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2012-04-30: I had the great pleasure of speaking with Harriet McDougal Rigney about her life. She's an amazing talent and person and it will take you less than an hour to agree.

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The Bell Tolls

2012-04-24: Some thoughts I had during JordanCon4 and the upcoming conclusion of "The Wheel of Time."

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Your search for the tag 'tar valon' yielded 19 results

  • 1

    Interview: 2011

    Twitter 2011 (WoT) (Verbatim)

    Brandon Sanderson (4 January 2011)

    Yes, early WoT is very Tolkien influenced. But several original things really stood out to me when I was younger.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    1) The magic. 2) Strong female protagonists. 3) A woman 'wizard' figure who was far more human than others I'd seen. 4) Tam lives.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Though I like Gandalf, Dumbledore, Belgarath, & Allanon, I prefer Moiraine as a character. (Actually, Allanon always just annoyed me.)

    HARRISON ISRAEL

    I always liked Allanon :(

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    It's okay. I'm fond of him. But he still annoyed me.

    HAMLETISDEAD

    Can you share what it is about Allanon that annoyed you? I can list a few, but the main reason was his decision making...

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Mostly the air of mystery and withholding information. Often a problem with people in his role, but he seemed more-so.

    BRYCE NIELSEN

    What about Polgara? :P

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Polgara was awesome. Belgarath was pretty cool too, but Moiraine always feels slightly more real than either one to me.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    But that's modern Brandon. Teenage Brandon might have thought differently.

    CHRIS WOOD

    But which of those early wizards was your favorite? I liked Belgarath, but Eddings was one of my first series.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    As a youth, I often listed Eddings as my favorite author. It wasn't until I was older that WoT took over completely.

    CHRIS WOOD

    I agree, I still read Eddings and suggest him to people who are "new" into fantasy, but it has gone down my list too.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    There is a perfect age to read Eddings, where he resonates best. As you age, something about his characters and plots...stiffens.

    JENN HOGAN

    I am in agreement but I love Belgarath's humor and his devotion to family and his God and his brothers.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Belgarath was interesting also in being an amalgamation of a trickster figure and a wise mentor. By far one of Eddings' most round.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Both him and Polgara. They're both also more powerful than Moiraine. But there's just something about her. True wisdom.

    JOHN STOCKTON

    I was thrown by your "when I was younger" remark until I remembered this series started 20 years ago. Wow.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    I started when I was 14 or 15...

    YELLOW

    The WoT names always annoyed me because they're so close to real names. Any chance of dropping a Blixbop into A Memory of Light?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Mr. Jordan did this intentionally, to hint that the WoT world was our world in the future (and the past.)

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    It's part of the 'feel' of the world. They are close to real names because they ARE real names, just many years removed.

    TADBO

    The females in The Wheel of Time are among the most two-dimensional in the history of fantasy.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    I disagree. Case in point: Tolkien's female protagonists. (Which was the comparison I was making.)

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    But even beyond that, you have to remember, this is a society with some skewed gender relationships because of the way magic works.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    But Moiraine is hardly two-dimensional. Neither is Nynaeve. They can be annoying, yes, but that's not the same as two-dimensional.

    TADBO

    They scheme, they argue, they tug on their skirts and stamp their feet, or they fall at Rand's feet. Really?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Aviendha is very distinctive. Tuon is very distinctive. Min is very distinctive. Many of the Aes Sedai act as you say, but...

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    ...I see this as an intentional effect of the society they live in.

    ZEERAK WASEEM

    Don't you get annoyed with the females in WoT? The female lead I prefer is Aviendha, the rest are full of themselves.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Oh, I didn't say they didn't annoy me at times. I said they were strong, and I'll add that they are interesting.

    TADBO

    Final note. I would argue that Jordan's female protagonists are MAIN characters, whereas Tolkien's are mainly supporting.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    The Tolkien point is valid. However, remember what started this conversation. I was saying things about the WoT that impressed me.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    One was a large cast of female main characters, something a lot of fantasy by men I'd read was lacking.

    TEREZ

    WoT females are caricaturish, sometimes stereotypical, but not two-dimensional. (This from a female.)

    TADBO

    Yes, caricatures. A better description than two-dimensional.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Well, different people read things differently. If WoT's women didn't work for you, I understand why, though I don't feel the same.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    You're not the only one to feel that way.

    TEREZ

    The fact that I see them as caricatures helps me to enjoy them as characters more. It's RJ's own type of dry humor.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    I view them more of products of a society where social norms are different, and women have something 'machismo'-like.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    It makes them act similar in places, even though when you see into their souls, there is something deeper.

