WoT Book 13 released-chapters nitpicks!

Prologue
Aside from serving us the reminder that Lan is still riding towards the Blight ('still', considering that it's been two books already), the character that would cause everyone to sit straight up whilst reading is Graendal, for this prologue details the events leading up to Rand's balefire of her fortress. Oh, and what Rand did is called 'balescream'. Awesome stuff. The prologue also includes Padan Fain, now mostly-completely Mordeth, making his way through the Blight and heading for Shadar Logoth.

[Precioussssss...]

And also an interesting look at Kandori tradition. The main point of that PoV is show how much the Blight has advanced on Randland, but it was too engaging to be called filler. Loved it.

Part on Galad was kinda pointless, though understandable, but then again, someone should really tell him that Morgase is alive. Same with Gawyn. And will someone kill Rhadam Asunawa already! I like him 'cuz he's skinny and evil and all, but since we can't kill Galad 'cuz he's one of the good guys, kill Asunawa so that we can move on with friggin' story.

Chapter 1
...is called Apples First. As with The Gathering Storm, it's an early chapter on how the Dark One's power has touched the world, crops are dying, random people have random horrible deaths, yadda yadda yadda, but what makes this chapter fantastic comes close to the end of it, when we see an enlightened Rand coming down Dragonmount, after his epiphany in the last few pages of TGS.

And question: Do people in Randland use the word 'ain't'? Usage of the word was so jarring I had to bring it up.

Anyway, Rand's presence and his driving away the Dark One's touch at the end of Chapter 1 is what saved it from being filler material. And none too soon, too. Which brings me to...

Chapter 8
Filler.

The Seven-Striped Lass, which also serves as the name for the bar that Mat is in, doesn't have much except for the usual 'A is given a letter and if he reads it he'll be bound to do what is in it' schtick. Cue 3-4 pages of 'to open, or not to open', and inner turmoil. 

Bo-friggin'-ring.

Now, Chapter 8 will be the first chapter in Book 13 to have Mat, but I don't remember any mention of Verin giving Mat a letter before her death. But then again, I only read Book 12 once. I hope to recap the entire series during these two weeks, on my study leave. Sniggersnort.

The chapter only gets slightly more interesting towards the end (but only just a weeeee bit), where Mat hears people discussing how the random dead in that town have been drained of their blood (meaning that the gholam is drawing in), and at the end of said chapter, in Mat's camp, he smells blood.

But really, folks, what we wanna see is another confrontation between Mat and the gholam. And a long one this time, please. None of this sneaking-in-shadows-and-only-killing-lookalikes business. Mr Gholam should know that he is evil and that he will not live past Tarmon Gai'don, so he should quickly find Mat as we want to move on with our lives. And the rest of the book.


Chapter 2 will be released prior to November 2nd, but I'm not sure when. Stay tuned, folks! :)

ADD:
Chapter 2
...was released on audio just today!! Had a listen this morning; Questions of Leadership involves Perrin and Galad, separate POVs. Wasn't as exciting as I thought it'd be, especially on Perrin's side, since he still hasn't accepted the fact that he has a huge role to play in all the events. Long talky dialogue with Faile (whom I detest), but as long as she's not calling him a bloody lummox and being a general bitch, I'm content.

Galad's side is a little more interesting, but only just. The rest of the Children of the Light have finally realised that Asunawa is up to no good, offs him and elects Galad as Lord Captain Commander. No mention on what happened to Asunawa, though.


So it's a more-than-a-partial 'yay' from me, since Galad's conflicts are done with, and Perrin's arc is still stuck at that whole "axe or hammer, humanity or wolf–um–ility" thing. Maybe we're in for another epiphany in this book.

EDITS: I've just read Chapter 2, and realised I read better than I listen. Thousand apologies.

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Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man.

- Frederick Nietzsche

[I'm happy Nietzche feels the same way I do about hope.]

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November...

...will be the best month ever.

Why, kind reader, you may ask?

