samtheowl96 - Tumblr blog

[samtheowl96]

I was 10 or 11 when my cousin read the books to me, and I think it was a very appropriate age. I didn't remember everything, but I remembered enough that when I got older, I went to read them myself. This was also before the series was complete (before Brandon Sanderson co-authored), and as the series progresses, it gets more and more "adult like" IMO.

@scottiesweater

What age for children do people generally think is good for starting the series and actually enjoy it?

Hello.

I am not aware of some consesus about the age but I started it when I was 14 and it was fine. I know other people who started at that age and the books are not too gore or too sex explicit so young teen would enjoy it without worries. For me 12 years old should be the line as the books still can have some complicated issues for younger kids. (assuming they are eager to keep their attention on 14 books series).

Let the Light keep you safe

LightOne

[samtheowl96]

I haven't re-watched it, but I have the same thing about re-watching something. It has to be *really good*. I think it's borderline that good/great for me. I think some people have a hard time accepting change and factor that into their opinion, whether consciously or not. Yes, there are bits that are different, but it's done well. This isn't a The Hobbit repeat.

Seeing people talk about WoT show hot takes on Twitter and bunch of people saying "it's a good show but not a great show."

And I'm just like "am I the only one in the fandom that thinks it's a great show?" 😭

[samtheowl96]

Well, why is it a great show for you?

Seeing people talk about WoT show hot takes on Twitter and bunch of people saying "it's a good show but not a great show."

And I'm just like "am I the only one in the fandom that thinks it's a great show?" 😭

[samtheowl96]

"Wiping the blood from her mouth, Moiraine crawled out from beneath the tail of the wagon and rose unsteadily to her feet, the sound of a man's laughter in her ears."

— The Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan Moiraine and whump go well together, Robert Jordan said so

[samtheowl96]

I was reading this with a very screwed up brow. I am absolutely baffled. I'm not sure if it's -better- than HOTD, but... everything else?

Look, I read, A LOT. Mostly fantasy. I love the art form that is writing. And as a fellow writer, it is a lot of work and takes skill. He wasn't always a good writer; if you've read his earlier works, you know what I am talking about. Ouch. Robert Jordan has his... misgivings, yes, but he is a *good writer* and WoT brings a lot to the table. He kept writing and kept trying and eventually, somewhere along the line, the stars aligned and WoT began. Though I don't know if we can forgive him the slog ;) ;). The story and world contain complexity with the wheel weaving many interlaced plots and each time you read it, you catch bits you hadn't previously. You know what's redundant in fantasy? Oh, look, two kingdoms are clashing, and the orphan is going to become the heroine and save us (perhaps they're even secretly royal). Wait, what about this one? Damn, another small village heroine setting out to defeat an encroaching malicious entity. Oh and the map is shaped like England. In both stories.

Well Rand -is- in a way that "orphan" but he is more than that. He works really really hard to try to unite people. He tries to get people to see their common humanity, set aside their differences. He prioritizes schools and I think if I remember correctly, libraries. He wants to preserve our knowledge should he fail in his task. While dealing with PTSD and Light knows what else. His actions have reasons behind them and he goes through small personality changes continuously throughout the books that amount to some very large changes. We -see- his growth and his struggles with that growth. He is human. And I think that is something R.J captures well. How can you not want to capture what it is to be human when you've seen war?

It's about friendship and love. Heck, writing about a polyamorous couple (even though it is, as always, yet another common polyam trope), is really forward for the time he wrote this. There are quite a few elements that were forward.

It's about mental health, misogyny, and toxic masculinity, and the struggles that come with those. Each character has their own experiences with these. Not many fantasy books I've read talk about PTSD and men and emotions in the way he does (look at how he writes about saidin and saidar).

There's also a Trans Character Lite (tm)??? That's a big thing.

I really enjoy the diversity of characters and cultures. It isn't yet another fantasy series with mostly white characters. Related to that is how he handles the perception of time and how everything is connected. While he was in the military, he came into contact with several different cultures and he weaved his experiences and perceptions into the story. (Though I do not claim to know how well he did that/how culturally sensitive he was).

You know what makes a story really strong and is essential? Relatability. If the reader cannot relate to the story or the character(s) or the world or anything, it is not a good story. I find a lot of relatability in WoT.

And this is all very different depending on if you're looking at his works through a "today lens" or a "when it was published lens". The two are different times & cultures. A change in cultural context does have an impact.

I could go on.

But yeah okay I guess WoT is utter ass and boring and just Yet Another Fantasy Series, blah blah blah. What do we know? Sorry, my bad.

(What I've said is pulled from my memory and impressions, so I apologize in advance if any of it is not 100% correct. I have a cat on my lap that is sleeping and trapping me.)

Not gonna say anything on the writing comment but everything else said here is baffling to me. Doesn't bring anything new to the genre? It's a story that's been told dozens of times before? People don't come to WoT for the story? Just tell me you've never talked to a Wheel of Time fan before in your life

For context these tweets were in response to someone saying they wish WoT got as much buzz as HoTD

[samtheowl96]

TIDBITS AND FUN № 118

Robert Jordan’s cameo that he wrote himself in is the ter'angreal that Elayne and Nyneave find in the Ebou Dar cache, which is a man—a jolly man statue that is full of stories. 

