It's a very fine line! The first time I read the series, the time I stalled out in Book 10 because it was so bad, I was pretty sure the explanation was that Jordan was a sloppy writer. But then I read through the entire series in two and a half months when it was nominated for the Hugo, and reading at that pace I really felt the overwhelming sense of planning that infuses the series. There are so many stories Jordan wants to tell! There are so many characters Jordan wants you to meet! I still think he's a sloppy writer, but I now am convinced that the sloppiness is an inherent property of the story and in some senses a virtue. I mean, trollocs and ogiers and saangreals, right? That comes off extremely silly sounding at first, but the more you learn about Tel'aran'rhiod, the more clear it is that that was a choice Jordan made. He wanted the sense that the Wheel of Time is just like any of those familiar fantasy stories about trolls and ogres, or quests for the grail, just... a little to the left.
Or maybe Jordan is just a sloppy writer. Probably both are true!
Another reason Rand is an asshole is because a character arc Jordan is developing is the Taint and how it affects Rand, vs. how other characters think it is affecting Rand. He wants you to be constantly asking "Did Rand do that because the Taint made him, or did he do it because that's just Rand? And what's the difference?" One of the consequences of that is that in order for that question to be interesting, Rand has to already kind of be an asshole. If you have a character who is perfectly sweet and kind and generous and then a mystical Force makes him go insane and evil, you just notice. But if a deeply flawed human being starts to lose touch with their humanity... that's a much more complicated question.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-30 09:28 pm (UTC)Or maybe Jordan is just a sloppy writer. Probably both are true!
Another reason Rand is an asshole is because a character arc Jordan is developing is the Taint and how it affects Rand, vs. how other characters think it is affecting Rand. He wants you to be constantly asking "Did Rand do that because the Taint made him, or did he do it because that's just Rand? And what's the difference?" One of the consequences of that is that in order for that question to be interesting, Rand has to already kind of be an asshole. If you have a character who is perfectly sweet and kind and generous and then a mystical Force makes him go insane and evil, you just notice. But if a deeply flawed human being starts to lose touch with their humanity... that's a much more complicated question.