EPTI started this because I was saw one person who recently joined the forum had the name Ba'alzalmon or something.
And so I was just curious on how many people are WOT fans???
Wheel of Time
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Commander{+}
United States2878 Posts
I started this because I was saw one person who recently joined the forum had the name Ba'alzalmon or something. And so I was just curious on how many people are WOT fans??? | ||
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badteeth
Netherlands1416 Posts
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Commander{+}
United States2878 Posts
I haven't yet  | ||
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badteeth
Netherlands1416 Posts
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linternet
United States112 Posts
If you like it though, I will recommend Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series - it's like Jordan on Steroids. | ||
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Born)Slippy
Norway1904 Posts
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Commander{+}
United States2878 Posts
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bASesinAtOR
Bhutan1295 Posts
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Imperium
United States614 Posts
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poland
Poland956 Posts
I usually read one book every weekend  | ||
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Commander{+}
United States2878 Posts
I think I'll cry. (Goddammit there aren't any crying smiley faces ) | ||
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Anselan
United States103 Posts
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expostfacto
United States365 Posts
no the measure of how good a book is is NOT pages/$... | ||
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SuperCod
United States337 Posts
Why dont you read some amazon.com reviews | ||
Manifesto7
Osaka27148 Posts
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Commander{+}
United States2878 Posts
And I own the Dark tower book 1, I will read it soon, because everyone tells me its really good. | ||
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A3iL3r0n
United States2196 Posts
On April 09 2003 00:57 badteeth wrote: not yet, waiting for pdf on kazaa. Jesus man. Don't steal from poor writers, steal from millionaire musicians. | ||
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Cheez_Dip{PAK}
150 Posts
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Manifesto7
Osaka27148 Posts
Mani~ | ||
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StuFFofLegenDS
United States245 Posts
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badteeth
Netherlands1416 Posts
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JaeIsGod
Netherlands199 Posts
Reason 1: Jordan has no idea how to write female characters. They are all dumbass whiners and annoy the shit out of me.Also he killed off the only cool female in the serie =[ Reason 2: Jordan is obsessed with cleavage and female cloths. half the pages in the book are filled with descriptions of cleave and such. VERY annoying. This was not such a big deal in book 1-3 since there were less romances/female characters. However in book 5 70% of the pages is filled with female only stuff =p Oh , one last thing. He keeps introducing new characters even in book 7-8 . Its impossible to keep up with everything new. Just read Lotr =] | ||
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Born)Slippy
Norway1904 Posts
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Pol
Poland1187 Posts
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FridayLove
United States1478 Posts
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Anselan
United States103 Posts
Anyway, WoT isn't hard to follow. Yes, there are a lot of characters, but it's a complex series. It's supposed to be representative of an entire world, which is something few other fantasy writers accomplish. | ||
Liquid`Spy
Netherlands1301 Posts
Lord of the Rings (Tolkien) and Dark Elf Trilogy & Icewind Dale (by R.A. Salvatore) I liked them very much and I'll read more fantasy in the future, so this is a nice thread to look for recommendations | ||
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CeltiC.MoOn
Germany160 Posts
i also like the sword of truth series from terry goodkind, though the farther the series is coming, the lesser it's really "fantasy" he writes about, in my opinion. terry goodkind wrote what i consider the best 100 pages i've ever read in a book. this was early in the series when richard got captured and tortured by a mord sith. it was such an intensive reading experience, goodkind managed to draw the reader in an abyss of complete horror and pain as if he himself had lived through such things, awesome! i guess i'll have a look at some of the other books recommended here, after all no movie can give you the feelings a good book can | ||
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Commander{+}
United States2878 Posts
And I have gone on Stephen King websites in the past and I was shocked by the anticipation towards the 4th Dark Series book. I'm surprised they aren't more famous. Unfourtenitly Stephen King is retiring, lets all take a moment of silence for him. | ||
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Commander{+}
United States2878 Posts
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FridayLove
United States1478 Posts
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Manifesto7
Osaka27148 Posts
Mani~ | ||
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Hades
Canada927 Posts
Except for the newest book. It is horrible There are WAY WAY too many characters involved now. Jordan has to write in Saddam Hussein so that he can kill half of the people in the book. | ||
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ObsoleteLogic
United States3676 Posts
LotR = great series, and very deep in symbolism. Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. Martin is another great series. The Dark Tower is great... but... book 5...? ever? I think Stephen King will be dead before he gets to book 6, at this rate. | ||
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Mora
Canada5235 Posts
I am a huge fan of WoT. It is the best series i have read. I liked the analogy of Terry Goodkind to a Hollywood Movie. Not to mention that Richard and Khalan are the 2 most annoying main characters ever recorded in literature. If you like the art of short stories, i think you will like WoT. It is (unlike so many other fanatsy novels) not completely plot based! *GASP*! He has excellent use of symbolism, imagery, and all the components a writer strives for. not to mention that i've never seen better and more intimate character depth. His world is so well constructed; really amazing. Alot of criticism is said about the latter books in the series. I find i disagree. The last books slow down a bit, but what is missing in written plot is what the reader should think about when the book is not in his hands. thats not for everybody, but i love it. Im on book 2 for the 2nd time, im re-reading through them. To the person who noted that RJ cant write female characters - i would like you to give me an example of a writer that can. I think that Robert Jordan depicts the female character quite strongly. His characters truly define what it means to be a woman (at least from my male perspective). Terry Goodkind's 1st book was great. It went downhill from there. Book 2 was really good. I despised book 3 (except when Khalan leads the gallorians(sp?) into battle. That was an awesome scene). Book 4 was a bit better than book 3, but not by much. Book 5 was a bit better than book 4. Book 6 was actyally good, i enjoyed it. Pillars of Creation was the worst novel i have ever read. Many oops. Raymond E Feist is a fabulous writer. Short books but full of everything a reader wants. (imo at least). | ||
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Commander{+}
United States2878 Posts
And I am going to take back some of my earlier posts and agree with Teroru, the later books just slow down, they don't suck. I mean u all gotta admit, the part when Mat meets the gollem (sp?, sorry I havn't read that part in a long time and forgot how to spell it) was pretty fucking cool! | ||
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LTT
Shakuras1095 Posts
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CelticFrost
Belgium36 Posts
Wheel of Time, Dune, Deathgate Cycle, Lord of the Rings, anything from H.P. Lovecraft (Call of Ctulhu anyone?), anything from Raymond Feist (Riftwar saga, Midkemia series...). Yes, I'm a professional reader  | ||
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CelticFrost
Belgium36 Posts
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rK
United States371 Posts
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CeltiC.MoOn
Germany160 Posts
On April 12 2003 13:51 CelticFrost wrote: Oh yes, how could I forget? The Thomas Covenant - First Chronicles series of Stephen Donaldson are MUST READS!!! "CELTIC"frost  | ||
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Born)Slippy
Norway1904 Posts
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ilovezil
United States4143 Posts
I want to find out if there are still Wheel of Time enthusiasts that kept up with the series, even after Robert Jordan's unfortunate death. (Thread about it here). I've stopped reading the series after...I believe the 8th or 9th book. I did purchase a copy of the 11th in the series, which happened to be the last book that Jordan wrote if I'm not going delusional with my memories. Anyone care to update or add discussion to the series? What's going to happen to the WoT series now? | ||
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Falcynn
United States3597 Posts
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
is going to finish the book, should be out in "fall 2009" I've kept up with it, I also read various discussions and threads about different debate points for the series | ||
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Igakusei
United States610 Posts
Someone else in this thread recommended Goodkind. I'd recommend the first two or three in sword of truth, but after that... the last several were HORRIBLE. Trite, predictable, over the top storyline. Characters argue by trading 6 page monologues with each other. You can't go three sentences without having "capitalism good, socialism bad" beaten over your head again and again. I could do this all day. I actually read them all hoping it would get better, but it didn't. The last book was the worst. | ||
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pooper-scooper
United States3108 Posts
That said, it might be less frustrating to read just one book that wraps things up than if Jordan had actually lived. | ||
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WiljushkA
Serbia1416 Posts
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FuDDx
United States5008 Posts
It is my OPINION the wheel of time books are the most over-hyped,silly,convuluted sets ever. | ||
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{CC}StealthBlue
United States41117 Posts
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ilovezil
United States4143 Posts
To be honest though, it's been so long since I've been exposed to the WoT series that it'll probably be a while until I pick it up again. The series goes through such a huge change too, it'll be a little weird reading back to book 1 when the characters were subtle and naiive, compared to their cold and hardened personalities by the later books in the series. | ||
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lakrismamma
Sweden543 Posts
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humblegar
Norway883 Posts
But it did lead me to the best game I have ever played in regards to community and PK: Wheel of Time MUD. | ||
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Fontong
United States6454 Posts
On February 25 2009 01:15 FuDDx wrote: Since this was bumped ill throw in my two cents. It is my OPINION the wheel of time books are the most over-hyped,silly,convuluted sets ever. Not to mention that they were EXCRUCIATINGLY boring after the first few books. I admit that like 1-3 were ok, but then once you were kind of committed to reading they started getting so damn boring. | ||
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Slayer91
Ireland23335 Posts
Robert Jordon based his female characters on his wife. Poor man. She must always cross her arms under her breasts TBH I think cleavage is something noticed by both sexes and theres nothing wrong with some description. ^^ | ||
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ShadowDrgn
United States2497 Posts
On February 25 2009 00:05 Neverborn wrote: Someone else in this thread recommended Goodkind. I'd recommend the first two or three in sword of truth, but after that... the last several were HORRIBLE. Trite, predictable, over the top storyline. Characters argue by trading 6 page monologues with each other. You can't go three sentences without having "capitalism good, socialism bad" beaten over your head again and again. I could do this all day. I actually read them all hoping it would get better, but it didn't. The last book was the worst. As for that series, I think everyone agrees. The first four books were excellent (except for the third), but every book after wasn't worth reading. | ||
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
... ^ is one of them | ||
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nAi.PrOtOsS
Canada784 Posts
I think that the last book will be awsome and I can't wait for it to come out. | ||
Pholon
Netherlands6142 Posts
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Sharkey
668 Posts
I am soo looking forward to this book, although I am not relishing waiting for 2 more books. Also I don't know if I'll have time to read it, but I guess I got to make some time... Discuss!! | ||
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Chau
Canada408 Posts
Last I heard, he had died, and there was going to only be one more book to wrap it up. There are going to be 3 more books? | ||
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nAi.PrOtOsS
Canada784 Posts
thanks for the update. | ||
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Dark.Carnival
United States5095 Posts
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ShadowDrgn
United States2497 Posts
On October 26 2009 10:53 Chau wrote: Wait, what? Last I heard, he had died, and there was going to only be one more book to wrap it up. There are going to be 3 more books? There were something like 28 viewpoints and dozens of side plots and loose ends to tie off. Turned out it was impossible to do that in one book. I've read the entire series this year, and I've got book 12 preordered. | ||
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Halfpastnoob
United States191 Posts
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Biochemist
United States1008 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + I'm really annoyed with Rand being totally useless now since he's like half insane. They finally cleanse the taint and then absolutely nothing interesting develops from it two full books later. | ||
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sith
United States2474 Posts
I read the series up until...I don't know...the 10th book? But I didn't retain interest enough to read the next one since it was a solid 2 years away. I hardly remember most of the detailed plotlines and would probably have to go through them again to finish up the series. I'll probably get it done some time after the final book comes out. | ||
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Railxp
Hong Kong1313 Posts
Since people are throwing recommendations out there, people should pick up the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. By far the best character development I've ever seen in fantasy books. | ||
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ThE_OsToJiY
Canada1167 Posts
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Sharkey
668 Posts
1) Who is Demandred 2) How will Rand get peace in Randland I can't believe how little I remember from the series. I had to look up a lot of the major characters names. Does anyone know any website that has a relatively short synopsis of last couple books. I just want to get reacquainted with the major plot lines and characters. | ||
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Dark.Carnival
United States5095 Posts
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Ichigo1234551
United States649 Posts
I was going to give the series a 4 but the ending was so good and like climax that it made the story a 9.5 | ||
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CauthonLuck
United States93 Posts
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CynanMachae
Canada1459 Posts
Really can't wait >< | ||
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LTT
Shakuras1095 Posts
On October 27 2009 07:46 xDark.Carnivalx wrote: wikipedia is probably the quickest to get a brief summary on the books and characters http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/ has a chapter by chapter summary of each book, including footnotes to help explain how things tie together like prophecies and dreams. If you just want the bare minimum reminder, there is a recap of where everything ended in Knife of Dreams at http://www.dragonmount.com/Books/Gathering_Storm/WoT_Recap_KoD.pdf | ||
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StorkHwaiting
United States3465 Posts
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Headlines
United States482 Posts
Have any of you been reading Leigh Butler's re-reads on tor? She gives such insightful commentary on each of the chapters, and the comments by the users are definitely a big bonus. | ||
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Milton Friedman
98 Posts
I enjoyed reading the first three books, but then the number of subplots started to get crazy with a lot of characters and chapters from their view filled with lots of their random thoughts. I started to scan read each page, maybe taking more interest in reading the chapters involving fighting. A big disappointment for me is how Jordan killed off many of the Forsaken rather quickly - a consequence of having 13 to start with, I imagine. It would have been nice for them to have more time to show off their destructive power. Ishamael/Moridin seems somewhat unexplained too: why has he not gone completely insane as a result of constantly channeling the True Power? That particular side effect seemed to be something hyped up by the other Forsaken. Also, why did Ishamael save Rand at Shadar Logoth? He says he "has a reason" as it's part of his plan, yet this is still unrealized. Perhaps these are explained and I forgot/missed them during my readings of the later books. | ||
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Adeeler
United Kingdom764 Posts
I tend to listen to unabridged audio books of most of my fantasy as long as its got a good narrator. | ||
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RedTerror
New Zealand742 Posts
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sith
United States2474 Posts
On October 28 2009 12:37 ViruX wrote: I just finished reading the latest book. I word of warning is that the series will consume your life for a while. I remember one time while I was in the middle of reading the series I distinctly caught myself using the phrase "By the light!" or something along those lines in my head. I never said it out loud. But another couple months and it's possible I would have. *shudders* | ||
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Wedge
Canada580 Posts
Honestly, this book series consumed my imagination so many years ago when I was in high school. I think I started the series when it was at like book 7-8 or so I believe. Everytime a new book came out, I would reread all the old books again, just to remember all the stuff again, as it would normally be a long wait. Must have read that series so many times. Man, seems like a lifetime ago, like 10 years when I first discovered it. Since then, I've read alot of great fantasy series and found great authors, but I can easily say Wheel of Time was the first 'big' series to make an impression on me, at the time I was just reading lower level stuff like Dragonlance (lol), and Drizzt books. Will probably pick this up as a early b-day present (Oct.31 woot), man, so many memories. | ||
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HwangjaeTerran
Finland5967 Posts
I´ve read to 10-11 I think should reread, RIP Jordan. | ||
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Lumi
United States1612 Posts
i'll probably have to end up trying them out and accepting the end of the series that's offered to us | ||
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jpopidol
108 Posts
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Jadyks
United States119 Posts
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Oddysay
Canada597 Posts
r.r martin serie also pretty good , better that wot i think read it if you got the time . | ||
MasterOfChaos
Germany2896 Posts
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Jadyks
United States119 Posts
and he's dead, he doesn't need my money | ||
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Jopz
United States262 Posts
(Warning: massive spoiler alert) + Show Spoiler + And it's always fun to see the good guys end the book on such a high note, Tar Valon cleansed and whole and Rand finally at truly at peace with himself and what he has to do. It will really be interesting how the politics will play out now between Egwene-Rand-Fortuona. My guess is with his healthier mental state and after seeing the order that the Seanchan brought to Ebou Dar, Rand might be more amenable to submitting to the Seanchan throne, but the issue with the captured Aes Sedai and marath'damane will lead Egwene to violently oppose any sort of capitulation on Rand's part. And yeah, where the hell is Demandred=/. I'm guessing he may be with the Borderlanders? | ||
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Augury
United States758 Posts
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aers
United States1210 Posts
I've been putting off re-reading 1-11 for so long and kind of iffy on even bothering to read this new one until the last 2 are out in a few years, but if a bunch of plot points get tied up, I guess it's time to dust off 1-11. Unfortunately I don't have them on my Kindle, only print versions :/ | ||
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ThunderGod
New Zealand897 Posts
That was pretty good stuff, then I found A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, or as I like to call it: aTotMBotF. The most impressive thing about Steven Erikson is his output. He actually publishes a book in the series every year without fail so I know I only need to wait two years for the series to finish, unlike Robert Jordan's and George R.R. Martin's "trilogies". I have never read anything better in the genre and I've read A LOT of fantasy (though still haven't read Dark Tower). But each to their own. I tend to like epic fantasy with massive world building, intricate plotting, military battles, and where individual characters are not so important to the outcome of the story. | ||
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So no fek
United States3001 Posts
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Manit0u
Poland17254 Posts
It is shallow, very much LotR ripoff and Freud would love to see mr Jordan (he really has some problems with femdom, sex and women in general). Hell, even Dragonlance chronicles are better than this... | ||
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heronz
25 Posts
never wanted an apple as much as i did when i read it. | ||
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Adeeler
United Kingdom764 Posts
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Fraud
Canada108 Posts
Prologue on Amazon for $2. Amazon Link Chapter 1 from the book. http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/10/towers-of-midnight-chapter-1-qapples-firstq Chapter 8 from the book. [Chapter 8 on Brandon Sanderson's website Can't wait for Nov 2! Edit: fixed links | ||
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yeti
United States258 Posts
The book will actually arrive in the mail on Nov. 2! Also, do you think any bookstores will have the midnight parties for book 14: Memory of Light? The midnight release for SC2 was so awesome. I would love to | ||
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Corbie
United States65 Posts
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Kale187
United States11 Posts
Pretty much continues like that through The rest of the series is great, though. Unique as far as I can tell. I like what Brandon Sanderson has brought to the series in terms of pacing. In the few books before he started on it everything was plodding along slowly then The Gathering Storm hits and BLAM shit gets real. | ||
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CynanMachae
Canada1459 Posts
@Above you forgot the encouter with | ||
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sidr
United States55 Posts
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Fa1nT
United States3423 Posts
