(![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
elspethdixon Mar. 3rd, 2010 05:49 pm)
elspethdixon Mar. 3rd, 2010 05:49 pm)Okay, so is there anyone out there who came squee with me over Rand's crowning moment of awesome/oh Jesus Fuck nonono! against Semirhage in Mormon Cooties Rape Your Childhood! The Gathering Storm?
I... just... I know a lot of the actual prose was written by Brendon Sanderson, something I've had to come to terms with over the year-long process of working through my initial squick (which is still very strong, because Sanderson is a nice guy, but he's also a self-admitted bigot when it comes to LGBT people, and I spent a lot of time deeply, terribly hurt and upset when I learned that something so important to me was going to be handed over to his keeping) and psyching myself up to actually read the book (I finally was able to do it by getting an audiobook from the library, since by listening to a reading done by the same man and woman who did the audio books of the rest of the series and not having to look at the cover, I can maintain continuity with the previous books and not be thrown by the fact that it's not Jordan writing), but the outline/story itself was entirely Jordan's work, and *flails* he's clearly been setting this up since book one, and I don't think I've ever been so delightedly awed to see a character utterly destroyed.
I listened with my hands pressed over my mouth, I swear, thinking oh, no, no please don't go through with this, don't fridge her, don't fridge her, not in a series so nicely largely devoid of fridged women (except for Ilyena, who's, like, the backstory WiR of Lews Therin's ultimate crazy manpain), and then thank god they didn't, but fuck, you could almost hear the click as the disparate parts of Rand/Lews Therin snap back together for just long enough for the whole unstable mess to totally break in a giant, horrifying, True Power accessing moment of OMGno. The whole stupidly chivalrous insistence on not killing women actually having a reason behind it, and the locked-in-box thing coming back to bite the world in the ass, and you know, I'd actually started to get kind of bored with the Rand storyline because it was taking up valuable page space that could be devoted to Egwene or the Seanchan or the rest of the various White Tower plots, but god damn, now I remember why I had a crush on you when I was eleven, Rand al'Thor. Your crowning moment of axe crazy was awesome. And also, your world is so, so fucked now. (Whereas Matt? You're starting to irritate me with your casual misogyny, even though I know it's partly due to your history with Queen "No Means Yes" Tylin. I hope Tuon drags you back home with her to kneel at the feet of the Crystal Throne and swear eternal fealty or something. Because that would be really hot.)
Also, since when have Lews Therin and Ishamael been so incredibly slashy? I think I need to re-read the prologue to Eye of the World again.
Reading this books is kind of like channeling tainted Saidin, the ecstasy/excitment always overlaid with something faintly nauseating, because you know the Dark One has touched it. But it's still the One Power, even so.
You never forget your first fannish loves, and WoT has been one of mine almost as long as Pern has, to the point that I refuse to let evil LDS cooties steal it from me. And I'm glad I did, even though I worry that just by reading it I'm compromising my integrity and condoning injustice.
I... just... I know a lot of the actual prose was written by Brendon Sanderson, something I've had to come to terms with over the year-long process of working through my initial squick (which is still very strong, because Sanderson is a nice guy, but he's also a self-admitted bigot when it comes to LGBT people, and I spent a lot of time deeply, terribly hurt and upset when I learned that something so important to me was going to be handed over to his keeping) and psyching myself up to actually read the book (I finally was able to do it by getting an audiobook from the library, since by listening to a reading done by the same man and woman who did the audio books of the rest of the series and not having to look at the cover, I can maintain continuity with the previous books and not be thrown by the fact that it's not Jordan writing), but the outline/story itself was entirely Jordan's work, and *flails* he's clearly been setting this up since book one, and I don't think I've ever been so delightedly awed to see a character utterly destroyed.
I listened with my hands pressed over my mouth, I swear, thinking oh, no, no please don't go through with this, don't fridge her, don't fridge her, not in a series so nicely largely devoid of fridged women (except for Ilyena, who's, like, the backstory WiR of Lews Therin's ultimate crazy manpain), and then thank god they didn't, but fuck, you could almost hear the click as the disparate parts of Rand/Lews Therin snap back together for just long enough for the whole unstable mess to totally break in a giant, horrifying, True Power accessing moment of OMGno. The whole stupidly chivalrous insistence on not killing women actually having a reason behind it, and the locked-in-box thing coming back to bite the world in the ass, and you know, I'd actually started to get kind of bored with the Rand storyline because it was taking up valuable page space that could be devoted to Egwene or the Seanchan or the rest of the various White Tower plots, but god damn, now I remember why I had a crush on you when I was eleven, Rand al'Thor. Your crowning moment of axe crazy was awesome. And also, your world is so, so fucked now. (Whereas Matt? You're starting to irritate me with your casual misogyny, even though I know it's partly due to your history with Queen "No Means Yes" Tylin. I hope Tuon drags you back home with her to kneel at the feet of the Crystal Throne and swear eternal fealty or something. Because that would be really hot.)
Also, since when have Lews Therin and Ishamael been so incredibly slashy? I think I need to re-read the prologue to Eye of the World again.
Reading this books is kind of like channeling tainted Saidin, the ecstasy/excitment always overlaid with something faintly nauseating, because you know the Dark One has touched it. But it's still the One Power, even so.
You never forget your first fannish loves, and WoT has been one of mine almost as long as Pern has, to the point that I refuse to let evil LDS cooties steal it from me. And I'm glad I did, even though I worry that just by reading it I'm compromising my integrity and condoning injustice.