They both try their best to do things that they hate to please the other because it is in the contract and they both accept their consequences when they fall short.
Age Aleksandersen – 14 Pages lyrics
Clearly a contract of this nature would be a deeply personal thing between both parties and I was left speechless at some of the things that were so important to them, but then I guess that's the whole point. Everyone is different and unless you spell things out then how is anyone to know? The story ticks along at a nice steady pace, dramas occur which make them understand just how much the other one means to them and the agreement comes suitably unstuck before everything gets resolved and you have the picture postcard happy ending.
The characters are well written, I struggled initially with Venice as to be honest she comes across as a real pain in the backside, however I think this is possibly down to the fact that the story is told primarily from a male point of view and while Venice is probably an acquired taste, the relationship between Marco and his brother Benjamin is exceptional. The local dialect comes through beautifully in the dialogue and I really enjoyed this element of the book. Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable, easy read with some good strong values and whilst I am definitely team marriage, I think the principles of figuring out what is important to each other and working at things when they go wrong could just as easily be applied to those couples that are living together as well as to married couples.
May 29, Shalini Ayre rated it liked it. Within six months Marco Goldsmith meets Venice; they get engaged and then marry, thinking that they are perfect for each other. However, after yet another fight, which caused Marco to punch a couple of holes into the living room wall, Venice screams that she hates him. Wounded, he retreats wondering what went wrong.
- Fourteen Pages by James Fant!
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In an effort to save their marriage and with help from marriage expert Garfield Moody, they draw up a contract - fourteen pages long - that details behaviors and attitudes that may sto Within six months Marco Goldsmith meets Venice; they get engaged and then marry, thinking that they are perfect for each other. In an effort to save their marriage and with help from marriage expert Garfield Moody, they draw up a contract - fourteen pages long - that details behaviors and attitudes that may stop them from arguing and perhaps make them understand each other better.
Friends, family and even the judge renewing their vows are skeptical. But Marco and Venice are determined to make their marriage work. They are both successful professionals; working on their commitment to each other shouldn't be difficult. But when the contract written up is flawed e. Fant's novel about the break down of this couples marriage is an emotional roller-coaster. He's the manager of Marco's sole restaurant but seems to be sitting back and doing very little.
Something Venice has noticed and wants changed. Despite the seemingly incompatibility, the author makes sure it's known that there is a deep love - at least on the side of Marco. Does Venice feel the same way? Overall a well written book. The characters met are likable to a point but are well defined without too much given away from the beginning. The more you read, the more is discovered about them. Whilst the premise of the book is good as well as the authors prowess at delving into what is possibly a difficult subject matter, I couldn't relate.
The fundamentals of their contract just seemed to create a problem from the beginning. The fact that one partner wanted a child and the other didn't rang huge warning bells and I personally feel that marriage shouldn't be such hard work. Regardless, it was an interesting plot especially as to how the author got his characters through this contract and for that it's worth picking up and reading. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author to review.
The opinions expressed are my own and I am not required to give a positive critique. May 09, Leander Grogan rated it really liked it. Can a rigidly devised, mutually agreed upon legal contract prevent a troubled, misguided marriage from sliding over the cliff?
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It's a brilliant proposition. In a modern society where animals have been successfully cloned in laboratories and vital organs, reproduced in a tightly controlled environment using only regenerative stem cells, why couldn't the institution of marriage be placed in a live petri dish and, within the scope of rigorous guidelines and procedures, grown to perfection? Marco and Venice Goldsmith, battered and bruised newly weds for three laborious months, were willing to try.
With divorce constantly hanging over their heads, their effort to live by the rules was sincere and tireless Make up your mind! It seemed more polished with better character development. My suggestion is to get both books and then you be the judge. In a final note, this young writer has no lack of talent and imagination. As the years of wisdom overtake him, he will be a force with which to reckon. Jun 01, OOSA rated it really liked it. Three months in and they were engaged.
Three months later they were wed. Now three months into marriage and all they seem to do is argue. Unwilling to fail, Marco and Venice realize that their marriage needs serious help. They quickly decide not to utilize the help of their pastor, for fear that others will find out. They finally decide to attend a marriage seminar. Will it be the answer that they are both in need of for reconciliation? Or will it be more trouble than before?
