In accordance to the topic: I like the EotW best because it starts off real fresh... though I had to read the prologue and the first two chapters repeatedly because it seemed as if the author was speaking a different language... the usage of "Light" and "Blood and bloody ashes" was alien to me...it took a while for me to catch up...
But as a whole, I really liked this particular book because it put my imagination to a whole different level at a young age (11). It honed my interest/love for writing. The characters felt real and the story was cohesive and spontaneous. I especially liked the part where they met the green man...and how loial sang after the green man died...
This talk about rand being a tyrant: I don't think he is one...but I believe that he is a very flawed character...foolish in many ways, but i can also find sense in the decisions he has made. Case in point: giving Cairhein to Elayne. It was a reasonable choice. I can't think of anyone else who Rand trusted and had a good claim on the throne (regarding bloodlines). Also, the issue about him trusting other Aes Sedai...He really doesn't have the luxury of time to know more Aes Sedai enough to trust them. More than that: he was already wary of Aes Sedai from the very beginning (as his father and thom warned him about asking favors from Aes Sedai), only made worse by what he went through with Elaida's emmisary...
I expected him to be foolish. He is a farmer, after all...He's still learning...But I believe that RJ intended him to be that way...With him being like this, the end could jump either way... Even if he spills his blood on shayol ghul and defeats the Shadow, what kind of world would it be then, if he continues on the path he set for himself?
P.S.: I dont understand why he has to love the three women. I can reconcile with the fact that he does, but I can't see the reason behind it...Aviendah most of all... Not that I don't like her. It's just ...how did they come to love him? And how did he come to love them?...just me blabbering...
