The Wheel of Time

Who else out there is still reading The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan? I started to reread the whole series when I got the newest but i burned out at 7.

Thoughts on the series? Personally it always makes me mad how sexist the women are in this series! Aaaargh!

I'm still reading it and if you want to discuss there is a group Hall of Servants where we discuss the books.

I have read all but the last released book because I need to reread the entire series, as I don't remember what happened. I'm waiting (hopefully?) for news of the last book's release so I can time it, which means I won't read them for some time. I didn't burn out on it, though I hated Crossroads of Twilight, and I will finish the series when Robert Jordan finishes it.

I've tried. Honestly, I have. About 6 months ago I started yet again with the first and made it to the 4th before giving up in exhaustion. I just don't ever see me finishing this series.

I stopped around book 7 as well. I've heard the series slows down after that, though I have all the other books here waiting to be read. In fact, I've started listening to the series in audiobook format.

The good news? RJ is feeling well enough to have resumed writing the last book. Let's just continue to pray that his health continues its upward trend, or at least the lack of a downward spiral again. Not only so he can finish the series, but just as a good, general principle.

George RR Martin has also resumed Dances with Dragons, so we may see that within the next year.

I'm so glad Robert Jordan is improving, and not just for the sake of the Wheel of Time. I like reading his blog and he seems like a good guy. How is the series in audiobooks, kawika?

As for George R.R. Martin, I adore ASoIaF, but I occasionally wonder how long it will take him to finish the series at this rate. I usually don't find anything positive in that. He's slow, but I'll forgive him if Dances with Dragons is better than A Feast for Crows.

The audiobooks are....ok. They have two people reading. The man is pretty darned good. He changes voices and inflections well enough to separate characters, which is an immense challenge given the number of people you come across in WoT. The woman, I can barely stand. She's not very good at changing voices and all her male voices sound pretty much the same. In addition, she does not respect the Star Trek rule of pronunciation at all (whomever says it first has the correct way to pronounce strange words and any readers afterward are to respect that) and, instead does things like pronounce Siuan as seeooowahn. ugh! Even with the female characters, her voice doesn't evidence an appreciable range of variety, though she does try to change inflection and speech pattern.

I figure with the length of the WoT books, I can listen to them while driving and doing my almost daily walks and get just about everything I want out of them, especially in regard to the ones I've already physically read. Plus, audible.com makes them at least somewhat economical, and I do fancy the opportunity to read while listening to the reader later on. We'll see how that plays out.

As for Song of Ice and Fire, I figure that Crows was full of characters I didn't really like nor care all that much about. Cersei was interesting to watch, but that was about it for me. Dragons will involve the characters I'm most interested in, so it's almost guaranteed to be better just because Jon, Tyrion, and Arya will be featured. I don't know that it will take Martin THAT long to finish off the series, as he's said the original plan was for six books, though that's lengthened out to seven with splitting book four into two. I think the only reason it takes him so long is that he's got so many other projects going on what with Wild Cards and the TV Movie deal for Game of Thrones. Plus, he's got two more books slated for release this November.

:) I'm still reading them... The last book or two have been better at moving things along. And I must say I loved the prequel, The New Spring -- best thing he's written since Eye of the World IMO.

I got stuck after book 4. I just could not get farther into the series. Its too darn dry and drawn out for me. I don't know. I've been trying to think of a way to make it read better, but my brain fries every time I try.

I made it farther, to Book 7, but I ended up getting SO frustrated and angry that now you couldn't PAY me to read any further.

I made it through Crossroads of Twilight (book 9, I believe) and I was so disgusted by the utter lack of story progress, I vowed I was done.

11> Hey, you made it farther than I did before disgust set in. Braver woman(?) than I!

I've read all but not part of the last several times but....rereading one more time to finish the last one.....AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I had the same problem that most folks have with the series; not enough progression to the story lines through the later books. However, last year I went back and re-read the books in order and found that in doing so that I was still a fan.

The problem as I see it is that when you wait a year or two for the next installment in the series to arrive, you want each book to have something momentous happen. When it doesn't, naturally you're disappointed.

