General RJ quotes I found interesting...

[Terez]

...as I was compiling the database, I found a few quotes that surprised me. Like this one:

Bailey's Crossroads VA 2005 - John Nowacki reporting: (http://www.speedreading.com/phpBB2/ftopic75998.html)

Q: Was Ilyena Aes Sedai?
RJ: Yes.
I thought RJ had nixed that idea, but I didn't see any nixing of it, and it seems he actually confirmed it...

[irerancincpkc]

What made you think he nixed it?

[Terez]

I just thought I remembered him nixing it in an interview of some sort, that's all.

[Yuri33]

That proves it: Elayne is Ilyena reborn :)

[irerancincpkc]

Please don't go there. :D

[The Seeker]

I completely agree dont go there let ilyena rest in peace in her grave where LLT put her alright.

[4Alethinos]

This is a reincarnation universe and no one rests in their grave. That is a non-sequitor of the first magnitude.

I have no problem, at all, with Elayne being a reincarnation of Ilyena, Hovever, on the other hand, so what? She has none of Ilyena's memories and they would hardly matter. Other than have the memory of being killed by her husband which my be a little off-putting. :eek:

"Don't forget the basics."

[The Seeker]

Reincarnation doesnt happen to everyone the only ones reincarnated each age are those that are bound to the wheel and theres nothing thats been said that would prove to me thatIlyena has earned a spot.

[GonzoTheGreat]

Do you have quotes to back up that view?
There are things both in the books and in interview quotes from RJ which suggest that reincarnation is the norm, not the exception, for Randlanders.

Just think of the formula "by my hope of rebirth and salvation", which would be pretty hollow if hardly anyone had a chance at such rebirth.

[Anaiya Sedai]

Reincarnation doesnt happen to everyone the only ones reincarnated each age are those that are bound to the wheel and theres nothing thats been said that would prove to me thatIlyena has earned a spot.

no, I don't think that is entirely sure, everyone is reincarnated somehow (or why the heck would we have a soul pool?), just that the people who are bound to the wheel HAVE to return at a certain time, in certain conditions.

[irerancincpkc]

Elayne being a reincarnation of Ilyena just isn't needed, I think, and doesn't advance the story at all. It would seem to be a needless complication.

And I'll quietly back up Gonzo and Anaiya's statements... :D

[Brita]

Elayne being a reincarnation of Ilyena just isn't needed, I think, and doesn't advance the story at all. It would seem to be a needless complication.


But it would be ever so romantic ~~swoons~~

(except now she has to share!)

[Terez]

Reincarnation doesnt happen to everyone the only ones reincarnated each age are those that are bound to the wheel and theres nothing thats been said that would prove to me thatIlyena has earned a spot. RJ has confirmed, as Gonzo said, that everyone is reborn. The Heroes have a separate afterlife in Tel'aran'rhiod, but there is a normal afterlife. Even wolves, Trollocs, and Nym are reborn:

Wotmania/Dragonmount Q&A - 9 December 2002 (http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Wotmania_and_Dragonmount_Q%26A_December_9%2C_2002)

Q: How does the idea of souls apply to constructs such as Nym and Trollocs? Could either of them be reborn?

RJ: To whoever put this one forward, this is one of the best questions I've ever gotten! Nym and Trollocs both have souls, and either could be reborn, but since Nym were a pure construct (i.e. each of them was individually made, like hand-crafting) a Nym would not be reborn as a Nym. You might say that a Nym's soul was borrowed temporarily from the supply of souls awaiting rebirth. A Trolloc, however, bears a twisted, or corrupted soul, and would be reborn as a Trolloc. Though frankly, a Trolloc's soul is such a pitiful thing, it hardly seems worth calling a soul.

[Yuri33]

I wasn't serious about Elayne being the reincarnation of Ilyena (hence the smiley face). It's not impossible, but there's nothing that relies on it, and as Spammer pointed out, it's a needless complication. The only example we have of to two lovers being the same soul is Birgette and Gaidal Cain. They're both Heroes. Rand is one, but there's no evidence that Elayne is.

[Matoyak]

She has none of Ilyena's memories and they would hardly matter. Other than have the memory of being killed by her husband which my be a little off-putting. :eek:
Yeah, that wouldn't exactly be a turn-on would it? :p erm...for most people at least :eek:

[The Seeker]

I missed that question in my read throughs thanks for putting that up there for me.

[irerancincpkc]

But it would be ever so romantic ~~swoons~~

Elayne is involved; I doubt it could ever be romantic...

[Terez]

Yeah, all you get is some crap like "I need you to help me with my buttons."

[irerancincpkc]

Well did you find that romantic? I didn't.