Right away you see that Marco and Venice have something special, yet they struggle to maintain it. Readers will enjoy the way the story builds as well as the challenges and obstacles of growing love. There are some issues in the editing. At the beginning of the series, Westlanders are unaware of Seanchan's existence. The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time depicts "The Land of Madmen", a small continent in the southern hemisphere, far to the south of the Westlands and the Aiel Waste; it is never mentioned in the main series. The series takes place at the end of the "Third Age" time period; the Age of Legends was preceded by the "First Age", which is implied to be modern Earth.
The Third Age in the Westlands was marked by two great upheavals.
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A thousand years after the Breaking, humanity was nearly overrun by creatures from the Blight in the "Trolloc Wars". A thousand years after that, High King Artur Hawkwing unified the region, but his death resulted in the "War of the Hundred Years" instead of an orderly dynastic succession. The division of the Westlands into nations changed completely after each of the two events.
These concepts apply to a series of parallel worlds , as well. Some characters observe or visit such other worlds; some of these worlds reflect different courses of history, and some are so divergent from the main reality that they are uninhabited. Physics sometimes operates differently in these worlds. The Seanchan imported "exotic" creatures from other worlds, later breeding and training them.
Tel'aran'rhiod is the "world of dreams", which connects to all of the other worlds. It can be visited in one's sleep, but events there are real; it is also possible to enter physically. The series proper commences almost twenty years later in the Two Rivers , a near-forgotten district of the country of Andor.
An Aes Sedai, Moiraine , and her Warder Lan , arrive in the village of Emond's Field, secretly aware that servants of the Dark One are searching for a young man living in the area. Nynaeve al'Meara , the village wise-woman, later joins them. Gleeman Thom Merrilin also travels with the group.
The first novel depicts their flight from various agents of the Shadow and their attempts to reach the Aes Sedai city of Tar Valon. Thereafter the protagonists are frequently split into different groups and pursue different missions toward the cause of the Dragon Reborn, sometimes thousands of miles apart. As they struggle to unite the various kingdoms against the Dark One's forces, their task is complicated by rulers of the nations who refuse to lose their autonomy; by the zealots styling themselves 'the Children of the Light', who do not believe in the prophecies; and by the Seanchan , the descendants of a long-lost colony of Artur Hawkwing 's empire.
The Aes Sedai also become divided on how to deal with the Dragon Reborn. Deriving its name from that of Armageddon in Christian eschatology, Tarmon Gai'don is the apocalyptic battle wherein the Dragon Reborn opposes Shai'tan, while their followers fight elsewhere. In the series, many characters possess special powers. Within the fictional world, some of these abilities are widely known and understood, while others are undocumented; some are depicted as unique.
Some characters take the reappearance of ancient abilities as a sign that the Last Battle is coming.
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Channelers can access a natural power source called the "One Power", while Shai'tan can grant access to a separate power, the "True Power". Very little is written in the series about the True Power, while the One Power is described extensively. The One Power consists of five elemental "Powers": Channelers often have particular strength in at least one Power, more commonly earth and fire in men and water and air in women; strength in spirit is equally rare between the sexes.
A channeler creates a "weave" to achieve a specific effect by placing individual "flows" of the five Powers in a specific geometric configuration. The One Power has two aspects: They differ sufficiently that no woman can teach a man to channel and vice versa , and they can be used in drastically incompatible ways, though they sometimes achieve functionally identical effects. The True Power similarly differs from both. Male channelers are usually stronger than women, but women have advantages at "linking" with other channelers to harness more power; an individual's strength is quantified by the amount of the One Power he or she can channel at once.
Some men and women are born with the "spark" to channel; these individuals will spontaneously begin to channel around puberty, but without formal training 3 in 4 suffer a fatal illness caused by channeling. Those who survive are called "wilders", and often are unaware of the existence or nature of their powers. Channelers are constrained by any restriction they believe applies; wilders often possess a "block" that allows them to channel only under specific circumstances such as experiencing a particular emotion.
The majority of channelers lack the spark and will channel only if taught. Channelers can determine if a person of the same sex has the spark or is capable of learning to channel. A channeler with the spark who receives instruction is not at risk of death and is not normally considered a wilder. Channelers have a longer lifespan than non-channelers, in proportion to their strength; from early adulthood, channelers age more slowly than non-channelers, and the strongest channelers can live over years.
