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Posted: 7/15/2015 1:24:11 PM EDT
Love him or hate him, Robert Jordan wrote all the Wheel of Time he could, before he died. With at least 44 million books sold, you could say he left his mark on the landscape of epic fantasy.
He died in Sep 2007. No, he didn't finish the series. Brandon Sanderson wrote the last 3 novels from extensive notes left behind. So, why the hate? Someone says, "I'm reading the Wheel of Time. Starting Book 1, today." Immediately (ok, within hours) someone else says, "It sucked. blah blah blah plot threads blah blah sucky characters blah blah lost his way blah blah tugging braids blah blah blah." Why folks can't just say, "Not my cup of tea. Here's something I liked better.", and move on, I don't know. (War and Peace? Finnegan's Wake? Rules for Radicals or Audacity of Hope, probably.) liked 'em. At Thanksgiving, a new book would be out, and my siblings and I would argue about what Mat was up to, where the Forsaken would be hiding, and all kinds of things. Fun times. So, yes, this is my rant. Give it over, please. Or write your own dang series. He set a watermark of at least 44 million books sold. Do better! 
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Posted: 7/15/2015 1:41:35 PM EDT
[#1]
I enjoyed the Wheel to Time. It's a long, but fun ride.
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Posted: 7/15/2015 3:32:05 PM EDT
[#2]
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Posted: 7/15/2015 4:30:51 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryThank you. It makes my point quite nicely, I think. Starts off with "I'm reading WoT". Hatepile ensues. In the end, no minds are changed. Woohoo. 
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Posted: 7/15/2015 10:57:48 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Thank you. It makes my point quite nicely, I think. Starts off with "I'm reading WoT". Hatepile ensues. In the end, no minds are changed. Woohoo.
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Thank you. It makes my point quite nicely, I think. Starts off with "I'm reading WoT". Hatepile ensues. In the end, no minds are changed. Woohoo.
Yep, I figured you hadn't seen it or you would have used it as a convenient example from right here on the site. |
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Posted: 7/16/2015 12:48:28 PM EDT
[#5]
I'm on book 4 right now. I've enjoyed the series so far, but i have a feeling its going to drag on at some point. Having trouble keeping some of the minor characters strait.
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Posted: 7/17/2015 11:28:13 AM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'm on book 4 right now. I've enjoyed the series so far, but i have a feeling its going to drag on at some point. Having trouble keeping some of the minor characters strait. You're about at that point. For what it's worth I did enjoy the series initially, especially the first three books. After book 5 I lost interest and moved on, as OP suggested we "haters" should do.  I'll still agree it was a monumental success and I even recommend it to people on occasion. I figure they can make up their own minds after the first 4 books if they want to continue, but the first 3 make it worth diving into regardless. |
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Posted: 7/17/2015 12:17:54 PM EDT
[#7]
I have not read it. It is probably the series of books I get more people telling me I should read. The only reason I have not is due to the fact that every one that suggest it is not a hard core scifi reader and as soon as they hear I do read scifi they immediately jump to saying I should read it. One day I might read them but I really do not have much inclination to do so as long as non scifi readers keep suggesting I read it while proclaiming it to be great scifi.
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Posted: 7/17/2015 1:52:57 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I have not read it. It is probably the series of books I get more people telling me I should read. The only reason I have not is due to the fact that every one that suggest it is not a hard core scifi reader and as soon as they hear I do read scifi they immediately jump to saying I should read it. One day I might read them but I really do not have much inclination to do so as long as non scifi readers keep suggesting I read it while proclaiming it to be great scifi. No true Scotsman... er, Sci-Fi reader, eh?
