Suttree Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 So, are 11-14 worth it? Could I skip 8 or 10 and still be able to follow the story? Many of the issues with book 10 aren't nearly as pronounced when one doesn't have to wait years for a new release. As for 8 there are some great scenes and writing in tPoD. No reason to skip. Books 12-14 present their own set of issues in terms of a drop in quality but if you've made it that far the increased pace and plot gratification should keep you going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 You could probably skip 10 and read a summary. 8 has a couple of big plot moments but they're handled pretty ineptly. Probably better to read the source material than a summary though. 11-14 (well, the second half of 11, anyway) do a great job of finishing off the story. It should be noted that the naysayers are pretty much in a minority on this one: the overwhelming response to Brandon finishing the series was extremely positive (some timeline faffing in Book 13 maybe excepted). A lot of the complaints are based in highly unrealistic expectations on what could have been achieved without direct access to RJ or much more detailed notes than what existed. In fact, I had the opportunity to read some of the notes RJ left behind in person and it's pretty astonishing that Sanderson was able to draw together some very disparate outlines elements as well as he did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suttree Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 11-14 (well, the second half of 11, anyway) do a great job of finishing off the story. It should be noted that the naysayers are pretty much in a minority on this one:Perhaps to be expected but that certainly wasn't the case on the WoT forums. In fact, I had the opportunity to read some of the notes RJ left behind in person and it's pretty astonishing that Sanderson was able to draw together some very disparate outlines elements as well as he did. Oh the task was monumental no doubt. Unfortunately it wasn't given the proper time due to that insanely rushed process. The split was also problematic. That said the issues go well beyond "timeline". There were heaps of mistakes, the prose was pretty unpolished(maybe up and down is a better description some solid moments and others that were just dreadful).Think my biggest issue is with all the bloat and filler at a stage of the story in which things should have been rushing to a finish. I'll have to look for it but Dom did a solid take on the split and issues it caused. The critiques as I have seen them come from a realistic look at what we actually got in BS's work. In fact fan opinion after TGS was perhaps too enthusiastic, it wasn't until ToM came out as such a mess that you started to see that shift. Pretty large scale failure with the writing and editing on that one. Prob the second weakest book in the series behind CoT. Also curious here, your opinion on the last three books seems to have grown over time. Any change on where you would rank them relative to the other books? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Eric Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I have to say I'm really glad I took the plunge and read WoT. I've finished the first 7 books and so far it's great. Some of the criticisms are valid (Overly descriptive and repetetive at times) but I can't say any of it bothers me too much. Books 4-6 were were fantastic and Fires of Heaven is my personal favourite despite the absence of Perrin. Mat keeps on becoming more and more interesting and even Rand's chapters are a great read when he's not being a randy git. The only character I dislike (strongly dislike) is Nynaeve. Ugh. And I have a question for those who have already read the series. Did Eamon Valda rape Morgase or I did I read that incorrectly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionwe1987 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 .Did Eamon Valda rape Morgase or I did I read that incorrectly?You read that correctly. And I'd say hold off on deciding on Nynaeve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faint Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I still consider reading the series a rewarding experience but I also cannot help regarding it as one of the bigger under achievements in the genre. Four books in it was setting itself up to be one of the better fantasy series ever and then, unfortunately, came the decline. It was only gradual at first but by book eight the narrative took a plunge off the side of the mountain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MirriMaz Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I finished The Fires of Heaven a few months ago and decided to take a break (I went from reading one per year to three this year). They are very enjoyable and I go through them quick enough for such big books but I also can't stop myself from getting annoyed at certain elements. The first 50-100 pages of each book are a regurgitation of what happened before/ an explanation of what the world rules are, by book five I think it's safe to assume that we don't need this. Also the books are in need of serious editing, and it's not the descriptions that annoy me but more the chapters that focus on internal monologues (men don't understand women, women don't understand men and so on and so forth). Oh and Aviendha is extremely annoying. On the other hand, the world is great, the characters are generally likable and the lore of the world is addictive. I'm not sure when I'll finish the whole series but definitely worth the read so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_ Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Yeh I agree ^ Overall, the serious could be edited down to 10 books max if they took out the numerous unnecessary chapters that provide minimal character and narrative importance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I liked the first two books Sanderson wrote in the series but didn't care for Memory of Light. I found the constant action and battle scenes tedious after the first third of