If you haven't read the book, or the whole series,
why not join in and read along with the rest of us? This week the links to the
other posts can be found at the bottom
of this post.
This week we read through to the end of Chapter 45.
1. Egwene
wants to send Mat to Ebou Dar with Elayne and Nynaeve. Because of his promise
to Rand, he goes. What do you think of this situation? Good idea? Bad idea?
Where do you think the plot will go--for Mat or the girls--from here?
We know how terribly good the Super Girls are at
walking straight into traps and being captured, so I have to think that any
added security for them is a good idea. Also, it allows Mat to fulfill his
promise to Rand without actually doing what he was told, which seems like a
very Aes Sedai type of solution to the situation. I certainly cannot see how it
would be a bad idea for Mat to go to Ebou Dar, although I can understand why
Rand wants Elayne on the Lion Throne as soon as possible.
I have to assume that the girls will eventually
find the special bowl that they are looking for, although I doubt that it will
be an uneventful search. Ebou Dar is on the coast, so my primary concern would
be that the rumors of the Seanchan invasion in the West are actually true
reports and it makes sense for them to move along the coast taking the ports
first before working inland. Perhaps this means that Mat will meet the Daughter
of the Nine Moons and settle down . . . yeah, right! :D
Side note: I was so pleased that Mat picked up on
the Aes Sedai not respecting Egwene. I just loved his very pointed display of
formal respect: it was so Mat.
2. Aviendha
and Elayne finally have a...ahem...heart to heart. What did you think of each
of their reactions, Elayne's refusal to "meet toh" and the fact that
Aviendha later ended up in a frilly dress?
I am not sure if toh can be dismissed so easily, in fact I would doubt that Aviendha
was satisfied with Elayne’s words. I suppose that wearing a frilly dress could
be a form of punishment: I know it would be for me! Of course, this could just
be a result of the two deciding to try being first-sisters, but I find it hard
to believe that Aviendha would want to dress like a Wetlander.
3. Min comes
to Rand. She's obviously trying to win him. What do you think of her methods
and his reaction to her? I know in my own writing, whenever I try to make a
character as clueless as Rand seems to be about Min's feelings, I always get
criticized for it. How does Jordan pull it off? Or does he?
As a person who was completely clueless about
flirting and all that kind of stuff as a teenager, I can totally understand
Rand’s blindness on this point. I find it rather refreshing that both he and
Perrin are so humble in their opinions of their own attractiveness to women. We
also have to remember that he has spent very little time with Min and she is
older than he is. These, combined with her normal attitude of sarcasm, will
make it difficult for him to take her advances seriously at first. After all,
she has spent a great deal of time thinking about him and planning her
approach, whereas he has been busy with Elayne and Aviendha, never mind
everything else that he has to worry about. Keeping all that in mind, I think
these scenes were fairly effective and I can believe in Rand as a gibbering
idiot quite easily.
4. The
formation of the Black Tower. What do you think of it? The name, the different
levels of asha'man? When Rand put the pins on Taim's lapel and proclaimed him
second only to Rand, Taim seemed angry. What do you think he was so mad about?
Given that we have the Black Ajah, I find the
choice of name somewhat ominous. However, the original Aes Sedai symbol
includes teardrops of both black and white, so it does fit in with the original
nomenclature somewhat. I can understand the need to acknowledge the levels of
advancement that the men achieve, and I like Rand’s choice to make them
military in tone because it seems fitting.
I have a suspicion that Taim expected to be made
Rand’s equal. I am increasingly of the opinion that he is a Darkfriend or will
be driven to become one because of his jealousy of Rand’s status. As so many of
the Forsaken are driven by their hatred and jealousy of Lews Therin, it seems
likely that Rand would have the same effect.
5. At the
end of chapter 53, we see several of the Caemlyn Aes Sedai manipulating Andoran
nobles. And then there was Egwene's manipulation of Mat. Apparently she wanted
to get him away from the Band and keep his soldiers close to her. What do you
think everyone's plans are and how will they play out?
I can only assume that the Sisters in Caemlyn do
not realize that Rand really does mean to put Elayne on the Lion Throne. It
seems that they are rather deluded because they think that they can treat him
in the same way as other rulers that they influence. I do not think that they
have yet come to realize how very powerful he is and how their petty
manipulations will not effect his ability to maintain control over Andor.
Somehow, I suspect that the Andoran nobles are more aware of this and will be
very circumspect in what they attempt.
As for Egwene, I am not overly sure of what she has
planned, although it seems that her ultimate goal is to march on Tar Valon and
remove Elaida from her position. However, I am not sure how the Band fit into
that plan.
6. Halima
dances with Mat and then tries to channel at him, though Mat comes to the
conclusion it wasn't her. What do you think s/he was trying to do? Can you
think of something else significant we learned in this exchange?
I think s/he was making an ever so subtle attempt
to seduce Mat, presumably in order to manipulate him for the benefit of the
Dark One. I thought the channeling was a response to Mat’s refusal to play
along and was possibly something as a simple as a pinch on the butt cheek or a
trip to make him look foolish. To be honest, I thought that this was a very
feminine burst of anger at being ignored! :D
Well, we now know that Mat’s medallion protects him
from both types of channeling, but we had suspected that anyway. It also seems
to prove that all those Aes Sedai were unable to feel a man using the Power in
their midst, which is a definite advantage for the male Forsaken and asha’man.
7. Hooray!
Perrin is back! What impressions did you get of his and Rand's reunion? How
about the introduction of Faile and Min?
I thought it was genuine and rather touching that
Rand ran out to give the big man a huge hug. I was only disappointed that Loial
had gone off for some stedding time
along the way.
That scene made me picture one of our new kittens
approaching one of the old girls. The new kitten is all perky and optimistic of
making a new friend, whist the old rat bag of a cat turns into a spitting ball
of hate, complete with arched back and bristly tail. Fortunately, Faile soon
realized that she did not need to worry about Min pursuing Perrin . . . somehow
I do not think it will be so easy in our household! :D
I bet you are right about Aviendha's toh to Elayne not being met merely because Elayne dismissed the need to beat her and cut on her back. The frilly dress may be part of it, but I bet Aviendha finds another way to meet toh, perhaps one that embarrasses Elayne, like being her body servant or such.
ReplyDeleteI am starting to see Taim as a possible Darkfriend, and I think Liesel suggested this week he may even fit the bill for a Forsaken. Either way, his ego may drive him, or has driven him, to the dark side.... well, the wrong part of the dark side.
Maybe Aviendha will need to wash Elayne's small clothes for the foreseeable future or something? :D
DeleteYep - I fear that Darth Taim is inevitable at this point.
Interesting way to put it, that Mat's actions were somewhat Aes Sedai-sh. I wonder what he would think of that notion. I, too, was disappointed not to see Loial. Hopefully he will appear again soon. :D
ReplyDeleteI am quite sure that he would be totally disgusted by the suggestion! :D
Delete