#robert jordan

[dndspellgifs]

look, I know I've talked about this essay (?) before but like,

If you ever needed a good demonstration of the quote "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic", have I got an exercise for you.

Somebody made a small article explaining the basics of atomic theory but it's written in Anglish. Anglish is basically a made-up version of English where they remove any elements (words, prefixes, etc) that were originally borrowed from romance languages like french and latin, as well as greek and other foreign loanwords, keeping only those of germanic origin.

What happens is an english which is for the most part intelligible, but since a lot everyday english, and especially the scientific vocabulary, has has heavy latin and greek influence, they have to make up new words from the existing germanic-english vocabulary. For me it kind of reads super viking-ey.

Anyway when you read this article on atomic theory, in Anglish called Uncleftish Beholding, you get this text which kind of reads like a fantasy novel. Like in my mind it feels like it recontextualizes advanced scientific concepts to explain it to a viking audience from ancient times.

Even though you're familiar with the scientific ideas, because it bypasses the normal language we use for these concepts, you get a chance to examine these ideas as if you were a visitor from another civilization - and guess what, it does feel like it's about magic. It has a mythical quality to it, like it feels like a book about magic written during viking times. For me this has the same vibe as reading deep magic lore from a Robert Jordan book.

#off topic #literature #language #linguistics #science #science history #science fiction #fantasy #physics #atomic theory #anglish #chemistry #robert jordan #the wheel of time #uncleftish beholding

[torbooks]

TOR WRAPPED 2023

Books for every Spotify Wrapped listener class! 

VAMPIRE

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Mordew by Alex Pheby

HYPNOTIST

The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu

Daughter of Redwinter by Ed McDonald

Spring’s Arcana by Lilith Saintcrow

ALCHEMIST

The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

SHAPESHIFTER

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

The Warden by Daniel M. Ford

Wolfsong by TJ Klune

FANATIC

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab

TIME TRAVELER

Kinning by Nisi Shawl

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

MASTERMIND

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow

Exadelic by Jon Evans

COLLECTOR

The Wolfe at the Door by Gene Wolfe

Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

#spotify #spotify wrapped #tor books #the great hunt #the wolfe at the door #cassiel's servant #jacqueline carey #robert jordan #gene wolfe #exadelic #jon evans #red team blues #cory doctorow #the atlas six #olivie blake #kinning #nisi shawl #she who became the sun #shelley parker-chan #the invisible life of addie larue #v e schwab #mistborn #brandon sanderson #bookshops & bonedust #travis baldree #the fragile threads of power #thornhedge #t kingfisher #ursula vernon #wolfsong

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Magic Systems

[at Unicorn Fuck Club] Brandon Sanderson: hey robert what kind of magic rules do you have Sanderson: in my fantasy world, there's 18 laws of magic Sanderson: sorted into 23 categories and 65 sub-directories Robert Jordan: huh Jordan: well in my world, girls do girl magic and boys do boy magic

Sanderson: wait what? Jordan: girls do girl magic and boys do boy magic Sanderson: how does that work Jordan: saidin is stored in the balls

Jordan: why, how does your magic work Sanderson: ah well if you experience an emotion in my fantasy world Sanderson: then a sprite representing that emotion with physically appear and dance around Jordan: is that like Big Mouth then Sanderson: what Jordan: its a cartoon show Sanderson:

Sanderson: oh idk maybe Sanderson: i haven't seen it Sanderson: i only watch saturday's warrior on loop Jordan: look, i just think it makes sense Jordan: that the fundamental mystery powers of the universe would bisect neatly along binary gender lines JK Rowling: goddamnit!!! Rowling: why didn't i think of that

Rowling: ugh, inssstead i only have magic dividing people into uebermensssches and untermensssches Rowling: it could have been sssso much more!