On October 05 2010 08:03 Kale187 wrote: About WoT being like LotR I will agree only insofar as the first book reads almost exactly like The Fellowship of the Ring. Really, the similarities are uncanny. Pretty much continues like that through The rest of the series is great, though. Unique as far as I can tell. I like what Brandon Sanderson has brought to the series in terms of pacing. In the few books before he started on it everything was plodding along slowly then The Gathering Storm hits and BLAM shit gets real. Except most the characters in WoT were actually acceptable =|. Fuk Hobbits. One thing interesting about Wheel of Time is that a LARGE chunk of the first 8 books are not Rand. A large chunk of those are not Perrin/Mat. Excert from TVTropes Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is the absolute king of this trope. Wheel of Time encyclopaedia has a list of 1880 characters. The original main group introduced in the first book has not been in one location since the fourth book, out of eleven so far with three to go. Only the main character Rand manages to appear in every book, and he is nearly absent from a couple. From there the biggest male characters Rand, Mat, and Perrin have each acquired love interests (three at once in Rand's case), personal armies, and their own Cast Herds of supporting characters. In Rand's case this includes dozens of characters from numerous factions. The two biggest female characters (Egwene and Elayne) have done the same thing. The Big Bad has a dozen mini-boss characters with the Forsaken, as well as numerous Darkfriends. And almost every faction adds dozens of identifiable characters to the mix, sometimes with distinct subfactions within that which might as well be separate groups. And all these characters intermingle in an absolutely dizzying array of interactions. | ||
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
I would do more than I would to get a Klondike Bar. That's for sure. | ||
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Hynda
Sweden2226 Posts
On October 05 2010 13:13 mierin wrote: AMAZING series, I really hope BS can bring it like he did last novel. What I would pay for to see RJ's unmodified notes... I would do more than I would to get a Klondike Bar. That's for sure. He will, trust me. If you ever read Mistborn there wouldn't be a doubt in your mind that he would. | ||
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TechDeft
United States211 Posts
On April 09 2003 08:28 Manifesto7 wrote: Rahvin, after you read the first three books of the dark tower (and believe me you will read the whole series) realize that we as fans waited 4 YEARS for book 4. When you see the cliff hanger at the end of book 3, you will realize why this was such a cruel thing. Please enjoy, the dark tower is one series that just gets better and better. In addition, many of Stephen Kings other book tie into the dark tower, such as Hearts in Atlantis, the Talisman, Black House, and many of the short stories. It is amazing how a writer can, over a period of 20 years, bring all his books and tie them into a single series. Although popular media cast off Stephen King as junk horror pop in the 80's, his writting is at a level which is rarely matched in fiction these days. Mani~ Dark Tower in a Wheel of Time thread? I love these forums. Two of my favorite series...the new WoT is dropping reallllly soon isn't it? | ||
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FishFuzz99
United States152 Posts
Also, I think the guy that's finishing it up is a professor at my university so I could possibly get people signed copies. | ||
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TechDeft
United States211 Posts
On October 05 2010 22:23 FishFuzz99 wrote: I never managed to finish the series. I would get to book 6-7, the lose interest. I've done it like 3 times. Also, I think the guy that's finishing it up is a professor at my university so I could possibly get people signed copies. I'd be more impressed if you could RJ's autograph! But yea, I'd be interested. What Uni? | ||
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heronz
25 Posts
here is the tour schedule! its good to be in a major city! http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/09/towers-of-midnight-tour-schedule-announced but i dunno if im going to be there, every time i see that book cover i cringe. | ||
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Demand2k
Norway875 Posts
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Crais
Canada2136 Posts
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
On October 05 2010 23:23 heronz wrote: haha...oops i wrote book 11, before. i meant book 13, but kinda late now... here is the tour schedule! its good to be in a major city! http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/09/towers-of-midnight-tour-schedule-announced but i dunno if im going to be there, every time i see that book cover i cringe. Book covers have always been a sort of joke to the WoT community.EDIT: To whoever compared this to LOTR...that may be a little bit valid for the first little part of EotW, but after that...this blows LOTR away. Read on, my friend. | ||
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Lea
Sweden120 Posts
On October 05 2010 08:03 Kale187 wrote: About WoT being like LotR I will agree only insofar as the first book reads almost exactly like The Fellowship of the Ring. Really, the similarities are uncanny. Pretty much continues like that through The rest of the series is great, though. Unique as far as I can tell. I like what Brandon Sanderson has brought to the series in terms of pacing. In the few books before he started on it everything was plodding along slowly then The Gathering Storm hits and BLAM shit gets real. LOL. Now, WHAT fantasy story DOES NOT start in a similar fashion? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero's_journey For example. | ||
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Kale187
United States11 Posts
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Topp Ghuun
Canada54 Posts
On the flipside, Goodkind sometimes rambles for pages about philosophical ideas, moral and ethical thin ice, etc., often repeating himself and just re-wording it differently. For pages. I understand it can be necessary for some scenes but it's difficult to discern when it is and isn't and sometimes results in loss of interest/boredom for me. His strongest points are drawing the reader into a incredible bond with the characters (at least what I found); he is extremely good at portraying real emotions, decision-making, and logic in his characters that are absent in other writers for the most part. Near the second half of the series he does drag it out, but I think he still manages to finish it off nicely. I've also read his new book called the rule of nines (I believe?), which isn't a bad read especially for followers of the SoT series. | ||
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[GiTM]-Ace
United States4935 Posts
On October 05 2010 08:03 Kale187 wrote: About WoT being like LotR I will agree only insofar as the first book reads almost exactly like The Fellowship of the Ring. Really, the similarities are uncanny. Pretty much continues like that through The rest of the series is great, though. Unique as far as I can tell. I like what Brandon Sanderson has brought to the series in terms of pacing. In the few books before he started on it everything was plodding along slowly then The Gathering Storm hits and BLAM shit gets real. I have to agree series was moving super duper slow. And now he comes along and just sped everything up. Really excited about this next one although I have a feeling its going to be a super cliffhanger for the last lol | ||
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SiegeMode
United States206 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + I read the rest anyway. Since people are talking about other fantasy series (Sword of Truth ) I want to plug Roger Zeleazny's Amber series. Amazing, unique.Another author with a similar "writing voice" is Steven Brust. Great great stuff. | ||
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Slow Motion
United States6960 Posts
On April 09 2003 00:57 badteeth wrote: not yet, waiting for pdf on kazaa. Ahhhh 2003. How long ago that seems now. | ||
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FishFuzz99
United States152 Posts
I'd be more impressed if you could RJ's autograph! But yea, I'd be interested. What Uni? I'm pretty sure he still works at Brigham Young University. | ||
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Kale187
United States11 Posts
On October 06 2010 07:29 [GiTM]-Ace wrote: I have to agree series was moving super duper slow. And now he comes along and just sped everything up. Really excited about this next one although I have a feeling its going to be a super cliffhanger for the last lol It seemed like Robert Jordan was lost in the world of his own creating and couldn't figure out how to strike a balance between telling the reader about all the super cool stuff in that world and actually moving the story along. A part of me wishes he could have kept making books forever, even if nothing really happened. | ||
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Iranon
United States983 Posts
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crate
United States2474 Posts
I'm re-reading the series again, though I still need to go get the newest book sometime.... | ||
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klmklm17
Canada85 Posts
brandon sanderson coming in and finishing them is great especially considering how great a writter he is. I also agree with people who are saying that Jordan was building his world way more then pushing the story + Show Spoiler + a fact of this is perrins story line... spends 4 books chasing his wife HOWEVER that is still totally awesome because well... it is so go get those books people!! and i would recomend picking up mistborn trilogy if you are enjoying fantasy and such.... very well writen and not 14 books long | ||
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tomatriedes
New Zealand5356 Posts
http://www.amazon.com/Tigana-Guy-Gavriel-Kay/dp/0451457765 I highly recommend this book for fantasy fans. Guy Gavriel Kay has probably the best portrayal of female characters of any fantasy author I've read as well. His other series the Fionavar Tapestry is pretty good too from what I remember. | ||
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LaSt)ChAnCe
United States2179 Posts
tomatriedes - you need to read Sabriel, Lyrael, and Abhorsen (3 books by Garth Nix) - completely unique and a female is the main character... it's awesome | ||
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Proudclad
Philippines3 Posts
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StorkHwaiting
United States3465 Posts
For Sci-Fi, Peter F Hamilton is awesome! | ||
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Benthum
United States39 Posts
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0mgVitaminE
United States1278 Posts
On April 09 2003 00:57 badteeth wrote: not yet, waiting for pdf on kazaa. i lol'd at kazaa | ||
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Benthum
United States39 Posts
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bumatlarge
United States4567 Posts
On October 06 2010 14:15 Benthum wrote: The first book (The Eye of the World) is amazing, you won't regret reading it. The sequels however are not as good and progressively gets worse as the series progresses. Ah, I disagree, after reading the first book over again after reading the whole series, it almost seems to underwhelming compared to what happens as the story progresses. Most of the main characters get more and more interesting to follow, and the personalities represented seem to get fairly dynamic as the situation gets dire. There did seem to be some horrifically slow parts though in every book. | ||
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CynanMachae
Canada1459 Posts
On October 06 2010 07:38 SiegeMode wrote: Wheel of Time got awful after book 5. + Show Spoiler + I read the rest anyway. While I do agree that 5-10 was quite slow, the last few books were pretty damn good. | ||
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Generic SC
New Zealand179 Posts
On October 06 2010 14:30 CynanMachae wrote: While I do agree that 5-10 was quite slow, the last few books were pretty damn good. Its true, and the parts with Egwene in the last two made me forgive any shortcomings the ones in the middle may have had. | ||
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Certa
30 Posts
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KevinIX
United States2472 Posts
I never could get into the Game of Thrones series. I'm not sure why. | ||
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Thermia
United States866 Posts
The Sword of Truth series I felt was good, but it also felt really loosely tied together, like a couple of trilogies at the beginning and the end with some fluff in the middle that really didn't add anything to the overarching plot. And, as was mentioned, there was Goodkind's tendency to restate his philosophy towards life over and over and over and... yeah. We get it. Also, his "logic" discussions and whatnot when the characters are deciding what to do *really* got on my nerves. So, I liked it overall a lot less than WoT, which, while Jordan did tend to ramble on about descriptions, kept the story more or less in one piece. Then again, WoT is easily my favorite series so far, so most don't come close. While this thread is on the subject of other similar book series, I feel obligated to point out a few I really enjoyed: Steven Erikson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen - some things I liked from this series were its unique system of magic, the way gods are directly involved (and defeat-able), the badass Malazan army, random bits of humor/puns that are not immediately apparent, and the incredible action sequences. Some things that would probably turn a lot of people off, however, would be the author's language (it can be damn difficult to tell exactly what happened, sometimes, so you might need to go slowly or reread parts), and the almost Jordan-esque way Erikson writes most of the books (lots of words while not much is happening) Glen Cook's Black Company - Similar to the Malazan series, except it would basically be focusing on the Bridgeburner (ultimate badass) company and their role in everything David Farland's Runelords George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire And of course, Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy - I do love the way the man writes action sequences and the way he set the plot up in these books was extremely intricate and well done, with an amazing Oh. Shit. moment or two that are just so neat. | ||
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Kale187
United States11 Posts
Edit: I've only read the first in the Mistborn Trilogy, have yet to get the others. | ||
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Badred
Canada129 Posts
On October 06 2010 14:33 Generic SC wrote: Its true, and the parts with Egwene in the last two made me forgive any shortcomings the ones in the middle may have had. Quoted for frickin' truth! I'm reading through all the books again in preparation for the next book in November, and at this point (midway through book 10) I'm just holding out for + Show Spoiler + Egwene to get captured by Elaida. | ||
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mmp
United States2130 Posts
Goodkind and Eddings write better fiction imo, although I really ought to reread some of these now that I'm older. | ||
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Fa1nT
United States3423 Posts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_Shannara_Trilogy There is also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daughter_of_the_Lioness And another one with a female-hero, but this one is a DARK story... (involves leeching peoples lives for magic power( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magister_Trilogy | ||
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Kale187
United States11 Posts
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sporkify
United States31 Posts
On October 06 2010 09:19 FishFuzz99 wrote: I'm pretty sure he still works at Brigham Young University. No, I'm pretty sure Brandon Sanderson (they guy who took over from Robert Jordan) doesn't work at any university. I read his blog regularly, and he's a full time writer. You may be thinking of Orson Scott Card, who does teach at BYU. Also, you guys know that two chapters have been released over the internet to hype the book, right? You can find them at Tor's website. (actually, one on their website, but they link to Sanderson's blog, which has the other.) | ||
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CynanMachae
Canada1459 Posts
On October 06 2010 14:33 Generic SC wrote: Its true, and the parts with Egwene in the last two made me forgive any shortcomings the ones in the middle may have had. Oh yes, totally. Elayne is probably the only one lacking a bit in the last few. On October 06 2010 14:34 Certa wrote: I haven't read Wheel of Time since I was 11-12 (I moved on to video games at that point), I think I stopped around book 8. I planned on re-reading everything once everything got finished, but I D:'d when Robert Jordan died. Is the series getting finished by someone else? That's pretty awesome, I think I'll re-read the whole series now that I'm 20 and see if the books seem better or worse. Yea, Brandon Sanderson is the one that is finishing the series, with help from RJ's wife and what notes he left. You should check out is other work as well, it's pretty damn good. | ||
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Thermia
United States866 Posts
On October 06 2010 14:43 sporkify wrote: Also, you guys know that two chapters have been released over the internet to hype the book, right? You can find them at Tor's website. (actually, one on their website, but they link to Sanderson's blog, which has the other.) And the prologue as well, where there were a few important bombs dropped. | ||
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aike
United States1629 Posts
On October 06 2010 15:21 Thermia wrote: And the prologue as well, where there were a few important bombs dropped. I'm such a SC nerd that I misread prologue here as proleague  haha. I loved the last book, so I'm excited for this next one. His website does say that he teaches 1 class, but it could be wrong. He doesn't live too far from me... I could go ask him! | ||
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FishFuzz99
United States152 Posts
https://y.byu.edu/ae/prod/person/cgi/personLookup.cgi | ||
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tomatriedes
New Zealand5356 Posts
On October 06 2010 14:40 mmp wrote: Started that series when I was really young, couldn't stand the monotony and threw it away around book 5. Goodkind and Eddings write better fiction imo, although I really ought to reread some of these now that I'm older. Eddings' first series the Belgariad was good but his later ones just seemed to be rehashing a lot I felt and it got to the point where his heros just seemed too powerful and nigh-invulnerable. I like stories where it feels like the characters are actually in a lot of danger (LOTR is great for this- two hobbits in the middle of Mordor FFS!) | ||
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sporkify
United States31 Posts
On October 06 2010 15:26 aike wrote: I'm such a SC nerd that I misread prologue here as proleague haha. I loved the last book, so I'm excited for this next one. His website does say that he teaches 1 class, but it could be wrong. He doesn't live too far from me... I could go ask him! The prologue costs money. Something I'm not quite willing to pay for, considering the book will be out in a bit over a month. Also, where does it say he teaches a class? | ||
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ricerocket
154 Posts
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Incanus
Canada695 Posts
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Topp Ghuun
Canada54 Posts
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Earll
Norway847 Posts
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Ziken
Ghana1743 Posts
Also Malazan: Book of the Fallen series is awesome for those of you who haven't read it. | ||
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Augury
United States758 Posts
On October 10 2010 03:13 Ziken wrote: I'm quite an avid reader of fantasy books, but personally, I found the wheel of time series a bit stretched. Also Malazan: Book of the Fallen series is awesome for those of you who haven't read it. Agreed this series so ridiculously good, almost as good as A Song of Ice and Fire. | ||
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DarthXX
Australia998 Posts
Towers of Midnight is sitting in my reading chair just waiting for me to finish my food. + Show Spoiler +Supposedly they're gonna reveal Asmodean killer in this one! | ||
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Warpath
Canada1242 Posts
While i agree that the pacing really died down, that doesn't stop it from being an amazing fucking book. I haven't read anything else aside for school just because i want to finish the series. And that Blind Guardian song was awesome xD | ||
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AzarIntrets
109 Posts
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heronz
25 Posts
im still holding out from buying it cause of those covers.anyone going to the signing in nyc? | ||
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emperorchampion
Canada9496 Posts
I shouldn't pick it up till after my mid-term though | ||
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Sajiki
Germany522 Posts
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
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heronz
25 Posts
On November 04 2010 02:05 emperorchampion wrote: Holy! I thought this was happening later on in the month :O I shouldn't pick it up till after my mid-term though oh sorry, i just figure anyone who was interested would know the signing dates already. for nyc its nov 8th, monday. apparently Harriet will be there. On November 04 2010 02:40 mierin wrote: So much left unanswered...AMoL is going to be like 3k pages. :| fine with me. hopefully 4k, its weird that these books will be concluding after being a part of me for more than half my life. i seriously dont think someone can read this series and not be changed. | ||
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emperorchampion
Canada9496 Posts
On November 04 2010 03:23 heronz wrote: oh sorry, i just figure anyone who was interested would know the signing dates already. for nyc its nov 8th, monday. apparently Harriet will be there. no need to apologize lol, thanks for reminding me :p | ||
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randombum
United States2378 Posts
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Trap
United States395 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Snape kills Asmodean. | ||
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Uranium
United States1077 Posts
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Nyovne
Netherlands19135 Posts
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craz3d
Bulgaria856 Posts
On October 06 2010 14:43 Fa1nT wrote: I don't think anyone has mentioned this series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_Shannara_Trilogy There is also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daughter_of_the_Lioness And another one with a female-hero, but this one is a DARK story... (involves leeching peoples lives for magic power( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magister_Trilogy I've read WoL up to the beginning of the 10th book, and it got really tedious reading so I stopped. I have also read the first book in the Shannara trilogy and it was pretty decent. Another good fantasy author is Raymond Feist. His first book called "Magician" is probably one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. | ||
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Wesso
Netherlands1245 Posts
On November 05 2010 01:08 craz3d wrote: I've read WoL up to the beginning of the 10th book, and it got really tedious reading so I stopped. I have also read the first book in the Shannara trilogy and it was pretty decent. Another good fantasy author is Raymond Feist. His first book called "Magician" is probably one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. Agreed, I'm just skimming a lot of paragraphs because nothing happens in them, but the overarching story is too awesome to stop reading altogether. raymond e. feist books are much more fun though, the world is maybe not as deep and the persona's are more stereotypes, but it's just much awesomer and much less longwinded. | ||
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lagmaster
United States374 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Sanderson had a good dozen different loose plot ends that he ended in this book and managed to get all those random armies gathered to one spot ready for TG. Because of this the story progresses pretty quickly and we don't get the in depth dialog of the previous books. No asmo killer as far as i saw. | ||
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Dudemeister
Sweden314 Posts
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NonSenSeWins
United States66 Posts
did anyone else get kinda turned on by some of the scenes in these books? o_O | ||
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Tdelamay
Canada548 Posts
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randombum
United States2378 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Graendal, you can infer it from when she gets taken to be punished "You've caused the death of 3 Forsaken now" Or something along those lines. Or more definitely in the glossary where its flatly stated it was her. | ||
