K, I know you to be a discriminating reader, and slow readers definitely do better with Janny Wurts. I have found that fast readers are not as ready to appreciate her style, which purposefully slows down the reader in order to help them see things from a different perspective. Wurts turns perception on its head, so the read changes you. Her style does take a bit of getting used to (not for me, because I've been reading her stuff since the late 1980's, in her collaboration with Feist), but once you are used to it (takes about half a book for a newbie), a whole new world is opened up to you. There is an excerpt of a review below that explains this better.
Cycle of Fire is now well over twenty years old, written while Wurts was a much younger writer. It is a good series in its own right, but does not approach the scope and grandeur of WoLaS, and it is not an accurate reflection of her style now. Still worth the read, though, a full four stars. I would recommend you to the one-shot novel,
To Ride Hell's Chasm, which displays her current style in a 700 page book, in a suspenseful and action-packed story. I love this book, and give it 5 stars, but as good as it is, however, not her best...
which is the soon-to-be nine volumes of
The Wars of Light and Shadow, a work of truly epic fantasy. There are only two others vaguely like it in scope and characterization, and those are GRRM's
A Song of Ice and Fire, and Erikson's
Malazan Book of the Fallen. The styles, mores and themes of these series are, however, completely different. Wurts and Martin are far superior to Erikson in characterization and character development. All three are excellent plotters, with twists and turns abounding. All three are excellent world builders, with Erikson being the biggest and most bloody, Martin's being (very) loosely based on our own, and Wurts' having a feel of ancientness and loss akin to Tolkien's.
If you love big epic fantasy, by all means start with
Curse of the Mistwraith, but I recommend trying
To Ride Hell's Chasm first. Here's an excerpt from a review by Kat Hooper at
Fantasy Literature's Fantasy Book and Audiobook Reviews
It took me a while to get used to Ms Wurts' style. I haven't had a lot of reading time lately, so the last several things I've chosen to read have purposely been a bit... light. Like chocolate mousse. Wurts is not light. The prose is, in fact, heavy...[excerpt from TRHC deleted]
When I first started reading, I felt like my dainty dish of chocolate mousse had suddenly been replaced by a 20 oz sirloin, and I had some initial trouble digesting it. It probably didn't help that I wasn't finding the time to sit down with the book before midnight. By the time I got to it, I was about as alert as if I actually had consumed that 20 oz sirloin. But, I liked the story and characters immediately, so I started reading earlier in the day, and by the time I was about 1/3 of the way through the book, my pace had picked up significantly. By the time I was 1/2 way through, the language was no longer a barrier and the story was so gripping that I actually could stay up past midnight and read. In fact, I stayed up reading until 2 am for the last two nights without any trouble at all. I actually had to force myself to go to bed. At first I thought that as the pace of the story got faster (it flies for the second half of the book), or Ms Wurts writing had become more succinct. But, I went back and read some of the first half again to check my theory: No. It hadn't changed — it was me. I just got used to the writing style and had learned to appreciate it. Ms Wurts is an artist (she does her own cover art and maps) and she uses words like she uses her paint. They put us in the scene; they show rather than tell.
Here is a link to a bunch of Janny Wurts reviews, and to read the full text of the one above scroll down to the bottom of the page:
Janny Wurts | Fantasy Literature
Btw, if you buy from second hand stores, authors do not get paid. Try to buy a new book if and when you can. My guess is that if you get hooked on WoLaS, you'll read through the series by fall and order the newest, Initiate's Trial, due out on October 27.