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Posted: 7/17/2015 2:01:00 PM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
Love him or hate him, Robert Jordan wrote all the Wheel of Time he could, before he died. With at least 44 million books sold, you could say he left his mark on the landscape of epic fantasy. He died in Sep 2007. No, he didn't finish the series. Brandon Sanderson wrote the last 3 novels from extensive notes left behind. So, why the hate? Someone says, "I'm reading the Wheel of Time. Starting Book 1, today." Immediately (ok, within hours) someone else says, "It sucked. blah blah blah plot threads blah blah sucky characters blah blah lost his way blah blah tugging braids blah blah blah." No, what HAPPENED, was, the guy said he'd just finished reading Book 1, found it OK, and wasn't anxious to read Book 2. Here, I'll quote him: Just finished the first Wheel of Time book, The Eye of the World. I've been putting these off for several years and finally got started. I found it ok but I'm not real anxious to read the second book. Then I said, if you didn't like the first one you probably shouldn't continue. Again, I'll quote myself: If you didn't like the first one much, don't go any further. By the 4th or 5th book the plot becomes so cumbersome and convoluted and the cast of characters is so huge that it's almost impossible to follow what's going on. You'll have characters meeting to discuss a plot they're hatching that doesn't come out for another 1000 pages, by which time you've forgotten about it. Heck, I didn't even say they sucked, or that no one should read them. I simply suggested to a guy who was on the fence about continuing after book 1 that if he wasn't passionate about the books he might not want to keep going. For reference, I started the series right out of college when a good friend recommended them to me. I loved the first few, but was finding it harder and harder to keep track of what was going on as each new book added yet more characters and settings and plots and intrigues, some of which would drag on and continue into 1 or more future books. I made it through the 9th book in the series, Winter's Heart, before I gave up. I just didn't have enough time to get through the books and follow all that was going on in them. I loved the characters, basic plot, and ideas in it, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere. I read the summaries on wikipedia for the final 5 books and enjoyed them quite a bit more than I had the actual last few books. So, yes, this is my rant. Give it over, please. Or write your own dang series. He set a watermark of at least 44 million books sold. Do better! By this logic only Stephen Spielberg should be able to do movie reviews and only Billy Joel should be able to write for Rolling Stone. For those who have no idea where this started, the original comments were here. |
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Posted: 7/17/2015 2:03:59 PM EDT
[#10]
WoT has a few weaknesses. But it has a LOT of strengths.
Haters gonna hate. |
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Posted: 7/17/2015 5:22:25 PM EDT
[#11]
Thanks, Mr Speilberg, for commenting.
By the way, I thought editing out the guns and replacing them with walkie talkies in ET - dumb move. The books have been out for a long time. New readers can probably pick up the whole series, used, for $30-40. Mr. Jordan's estate will not be enriched, and they CAN MAKE UP THEIR OWN MIND! I'm not a fan of Terry Goodkind. I read the first one, picked up the second, and didn't enjoy it. But somewhere out there is a Fanboi or girl who thinks the literary world rises and sets when TG wakes. But I don't go writing a mini-review, recommending against it, every time his name comes up. Ditto Peter Hamilton, Ditto Ian Banks. Ditto David Gemmel. Ditto Stephen Erickson. (But I will poo-poo Steven R Donaldson. Rapist Anti-Heros are not my thing!) 
But really, must we constantly get the "oh, my garsh, Wheel of Time is boring/disjointed/confusing/boils lemmings/drowns kittens" responses every single time? I know, just like you feel it's your duty to warn every possible reader against the Darkness Within a Wheel of Time book, it's my windmill to say, "Let It Go." 
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Posted: 7/21/2015 4:11:20 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Thanks, Mr Speilberg, for commenting.
By the way, I thought editing out the guns and replacing them with walkie talkies in ET - dumb move. The books have been out for a long time. New readers can probably pick up the whole series, used, for $30-40. Mr. Jordan's estate will not be enriched, and they CAN MAKE UP THEIR OWN MIND! I'm not a fan of Terry Goodkind. I read the first one, picked up the second, and didn't enjoy it. But somewhere out there is a Fanboi or girl who thinks the literary world rises and sets when TG wakes. But I don't go writing a mini-review, recommending against it, every time his name comes up. Ditto Peter Hamilton, Ditto Ian Banks. Ditto David Gemmel. Ditto Stephen Erickson. (But I will poo-poo Steven R Donaldson. Rapist Anti-Heros are not my thing!)
But really, must we constantly get the "oh, my garsh, Wheel of Time is boring/disjointed/confusing/boils lemmings/drowns kittens" responses every single time? I know, just like you feel it's your duty to warn every possible reader against the Darkness Within a Wheel of Time book, it's my windmill to say, "Let It Go."  https://youtu.be/NZdPmTyF6Mk
Wait. Let me get this straight. You don't like Gemmell? How the hell can that be? Gemmell's awesome. You're not allowed to dislike things I like. |
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Posted: 7/21/2015 4:19:55 PM EDT
[#13]
I read The Eye of the World in 1990 and have read every book in the series more than once.
