For more of my thoughts on WOT:
- Me and Chris' discussion on the Brothers of Gondor forum
- Me and Katrina's MSN conversations
- I post at the Nynaeve Rulez forum

Who are you?
You can call me Shandy. I'm eighteen years old and attend university in Scotland. I'm a bit of a mess, permanently. And that's about all you need to know! You can e-mail me here.

Why did you make the site?
Simple reasons, really. There's a lack of Nynaeve & Lan online. I wanted to see how many other people adored this couple and I wanted to talk to them. I wanted to get more opinions on them. I wanted to create a smaller, more intimate Wheel of Time community.

Why call it ki'sain?
I didn't want to call it Mashiara because it means lost love, and I don't think that's the reality of Nynaeve and Lan's relationship anymore. Why ki'sain? It's a sweet word that could almost be "kissin" and it's a symbol of their marriage and lasting bond, rather than their "lost love!" Learn more about the meaning of the word here.

Why do you like WOT?
For one, I love the humour. From the constant Rand/Mat/Perrin "I wish I knew as much about women as xxxxx" to Mat's great one-liners ("I'm being ta'veren") to the constant contradictions - "Oh, you can smile, Perrin. Faile does anything you say." There are romances - usually an essential part of my reading. I don't think any other book has taught me so much about the differences between men and women. I think I may even understand the opposite sex a little more! A little, mind (flaming woolheaded men). Just Randland wonders in general - the different cultures (Aiel, Seanchan, Borderlanders), the whole concept of the One Power, first-sisters, Maidens, Warders, the Forsaken, the betrayals, sword-fighting, huge gory battles, complicated relationships, good-versus-evil. And the fact that there's so much of it, and there's no sense of finality yet. Roll on book 11!

Who are your favourite characters?
RAFO ; ) Isn't it obvious? I have two. And after Lan & Nyn, I like just about every character... particularly Rand, Birgitte ("Kiss a flaming goat on mother's day"), Tallanvor, Uno ("Fla-arghhh!"), Valan Luca, Mat, Aviendha... I also have a soft spot for Elayne and Faile *dodges rotten fruit* Well, Faile has a jealousy problem and I can totally relate to that. I'm jealous of everything and everyone. And Elayne I've liked since I met her in the Castle Gardens - she was definitely an improvement on Egwene, for a Rand love interest. But now I seem to be getting increasingly irritated with her. Last but not least, Rahvin... mmmmm. Admittedly, this is probably only because I picture him as Pierce Brosnan.

Who are your least favourite characters?
Egwene. I'm sorry, I usually try to be more sensitive to other fans, but I just detest Egwene. Usually I like the primary female in a book from the beginning but it says something that I hated her almost from the first. I disliked how she changed her loyalties from Nynaeve to Moiraine, and from Rand to Aram, in the flicker of an eyelid. I disliked how she was made out to be this beautiful, perfect girl whom everyone falls in love with at first sight - Aram, Gawyn, Galad - and somehow manages to adjust to being a wonderful Amyrlin when her character really hasn't been built up enough for that. I mean, to be fair, she hasn't gone through half as many trials as Nynaeve and Elayne have on their travels. She just gets captured or hurt a lot and has to be saved by others. She never manages to get herself out of it. Not to mention, she and Gawyn have possibly the most boring, meaningless love story in the entire book. And I liked Gawyn before he fell for her > | But now Gawyn hates Rand and loves Egwene, whereas I love Rand and hate Egwene, so I really don't think the two of us are going to be able to reach a compromise. Also, I can't forgive Egwene for what she did to Nynaeve in Tel'aran'rhiod. Who would do that to their friends? Even if to teach them a lesson? I also don't like Min much. I know how popular she is but she just didn't click with me.

Other favourite books
To tell the absolute truth, I've only recently discovered the deep end of science-fiction/fantasy literature, but it's definitely my favourite genre and I intend to get stuck in. Lately I've read George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' (which is addictive) and Terry Goodkind's 'Wizard's First Rule' (the first book I adore, the others I find tedious and predictable, and yes, I realise that many ideas are a blatent copy of Jordan's). I also adore the Lord of the Rings trilogy, His Dark Materials, Stardust, Good Omens, Sabriel, The Princess Bride and Earthsea... I'm starting on The Tawny Man and Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. I also need to get my hands on R.A. Salvatore because I've heard nothing but good.

Other obsessions?
X-Men, Lord of the Rings, Final Fantasy (especially VIII), Matchbox Twenty, Goo Goo Dolls, Lifehouse, various animes... Escaflowne, Fushigi Yuugi, Inuyasha...

Any shoutouts?
Katrina - Thankyou so much for converting me to this wonderful series, you flaming trolloc. Thankyou Andy for converting Katrina. Oh, and thankyou also for enlightening both of us on that piece of One Power gossip, we're a bit young and naive, you see. Thankyou Chris for converting to the series, my wonderful fellow Tallanvor obsessee ; ) And here's hoping I've converted Kate (yet another Perrin fan). And here's hoping Kate has converted her sister. And that I've converted Taryn (who is more of a Mat girl. It's the hat that does it for her). And thanks Dad for reading it when I asked you to, and for getting so far in the series - I love you for it!

<---« return