But when I re-read them in order last year, I found that I could just enjoy the complex story lines and get involved all over again. So while I agree that later books were a bit disappointing, I'm looking forward to the conclusion to the series.

re #14 perhaps that is why i never got sick of them. i read the first 10 back-to-back-to-back and had no problem, although i did feel like towards the end some things were getting a bit too "summary"-y and less progression. the reason i stopped reading was precisely your point - i had thought there were only 10 in the series, and when i got through 10 and realized i'd have to wait a year or two for the next installment, i gave up. i never even bought 11 once it came out. i'm sure i will some day, but since then i've discovered other series which i've found to be far superior to WoT anyway.

Actually, I did read them back-to-back this last time. For me, the problem was worse than the first time around when I read the first few as they came out.

#14 - I like that, it explains why I still managed to enjoy them up until the 10th book. I started reading much later than most of you I expect, and so read the first nine straight through. Then I had to wait a year for the tenth one, and I hated it. Then again, I think everyone hated that one.

I think people will enjoy the series again once it has an ending and they can work towards a conclusion, rather than reading slow books that still go nowhere.

A few years ago I started reading the first book. After I finished it, I spent the whole summer reading the rest of the series.

Now I just want to read the end of it and find the conclusion...

The wait is nearly unbearale.

i just started the series and am currently on "The Great Hunt"...i'm really liking it, its better then i expected....

I'm probably in the minority as being someone who has read all 11 (12, counting New Spring), not to mention someone who has read them multiple times and is still a fan.

I listened to 1-10 and New Spring back-to-back in audiobook format (took me almost a year! - although I didn't mind the female reader nearly as much as kawika does), and then when book 11 came out, I re-read the series in paperback to catch myself back up. I'll probably re-read again when the last book comes out.

As a note to all of you who stopped after #10... Crossroads of Twilight is unquestionably the worst in the series - even Jordan has admitted he's not happy with it. The good news is that #11 a) picks up the pace, b) finally resolves a couple of story lines, and c) is overall much better than CoT.

I'm with you firefly98, I'm one of the rare ones who has read all the ones released so far multiple times (except new spring, I'm waiting til the last one comes out then starting again from new spring) & I'm still enjoying them... The re-reading does get frustrating as the pace seems to feel a bit slower each time i read, but I'm getting better at skimming & am really looking forward to book 12 being released, I cant wait to find out how it all comes together...

Is book 12 going to be the final installment? If that's the case, I'd likely go back and re-read the first 10, then do 11 & 12 just for the sake of finishing the series... especially in light of comments that it does get better after Crossroads.

Last I heard 12 is supposed to be the last one, though I would expect it to be huge, but we'll see. 11 was obviously starting to wrap things up but I assumed there would be 2 more to finish.

I'm another who has re-read all eleven several times and I curse the illness that has delayed the final book. There is a good website which keeps a full character index which I found helpful.

I'm one of those that stopped after #10 (or was it #9?). I really liked hte series at the beginning but then it felt like it was going nowhere.

Maybe in time I'll complete the series but for now I've got other books to read.

Robert Jordan died this afternoon at 2:45 PM. His blog (where the announcement was made) seems to be down right now, possibly due to excessive traffic.

I recently finished the 8th book..... can someone recommend any other good fantasy authors???

a lot of people who enjoy the Wheel of Time also like the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin, the first installment of which is A Game of Thrones. But be prepared to have dire consequences fall upon your favorite characters.

I tried reading the series before, and made it to, I think, book four. With Mr Jordan's recent passing, I might just attempt a reread as my way of honoring his memory.

My favorite epic series. I first started reading the books in high school. After book 7, I became disinterested and didn't read the last few books. But after hearing that Robert Jordan died, I decided I'd read them again (it's been a while!).

I've read Martin's SoIaF (my next fave series) and even Goodkind's SoT series (ack, horrible!!!lol) and they can't compare to Jordan's WoT, which IMO, is still superior. But I admit I'm biased, Robert Jordan pretty much opened my world up to the fantasy genre so the series holds a special place in my heart.=)

I've read the first 6 and have purchased up through 11 so I will get to them. I enjoy the series. So disappointed to hear about Robert Jordan's death.
I learned then he also wrote other genre but I haven't read any of those.

Sorry to resurrect a dormant thread, but this seemed to be the most appropriate area for some "Wheel of Time" related news.

