WoTaLong (Wheel of Time Readalong) discussion
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The Shadow Rising
The Shadow Rising
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Apr Week 1: Ch 1-14 Spoiler Discussion
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I think this is the longest book in the series. Close to 400k words.
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Did anyone else feel like the whole "we just love each other like siblings" thing for Rand & Egwene came out of left field? It felt like up until this point there was more of a forbidden-love feel between the two of them where they knew they couldn't be together because of the circumstances, but still wanted it. Then suddenly in this book, they decide they don't like each other that way and Egwene just sets aside for Elayne...Also, Elayne and Rand's relationship so far is annoying me. It seems so shallow and meaningless, almost as if the only reason they like each other is because the wheel wills it so, not because they actually like each other for any particular reason (other than that they find each other attractive). That seems like an awful reason to be in love.
And geez! I had remembered vaguely not liking Faile, and in this book I am reminded exactly why - she is so awful to Perrin. So abusive and controlling and manipulative. Absolutely unacceptable.
The parts with Mat and Tom, though, were quite good. I loved seeing Tom playing the game of houses, and Mat trying to avoid all responsibility. They're becoming favorite characters for sure.
Shannon wrote: "Did anyone else feel like the whole "we just love each other like siblings" thing for Rand & Egwene came out of left field? It felt like up until this point there was more of a forbidden-love feel ..."When I first read this as a boy, Rand doesn't really pay attention to girls besides Egwene, Meanwhile Egwene dances with Aram, moons over Galad... ect. I really didn't like her much. It is important to remember that the characters at this stage in the story are still very young. The main characters are all essentially high school seniors. As such they will act in ways that irritate, but also provides room for character growth. From the first time Min told Rand that he would never marry Egwene.... I knew they would not be together, so it didn't surprise me.
Elayne liked Rand within 10 seconds of meeting him... and she says so in the EOTW, because she finds him tall and handsome. Their relationship starts out very superficial.... as I believe most teen romances do. I found this to be very realistic. Also remember that the madness Rand is experiencing from the taint is a rare form that causes Lews Therin Telamon's memories to bubble up. Starting in the Dragon Reborn, you can see Rand starting to go mad... and Elayne just so happens to look a lot like LTT's wife Ilyena. Notice the similarities in name... Elayne - Ilyena.
Perrin and Faile... where to start with this. Faile is a spoiled brat, who wants to go on a grand adventure. She falls in love with Perrin because he is handsome, different, and doesn't put up with her crap. If you know guys like Perrin in real life... they tend to gravitate towards bad girls. In life opposites often attract. I will say this though... I remember a lot of character development.
The only romance in the whole series I really enjoyed was Lan and Nyneave. I always pictured Lan as having strong Japanese features... and Nyneave as having a Spanish or Mexican look. That romance made sense to me, and it seemed adult. A man who had nothing to live for before he met her and had pledged his life to something else.
The pair I want to see is Tom and Moraine. There seem to be hints that they are interested in each other. I guess I can see Rand and Egwene having more of a sibling interest. Rand affair with Elayne seems really bad. Their doesn't seem any romance ...
It's interesting that two rivers characters seem to be pairing up with royalty. Lan is the King of Mandragoran, Elayne the daughter heir of Andor.
Thom and Moraine? When I was reading The Great Hunt and Rand first runs into Thom again in Cairhien... the first person Thom asks about is Moraine! I thought that was odd at the time because he dislikes Aes Sedai. Still I can't imagine them getting together. Moraine and a court bard? Never understood why women like musicians.
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I think most of the relationships in this series start up rather quickly. There are some hints at them before hand, they establish quickly, and then from there I think Jordan does a good job of building on the relationships. They become more complex as the series goes on but you have to get over the initial pairing up haha.
After the book has been checked out for a few months at the library, I finally got to start reading it! The storyline in this section felt a little clunky to me. It could be because it's been a bit since I read the last one but you all seem to point out the weird relationship pairings so maybe it does read that way. The timeline seemed to slow way down too. It took many chapters to get through just 1 day of events so it felt like I was just slogging through the book since I was forgetting that the time was going so slow. I'm happy to be back in the series though!
I totally agree with Donal. In fact I was going to write most of what he wrote as my response to Shannon. So dido.Also, Egwene is a few years younger than Rand. Him being about 18 in TEotW and her being about 16.
What are your thoughts on this section of The Shadow Rising?
Need a reminder? Here are the chapter summaries.
Favorite parts: Chapter 2 with the bubbles of evil! Chapter 7 - I loved learning how the Power is different for men and women. Chapter 10 - Attack on the Stone was intense! Chapter 13/14 - Perrin's storyline in the Two Rivers is one of my faves, so I love seeing it begin here.
Happy reading!