Towers of Midnight II

[The Evil Hat]

Gah, I can't believe that I forgot to order this. Now I'm not going to get it for close to a week, probably. Damn it. Glad to hear it's worth the wait, though.

[mashiara]

I'll have to stop reading this thread soon. I'm so jealous of all the people who'll be able to get their hands on the book on Tuesday. My order from the BookDepository hasn't shipped yet, even though I got an email saying it would "shortly". It's going to take a few days for it to get here anyway, if I have it on my hands before next Monday it will be a miracle, especially with the way the post office has been treating me lately.

[kuenjato]

There are no spoilers yet...

Renasko: Got it at Meijers. I'm sure Wal-Mart will have it by now.

BTW: If anyone does want spoilers, ask, and I'll answer. I'm under no embargo. I'll spoiler tag everything, of course.

As I probably won't be reading it for years, a basic outline of the plot and major points you found effective would be nice to read. How is the Ghenji plot? What does Perrin do? What was the "big emotional moment" you alluded to above? etc.

Oh, and do you think everything can be wrapped up in one more volume? After nearly twenty years, I can't believe I'm actually writing that.

[Slick Mongoose]

Fionwe, maybe you could start a new spoiler thread?

24 hours to go.

[Werthead]

One for Fionwe that I'll put here in case I get spoiled in the non-protected spoiler thread, and it's somewhat non-specific:

So, does the 'big meeting' between the major characters that Sanderson mentioned take place in this book? At the beginning or end? And is it Council of Elrond, pool-resources-esque? Yes or no answers will do, I definitely don't want to know what happens there!

[Theodor]

You didn't get an arc Wert? A shame if thats the case, was looking forward to your review tomorow...

[Werthead]

Nope. Tor wouldn't give them to UK bloggers because they'd be treading on the toes of Orbit, and Orbit got the MS so late they barely had time to print the initial release shipment, let alone review copies. So I'll have to pick up a copy tomorrow, same as everyone else.

[alguien]

During lunch I'm going to take a walk by my Borders and B&N and see if, by chance, they've been released early. If not, I guess I can wait until tomorrow...

[fionwe1987]

So, does the 'big meeting' between the major characters that Sanderson mentioned take place in this book? At the beginning or end? And is it Council of Elrond, pool-resources-esque? Yes or no answers will do, I definitely don't want to know what happens there!

The big meeting? Almost all characters are gathered. The meeting is to happen the next morning, meaning there's a few hours left. Obviously, this is in the end of the book. And no, I don't think this will be a pooling of resources thing. More likely to be a huge debate on what to do with the Ring. And something more...

As I probably won't be reading it for years, a basic outline of the plot and major points you found effective would be nice to read. How is the Ghenji plot? What does Perrin do? What was the "big emotional moment" you alluded to above? etc.

Oh, and do you think everything can be wrapped up in one more volume? After nearly twenty years, I can't believe I'm actually writing that.

I'll do an outline soon, but I'll answer your questions here

Ghenji is good. Its placement at the very end meant very little Moiraine, but it was good. The resolution was quite a shocker. Perrin does... a lot. First, he masters Tel'aran'rhiod with the help of Hopper and other wolves. He comes to terms with being part-wolf, his leadership and straightens his relationship with Faile. He stands trial under the WC for killing two of them. He fights Slayer in Tel'aran'rhiod to get the Dreamspike, a ter'angreal which prevents Traveling. He wins, letting his army escape. He makes a massive hammer, named after Hopper, who dies, and the Asha'man and Wise Ones use the Power in its forging. It seems to have unique properties. Then his armies go rescue the WC from a huge Trolloc attack. He is almost killed by Graendal's mole, but is saved. He goes to Elayne and hashes out his position in Andor. Galad decides to fight as a part of his army. He meets Mat and helps him Travel to Ghenji. He is at the final meeting place to support Rand's plan.

The emotional moment:

Aviendha walks through the columns and is disappointed that all the knowledge of the past was already known. Intent on seeking knowledge, she walks through the columns again. She see's the future of the Aiel. They fight the Seanchan, and soon loose honor. Eventually, they loose the war, since the Seanchan begin using canons and other technology. They are soon hunted down, and Avi sees the last of her decedents shot dead in the waste as she desperately tries to grab some discarded pieces of meat from a camp of the soldiers of the "Raven Empire". The WT and BT have been razed, as has Caemlyn. It looks like channelers are no more. Rand's line ends... Aviendha is certain this is the true future. There are many inconsistencies, but it is certainly plausible. She decides to try and avert it. This may be a Foresaken plot, however.

Can the story be finished?

Yes. Though this book raises a ton of questions, I do think the next book can easily wrap it up, especially if this pace is maintained.

[Poobah]

I HATE YOU SPOILER TAGS WHY MUST YOU TORMENT ME SO.

