Wheel of Time series

[Conspiracist]

Anyone read these books? If so I would like to hear opinions.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I think it is the longest trilogy in history. It goes into way to much detail about minor plot points, turns minor characters into major ones, and never kills off anyone.

 

[Conspiracist]

I think it is the longest trilogy in history. It goes into way to much detail about minor plot points, turns minor characters into major ones, and never kills off anyone.

The never killing anyone off kinda recently ended in BOOK 12! LOL

The first 5 books were amazing and only recently did the story become interesting again in book 11. It will be cool to finally see the final battle.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I think it is the longest trilogy in history. It goes into way to much detail about minor plot points, turns minor characters into major ones, and never kills off anyone.

The never killing anyone off kinda recently ended in BOOK 12! LOL

The first 5 books were amazing and only recently did the story become interesting again in book 11. It will be cool to finally see the final battle.

Well, if you want a reasoned critique, I have to agree with most of what you said. I was around and reading this series from the beginning, and was expecting the 3rd book to be the end. It realty started bogging down in the 5th book, though it was still readable until 6th. After that it got totally unreadable, and now the last 3 books are being written from Jordan's notes. To be honest, the only thing i am looking forward to right now is the end, period.

 

[Weezerfan]

I read the first 10 of the books a few summers ago, loved them , but I haven't picked up the last 2, I hear they are amazing though.

 

[Coyote]

I've read a little more than half, but not all of the books.

Pro's - awesome world development, neat characters, fascinating concepts and a lot of mysterious hints.

Cons - took a long time between books - and books were complex and thick, with a myriad of nested plots and characters to follow - so, I essentially had to re-read a lot before reading the new book. Another Con was that despite the many hints nothing seemed to get quite resolved or come together - it only seemed to get more and more complex with the potential for a lot of loose threads that would either never be followed up or would be rushed into an unsatisfactory ending.

Despite the many cons - what I read was well worth reading - I really liked his concepts.

I know the author passed away but - did it ever reach a conclusion?

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Anyone read these books? If so I would like to hear opinions.

I quit after the 8th or 9th one. They were great up until like 7 then they got repetitive and boring, Each book tells the story of 3 or 4 different groups and by 7 he had begun to repeat himself and to fixate on petty shit. The story was going no where and fast.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

I read this one

 

[Shogun]

I read them up to the tenth book. I refuse to reread them until the series is finished and, to be honest, i'm not really too keen on that now that Jordan is dead. The Wheel of Time series is THE reason I don't read a series of books unless they are already finished and published. I recently broke this rule by reading The Warded Man and The Desert Spear and now I can't wait for the third book although the second came out in 2010. It's bullshit, man. Bullshit.


But yea, Read most of em. they were good but a little TOO soap-opera like. Lots of potential but long winded. Reminded me of what a fantasy book written by Tom Wolfe would look like: self-indulgent loquaciousness.

 

[Liberty]

read the first two books. hated em, too cliche. shortly after i started a song of ice and fire and havent looked back since. plus HBO is filming a series based on the first book "a game of thrones" which is airing sometime early next year.

 

[rdean]

I think the series is amazing.

Brandon Sanderson spent the last few months of Robert Jorden's life working together creating an outline, taping and taking notes.

The last book (two more to go) was a great and welcome continuation of the story.

Egwene has unified the White Tower, rediscovered Traveling and is now the Amyrlin Seat.

Elayne is pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl.

Aviendha is a Wise One.

Min, Aviendha and Elayne have "bonded" Rand.

Matt has married the Daughter of the Moons, Empress of the Senchen Empire, descendants of Autor Hawking.

Rand cleansed the male half of the source and male channelers are no longer going insane

Half the "Forsaken" (Chosen) are dead

Elaida do Avriny is now a Senchen captive Damae

Verin was discovered to be a double agent and Black Adjah and gave Eqwene a list of over two hundred black sisters which Eqwene had beheaded. Only about 70 escaped.

Matt knows that Moiraine Damodred is alive and held captive in the Iron Tower of the Eelfinn.

Rand told Cadsuane that if he sees her face again, he will kill her.

The White Tower has been opened to any women who can learn and now has a thousand initiates or more.

 

[Conspiracist]

I've read a little more than half, but not all of the books.

Pro's - awesome world development, neat characters, fascinating concepts and a lot of mysterious hints.

