Opinions of Wheel of Time

[Night's_King]

Speaking as some one who's read up to book 7 IIRC - if you're not enjoying the first book, I'd stop now. The first three books are by far the best plotted and the fastest paced, after that I can barely remember which events happen in which book. Just my personal opinion of course, but while the pace does obviously pick up towards the end of each book, the series as a whole gets slower and slower.

Book 7 is the breaking point. There is a lot of political stuff going on, which makes the books slow. Book 8 is great and after the the pacing get's way better.

[Solmyr]

You're re-reading on purpose???

I'm a little impressed and a little nauseated. :bowdown: :ack:

I've re-read WoT 4-5 times, some of the latest books only 3-4 tho.

[Night's_King]

You're re-reading on purpose???

I'm a little impressed and a little nauseated. :bowdown: :ack:

Hah, I found it was time :D It's been few years since I first read most books (I started somewhere between the release of 11 and 12).

But I must admit that I take a long time finishing each book since there are so many books I read at the same time. It's more like "I read them, when the main-book I'm reading gets slow"

[Corvinus85]

Wow. If someone can do that, then I have hope the ending is up to scratch

Orr did you read the later books fewer times because they aren't as good, as opposed to because you read the others waiting?

I've read books 1-11 at least 3 times, some of them more than that. This is because I started reading the series after book 11, but a few years before book 12. I read 12 twice, and I am fairly certain I've read 13 three times. The last book I've only read once. It's true that I found it a bit disappointing, but mostly it's because it's the last book. If I feel like starting reading the series again, I will go all the way.

[protar]

Book 7 is the breaking point. There is a lot of political stuff going on, which makes the books slow. Book 8 is great and after the the pacing get's way better.

Perhaps I'll pick up straight from Book 7 at some point. But quite honestly 5/6/7 are all one book to me. There's no sense of definition between them. I sometimes feel like Jordan deliberately tried to make the series as sprawling as possible. I've heard 10 is awful as well.

[andrew_]

I've heard 10 is awful as well.

I'm 250 pages into 10 and so far so good, it's overlapping with events of the previous book which is good, similar to that of aFoC and aDwD

[Solmyr]

Wow. If someone can do that, then I have hope the ending is up to scratch

Orr did you read the later books fewer times because they aren't as good, as opposed to because you read the others waiting?

Started the series when book 9 or 10 was out (can't remember, it was more than 10y ago), then I've done full re-reads of the existing books, adding any new ones as time went by.

With risk of bringing the wrath of the Jordan loyalists down upon me, I enjoyed the last 3 books a lot more compared to books 8-11, so I've actually done 1-2 re-reads of just books 12, 13 and 14. As it happens I just finished one such re-read this morning (of the last 3 books). Counting it, I've read AMoL a total of 3 times, TGS 4 or 5, ToM 4.

[LordStoneheart]

Mat has my favorite moment in the whole series imo (I'm only up to book 10)

SPOILERS (can someone tell me how to put spoiler tags on? I have been on these forums for years now and still can't figure it out)

When Mat is recovering from his healing at Tar Valon and duels with Gawyn and Galad and knocks them down with half the tower watching, and the cool quote from the instructor at the end just tops it all off, I couldn't stop grinning. I officially had a man-crush on him after that.

[-spoiler] content [-/spoiler]

but don't put the dash.

And that scene is one of my least favorites if not my very least. :p

[Darth Richard II]

Pfft you kids. I started when book THREE was out in hardcover. :p

[Toblakai]

Pfft you kids. I started when book THREE was out in hardcover. :p

Same. Waiting over twenty years for the ending was a bitch.

[Corvinus85]

[-spoiler] content [-/spoiler]

but don't put the dash.

And that scene is one of my least favorites if not my very least. :P

:o To put it bluntly, you're strange. But really, why do you not like that scene?

[David Selig]

:o To put it bluntly, you're strange. But really, why do you not like that scene?

I don't like it either. It's completely ridiculous. A country bumpkin who never ever trains with his weapon (and is a lazy guy in general) and who could barely stay on his feet due to the illness beating 2 two top class swordsmen at once is just silly.

[LordStoneheart]

:o To put it bluntly, you're strange. But really, why do you not like that scene?

I never liked Mat, even in the beginning. He frustrates me more than any other character. That scene to me was the point where I saw Jordan as jumping the shark with the taveren concept. It was just ridiculous to me and made Mat into even more of a caricature than a character. I don't often pull out the trope names, but if ever there was a Gary Stu dressed in Plot Armor, its Mat.

[Corvinus85]

I don't like it either. It's completely ridiculous. A country bumpkin who never ever trains with his weapon (and is a lazy guy in general) and who could barely stay on his feet due to the illness beating 2 two top class swordsmen at once is just silly.

2 things though:

1) We don't know that Mat doesn't actually train with his weapon. Country boys could very well spend time fighting each other with quarterstaffs. Throughout the fight he remembers the stuff his dad taught him so his knowledge of the weapon is quite significant.

2) This is another scene where Jordan decided to demonstrate the power of a ta'veren.

[Kojiro]

Book 8 is great and after the the pacing get's way better.

Really? On what planet? 8 almost ties 10, in my mind, as the most useless of the series.

[Suttree]

2 things though:

1) We don't know that Mat doesn't actually train with his weapon. Country boys could very well spend time fighting each other with quarterstaffs. Throughout the fight he remembers the stuff his dad taught him so his knowledge of the weapon is quite significant.

2) This is another scene where Jordan decided to demonstrate the power of a ta'veren.

Actually it would be absurd to think he didn't have a good amount of training. His father was the best with that weapon in their area and won the contest every year. Additionally while Mat's luck did play a role, the match up of weapons(staff v. sword) was the main point. Hence the parable told directly after about how the best swordsman to ever live only ever lost one duel and that was to a farmer with a staff.

Really? On what planet?

A planet that values some of the better writing in the series over slightly increased pace? The Damona Campaign, dialog between Rand & LTT, and a "Cup of Sleep" are just a few examples.

[Kojiro]

A planet that values some of the better writing in the series over slightly increased pace? The Damona Campaign, dialog between Rand & LTT, and a "Cup of Sleep" are just a few examples.

By "better" you apparently mean worst. The Domana Campaign was an awful, idiotic military campaign (largely because Rand kept ignoring Davram Bashere's advice--"Use your asha'man this way." "No."--and then goes crazy with Callandor at the end), that Rand/LTT dialogue was always tedious and never enjoyable any time it appeared, and one chapter does not make an otherwise entirely lousy book "good."

[Darth Richard II]

Yeah I think 7 or 8 are least favorite and that's including 10 and the prequel.

[Toblakai]

Really? On what planet? 8 almost ties 10, in my mind, as the most useless of the series.

That's the consensus. 10 is by far the worst. 8 is by far the second worst. 7 and 9 are a mixed bag.

I personally love 7 but am just stating the overall opinions.

[Darth Richard II]

Actually on reflection I think I hated book 6 the most, but that seems to be a minority opinion.