Now the Seanchan snow sex scene with Avi was romantic, and the one where Rand 'forced' himself upon Min was to a lesser degree, I guess, but Elayne... :rolleyes:

[Terez]

Well did you find that romantic? I didn't. No...but I did find this bit nice:

TITLE - The Dragon Reborn
CHAPTER: 8 - Hard Heads

"I do not know how things are done in the Two Rivers, but in Caemlyn you don't wait until you are betrothed before kissing a girl. And it does not mean you must become betrothed, either. But perhaps you do not know how —" His arms went around her almost roughly, and his lips came down on hers. Her head spun; her toes tried to curl up in her slippers. Some time later – she was not certain how long – she realized she was leaning against his chest, knees trembling, trying to gulp air.

"Forgive me for interrupting you," he said. She was glad to hear a touch of breathlessness in his voice. "I am just a backward shepherd from the Two Rivers." :D

[irerancincpkc]

Helps prove my point. The parts you bolded were Rand speaking, not Elayne. :D

[Terez]

lol....you're apparently not aware that Elayne is my least favorite female character. :D And Rand is my favorite character...hint hint! :rolleyes:

She's a nice girl...and really, when she gets into spats with Nynaeve and Egwene etc., she almost always has the moral high ground. But she's annoying!

[irerancincpkc]

How can you not like Elayne but like Egwene??? :confused:

Rand is my favorite as well (most days, sometimes it is Min...)

[4Alethinos]

OOh, what fun!

Egwene is courageous and a leader. She is a quick learner and powerful and will become more so as time passes. Unfortunately she has been acculturated into the men are fools and women are by definition wise culture of the day.

Elayne is courageous and a leader. She too is quick, but not as much as Egwene. She will be less powerful in the OP than Egwene. She will most likely become the queen of Andor, as she already is, and the queen of Cairhien.

Egwene is not in love with Rand and Elayne is. This is why Elayne is not as negative toward Rand as Egwene is.

Neither wants any help from a man to accomplish what must be accomplished on their own merit.

Wait, I thought this was about differences? Hmmm, not as many as supposed, perhaps. Is this because the women all share some qualities seen in RJ's wife?

"let the good times roll!" :rolleyes:

[Terez]

How can you not like Elayne but like Egwene??? :confused:
I like both of them, really...Elayne just annoys me more. She has strength of character, but I like Egwene's aggressive edge. :)

[The Seeker]

I dont like either of them very much to tell you the truth but they both have their good qualities and bad but so does everyone. Elayne is quite annoying though, i blame a lot of it on where she comes from though she was raised different than a common person and taught to behave and act differently.

[Terez]

I think part of the reason Elayne annoys me is that she's just too straightforward to be interesting. Egwene's mired in all the Aes Sedai politics, and her skill at maneuvering among them is admirable, but Andoran politics are different...there's just no subtlety to Elayne.

[4Alethinos]

Perhaps it is because Egwene is in the henhouse and Elayne has to deal with a kingdom made of men and women.

Different milieus entirely, IMO. :)

[Enigma]

Elayne has always come across to me at lease as a lot more inoffensive that Egwene. Both have courage and leadership abilities and some political skill but its their ambitions that set them apart.

Egwene is certain that she knows what is best for everyone, world wide. In many ways she is a slightly less aggressive version of Elaida, at least that is my reading of her. Her motives are good, but she thinks that only Aes Sedai can order the world the way it should and as head of the Aes Sedai it is up to her to decide who needs to do what.

The opinion of anyone who is not Aes Sedai or a close personal friend does not really seem to count with Egwene. She still things Rand is the bumbling rural shepard dressed up in fancy clothes and Mat can't possibly be a general of great skill despite hearing of his victories in Cairhaen.

Elayne on the other hand only thinks she is entitled to rule Andor. Given that she was born into the royal family and was taught that this was her function in life this is understandable. She has opinions on what is best for the world but she seems at least to consider that the ides of some of the other characters she encounters may be worth listening to.

[Terez]

You say that as if Egwene doesn't listen to anyone, lol. And seriously...comparing Egwene to Elaida, only less aggressive? How about 100x less stupid as well?

[Marie Curie 7]

I also found these quotes to be interesting:

Crossroads of Twilight book tour 18 January 2003, Harvard Coop - Tallis reporting

Tallis: RJ said there are many clues as to Mesaana's identity, enough that we should figure it out before Crossroads of Twilight. He basically said that he'd full-out reveal her in upcoming books, though: '...and if you still don't know, well, you'll find out later.'



Knife of Dreams book tour 14 October 2005- Bryan Allen reporting

Q: Mesaana: Do we have enough clues to know her identity?
RJ: I think so, but I'm not absolutely sure. Her Third Age role has been at least mentioned.


