Opinions of Wheel of Time

[Wicked Woodpecker of West]

I read only prequel and I quite enjoy it.
Two main problems were unstable pace of action and generic bad guys (that were kinda interesting characters until they just turned to by psychotic, murderous satanists).

[Derfel Cadarn]

That's like going to a Trek convention and asking who's a better captain. Prepare for explosions.

Don't exaggerate. I'm sure the Trek fan base long ago recognised that Sisko is the best Captain.

:P

[SilentRoamer]

Derfel Cadarn you naughty so and so.

I almost took your bait. Sisko... pah!

[SilentRoamer]

Woes? He doesn't seem to be badly affected by anything, that happens to him.

Even when he loses his eye, he simply shrugs it off, s if nothing happened, and is the same Mat after few pages.

Or do you mean Tuon? :) Now that's indeed a misfortune to acquire such wife. I'd rather die in Rhuiedan.

I do mean the second one. I would consider the second to be far more of a pain. Don't forget those Bloody Dice!

Mats upbeat attitude is one of the reasons I like him, he is so different to Perrin and Rand and I think he grows a lot from the Mat that left the Two Rivers.

[sToNED_CAT]

Yes, it is refreshing to have at least one main character, that's not psycho and depressed.

I read only prequel and I quite enjoy it.

Two main problems were unstable pace of action and generic bad guys (that were kinda interesting characters until they just turned to by psychotic, murderous satanists).

So do you plan to continue with your "this is not the beginning" thread? :)

[Wicked Woodpecker of West]

Obviously. I've made this break because I'm running ASOIAF Tournament during fantasy convent Breivikon next Saturday, so I spent last month doing hasty re-read of series and writing down the most psychotic questions I could find. After that I'm back with The Eye of the World.

[Darth Richard II]

I also did not like Matt. I think we may be the only two people in the universe who don't.

[Kojiro]

I originally didn't care for him in the first few books, but I grew to like him more as he matured and became more Odin-esque as the series went on.

[SerArthurHeath]

I like Matt a lot more than I did purely because he actually shows some spine to Aes Sedai, he lays into Egwene, he tries to make Elayne a less judgmental human being and he spanks Nynaeve when she tries to attack him with the power. Not that spanking women in general is great, but it was 100% justified

[Black Wolf Smith]

Don't exaggerate. I'm sure the Trek fan base long ago recognised that Sisko is the best Captain.

I am a DS9 fan, and even I don't say that, out loud.

I heard the last books were finished by another author, did he do a good job? Or is the style completely different?

IMO For the most part the styles match up well. In the later books by Jordan, had what most long series have, in that it kind of felt he was spinning his wheels in place. By that I mean, neither the over all story or the characters seems to do much, or doing the same things over and over again. Sanderson got the story moving at a better pace, that worked towards the ending the series. I want to say that that last 3 books almost felt more in line w/ the first 4 or so books.

[LordStoneheart]

Maybe I haven't gotten to this mature stage yet but he is completely insufferable up til book 7. I actually thought his dealings with the Aes Sedai and Elayne were very ignorant and small minded all things considered.

[Derfel Cadarn]

I am a DS9 fan, and even I don't say that, out loud.

People don't announce the rise of the sun every morning. Some things are so self-evident they don't require saying

[Kojiro]

Maybe I haven't gotten to this mature stage yet but he is completely insufferable up til book 7. I actually thought his dealings with the Aes Sedai and Elayne were very ignorant and small minded all things considered.

Interesting, for me he was irritating up till the 4th book, that for me is where his personal story starts improving. Thing is, those dice rattling in his head? They become his personal curse, because they don't always bring good fortune and he even begins to dread his good luck, because no one ever wants to dice with a guy who keeps winning.

[Free Northman Reborn]

Books 1-3 are good.

Books 4-6 are superb.

Books 7-11 grow progressively weaker, but at least still retain the internal coherence of the worldbuilding that preceded it.

Books 11-14 are well intentioned fanfiction. Necessary to wrap things up, but impossible to see as a contination of the same characters and worldbuilding that went before. Sad, but necessitated by fate, else there would have been no conclusion to the plot whatsoever.

[LordStoneheart]

Interesting, for me he was irritating up till the 4th book, that for me is where his personal story starts improving. Thing is, those dice rattling in his head? They become his personal curse, because they don't always bring good fortune and he even begins to dread his good luck, because no one ever wants to dice with a guy who keeps winning.

It's not the dice or anything... Its that even knowing the only reason he's still living is largely because of Moiraine and the Aes Sedai, most of which who haven't given him a reason to hate them, he still is super ignorant about them. He stupidly blames them for everything bad that's happened to him since Emond's Field but seems to give them no credit on actually saving him from his own bad choices. Plus, the sudden quarterstaff master thing was so fourth grade fantasy for me, which was disappointing after Rand actually went through some training to be skilled. I'm not a sword fighting expert so I don't know how well those training sessions and battles were written, but Mat becoming a master quarter staff user because he's taveren the plot demanded it was just personally a really amateur writing move, hence why I think he's Marty Stuish....