    TEREZ

    In my opinion this is also true, but the caricature part is an important aspect of accepting ALL WoT characters as they are.

    TEREZ

    They, like the story itself, are ubertropes. There is more to them than that, just as there is more to the story.

    FELIX PAX

    It's as if RJ's sense of humor was written for a theater company on stage. Bombastic, perhaps?

    TEREZ

    I think the word you are looking for is 'exaggerated'. But yes, stage-acting a very good comparison.

    TADBO

    I don't know if I ever saw it as 'dry humor'. The Aes Sedai scared the crap out of me in high school.

    TEREZ

    Well, maybe now that you're a big boy... ;) RJ said he'd rather hunt leopards...

    TADBO

    True enough. XD

    TEREZ

    I mean, have you SEEN the map of Tar Valon? It's supposed to be funny, people. And serious at the same time, of course.

    JAMES FURLONG

    Haha! Just clicked on, never noticed THAT before. Hoho!

    HBFFERREIRA

    LOL Never noticed it before either.

    KAREN BASKINS

    LOL! In nearly twenty years of reading WoT, I never took notice of the Tar Valon map. Thank you for the laugh. I needed that. :-)

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    I've wondered about the map for Tar Valon. That...well, that can't be an accident. I've never asked Team Jordan, though.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Needless to say, it wasn't something I noticed when I was a teen.

    TEREZ

    Someone asked RJ about it. Sort of. His answer was hilarious.

    RICHARD FIFE

    Ya know, for some odd reason, I never really saw the map of Tar Valon. Now I'll never unsee it...

    TEREZ

    Indeed, it cannot be unseen. :)

    MATT HATCH

    ...wow, this really changes how I view the siege, harbor, and the iron chain becoming cuendillar.

    TEREZ

    You are such a perv, boss.

    MATT HATCH

    Showed my wife the map. Her immediate reaction: "Oh, Jim Rigney." Big smile.

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    You'd never seen that before?

    TEREZ

    He had. Was just inspired by the moment to show it to his wife. And he'd never seen the quote. :)

    MATT HATCH

    I'd seen it...it was a while back; I remember thinking "really???" This reminded me and the quote made it hilarious.

    TEREZ

    Could give a whole new meaning to 'Rand had daydreamed over Master al'Vere's old map...'

    TEREZ

    '...half the boys in Emond's Field had daydreamed over it.'

    NICHOLAS BROWN

    To the blind... what am I seeing? I see a fish or a submarine. Is there something else?

    BRANDON SANDERSON

    Hm. How to do this without going places I don't care to go... Maybe a link will suffice. http://bit.ly/gMSLt6

    Tags

  • 2

    Interview: Oct 25th, 1994

    Question

    Speaking of the Breaking, how did Dragonmount survive all that rearrangement of geography?

    Robert Jordan

    Well, the Breaking had different effects in different areas. Some areas were raised up, others lowered, others moved around... but the effects were relatively mild in some areas; Dragonmount was one of them.

    Note that Shayol Ghul used to be a subtropical island. The Tar Valon area was moved, but as an entire piece, so the mountain, the island, and the river stayed in the same places relative to each other.

    Tony Zbaraschuk

    [Which I suppose makes sense, since nobody lived in the area (of Dragonmount), the men would likely have been elsewhere.]

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  • 3

    Interview: Aug 25th, 1996

    Greebs

    Cool. We [Notice that I'm trying to create the impression that there is more than just me there ...safety in numbers etc.] were also wondering about the size of the cities...how big is Caemlyn for instance?

    Robert Jordan

    [Thinking] Let's see...Well Tar Valon is 500,000 people and cities like Caemlyn and Tear are around 300,000 or so. I've envisioned a seventeenth century society and you've got to remember that for those times 300,000 would be huge. [I'm nodding and trying to look intelligent.] Some Asian cities of that period had populations near one million but nothing in Europe was even close.

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  • 4

    Interview: Oct 9th, 1996

    Erica Sadun

    Why doesn't Egwene just Travel her troops to Tar Valon?

    Robert Jordan

    She needs the time to be in control. Otherwise she'd just be a puppet to others' needs.

    Tags

  • 5

    Interview: Oct 24th, 1998

    Drew Gillmore

    My second question was whether or not we would get to see the Battle of Tar Valon or if it would happen "off-screen".