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KevinIX
United States2472 Posts
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KevinIX
United States2472 Posts
On November 07 2010 06:36 Tdelamay wrote: I read all the Wheel of time novels so far. I loved the one Sanderson wrote. The ending was unexpected and really depicts the madness that is grasping Rand! + Show Spoiler + Really? I thought it was the end of Rand's madness. | ||
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Iranon
United States983 Posts
On November 07 2010 12:58 KevinIX wrote: + Show Spoiler + Really? I thought it was the end of Rand's madness. + Show Spoiler + Yeah, I was pretty sure we were golden after the end of tGS. Towers of Midnight seemed to confirm this, what with the bubble of happy-time that follows Rand around now... But then again, maybe we're not out of the woods yet. Nynaeve *saw* his mind, and whoa. And then his ex-lover popped into his head for a surprise visit in the last few pages... Slightly confused here. What the hell really happened to Cyndane? | ||
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King K. Rool
Canada4408 Posts
On November 08 2010 09:52 Iranon wrote: + Show Spoiler + Yeah, I was pretty sure we were golden after the end of tGS. Towers of Midnight seemed to confirm this, what with the bubble of happy-time that follows Rand around now... But then again, maybe we're not out of the woods yet. Nynaeve *saw* his mind, and whoa. And then his ex-lover popped into his head for a surprise visit in the last few pages... Slightly confused here. What the hell really happened to Cyndane? + Show Spoiler + I think he's fine for the most part, his insanity was mostly Lews Therin right? I remember Rand having "white" with the black thorns, whereas the other guy (Naeff?) Nynaeve healed didn't. I assumed that Lews Therin is the white holding back the thorns or something to that extent, because Rand never manifested any other symptoms that I remember. Cyndane is Lanfear isn't she? Her torment is probably Moridin playing with that uh, soul-box thingy that he carries. Either she's reaching out for help or it's a plan to get Rand. Likely she plans for both. Do we still need spoilers? | ||
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bigjenk
United States1543 Posts
On April 09 2003 01:07 linternet wrote: I am a big fan of the series. If you like it though, I will recommend Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series - it's like Jordan on Steroids. Umm sword of truth liberally borrows from wot and is considered by most to be a dumbed down version. How do people say the books are shallow there is more character depth and just an astounding amount of actual complexity to it. | ||
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bigjenk
United States1543 Posts
On November 05 2010 01:08 craz3d wrote: I've read WoL up to the beginning of the 10th book, and it got really tedious reading so I stopped. I have also read the first book in the Shannara trilogy and it was pretty decent. Another good fantasy author is Raymond Feist. His first book called "Magician" is probably one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. The 10th is probably the slowest of them all so far. I think the main problem is that at this point it is to spread out. There are what 5 real main characters and about 30 or so supporting that are followed? I've read a majority of the series 3 times and every time i did i picked up a new subtelty or foreshadowing thousands of pages in advance. | ||
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Minzy
Australia387 Posts
scratch that, ebook on the interwebs, god i love the internet. | ||
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randombum
United States2378 Posts
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chaokel
Australia535 Posts
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So no fek
United States3001 Posts
On November 05 2010 01:40 Wesso wrote: raymond e. feist books are much more fun though, the world is maybe not as deep and the persona's are more stereotypes, but it's just much awesomer and much less longwinded. How have his books been the last few years? I remember reading and loving the Talon of Silverhawk trilogy, then I read 1-2 (or maybe the whole trilogy?) of books after that, which I believe focused on the Duke that was one of the bad guy's in the Talon books. Haven't been caught up since then, though... think the last book I read was Wrath of a Mad God, or something. Anyhow, I was maybe 12-13 when Talon of Silverhawk came out; my brother gave it to me, I read it having not been much of a reader, and then immediately went and got every book he had ever written in the world, starting with Magician. Was certainly a lot of fun, and I actually might have missed a few books that my library system here didn't have. Anyhow, on the subject of Wheel of Time, I just finished a really good fantasy book (The Black Prism - check it out, it was great) and am in a reading mood, so I'll probably pick this up in a few days. I also thought it was supposed to come out later in the month. | ||
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me_viet
Australia1350 Posts
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Fraud
Canada108 Posts
On November 09 2010 20:18 me_viet wrote: sooooooo any1 know when the last book gonna be released? such an epic series. WOT is just one of those constants in my life lol. Planned for late 2011. They're trying to release one a year. | ||
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Maginor
Norway505 Posts
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mikado
Australia407 Posts
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Undrass
Norway381 Posts
if you like more fantasy the most epic/awesome fantasy out there is written by Steven Erikson "The Malazan Book of the Fallen". there are currently 9 books in the series, averaging about 1000 pages each. These books are probably some of the best books I have read (+ the 10th and last is coming soon, YAY!) | ||
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FetTerBender
Germany1393 Posts
Edit: WOT of course. Stupid Wings of Liberty. Make me use wrong abbrevations. Tzzz. | ||
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Iranon
United States983 Posts
On November 08 2010 13:24 randombum wrote: Cyndane is Lanfear. He recongized her as Lanfear, but maybe he was tricked probably not. Most people thought it was her for a while anyways. Well, yeah, it's been obvious that's Lanfear at least since Winter's Heart, and hinted at even earlier. But little details of Rand's dream sequence didn't quite add up. Moridin currently has her in a cour'savra, so presumably that's the torment she was referring to, but that's not how mindtraps work. In a mindtrap, you're either a completely broken and helpless slave to the holder's will, or you're free to do as you wish, but under constant threat of the former situation. So either the DO finally had enough of her willingness to challenge both him and the Creator, or that wasn't really Lanfear, just Rand's imagination. Sure, Rand wards his dreams, but Lanfear can break in anyway -- more likely, this is due to Rand's strange link with Moridin. If it really was Lanfear, she's changed -- Rand/LTT calls her by her real name, and in the past that's made her really angry, at which point she always says that she's Lanfear now, not Mierin, but that didn't happen this time. On the other hand, if it wasn't really her (and even if it was), Rand responds with "desire". Uh. Bad Dragon. Bad. Even Lews Therin shouldn't want anything to do with Mierin Eronaile, for obvious reasons... | ||
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
I'm gonna laugh if the seanchan show up at the white tower.....and no one's there Also, thank god rand is done with being an emo bitch | ||
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qrs
United States3637 Posts
On April 09 2003 07:37 Commander{+} wrote: IMO WOT goes downhill after book 6. 4-6 are the best ones though. 8 just sucks, and 7 is ok. Spot on. | ||
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
disagree 1-4 were by far the best, 5-8 were continuously downhill, 9 was great, 10 and 11 were TERRIBLE, and now the story is moving so it's all better | ||
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Monsen
Germany2548 Posts
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
On November 09 2010 22:06 Undrass wrote: I too love the WOT, such a well crafted series. too bad he had to die before he finished it! (although Sanderson is doing a good job). if you like more fantasy the most epic/awesome fantasy out there is written by Steven Erikson "The Malazan Book of the Fallen". there are currently 9 books in the series, averaging about 1000 pages each. These books are probably some of the best books I have read (+ the 10th and last is coming soon, YAY!) The 10th book is the worst by far. Give it a chance...seriously the next few books are so much more interesting. | ||
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Undrass
Norway381 Posts
On November 10 2010 02:48 KOFgokuon wrote: disagree 1-4 were by far the best, 5-8 were continuously downhill, 9 was great, 10 and 11 were TERRIBLE, and now the story is moving so it's all better I disagree. The Mat Cauthon plotline is so good that it makes up for all the other plotlines going downhill! Dont know how many times I have reread that plot.... | ||
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Baobab
Korea (South)153 Posts
Btw for all you people saying book 10 sucks, that's definitely true, but it gets steadily better from there. The 12th one (by Sanderson) was sick, and hopefully this new one is too. | ||
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Reborn58
United States238 Posts
Book 12 was my favorite since the first 3-4 books and was welcome after how long and drawn out 9 and 10 were. 11 was ok....but 12 is awesome and 13 is amazing so far. | ||
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Talin
Montenegro10532 Posts
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Headlines
United States482 Posts
I was so heart-broken after I read Aviendha's visions from walking through the ter'angreal. I've always been a quiet fan of the Seanchan, but after reading about their complete takeover of the westlands and the destruction of the Aiel by their hands... I was disgusted. To the pit of doom with the Seanchan! The story in TGS should have been Rand balefires the Seanchan and then remorses over it after he ascends to Jesushood. F***!!!!!!!! | ||
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lagmaster
United States374 Posts
On November 10 2010 10:31 Headlines wrote: + Show Spoiler + I was so heart-broken after I read Aviendha's visions from walking through the ter'angreal. I've always been a quiet fan of the Seanchan, but after reading about their complete takeover of the westlands and the destruction of the Aiel by their hands... I was disgusted. To the pit of doom with the Seanchan! The story in TGS should have been Rand balefires the Seanchan and then remorses over it after he ascends to Jesushood. F***!!!!!!!! + Show Spoiler + You shouldn't be mad at the Seanchan. You could see from her visions that the Aiel started the war. They didn't even have a good reason to start it. The Aiel justified their war against the Seanchan because they (the Aiel) were born to fight and to die. It's the mindset and the culture they live in that is to blame. I'm pretty sure Aviendha will convince Rand to do something monumental to change the Aiel's future. The question is what. I'm also curious as to how Rand/Mat will make peace with the Seanchan. Do you just walk up to Tuon/Fortuna and say "Hey, did you know you can channel the same as any damane? How about we focus on the big bad monsters who want to eat us all instead of each other? That will be an interesting encounter. | ||
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ShadowDrgn
United States2497 Posts
On November 10 2010 10:55 lagmaster wrote: + Show Spoiler + You shouldn't be mad at the Seanchan. You could see from her visions that the Aiel started the war. They didn't even have a good reason to start it. The Aiel justified their war against the Seanchan because they (the Aiel) were born to fight and to die. It's the mindset and the culture they live in that is to blame. I'm pretty sure Aviendha will convince Rand to do something monumental to change the Aiel's future. The question is what. I'm also curious as to how Rand/Mat will make peace with the Seanchan. Do you just walk up to Tuon/Fortuna and say "Hey, did you know you can channel the same as any damane? How about we focus on the big bad monsters who want to eat us all instead of each other? That will be an interesting encounter. + Show Spoiler + The Seanchan enslaved Aiel Wise Ones as damane and refused to return them. That's a pretty good reason for a war in my opinion. Seeing the future beyond the end of the series was definitely cool. I kind of groaned when I got to the Aviendha chapters, but they ended up being a few of the best in the book. It seems that Rand's demands of all the nations will be the peace among themselves, and he'll probably demand the same peace of the Seanchan in exchange for bowing to the Crystal Throne. Also, kinda funny how Asmodean's killer was such a big mystery for so many years, and then it's revealed in the glossary for ToM (although it was indirectly mentioned in the book itself). | ||
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ThaZenith
Canada3116 Posts
Gotta go look it up, thanks for the reminder guys lol. And thanks for spoilers if you were talking about it. ^^ | ||
Risen
United States7927 Posts
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Minzy
Australia387 Posts
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DaemonX
545 Posts
Sanderson did a really great job with the last. | ||
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DaemonX
545 Posts
On November 10 2010 03:39 Undrass wrote: I disagree. The Mat Cauthon plotline is so good that it makes up for all the other plotlines going downhill! Dont know how many times I have reread that plot.... DAMN straight. God Matt is awesome. God if that isn't the best romance plot I have ever, ever read. God if I don't read it to forget what Perrin and Rand are doing, the doofuses. | ||
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KevinIX
United States2472 Posts
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Slayer91
Ireland23335 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Sanderson, wow. He's is sooooooo good at writing, every chapter feels so fast paced, while Jordon made it seem so much slower, or maybe its the speed of the plot moving on. He also has an amazing way of describing fights, like especially the dream world stuff. The whole book was soooo good, and made me laugh out loud so many times. I hope to god thats a fake future, I fucking hate the seanchan man, they're like so gay, with their really ridiculously strict everything. The aiel are hilarious and awesome, wetlanders are like normal people so we don't mind them. Mat is a badass. It's like "Well, we got this guy, has a cool spear, can beat the shit out of Aes Sedai (foxhead medallion), picks up women even if they're an empress, tactical genius general you know what, this mofo needs an eyepatch. That'll complete the image. I also LOVE how perrin and egwene's happened to meet together and fuck up mesanna's plans, and egwenes like sorry perrin ima put you down but he's like no bitch you're not even close to my level here i'm going to chase after slayer now kthxbye. Nynaeve figured out how to heal madness, i love Nynaeve. Characters I like: (in terms of personality whatever, they're all really well designed/writted Mat Min Elayne Faile Bain and Chiad + Gaul LOL Nynaeve Morgase, the tea thing was so funny but morgase is cool anyway Thom Siuan Sanche Tam Al'Thor Middleground: Tuon Lan Rand Most of the forsaken Egwene Galad Don't like: Graendal Perrin Aviendha Gawayn Don't know why I put it out there, wonder if the people agree with me the on character likes/dislikes though. | ||
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Brad`
Canada548 Posts
The Epilogue and last few chapters got me so pumped for Memory of Light. | ||
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ShaperofDreams
Canada2492 Posts
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Kakera
United States419 Posts
On November 15 2010 10:06 Minzy wrote: So just finished the book, i have to say the last 200 or so pages felt pretty rushed, there were heaps of jump's in time and developements based on assumptions, im not going to say i hated it, but i dont think this is how the book should have progressed, i am aware that they cant physically make the book bigger, nor do they want to release more then 3 books, but it just doesnt feel like this is how it should be. They need to just have one GIGANTIC TOME like 100000 pages and end it. Can you really believe that psychopathic genius Robert Jordan intended for it to end already? @shaperofdreams: Get out. nao! Though Mat Cauthon's storyline is pretty epic, Rand be rolling with bitches? Wot Rong Wit Dat yo. @kevin: Because Jordan had it all finished. Just needed Sanderson to put his name to it ??? profit. I can't believe the shadiness of choosing Sanderson. Jordan's editor or something is married to the guy. She has sole decision on who to pass it onto and she picks her husband???profit. Lame as hell. | ||
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Iranon
United States983 Posts
On November 10 2010 10:55 lagmaster wrote: + Show Spoiler + You shouldn't be mad at the Seanchan. You could see from her visions that the Aiel started the war. They didn't even have a good reason to start it. The Aiel justified their war against the Seanchan because they (the Aiel) were born to fight and to die. It's the mindset and the culture they live in that is to blame. I'm pretty sure Aviendha will convince Rand to do something monumental to change the Aiel's future. The question is what. I'm also curious as to how Rand/Mat will make peace with the Seanchan. Do you just walk up to Tuon/Fortuna and say "Hey, did you know you can channel the same as any damane? How about we focus on the big bad monsters who want to eat us all instead of each other? That will be an interesting encounter. + Show Spoiler + I'm willing to bet that someone (Avienda? Loial?) will find the Song after (or at) Tarmon Gai'don. That would bring beautiful closure to so many disparate parts of the story's history, and after the Last Battle there be a movement to return to the Way of the Leaf. Obviously Aviendha's visions suggest this does not happen, or at the very least that the Aiel never embrace the Way again, but why would Jordan have both carefully set up the backstory of the Da'shain Aiel and shroud the Song in so much mystery only to reveal the whole thing via Rand at Alcair Dal, but never have the Song matter... | ||
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Thermia
United States866 Posts
On November 16 2010 07:16 Slayer91 wrote: Book 12 spoiler: just finished it. + Show Spoiler + Sanderson, wow. He's is sooooooo good at writing, every chapter feels so fast paced, while Jordon made it seem so much slower, or maybe its the speed of the plot moving on. He also has an amazing way of describing fights, like especially the dream world stuff. The whole book was soooo good, and made me laugh out loud so many times. I hope to god thats a fake future, I fucking hate the seanchan man, they're like so gay, with their really ridiculously strict everything. The aiel are hilarious and awesome, wetlanders are like normal people so we don't mind them. Mat is a badass. It's like "Well, we got this guy, has a cool spear, can beat the shit out of Aes Sedai (foxhead medallion), picks up women even if they're an empress, tactical genius general you know what, this mofo needs an eyepatch. That'll complete the image. I also LOVE how perrin and egwene's happened to meet together and fuck up mesanna's plans, and egwenes like sorry perrin ima put you down but he's like no bitch you're not even close to my level here i'm going to chase after slayer now kthxbye. Nynaeve figured out how to heal madness, i love Nynaeve. Characters I like: (in terms of personality whatever, they're all really well designed/writted Mat Min Elayne Faile Bain and Chiad + Gaul LOL Nynaeve Morgase, the tea thing was so funny but morgase is cool anyway Thom Siuan Sanche Tam Al'Thor Middleground: Tuon Lan Rand Most of the forsaken Egwene Galad Don't like: Graendal Perrin Aviendha Gawayn Don't know why I put it out there, wonder if the people agree with me the on character likes/dislikes though. I tend to think that the faster pacing is a result of many of the big plotlines we've been waiting for so long finally being resolved. Additionally, Sanderson's writing style (in my opinion) lends itself more to action than a lot of Jordan's more descriptive yet slower writing. As far as general badass moments go, these were my favorites - + Show Spoiler + - Tower Of Ghenjei (sp?) was amazing all the way throughout, Mat is a badass and Moiraine is finally back! - Perrin's duels with Slayer were very well written and I could picture them perfectly as I was reading - Perrin's encounter with Egwene in TAR, fucking owned. - Ituralde's defense of Maradon; he seems like the best general out of the Great Captains to me, though we haven't really seen the others do too much yet. - Rand's destruction of the Shadowspawn army; although the battle part was cool, I thought the reactions and reasoning to it were even more interesting. As for your character tier list, I agree for the most part with a few exceptions: + Show Spoiler + - Perrin moved from low to top tier for me this book; he finally stopped being a whiny bitch and took control of his situation in an awesome way. - Gawyn moved from low to mid tier this book: he gave Egwene the finger after she chewed him out for saving her and then came back and sacrificed himself for her after her trap for the assassins failed without even knowing if she was still alive, and got over his whole RAND KILLED MY MOMMY IMA KILL HIM thing. - Egwene is definitely one of the more annoying characters in my opinion; she's so uppity and yet ignorant (lol @ Perrin and Gawyn showing her up). Fortunately, I'm pretty sure Rand is using her as an unwitting pawn for him by gathering up the nations. - Elayne is low-mid tier, mostly for the same reasons as Egwene - Aviendha as a character is... decent. Maybe it's her Aiel views that are slightly at odds with most characters that make her a bit odd. I liked the future scenes from Rhuidean though, they were extremely interesting. | ||
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Curu
Canada2817 Posts
However, I HATE what he has done with the characters. They just feel like cheap, shallow versions of their original selves. Like the interaction with Berelain and Galad...god it just felt so ridiculously shallow and transparent. And that's just one small example that's fresh in my mind...Robert Jordan had a way of subtly working in character quirks and tendencies without hitting you in the face with a corny ass hammer. Sanderson's characterization cannot hold a candle to Jordan's. I do love how fast he is advancing the plot though without 500 pages of nothingness happening in between. Also next time you read (or re-read) take note of the word "tempest." It's Sanderson's favourite word in the world. It will pop up at least once per chapter, I promise you. | ||
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Igakusei
United States610 Posts
On November 16 2010 10:01 Kakera wrote: They need to just have one GIGANTIC TOME like 100000 pages and end it. Can you really believe that psychopathic genius Robert Jordan intended for it to end already? @shaperofdreams: Get out. nao! Though Mat Cauthon's storyline is pretty epic, Rand be rolling with bitches? Wot Rong Wit Dat yo. @kevin: Because Jordan had it all finished. Just needed Sanderson to put his name to it ??? profit. I can't believe the shadiness of choosing Sanderson. Jordan's editor or something is married to the guy. She has sole decision on who to pass it onto and she picks her husband???profit. Lame as hell.What? Robert Jordan's editor was Robert Jordan's wife. | ||
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Risen
United States7927 Posts
On November 16 2010 10:01 Kakera wrote: They need to just have one GIGANTIC TOME like 100000 pages and end it. Can you really believe that psychopathic genius Robert Jordan intended for it to end already? @shaperofdreams: Get out. nao! Though Mat Cauthon's storyline is pretty epic, Rand be rolling with bitches? Wot Rong Wit Dat yo. @kevin: Because Jordan had it all finished. Just needed Sanderson to put his name to it ??? profit. I can't believe the shadiness of choosing Sanderson. Jordan's editor or something is married to the guy. She has sole decision on who to pass it onto and she picks her husband???profit. Lame as hell.You're an idiot. Jordan didn't have it finished at all. All he had was notes and Brandon had to come in and write it. The editor was Robert Jordan's wife, and she chose Sanderson because she was a fan of his writing style. I hate people who spout random bullshit to look hard on the internet, especially when that shit is bltantly false and discredits a very respectful author. | ||
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Bair
United States698 Posts
