I ask this because when I do an occasional peek-in at this board, most of what I see seems to be arguments regarding fantasy physics than anything approaching a discussion of what the series as a whole would "mean" in regards to thematic issues.
What's to be taken from this series? That an author spent years before his death introducing minutiae for obsessive fans to debate, or is there something else to it?
It'd be interesting to see discussion of potential themes and their possible resolutions here rather than the fantasy physics version of dick size and how one uses it in...umm...opening gateways 
This board is dead in all kinds of ways. The only people actively discussing are those who have only discussed "WoT physics" and Egwene with each other, for the most part.
The entire site is pretty much a pale shadow of the wotmania days. But sometimes, when those who are active go so "all in" on the more minute details of the series, it does help to have questions like this, no? Already had some nice responses to this, better than I thought (as I feared some would take the questions the wrong way).
With regards to themes, I still think Jordan's strong suit was the power of knowledge, the mutability of knowledge, etc. A lot of that got scrapped off after the change in authors, of course, but I'm still holding off hope for this theme playing a major role in the endgame of the series. Certainly, if Verin's reveal was not meant to be a one off event, I expect more here.
See what I said above to Dom. Will keep your comments in mind as well.
Frankly, though, I'm fairly certain I'll be disappointed. Partly through the way he plotted the books, and partly through the sheer number of words he threw on page to overcome some egregious mis-plotting, Jodan left a very juicy scenario for the final book(s). We have any number of characters who know only part of the final answer, and I was very much looking forward to these pieces of the puzzle coming together, and the shifts in perspectives among the major characters we'd see. But with Sanderson's treatment of dialogue and character introspection so woefully inadequate to the task, any number of such perspective shifting reveals have simply flown under the radar, with the character's adjustments left to reader imagination.
Yes, I can see that viewpoint. Even with the occasional problems I have with Esslemont's treatment of characters first published in Erikson's works, there's more continuity there than between Jordan/Sanderson.
Another major theme I hope gets a good resolution is the issue of gender imbalance. RJ made some major errors in his presentation of this theme, and ended up diluting it and even degrading it somewhat, as a result. But the underlying elements are still present, and still very interesting. In many ways, they set the series apart (for good or ill). I hope the resolution of this is satisfactory and at least redeems this aspect of the series at least somewhat.
That thematic treatment has become a caricature of itself by this point, alas. I am pessimistic that it'll improve in the finale.
As for wider impact, I think WoT did kind of end up "Finishing" the traditional epic fantasy genre. It served as a transition from the somewhat simpler stories that came before it to more complex narratives, though other series qualify for this, and WoT isn't entirely successful either. That said, I think WoT has a decent future as a series bridging this gap, and if someone figures out a way to make a good abridgment of the series, I can see it continuing to populate bookshelves for quite a while.
Interesting point.
Of course, a good TV series can totally change all that, and if they play it right, and tone down the negative aspects of RJ's handling of gender issues and capitalize on the sheer number of female centric storylines, I can certainly see WoT being marketed as a somewhat distinct fantasy story. Not holding my breath for that, though.
I'm not a cinematic type of reader, so visualizing the story in the TV medium is not something I'm able to do well. But we'll see what the future holds soon, I suspect.
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie
Je suis méchant.
Je suis méchant.
So when the book/series ends, what will it have all meant?
- 08/10/2012 09:47:49 PM
1908 Views
HAHAHA!
- 08/10/2012 10:17:58 PM
967 Views
Yeah, the use of my time does matter
- 09/10/2012 02:45:15 AM
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- 09/10/2012 02:45:15 AM
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Not sure I'd call it mindless
- 09/10/2012 02:53:00 AM
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Well, it is a bit more complex than a D&D novel
- 09/10/2012 02:55:40 AM
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- 09/10/2012 02:55:40 AM
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I'm not really a huge fiction reader to begin with
- 09/10/2012 11:25:34 PM
760 Views
I've noticed that quite a few here/wotmania have not been big fiction (fantasy) readers
- 11/10/2012 05:48:02 AM
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Re: I've noticed that quite a few here/wotmania have not been big fiction (fantasy) readers
- 12/10/2012 05:11:20 PM
788 Views
Well... it's a bit late in the game...
- 09/10/2012 02:04:16 AM
965 Views
True, but it's never too late to ask people such questions
- 09/10/2012 02:49:28 AM
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I'm not sure...
- 09/10/2012 06:03:08 AM
781 Views
Well, we may be in closer agreement then
- 09/10/2012 06:43:50 PM
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There's a reason for this...
- 09/10/2012 02:11:21 AM
866 Views
True
- 09/10/2012 02:54:12 AM
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Re: True
- 09/10/2012 06:19:42 AM
778 Views
I am now visualizing WoT as a telenovela adaptation 
- 09/10/2012 06:59:11 PM
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- 09/10/2012 06:59:11 PM
748 Views
everything about Lanfear screams TeleNovela!
- 11/10/2012 04:38:03 AM
697 Views
Por ella, soy Luisa Therin?
- 11/10/2012 05:44:32 AM
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- 11/10/2012 05:44:32 AM
775 Views
It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
- 09/10/2012 02:21:20 PM
838 Views
It also has Faulknerian allusions
- 09/10/2012 07:04:55 PM
820 Views
- 09/10/2012 07:04:55 PM
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BTW, did you see the Folio Society's color-coded The Sound and the Fury?
- 10/10/2012 08:06:18 PM
1045 Views
Re: BTW, did you see the Folio Society's color-coded The Sound and the Fury?
- 10/10/2012 09:39:56 PM
789 Views
No, but I'll keep it in mind for the future when I have more money to spare
- 11/10/2012 05:49:52 AM
660 Views
It sold out fast. They might reprint it, though.
- 11/10/2012 03:45:20 PM
653 Views
Hopefully, that or it won't be more than $200 when I do have the money to spare
- 11/10/2012 05:53:20 PM
856 Views
Re: So when the book/series ends, what will it have all meant?
- 11/10/2012 10:52:01 AM
755 Views
Ah, where would we be without such bright lights like you around?
- 11/10/2012 05:59:48 PM
940 Views
It will have meant.. .
- 11/10/2012 06:59:43 PM
739 Views
So...
- 11/10/2012 07:05:41 PM
800 Views
For me, yes.
- 11/10/2012 07:45:25 PM
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