    Robert Jordan

    He opened his mouth, hesitated a second and shot me down with a "Read And Find Out". Bastard.

    Footnote

    Drew was referring to the battle between the two factions of the White Tower, which never happened.

    Tags

  • 6

    Interview: Dec 5th, 2000

    Robert Jordan

    Someone asked about the populations of the major cities. After a little clarifications, he basically said that Tar Valon has a population of about 700,000 and the several of the other cities have around 500,000. He gave a number for the total population of Andor, but I'm not sure of the number, and hope that made it to the tape I'm going to analyze tomorrow.

    Tags

  • 7

    Interview: Jan 27th, 2003

    Réal Heppelle

    I asked him why Egwene would want to change an iron chain into cuendillar (making sure that I pronounced it correctly CWAINDEEYAR :) I thought he would send me packing if I made a pronounciation mistake). I understood that the chain prevented enemy boats from entering Tar Valon, but I wasn't sure why she would want to make it indestructible.

    Robert Jordan

    He responded that iron doesn't TURN into cuendillar, iron is the base of cuendillar. He said that the links of the chain fuse together and become a solid piece. Thus making the chain impossible to raise, lower, or remove. This prevents boats from entering AND leaving Tar Valon. It then became obvious that this was a way for Egwene to successfully siege the island without using the One Power on anyone (as Lord Gareth wanted). I don't know why I didn't realize this on my own, but thought others might want the additional insight.

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  • 8

    Interview: Sep 3rd, 2005

    Question

    Why did turning the Tar Valon harbor chains to cuendillar help? You would think a chain made of cuendillar would be flexible because it is in separate pieces.

    Robert Jordan

    No, as I showed you in one of the scenes where they are learning to make cuendillar. They had two items touch each other when they were turning it into cuendillar and they fused to one another, so what you have is a series of chains where each link is fused to the next, so in essence what you have is one solid piece of cuendillar.

    Tags

  • 9

    Interview: Sep 2nd, 2005

    Robert Jordan

    Well, for Liandra (my fellow Amyrlin of the official Nynaeve fanclub): Tar Valon doesn't mean 'white tower'. It does mean something else, but that's RAFO.

    Tags

  • 10

    Interview: Oct 6th, 2005

    Robert Jordan

    Oh, yes, just to settle an argument that seems to be ongoing, Egwene saw a bat, guys. After Falme, she could recognize the long sweeping wingstrokes of a raken or to'raken, and she knows a bat when she sees one. Bats really do flutter, to confirm those who have pointed this out.

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  • 11

    Interview: Oct 17th, 2005

    Mad Cao

    As far as I know, only one person other than myself asked a plot related question. That question was if it would be possible to complete the cuendillar chain on the south(?) harbor.

    Robert Jordan

    RJ answered that the joining chain link (which would not yet be cuendillar) would have to be closed around the existing chain and then turned to heartstone, but the new link could not be touching the old at the start of the change.

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  • 12

    Interview: Oct 24th, 2005

    Question

    The first girl to ask a question asked, "Why is it that the most powerful women in the world perceive their power as stemming from a 'pale, white shaft'?"

    Robert Jordan

    RJ chuckled, and then said if you "missed the symbolism there, you just don't get it." He also said that if their power came from a "hole in the ground" it just wouldn't be as much fun, and they would only be feared if you thought you might "fall in", which would not be much fun, he assured us.

    Footnote

    This question was also asked by Fomu and Jarrod, and the latter report seems to make it clear that RJ was referencing the map of Tar Valon.

    Tags

  • 13

    Interview: Oct 24th, 2005

    Jarrod

    Eventually Mr. Jordan turned to his quest of finding females that wanted some questions answered and got a good one when a lady asked why the most powerful women in the world get their power in a pale, white shaft (the White Tower).

    Robert Jordan

    The answer was, "If you can't grasp the symbolism, my dear... Because I thought about having them have their center of power be a hole in the ground and I thought it wasn't really going to be as significant. It wasn't going to stand out and have people say 'Wow, Gee...look at that on the horizon'. You sorta have to walk to the edge and say, 'Welp, don't wanna fall off into that, now do you?'"

    Footnote

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  • 14

    Interview: Oct 24th, 2005

    Question

    A few feet behind me was a woman with a very different question, "Can you tell me why the place of most of the female power in the realm resides in a 'big, white tower'? (Paraphrased because I can't remember her exact quote, but obviously making a phallic reference.)