So I finished it, and I have to say I am pretty impressed with most of it. For starters, while I really do like Perrin as a character, until about...the forging of his Hammer I felt that he was pretty underwhelming. Then once he got his hands like that he started being pretty badass. Truly though, the Faile/Perrin bit was a breath of fresh air in the romance section of the book compared to Egwene/Nynaeve/Eylane (I actually hate the sections for these characters entirely). Matt's is over, so I cannot say much there...and Rand really just had 3 chicks fall in love with him without too much in the way of development). Matt's section on the other hand...loved it. He has always been one of my favorites. Rand, I read this without rereading the other books (or rather, I reread up until Crossroads of Twilight, and did not have time for the last few books). However, I really like him as a character. I always liked the interaction between him and Cadsuane as well. But the most important thing is that I like that they are finally doing something about the black tower. I mean honestly...Elaida's fortelling about the Black Tower was what...3-4 books ago? It is nice to show that there is some development going on regarding it, even if it is just a hint of what will be going on in the last book. Two minor (or major?) questions though. 1.) Someone mentioned that Asmodean's killer was revealed in the glossary. I do not have access to my book right now. Who was it? 2.) And has it ever been clearly stated that Taim is Damodred (or was it Demandred >.>)? I know that Taim is never spoken of without mentioning that half smile... | ||
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Fraud
Canada108 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Two minor (or major?) questions though. 1.) Someone mentioned that Asmodean's killer was revealed in the glossary. I do not have access to my book right now. Who was it? Check under graendal. 2.) And has it ever been clearly stated that Taim is Damodred (or was it Demandred >.>)? I know that Taim is never spoken of without mentioning that half smile.. Robert Jordan specifically said taim is not demandred. Damodred is a cairhenien noble house (taringal and moiraine). We have not yet seen demandred's alter-ego on screen. | ||
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LTT
Shakuras1095 Posts
On November 16 2010 11:00 Bair wrote: + Show Spoiler + So I finished it, and I have to say I am pretty impressed with most of it. For starters, while I really do like Perrin as a character, until about...the forging of his Hammer I felt that he was pretty underwhelming. Then once he got his hands like that he started being pretty badass. Truly though, the Faile/Perrin bit was a breath of fresh air in the romance section of the book compared to Egwene/Nynaeve/Eylane (I actually hate the sections for these characters entirely). Matt's is over, so I cannot say much there...and Rand really just had 3 chicks fall in love with him without too much in the way of development). Matt's section on the other hand...loved it. He has always been one of my favorites. Rand, I read this without rereading the other books (or rather, I reread up until Crossroads of Twilight, and did not have time for the last few books). However, I really like him as a character. I always liked the interaction between him and Cadsuane as well. But the most important thing is that I like that they are finally doing something about the black tower. I mean honestly...Elaida's fortelling about the Black Tower was what...3-4 books ago? It is nice to show that there is some development going on regarding it, even if it is just a hint of what will be going on in the last book. Two minor (or major?) questions though. 1.) Someone mentioned that Asmodean's killer was revealed in the glossary. I do not have access to my book right now. Who was it? 2.) And has it ever been clearly stated that Taim is Damodred (or was it Demandred >.>)? I know that Taim is never spoken of without mentioning that half smile... + Show Spoiler + 1.) Graendal. It was explicitly stated in the glossary and hinted at twice in the book. The first was with Moridin where she was explaining the death of Halima. He makes a comment regarding "making a habit of it" regarding killing forsaken. The second was in the epilogue when it explicity states that she is responsible for the deaths of 3 forsaken. Only her involvement with Mesaana and Halima are known so the 3rd is Asmo. 2.) It was explicitly stated that Taim is not Demandred by RJ at book signings. It was also stated that Demandred's counterpart (ie. the character he is disguised as) has not appeared in the story yet, but I can't remember which book that was true for. He may have shown up in TGS/TOM. | ||
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writer22816
United States5775 Posts
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Bair
United States698 Posts
On November 16 2010 11:10 LTT wrote: [/spoiler]+ Show Spoiler + 1.) Graendal. It was explicitly stated in the glossary and hinted at twice in the book. The first was with Moridin where she was explaining the death of Halima. He makes a comment regarding "making a habit of it" regarding killing forsaken. The second was in the epilogue when it explicity states that she is responsible for the deaths of 3 forsaken. Only her involvement with Mesaana and Halima are known so the 3rd is Asmo. 2.) It was explicitly stated that Taim is not Demandred by RJ at book signings. It was also stated that Demandred's counterpart (ie. the character he is disguised as) has not appeared in the story yet, but I can't remember which book that was true for. He may have shown up in TGS/TOM. + Show Spoiler + Then as far as Taim goes, Dreadlord or Moridin? (Or just a guy who wants to be the dragon reborn >.>) I mean, there was the unidentified channeler at the Perrin/Whitecloak/Trolloc battle. Tie the close relation to everything that happened in Tel'Aran'Rhiod and the dream spike with Perrin and the second dream spike appearing in the Black Tower and Morodin looks like a fair suspect for being Taim. Though granted, the range of emotions that Taim has shown compared to Morodin really does not add up. Also, given the fact that Taim shows up so far ahead of Morodin in the books. But the question still remains of how Taim escaped, and exactly what was he doing between his escape and his reappearance with Rand's proclamation. EDIT: Damn spoiler tags. | ||
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Kakera
United States419 Posts
On November 16 2010 11:59 writer22816 wrote: Meh I stopped reading WOT once I started reading ASOIAF. The latter is just so much better. Now I'm just waiting for ADWD to come out Oh really? Then why don't I just go into your little thread and post uncontributing slander like you do? Oh wait, it's been inactive for 3 months. I won't bother then. /goodday User was warned for this post | ||
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Peekay.switch
Canada285 Posts
I was like "Is this 2002 or something?" 2003, close enough! Sure brings back memories. I'll definitely look up the series, I was looking for something good to read, thanks for the bump! | ||
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acie
United States247 Posts
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Semirhage
44 Posts
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Kale187
United States11 Posts
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[GiTM]-Ace
United States4935 Posts
Man sanderson rocks. Last 2 books have been the best since sooo long ago in the series. I just wish I didn't read it so fast. Since I'm here just wondering If there are any other fantasy series I Need to read. Read A song of Ice and Fire, Sword of Truth,Started Malazan Book of the Fallen( Didn't continue after i read several people say first book was the only good one), Read Name of the Wind(WHICH IS AWESOME).. considering trying this dark tower series next. But am I missing anything that I should have already read already | ||
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CorpseRT
Canada9 Posts
On November 16 2010 13:17 [GiTM]-Ace wrote: haha Man sanderson rocks. Last 2 books have been the best since sooo long ago in the series. I just wish I didn't read it so fast. Since I'm here just wondering If there are any other fantasy series I Need to read. Read A song of Ice and Fire, Sword of Truth,Started Malazan Book of the Fallen( Didn't continue after i read several people say first book was the only good one), Read Name of the Wind(WHICH IS AWESOME).. considering trying this dark tower series next. But am I missing anything that I should have already read already What, the first Malazan book of the Fallen book was by far the worst. O.o | ||
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[GiTM]-Ace
United States4935 Posts
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Thermia
United States866 Posts
On November 16 2010 13:30 CorpseRT wrote: What, the first Malazan book of the Fallen book was by far the worst. O.o Yeah, whoever said that was flat out wrong. Toll The Hounds was my favorite, personally, and that's book #8. Dark Tower was very good as well, but it is a somewhat different style than the others you mentioned, so it might be hit or miss. | ||
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Curu
Canada2817 Posts
On November 16 2010 12:10 Bair wrote: [/spoiler]+ Show Spoiler + Then as far as Taim goes, Dreadlord or Moridin? (Or just a guy who wants to be the dragon reborn >.>) I mean, there was the unidentified channeler at the Perrin/Whitecloak/Trolloc battle. Tie the close relation to everything that happened in Tel'Aran'Rhiod and the dream spike with Perrin and the second dream spike appearing in the Black Tower and Morodin looks like a fair suspect for being Taim. Though granted, the range of emotions that Taim has shown compared to Morodin really does not add up. Also, given the fact that Taim shows up so far ahead of Morodin in the books. But the question still remains of how Taim escaped, and exactly what was he doing between his escape and his reappearance with Rand's proclamation. EDIT: Damn spoiler tags. I think it's pretty evident that Moridin is not Taim. Taim was captured by the Tower, off leading people when he was a false Dragon (before Rand officially proclaimed himself), etc. Moridin is Ishamael, he was busy appearing as Ba'alzamon in the first few books before getting offed by Rand and reborn as Moridin. And Rand met Moridin in Shadar Logoth when fighting Sammael, he would've easily recognized him if he was Taim. At this point who knows what Taim is. Likely bet is he's just a Darkfriend or he's acting independently on his own (with his new zombie-ification powers or w/e). | ||
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Thermia
United States866 Posts
On November 17 2010 02:24 Curu wrote: [/spoiler]I think it's pretty evident that Moridin is not Taim. Taim was captured by the Tower, off leading people when he was a false Dragon (before Rand officially proclaimed himself), etc. Moridin is Ishamael, he was busy appearing as Ba'alzamon in the first few books before getting offed by Rand and reborn as Moridin. And Rand met Moridin in Shadar Logoth when fighting Sammael, he would've easily recognized him if he was Taim. At this point who knows what Taim is. Likely bet is he's just a Darkfriend or he's acting independently on his own (with his new zombie-ification powers or w/e). From the scenes in ToM, + Show Spoiler + I'm pretty sure Taim is turning people with 13x13, the one with zombie powers would be Fain (that scene was pretty funny). He's obviously at least working with Moridin though, as he has the second dreamspike at the Black Tower. | ||
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Risen
United States7927 Posts
On November 16 2010 12:18 Kakera wrote: Oh really? Then why don't I just go into your little thread and post uncontributing slander like you do? Oh wait, it's been inactive for 3 months. I won't bother then. /goodday There is so much irony in this post. You're a giant deuchebag User was warned for this post | ||
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King K. Rool
Canada4408 Posts
On November 16 2010 11:10 LTT wrote: + Show Spoiler + 1.) Graendal. It was explicitly stated in the glossary and hinted at twice in the book. The first was with Moridin where she was explaining the death of Halima. He makes a comment regarding "making a habit of it" regarding killing forsaken. The second was in the epilogue when it explicity states that she is responsible for the deaths of 3 forsaken. Only her involvement with Mesaana and Halima are known so the 3rd is Asmo. 2.) It was explicitly stated that Taim is not Demandred by RJ at book signings. It was also stated that Demandred's counterpart (ie. the character he is disguised as) has not appeared in the story yet, but I can't remember which book that was true for. He may have shown up in TGS/TOM. + Show Spoiler + Oh man I've been thinking Taim was Demandred for so long now =/ On November 16 2010 13:35 Thermia wrote: Yeah, whoever said that was flat out wrong. Toll The Hounds was my favorite, personally, and that's book #8. Dark Tower was very good as well, but it is a somewhat different style than the others you mentioned, so it might be hit or miss. Oh yeah? Nice. I read the first one, was really hard to get into, but later on it went by pretty good. Been stalling from reading book 2 even though I own it because book 1 is still a bit fuzzy in my mind. Time to change that. It's too bad they switched cover styles... I have the original cover of the first book, but all the rest is in the new style and it really irks me having the same series be in different book styles ~_~ | ||
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Slayer91
Ireland23335 Posts
The Galad/Berelain thing was a bit too obvious, but it made sense, they both have "perfect" beauty and both have really shallow views of the world, very similar characters. Taim has a dreamspike, so he's probably going to use the Asha'Man against Rand in Tarmon Gai'Don unfortunately. Egwene is a dumb bitch to not understand the seal breaking. Caemyln burning, oh shit mat, hahahahahaha. Verin was right about the curiosity but didn't realize the strength of Mat's hate/laziness towards Aes Sedai. Nakomi was a real teaser. Min still studying hard, looks like they figured out that Callandor is important but its going to fuck rand in the ass somehow. My bet is that the True Power can also be drawn from it, so the Dark One can use it against him, but also Rand can use the True Power due to the (no homo) balefire crossing link with Moridin, the Nae'Blis. A Song of Fire and Ice is great, but its a little more down and dirty than WoT, which is more of a Heart Warming+Cool fights epic novel. You shouldn't directly compare them, also, about after book 7 Jordon seemed to struggle with the series, and slowed down and 8/9/10/11 were also the worse books in the series despite big things happening the rest was just so slow and boring. Sanderson is doing a good job finishing up though. I'd have to reread 1-7 but I'm pretty sure Sanderson is a better writer in general at least for fights/action. | ||
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ShadowDrgn
United States2497 Posts
On November 16 2010 13:17 [GiTM]-Ace wrote: haha Man sanderson rocks. Last 2 books have been the best since sooo long ago in the series. I just wish I didn't read it so fast. Since I'm here just wondering If there are any other fantasy series I Need to read. Read A song of Ice and Fire, Sword of Truth,Started Malazan Book of the Fallen( Didn't continue after i read several people say first book was the only good one), Read Name of the Wind(WHICH IS AWESOME).. considering trying this dark tower series next. But am I missing anything that I should have already read already Read Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. It's only 3 books and they aren't especially long. I've recommended it to a lot of my friends and none of them have been disappointed. | ||
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Risen
United States7927 Posts
On November 17 2010 03:48 ShadowDrgn wrote: Read Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. It's only 3 books and they aren't especially long. I've recommended it to a lot of my friends and none of them have been disappointed. I loved Mistborn... but book 3 was just eh for me. I'd really recommend Elantris and Warbreaker, though. Both are fantastic and rank in my top 5 books I've read. | ||
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TallMax
United States131 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Like in The Gathering Storm, when Mat was writing scripted stories for everyone to keep his mind busy after Tuon left But, there's also a few things I like more from Sanderson, like his wit: + Show Spoiler + When Perrin has Galad ride his horse and Perrin sticks by him to make sure he stays safe, Galad says he doesn't need to bother, and Perrin tells Galad that he's just fond of the horse. So, is he normally kinda funny? | ||
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miseiler
United States1389 Posts
On November 17 2010 04:21 TallMax wrote: So, is he normally kinda funny? Depends on the series. Mistborn is very, very dark. Rarely amusing. (But absolutely awesome) Warbreaker, on the other hand, is genuinely funny. I would heartily recommend both. | ||
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prodiG
Canada2016 Posts
Wheel of Time - Blind Guardian http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGBZuf3mvy0 A friend of mine has informed me that the song is based off the book(s). The song is terrific and if any of you are into power metal then you'll be hooked 8) | ||
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pugowar
United States142 Posts
Anyways I just wanted to say hi to all the WoT readers out there! | ||
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emperorchampion
Canada9496 Posts
I guess it's good I've read through the series multiple times :p | ||
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Undrass
Norway381 Posts
I had planned to enjoy that book. Read a little, not too much, each day, letting me enjoy this book for a long time. Then I blasted through the book in 1 and a half day. oh well... | ||
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lac29
United States1485 Posts
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Telcontar
United Kingdom16710 Posts
On December 31 2010 09:03 lac29 wrote: I'd like to hear more comparisons to A Song of Ice and Fire. I've only read the first book of SIF and none of Wheel of Time. ASoIaF is a very mature and gritty fantasy with little traditional 'high fantasy' themes like magic, elves...etc. If you've read Game of Thrones, i'm sure you got that feel. It is more like a historical drama with fantasy elements that spans many continents in multiple plotlines and POVs. Wheel of Time is not dissimilar in its scale but with more of the traditional fantasy aspects like magic, 'the chosen hero's journey of growing and fulfilling destiny' and all that good jazz. Also, the style of writing of Jordan is very tolkien-esque with heavy description on landscapes, sceneries and the like. I've only read up to the 6th novel so i don't what it's like afterwards but the series was becoming very tedious without any real progression in the story. However the first 4~5 novels are a treat to read and i would definitely recommend them. | ||
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Fa1nT
United States3423 Posts
Apparently Sanderson also did a good job on the later books so far. So just chug through book 9 (or read chapter summaries here http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/) Finish the series :D | ||
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writer22816
United States5775 Posts
On December 31 2010 09:03 lac29 wrote: I'd like to hear more comparisons to A Song of Ice and Fire. I've only read the first book of SIF and none of Wheel of Time. WOT is a lot more slow-paced, there are huge books where very little happens, the good guys are always going to win, and later books are kind of boring. I read WOT first and I enjoyed it, but ASOIAF is a far better fantasy series imo. | ||
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brain_
United States812 Posts
On December 31 2010 10:10 Fa1nT wrote: Telcontar, a lot of people say that book 6-8 are kinda dry, focusing on the side characters a lot, but they say once you hit book 9, the story picks up a LOT. Apparently Sanderson also did a good job on the later books so far. So just chug through book 9 (or read chapter summaries here http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/) Finish the series :D I disagree - the books were good up through 8. 9 (Winter's Heart) was bad and 10 (Crossroads of Twilight) was downright godawful. However 11 (Knife of Dreams), the last book written by Jordan, was good, and 12 was good. I just started 13 today. | ||
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DarthXX
Australia998 Posts
Also + Show Spoiler + Moiraine | ||
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emperorchampion
Canada9496 Posts
On December 31 2010 18:08 DarthXX wrote: Definately approve of Sanderson, the Towers of Midnight didn't have a single boring chapter in it for me, in addition they arn't like some of Jordan's chapter which are like 150 pages sometimes, they're all relatively short in the 20-30ish page region which is very nice. Also + Show Spoiler + Moiraine + Show Spoiler + I really like the last two books, but certain parts seemed kinda cheap. The whole Tower of Ghenji episode was kinda like lolwut?, and the interaction between Galad and Berelain was terrible. I just got the feeling that he was resolving things for the sake of resolving them, and not doing it in a natural way. Maybe it's just me questioning if it wouldn't have been written better if Jordan were still around, but I really felt that Sanderson pulled out some deus ex machina. Where as Jordan really seemed to always build plausible scenarios for everything, which is a lot more boring at times, but more wholesome in the end I think. The book read a lot more like a Sword of Truth novel in my opinion. | ||
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Brad~
United States63 Posts
IMO Jordan had a good imagination & a good story to tell, but he couldn't tell it very well, and he dragged it out for so long that it was like reading the script for a dragon ball Z episode. | ||
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fabulously
Norway724 Posts
On December 31 2010 05:53 pugowar wrote: So I hear that this series is finally actually going to be finished, and I started re-reading Eye of the World and will re-read the rest of the series (stopped reading in the winter's heart first time around as no end in sight). I am so excited to see what happens with my friends Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, and Nynaeve! The first book (especially the second half) is so good! I can't wait to finish tonight and then start book 2. I am hoping to get all caught up in time for the final book to come out. Anyways I just wanted to say hi to all the WoT readers out there! Exactly the same experience as I had. Really enjoyed the first books, but it started to get a bit annoying later on. So many people to keep track on. I didnt make it through Winters heart either, and I am a bit bummed out about that. For about a year I have been meaning to pick it up again, but since its so long ago I read the previous books I gotta start over at the beginning. I havent been keeping a too close eye on the progress of the final book though, so not sure how long time I got in hands. Hopefully enough to, like you, catch up. Despite the dry period of no reading after failing Winters Heart, I really love the series and I am excited to read the end of it all. | ||
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KevinIX
United States2472 Posts
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Sanctimonius
United Kingdom861 Posts
ASoFaI is in it's own class when it comes to fantasy writing - unclear motives, fully developed characters and plots with muddied notions of what is good and bad. Is Tyrion a good guy? He does plenty of evil things. Is Jon Snow? How about Catelyn Stark..? Or Jaime, for that matter? When I read these, as much as I like Gemmell and Eddings it just didn't seem to be a fair comparison. As a side note I finally forced myself to finish Goodkind's Sword of Truth series - the first two books were good, but he just got bogged down in spouting his self-righteous worldview, with main characters who had so little to recommend them. And seriously, taking twenty pages of dialogue and getting bogged down in his own magic system to explain something that could have taken a page to do, or the repeated deus ex going on? Yeah. Martin and Jordan (with Sanderson's help, he's doing a pretty decent job so far) are so much better. Want action fantasy? Read Gemmell's Legend, or Barclay's Chronicles of the Raven, or Cook"s Black Company series. | ||
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Igakusei
United States610 Posts
