Talk:Viktara Fen

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This is a sandbox for Viktara to use during the Wiki Editing class.

Wiki Editing Class Homework

Lessons 2 & 3

Wheel of Time

I first discovered the Wheel of Time through a friend in high school in fall 1995. We were very close at the time, and usually what one of us read, the other ended up reading, too. I had just finished up what was available for another series at the time (Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar series, I think), and I was looking for something new. She suggested The Eye of the World. I went out and got a copy that week, and I devoured it. After that, I was hooked, and I tore through the rest of the books in time to start A Crown of Swords the day it came out. It was actually the first book I ever preordered.

Although I stopped reading for a time after Winter's Heart came out, promising myself I would finish someday when the series was complete, I have remained fond of the books over the years. They were a very big influence on me as a teenager, and they are actually responsible for my getting on the Internet to start with. I persuaded my parents to subscribe to America Online simply because I had heard from my best friend that there was a Wheel of Time discussion group there. Watching Season 1 of the Amazon Prime series inspired me to go back, reread the first eight or nine books, and then finish the series altogether. I finally did so this past week, and I am both sad that it's done and overjoyed to have actually finished it.

Favorite Wheel of Time Book: The Shadow Rising (TSR)

It was difficult to pick a favorite book, and this one might not necessarily be my favorite, as that distinction is flexible. However, it is firmly in the top three or four. That said, I really enjoyed TSR because, in it, Robert Jordan began to do the following:

  • Begin to draw together some of the disparate threads from the first three books
  • Present unique content that made the series stand out from other fantasy books, such as...
  • Really start to gather momentum for the overall arc of the series

Together, these things suggest to me that TSR is really when the series comes into its own and becomes unique, rather than being a sequence of quest-related novels that can, at times, be a bit heavy-handed in their paying homage to Tolkien and other writers.

Least Favorite Wheel of Time Book: Crossroads of Twilight (CoT)

Although I don't properly hate any book in the series, CoT is my least favorite because it feels like it has the least narrative individuality among the books. In a way, it feels like its content should have been split between Winter's Heart and Knife of Dreams because it largely seems to be reactions to the main events of the former and setup for the main events of the latter. In particular, I take issue with the following:

  • Much of the first half of the book is spent on the reactions of characters who were not at Shadar Logoth during the cleansing of Saidin to that event.
  • Because of the above point, this part of the book feels more like an extended epilogue for the previous book.
  • In addition, with the exception of Mat, most of the main POV characters seem static:
    • Perrin's arc drags on with very little forward movement and no resolution.
    • Egwene makes little to no progress in her campaign against Elaida.
    • Elayne appears largely unsuccessful in her efforts to unite Andor.
    • Rand seems to mostly sit around and recover, when he is even shown at all.

Taken together, all these things made CoT more of a labor to read than a delight. Among all the books in the series, it is unique in this regard (though The Path of Daggers and Winter's Heart were also sluggishly paced at times). Thus, CoT is my least favorite book in the Wheel of Time.

TarValon.Net

I found TarValon.Net while doing a search for information about the series. This led me to the site's Library, and I eventually realized it also had forums, which I eventually joined. At first, I was reluctant to join, and I considered other Wheel of Time communities such as Dragonmount. However, it became clear to me after a bit of lurking that TarValon.Net had a sense of true community about it, which really appealed to me.

Currently, I am a Novice working toward meeting the requirements for Raising to the Accepted. I am also taking classes such as this one, getting to know the site and community better, and enjoying making new friends. I look forward to being an active member of the community for a long time to come.

My current membership admin is Luna Sedai of the Yellow Ajah. She, along with my mentors, has been very kind and helpful as I continue to work toward the next level of membership.

Lesson 3 Library Pages