> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of The Fool
> Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 1:58 PM
> To: Brin-L
> Subject: Re: Stuff to read (rj spoilers)
>> > I don't know.. the 5th book just starts to drag for me.. right
about
> the
> > time I realize that the characters haven't really grown or learned
> > anything from the previous 4 books. ;)
>
> Rand has certainly changed. He's starting to go insane, and
> he's become arrogant, and distrustful, and megalomaniac.
> Didn't he have an episode in DR where he thought he could
> raise the dead?
>
> Mat had his mind seriously screwed with by *finn people.
>
> Egwene has become manipulative.
>
> Perrin is controlled by love.
>
> Nynaeve has become what she despised in the first place.
>
> etc.
>
> Yup no change there.
They're still the same people. RJ hasn't authored any deep changes into
them or their personality - they're still adolecent children (of course,
I bet you'll tell me that's part of the genius ;D)
What grates is that the same situation keeps... on... happening...
for... hundreds... of... pages... without end. Nynaeve love
wots-his-name, and can't tell him, and he can't tell her.... for 5 600+
page books..
I guess that's just my speed - I like interesting, 3-d characters with
realistic motivation, and I tend to dislike romance novels. (of course,
why I went on that Mercedes Lackey & Pern reading stint is yet to be
explained)
> I realize some people find the nynaeve/elayne boring and skim them.
What, and miss something Important? ;)
> > ..besides, I don't care if it IS an endless cycle - I
> dislike Jordan's
> > depiction of women as people who, ingrained with the
> potency of magic
> or
> > not, are nothing but giggling eyelash-batting beauties.
>
> Not quite. Yes some people may be that way (because of human
> nature), but not many, specifically in this series. One of
> the things that rj is trying to do, is have reverse
> discrimination, where the people who are in power (and not
> just the aes sedai / one power users) but the whole of
> society is biased against men (in a reverse of the way our
> society is).
I find that to be only interesting in a sophmoric sort of way. Its easy
to turn things upside down - just find and replace on every pronoun does
a pretty good job. Where's the deeper exploration of the way human
societies would change? Where's the introspection and mutation of
politics, warfare, and culture as the events unfold? For all the faults
of it, at least the Eddings had female characters with some dynamic
shifts in personality in the Belgariad/[follow up series], a comperable
story/set of books with a similar scope & audience.
> He also takes all kinds of mythologies and reverse engineers
> them, so they are backwards.
I found White Goddess and Golden Branch to be far more interesting and
well researched books on myth engineering :)
> If and when you finish FoH you can read the FoH version of
> the FAQ: ftp://linuxmafia.com/pub/jordan/wot-tfoh.FAQ
I probably won't.
Don't get me wrong - OBVIOUSLY by trying 4 times now to read this series
I've given it an honest go.. it jsut doesn't work for me, and I don't
see the "genius" most fans attatch to it. I like the setting, I like
the arc & story, I just don't think A) Jordan is all that great a
writer, no matter how prolific or B) that its ever going to end while
the man is alive.
-j-