On January 01 2011 01:31 KevinIX wrote: The audiobooks for Wheel of Time are superb. It makes getting through the books so much easier. This is what I do, so I can listen while driving to and from places, or stranded somewhere with nothing to do for a few hours. The problem with audiobooks is that they take like 5 times longer to get through than just reading the book yourself. Question about the ending of Towers of Midnight: + Show Spoiler + What was up with Lanfear being trapped somewhere and ending up in Rand's warded dreams? Isn't she still running around as Cydane somewhere? Any chance she'll betray the shadow in the final book? On January 01 2011 01:56 Sanctimonius wrote: *snip* As a side note I finally forced myself to finish Goodkind's Sword of Truth series - the first two books were good, but he just got bogged down in spouting his self-righteous worldview, with main characters who had so little to recommend them. And seriously, taking twenty pages of dialogue and getting bogged down in his own magic system to explain something that could have taken a page to do, or the repeated deus ex going on? Yeah. Martin and Jordan (with Sanderson's help, he's doing a pretty decent job so far) are so much better. Want action fantasy? Read Gemmell's Legend, or Barclay's Chronicles of the Raven, or Cook"s Black Company series. I totally agree about Goodkind. The long drawn-out arguments between Jagang and Nicci for example... this power-mad sociopath patiently hacks out a two page monologue to which Nicci replies with her own two page speech. Who the hell talks like that in private conversation, especially those characters? And by the end of the series (excepting the very ending) Richard was still just about as skilled with magic as Rand was with the power at the beginning of The Great Hunt. Suspension of disbelief was just impossible in so many ways and I slogged through the last few books out of an obligation to finish what I started. | ||
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Tozs
Denmark14 Posts
I've also read Sword of Truth first book, and I found it completely void of character development except for+ Show Spoiler + the part where the main character is the torturouss sex slave | ||
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Warpath
Canada1242 Posts
Some of the scenes with Mat in them actually have me laugh out loud + Show Spoiler + Talmanes line to Mat before visiting Elayne "You sure you dont wan't to roll around in the mud a little before we leave?" But the one part of the book that REALLY disappointed me was + Show Spoiler + Aviendha seeing the world after the last battle. did anyone else see this as a huge spoiler and kinda ruin the anticipation? | ||
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MasterOfChaos
Germany2896 Posts
and @Warpath In WoT prophecies only represent possibilities, not absolute truth. And I hope that future can be averted. @Igakusei + Show Spoiler + As I understand it Lanfear hasn't been reborn, but got weakened by the snakes&foxes consuming her power. And currently Moridin has imprisoned her using a soul-trap. So I found that scene consistent with what we know. | ||
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Igakusei
United States610 Posts
On January 19 2011 06:30 Warpath wrote: Sanderson is definitely doing a great job finishing the WoT. I don't read a wide variety of books so I'm more complacent to some things other people find upsetting with the book (Mainly the 'longness' of books ~4-11, I liked reading, i wasn't so worried about knowing the conclusion RIGHT NOW). Some of the scenes with Mat in them actually have me laugh out loud + Show Spoiler + Talmanes line to Mat before visiting Elayne "You sure you dont wan't to roll around in the mud a little before we leave?" But the one part of the book that REALLY disappointed me was + Show Spoiler + Aviendha seeing the world after the last battle. did anyone else see this as a huge spoiler and kinda ruin the anticipation? + Show Spoiler + Well (1) it was a future of her own descendants, and (2) she left Rhuidean with conviction that she wasn't going to let that happen to the Aiel; so I felt like that aspect of it is certainly going to change. I may be remembering wrongly, but it also seemed like it implied Rand lived through the last battle. If true, that's certainly a huge spoiler that ruins some of the anticipation. By the way, I still think he's an ass for destroying the Choedan Kal. He should have used it to nuke the Senchean before destroying it, if nothing else. Screw those guys. | ||
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Beirut
United States673 Posts
My only complaint is how drawn out and uneventful the Aes Sedai chapters were. I can't stand 100 pages at a time that are only concerned with feminine political maneuverings, frosty glares, and low necklines. Dying to read some of the new author's work after I graduate and have a little more time to read for relaxation. | ||
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Telcontar
United Kingdom16710 Posts
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Forester
United States116 Posts
After abandoning the series after book 6 (lord of chaos), i suddenly have this desire to go back to the start and read through it again since the conclusion is near. The reason i stopped reading in the first place was because the series was getting quite tedious and flat. I want to ask those who've read through all the books whether it'll be ok to skip over the 'stale books' or will i be missing out on critical details and plotlines? Do you think just reading online summaries will be suffcient enough for me to not get lost or should i just tough it out and read through them all? Thanks in advance. TBH, books 7-9 are one giant blur of, as Beirut so aptly put it, feminine political maneuverings, frosty glares, and low necklines. You should be good with the summaries, I think Tor.com has some. | ||
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Warpath
Canada1242 Posts
On January 19 2011 06:42 Igakusei wrote: + Show Spoiler + Well (1) it was a future of her own descendants, and (2) she left Rhuidean with conviction that she wasn't going to let that happen to the Aiel; so I felt like that aspect of it is certainly going to change. I may be remembering wrongly, but it also seemed like it implied Rand lived through the last battle. If true, that's certainly a huge spoiler that ruins some of the anticipation. By the way, I still think he's an ass for destroying the Choedan Kal. He should have used it to nuke the Senchean before destroying it, if nothing else. Screw those guys. + Show Spoiler + Exactly, killed a lot of the emotion behind the book for me. The only thing that we can be left with is Rand living and proclaiming peace, or doing the same in noble sacrifice. But it's evidently clear to the outcome of the last battle =[ | ||
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darklordjac
Canada2231 Posts
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FlowerbedOfDreams
Canada126 Posts
On January 19 2011 07:00 Telcontar wrote: After abandoning the series after book 6 (lord of chaos), i suddenly have this desire to go back to the start and read through it again since the conclusion is near. The reason i stopped reading in the first place was because the series was getting quite tedious and flat. I want to ask those who've read through all the books whether it'll be ok to skip over the 'stale books' or will i be missing out on critical details and plotlines? Do you think just reading online summaries will be suffcient enough for me to not get lost or should i just tough it out and read through them all? Thanks in advance. You might want to consider audiobooks. Or you could try, e.g. Leigh Butler's re-read - I've had a good laugh with some of her snide remarks. But, all in all, I don't think the books are actually quite as bad as one tends to remember them. But no, skipping over books just won't work. | ||
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dr.mayco
United States23 Posts
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Rowa
Belgium962 Posts
I'm a huge David Eddings fan (was my first real fantasy series after Tolkien) and i prefer Edding's style as far as entertainement goes (he himself used to say he writes for people's enjoyment), i've not been able to laugh nearly as much as I did reading the belgariad. Does it get better as the story processes or will it stay interesting but shallow ? | ||
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Kimaker
United States2131 Posts
On January 19 2011 16:25 Rowa wrote: I read the first tome four years ago and bought the second but never got to read it, just began reading them again and i am at the end of 2nd, and got tomes 3 and 4 to keep on reading. I'm a huge David Eddings fan (was my first real fantasy series after Tolkien) and i prefer Edding's style as far as entertainement goes (he himself used to say he writes for people's enjoyment), i've not been able to laugh nearly as much as I did reading the belgariad. Does it get better as the story processes or will it stay interesting but shallow ? Belgariad and, subsequently, the Mallorean are some of my all time favorite fantasy novels of all time, however, Eddings DOES tend to rehash scenes that can get pretty annoying considering how fast paced and quick his books are. That being said, he makes you fall in love with the character like no one else I've read. Prince Kheldar is STILL the one guy I'd want to have as my wingman if I could have anyone for one night in Vegas xD And Belgarath is probably the most hilarious "epic" sorcerer ever. You ever read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson? | ||
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brain_
United States812 Posts
On January 19 2011 06:55 Beirut wrote: My only complaint is how drawn out and uneventful the Aes Sedai chapters were. I can't stand 100 pages at a time that are only concerned with feminine political maneuverings, frosty glares, and low necklines. Oh god, so true. Don't forget "raised eyebrows" and tea. Still, though, the series is fun again now. | ||
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Rowa
Belgium962 Posts
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BatTheMan
Canada759 Posts
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volders
Australia26 Posts
On January 19 2011 15:49 dr.mayco wrote: I love WOT, and when I reread them I just make sure to skip Elayne, Egwene's and Perrins parts (at least while he's trying to rescue Faile). I just wish the cover art was a little less awful. Egwene in KoD and TGS is probably one of my favourite parts of the entire series. I do hate most of Elayne's chapters though. On January 19 2011 16:25 Rowa wrote: I read the first tome four years ago and bought the second but never got to read it, just began reading them again and i am at the end of 2nd, and got tomes 3 and 4 to keep on reading. I'm a huge David Eddings fan (was my first real fantasy series after Tolkien) and i prefer Edding's style as far as entertainement goes (he himself used to say he writes for people's enjoyment), i've not been able to laugh nearly as much as I did reading the belgariad. Does it get better as the story processes or will it stay interesting but shallow ? Shallow? One of the last words I would use to describe the WoT and probably one of the first I would use to describe Belgariad/Mallorean, although admittedly I read them ~8 years ago when I was 14. | ||
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Igakusei
United States610 Posts
On January 19 2011 16:59 brain_ wrote: Oh god, so true. Don't forget "raised eyebrows" and tea. Still, though, the series is fun again now. Almost half of book 11 consists of "Aes Sedai" chapters, but for once they're actually fun to read (if a little bit over-the-top). | ||
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Forester
United States116 Posts
On January 19 2011 13:13 Warpath wrote: + Show Spoiler + Exactly, killed a lot of the emotion behind the book for me. The only thing that we can be left with is Rand living and proclaiming peace, or doing the same in noble sacrifice. But it's evidently clear to the outcome of the last battle =[ + Show Spoiler + Actually, Rand might still die. I think he said at the end of ToM that he was going to give Egwene and the others his demands when he met with them at the Field of Alyurssa(idk?). Aviendha's visions mention something about Rand "leaving the Aiel out" of his proclamation, and they also mention the "Peace of the Dragon." My guess is that he demands that all the nations have peace once he is gone but he forgets to include the Aiel in that agreement leaving them free to fight with the Seanchan and get smacked about. | ||
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osten
Sweden316 Posts
little boy, mysterious father, hometown gets burned down, he happens to be the chosen one, and there is magic. I hope something will happen soon to set it even a little apart. I haven't read much fantasy and still it's too many clichés for me. | ||
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
Anyone else crack a smile when Day9 saw DeMaNdReD on his funday Monday? I was like...yep I finally get a username. | ||
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Igakusei
United States610 Posts
On January 19 2011 23:55 osten wrote: Well I just started reading book 1... It was basically a fantasy story exactly like any other, + Show Spoiler + little boy, mysterious father, hometown gets burned down, he happens to be the chosen one, and there is magic. I hope something will happen soon to set it even a little apart. I haven't read much fantasy and still it's too many clichés for me. My sister-in-law stopped halfway through book 1 for the same reasons, and I agree. It changes after the first book, though. The jury is still out on whether the series as a whole is worth reading all 13, but since I've been keeping up with the series since Lord of Chaos it's too late to stop now! | ||
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how
United States538 Posts
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Wesso
Netherlands1245 Posts
On January 20 2011 00:30 how wrote: I am working on it, Just finished book 5 but havnt been able to pick up book 6 yet, super excited though! I would say that if you are into fantasy and have already knocked out LotR, this is the place to turn (personally, I prefer WoT to LotR.) Fair warning, books 7-8 are really longwinded | ||
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qrs
United States3637 Posts
On October 27 2009 13:14 Headlines wrote: I am so excited! I have been religiously reading the Wheel of Time since...damn...not sure how long it's been, hahaha! I am just hoping the bookstores around my town have one since I didn't pre-order. Have any of you been reading Leigh Butler's re-reads on tor? She gives such insightful commentary on each of the chapters, and the comments by the users are definitely a big bonus. On January 19 2011 13:33 FlowerbedOfDreams wrote: Thanks for the link to Leigh's summaries, guys. I threw in the towel at book 10 and never worked up the will to go back, although the comments that Sanderson's continuation makes the series much better again have tempted me. (unlike many, though, I didn't like his Mistborn series much). I wasn't about to reread thousands of pages (which I no longer even own), knowing that in the middle I would start to get sick of them.You might want to consider audiobooks. Or you could try, e.g. Leigh Butler's re-read - I've had a good laugh with some of her snide remarks. But, all in all, I don't think the books are actually quite as bad as one tends to remember them. But no, skipping over books just won't work. I've been taking a look at Butler's summaries, though, and they're really great: very condensed, yet manage to remind me of everything important that happens, and even why I used to love the series so much; she's also very funny and makes some very insightful and thought-provoking comments. The commenters are also often very good, and I really like how Butler responds to them all. I'm still only in the first book, but if the summaries/comments continue to be as good as this, I may end up actually rejoining the series for the last books. Thanks for the pointer, guys, and I third the recommendation for any lapsed reader who is curious but doesn't want to invest the time in rereading all those books to get up to speed again. | ||
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sJarl
Iceland1699 Posts
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goswser
United States3525 Posts
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Warpath
Canada1242 Posts
On January 20 2011 00:00 mierin wrote: ^It soon surpasses whatever you think it's copying IMO. 1) more like a man 2) hometown is just fine after the fires 3) there's more than one "chosen one" etc... Anyone else crack a smile when Day9 saw DeMaNdReD on his funday Monday? I was like...yep I finally get a username. Same deal with Cauthonluck | ||
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Premier
United States503 Posts
On January 20 2011 01:14 Newguy wrote: Loved them. To anyone whose read them, I would recommend the Malazan Books of the Fallen series, by Steven Erikson. Great Series, #1 behind WoT. Has alot more going on at one time though once you get deep into it, but is still a great read. | ||
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Scodia
United Kingdom588 Posts
Mattrim Cauthon is probably my favorite character from a book ever. | ||
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Manit0u
Poland17254 Posts
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ThaZenith
Canada3116 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Best part's imo were Rand not acting like a dipshit (that really annoyed me) and Jain Farstrider. I'd really like to know more of his story, like how he lived that long/came back knowing who he was. Maybe it was explained a bit and i missed it. Newguy wrote: Loved them. To anyone whose read them, I would recommend the Malazan Books of the Fallen series, by Steven Erikson( I'm not sure liking WoT would mean they'd like the Malazan series. I found it not only totally different in terms of story telling/style, but there are a lot of things you have to infer yourself, a lot not explained adequately, and in general just too complex of a story-line (sometimes). I've been a "bookworm" all my life, but even I found myself lost on occasion in the first few books. I'm not finished them, as i generally only read during the summer, and I'll be picking up the series again when summer rolls around. But i just had to say they aren't at all alike. | ||
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
On February 27 2011 07:32 Scodia wrote: Absolutely Adore WoT books, fav series behind the Belgariad and Just slightly ahead of the Malorean. I mean David Eddings is a beast. Mattrim Cauthon is probably my favorite character from a book ever. Yes! Mat is absolutely the "bloody greatest" character ever in a book series IMO. Forget all the Aes Sedai...Mat is where it's at ^.^ | ||
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DrThorMD
Canada359 Posts
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corrosion
Norway29 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Knowing that the charater that appeared to be the Dark One was in fact Ishamael masquerading gave me a totally different perspective on things. Edit: I messed up the initial post. After looking it up on Wikipedia I realized that Ba'alzamon was in fact not a synonym for the Dark One, but a name given to Ishamael by Trollocs that thought he was the dark one. Or something like that anyway. | ||
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Wesso
Netherlands1245 Posts
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LumberJack
United States3355 Posts
On February 27 2011 07:32 Scodia wrote: Absolutely Adore WoT books, fav series behind the Belgariad and Just slightly ahead of the Malorean. I mean David Eddings is a beast. Mattrim Cauthon is probably my favorite character from a book ever. I've read all of those and really enjoyed them. I'm rereading the WoT series, when i stopped only Knife of Dreams book 12 was out, apparently there are 3 more. In celebration, i decided to reread them all! I'd really recommend the Sword of Truth series, its by far my fav series, ive read it twice and will re read it again. I'm looking forward to the final 3 books in WoT! | ||
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Aurocaido
Canada288 Posts
Sanderson in my opinion has done a masterful job of finishing the series. The ending of The Gathering Storm literally gave me chills, and the Aviendra scene in Towers of Midnight did the same. Those two books have made the repetitive shit of books 6-10 worth it and I can't wait for A Memory of Light. | ||
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Torenhire
United States11681 Posts
On March 02 2011 10:28 Aurocaido wrote: WoT is a great series, however as already stated after book 5/6 it tends to get a little long winded with not a lot actually happening. Winters Heart in particular is probably the worst fantasy novel I have ever read, you can seriously not read it and have missed next to nothing concerning plot advancement. Sanderson in my opinion has done a masterful job of finishing the series. The ending of The Gathering Storm literally gave me chills, and the Aviendra scene in Towers of Midnight did the same. Those two books have made the repetitive shit of books 6-10 worth it and I can't wait for A Memory of Light. *has hit a brick wall trying to finish Winters Heart* T_T It's a great series though, loved the first three books the most thus far, but once I batter down this damn Winters Heart I hope it will pick up again! | ||
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Scodia
United Kingdom588 Posts
On March 02 2011 10:28 Aurocaido wrote: WoT is a great series, however as already stated after book 5/6 it tends to get a little long winded with not a lot actually happening. Winters Heart in particular is probably the worst fantasy novel I have ever read, you can seriously not read it and have missed next to nothing concerning plot advancement. Sanderson in my opinion has done a masterful job of finishing the series. The ending of The Gathering Storm literally gave me chills, and the Aviendra scene in Towers of Midnight did the same. Those two books have made the repetitive shit of books 6-10 worth it and I can't wait for A Memory of Light. I can forgive those books because they flesh out mat's character so much. | ||
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
On March 02 2011 10:32 Torenhire wrote: *has hit a brick wall trying to finish Winters Heart* T_T It's a great series though, loved the first three books the most thus far, but once I batter down this damn Winters Heart I hope it will pick up again! Oh dear...if you didn't like Winter's Heart (which I thought was a vast improvement over book 8) you REALLY won't like Crossroads of Twilight :x | ||
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Aurocaido
Canada288 Posts
On March 02 2011 10:36 mierin wrote: Oh dear...if you didn't like Winter's Heart (which I thought was a vast improvement over book 8) you REALLY won't like Crossroads of Twilight :x Maybe it was Crossroads of Twilight I am thinking of then. It is hard with so many books they have all sort of blended into one big story for me. + Show Spoiler + Was it Winters Heart where Rand cleansed Saidin or Crossroads of Twilight? | ||
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lagmaster
United States374 Posts
Maybe it was Crossroads of Twilight I am thinking of then. It is hard with so many books they have all sort of blended into one big story for me. + Show Spoiler + Was it Winters Heart where Rand cleansed Saidin or Crossroads of Twilight? + Show Spoiler + Rand cleansed saidin in Winter's heart. We don't see much of rand in CoT. Most of the time is spent covering Perrin and his manipulative bitch of a wife The newest book was indeed awesome, though I disagree with TheZenith on the best part. + Show Spoiler + Rand acting mature and wise beyond his years was pretty cool... but by far the best scene in the book was when Semirhage snapped the collar on Rand's neck. It was one of those scenes that just gripped my heart so tightly. If Rand was actually to kill Min with his own hands then he would be breaking the world in a heartbeat. Despite RJ and Sanderson refusing to kill off any major characters ala George R.R. Martin style, i truly felt in that moment that Min might die. It was a scene that left me breathless. It's on par with Lanfear blowing up the wagon walking out of the flames screaming at Rand after she finds out he slept with Aviendha. Such powerful imagery. | ||
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
wrong book, rand acted all mature and shit in towers of midnight, he almost killed min in the gathering storm | ||
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lagmaster
United States374 Posts
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mytent
United States156 Posts
Brandon Sanderson? God.. he writes like a child. He doesn't even TRY to write in the same style as Robert Jordan... ...gave up reading after I bought the first Sanderson book in the WOT series. | ||
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Cowpieguy
United States97 Posts
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andrewwiggin
Australia435 Posts
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ShatterStorm
Australia146 Posts
He's not just a guy who's "read the series and trying to work on ending it' but rather bound by extensive notes & discussions with all the originally involved parties. Nothing is released until/unless it gets the all clear from the franchise owners (Jordan Family, Editors, Publishers etc) It is not possible for it to be exactly as Robert Jordan would have written if he were still alive, but all efforts are being made to ensure it is as close as humanly possible. A much better alternative to simply leaving the story unfinished at all in my opinion. | ||
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ThaZenith
Canada3116 Posts
