Has anyone read The Wheel of Time series

[MrsAxilla]

by Robert Jordan? www.goodreads.com/series/41526-wheel-of-time

DH's message board highly recommends it, but they're all dudes who hang out on a band's message board so their judgment is suspect. I downloaded the first one and read the first few chapters. It seems like a lot of work! Lots of characters and shit going on. Is it any good?

[Nonny]

I've read the first book and it was excellent, and I would definitely recommend it if you enjoy fantasy. However, I haven't been able to bring myself to start the rest of the series. The length is daunting to me, and I know from my H's attempt at reading it that around books 7/8 it gets really slow and boring.

[msmerymac]

I've been thinking about it, but I've heard that later books in the series aren't very good. And I know I'd want to finish the series and I might get pissed off.

[aurora]

I have read all except the last one (which comes out next month). It is true that they slow way down in the middle, but then they do pick up again. I recommended to DH that he read the first ~5, then read summaries on the internet, then start back up again around 9 or 10. The last few were much better, in my opinion, because they start to wrap up a lot of things. Also, I hate to say it but I think Brian Sanderson, who took over when Jordan died, does a better job writing Jordan's material without quite so much fluff. (I read a couple of Sanderson's books after the fact and I don't think he does as good a job with his own material.)

Of course, DH ignored my advice and is now halfway through 8. He is taking them at a much slower pace than I did, and I think maybe spreading them out makes the middle ones not seem quite so dull.

The first book really annoyed me because it had such obvious Tolkien rip-offs, but I am a little bit fanatic about Tolkien so I don't think my opinion is normal. There are a lot of great characters in WoT and I really can't wait to see how the series ends.

[coffeeandbooks]

Hi!
I have never posted on this board before, but I have checked periodically looking for recs. Well, I could not pass this question up, I LOVE the Wheel of Time series. I have been reading these books for probably almost fifteen years, I have reread the series so many times.

I do not recommend it to friends too often because I know that it is not everyone's cup of tea. The series is long and there has always been that wait til the next book comes out. I lent the first book in the series to my best friend and told her that she was making a huge commitment. Well, she never finished the first book. She is missing out!

Personally, I do not think any of the books in the middle ever get boring. Some of the plot lines I don't like as much as others, but there is always something that I am excited to follow through a book. I also think you need to read this as one story. You have to keep reading from one book to the next, without too long of a gap in between. Waiting in between reading books is why I think people have complaints about these middle books. Not all of them have big conflict/ resolution patterns at the end and they all really tie together. But don't skip them! They contain awesome moments!

And aurora, I love Brandon Sanderson and I have read lots of his other stuff besides WOT, but a better job!!! NO way! (Ok, I see you have a qualifier "without so much fluff", and I will concede that Sanderson includes less detail, but is this a better thing?). I am still loving the series of course and I can't wait to read the last book, but it is just not the same as the series I loved growing up.

So, I guess in summary, if you enjoy fantasy and are not daunted by the length, go for it! I am making my way through my reread now in preparation for the last book!

[coffeeandbooks]

I have not been able to convince my DH to try these books, he is a big fan of RA Salvatore and eagerly awaits each of his new books. But I found these books to be bo-ring. We meet in the middle with A Song of Ice and Fire series (The Game of Thrones books) which we both enjoy.

[aurora]

Dec 4, 2012 10:49:37 GMT -5 coffeeandbooks said:

...
And aurora, I love Brandon Sanderson and I have read lots of his other stuff besides WOT, but a better job!!! NO way! (Ok, I see you have a qualifier "without so much fluff", and I will concede that Sanderson includes less detail, but is this a better thing?). I am still loving the series of course and I can't wait to read the last book, but it is just not the same as the series I loved growing up.
...

I'm glad I found something controversial enough to say that it brought a lurker out of lurkerdom. Sometimes I wonder if my relative love for different series is related to the age at which I first read it. I read LOTR for the first time at age 11, and have read it at least 15 times since then, so I feel like I grew up with it. I didn't read WoT until I was an adult, and have only read some of the books twice. So, that could definitely have some impact.

What other Brandon Sanderson books would you recommend? I thought Mistborn was just so-so, but I'm willing to try others.

[ThirdandLong]

I've read it. My H owns the series (except the finale that comes out in January, which he's preordered). They are good. I like epic fantasies, so I enjoy all the characters and places and magic and conflict. I use the Dragonmount website when I confuse a character's name. The story is very rich, and the back stories are fully fleshed out. It truly is epic, though, so you get a little hint in book one or a piece of a story in book two and you might not realize it's important til it comes back into play in book seven, ya know. It's a commitment, but it's worth it IMO if it's your cup of tea.

My only complaint - Jordan will spend endless pages describing a room or the scenery, and after I started to catch on (and realize that 99.9 percent of the time it's not important) I began skimming the loooong descriptions of inn common rooms or marketplace sounds and smells... I was happier for it.

[coffeeandbooks]

Aurora, I definitely think that age you started could definitely have something to do with it. I started these books when I was about 13 I think.

