Wheel of Time

[Demetrius]

I have just finished reading the WoT series yet again and I was hoping to get some other views on who you guys think might've killed Asmodean, who or what exactly is Verin and is Moridin Taim or is Taim Moridin or is Moridin Ishmael who killed Taim and replaced him all along?

Discuss, or just let this thread die...

[gurusloth]

Dude, you seriously need to mark this thread with spoiler tags. You don't want to be a RUINER, do you?

[stabbity death]

I'm torn about WOT.

On one hand, it has the makings of an incredible series, and the world-building is fantastic.

On the other hand, Robert Jordan just isn't a very good writer overall, and I have a hard time keeping interested in his books. Some of them could likely be cut in half and lose little meaningful content, because Jordan has a horrible problem with repetition (I mean, gee, it's made pretty clear about halfway through the first book that the women of the Red Ajah dislike and distrust men. We don't need to be reminded of it twenty times in book eight!). It's what keeps me from re-reading the series enough to truly grasp a good understanding of some of the less-obvious subplots. That, and the fact that we'll have 300 pages of boring, repetitive political intrigue, yet, with little exception, the most exciting moments (the encounters with the Forsaken) tend to be very short and very anti-climactic.

I like his descriptive ability, and his characters all have a fair amount of personality considering just how many there are, but the series is an 800-pound behemoth that can't support its own weight.

On that note, as the next book is supposed to be the last, I'm expecting a departure from the slow, plodding buffaloes that were books 7-10 and a return to the more exciting and more interesting affairs that marked the first six.

I believe Taim may be Moridin, and probably was either from the beginning, or at least from the time he was captured and his reign as a False Dragon ended.

Verin? I don't know, but I can't wait to find out.

[Demetrius]

stabbity death,
I'd seriously recommend a re-read or two, much of the "slow repetitive" stuff is actually supporting many things that occur later on and fill in the blanks on subplots Jordan has said he will never finish because "life isn't neat" and he is shelving the whole world once the last book is released.

[gurusloth]

Okay, first of all, I don't think Taim is Moridin. Moridin is (obviously) Ishamael reincarnated. Since Taim was a false Dragon before Rand defeated Ishamael, there's no way he can be Moridin. Thus, Taim must be Demandred.

I think...it's been a while.

[Demetrius]

If you will recall when Taim originally showed up in front of Rand, Bashere didn't think he was Taim. There is also the fact that Ishmael was always clean shaven and Saldeans always have at least a mustache and more often a beard.

spoiler: so what is anyone's take on Moridin/Taim at the end of the last book?