On March 02 2011 11:06 KOFgokuon wrote: + Show Spoiler + wrong book, rand acted all mature and shit in towers of midnight, he almost killed min in the gathering storm I was just going to point that out, thanks. I do agree it was very good though. ^^ Edit: He may not write in the same style, but the story is still Jordan's. And it's so good, I don't understand how the change of author for the last 3 books would make you not want to finish it. Reading 11 books into a series is a pretty big time investment, even if the series transformed magically into Hello Kitty I'd finish it. Wouldn't even have to think about it. ^^ | ||
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DisaFear
Australia4074 Posts
This series is my favourite. I can't say anymore | ||
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Aurocaido
Canada288 Posts
There is only so much I can read about room decoration and how distrustful everyone is of Aes Sedai. I got it Jordan, you did not need to keep telling me every couple paragraphs. Sanderson is just so refreshing it didn't even matter to me that he messed up Matt. The other stale characters like Perrin, Egwene, and Elayne (Elayne is still one of my most disliked) became interesting to read again. Especially Perrin in Towers of Midnight + Show Spoiler + The power forged weapon scene was awesome I for one am glad the story is finally moving forward again and being brought to a close. The way Jordan was going about it the series would have lasted for another 11 books. | ||
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Torenhire
United States11681 Posts
On March 02 2011 10:36 mierin wrote: Oh dear...if you didn't like Winter's Heart (which I thought was a vast improvement over book 8) you REALLY won't like Crossroads of Twilight :x It's not DISLIKING persay. And I actually lied, I'm not even that far into the series yet, I'm stuck in the Crown of Swords. Just stuck in a particularly drab part of the book but it's drab for all the seperate characters so it's like 5x plots of nothing. I love the series, no doubt about that. I'll make it through, I just don't read as much at once as I used to. | ||
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KevinIX
United States2472 Posts
On March 02 2011 16:14 Torenhire wrote: It's not DISLIKING persay. And I actually lied, I'm not even that far into the series yet, I'm stuck in the Crown of Swords. Just stuck in a particularly drab part of the book but it's drab for all the seperate characters so it's like 5x plots of nothing. I love the series, no doubt about that. I'll make it through, I just don't read as much at once as I used to. Trust me, go download the torrent of the audiobook and listen to it. Robert Jordan spends too much time describing the detail in his world that reading it gets tedious, but if you sit back and listen to the story and imagine the world in your head, it's far more enjoyable. | ||
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Mora
Canada5235 Posts
I miss Jordan's writing incredibly. I loved it. While many found it tedious, I loved every piece of it, and trying to read the story from Sanderson's perspective is painful at times. But that isn't a slight against Sanderson. Robert Jordan is dead. What can you do? | ||
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TheAbysCries
Australia41 Posts
On April 09 2003 17:57 Liquid`Spy wrote: Icewind Dale (by R.A. Salvatore) Wat, like the kickass DnD RPG? *looks it up* OK I geuss not.... Anyway I remember reading the 1st book, and I have NOOO idea why I didn't read any more. I'm gonna see if I can find the next books. Also sux that there's a lot of negative comments about some of the books and stuff, I geuss I'll just have to see. | ||
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Torenhire
United States11681 Posts
On March 02 2011 16:18 KevinIX wrote: Trust me, go download the torrent of the audiobook and listen to it. Robert Jordan spends too much time describing the detail in his world that reading it gets tedious, but if you sit back and listen to the story and imagine the world in your head, it's far more enjoyable. Hmm, I might just try that, not a bad idea! | ||
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ShadowDrgn
United States2497 Posts
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Branch.AUT
Austria853 Posts
was rather disappointing | ||
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me_viet
Australia1350 Posts
I forget the name but it was when + Show Spoiler + Mat and stuff went to the tower and escaped and then the city was about to get attacked due to proxy gates...then it ended =[ | ||
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Slayer91
Ireland23335 Posts
On March 02 2011 23:56 eezyBash wrote: I tried reading the first one, but that was just like lord of the rings, so i stopped a quarter in was rather disappointing Grats, wheel of time diverges from lord of the rings totally about after the first book! | ||
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Manit0u
Poland17254 Posts
On March 03 2011 00:04 Slayer91 wrote: Grats, wheel of time diverges from lord of the rings totally about after the first book! Yeah, it becomes Dune by then with | ||
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Slayer91
Ireland23335 Posts
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AegonC
United States260 Posts
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DarthXX
Australia998 Posts
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Ozell
Canada105 Posts
I would also recommend David's Eddings work in general (Especially the Belgariad if I remember well). It's some nice fantasy easy to read and quite entertaining | ||
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Asrathiel
Australia377 Posts
I love these books! Aviendha is my favourite, she rocks (slightly less since she had to become a Wise One ) but Mat's storyline is the best, god he's funny :D | ||
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lagmaster
United States374 Posts
On September 20 2011 10:08 AegonC wrote: I just started WOT and it seems really epic so far. I love his writing style, but idk how he can stretch this out over, what, 12 books? Books 4-6 are amazing, then it's not as great. When Brandon Sanderson takes over in book 11 it picks back up again. Great series, but he's much much much more tame than George R.R. Martin. You have a ways ahead of you if you're undertaking this series. But it was worth it when I did it. Edit: I was expecting the new book's release date was announced when i saw this bumped | ||
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aebriol
Norway2066 Posts
On September 20 2011 17:44 Asrathiel wrote: Ooh yay WoT thread <3 I love these books! Aviendha is my favourite, she rocks (slightly less since she had to become a Wise One ) but Mat's storyline is the best, god he's funny :DMin is far better :/ Imho | ||
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Immersion_
United Kingdom794 Posts
Pff Moiraine was always the best, dunno what u lot are smoking! I read these books about 6/7 years ago en masse, then the dribs and drabs as they came in. The first 5/6 are amazing, 9 is decent, as are 11+. 10 was so bad it wasn't actually funny (IMO). I do love the depth and his style though, it used to be far and away my fav series, A Song of Ice and Fire is beginning to rival it although they are quite different, and book 4 of that was also pretty bad imo. | ||
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Ghardo
Germany1685 Posts
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Sindri
Australia56 Posts
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Spitfire
South Africa442 Posts
Love it. The whole 'prophecy' idea may be done to death but its done really well in this instance. | ||
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Perseverance
Japan2800 Posts
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Logros
Netherlands9913 Posts
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AmericanUmlaut
Germany2577 Posts
To those of you recommending David Eddings and George RR Martin: Hell yeah! The Belgariad and the Elenium were both favorites of mine as a teenager, and I'm reading A Song of Ice and Fire right now with great enjoyment. | ||
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craque
United States32 Posts
Perhaps GOT had set the bar too high. WOT just seemed to be lacking in every aspect: the quality of its universe and mythos, the believability of it's characters, the polish of its story, even the language use of the author seemed subpar. Worst of all was that despite all flaws it seems that the series is held in the same regard as ASOIAF (hence the burning hatred). Can someone explain why the series is so beloved? To me it is as if people think the newest Duke Nukem is just as good a game as Starcraft and is a better e-sports platform. edit: grammar | ||
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casualman
United States1198 Posts
The later books in wheel of time are pretty damn crap but the same can be said for a song of ice and fire | ||
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DisaFear
Australia4074 Posts
I gave up on ASOIAF after book 3.5, probably should go and re-read Eagerly awaiting the ending to this series EDIT: @craque The first book is like that, the rest are better | ||
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Autofire2
Pakistan290 Posts
This isn't the way it HAS to be, just often the way it is. For Sci Fi, a huge amount of short stories by Isaac Asimov are absolutely sublime. Simply written, but great concepts. Frank Herbert's Dune is possibly the most complete sci fi story out there, though his later books weren't really that good. Farenheit 451. 1984. Enders Game. There's a lot of wealth in that genre. As for Fantasy...someone recommended Salvatore for his dark elf trilogy. It reads like a cartoon. Shannara is watered down LoTR and also has a very popcorny (corny and you feel like you should be having popcorn) shade to it. His Dark Materials starts off strong, IIRC, but loses the plot somewhere along the line. Robert Jordon explodes into exposition and weak characterization. The only new fantasy series that has truly impressed (can't really called Martin 'new' anymore) is The Kingkiller chronicles, which starts with The Name of the Wind. That's really, really good. Not so epic as the two giants, but absolutely does what it sets out to do. That said, since the series is neither finished nor so huge that you can get a good idea how it'll be, I can't make a final judgment. Still, if you like fantasy, your opportunities for good writing are limited and I would definitely recommend this one. Having said all that, I haven't read Dark Tower or whatever. How is that? | ||
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Logros
Netherlands9913 Posts
On September 20 2011 21:18 craque wrote: Maybe it was because I started WOT after I read all the ASOIAF books, but I found that I had to force myself to finish the first book of WOT and couldn't get any further once I realized that the first book had filled me with a burning hatred for the series. Perhaps GOT had set the bar too high. WOT just seemed to be lacking in every aspect: the quality of its universe and mythos, the believability of it's characters, the polish of its story, even the language use of the author seemed subpar. Worst of all was that despite all flaws it seems that the series is held in the same regard as ASOIAF (hence the burning hatred). Can someone explain why the series is so beloved? To me it is as if people think the newest Duke Nukem is just as good a game as Starcraft and is a better e-sports platform. edit: grammar Well part of it is that WoT was one of the first big epic fantasy series after LotR. I probably like ASOIAF more, but I still enjoyed the WoT books. And although some of the later books became longwinded, the same can be said of the last 2 ASOIAF books. Steven Erikson is the best though You can read those books for the 20th time and still find out new stuff. | ||
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bigjenk
United States1543 Posts
On September 20 2011 21:31 Autofire2 wrote: Honestly, LoTR and (EDIT) Game of Thrones are the only Fantasy books that are truly 'literature', almost everything else I've read is pure popcorn fiction. I love the fantasy genre, but it has far fewer true giants than the Sci Fi genre...perhaps because fantasy is often seen as a venue to escapism and sci fi is seen as a place where writers can talk about more 'serious' issues by filtering them through the lens of a new technology, a new age etc. This isn't the way it HAS to be, just often the way it is. For Sci Fi, a huge amount of short stories by Isaac Asimov are absolutely sublime. Simply written, but great concepts. Frank Herbert's Dune is possibly the most complete sci fi story out there, though his later books weren't really that good. Farenheit 451. 1984. Enders Game. There's a lot of wealth in that genre. As for Fantasy...someone recommended Salvatore for his dark elf trilogy. It reads like a cartoon. Shannara is watered down LoTR and also has a very popcorny (corny and you feel like you should be having popcorn) shade to it. His Dark Materials starts off strong, IIRC, but loses the plot somewhere along the line. Robert Jordon explodes into exposition and weak characterization. The only new fantasy series that has truly impressed (can't really called Martin 'new' anymore) is The Kingkiller chronicles, which starts with The Name of the Wind. That's really, really good. Not so epic as the two giants, but absolutely does what it sets out to do. That said, since the series is neither finished nor so huge that you can get a good idea how it'll be, I can't make a final judgment. Still, if you like fantasy, your opportunities for good writing are limited and I would definitely recommend this one. Having said all that, I haven't read Dark Tower or whatever. How is that? Good thing Jordan's peers all credit him with revitalizing the genre, and grrm personally credits him with inspiring his writing style. | ||
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craque
United States32 Posts
On September 20 2011 21:23 lariat wrote: They're different books. WOT is more high fantasy and "overall grand struggle" than ISOIAF which is about people struggling for power. You don't see people wrecking on LotR even though it possesses the same qualities you attribute WoT. The language is honestly better than ISOIAF: better imagery, stronger vocabulary, etc. Martin writes in vernacular which I find pretty suitable for what he's doing but is overall less impressive than what Jordan accomplishes. The later books in wheel of time are pretty damn crap but the same can be said for a song of ice and fire 1. I don't wreck on LoTR because it was the progenitor series that lead to the current ones so its flaws are mostly excusable and don't really detract from the quality of the series. To me, WOT's flaws are much less excusable because its peer, ASOIAF, doesn't have those flaws (WOT's first book only predates ASOIAF's first book by 6 years and they have been concurrent for 15 years). 2. WoT's vocabulary did not seem noticeably better, but I find Martin's imagery to be superior to Jordan's. Agree to disagree. 3. "what Jordan accomplishes" this the crux of what I am asking: what did Jordan accomplish? To me it didn't seem like he accomplished anything besides writing a long, mediocre series. | ||
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craque
United States32 Posts
On September 20 2011 21:29 DisaFear wrote: I liked the later WoT books (9 onwards), thought the two before that were bad I gave up on ASOIAF after book 3.5, probably should go and re-read Eagerly awaiting the ending to this series EDIT: @craque The first book is like that, the rest are better The problem is that the first book left me so disillusioned that I'm not sure I want to risk reading any more books. The things that bothered me most was the extravagant use of plot armor and the one dimensionality of the characters. Can you tell me if either of those gets any better? I'm willing to give it another go if those get toned down. | ||
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craque
United States32 Posts
On September 20 2011 21:44 bigjenk wrote: Good thing Jordan's peers all credit him with revitalizing the genre, and grrm personally credits him with inspiring his writing style. I heard this too and it confuses the hell out of me. GRRM's style and Jordan's style don't seem to be similar on any level | ||
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Rodberd
Germany531 Posts
the beginning was really boring (IMO) but it started to become better with every book. there are a few things that are still a bit annoying like you have to check from time to time who the heck a person is, because its storyline pops out pretty randomly. next thing, some characters have these little ticks they to over and over, and you getting tired of reading it. like X is pulling her hair, Y is clubbing some baby-seals, Z looks angry. from my point, its getting really aweseom up from book 20 (german countig) and sometimes i was almost forced to skip a chapter because i wanted to know whats happing to another person. tl:dr dont give up read all of them and feel happy you had the stamina to go on. its worth it | ||
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Talin15
Canada14 Posts
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Maginor
Norway505 Posts
On September 20 2011 22:01 craque wrote: The problem is that the first book left me so disillusioned that I'm not sure I want to risk reading any more books. The things that bothered me most was the extravagant use of plot armor and the one dimensionality of the characters. Can you tell me if either of those gets any better? I'm willing to give it another go if those get toned down. Plot armor is unfortunately a big weakness in WoT. Though he does actually explain it to an extent within the story through concepts such as the pattern and Ta'veren. But that is of course nothing more than trying to explain away a definite weakness of the plot. Young untrained good-guys constantly take out infinitely better trained bad-guys most often because the bad-guys are overconfident or fall to a simple trick. How did the Forsaken survive the War of the Shadow anyway if they are that incompetent? I don't feel like the characters were that one-dimensional, even in the first book. Especially the younger characters will develop a lot through the books. | ||
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Axak
Denmark33 Posts
BrandSanderson: "Granted, that's a deadline I set for myself, so it can move if I feel it needs to. I'd still like to hit it. #AMoL progress bar moved to 61%" (few days ago on twitter) @Talin15 i think i saw march 2012 mentioned somewhere, cant remember where though. Also reading A Song of Ice and Fire which i am enjoying a lot. | ||
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Immersion_
United Kingdom794 Posts
On September 20 2011 22:11 Maginor wrote: Plot armor is unfortunately a big weakness in WoT. Though he does actually explain it to an extent within the story through concepts such as the pattern and Ta'veren. But that is of course nothing more than trying to explain away a definite weakness of the plot. Young untrained good-guys constantly take out infinitely better trained bad-guys most often because the bad-guys are overconfident or fall to a simple trick. How did the Forsaken survive the War of the Shadow anyway if they are that incompetent? I don't feel like the characters were that one-dimensional, even in the first book. Especially the younger characters will develop a lot through the books. The characters are mostly not 1D at all imo, with a few notable exceptions. I have to say if you didn't like the first book you may struggle, I thoroughly enjoyed it, though two is extremely good too imo so might be worth a try. The strength of WoT is in it's environments and it's grand story telling, and despite overuse of "plot armour" it does manage to create a great build up of suspense (except for like 7, 8, 10). Honestly I think they surpass ASOIAF in that regard, Tar Valon and the whole story around that is just immense imo. Kind offtopic answer but these books really are good, plot armour is rarely breached, characters are for the most part well fleshed out a long the way, especially many of the major ones, some are just kind of set in their ways but I don't think everyone needs to go on some kind of epic transitional journey. At the end of the day though, book one is about the start of a journey for a bunch of naive essentially children, and I think it portrays that pretty damn well, so I struggle to recommend more if you can have such major grips with what is such a great book. | ||
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whitelly
Czech Republic50 Posts
so far it looks like 11k pages long history of one world.that scares me,so far i most enjoyed warhammer and fantasy parody(hehe) | ||
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Alethios
New Zealand2765 Posts
On September 21 2011 06:26 whitelly wrote: Hello ,could somebody introduce a bit these books? ,i wonder,is it just boy becomes man ,smashes bad guys,artifacts and prohecy clishe or is it different?and i hope no dragons included.(i hate dragons) so far it looks like 11k pages long history of one world.that scares me,so far i most enjoyed warhammer and fantasy parody(hehe) The way I'd describe WoT would be like this: I've become to see the WoT as everything Robert Jordan knew about the world (or perhaps more specifically, about life). About people and their interactions, about war, drugs, politics, social norms and structures, the mind and its inner workings, power, love, grief, hatred, life, death, jealousy, slavery, beauty. Its absolutely incredible how much there is to learn from these books. People have differing opinions on the strength of the writing itself. Personally I found the tales of the many of the main characters to be very compelling, and followed along with interest as the characters all changed, made mistakes, learned and developed. The main character's descent into madness I find particularly fascinating because all the decisions he makes, and the conclusions he comes to are all immensely understandable yet are ultimately what brings about his downfall. Jordan could have killed the characters off more often, but their stories weren't complete yet, so he couldn't. The series does suffer a little for it when, as a reader, you're left without quite the same feelings of excitement and so on. So it's the story of a entire world, telling the story of our entire world. All the people in it (the lens more on some than others), all the things that happen over the course of a few eventful years. I think the lack of this perspective is what gives people their dislike of some of the middle books in particular. At the same time, the wider world unfolds very ambiently through reports you hear, and minor characters experiences and you're able to take as much of an interest, read as deeply as you choose to. Its funny, reading ASOIAF was a bit of a disappointment to me. Perhaps I came in with too high expectations, but I kept expecting to learn, to be provided with metaphors and structures as wondrous as those in the WoT. Instead, it's a series about backstabbing, sex, maneuvering, war and suchlike. It all makes for a ripping good yarn, but I don't put down the book feeling enlightened. EDIT: No flying lizards. | ||
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lagmaster
United States374 Posts
Watching these characters grow and develop, from farm kids to heroes, is really what most youngsters (i started the series when I was 15) also desire. ASOIAF removes that ideal fantasy element where everything seems to go right for the heroes. The reason I stopped reading ASOIAF is because I found it hard to really root for any of the characters. In a setting like WoT, I could pick from any of these heroic individuals and could aspire to be like them. In ASOIAF, as soon as I start liking a character he/she will either die or there will be some terrible terrible truth truth revealed about them that makes you doubt everything you thought about them before. In the 2 books I read, I grew to dislike just about every character and it felt like I could no longer root for anyone. In Neil Gaimann books or a graphic novel like Watchmen (both carry this depressing tone throughout the story) you can still find characters/heroes to root for. ASOIAF is both depressing and filled with heartless bastards. | ||
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Shaetan
United States1175 Posts
http://www.dragonmount.com/index.php/News/amol/a-memory-of-light-release-date-speculation-r202 Looks like somewhere between July and November. | ||
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nihlon
Sweden5581 Posts
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smileyyy
Germany1816 Posts
On November 24 2011 17:21 Shaetan wrote: Nooo publication date delayed http://www.dragonmount.com/index.php/News/amol/a-memory-of-light-release-date-speculation-r202 Looks like somewhere between July and November. bleh I finally want to finish this series !!!. I knew it 8 years ago or sth when I started Wheel of Time. I actually thought damn I bet the guy dies before he finishes it and yeah he did.. I just want to know the end about Mat Cauthon the last book must have at least 1/3 about him ;:D On November 24 2011 17:24 nihlon wrote: That's why I've stopped reading these long ass books series, you risk dying of natural causes before all books have been release. And I'm in my 20's. -_- lol yeah thats what I usually think too. but I started to read Game of Thrones ... and by now I certainly should know it better I started to read Brandon Sanderson Stormlight Archive too .... bleeeh I cant wait for the second book | ||