20 hours until I get to read this book, arrrgh!

[Slick Mongoose]

My local Waterstones has a blackboard up saying it's out on the 3rd. :uhoh:

But their system still says the 2nd. :unsure:

[alguien]

Dammit. Not in Borders. I'll wait until tomorrow.

Fionwe, I have to admit, I took a quick peak at your spoilers. I couldn't help myself. But luckily, I only glanced, so caught a fragment.

So... hard... to resist.... :wacko:

[pat5150]

Just finished the review I've been tinkering with for the last week or so. :) It should go up tonight around midnight or tomorrow morning.

I'll just say this: ToM reads a lot like TGS, meaning that not much takes place during the first 2/3 of the book. But the last third moves the story forward like no other WoT volume to date. :thumbsup:

Patrick

[fionwe1987]

I'll just say this: ToM reads a lot like TGS, meaning that not much takes place during the first 2/3 of the book. But the last third moves the story forward like no other WoT volume to date. :thumbsup:

I have to say... that's a load of hooey. If the first two thirds of this book is your definition of "nothing much happens", then I'm at a loss to how you would deal with slower paced books.

The only way I can explain this is if you think something has happened only if there has been a huge battle or some other kind of fight scene. Even so, without even checking the book I can think of at least five battles in the first two thirds, two of which were major engagements.

[pat5150]

I think I told you last year that you seemed to see everything WoT through rose-tinted glasses and I'll say it again! :P You'll have agree to disagree with me.

Getting bogged down in the interminable and often boring Perrin and Galad storylines wasn't my cup of tea. Yes, stuff occurs, but it's mostly just fucking around before we can reach the culmination of those plotlines. Once that's done, the book begins to move at a crisp pace.

It's not about battles. It's about moving the story forward. When the Last Battle has begun, I don't want to read about Faile having a conversation with a crook of a quartermaster who is cheating people. Especially when that pointless and boring scenes gets more airtime than a confrontation between a character with a Forsaken later in the book.

Some people seem to think that it smells like roses when Brandon Sanderson takes a dump. Some things he does well, while others he doesn't. Some of the scenes in the last third of the book are AWESOME. The first 2/3 are okay.

Patrick

[pat5150]

Nope. Tor wouldn't give them to UK bloggers because they'd be treading on the toes of Orbit, and Orbit got the MS so late they barely had time to print the initial release shipment, let alone review copies. So I'll have to pick up a copy tomorrow, same as everyone else.

Damn, you should have told me and I would have gotten you one like I did with TWoK. . . :shocked:

They seem to have sent a copy of basically everyone, even the small fry blogs that most of us don't know about. Since you're racking in WAY more traffic than they ever will, and since you are a big WoT fan, this makes no sense to me. . .

Though you get all those UK goodies weeks or months before I receive them (when I do get my hands on them), there is a certain poetic justice to it all! :P

Next time let me know! :)

Patrick

[kcf]

When the Last Battle has begun, I don't want to read about Faile having a conversation with a crook of a quartermaster who is cheating people.

Dude, this is a WOT book. Whether Jordan or Sanderson is writing, we must endure :P *

*and for the last battle it'll be - dude, you're my brother, dude you're my uncle. Tell me about my mother. I never have understood women, and knowing more about my mom might help.

[kcf]

Damn, you should have told me and I would have gotten you one like I did with TWoK. . . :shocked:

They seem to have sent a copy of basically everyone, even the small fry blogs that most of us don't know about. Since you're racking in WAY more traffic than they ever will, and since you are a big WoT fan, this makes no sense to me. . .

Though you get all those UK goodies weeks or months before I receive them (when I do get my hands on them), there is a certain poetic justice to it all! :P

Next time let me know! :)

Patrick

The real reason is that Wert posted his review early last year, and we all know how that goes ;)

And I don't think it went out to all that many 'small fry blogs'. Just the usual blogs Tor does 'business' with.

[pat5150]

The real reason is that Wert posted his review early last year, and we all know how that goes ;)

And I don't think it went out to all that many 'small fry blogs'. Just the usual blogs Tor does 'business' with.

Did he? I can't remember. . .

And dude, considering all the shit that came my way when I posted that update, I got the feeling that ToM had been sent out far and wide. Could be mistaken, though. Just the feeling that I got. . .

Patrick

[kcf]

Did he? I can't remember. . .

I think I remember that, but I don't really keep track.

And dude, considering all the shit that came my way when I posted that update, I got the feeling that ToM had been sent out far and wide. Could be mistaken, though. Just the feeling that I got. . .

I really don't know. I've heard of a few others, but I consider them the usual suspects for those sort of review copies, and I've seen a couple mention that they turned down the offer to get an early copy. I base it on the email I got from Justin which implied that they weren't sending out very many.

I think that with you the shitstorm just grew and grew because there are lots of WOT fans out there.