There are a few great books in there, but that's offset by a solid half dozen plus that just drag the hell on. If he'd edited him down to six or so that would have been just right. |
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Posted: 7/21/2015 4:21:25 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Wait. Let me get this straight. You don't like Gemmell? How the hell can that be? Gemmell's awesome. You're not allowed to dislike things I like. Unpossible. You haven't posted 2.65k words on exactly why you like his writing more than I. Your rant has gets 1.5/10. Good day, sir!
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Posted: 7/21/2015 4:28:57 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
1) I read The Eye of the World in 1990 and have read every book in the series more than once. 2) There are a few great books in there, but that's offset by a solid half dozen plus that just drag the hell on. If he'd edited him down to six or so that would have been just right. #1. You've paid your dues. Suffered through the sniffing and tugging of braids, and meandering plot lines. Walk in the Light. 
#2. The editing lacked. But the whole story was amazing. Sanderson made the point that Jordan was a military man, bringing lots to the table in that arena, that Sanderson simply couldn't. The Final Battle, by Jordan, would probably have come in on book 18, or 20. And Been Amazing. Oh well. For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: "It might have been." |
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Posted: 7/21/2015 4:33:34 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
#1. You've paid your dues. Suffered through the sniffing and tugging of braids, and meandering plot lines. Walk in the Light.
#2. The editing lacked. But the whole story was amazing. Sanderson made the point that Jordan was a military man, bringing lots to the table in that arena, that Sanderson simply couldn't. The Final Battle, by Jordan, would probably have come in on book 18, or 20. And Been Amazing. Oh well. For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: "It might have been." Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
1) I read The Eye of the World in 1990 and have read every book in the series more than once. 2) There are a few great books in there, but that's offset by a solid half dozen plus that just drag the hell on. If he'd edited him down to six or so that would have been just right. #1. You've paid your dues. Suffered through the sniffing and tugging of braids, and meandering plot lines. Walk in the Light.
#2. The editing lacked. But the whole story was amazing. Sanderson made the point that Jordan was a military man, bringing lots to the table in that arena, that Sanderson simply couldn't. The Final Battle, by Jordan, would probably have come in on book 18, or 20. And Been Amazing. Oh well. For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: "It might have been." I guess the real point is that if he had edited himself down he could have finished them all himself. |
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Posted: 7/22/2015 11:59:40 PM EDT
[#17]
I like the "arms crossed under her breasts in frustration" better than the hair tugging.
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Posted: 7/24/2015 3:49:58 PM EDT
[#18]
I did start the second book by the way
. Kind of drags so far .
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Posted: 7/25/2015 5:49:01 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I did start the second book by the way . Kind of drags so far .It gets better. So far I think the second one is my favorite. |
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Posted: 7/25/2015 6:18:23 PM EDT
[#20]
"Never kiss a girl whose brothers have knife scars."
—Mat Cauthon Mat is a cool character. Needs more pics 
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Posted: 7/25/2015 6:38:18 PM EDT
[#21]
I've listened to the books on Audible many times now. For me its much easier to follow the char's and plot lines with a good reader.
Love the books. |
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Posted: 7/31/2015 12:26:38 PM EDT
[#22]
So far I like WoT better than Sword of Truth.
I'm finishing up book 4 and the only thing I don't like is that the characters seem to act out of character from what's been established so far. Perrin is my favorite character. Perrin is the real hero. |
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Posted: 8/4/2015 11:22:02 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
So far I like WoT better than Sword of Truth. I'm finishing up book 4 and the only thing I don't like is that the characters seem to act out of character from what's been established so far. Perrin is my favorite character. Perrin is the real hero. If you like Perrin, I've got some bad news for you about book 5. If I'm remembering correctly, he doesn't show up again until book 6. I've always found this to be helpful when I've tried to make my way through WoT Chapter summaries and a chart showing which characters are in which chapters of each book. |
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Posted: 8/5/2015 1:56:09 PM EDT
[#24]
Just started book 3, The Dragon Reborn. I enjoyed the second book a lot more than the first.