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[GiTM]-Ace
United States4935 Posts
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Headlines
United States482 Posts
@nihlon, This is the final book in the Wheel of Time series. I think you're referring to George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones. | ||
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Surili
United Kingdom1141 Posts
Brandon Sanderson has injected much needed movement into the last two and i can't wait for the final book! | ||
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undyinglight
United States611 Posts
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vetinari
Australia602 Posts
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Surili
United Kingdom1141 Posts
On November 24 2011 18:34 undyinglight wrote: I am reading Eye of the World! If you aren't sold too well on that book i really recommend trying the second one because the first one does have some weaknesses partly because it was originally designed as a stand alone book as opposed to the first of the series and then it was molded slightly. | ||
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DisaFear
Australia4074 Posts
 I guess it gives me time to catch up on other series' as well as re-read WoT once more | ||
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undyinglight
United States611 Posts
On November 24 2011 18:50 Surili wrote: If you aren't sold too well on that book i really recommend trying the second one because the first one does have some weaknesses partly because it was originally designed as a stand alone book as opposed to the first of the series and then it was molded slightly. Quite interesting...I haven't gotten to far int it but I am liking it so far, especially since the trolloc attack, now it is getting really interesting. | ||
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AlmightyJoker
United States48 Posts
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isleyofthenorth
Austria894 Posts
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Spitfire
South Africa442 Posts
Absolutely love this series. Epic fantasy as its best IMO. I tried reading it about 9 years ago, book 2 to 4 were epic but it slowed down a lot around book 5 and I lost interest. Gonna try persevere to the end this time though since the series is almost concluded, but the first 4 books have been even better for me on 2nd read-through. The 1st book feels very similar to LOTR at first, but at the end of the 1st book is where the series starts to become its own, and in the 2nd book it really takes off. | ||
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kafkaesque
Germany2006 Posts
On April 09 2003 00:57 badteeth wrote: not yet, waiting for pdf on kazaa. It's like finding a long burrowed time capsule. | ||
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Surili
United Kingdom1141 Posts
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WTFZerg
United States704 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Rand has a fight with one of the Forsaken in Shadar Logoth Very well written series of books, but it can be incredibly long-winded. Was thinking of re-reading them and maybe finishing the series, since I read them when I was like 13 or 14. also, + Show Spoiler + I remember a scene where the Aiel take Rand hostage for period of time and the Black Tower finally frees him in a badass fight. | ||
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Ciryandor
United States3735 Posts
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randombum
United States2378 Posts
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Monsen
Germany2548 Posts
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Earll
Norway847 Posts
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lagmaster
United States374 Posts
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aebriol
Norway2066 Posts
While it's always sad when someone you know of dies, I think the series would never have finished if Jordan had livet ... he just kept dragging it on and on and on and on and on and ... yeah. | ||
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HotShizz
France710 Posts
On December 22 2011 22:03 aebriol wrote: weird as it is, the first 5 or 6 books are great, the rest sort of blended together in a 'not worthwhile at all' sort of fashion, but the ending looks like it might be good. While it's always sad when someone you know of dies, I think the series would never have finished if Jordan had livet ... he just kept dragging it on and on and on and on and on and ... yeah. To be fair the "last book" Sanderson was supposed to write turned into a trilogy :S , not so sure it made a big difference... I like Sanderson, but I wish Jordan could have finished it, and also for his family I am sure it would be better too... | ||
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Ramong
Denmark1706 Posts
On November 24 2011 22:37 kafkaesque wrote: It's like finding a long burrowed time capsule. haha, exactly what I thought! I love this series at nr 5 atm ! | ||
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riddi
United Kingdom118 Posts
On December 22 2011 22:32 HotShizz wrote: To be fair the "last book" Sanderson was supposed to write turned into a trilogy :S , not so sure it made a big difference... I like Sanderson, but I wish Jordan could have finished it, and also for his family I am sure it would be better too... Also wish Jordan couldve finished it, and cant help feeling that Sanderson made the last book into a trilogy for profit reasons rather than story, but hey. I wish hed hurry up and finish it though! Also agree with the statement that books 8, 9, 10 etc for me did drag on abit, were not so interesting etc, but as a whole i still absolutely love this series. Also the last books that Sanderson has written really do read (to me at least) asif its still Jordan, so well done to him. | ||
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drumsetjunky
United States136 Posts
On December 22 2011 22:50 riddi wrote: Also wish Jordan couldve finished it, and cant help feeling that Sanderson made the last book into a trilogy for profit reasons rather than story, but hey. I wish hed hurry up and finish it though! Also agree with the statement that books 8, 9, 10 etc for me did drag on abit, were not so interesting etc, but as a whole i still absolutely love this series. Also the last books that Sanderson has written really do read (to me at least) asif its still Jordan, so well done to him. The choice to make the last book a trilogy had already been considered and discussed by Mr. Jordan in private conversations with his wife and TOR. Sanderson had no part in that decision. Basically, he's just there for the day to day choices on wording, syntax, and style. | ||
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MasterBlasterCaster
United States568 Posts
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King K. Rool
Canada4408 Posts
On December 22 2011 22:50 riddi wrote: Also wish Jordan couldve finished it, and cant help feeling that Sanderson made the last book into a trilogy for profit reasons rather than story, but hey. I wish hed hurry up and finish it though! Also agree with the statement that books 8, 9, 10 etc for me did drag on abit, were not so interesting etc, but as a whole i still absolutely love this series. Also the last books that Sanderson has written really do read (to me at least) asif its still Jordan, so well done to him. A drag is an understatement. + Show Spoiler + FUCKING PERRIN GODDAMMIT SO MUCH POTENTIAL FOR ASS KICKING WASTED | ||
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Monsen
Germany2548 Posts
)I was very pleased with Sandersons writing so far, last one will be epic. | ||
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Acrofales
Spain17982 Posts
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Maginor
Norway505 Posts
On December 22 2011 22:58 drumsetjunky wrote: The choice to make the last book a trilogy had already been considered and discussed by Mr. Jordan in private conversations with his wife and TOR. Sanderson had no part in that decision. Basically, he's just there for the day to day choices on wording, syntax, and style. It had not been discussed with Jordan, who insisted that a Memory of Light should be one book. It was Sanderson who wanted to do it in three books (initially in two), and Harriet and the publisher agreed. It was probably the right call, or the book would be too big and too crammed. He also has a pretty big influence on the story since not everything was planned out by Jordan in detail. Of course, the main events are planned by Jordan, but not all the transitions between the events or the resolutions of minor plot elements. | ||
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Mindor
169 Posts
My brother got the first 5 or 6 books as a Christmas present a couple of years back and we finished them in less than 11 days. After that I didn't like them as much - when the story got too horizontal and with the gazillion different side stories, it only progressed like a week per book. Also, I'm the kind of person to get myself invested in a storyline and I absolutely hate when it just cuts off and I have to go back in time and relive the same week from someone else's POV. + Show Spoiler + Basically now I just want to read the rest of it for Mat...I haven't really liked Rand from the beginning (Really, all those girls falling over themselves to be with a man that was pretty much dead since he started channeling is ridiculous. Then when he was finally cured, he lost an arm for being a stubborn bitch and for being lost in his own superiority complex. Wouldn't exactly want to make me consider sharing my man with other girls...) Plus, I'd totally ship Birgitte with Elayne if she wasn't married to Rand...who am I kindding, I still absolutely do. Perrin's just been a giant pussy since he met Faile which wouldn't be that bad, but his emo moping was kind of pathetic while Faile was kidnapped. As the wolf-guy, I'd have expected more rage and guts and blood from him. Now that I'm thinking about it, I hate pretty much every romantic notion in the books. Jordan just doesn't seem to get them...Lan and Nyneave are also kind of weird together, Egwene and Gawyn are downright creepy with the dreams and don't even get me started on Loial and his wife-to-be. So yeah, mostly I'm just interested in Mat (and rooting for him to grow some balls for all of the male characters in the books and bitchslap Tuon into next week) and the Aes Sedai. Cutting the love-stuff, the books number 5 and up would have been a lot easier to read - for me at least - but other than that I really enjoyed them. | ||
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Alethios
New Zealand2765 Posts
Will I finally have a chance to finish the series I fell in love with all those years ago? I can't hardly believe it. | ||
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nikj
Canada669 Posts
In anticipation for these books I read a little of Sanderson to see if I liked his style. I really enjoyed the Mistborn Trilogy, and would encourage others to read it if they get a chance. | ||
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UndoneJin
United States438 Posts
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
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Acrofales
Spain17982 Posts
On December 23 2011 08:25 nikj wrote: Just saw that Sanderson finished the last book, though it still has 6 months+ revisions to go through. I think I will start re-reading the books once I finish Palahniuk's Survivor. In anticipation for these books I read a little of Sanderson to see if I liked his style. I really enjoyed the Mistborn Trilogy, and would encourage others to read it if they get a chance. Agreed that the Mistborn trilogy is absolutely badass. Actually all of Sanderson's universes have a very creative, yet coherent, treatment of magic which is just plain awesome to see. | ||
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Shiladie
Canada1631 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + I'm really curious about what they do with the future of the world, and whether they go the route that was in the visions or not + Show Spoiler + Where the Seanchan have taken over everything and the Aiel are nothing but desert rats I really enjoyed what they did with the Mat storyline, capping off each of his big stories by the end of the most recent book. He's always been my favorite character by far in these stories. | ||
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Nesto
Switzerland1318 Posts
Also can't wait for Sanderson to be able to continue his Stormlight Archive Series, which is my next big hope for fantasy of truly epic proportions on the Jordan / Martin / Erikson level ! | ||
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Skilledblob
Germany3392 Posts
So far The wheel of time gives me a really nice feeling of epicness when I read it and the writing style feels a bit like a middle ground between longer tolkinesque describtive writing and more modern shorter on point writing which I really like. | ||
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Kimaker
United States2131 Posts
Also, if someone could talk me thought a particular issue I have with A Crown of Swords... + Show Spoiler + The way Rand conquers Illian also was an issue for me, he spends the whole book maneuvering politically and militarily to attack Illian and then just....decides to go kill a Forsaken, cause he can? On a whim? WTF. I feel like I've misconstrued something here, but then I just reread it and...same thing. Explain please, anyone? | ||
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Maginor
Norway505 Posts
On January 15 2012 11:43 Kimaker wrote: Help me out guys. I'm currently on book 9, Winter's Heart, and I cannot, repeat CANNOT finish it. I desperately want to finish this series, but this is just dragging WAY too much for me. I beg for incentives! Also, if someone could talk me thought a particular issue I have with A Crown of Swords... + Show Spoiler + The way Rand conquers Illian also was an issue for me, he spends the whole book maneuvering politically and militarily to attack Illian and then just....decides to go kill a Forsaken, cause he can? On a whim? WTF. I feel like I've misconstrued something here, but then I just reread it and...same thing. Explain please, anyone? The end of book 9 is awsome. Book 10 is slow, but after that a lot of things start happening and keep happening. The race towards the finish line really starts with book 11. About book 7, I think the plan was to make Sammael confident that Rand would not attack him directly thus all the maneuvering. In any case Rand wanted to secure Illian militarily. It should be no surprise after the previous books that Rand was capable of fighting a forsaken one on one, but he wanted Sammael to think that Rand was indecisive. The final goal was always to take out Sammael, and it had been ever since book 3. Rand saw Sammael as one of his most dangerous enemies (but of course, Sammael is just the one that made it most obvious that he was dangerous). | ||
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PHILtheTANK
United States1834 Posts
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Nesto
Switzerland1318 Posts
The book will be out on January 8, 2013: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/02/the-release-date-for-a-memory-of-light-has-been-set?WT.mc_id=0 Not sure why it takes them a whole year to publish a "finished" book though, but being a long time reader of the series, I guess I'm happy that there finally is at least a date. | ||
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DarthXX
Australia998 Posts
On February 18 2012 19:04 Nesto wrote: TOR has published the release date for "A Memory of Light" the last book of the series. The book will be out on January 8, 2013: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/02/the-release-date-for-a-memory-of-light-has-been-set?WT.mc_id=0 Not sure why it takes them a whole year to publish a "finished" book though, but being a long time reader of the series, I guess I'm happy that there finally is at least a date. If its delayed that much they should've just opted to release it a week later on the 15th Jan, the 23rd anniversary of the first book. To people who havn't caught up yet, yes the 8-10 area gets a bit bleh, but 11 is pretty good and from there its Sanderson who is amazing. The Gathering Storm is the best book so far (imo), so stick it out and you will be rewarded | ||
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drumsetjunky
United States136 Posts
Most people don't realize how much work goes into editing and even just thoroughly proofreading a WHOLE BOOK. Pretty important stuff considering it is the LAST book in the series and the final legacy of a esteemed writer. Although I am ready to read it I am willing to wait for them to get every detail right. When Sanderson says that he is done that means he is done with the first draft. He and the team have to go back through and do rewrites, corrections, and even changes to finish it. http://brandonsanderson.com/blog/1058/A-MEMORY-OF-LIGHT-Release-Date | ||
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JamesNK
New Zealand6 Posts
On January 15 2012 11:43 Kimaker wrote: Help me out guys. I'm currently on book 9, Winter's Heart, and I cannot, repeat CANNOT finish it. I desperately want to finish this series, but this is just dragging WAY too much for me. I beg for incentives! I've got bad news for you: Crossroads of Twilight (the book after Winter's Heart) is even worse. Thankfully the books get better those two but you're in for some dark days to get through them. | ||
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Traveler
United States451 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + He's obviously doing something with the Seanchan, but "what?" is the question... What position does he occupy and what are his motivations? | ||
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lagmaster
United States374 Posts
Scenes like Ingtar's last stand or when Mat fights Galad and Gawyn or when Lanfear goes batshit crazy and fights Rand (right before Moiraine disappears) are so so soooo well done. Unfortunately Winter's Heart didn't really have this and Crossroads of Twilight definitely has none of these. But after these two, those shit-your-pants scenes are back and they are just as good if not better than the originals. Book 12 spoiler + Show Spoiler + The scene where Semirhage snaps the male a'dam on Rand and tells him to kill Min... Armageddon could've been going on outside my door and I wouldn't have noticed. I needed to know what would happen. | ||
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mcmartini
Australia1972 Posts
Definitely excited for it to be all over then I can reread everything again haha. | ||
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Spitfire
South Africa442 Posts
I tried reading it 12 years ago, really enjoyed the first few books but lost interest around book 6. Right now I'm reading it thinking "why did I ever stop reading this. It's brilliant!" It does get slow around points and some of the characters are extremely annoying but the good parts more then make up for the bad. The end of book 6, for example, was frigging incredible. I was hoping to get through all of them by the time the final book comes out. Hard to believe this series was started in 1990 and is only being concluded now. You'd think it would be a big deal but it probably wont be on any news networks or anything, even though they made a big deal when the final Harry Potter book came out despite that being kids stuff compared to something like Wheel of Time. | ||
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Maginor
Norway505 Posts
On February 18 2012 20:40 Spitfire wrote: I'm on book 7 at the moment. I tried reading it 12 years ago, really enjoyed the first few books but lost interest around book 6. Right now I'm reading it thinking "why did I ever stop reading this. It's brilliant!" It does get slow around points and some of the characters are extremely annoying but the good parts more then make up for the bad. The end of book 6, for example, was frigging incredible. I was hoping to get through all of them by the time the final book comes out. Hard to believe this series was started in 1990 and is only being concluded now. You'd think it would be a big deal but it probably wont be on any news networks or anything, even though they made a big deal when the final Harry Potter book came out despite that being kids stuff compared to something like Wheel of Time. Harry Potter has many more readers, and is thus of bigger general interest. | ||
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Spitfire
South Africa442 Posts
I'll keep it at it though since apprently it starts getting good again around book 11. | ||
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Maginor
Norway505 Posts
book 9 spoiler + Show Spoiler + The end covers the most important event thus far in the books, and I thought it was masterfully written. But I also enjoyed the earlier parts of the book, specifically those involving Mat and Rand. | ||
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Soulforged
Latvia918 Posts
On April 13 2012 02:40 Spitfire wrote: Must say, its taken a bit of a nosedive. On book 9: Winters Heart at the moment and its horrible, and apparently book 10 is even worse. I'll keep it at it though since apprently it starts getting good again around book 11. Yeah, those aren't very good. Too much tea, not enough action. The last 2 are great, though. | ||
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Taiki
Norway57 Posts
Rand balefiring Graedals castle I don't really see how Bradon is gonna wrap everything up in Memories of Light unless + Show Spoiler + they go to Shayol Ghul within the first 150 pages | ||
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Mordanis
United States893 Posts
Theres really only one problem I have with the series, and I'll spoiler it just in case, but its from fairly early in the series. + Show Spoiler + Perrin. Fuck he became so annoying. Everytime he talks about his wife (every time he talks), it makes me want to vomit. I understand that he is supposed to love his Faile more than any other love in the series, but it is much overdone IMO Aside from that though, this is probably my favorite series :D | ||
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Spitfire
South Africa442 Posts
On April 13 2012 03:29 Mordanis wrote: I can't wait for the final book to be released. Thought it was going to be sometime in the next few months, and I just saw that it won't be out until next year. :C Makes me sad... Theres really only one problem I have with the series, and I'll spoiler it just in case, but its from fairly early in the series. + Show Spoiler + Perrin. Fuck he became so annoying. Everytime he talks about his wife (every time he talks), it makes me want to vomit. I understand that he is supposed to love his Faile more than any other love in the series, but it is much overdone IMO Aside from that though, this is probably my favorite series :D Was one of my favourite characters up until + Show Spoiler + Faile gets captured and his whole subplot just becomes him searching for Faile | ||
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happyft
United States470 Posts
On February 18 2012 20:15 lagmaster wrote: Some of the early and middle books had those shit-your-pants scenes where something so amazing happens and it's so beautifully depicted you swear you can see it years after having read it. Scenes like Ingtar's last stand or when Mat fights Galad and Gawyn or when Lanfear goes batshit crazy and fights Rand (right before Moiraine disappears) are so so soooo well done. Unfortunately Winter's Heart didn't really have this and Crossroads of Twilight definitely has none of these. But after these two, those shit-your-pants scenes are back and they are just as good if not better than the originals. Book 12 spoiler + Show Spoiler + The scene where Semirhage snaps the male a'dam on Rand and tells him to kill Min... Armageddon could've been going on outside my door and I wouldn't have noticed. I needed to know what would happen. Dude. Perrin's stand at Two Rivers against the Trollocs was hands down the best by far. Read that one over a decade ago and I still remember how awesome that whole part was. | ||
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Logros
Netherlands9913 Posts
On April 13 2012 02:40 Spitfire wrote: Must say, its taken a bit of a nosedive. On book 9: Winters Heart at the moment and its horrible, and apparently book 10 is even worse. I'll keep it at it though since apprently it starts getting good again around book 11. The last 2 that Sanderson helped write are a lot easier to read again. The main thing is that stuff is actually happening again and the characters are doing the stuff that should've been happening the last few books instead of just sitting around a lot. | ||
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Undrass
Norway381 Posts
A shining beacon of joy is always Mats chapters though. While the rest of book 9 is boring, I have reread Mats chapters many, many times EDIT: The thing that really, REALLY irks my about Sanderson, is that he can't really write Mat. in his books Mat feels...different. Thats pretty much my only complaint about Sanderson though. | ||
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mucker
United States1120 Posts
+ Show Spoiler [ book 13] + Moiraine surviving and being in love with Thom.... so lame. | ||