I didn't realize that RJ had said that we should be able to figure out who Mesaana is, even though he backtracked a bit in the more recent quote.

[GonzoTheGreat]

He might have been backtracking because he had noticed that it was not as obvious as he had thought it was. He probably put in what he thought were enough clues, and then discovered that they weren't enough for people who did not start out knowing who Mesaana was hiding as.

However, the reference to her Third Age role shows clearly that she has a teaching position in the WT.

[Neilbert]

However, the reference to her Third Age role shows clearly that she has a teaching position in the WT.

How so? Her second age role was a teacher, her third age role is whatever she is doing now. I take that to mean that what she is doing in the tower now, in official capacity, has been mentioned, somewhere.

[Terez]

Gonzo's just being a smartass, Neil. Making a joke on Mesaana's 2nd Age role, and her dissatisfaction with it. She's found a way to teach them all! :D

[Marie Curie 7]

He might have been backtracking because he had noticed that it was not as obvious as he had thought it was. He probably put in what he thought were enough clues, and then discovered that they weren't enough for people who did not start out knowing who Mesaana was hiding as.

Gee thanks, Gonzo...it never would have occurred to me that might be the reason that RJ backtracked about Mesaana's identity. :p I just thought it was interesting that at one point RJ did say that we should be able to figure it out. There's sort of an intriguing progression to what he's said about some of the mysteries in the series. With regard to Asmodean, RJ always maintained that we should be able to figure out who killed him, and never wavered from that. With Mesaana, RJ started out saying essentially the same thing about her identity as about Asmodean's killer - that we should be able to figure it out with the clues that had been given - but then later he seemed not to be so sure about that. And finally, he said straight out (before the killer was revealed in KoD) that he didn't give enough clues for us to figure out Adeleas' killer.

[Terez]

I get tired of reading the same stupid questions that people asked RJ over and over again, so I got a kick out of this:

Q: How do you get your ideas?

RJ: I opened the closet one day and found three young women, diaphonously clad who had made themselves at home. They had hung up needle point embroidery and otherwise furnished the closet. I had a discipline stick available and beat them. Now, every day, they hand me a list of ten ideas.

[4Alethinos]

Oh, thank you for that quote, Terez, that is such a hoot! I laughed at that one. hehe

[Marie Curie 7]

Yeah, that's a good one. :) I liked this one, too:

However he made repeated references to being worn out and overworked by LoC. "If I work that hard on this one I'll die," he commented several times. Apparently he worked 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week. In August (he usually finishes in May) the folks at Tor sequestered him in a hotel in New York City, where he finished the books in two weeks. He said he would try to get the book out on time but he figured we would rather have him finish a book late than finish his life early. When a latecomer asked when he intended to "pop out next one", Jordan responded by telling him that he once sat at a table with G. Gordon Liddy, who explained how to kill someone with chopsticks. Having found this fascinating dinner conversation, Jordan was willing to bet he could reproduce the effect with a pen.
LOL...

[Terez]

Another stupid question, with a lovely answer:

Astrocyte: A basic question.....How do you approach Point of View in your stories?

RJ: Well, I tiptoe up to it, then I grab it by the throat, throw it down, and kick it.

[Terez]

And another:

Question: where did you get the concept for Perrin?

RJ: Out of my head.

:D

[Weird Harold]

Another stupid question, with a lovely answer:

Astrocyte: A basic question.....How do you approach Point of View in your stories?

RJ: Well, I tiptoe up to it, then I grab it by the throat, throw it down, and kick it.
I don't remember RJ's exact answer, but my favorite dumb question was "If I opened a gateway to a spot right behind me and then sent a blast of balefire through the gateway, what would happen?"

RJ's answer was on the order of "you need to put tho books down and go find a boyfriend.

[Terez]

Even though I haven't bothered with most non-plot stuff, I'm thinking about creating a category called "dumb questions and funny answers" because there's so many of them. I've come across several since those last two I posted that were funny. There were quite a few in that particular chat. RJ seemed to be in a bad mood for that one, but it's probably because that batch of fans was not the brightest batch of fans around. :D

[Terez]

Stolen from one of RJ's nephews on Facebook:

I paraphrase since I don't know the exact words. Men will always rule the world because women as a whole will not realize that ALL of them could do better than the man they are with. If women could manage to do this collectively, they would rule the world. Until then men will continue to dominate.

[4Alethinos]

I was under the impression that all souls who had been incarnated were a part of the Wheel of Time. The Wheel decides who is incarnated and who is not. It is even tougher for the Heroes. They are bound to the Pattern. The Wheel is their rack. Hmm, maybe that was just one of RJ's women. Oh well.

"You do not have to make sense to post here. It just helps from time to time."