    Robert Jordan

    Laughter reigned for a time, but RJ, as always, was waiting for her. He proceeded to tell how he needed a literary device to show the strength of the women who would inhabit the tower; something that when seen from far off on the horizon would inspire awe. He thought about making the home of the Aes Sedai a large, black hole in the ground, but since that is something you would almost fall into as you walked up to it, it just did not have the same power as a tower.

    Then he rhetorically asked her if she had actually read any of his books and seen the women in them. She explained that yes, she had and she used the term she did, since she was quoting from the prologue of Knife of Dreams. He said he knew the quote, he did write it after all, but again, had she actually read the books to see what power the women in the books did wield? Much laughter ensued at the good-natured banter between him and the audience.

    Footnote

    This question was also asked by Kevin Dean and Jarrod, and the latter report seems to make it clear that RJ was referencing the map of Tar Valon.

    Tags

  • 15

    Interview: 2005

    Robert Jordan

    To: Les Dabel, Ernst Dabel
    Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 9:53 AM
    Subject: SCRIPT #2

    Dear Les and Ernst,

    Here is Script #2 with my comments added in. There aren't many, this time, and they all have to do with dialogue. Some of that is too stilted, now, especially for Siuan. Moiraine speaks without any contractions, but Siuan is much more casual in her speech. And there is at least one place where someone says something that isn't needed, and in Bannerman Steler's case, is actually wrong.

    Sorry to have been so long with this.

    Mike Miller has shown me his artwork for the spread showing all of Tar Valon, and I must say that it is beautiful. I'm talking to him about getting my hands on it after you guys are done with it.

    Take care, guys. All my best, Jim

    Tags

  • 16

    Interview: Jul, 2009

    iyer5

    Just one question, though I'm expecting a RAFO: Will the White Tower, the physical structure itself, be destroyed at the end of The Gathering Storm or any other point in A Memory of Light?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Sorry, but...well, RAFO. I'm under contract not to give things like this away.

    We do know that Egwene has foreseen a strike by the Seanchan on the White Tower. We don't know how this will happen, though, or even if she's interpreting things correctly.

    Tags

  • 17

    Interview: Sep 9th, 2010

    Question

    Question: about Talmanes' character and sense of humor and how Brandon has written him.

    Brandon Sanderson

    But that's how I was reading him, and perhaps other people read him differently. And my particular biases on the character were manifest. Does that make sense? That's how I've always seen him.

    But, one thing that I have to warn Wheel of Time readers... In me you get some interesting things writing the Wheel of Time book. What you get, which I hope is an advantage is someone who has read the books through multiple times, who's read The Eye of the World nine times, who is a very deep, big fan of the series. But what you're also getting hand-in-hand with that is someone who starting reading the Wheel of Time when he was fourteen...and on occasion has used his line edit privileges not for good.

    Like, there are certain things that are embedded in my imagination that I have not realized until working on these books that I was wrong all along, one of which you may notice in The Gathering Storm was the length of the bridges into Tar Valon. Which, I had a conception of them, and I didn't look it up because I'm like, 'oh, I know what that looks like,' and so I started describing it and nobody called me on it, and then it comes out and fans are like, 'these are like a mile long, you can't really see the other side, you know, in the way you described it.' And I looked at it and then I read the Big White Book, I'm like, "Holy crap, these bridges are a mile long!" That's enormous! That's not how I imagined it at all. But that's how it is if you look at the maps.

    These are some of these things where if I even had an inkling that it would be wrong, I would have questioned it. And in other cases, you'll get things like Talmanes, where I have always been reading him a certain way. And in my head, I'm like, this guy is way...you know, Mat's just not noticing the smirk that this man has in his eyes. That's how I've always read him, and so when I write him that comes out. Is that how Robert Jordan intended it? Well, I'll leave you to decide whether he had the line, 'he actually has a smirk inside,' or if it's just all along me reading him this way that makes me write him that way.

    But does that give you some examples of understanding? This is one of the things, the issues we kind of slightly have to deal with me writing the Wheel of Time books is, you know, you can get some advantages. Mat, and Rand, and Perrin, and Egwene...these are my high school friends. I feel like I know these better than I know most of the friends I know in my life right now because I've known these people longer. Really, I mean, you know. You get that, and so hopefully their voices are very close to what Robert Jordan was writing them as, but you also get the preconceptions.

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  • 18

    Interview: Dec 5th, 2000

    Br00se

    The next question dealt with the sizes of the countries and cities.

    Robert Jordan

    The larger cities had between 300K and 600K. Tar Valon has 700K people. Andor has a population of 10 million.

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