Chapter 2 of The Gathering Storm available

[aidan]

An audio version of Chapter Two is available. Like Chapter One, it just requires a free membership with Tor.com.

[Slick Mongoose]

Hurrah! More spanking! :cheers:

[Larry.]

And after the spanking....comes the oral sex? :P

[Xanrn]

Well you know its going to be good when the Chapter Title is "The Nature of Pain".

RJ most have been seriously into S&M...

Jesus fuckin christ this isn't even Fantasy any longer its Spank Porn.

Wow Egwene and Aiel aren't half pronouced stupidly.

I hate Audio Books...

And how the hell does it take 44 minutes to read one freakin chapter.

How many times and how many variations of "my arse has been spanked red"...

Sawn-chan... ok...

God Elaida is thick, I mean really did she fall down some steps and give herself brain damage.

[Renasko]

Audio? Damnit. I'll give it a listen later. I'd much preferred it just being text. Oh well. Later. Later.

[Renasko]

You're not missing much. More Egwene - Aes Sedai fodder.

Against my better nature, I went ahead and am now listening to it. I thought there might have been an option to download it onto my computer, so I'd not forget later, but nope.

Edit:

RJ most have been seriously into S&M...

I would not be surprised. Not one bit.

[fionwe1987]

Getting into the meat of the chapter...

While it began quite slowly and contained a load of repeated info and actions, it went ahead to be quite a read.

Egwene... surprised me at the way she decided to handle Elaida, and her final thoughts indicate a change in approach, if not strategy.

It seems increasingly obvious that RJ is setting up Egwene as the opposite of Rand, in the way she handles pain. Fitting, given the chapter title.

Loads if foreshadowing of things to come. It seems the Seanchan will attack, at before Egwene can unify the Tower.

[Ran]

I gather that this was a chapter RJ had originally intended for KoD, but decided to move it to the next book. Probably makes sense. At least, that's what someone said in comments, and it makes sense -- it sounds a lot more like him than Sanderson's first chapter did (as Sanderson isn't really trying to emulate RJ).

It's sort of ... odd that I listened to it, not having done more than skim the last books more for thematic details (I enjoy the setting, warts and all -- wonderful for roleplaying). But I did, so, that's something.

What to make of it? Well, Elaida is WoT's Cersei. Born to misrule.

[Usotsuki]

I wasn't initially that impressed, partly I think because I much prefer reading to listening and partly because the spanking has long since passed the point of being merely tediously repetitive.

However, the latter part of the chapter was reasonably strong; particularly, as Fionwe's already noted, Egwene's reassessment of the crisis in the Tower and how best to proceed.

What to make of it? Well, Elaida is WoT's Cersei. Born to misrule.

I think I prefer Taena to Meidani but you definitely have a point.

[Poobah]

Yeah RJ definitely had a bondage / S&M thing.

Yeah the pronunciation was totally dodgy.

And oh God Egwene annoys the hell out of me. She's such a freaking weathervane, always ready to forget her previous identity and dive head-first into the new fad - a chameleon with no personality of her own, or no will to maintain it when there's something in it for her. First she's Nynaeve junior, then she latches onto Moiraine, then on to the Aiel and now she's heart and soul dedicating herself to being the idiotic picture she has of an Aes Sedai. It's like she's another fully-indoctrinated 'modern' Aes Sedai without ever having been in the tower for 20 years to be indoctrinated. It's infuriating and makes me hope for an 'everyone dies' ending just so I won't have to put up with more third-age Aes Sedai crap.

-Poobs

[Renasko]

Yeah, Egwene is the greatest down-falling of the series, as far as the characters go.

[Daena the Defiant]

Yeah, Egwene is the greatest down-falling of the series, as far as the characters go.

Hum.

I'm at work and cannot listen - can some kind soul throw out a lifesaver and post a quick recap of the chapter?

Pretty please.

:bats her eyes:

[fionwe1987]

Hum.