the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentRoamer Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I found the Sanderson books fine. I actually even really liked Androl who was Brandons own invention. What I did not like was the treatment of the One Power. Before Sanderson I feel there was a much more "structured" use of the One Power and MoL seemed to turn it into standard my magic is more powerful than yours because. Other than that I still really enjoyed the series and glad I read it overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Eric Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I have to say I'm really glad I took the plunge and read WoT. I've finished the first 7 books and so far it's great. Some of the criticisms are valid (Overly descriptive and repetetive at times) but I can't say any of it bothers me too much. Books 4-6 were were fantastic and Fires of Heaven is my personal favourite despite the absence of Perrin. Mat keeps on becoming more and more interesting and even Rand's chapters are a great read when he's not being a randy git. The only character I dislike (strongly dislike) is Nynaeve. Ugh. Update. Finished the 12th book a couple of days back. Broadly speaking, books 1-7 range from very good to excellent. All of them are proper books and it's clear Jordan knows what he was doing with them and had a clear plan. Book 8 and 9 are tedious and mind numbingly boring for large parts but are just about salvaged by excellent endings, especially book 9. Terribly structured books though and I honestly think the whole Shaido part should have been skipped entirely. Book 10 is just an abomination. Complete waste of paper. Book 11 sees Jordan return to the level of the first 7 books...thankfully. One of the biggest problems I had was remembering all the bloody names and that was despite reading the books back to back. A complete appendix would have been handy. Managed to spoil myself of one major plot point trying to use the wiki... Book 12 was just flat out brilliant in my opinion. Not sure where the complaints come from. Rand's chapters were just outstanding throughout. The whole 2nd half of the book was a treat to read. And yeah, Nynaeve definitely gets better as the books go on or at least becomes a lot less annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Terribly structured books though and I honestly think the whole Shaido part should have been skipped entirely. By my unofficial count about 95% of WoT fans share this opinion. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strixflash Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I read the first book and I thought it was a rip off of LOTR. It was not enjoyable at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jussi Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 New information about The Wheel of Time Companion:http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/01/wheel-of-time-companion-cover-release-dateThe Wheel of Time Companion sheds light on some of the most intriguing aspects of the world, including biographies and motivations of many characters that never made it into the books, but helped bring Jordan’s world to life. Included in the volume in an A-to-Z format are:An entry for each named characterAn inclusive dictionary of the Old TongueNew maps of the Last BattleNew portraits of many charactersHistories and customs of the nations of the worldThe strength level of many channelersDescriptions of the flora and fauna unique to the worldAnd much more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I read the first book and I thought it was a rip off of LOTR. It was not enjoyable at all. I'd say that was intentional. EoTW is not indicative of the series as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strixflash Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Hahaha, yeah the very first chapter. Being followed by a mysterious black rider in your quaint, fairly idyllic, hidden-from-the-world village. But it does get better. And a lot worse also. WoT has many concepts inspired from LoTR like the dark lord , its monsters, good vs bad theme. These themes existed before as well in fiction but Tolkien made them more mainstream. I didn't liked the characters as well. The main character was just too genric to be enjoyable. Maybe he becomes interesting later on... Thankfully he wasn't as annoying as Kaladin from Stormlight Archive. The thing which I hated most is how author wasted many chapters on usless things without any plot progress but strangely wrapped up the main battle at end in few chapters. For a first novel in series it was poorly written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionwe1987 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Book 12 was just flat out brilliant in my opinion. Not sure where the complaints come from. Rand's chapters were just outstanding throughout. The whole 2nd half of the book was a treat to read. Oh almost no one has an issue with Book 12. Wait till you read book 13. All the tight narrative focus and brilliance of book 12 comes at the steep cost of book 13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giant snake Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Can someone describe the setting of the overall story? Lord of the Rings is obviously drawn from dark age myth and germanic legend. ASoIaF is like the late middle ages mixed with Conan's world. Where exactly does Wheel of Time fit in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Can someone describe the setting of the overall story? Lord of the Rings is obviously drawn from dark age myth and germanic legend. ASoIaF is like the late middle ages mixed with Conan's world. Where exactly does Wheel of Time fit in?Pre-Renaissance. The end of the series shows the world starting to develop the beginnings of technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darzin Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I would say more 17th Century without guns, though that is beginning to change at the end of the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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