My opinion though. I'm probably wrong considering one my favs is Nynaeve and the whole internet seems to hate her. :D

[David Selig]

I like Matt a lot more than I did purely because he actually shows some spine to Aes Sedai, he lays into Egwene, he tries to make Elayne a less judgmental human being and he spanks Nynaeve when she tries to attack him with the power. Not that spanking women in general is great, but it was 100% justified

Except that this never happened (thankfully).

[Kojiro]

It's not the dice or anything... Its that even knowing the only reason he's still living is largely because of Moiraine and the Aes Sedai, most of which who haven't given him a reason to hate them, he still is super ignorant about them. He stupidly blames them for everything bad that's happened to him since Emond's Field but seems to give them no credit on actually saving him from his own bad choices. Plus, the sudden quarterstaff master thing was so fourth grade fantasy for me, which was disappointing after Rand actually went through some training to be skilled. I'm not a sword fighting expert so I don't know how well those training sessions and battles were written, but Mat becoming a master quarter staff user because he's taveren the plot demanded it was just personally a really amateur writing move, hence why I think he's Marty Stuish....

My opinion though. I'm probably wrong considering one my favs is Nynaeve and the whole internet seems to hate her. :D

Well, it's simple really. Mat liked the simplicity of his life in Emond's Field before he got dragged off on an adventure by Moiraine, and he doesn't like the Aes Sedai continually meddling in his life. How would you like an organization of people constantly monitoring your every move? It would feel a bit stifling, I'm sure. And don't forget that Mat also pulled Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne's fat out of the fire at Tear and they never properly showed any gratitude for it.

As for the master quarterstaff thing, it helps having a lot of dead men's memories and experiences in your head to draw upon. It's also the point of ta'veren to have plot armor.

[David Selig]

Well, it's simple really. Mat liked the simplicity of his life in Emond's Field before he got dragged off on an adventure by Moiraine,

He did? Is that why he keeps saying and thinking how much better life is it in big cities and that he doesn't want to come back to his village any time soon?

[LordStoneheart]

Well, it's simple really. Mat liked the simplicity of his life in Emond's Field before he got dragged off on an adventure by Moiraine, and he doesn't like the Aes Sedai continually meddling in his life. How would you like an organization of people constantly monitoring your every move? It would feel a bit stifling, I'm sure. And don't forget that Mat also pulled Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne's fat out of the fire at Tear and they never properly showed any gratitude for it.

As for the master quarterstaff thing, it helps having a lot of dead men's memories and experiences in your head to draw upon. It's also the point of ta'veren to have plot armor.

If Moiraine dragging him off was just for the lolz that's one thing, but she knew bad things were going on. She knew Emond's Field was to be attacked, and without her he would've died. If she had never gone there the whole town would've been done for. When the organization is largely a positive influence, I'd be more grateful. I find his, and everyone else's for that matter not just him, ignorance and distrust towards the Aes Sedai to be immature. He wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for them because of his dealings in Shadar Logoth.

I can see some frustrations being justified but Mat does it to the extreme and it really annoys me. Not that the Aes Sedai are perfect, the Black Ajah and Elaida's coup have proven that, but overall their reputation seems undeserved.

[Kojiro]

He did? Is that why he keeps saying and thinking how much better life is it in big cities and that he doesn't want to come back to his village any time soon?

I guess I should have worded that better. Yes, he likes big city life, but without the complexity of Aes Sedai entanglement. He's also a highly reluctant warrior and scoffs at being considered a "lord." He just wants to be himself is what I meant and live life for its simpler pleasures, gambling and women.

If Moiraine dragging him off was just for the lolz that's one thing, but she knew bad things were going on. She knew Emond's Field was to be attacked, and without her he would've died. If she had never gone there the whole town would've been done for. When the organization is largely a positive influence, I'd be more grateful. I find his, and everyone else's for that matter not just him, ignorance and distrust towards the Aes Sedai to be immature. He wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for them because of his dealings in Shadar Logoth.

I can see some frustrations being justified but Mat does it to the extreme and it really annoys me. Not that the Aes Sedai are perfect, the Black Ajah and Elaida's coup have proven that, but overall their reputation seems undeserved.

It's not immature. And I believe the Aes Sedai's reputation is very well deserved. They're a bunch of political manipulators with spies and agents in every corner of the land. While their intentions are good, I feel a lot of their methods can be extremely questionable, even if they think it's for everyone's benefit. Don't forget that Aes Sedai are exceptionally prone to hubris and internal bickering between the Ajahs for their own right. Mat doesn't like their "Big Br—erm, Sister"-like nature as do many other people. An Aes Sedai's attention is not without its price.