I've just finished LoC in my pre-TGS re-read (yes, I am aware there are twenty days before the book's release), after years of skipping over it thanks to my copy falling apart and not being bothered to buy a new one. It really surprised me how much my perception of things changed after actually reading the book again (most of my knowledge of recent books has been from discussions on them). And since there seem to be a lot of "personal" threads here now, if I may present some thoughts and ask a question or two...

-Rand seems pretty mad in this book, what with all the talking to LTT (and doing it aloud at times, too!). Maybe this is just hindsight, but I'm surprised that people (myself included, for a long time) believed he was still sane for so long... and some still do. It was very interesting to see him from different perspectives here.

-Speaking of which, Taim's behaviour really surprised me, especially when he seemed concerned over Rand in that one LTT scene. I can't see him as a Darkfriend here - in fact, after this re-read, the theory that he turned later seems increasingly likely. I can even understand his motives for it now: not only is he the Number Two now (and Rand certainly doesn't treat him as an equal), he's seen a lot of evidence that Rand is not sane at all. What hope is there for the world if the Dragon Reborn has gone mad already? Not that it IS the reason, but it's made me think.

-And again, tying into the previous point, Egwene really has a point when she thought Rand's ego was growing too large (multiple times). I always thought it was just one of those silly things they think about people up until now. Isn't that something of what Cadsuane's doing when she's trying to teach Rand manners?

-I had no idea Aviendha sniffed so much.

-Egwene is awesome in this book. Her scenes with the Aiel must be some of my favourite in the series. After reading the released chapters of TGS, though... I realise I like her character as Amyrlin much less than I do the Aiel-Egwene. I wish she'd maintain more aspects of her training in future arcs (besides her acceptance of pain and all that - after realising this, I find I can look back at those scenes and feel happy that she HASN'T forgotten about all of that) and speak to the Aiel more. I nearly cried when she was summoned since I didn't want those chapters to end!

-Gawyn took a hit in my books near the end of LoC, when Rand thought about how he'd wanted to see Gawyn because he liked the guy. And then Gawyn said something about wanting to kill him after Dumai's Wells. Er. Wow. It was kind of sad to see those different perceptions... how Rand wants to be his friend and... the rumours... Stupid Gawyn. :<

-Mat and Elayne would have made a very interesting couple. I like Tuon, but Elayne would've been cool, too. (Hey, Mat thinks she's pretty.) Same goes for Min and Gawyn. Not just because their brains are the size of chickens', but their interactions just make me think it'd be so much better than the romances that pop out of nowhere for both of them.

-...Oh yeah, I actually began to dislike Mat thanks to a certain scene in Salidar. His arrogance and ignorance were astounding: thinking the girls would need rescuing (and while they have in the past, it's just as wrong of him to think of them as being so inferior as it is of the girls to think of men that way), and would be grateful for it; ignoring their protests and status because he didn't believe it could be possible, and then somehow never really apologizing or changing his mind when proven otherwise. People blame other characters (mostly the Wondergirls) for this sort of thing all the time, yet at least when they realise they've done something like that they become ashamed (and act even worse to cover it up, but they are aware of it). Mat never seems to even realise that he's WRONG (he still thinks Aviendha wants to kill Elayne on the way to Ebou Dar?!)! That was horrible behaviour on his part.

-Min is a worthless, annoying... I'm not sure if I can use those words here. I'm surprised that she can act even more immaturely than women ten years younger than she is (like Faile, for example). Does she really have no life except for Rand? And for all that the other girls get embarrassed over being "forward", how many have plunked themselves down on their man's lap... and continued to do this while he has GUESTS? I'm finding it hard to describe her behaviour through my disbelief. Maybe I've skimmed through one too many of Cannoli's Egwene-hate posts, but I find myself starting to blame her for an awful lot of things. Would Dumai's Wells have happened if she hadn't been communicating with Rand about the Aes Sedai (thirteen in Caemlyn scared him off, even though they apparently weren't intending to harm him in the same way - she caused her vision to be fulfilled!), about her vision that Aes Sedai would hurt him, or if she hadn't gone out walking in the TAS camp and caused him to become enraged and hurt them BOTH - and Erian's Warders, at that... And the Tower coup... Someone write essays on this woman, please.

-Faile had books of being decent until she decided not to tell Perrin what was really upsetting her. Wonderful.

-Why does Aviendha feel so wary around Olver? Is it just because he doesn't like her (/Aiel)?

-What was with the Sulin-Nandera confrontation just before Dumai's Wells? I'm probably missing the obvious here, but I don't understand what it was really about, or what it resolved... Same goes for the Amys-Sorilea conversation. I've never seen any discussions/questions about it.

-Another stupid question: In Gawyn's dream, did they ACTUALLY get... that far?

-Final thought: Elayne and Min both annoyed me immensely when it came to the topic of Rand and the other women. Elayne actually wanted to use the knife on Aviendha! Her possessiveness is insane - I can understand being dissatisfied with other women in his life, but not only are these her friends, she goes beyond that and actually wants to do violence! She also thought something about ensuring Rand would obey her when she bonded him (and as her Warder alone, I might add - I'm happy that I can look ahead and see how she changed her mind), which struck me as ridiculous... as much as I like and defend the Wondergirls, they do occasionally say or think some crazy things. Min didn't react that badly, but she still made me roll my eyes. She's known from the beginning that other women will love him, and she still gets jealous and annoyed when he talks about them? But then, anything Min thinks, says or does with regards to Rand is annoying...

-Finally, one part of Dumai's Wells really had an effect on me. It was almost heartbreaking to see the Asha'man destroy the Shaido so completely, in such a brutal manner, even as some of the heroes are unable to view the scene without becoming sick. They've become desensitized in such a short period of time; what happened in their training to do this - how did it happen? Just from making rocks explode?

I apologize for the extremely long and rambling post of unrelated thoughts and the Min-hate. Anyone disagree? I love seeing the variety of informed opinions expressed on wotmania and now RAFO!