Reasons why you SHOULD read WoT (no spoilers).

[HareBrain]

who I will always pronounce as Egg-ween

Well, how else are you supposed to pronounce it?

I must say I kind of admired Jordan for sticking with such a weird-sounding character name when surely all his beta-readers must have pleaded with him to change it.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Hah, the glossary says it's E-gwain.

But that's definitely spelt Egg-ween.

 

[Erin99]

Hmmm... you like Moraine, do you? *rubs chin* I think you should DEFINITELY read book two. And three. And four. And five... etc.

Seph and I say Egg-ween. Then again, he keeps laughing at my mis-pronunciations. I ruin 80% of all names. Seph's fav is my "Teranleroids", which sounds more like a disease than a place name. (And I wonder how many WoT fans can guess what Teranleroids is supposed to be. ). I'm also rather fond of saying "More-geese" rather than a certain name. My mind is fried.

Anyway, Hoopy - brilliant! You share my love of female characters!!! Yes, this series does not disappoint, although there's not really many non-Rand POVs in book one.

I must say I kind of admired Jordan for sticking with such a weird-sounding character name when surely all his beta-readers must have pleaded with him to change it.

Me too! I'm the same when I write, so I admire him for doing it. I'm terrible for having weird-looking names. But I'm too fond of my character Pétron to change it!!! (And I don't care that most will pronounce it Pet-ron, tbh.)

 

[biodroid]

Hmmm, maybe I shall give it a go in the next 2 months. Please could someone tell me is it really that bad those slow books?

 

[HoopyFrood]

The way I read means I rarely take in names and don't even try to pronounce them. Seriously, I couldn't even begin to tell you what the Wisdom's name is, beyond Ny.

I am a raging feminist, I would have been very disappointed if there hadn't been some interesting female characters.

 

[Erin99]

Heh. I couldn't help you there, Hoopy. Seph laughs because I call her Ni-a-veev. I call her it so often I've even written a mention to a Mistress Niavév in my own story, as a joke to Seph.

Bidroid, I hope some of the others come on to help you. All I know is, I have no issue with the books so far, and I know two people who have finished the series completely - one male and one female - and both absolutely adore the series.

 

[ratsy]

232 and considering all the parallels with Tolkien I am expecting a fiery beast, perhaps called a...Calrog or similar () to pop up in this dead city. But the characters are really keeping me involved. I especially like Moiraine and her awesome powers. Also want to see Egwene (who I will always pronounce as Egg-ween -- I do this with names all the time, once it's in there, it's stuck!) progressing too. Definitely liking the greater concentration of women characters than other epic fantasies.

It's funny but I think he really separates himself from the LOTR comparisons after the first book.

 

[Erin99]

Weirdly, that was very much his intention! He wanted to write something that appealed to Tolkien's fans, in a time when there wasn't so much epic fantasy on that sort of scale, that had that cosy feel. And I very much think Jordan's writing has that cosiness about it.

And then the WoT becomes its own thing after book one, probably because it's nothing like Tolkien, which is why I'm amazed he found a way to make it so in book one!



If I can say it, I think Jordan's plotting beats Tolkien's. It's just so vast and awesome! It truly is the best thing I've read. No doubt. Though one day I do want to try the Dark Tower, since that's Hoopy's fav.

 

[HoopyFrood]

I don't quite know about fav. If Lynch carries on being brilliant, he might take that crown as far as series go. King's series suffers in the last three books in the same way that most of his later books do -- too many words. His tightness that made his earlier books amazing just isn't there so much in the later ones.

Though that's just bringing an amazing series down to a great, of course

But book 3 is one of my favourite reads. Sometimes I just read the first half just for the hell of it.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

I have read through book 4 of this series, and I finished it 3 years ago. At the time, my review of it stated that I was going to take a break from the series...if I continued on in it at all.

When I saw this thread, I started following it; mostly to see if anyone could convince me to continue on in the series. These books are my brothers favorites, and he has been reading them since they came out. Talk about patience! He now has many people in our family reading it and they all love it.

I'm not sure when I will pick up the next one, but I'm thinking I may give it another try.

