I’m personally a huge fan of Lord of Chaos. It’s always a high point when I re-read the series. I really like all of the subtle foreshadowing of what’s coming up, all of the careful politics and groundwork that RJ laid for the latter half of the series, and then of course Dumai’s Wells is such an incredible moment in the series.
I guess we see the Eye differently. I really liked the “who the hell am I?” side of Rand, isntead of “Who is the Dragon” ensemble. I think it was slightly too obvious, but obscure enough that new readers often had memories of when they “figured it out”. I actually liked the idea of the Dragon being a mysterious hero/villain that could as well have been an antogonist as the main character.
And I really love the doubt and distrust we all have in Moiraine for the first several books. A POV opening of her would have ruined it, I think.
I’m all-in with you for point 3. Power levels are all over the place, and while I don’t think Eye is the biggest offender, it doesn’t hurt to take out the canon-killing overchannel by Rand. And Somestha (Somestha who?)
For point 4… I agree with more teaching of Eggy, but Nynaeve will be damned if she lets THAT AES SEDAI teach her anything. But you’re not wrong about wondergirl-mania. They get good way too fast, but that’s a steady issue the first 5 books or so (and doesn’t stop there).
To be clear this isn’t what I meant to say- I would keep the smash cut from Dragonmount being created to Rand and Tam on the road to EF. That’s actually my favorite part of EOTW, it’s a GREAT intro to the world. If the rest of the book were consistent with the rest of the series, I’d never recommend new readers not read it first- but it’s those big inconsistencies that make me think it’s better read after TDR.
I would put the first Moiraine viewpoint AFTER they get out of EF with her. Like, you know that scene where Egwene first channels with her? Right around there is where I would giver her a short viewpoint, just to let the audience get some of the exposition they’re really craving by then about the power, the dragon, and Moiraines actual plan. One of the most frustrating parts in book 1 for me is that she doesn’t want to admit too much to the Emmonds Fielders, but it gets really annoying because it felt, to me, like she was just making decisions to move the plot along and not because of any plan of hers. Having a chapter where she actually spells out what she is planning to do to the reader would make a lot of sense, at least to me.
This is actually part of why I would have her teach Nynaeve- I would have Moiraine be a real, massive asshole of a teacher- to bring Nynaeve into a state where she CAN channel, of course, but Nynaeve wouldn’t care about that. I never thought that the level of hate Nynaeve had for her felt organic, and having Moiraine try and teach her through her block would be a great way to make her anger toward Moiraine feel a lot more organic. And that way Nynaeve has a realistic handle on the power like Egwene does in book 2, letting them both grow massively in their ability quickly.
Fair points, I think. I still think it’s going a different direction than my head. I wish we’d been convinced Logain was the real Dragon, just waiting for his chance to get away. Moiraine playing it so close to the vest even one POV would have wrecked it. She’s doing something that will get herself and Siuan hanged if they’re caught, after all!
For Nynaeve. I guess I DO see why she hates Moiraine already. Even in early books, I like her more every reread. But importantly, she’s placed in a position of having no interest in listening to Moiraine or learning from her. Moiraine is the boogeyman to her. She blames her for destroying the sanctity of Emond’s Field like many cancer patients blame their doctor for the diagnosis.