[samtheowl96]

It really is eye-opening on a reread just how much of Rand's decisions and behavior and how his thought processes work are entirely informed by trauma

[samtheowl96]

Aes Sedai are ableist as fuck

"You've done very well, child. But then, I never expected any less of you. Anyone who can make the discoveries you've made, with your handicap... why, I expect nothing less than excellence from you. And to think...." - Janya Frende

"The yellow-haired Red sister scrutinized them, her face arrogant winter marble. "So. The Queen of Andor and the crippled wilder." - Tarna Feir

Both of these comments were directed at Nynaeve. I don't think it's unreasonable to read her block as a learning disability, and I definitely think the show is leaning into that reading of it.

There's also another instance in TFOH of Elaida demoting Shemerin cause she has an anxiety disorder, and thinks that makes her not capable as an Aes Sedai. The ableism is baked into the White Tower's system

[samtheowl96]

Let's talk about Asmodean's reputation as a "Coward" and why I think its an unfair title.

I don’t think Asmodean is a coward. Sure, he has a very low threshold of pain (according to Lanfear. Wait, how does she know all this…?), but I don’t think wanting to avoid being unnecessarily hurt is a bad thing; in fact I think its a very natural and smart way to live. And that’s the thing: Asmodean is an extremely pragmatic person. I know, I know, “pragmatic” is basically a fancy way of saying “spineless coward” and “selfish bastard” a lot of the time, but I really think he is. (Pragmatic, that is.) And for my argument, I want to emphasize his amazing ability to “worry”. Let’s see what I mean by that.

Read More

[samtheowl96]

It's not just one person who teaches Rand unhealthy coping mechanisms, it's multiple people.

Moiraine: You're being too nice, feeding the poor isn't gonna win you Tarmon Gai'don. Also presents herself with cool Aes Sedai serenity, shows little emotion (which he emulates)

Lan: Death is lighter than a feather, duty is heavier than a mountain

The Aiel: You must be harder than the Three-Fold Land itself

Rand internalizes all of these ideologies and forges them into this mask he hides his true authentic self behind cause he's convinced himself that he can't be who he truly is as a person to save the world, that his authentic self wouldn't be someone people can rally behind. He suppresses his entire identity behind this mask in a desperate attempt to be what the world expects him to be

[samtheowl96]

I've been having Asmodean thoughts and need to inflict them on someone else. With seeing Moghedien having cool looking weaves I'm hoping Asmo gets to have at least 1 scene with cool ass performance weaves, like something out of trans-siberean orchestra. Probably like a cold open showing why he turned to the shadow.

That's be really cool! I think it would also be interesting to see him maybe fight with sound, or manipulate it in some fashion? We know the One Power can be used to effect sound waves in interesting ways (the ability to block out eavesdroppers or project a voice), seeing Asmodean maybe specialize in something like that would be cool.

[samtheowl96]

"I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee"

[samtheowl96]

i got my grandma into wheel of time and she keeps calling me at like 10pm yelling into the phone about “those fucking trollocs” 

also i think she has a crush on perrin which is disturbing because she is 68 

[samtheowl96]

"I don't know how human the Dragon Reborn can afford to be."

[samtheowl96]

Awwww

[samtheowl96]

thom merrilin teaching rand and mat gleeman skills as they travel together is kind of hilarious to me. like yeah, we’re running for our lives from the forces of the dark. yeah all your friends are probably dead. what about it. do a flip

[samtheowl96]

So I’ve mentioned in the past my love of Min and I wanted to more properly articulate why I think a lot of the criticisms of her are kinda- bad. So I see the idea that Min is somehow Less of her own character because her primary focus for a lot of the series is in helping Rand, that her relationship with Rand is unhealthy because of her attention towards him. So I wanted to explain why that’s not really a valid argument.

So as far as these characters know, Rand is going to die at tarmengedon. To Min, Rand has two years left to live, she’s in love with him, and currently the most important thing is stopping the end of the world which also happens to coincide with Rand’s mental health.

Let’s put it this way, if a doctor told you that your partner had a terminal illness and had two years to live, would you not drop everything, set aside your personal goals and desires, to focus on loving and caring for your partner for those remaining two years. Cause I would.

Some times, it’s okay to have your romantic relationship be a priority. Sometimes there’ll be times where you have to put aside your personal goals to care for another person. Sometimes what you want in life, isn’t going to be the most important thing to you. And that’s okay. You’re allowed to prioritize others for periods of time. We see that Min’s life doesn’t end once Rand isn’t around, she has a life and goals and desires outside of him. There’s things she wants to pursue, changes to the world she wants to make, but for that period of time, her wants didn’t need to be the number one priority. Rand needed her support, the world needed someone to keep the dragon reborn grounded and human. It’s the same type of theme that all the characters emphasize, the idea that sometimes what you want isn’t as important as the greater needs of the world. After Tarmengedon we see her moving on to her next priority, which is guiding Tuon to be a good ruler. Rand was her priority for a small portion of her life, a blip in time where the needs of the world and her desires aligned. Rand was not her everything, and losing him did not destroy her, Rand was simply someone she loved and she wanted to love him to the fullest while she still had the chance.