Shai'tan tainted saidin at the end of the Age of Legends, causing any male channeler to go insane usually very destructively and die; the Breaking was caused by the world's male channelers simultaneously going insane, while in the Third Age male channelers are neutralized in various ways as they come of age.
Channelers are treated in different ways by different cultures within the series. In the Westlands, channeling is viewed as synonymous with the Aes Sedai, an organization that survived from the Age of Legends and which views channeling as its proprietary domain; some Aes Sedai refer to channelers from other traditions as "wilders", even if they are not self-taught. Aes Sedai are respected in most Westland nations, and they rule the city-state of Tar Valon. Aes Sedai are divided into seven "ajahs" named after colors and dedicated to different purposes; Red Ajah members seek out men who can channel and "gentle" them remove their ability to channel.
Also in the Westlands are the Kin, consisting of women who studied in Tar Valon but left without becoming Aes Sedai due to lack of desire or ability to complete their training. The Aes Sedai are aware of the Kin, who are very discreet, but are unaware that the Kin actually outnumber them. Among the Sea Folk, a seafaring Westlands culture, female channelers are expected to become "Windfinders", ship's navigators; the profession is also open to non-channelers.
Every generation, the Sea Folk send a few weak channelers to Tar Valon, successfully concealing the prevalence and strength of their channelers. Aiel channelers are expected to become Wise Ones, the culture's spiritual leaders, as are all Dreamwalkers; other worthy women may become Wise Ones without these special powers.
Male Aiel channelers go into the Blight, expecting to die after killing some of Shai'tan's creatures; unbeknownst to the Aiel, Shai'tan actually captures and corrupts these men. Shara is secretly ruled by its female channelers, the Ayyad, through figurehead monarchs; the Ayyad keep their male offspring as breeding stock before killing them.
The Seanchan believe channelers are subhuman and dangerous; they enslave female channelers with the spark, while those capable of acting as their handlers are, unbeknownst to themselves and other Seanchan, those who can learn to channel. Male channelers are executed. Certain "objects of the One Power" exist.
Robert Jordan uses the capitalized word "Talent" to refer to two distinct types of abilities sometimes possessed by channelers; the text also sometimes uses "Talent" to refer to abilities unrelated to the One Power and possessed by non-channelers. One type of Talent is the aptitude for a particular weave or type of weave. Talents seen in the series include healing Nynaeve al'Meara , manipulating weather many Windfinders , creating "gateways" for instantaneous travel Androl Genhald , and fabricating the indestructible substance "cuendillar" Egwene al'Vere.
Such a Talent may manifest as finer control over weaves, the ability to use a weave that would otherwise be beyond the channeler's strength, superior results when using a weave with all other factors equal, or some combination of these benefits. Some weaves, such as creating cuendillar, function only for a channeler with a corresponding Talent.
A Talent can also be some other ability possessed only by some channelers, but distinct from creating weaves of the One Power. Talents of this type include creating ter'angreal Elayne Trakand , divining the purpose of a ter'angreal Aviendha , analyzing an expended weave, "unweaving" a weave Aviendha , predicting the weather Nynaeve al'Meara , recognizing ta'veren on sight Siuan Sanche and Logain Ablar , and "Foretelling" prophecy Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan.
The latter three Talents have no obvious connection to the One Power, but are described as occurring only in channelers. Some abilities depicted in the Wheel of Time are not related to the One Power or the ability to channel. Egwene al'Vere is both a Dreamer and Dreamwalker, and the text never establishes whether or not these are two separate things. Dreamwalking is well known to the Aiel Wise ones, who use it for society-wide communication; Aiel Dreamwalkers include channelers Amys and Melaine and the non-channeler Bair, who become Egwene's teachers as the last Aes Sedai Dreamer died about five hundred years earlier.
No man is explicitly identified as a Dreamwalker in the series, but many of the male and female Forsaken, Shai'tan's top lieutenants, appear in Tel'aran'rhiod, and the male Forsaken Ishamael projects himself into other characters' dreams. The Pattern causes events and the actions of others surrounding a ta'veren to conform to the ta'veren's destiny , usually resulting in occurrences that are possible but unlikely. Mat has exceptionally good luck at gambling and in battle, while Perrin easily earns the support of others. Rand's presence often affects a large area around himself, causing such anomalies as one entire village pairing off in marriage in one day, another village erupting into violence over every disagreement its residents ever had, and a city's newborns being free of birth defects during Rand's residency.