Because:

1) Book 13 of the Wheel of Time series will be out on the November 2nd! Managed to check out Chapter 8, which was put up for free, and the Prologue as well. Helluva long one to be covering five (yes, five!) character PoVs, but only TWO (or is it THREE? *wink*) characters make the entire prologue length worthwhile.

Thoughts on the prologue and Chapter 8 will be up in a few.

[Slightly off-topic, this link here is a tongue-in-cheek book-by-book summary of the WoT series (but only up till Book 10). Do check it out if you have some time to kill, it is absolutely hilarious. And for the record, the people in the summaries who say, "Go Light," are working for the other side. As in the side Voldemort would be on.]

and:

2) Danger Days: The True Lives of Fabulous Killjoys will be out November 22nd!! YESYESYESYES!!!

Plus, November is also awesome 'cuz it'll be after exams.

EDIT: Towers of Midnight Chapter 1 is out! ZOMG!

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Hope.

There's this dude in office that I really like, and forgive me for being perasan, but at one point, I think he kinda liked me too.

That is, until my nerves realized I had feelings for him and started to get in the effing way, coupled with the fact that we hardly have had the chance to talk to each other for a very long while, and before you know it, feelings pass and it's like nothing happened.

Unfortunately for me, I think I skipped that last part.

Scratch that, I'm not even past that last part. Still haven't reached it yet, still in (or is it 'on'?) that runaway train, still not being able to let go, so much so that for the past few months, I needed constant distraction to keep my emotions at bay.

And it's tough because work is out of the question. It's not our peak at the moment, though I'm not sure excessive amounts of work would be successful, though.

So far it seems like he's been avoiding me with a passion, and even if we bump into each other, what he does, is look at everything else but me, usually focusing at some point in the distance above my head. I mean, he's seven feetreally tall, so it's relatively understandable, but really... At least the people who avoid me at work, acknowledge and smile back whenever I happen to catch their eye and grin.

[Because being polite doesn't hurt.]

On Wednesday, I was about to write him off as a cause so lost (c'mon, dude acts like I don't exist) that even the smoke monster can't freaking get to it, when we make eye contact. So, the rare time he looks my way and is actually looking at me, I wave at him and smile.

Then he asked me whether I was going for bowling practice that night. Mimed, really, since he was halfway across the room. I was taken aback, obviously (if you don't see it, then it's only obvious to me, obviously) but also because I actually understood that he meant bowling.

[The densest material on Earth is not something called (Os)mium (looked it up, never heard of it either), it is Me (i.e. yours truly).
I am so dense that I'll sink straight through the ocean floor (suck on that, saltwater!) right through to the core of the Earth (and then some!), I'm so dense that you can get me to proclaim that I am dense, and I'd still be dense to the fact that I just announced to the world that I am dense.
Yeah, that's how dense I am. And the sentence before this was a lame-ass attempt at something Escher-esque. If you're not familiar with his work, samples are here. They are awesome.
Also, I am lazy.]

I shook my head, and mime-asked him. He wasn't going either.

So now I'm confused. Mind you, my confusion revolves around why he bothered making small mimicrytalk, when he could've gone with the regular nod-and-acknowledge routine everyone's got down pat. No conclusion-jumping here, folks, that ship has long left the dock.

Oddly, I felt a bit... hopeful, after. That I haven't universally messed things up with him, and that, well, to put it simply, we're still okay.

Although, you could say that I'm clinically insane. And I can't say I disagree with the prognosis.

By my standards (because I have terrible luck), Wednesday was a pretty good day. Went through it relatively unscathed, found out that My Chem's Na Na Na is totally out (yes!!!), helped a senior co-worker with his taxes (without mistake!), and basically, emphasis is on the 'unscathed', emotionally and work–um...–ally.

Today, well... everything went to hell again, but... eh. Optimism. It carries forward.

Though the mild euphoria may be from the wrong reasons, but right now, somehow, things look like they're pointing north for the moment.

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