I'm at work and cannot listen - can some kind soul throw out a lifesaver and post a quick recap of the chapter?

Pretty please.

:bats her eyes:

Well, essentially, the chapter details Egwene's meeting with Elaida (which we knew was gonna happen in KoD). Its about how she initially wants to confront her and yell at her for doing this damage to the Tower, but when she sees signs of the DO's touch on the world, realizes that it was pride that was motivating her to this course of action, and that if she had to succeed in her quest to unify the Tower for the Last Battle, she would have to keep Elaida in the dark about her activities, else she's be killed and there would be no mole infesting the Tower.

So, she bows and acts like a cowed novice for as long as she can, but a monstrous suggestion of Elaida's makes her drop soup on the carpet so she could vent her anger a little. When Elaida is yelling and calling for servants, she ask Meidani to call her to her room at the Grey Ajah quarters.

She is then sent to Silviana, and during the beating, realizes that the pain of seeing the Tower divided and ruined was far greater than any physicsl pain, and finally is able to laugh at her punishment, because she judges it insignificant.

She realizes that pulling down Elaida could not be her goal, that Elaida would take care of that by her own actions. Egwene decides that what she had to do was keep the Tower unified, in preparation for the Seanchan attack and for the final battle.

It was a great chapter, because Egwene is finally doing what she should have been doing all along. Finally, she is not the figurehead for a Rebellion that is motivated by revenge, but is instead the leader the Tower needs, the one who cares most about its unity.

It was a great and glaring contrast to Rand in the previous chapter, and it seems clear that RJ wants to maintain this polarity of views in his major male and female protagonist.

As for Egwene being a weather-vane... What? This chapter, more than anything else, shows the heart of Egwene's character. She absorbs the best from all whom she interacts with. Her actions are as much a result of her native Two Rivers stubbornness as of what she learned from the Aiel and Moiraine. And her goals are set by what she has come to believe in from the time she spent in Siuan's tutelage.

[Daena the Defiant]

Well, essentially, the chapter details Egwene's meeting with Elaida (which we knew was gonna happen in KoD). Its about how she initially wants to confront her and yell at her for doing this damage to the Tower,[...]

Thank you!

You sir, are my hero.

[Xanrn]

Oh please Egwene is a tool, an 18 year old stuck up snobbish bitch child.

What Poobah said is exactly true.

She just goes with the flow every damm time, she was going to change the Aes Sedai, but low and behold she ended up trying to be the perfect little Aes Sedai.

"failed to contain the Dragon Reborn" apparantly she forgot Moiraine completely.

"The three oaths let people trust Aes Sedai", really wtf world does she live in. Noone trusts the goddam Aes Sedai because they lie through the freakin Oath.

Egwene is like Cersei more than Elaida, Elaida is Robert sitting around acting the fool. While Egwene cooks up stupid plot after stupid plot.

Her freakin dumb talk the Tower back together, has the chance to get her killed if Elaida works out who keeps talking crap. She seems to think she has all the time in the world for this softly softly crap, when she knows there is a Seanchan attack coming not to mention in the impending Trolloc Hordes.

Though honestly all Aes Sedai are pretty dumb, what the hell kind of organization lets someone jump from recruit to commander in chief, who the hell thinks thats a good idea and who in the name of hell thinks spanking recruits over every little damm thing is not fuckin wierd.

[Rhadamanth]

What kind of organization lets someone jump from recruit to commander in chief? Heh, the people of America, a little more than half of those who vote anyway. Not quite from recruit to commander in chief but America is a wee bit bigger than the Aes Sedai even if they control a city.

[Guest Nadine]

I also prefer text. I haven't been read to since I could read on my own. That was about 32 years ago.

Not only do I loathe being read to, I have almost zero comprehension when its in this format - I am a reading learner, not audio.

Right on Poobah.

Holy christ, these books are tedious enough, but to have it read to me??? I am about to just shut it off. It will take me 6 minutes to read it.