For Sanderson I enjoyed Elantris a lot, which is a standalone. I also enjoyed Way of Kings which is supposed to be the beginning of his epic fantasy series which may be lots of books. My complaint about Sanderson is that once you've read a few of his books some of his characters seem to sort of blend together. I don't think he gives them enough depth or development or something.

[MrsAxilla]

Dec 4, 2012 10:56:54 GMT -5 coffeeandbooks said:

I have not been able to convince my DH to try these books, he is a big fan of RA Salvatore and eagerly awaits each of his new books. But I found these books to be bo-ring. We meet in the middle with A Song of Ice and Fire series (The Game of Thrones books) which we both enjoy.

Hmmm. DH suggested it because I finished GOTs and was sad I have to wait for the next one. I really dug that series, but I had to read it twice to catch everything. I'm a little nervous to start yet another epic, pay-attention-to-minute-details series.

[aurora]

coffee - I have heard good things about Elantris so maybe I'll try that one.


MrsA - the first book of the WoT series can actually stand alone in some senses. At least, it does have a conclusion that ties some things together. So, you could always read that one and see if it's your cup of tea or not. (It also opens some questions but I think it would be easier to stop after book 1 than after any other in the series.)

I like both WoT and GoT...probably WoT is a little bit better in my opinion but they are different in a lot of ways and I have no idea if GoT is ever going to end.

[ThirdandLong]

OP, Wheel of Time is very different from Game of Thrones. First of all, no T&A. The closest they get to that is a steam room in book 4. Everything else is alluded to with no details. Second, no one uses profanity worse than 'blood and bloody ashes.' Third, lots of people dies and there is plenty of violence, but nothing compares to The Mountain that Rides and his crew of rapers... the violence in WOT is tamer than in GOT. If GOT is rated R, then WOT is rated PG-13 so to speak and that's for violence. Fourth, in GOT, you never know when someone is going to die, and it sets you on edge the entire series. You don't feel this way in WOT.

[coffeeandbooks]

Agree with third and long. Wot and got are two very different animals. Wot is almost closer to Lord of the rings. Like magic system heavy and more of a hero tale rather then a political intrigue. Although there is that too.

[MrsAxilla]

Dec 5, 2012 15:53:13 GMT -5 ThirdandLong said:

Fourth, in GOT, you never know when someone is going to die, and it sets you on edge the entire series. You don't feel this way in WOT.

You know, I was never shocked or surprised by a death in GOT.

[Deleted]

I couldn't get through WoT at all. I only tried the first book, though. I did like the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, though. I read through book 10 and forgot about it. Actually, I might go look that up now...

[niemand88f]

I just wanted to note that the last WoT book comes out next month, so unlike Game of Thrones you'll be able to read the series from start to finish! I'm so excited for the end of this series, I've been reading it since 6th grade!

I agree with the poster that said to at least try the first book. The first 2/3 of the series is a lot stronger than the last 1/3, but it definitely isn't bad or boring at any point. IMO, Sanderson isn't as creative with descriptions and maybe not as wide a vocabulary as RJ (he tends to reuse phrases and the same adjectives, pretty noticeable in the audiobook version). But they had to pick someone and I think he was a good choice.

Aurora- I also didn't like Mistborn much, but Elantris is pretty good. That is all I have read by Sanderson.

[Deleted]

I just finished the final WoT book - I have been reading them for over half my life. What others have said is true re: pacing.
The first book is kinda stand alone, because the author didnt know if it was going to sell well enough to continue. So its a little different to the rest, which are more part of a series.
Books 2-6 are amazing.
Books 7-11 are good, a little slow.
Of the last books, done by Brandon Sanderson, 12 and 13 are great, and I think he did everything right, maybe even better than RJ would have. But I dont know how I feel about the final book. Its good, but the ending was...rushed. After 13 other books, they could have made the last one feel less like that, I think.

But still, one of my all time favorite books. It is definitely more traditional good vs evil "nice" fantasy than Game Of Thrones "lets shag our sister and kill anyone" epic. Both are good, but they are not the same sort of book at all.

[flatlan]

This is my dh's favorite series!

[Deleted]

Jan 25, 2013 22:37:34 GMT -5 @reeve said:

I just finished the final WoT book - I have been reading them for over half my life. What others have said is true re: pacing.
The first book is kinda stand alone, because the author didnt know if it was going to sell well enough to continue. So its a little different to the rest, which are more part of a series.
Books 2-6 are amazing.
Books 7-11 are good, a little slow.
Of the last books, done by Brandon Sanderson, 12 and 13 are great, and I think he did everything right, maybe even better than RJ would have. But I dont know how I feel about the final book. Its good, but the ending was...rushed. After 13 other books, they could have made the last one feel less like that, I think.

But still, one of my all time favorite books. It is definitely more traditional good vs evil "nice" fantasy than Game Of Thrones "lets shag our sister and kill anyone" epic. Both are good, but they are not the same sort of book at all.

Saw this thread, and had to contribute. I feel almost the same way about the WoT series as this, including how long I've been reading them. The series is definitely long, but worth the investment, imo. As for Brandon Sanderson, I really enjoyed Elantris as well, and Way of Kings. Warbreaker is another of his stand alones that I also enjoyed.