Rowling: sssso in my world Rowling: the sssuperior wizard raccce issss sssimply born knowing magic Sanderson: right, right Rowling: then they have to go to sssschool Rowling: you know, to learn Rowling: Rowling: magic Rowling: alssso there are bad wizardsss who want to exterminate non-wizardssss Rowling: the bad wizardsss represssent queer people now Rowling: that's why we need to get them before they get us Rowling: anyway if you're an elected repressentative writing eliminationalisssst lawsss, feel free to reference my fictional booksss for jussstification Tolkien: Martin: Rowling: i don't get it, that alwaysss getsss a big hand on mumsnet Diane Duane: in my world, anyone can learn magic Rowling: SHUT UP DUANE Duane: from a book Rowling: SHUT UP Duane: you can get it at the library John Bellairs: oh yeah i think i've seen that book

#midnight pals #the midnight society #midnight society #jk rowling #brandon sanderson #robert jordan #diane duane #john bellairs #grr martin #jrr tolkien

[bookofmac]

#I've been have nostalgic thought on my series and thought I'd see how people feel about theirs #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #Dune #Wheel of Time #The Dark Tower #The Riftwar Cycle #Shannara #the Shannara chronicles #george rr martin #frank herbert #stephen king #raymond e. feist #raymond e feisty #terry brooks #Robert Jordan #I assume asoiaf will sweep but I keep my hopes up for others with a fighting chance #macs book poll

[fantasybooktournament]

#wheel of time #robert jordan #wayward children #seanan mcguire #every heart a doorway #the eye of the world #round 2 #polls #fantasy book tournament

[nobeerreviews]

There's always a balance, you know. Good and evil. Light and shadow. We would not be human if there wasn't a balance.

-- Robert Jordan

#spring #balance #crocus #light and shadow #robert jordan #nature photography #good and evil #quote #human #humanity #photography

[sixth-light]

truly the most underrated thing that makes the (RJ-authored) WoT books great is the combination of how good he is at inhabiting the narrative headspace of one character at a time, and how dedicated he is as a writer to the idea that people can have different, even contradictory points of view and cultural expectations without someone being wrong and someone being right. he truly writes like someone who understands that everybody is human and everybody is pretty much trying to do the right thing as they see it, and that all human cultures are the result of people living their lives under a specific set of circumstances. (the exceptions, his truly villainous villains, are always people who put themselves first outside of matters of survival - and they aren't limited to one culture or background.)

if there's a flaw in this approach, it's that he is so good at inhabiting one PoV at a time that people confuse 'things the characters think' for 'things the narrative is saying are true about the world', because a protagonist is thinking and/or saying them, when in fact 90% of the comedy and commentary in WoT falls in the space between what PoV characters think or understand and what is actually happening. alternatively, that space is used as evidence that X character is bad in some way instead of being a narrative technique to emphasise that everybody's worldview is limited by their experience and upbringing, and the 'truth' of the world exists somewhere at the intersection of all those worldviews. it's not a skill that's unique to him as a writer but in epic fantasy, especially of his time, I think it's rarer than it should be.

#wheel of time #robert jordan #wot book spoilers #not really I guess but just in case

[victusinveritas]

#maps #and also #robert jordan #wheel of time

[awakeagainstmywill]

If Lord of the Rings and Dune had a love child. And that child grew up to become its own independent person.

That's Wheel of Time.

#wheel of time #wot #robert jordan #brandon sanderson #lord of the rings #dune #frank herbert #lotr #jrr tolkien #tolkien #granted wot had a bit of a midlife crisis #but came back from that #a better person #got therapy #achieved the zen #then personal tragedy hit and they took a sabbatical #put themselves back together with the help of family and friends #ultimately achieving all their life goals #an absolute legend #asoiaf could never #my random rambings

[augustfiction]

Half of reading New Spring is just giggling and kicking my feet every time Moiraine has baby-gay thoughts about Siuan

#the wheel of time #wheel of time #robert jordan #moiraine x siuan #moiraine damodred #moiraine sedai #siuan sanche #siuan sedai #siuanraine #fishwives

[syl-stormblessed]

i for one am SO happy the show is committing to the fact that all the forsaken desire Rand carnally. they are all so horny for that little guy.