[Dio]

I have almost zero comprehension when its in this format - I am a reading learner, not audio.

This.

I got about 5 minutes in and turned it off. Egwene isn't my favorite character anyway. I can wait until next month.

[fionwe1987]

First off... no one's asking you to marry her or something. Cool down.

Oh please Egwene is a tool, an 18 year old stuck up snobbish bitch child.

What Poobah said is exactly true.

She just goes with the flow every damm time, she was going to change the Aes Sedai, but low and behold she ended up trying to be the perfect little Aes Sedai.

Yes, she does "go with the flow", when it suits her. That's because she craves knwoledge, craves to be something more than the generic villager, generic Wisdom, generic Aes Sedai, etc. Which means that wherever she sees an opportunity to learn, she does her best to do so.

As for changing the Aes Sedai... what makes you think her plans are canceled? She already has made one of the biggest changes the Tower has seen by opening the Novice book. She still intends to have women too weak to become Aes Sedai associated with the Tower, form an alliance with the Wise One's ,etc.

"failed to contain the Dragon Reborn" apparantly she forgot Moiraine completely.

Really now. You're accusing her for making an accusation against Elaida? She'd use anything, and she'd be right, no matyter that she doesn't think that the Dragon doesn't have to be contained. She's talking to Reds who think that he has to be, so she's saying that. Notice, however, the one thing Elaida did to "contain" Rand, capture him and beat him up, enrages Egwene enough that she dumps soup on Elaida's carpet despite the strictest intention to keep her temper in check.

"The three oaths let people trust Aes Sedai", really wtf world does she live in. Noone trusts the goddam Aes Sedai because they lie through the freakin Oath.

I agree with you that the first Oath is useless. But the fact is that because of the history of the Aes Sedai abusing it, people will trust them even less without it. At least now, they believe when an Aes Sedai makes a direct statement.

As for the toher Oaths, they do allow people to trust Aes Sedai. If Aes Sedai could go about killing and maiming as they choose, no way will people trust them enough to allow them the freedom to go where they please that they enjoy now.

Egwene is like Cersei more than Elaida, Elaida is Robert sitting around acting the fool. While Egwene cooks up stupid plot after stupid plot.

What stupid plot? What she's doing in the Tower is working fine. As did her plot to take control of the Rebels. Nor is she a megalomaniac like Elaida and Cersei.

Her freakin dumb talk the Tower back together, has the chance to get her killed if Elaida works out who keeps talking crap. She seems to think she has all the time in the world for this softly softly crap, when she knows there is a Seanchan attack coming not to mention in the impending Trolloc Hordes.

But she is not going softly. In nine days, her ploy has had man Aes Sedai thinking of the legitimacy of rebellion, and made many start thinking of her as a viable alternative to Elaida.

True, the moment Elaida finds out, Egwene will be dead. She acknowledged that, and bend her knee in front of Elaida so that she believes Egwene is cowed. Would idiots like Cersei do that? Their pride is too strong for them to.

Though honestly all Aes Sedai are pretty dumb, what the hell kind of organization lets someone jump from recruit to commander in chief, who the hell thinks thats a good idea and who in the name of hell thinks spanking recruits over every little damm thing is not fuckin wierd.

Ummm... the Aes Sedai don't think making an Accepted an Amyrlin is a good idea. What they were manipulated into believing is that a puppet who would listen to them is the best solution to the impasse over who will be next Amyrlin.

And they had no clue what Egwene was made of since she'd hardly spent any time in the Tower.

As for the spanking... why the hell does this keep coming up? Sure, its extremely weird by modern standards, but go back three hundred years and enter a convent and try suggesting to them that spanking is kinky.

[wolverine]

This.

I got about 5 minutes in and turned it off. Egwene isn't my favorite character anyway. I can wait until next month.

So...anybody listen to it and type it up yet? I am sure Tor wouldn't mind.