Apparently, Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" will be made into a bunch of games on various platforms, including an MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-playing game - think of games like World of Warcraft).

http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/945/945279p1.htm

I've purchased the first 4 books, and plan to get to them sometime soon. Question though before getting into such a huge series...is it worth reading? Is it good?

I absolutely love George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire...does that mean I'll probably like this?

Hi twilightnocturne. It's a really nice series, with some problems in the later books, and a large problem in that the author is deceased. The last book is being written by Bandon Sanderson. The series itself is fun and has a ton of complexity with endless characters, and lots of subtle references and things to think about. Is it worth reading? I think you'll have to read it to decide.

You might be interested in this group on the series: http://www.librarything.com/groups/hallofservants

Thanks dchalkin! I plan to read it once I catch up with a few other books.

I'll check out that group :)

I enjoyed the first 3 books, laboured over the next 4, 5 or 6 and then burned out at (can't now remember) the 11th, I think (I knew I was getting near the end and wanted to read them all). I got too fed up with nothing actually happening. Far too much dialogue and no plot. Shame really after some really good books in the early phase.

I've made it to the 9th book, but it took me a long time to get through it. I put it away for several months then finished it. It seemed like hardly anything was happening with the plot. I purchased the next two from a used book store but want to read some other things before I get into the series again.

If I remember right 9 was the slowest then things started picking up again.

I picked up WoT at one of my teacher's (repeated) urgings. It certainly wasn't a groundbreaking series for me, but I enjoy it. I've read the first 3 and have 5 and New Spring. I got 5 for a dollar in a garage sale, so I need to go out and pick up 4 so I'm not all out of order.

With a new book due in November, it will be time to start rereading for me about August...

I made it through The Shadow Rising, but couldn't get any farther. I probably was too young when I tried reading them—about twelve years old, I will say—but while the climaxes got bigger, the plots as a whole became weaker, the sex racier, and ... well ... there was something else. I do wonder if Jordan overcomplicated things as he went along. And this comes from someone who is mindlessly devoted to books as large as The Lord of the Rings, Middlemarch, and Les Miserables.

Well seeing as Sanderson's completion of The Gathering Storm has been recently released, I figured I might as well revitalise this thread. All I can say is that this book brings back the focus that the first few books had, and although he has stated that Towers of Midnight will have less focus due to it's need to focus on more threads, it is certainly a promising end to this series.

I'll happily admit that although I love the series books 7-9 were the weakest.

So if you couldn't manage through the series, you might want to start thinking about giving it another bash because a great many of the threads are finally being wrapped up.

I just finished The Gathering Storm last night and I have to say Sanderson did an excellent job and I agree, the pace has picked up considerably, not to mention that several 'important' things actually happen. I'll be writing a review soon...

I agree regarding The Gathering Storm. Brandon Sanderson did a great job, and for me this was a return to the enjoyment I experienced with the early books.

I think he did a great job at reining in that sprawling cast of characters. It is a great world but with everybody heading off in different directions it was getting harder to follow individual stories. As things move towards a conclusion the pace has improved. I'm looking forward to the next 2 books.

There will be 2 more? I thought this was the last... Ah well, keeps a man busy I guess. I'm not yet entirely sure if I prefer such a long story or if I'm going to focus on trilogies again. The humble trilogy seems just the right size for me. But I guess that's off-topic :)

Mmm... It was supposed to be one book. But, if I recall, it got split into more books to provide a satisfactory ending and so it became three.

Something like that anyhow.

Yes, when Brandon hit around 1200 pages and felt he was only half way through the 'last book' a decision was made to make it 3. Now if he can just stuff it all into 3 we can all be happy. After finishing the last book, I suspect he is capable.

I'm going to reread the whole thing. I first started to read the series in 1995, at the time I was just starting to read novels in English so it took me a while. After the Path of Daggers (#8), I felt the need to reread the series before the next one would be published but then stopped around #7. That was 10 years ago.

But I still want to know how it all ends :)

I used to reread the last two or three books with every second new instalment or so, but I gave up on that by the time Winter's Heart came out, and I haven't read anything after that since. Keeping up with the whole thing became too tedious, essentially going through the same "who was this again and where are they and whose sides are they pretending to be on" trial every so often. I figured I could read other things instead and just collect new volumes to be read in one go once the mythical twelfth book would be published.