And along the names conversation, I generally never say them right. However I read it the first time is the way I will pronounce it for the rest of the book/series. So its Eg-ween for me too.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Glad to know the Egg-weenness isn't just me

Well I was suspecting it already but someone has been having convenient coincidences happening around him, plus strange bodily reactions afterwards and being unnecessarily cocky and exhilarated as described by Moiraine to ol' Ny; I wonder what he's able to do...

 

[Ursa major]

..."Teranleroids", which sounds more like a disease than a place name. (And I wonder how many WoT fans can guess what Teranleroids is supposed to be. ).

I haven't read the books, but I'm going to guess that its a condition, first diagnosed in France, that results from sitting on the ground for too long.

 

[Erin99]

I'm on the train headung home so forgive any txt speak or errors.

Lady - wow!!! That's lovely to hear. I hope you enjoy it more now. I think it is definitely worth it, but I am biased. Yet all your amily love it, & everyone I know loves it who've read it... The sheer number of people loving something so muxh has to tell you something.

Ursa- heh! exactly my thought!

Aaaaand Hoopy. Ooh! Very discerning. If you like puzzling it all out, you'll love the series. There is lots to figure out but you DO get answers. And book one is very much a setup book i that Jordan revisits places and peoples so you feel a certain fondness at recalling them back in book one.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Heh, well I...er, dunno how spoilery this is, so I'll go incognito obviously Rand was going to be something special seeing as we're following him, but I first suspected way back when they had there first scary horse ride. He looks at Bela, urging her on, and there's a line in between that mentions his bones and whatnot. Rand doesn't comment or notice beyond that, but it deemed an odd line to add and Bela keeps up with everyone fine after that. Maybe it's not actually an example of it, but it's when I started thinking it!

Someone needs to start an Eye of the World thread

 

[ratsy]

Well I am now done the series. I can say with certainty that I will miss the world and characters. The story grew and evolved with the characters and authors. I had a moment of sadness as I finished and thought that Robert Jordan wasnt able to see the completion of his series.

The Wheel of Time will always have a huge place in my heart and as a lifelong fantasy fan I doubt I will ever get to read such an involved well done story again.

 

[kenpat]

Hmmm, maybe I shall give it a go in the next 2 months. Please could someone tell me is it really that bad those slow books?

In a word, no. You are in the position of being able to read WoT almost as one great gigantic epic book, split into 14 large chapters.

As I have said before, I might have felt that way after waiting 2 to 3 years for a book and I think there was a time when the plotlines did start to slip away from RJs control. I notice that newer reviewers are much kinder to these books.
The plot still advances, just at a slower pace and not always featuring the three main male characters.
Moving into arty farty mode, I think it's like a symphony. You need the slower quieter bits (adagio/pianissimo) to appreciate the faster louder (presto/fortissimo) ones. Like a symphony (try Sibelius 2nd) you need to hear/read the whole thing to get it.

I don't think they were any slower to read than any of the others so go for it you won't regret it.

 

[Erin99]

Ratsy - You finally did it!!! Were you satisfied? I asked others who'd finished it whether they were satisfied as they put the book down, and they all were - with tentative smiles because it was such a momentous - happy and sad - occasion.

 

[biodroid]

Thanks kenpat. I heard Brandon Sanderson said the same, that if you didnt have to wait a year 2 between a book then those books would be better understood as to why the pace slows. I have the first 8 in my collection that my wife read but she has been reading twilight and those kinds of books lately

 

[kenpat]

Well done Ratsy, it's good to know finishing WoT left you with mixed feelings. I think a book or books that leave you with that , have done their job.
I decided to have a weekend hiatus before really getting in to ToM.
What I did do, was get the rereads of CoT & KoD and start them. I've never used the rereads immediately after finishing a book so am finding it interesting to see things I missed or things I hadn't connected. So I'm now thinking about finishing the two rereads before starting ToM maybe I'll get more from the last two books??

 

[Erin99]

Oh, my goodness!!!! I finished book seven!!! [SPOILER-ISH] What the heck?! Who was that? Why couldn't a certain person feel him channel?


And that other character is NOT... you know. NOT! Can't be!

And the... thing... has finally happened in this book!!! Which will be interesting to see where it goes from there...[END SPOILER-ISH]


I LOVE this series. Every book just gets more awesome - and with plenty shocks and surprises.