Rand al'Thor is also the "Dragon Reborn," a prophesied savior. Towards the end of the series, Rand is revealed to have reality warping abilities related to the Dragon Reborn's connection to the Pattern; without channeling, he causes plants to flourish and kindles a pipe. Perrin Aybara and Elyas Machera are "Wolfbrothers," individuals who can communicate telepathically with wolves, which are depicted as sapient.
Wolfbrothers also have abilities similar to Dreaming and Dreamwalking, although they are not shown as capable of entering the dreams of others. The souls of wolves inhabit Tel'aran'rhiod, which they call the "wolf dream," and a Wolfbrother who loses his identity as a man may become a wolf there. Only male Wolfbrothers are depicted in the series. Min Farshaw sees auras and images around people; she does not always understand these visions, but sometimes she instinctively understands them and is always correct in such cases.
Min is the only person in the series depicted as having this ability. However, the superstitious Seanchan are apparently familiar with it and consider the images to be omens ; when Empress Fortuona learns that Min possesses this ability, she identifies Min as a "Doomseer" and immediately makes her a top advisor. Hurin is a "sniffer," one who can detect violence as an unpleasant odor. This ability is apparently accepted by his countrymen; it is considered an asset for his career in law enforcement, and Perrin pretends to be a sniffer to conceal that the true source of his insight is communication with wolves.
The Seanchan produce ter'angreal rings that, when touched with the wearer's blood, grant him or her the abilities of a "Bloodknife": The books describe several scenarios where Shai'tan gives powers to individuals. People whose souls are removed by Shai'tan become supernaturally inconspicuous "Gray Men," ideal assassins. Padan Fain serves Shai'tan and is given the ability to track Rand al'Thor. Padan Fain later merges with the ghost of the evil Mordeth, gaining the abilities to inculcate others with paranoia and to summon and control a deadly miasma.
Shai'tan merges the bodies and souls of Isam Mandragoran and Luc Mantear into the individual known as Slayer, to whom Shai'tan grants powers involving Tel'aran'rhiod, including the ability to travel instantaneously between there and the physical world while awake and without the use of a gateway. All paperback page totals given are for the most widely available mass-market paperback editions.
The page count for the hardback editions do not include glossary or appendix page counts. Jordan expanded this into the stand-alone novel New Spring that was published in January In the first book, The Eye of the World , was repackaged as two volumes with new illustrations for younger readers: From the Two Rivers , [13] including an extra chapter Ravens before the existing prologue, and To the Blight [14] with an expanded glossary. On several occasions, chapters from various books in the series were released several months in advance of publication.
These were released in eBook format as promotional tools for the then-upcoming release. Tor Books published a companion book to the series, entitled The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time , in November , which contains much hitherto unrevealed background information about the series including the first maps of the entire world and the Seanchan home continent. Jordan co-authored the book with Teresa Patterson. Jordan ruled the book broadly canonical but stated that it was written from the perspective of an historian within The Wheel of Time universe and was prone to errors of bias and guesswork.
Jordan also wrote a short story, "The Strike at Shayol Ghul", which predates the main series by several thousand years. Deleted portions for a specific character from Memory of Light were published as a short story, under the title "River of Souls", in Unfettered: Tales by Masters of Fantasy Spring The book is an encapsulating glossary of the entire series. These proved successful and in he proposed an idea for an epic fantasy series of three books to Tom Doherty, the head of Tor Books. Jordan began writing the novel that became The Eye of the World.
The novel proved extremely difficult to write and characters and storylines changed considerably during the writing process.
The series was originally centered on an older man who discovered relatively late in life that he was the 'chosen one' who had to save the world. However, Jordan deliberately decided to move closer to the tone and style of J. Tolkien 's The Fellowship of the Ring and made the characters younger and less experienced. Tom Doherty enjoyed The Eye of the World so much that he declared it would be the biggest fantasy series since Tolkien, [ citation needed ] and took the unprecedented steps of sending free review copies to every bookstore in the United States to generate interest.
Sales then doubled with the publication of the second novel just eight months later generating more interest in the first book.