidences in this series!

Jade at Bedtime Bookworm wrote: "Mo, just wait until you get a few books into the series. THEN you'll see how big this world is! There are more and more characters introduced as you go through the series, so that's also just the b..."

I'm over halfway through book 2 now... there is SO much going on! Oh, this character can do this? ANCIENT MAGIC THAT WAS LOST! Basically.