#none of the forsaken are normal about rand and they are committing to the bit!!!!!!!!!!!!! #vin speaks #wheel of time #wheel of time spoilers #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot on prime #wheel of time season 2 #robert jordan #lanfear #ishamael #wot book spoilers

[scrumptiousconnoisseurdreamer]

I will say this for Robert Jordan - he had some extremely weird ideas about gender, but he also created a tonne of three dimensional female characters with their own complex internal lives.

I’ve seen authors with much better starting points do a lot worse.

#wot #wheel of time #robert jordan

[outlandidol]

Of all of the cultures in WoT, Tear is among my all-time favorites. I've been wanting to take my crack at how I picture their blend of Spanish and East Asian aesthetics, and Nalesean seemed a good character to try my hand at!

#Wheel of Time #Wheel of Time fanart #WoT #WoT fanart #WoT art #Wheel of time art #Tear #WoT tear #Tairan #Nalesean #mat cauthon #Band of the Red Hand #Robert Jordan #wot on prime #wot book spoilers

[ladylingua]

started reading The Great Hunt

and it's incredibly funny to me that our first introduction to Liandrin involves a moment where she is acting warm and friendly to Amalisa,

and Moiraine is watching this happen like

thinking to herself, "what the fuck is Liandrin up to because I KNOW this bitch doesn't have friends"

#wheel of time #moiraine damodred #wot #liandrin guirale #the great hunt #robert jordan #its just #lmaooo moiraine is so funny

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Saw a review of Wheel of Time S2 that said they depart from books by pulling the characters in too many directions with not enough to do and I was like "Dude, there's nothing more Robert Jordan than pulling the characters in too many directions with not enough to do"

#wheel of time #robert jordan #wot on prime #i love this series #but dear good did they grind to crawl later on #everything in those five books really could've been done in two #which is how i think the show will handle them #at most I think they'd do two and half seasons and probably throw in book eleven as well #and then a season and a half for the last three books #which is really just one massive book split in three parts

[vexwerewolf]

If you want a really good example of how "treating gender as way more fundamental to the universe than it actually is" makes for shitty worldbuilding, look at Saidin and Saidar in Wheel of Time.

(This post will upset transphobic WoT nerds and that is intentional.)

Saidin and Saidar make no fucking sense. Why are fundamental forces of the universe that may or may not even be sentient gendered? Why is the magic pink and blue flavoured? Why, why, why tho Like, not even "what purpose does it serve in the story," WHYYYYYYYY

How did this happen? Like how did the Creator just wake up one timeless aeon and decide "yeah hmmm okay gonna just make this extremely arbitrary distinction between who gets to do what type of elemental magic better, and it is based on whether or not they have dicks or boobs." So FIRE and EARTH are MANLY elements so Saidin is better at manipulating them and AIR and WATER are WOMANLY elements so Saidar is better with them BUT THERE'S ALSO A GENDERLESS FIFTH ELEMENT CALLED "SPIRIT" THAT BOTH HANDLE EQUALLY SO IT ALREADY UNDERMINES ITS OWN PREMISE

BUT ACTUALLY the distinction isn't even based on the gender of your body, it's based upon the gender of your soul, because in the 9th book the Dark One puts a dude's soul into a woman's body as a prank BUT HE STILL DOES DUDE MAGIC so the distinction is based on your soul??? But that's even more fucked because it implies gendered souls, which is even more weird and arbitrary because like, did the Creator make an exact amount of girl souls and boy souls in the soul factory at the dawn of time and somehow there's always enough girl bodies and boy bodies to put them in?

The only logical explanation is that Robert Jordan had a catastrophic failure of worldbuilding from mistakenly thinking - due to social conditioning - that gender is actually a way bigger deal in the universe than it actually is.

#wheel of time #gender #worldbuilding #saidin #saidar #robert jordan #bad worldbuilding