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Posted: 8/5/2015 2:00:52 PM EDT
[#25]
I enjoyed the series. But I also enjoyed Terry Brooks Shannara series more than LoTR as well (when I was about 10) - so what do I know and good literature! |
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Posted: 8/7/2015 2:55:56 PM EDT
[#26]
I just recently bought the entire series again on hardcover. I have the entire series up to book 10 (I think) on paperback but for some reason I bought a hardcover book 10. So, now I have the entire series on hardcover. I guess the next thing to do is to read it again.
When I play online games I usually use names from WoT. |
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Posted: 8/19/2015 1:27:17 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
If you like Perrin, I've got some bad news for you about book 5. If I'm remembering correctly, he doesn't show up again until book 6. I've always found this to be helpful when I've tried to make my way through WoT Chapter summaries and a chart showing which characters are in which chapters of each book. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
So far I like WoT better than Sword of Truth. I'm finishing up book 4 and the only thing I don't like is that the characters seem to act out of character from what's been established so far. Perrin is my favorite character. Perrin is the real hero. If you like Perrin, I've got some bad news for you about book 5. If I'm remembering correctly, he doesn't show up again until book 6. I've always found this to be helpful when I've tried to make my way through WoT Chapter summaries and a chart showing which characters are in which chapters of each book. I'm finishing up book 5. Just finished the seen at the dock. Perrin is only mentioned by the other characters as to hoping he's doing well. Book 5 seemed very strange. All the female characters just changed. It's like Nynaenve is having a permanent period and she's out to prove something. Suddenly all the women hate each other. I definitely skim through the female chapters pretty fast. |
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Posted: 8/20/2015 4:43:30 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I'm finishing up book 5. Just finished the seen at the dock. Perrin is only mentioned by the other characters as to hoping he's doing well. Book 5 seemed very strange. All the female characters just changed. It's like Nynaenve is having a permanent period and she's out to prove something. Suddenly all the women hate each other. I definitely skim through the female chapters pretty fast. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
So far I like WoT better than Sword of Truth. I'm finishing up book 4 and the only thing I don't like is that the characters seem to act out of character from what's been established so far. Perrin is my favorite character. Perrin is the real hero. If you like Perrin, I've got some bad news for you about book 5. If I'm remembering correctly, he doesn't show up again until book 6. I've always found this to be helpful when I've tried to make my way through WoT Chapter summaries and a chart showing which characters are in which chapters of each book. I'm finishing up book 5. Just finished the seen at the dock. Perrin is only mentioned by the other characters as to hoping he's doing well. Book 5 seemed very strange. All the female characters just changed. It's like Nynaenve is having a permanent period and she's out to prove something. Suddenly all the women hate each other. I definitely skim through the female chapters pretty fast. Perrin is my favorite character as well. Every time I try to make it through the books, and it's been like four times now, Book 5 is where I fall off the wagon. One of these days, though. One of these days.... |
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Posted: 8/23/2015 11:35:43 AM EDT
[#29]
Just started book 4 The Shadow Rising.
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Posted: 9/10/2015 4:40:16 PM EDT
[#30]
Just started book 5. I've enjoyed each new book better than the last.
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Posted: 12/10/2015 10:24:23 AM EDT
[#31]
Finished up Book 11, "Knife of Dreams" at 2:45 AM last night.
Starting Book 12, "The Gathering Storm" tonight. Without spoiling anything, do we ever get more back story on the Eelfinn? Like a history of sorts? |
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Posted: 12/11/2015 9:20:40 PM EDT
[#32]
I got about 1/3 of the way through book 9 Winters Heart and put it down. Started to get really slow. I'll go back sometime soon.
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Posted: 12/11/2015 9:30:15 PM EDT
[#33]
All I know is that Nynaeve would be a wildcat in the sack.
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Posted: 12/11/2015 9:42:09 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
All I know is that Nynaeve would be a wildcat in the sack. Prolly have to tie her down and gag her. |
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Posted: 12/19/2015 1:10:20 PM EDT
[#35]
I'm about a quarter of the way through A Memory of Light. I started the series about fifteen years ago when I laid up with a broken shoulder and had plenty of time on my hands. There are stories floating about that Jordan was offered a truckload of money to keep the WOT train running, so he stretched things out by two or three books. If so, it proved to be his undoing.
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Posted: 2/25/2016 10:47:35 AM EDT
[#36]
I've read all the books written by Jordan in the series. I have to pick up the last 3 by Sanderson.
Im about to reread it from the beginning I love this series. A great "escape" from reality |
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