A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW

Despite having read the entire series, this book sheds light on things I didn’t know about the world of Wheel of Time.

The parts must enjoyable—to me at least—are the background information provided on the Age of Legends, the Breaking of the World, and the time of Arthur Hawkwing.

I wouldn’t recommend reading this book before or during a first read-through of the series, as it contains spoilers. But obtaining a better understanding of the setting may increase the quality of a reread.

Definitely worth checking out for a fan. ( )

This book has a lot of great information. It really fills out the universe that Jordan created. However it is known here as the Big White Book of Bad Drawings because the artwork in it is truly dreadful. ( )

Fondly (or at least accurately) known as the Big Book of Bad Art in Wheel of Time fanatic circles. The text is fine - a bit dry, mostly superceded (this was published barely halfway through the series, before quite a few mysteries were settled) but generally interesting, at least to completist nerds like me. The internet is a better resource for nerdery, though, which would make the only major virtue of the book the art.

And the art, she is bad. Sloppy, poorly-proportioned, irrelevant, generally contextless, and charmless. The maps are lovely - and there are quite a few reproduced here - but they are reprints of maps from the hardcovers. The full-page spreads of the covers are nice enough, I suppose - the advantage to the book being published only halfway through the series is that none of the really appalling Darrel K Sweet covers were out yet. But the original art is just terrible.

Which makes me sad, because if Tor put out a post-series version of this, with some of the spectacular ebook covers they've recently commissioned and just a few pieces original to the book (and, of course, with updated text) I would snap it up in a heartbeat. I am a sucker for art books, and I am still grumpy that this one, only a sucker would buy. ( )

I really wanted to like this book a lot, because I LOVE Wheel of Time, and have since I was in Junior High in the early 90s when the series was still young as well. However, it doesn't add much to what you already know if you read the books and pay attention to them as you go. And I'm with everyone else - the art work is hideous! I was also really bothered by the fact that I found a number of typographical and gramatical errors throughout the book. I was tempted to red pen it and send it back to the publisher for a refund! Didn't this book have a copy editor?? Overall, very weak. But, I do like the way it looks on the shelf next to all my WoT books... ( )

This companion "guide" book is a must have for all Wheel of Time lovers. Robert Jordan has laid out the unwritten descriptions for all of his characters, places, and creatures. The pictures a bit rough, but it kind of gives you a window into Robert Jordan's mind while he was creating this fantastic journey. ( )