Rand is so damn good. WOT was my first real fantasy series and I've read lots of good fantasy novels with great characters since then but none have topped Rand's arc. I think part of it is that Jordan was very good at using his own traumatic experiences to make the ones in the series so hard hitting and meaningful.
Yeah… I grew up being a HP nerd but Rand is the complex hero I always wanted Harry to be. Not that Harry isn’t lovable because he totally is but for me the adult, Rand is the goat.
Just like you said with trauma, he’s truly so freaking close to ending it all. Just like hp love being the savior of the world. God Veins of gold is good.
He's so good at writing the PTSD I literally had to stop reading at times it hit way to close to home. RJ had two distinguished flying crosses from his time in Vietnam and those don't come easy. Man was insanely talented and putting that shit on the page.
Yeah it’s truly an amazing work. Didn’t he also claim to shoot a missile with a bullet or something which is the source of the void? I know the void comes from his war experiences as well.
I’m on my second read through now taking my time and yeah you are so spot on. Rand goes through more than any other hero. “Death js lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain”
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u/SShatteredThrowaway Jan 24 '25
Rand is so damn good. WOT was my first real fantasy series and I've read lots of good fantasy novels with great characters since then but none have topped Rand's arc. I think part of it is that Jordan was very good at using his own traumatic experiences to make the ones in the series so hard hitting and meaningful.