Cons - took a long time between books - and books were complex and thick, with a myriad of nested plots and characters to follow - so, I essentially had to re-read a lot before reading the new book. Another Con was that despite the many hints nothing seemed to get quite resolved or come together - it only seemed to get more and more complex with the potential for a lot of loose threads that would either never be followed up or would be rushed into an unsatisfactory ending.

Despite the many cons - what I read was well worth reading - I really liked his concepts.

I know the author passed away but - did it ever reach a conclusion?

Yes, an author named Brandon Sanderson took over. There will be 2 more books he said. He wrote the 12th and I have to say it is really good. A combination of good action and Jordan's descriptive writing.

The series left a void in some of the middle books imo as retired said. Just plot after plot that seemed to be going nowhere. But it definitely picked up on #10.

 

[Harry Dresden]

I think the series is amazing.

Brandon Sanderson spent the last few months of Robert Jorden's life working together creating an outline, taping and taking notes.

The last book (two more to go) was a great and welcome continuation of the story.

Egwene has unified the White Tower, rediscovered Traveling and is now the Amyrlin Seat.

Elayne is pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl.

Aviendha is a Wise One.

Min, Aviendha and Elayne have "bonded" Rand.

Matt has married the Daughter of the Moons, Empress of the Senchen Empire, descendants of Autor Hawking.

Rand cleansed the male half of the source and male channelers are no longer going insane

Half the "Forsaken" (Chosen) are dead

Elaida do Avriny is now a Senchen captive Damae

Verin was discovered to be a double agent and Black Adjah and gave Eqwene a list of over two hundred black sisters which Eqwene had beheaded. Only about 70 escaped.

Matt knows that Moiraine Damodred is alive and held captive in the Iron Tower of the Eelfinn.

Rand told Cadsuane that if he sees her face again, he will kill her.

The White Tower has been opened to any women who can learn and now has a thousand initiates or more.

where do the republicans come in and fuck everything up?.........

 

[Dr.Traveler]

I read them up to the tenth book. I refuse to reread them until the series is finished and, to be honest, i'm not really too keen on that now that Jordan is dead. The Wheel of Time series is THE reason I don't read a series of books unless they are already finished and published. I recently broke this rule by reading The Warded Man and The Desert Spear and now I can't wait for the third book although the second came out in 2010. It's bullshit, man. Bullshit.


But yea, Read most of em. they were good but a little TOO soap-opera like. Lots of potential but long winded. Reminded me of what a fantasy book written by Tom Wolfe would look like: self-indulgent loquaciousness.

Yeah, I didn't start Harry Potter until the 7th book was listed for ordering because of the Wheel of Time myself.

If you haven't read it, or read it and stopped, you should know that Jordan's last book he published in the series moved the plot forward enough that the book could have ended with a (very massive) 12th book. I won't read Sanderson's stuff until all 3 are in.

So what to say...

If you do read it, understand you're in for one of the longest reads of your life. The first 3 start very strong and keep a good pace to the 5th book. Its right after that where the books slow down and focus on nation and alliance building. Book 9 advances the plot, but book 10 is basically an interlude. Book 11 makes major forward motion.

The series has an enormous cast of characters. It's beautifully written at parts with an amazing level of depth and planning. The series is also about 4 books too long and should have been written as a trilogy of trilogies. The fact that Jordan died before finishing it means that even if Sanderson hits all the notes perfect and delivers a spectacular finish (which is nearly impossible given the build up), it will still feel like you're cheated.

I honestly can't recommend starting the series. I'd love to say I could as I've been reading the books for the last 16 years or so. I know all the characters by heart, I can see the map to this day in my head, and I still remember all the weird vocabulary words I've picked up from reading this amazing fantasy world. It's just that Jordan dragged it out far too long to suggest it to someone that hasn't already sunk in an enormous amount of time.

 

[Shogun]

So, what happened to perrin? I notice his name missing from the post above outlining later character plots..

 

[Coyote]

I wonder about that too - he was one of my favorites.

If they killed him off - I am not reading the rest!

 

[Dr.Traveler]

He's probably MIA.

I know that Jordan advanced Perrin very little since the Battle at Dumai (sp?) Wells. I think, but I am not sure, that Perrin did recover his wife in book 11. I actually think that he's in league with the Seanchan by the end of book 11, which along with Mat's thread is setting up the reconciliation between Rand's forces and the Seanchan for the final battle.

I haven't read Sanderson's books yet, so someone else will have to weigh in on those. I do recall that Perrin seems to have quite a few hanging plot threads. Wasn't there something about a showdown with some mysterious shadow killer somehow related to his wolf abilities?