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Monsen
Germany2548 Posts
Poll: Your favorite parts in WoT Mat (24) Rand (7) Perrin (1) The girls (Egwene, Nynaeve, Min, Elaine, Aviendha, Aes Sedai Rebellion) (1) The other guys (Lan, Tom, Juilin etc.) (1) Tea&Bossoms (1) 35 total votes Your vote: Your favorite parts in WoT (Vote): Rand The final book... I can't wait | ||
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sc2superfan101
3583 Posts
On April 13 2012 02:40 Spitfire wrote: Must say, its taken a bit of a nosedive. On book 9: Winters Heart at the moment and its horrible, and apparently book 10 is even worse. I'll keep it at it though since apprently it starts getting good again around book 11. Winters Heart is so badass, pshh whatever. The last few chapters of that book are probably the best in the entire series. | ||
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Asol
Sweden109 Posts
Rand gets married? Cheers =) | ||
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Maginor
Norway505 Posts
On April 13 2012 06:57 Asol wrote: Read all the books so far, loving them :-) Quick question; which book is it that + Show Spoiler + Rand gets married? Cheers =) Hmm, I don't think that has happened yet actually. + Show Spoiler + Perrin gets married in book 4 and Mat in 11. Rand I think never marries the girls, but gets bonded by them in 9. | ||
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zumpy
United States122 Posts
I love how there are so many subplots and conflicts with all the characters throughout the whole series on so many levels i haven't really read a different series that compares to it yet | ||
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Freeheals
United States488 Posts
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Asol
Sweden109 Posts
On April 13 2012 07:11 Maginor wrote: Hmm, I don't think that has happened yet actually. + Show Spoiler + Perrin gets married in book 4 and Mat in 11. Rand I think never marries the girls, but gets bonded by them in 9. Cheers, not sure why I wrote married instead of bonded ;_; | ||
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Tarrius
United States37 Posts
Book 13 Spoiler + Show Spoiler + Rand's Shining Moment: Although him slaughtering the thousands of shadowspawn was super duper epic, the scene that was his shining moment in my eyes is when he meets with Egwene. His cool and collected calm, minus the dark insanity is just mind bogglingly awesome. PS - WHAT THE EFF IS IN THE LETTER THAT WAS HANDED TO HIM IN THE TOWER?! Perrin's Shining Moment(Arguably my favorite scene in the series): Forging of Mah'allaneir. FUCK SO AWESOME. Mat's Shining Moment: Whooping ass all through the Tower of Ghenjei, Mat is just a baller. | ||
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Belisarius
Australia6230 Posts
On April 13 2012 07:41 Freeheals wrote: Nearly finished the very first book last summer, not sure if I should re-read it in entirety or just finish the remaining ~200 pages.. either way, this thread is making me itch to start reading again I feel like if you have to ask yourself that, this series may not be for you lol. I'm sure just about everyone in this thread has re-read the entire series ahead of a new release, at least once. | ||
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nennx
United States310 Posts
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Kogan
Germany84 Posts
and i really feel kinda sad for all the "ive never read a novel in my life" guys :/ read books !! | ||
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Hailene
United States80 Posts
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Kimaker
United States2131 Posts
On April 13 2012 11:28 nennx wrote: Just started reading this, I'm liking it so far. I'm about halfway through the first book. One thing that bothers me is that everyone from Two Rivers is something "special" Well, it's not exactly like it's random. Rand is Ta'veren, the most powerful in ages. He could potentially influence that. | ||
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Spitfire
South Africa442 Posts
On April 13 2012 11:28 nennx wrote: Just started reading this, I'm liking it so far. I'm about halfway through the first book. One thing that bothers me is that everyone from Two Rivers is something "special" Most epics start off with someone special growing up in some remote, idyllic location. If you read Joseph Campbell's "Hero of a Thousand Faces", he talks about the formula behind the heroes journey and why its neccessary That said, it has a better explanation in WoT then it does in most other epics, what with Rand being a powerful Ta'veren | ||
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BioNova
United States598 Posts
I've read 1-10, and my GF has eclipsed me and is halfway thru the eleventh book. A guard where she works had also read the series and warned her after book 6 it all falls apart. Since she reads it daily installments on her breaks,I believe her plowing through and loving it got him to reconsider a re-read. Her favorite character early was Perrin, but she has since gravitated to Matt. Once Sanderson cough's out the last book, I will binge what remains, possibly in a full re-read. I'm waiting with baited breath for movie adaptation. So much potential. So much to screw up. Nothing like a beatiful mess(DBZevolution/TeenAlienNinjaTurtles/HungerGames). | ||
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Spitfire
South Africa442 Posts
On April 14 2012 00:44 BioNova wrote: I swear I see a couple of these books on Day[9]'s shelf to his right. I've read 1-10, and my GF has eclipsed me and is halfway thru the eleventh book. A guard where she works had also read the series and warned her after book 6 it all falls apart. Since she reads it daily installments on her breaks,I believe her plowing through and loving it got him to reconsider a re-read. Her favorite character early was Perrin, but she has since gravitated to Matt. Once Sanderson cough's out the last book, I will binge what remains, possibly in a full re-read. I'm waiting with baited breath for movie adaptation. So much potential. So much to screw up. Nothing like a beatiful mess(DBZevolution/TeenAlienNinjaTurtles/HungerGames). Yeah, an adaption of Wheel of Time could either be pure greatess or a pure waste of potential. They'd need to go in more the Game of Thrones direction and less the Legend of the Seeker direction. | ||
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Shiladie
Canada1631 Posts
On April 13 2012 08:42 Tarrius wrote: Books 1 through 6 are incredible, 7-9 are terrible, the ending of 9 is one of the best scenes in the whole series, then 10 is still terrible, while 11 is alright, and then Sanderson swoops in and saves the series. I find he keeps the incredible direction that Jordan had set the series on, but took out a lot of the fluff and made things HAPPEN. Book 13 Spoiler + Show Spoiler + Rand's Shining Moment: Although him slaughtering the thousands of shadowspawn was super duper epic, the scene that was his shining moment in my eyes is when he meets with Egwene. His cool and collected calm, minus the dark insanity is just mind bogglingly awesome. PS - WHAT THE EFF IS IN THE LETTER THAT WAS HANDED TO HIM IN THE TOWER?! Perrin's Shining Moment(Arguably my favorite scene in the series): Forging of Mah'allaneir. FUCK SO AWESOME. Mat's Shining Moment: Whooping ass all through the Tower of Ghenjei, Mat is just a baller. Totally agree with that assessment of the series, that's been what I've been telling people when they ask about the series as well. Sanderson takes over in amazing fashion and brings the series back to it's amazingly epic roots again. I can't wait for the last book now, while after 10/11 I was iffy still. + Show Spoiler + Mat has always been my favourite character, and seeing his storylines wrapping up has been incredible. | ||
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Iranon
United States983 Posts
On April 13 2012 03:29 Mordanis wrote: I can't wait for the final book to be released. Thought it was going to be sometime in the next few months, and I just saw that it won't be out until next year. :C Makes me sad... Theres really only one problem I have with the series, and I'll spoiler it just in case, but its from fairly early in the series. + Show Spoiler + Perrin. Fuck he became so annoying. Everytime he talks about his wife (every time he talks), it makes me want to vomit. I understand that he is supposed to love his Faile more than any other love in the series, but it is much overdone IMO Aside from that though, this is probably my favorite series :D Re: your spoiler. Have you read the most recent books? That (admittedly very annoying) subplot is now resolved, and that character was off-the-charts awesome in Towers of Midnight. | ||
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Seoirse
34 Posts
On April 14 2012 05:56 Iranon wrote: Re: your spoiler. Have you read the most recent books? That (admittedly very annoying) subplot is now resolved, and that character was off-the-charts awesome in Towers of Midnight. I totally agree that it was the most annoying thing possible. All there was was faile, faile, faile, faile. Anyways the books are lacking. After book 7 there is too much talking. Too many words. Too many people | ||
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Shiladie
Canada1631 Posts
On April 14 2012 05:56 Iranon wrote: Re: your spoiler. Have you read the most recent books? That (admittedly very annoying) subplot is now resolved, and that character was off-the-charts awesome in Towers of Midnight. + Show Spoiler + I enjoyed perrin nearly as much as Mat for the first part of the series, until that annoying as hell plot line came in and ruined him for a while. His scene with the Aes Sedai in the tower was amazing though, showing how kickass he is in the dreaming. | ||
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sc2superfan101
3583 Posts
On April 13 2012 08:42 Tarrius wrote: Books 1 through 6 are incredible, 7-9 are terrible, the ending of 9 is one of the best scenes in the whole series, then 10 is still terrible, while 11 is alright, and then Sanderson swoops in and saves the series. i don't get this at all, but i hear it all the time. if you enjoyed book 1-6, than what about CoS, PoD, and WH, were unsatisfactory, especially since you say that you like CS and ToM? Admittedly, + Show Spoiler + there is that huge cliffhanger at the end of CoS with Mat and then you don't see him for the entire next book to me it's like saying "I liked Fellowship of the Ring, and the Return of the King, but I didn't like the Two Towers." wut? (though I do see why you might not like Path of Daggers, because that one is pretty rough. and the whole Elayne storyline in Crossroads i think, that was pretty rough too.) and on perrin: + Show Spoiler + his wife is missing in action and is about to bang some aiel dude to escape from captivity, it would make zero sense if he was just like: "oh humdydum, i'm not worried about it." besides the scene where he makes the deal with the Seanchan makes the whole thing worth it anyway. the only thing about the storyline i thought was wierd was how Aram turned evil, but that was set up in the first book. | ||
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Jaime
United States213 Posts
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aZealot
New Zealand5447 Posts
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Aurocaido
Canada288 Posts
On April 14 2012 10:39 aZealot wrote: I loved the series when it came out, books 1 - 6 were just riveting. I confess that I skimmed book 7 and only really focused on those areas involving Rand. I gave up on Book 8 and did not read Book 9 - 10. I'd like to get back into it with Book 11 which I hear returns to the form of the first 6 books, but I want to know, do I need to read books 7 - 10? Or can I just skip these and start again with 11 into the concluding books of the saga? Thanks. I am not going to lie, at times while reading books 7-10 I kind of wanted to drink myself into a coma. They can get very long winded and straight up boring with absolutely no plot development. Except for the scene in... Winters Heart? Anyway that scene, and you will know it when you read it, is probably one of the best in the series. Take the time to read them, it might suck at times, but there are a few good parts that sort of make the drudgery worth while... sort of. | ||
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Cassel_Castle
United States820 Posts
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LiamTheZerg
United States523 Posts
also + Show Spoiler + for the whole who loves rand thing, PLEASE don't let it be Min. god. she's a decent character but i just don't want rand to end up with her, i want it to be elayne. pleae please please. | ||
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ChriS-X
Malaysia1374 Posts
On April 13 2012 08:42 Tarrius wrote: Books 1 through 6 are incredible, 7-9 are terrible, the ending of 9 is one of the best scenes in the whole series, then 10 is still terrible, while 11 is alright, and then Sanderson swoops in and saves the series. I find he keeps the incredible direction that Jordan had set the series on, but took out a lot of the fluff and made things HAPPEN. Book 13 Spoiler + Show Spoiler + Rand's Shining Moment: Although him slaughtering the thousands of shadowspawn was super duper epic, the scene that was his shining moment in my eyes is when he meets with Egwene. His cool and collected calm, minus the dark insanity is just mind bogglingly awesome. PS - WHAT THE EFF IS IN THE LETTER THAT WAS HANDED TO HIM IN THE TOWER?! Perrin's Shining Moment(Arguably my favorite scene in the series): Forging of Mah'allaneir. FUCK SO AWESOME. Mat's Shining Moment: Whooping ass all through the Tower of Ghenjei, Mat is just a baller. it did piss me off a little in book 13 when rand turns into + Show Spoiler + god odin thor | ||
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Aurocaido
Canada288 Posts
On April 14 2012 15:18 LiamTheZerg wrote: I'm at book 5 right now(i think so, the fires of heaven?) and kind of hating it. I hate Nynvaeve so much. Everytime a chapter comes up involving Nynaeve/Elayne i just wanna cry myself to sleep. The best characters for me are Perrin, Mat, and Rand. And Perrin's not even in this book. fuck. i've been trying to get through it for two weeks and only halfway through. GOD THIS SUCKS. also + Show Spoiler + for the whole who loves rand thing, PLEASE don't let it be Min. god. she's a decent character but i just don't want rand to end up with her, i want it to be elayne. pleae please please. Lol you're in for a surprise I think. | ||
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LiamTheZerg
United States523 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + aviendha? | ||
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Myrddraal
Australia937 Posts
On April 14 2012 15:23 ChriS-X wrote: books 9 and 10 were the ones that dragged out a bit for me and it did piss me off a little in book 13 when rand turns into + Show Spoiler + god odin thor I actually really enjoyed all of their transitions. Rand's brought a tear to my eye, Perrin's forging was awe inspiring, and Matt's was just sick. | ||
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Myrddraal
Australia937 Posts
You are gonna laugh when you find out . Try not to get spoiled haha. | ||
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Spitfire
South Africa442 Posts
On April 14 2012 06:09 sc2superfan101 wrote: if you enjoyed book 1-6, than what about CoS, PoD, and WH, were unsatisfactory, especially since you say that you like CS and ToM? Admittedly, + Show Spoiler + there is that huge cliffhanger at the end of CoS with Mat and then you don't see him for the entire next book Just finished book 9. Book 1-6 were powerful and epic. Elayne, Nyneave and Egwene were frigging annoying characters but everything involving Rand, Mat and Perrin was awesome Book 7 I actually liked, just that it had a tough job following on from the epic climax of book 6 But book 8 and 9 I frigging hate (except book 9's end which is pretty cool). The plot doesnt move Too many characters, most of them with similar sounding names and no relevance Too much focus on the annoying characters Out of the awesome characters, Perrin + Show Spoiler + spends the whole time looking for Faile spends the whole time as some queens plaything hardly features The quality of Jordans writing is still good, he just suddenly appears to be avoiding any opportunity to move the plot forward. It's like the one reviewer on amazon said, he's basically holding out his hand and saying "listen, how abouts you just give me your money. You know you're going to no matter what" Book 8 and 9 could have been one book, but why make just one when you could make it 2 and get double the amount of money. | ||
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GhostOwl
766 Posts
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Logros
Netherlands9913 Posts
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elt
Thailand1092 Posts
On April 14 2012 21:12 GhostOwl wrote: Since we're in the topic of fantasy novels, has anyone read the Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe? Off-topic, but yes. It's an amazingly well crafted tetralogy. I wouldn't call it my favourite series or anything like that, but it's an experience. On the topic of annoying characters... I could just about stand every other storyline, except for Perrin's. IMO Winter's Heart was on par with, say, 5-7 if you left out the first six or seven chapters. | ||
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Ashenshugar
Sweden13 Posts
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sc2superfan101
3583 Posts
On April 14 2012 20:48 Spitfire wrote: Just finished book 9. Book 1-6 were powerful and epic. Elayne, Nyneave and Egwene were frigging annoying characters but everything involving Rand, Mat and Perrin was awesome Book 7 I actually liked, just that it had a tough job following on from the epic climax of book 6 But book 8 and 9 I frigging hate (except book 9's end which is pretty cool). The plot doesnt move Too many characters, most of them with similar sounding names and no relevance Too much focus on the annoying characters Out of the awesome characters, Perrin + Show Spoiler + spends the whole time looking for Faile spends the whole time as some queens plaything hardly features The quality of Jordans writing is still good, he just suddenly appears to be avoiding any opportunity to move the plot forward. It's like the one reviewer on amazon said, he's basically holding out his hand and saying "listen, how abouts you just give me your money. You know you're going to no matter what" Book 8 and 9 could have been one book, but why make just one when you could make it 2 and get double the amount of money. see i have to completely disagree here. i thought books 1-6 were excellent, but they also had the advantage of still setting up the world that we're dealing with, so we're constantly learning new things, and it remains localized, therefore being easier to read and digest. past that, we start getting into the final stage, the Last Battle is upon us, but there is still so much left undone. book 8-9 seemed to be that transitional period of moving on from the story of 3 farmboys who are thrust into the wide world of magic and into the story of the Dragon and his allies making war upon the Dark One. i mean, that's when the shit really starts to hit the fan. before its almost like Rand and friends are mostly tumbling around in the Pattern basically getting lucky time and time again, but then it starts to not work out like expected for them anymore, and as a result, the story expands to include new characters and new storylines. i can see because you are only on book 9 that its hard to see how its relevant, but a lot of these plotlines serve to advance things and characters quite a bit. i definitely disagree that they should have been 1 book, mainly because a huge part of why i like WoT is the sheer ammount of characters and storylines that add a depth to the story. we don't just see our 3 main characters and a few side characters, but we see how the rest of the world reacts to their actions. Perrin: + Show Spoiler + i think the Perrin and Faile relationship is supposed to be the closest thing we get to a true love story in the books. all the other relationships seem to be mostly the result of the Pattern and a bit of young love, whereas Perrin and Faile spend a lot more time getting to know eachother and building their relationship. so, for her to go missing is the worst thing that can happen to Perrin, and furthermore stresses Perrin's loyalty to the cause because the one thing he cares about more than Rand and Mat is Faile. Mat: + Show Spoiler + this one is tough, because he's not even in Path of Daggers, but that made sense too (though it was PAINFUL to wait for WH to come out) because the cliffhanger at the end of CoS made it seem like he could be dead. him being tied to the queen was mainly, i think, supposed to be a role reversal and show how he refuses to hurt women, even if they are taking advantage of him. plus it shows how his being a ta'averan (sp?) doesn't always work out in his favor Rand: + Show Spoiler + book 6 was huge for Rand. his kidnapping by the Aes Sedai and his acknowledgement of Lews Therin causes his madness to accelerate and he above any other character, starts making his own choices (finally!). see, i actually think Rand's character is kind of weak willed before book 7, only in the context of he's fumbling through everything and depending on everyone else, all the while withdrawing into himself. book 7 starts his journey into his recognition of being what eh is, and its when he starts actually planning his moves and surprising his enemies. plus, the last chapter of Winter's Heart is one of the coolest Rand moments ever, so is the chapter with him and Lan in Far Madding. just my two cents. | ||
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BabyGiraldo
United States135 Posts
Rands: + Show Spoiler + Telling Cadsuane to call him "Rand Sedai", another awesome part was in book 12 when he asks Cadsuane if he could kill her...just by willing it. Rand finally seeing Tam and breaking down crying, his first reunion with Tam left so so much to be desired, but it made his second one way better. Rand meeting Egwene was cool, pretty much everything Rand did in book 13 was fucking sweet. Mat: + Show Spoiler + When Mat realizes that Thom and Moiraine are in love and is so incredulous it was such a classic Mat moment I couldn't help but smile. And of course when he meets Perrin with the badger in the sack haha Perrin: + Show Spoiler + Out of the three Perrin has disappointed me a lot in the middle to later books. (With the exception of his defense of the Two Rivers), but him forging the hammer was really cool. So was his gaining the respect of Galad and finally ending his history with the Whitecloaks. Perrin's best part definitely had to be his fight with Slayer though. Them teleporting back and forth while falling off the White Tower was so sick. The most satisfying Perrin part was when Egwene saw him during the big battle and tied him up "because it was dangerous", then Perrin proceeded to blow her fucking mind by casually blocking balefire etc. So excited for book 14, kind of sad that the series is coming to an end. I would however advise EVERYONE to read Brandon Sanderson's first book "The Way of Kings" in his new series "The Stormlight Archives". It's really amazing and is the first book other than the Harry Potter series that I would rank up there with The Wheel of Time. The world Sanderson makes in The Stormlight Archives is so cool, and almost all the characters are really really awesome. The magic system Sanderson creates is awesome too. | ||
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Spitfire
South Africa442 Posts
On April 15 2012 07:39 sc2superfan101 wrote: see i have to completely disagree here. i thought books 1-6 were excellent, but they also had the advantage of still setting up the world that we're dealing with, so we're constantly learning new things, and it remains localized, therefore being easier to read and digest. past that, we start getting into the final stage, the Last Battle is upon us, but there is still so much left undone. book 8-9 seemed to be that transitional period of moving on from the story of 3 farmboys who are thrust into the wide world of magic and into the story of the Dragon and his allies making war upon the Dark One. i mean, that's when the shit really starts to hit the fan. before its almost like Rand and friends are mostly tumbling around in the Pattern basically getting lucky time and time again, but then it starts to not work out like expected for them anymore, and as a result, the story expands to include new characters and new storylines. i can see because you are only on book 9 that its hard to see how its relevant, but a lot of these plotlines serve to advance things and characters quite a bit. i definitely disagree that they should have been 1 book, mainly because a huge part of why i like WoT is the sheer ammount of characters and storylines that add a depth to the story. we don't just see our 3 main characters and a few side characters, but we see how the rest of the world reacts to their actions. Perrin: + Show Spoiler + i think the Perrin and Faile relationship is supposed to be the closest thing we get to a true love story in the books. all the other relationships seem to be mostly the result of the Pattern and a bit of young love, whereas Perrin and Faile spend a lot more time getting to know eachother and building their relationship. so, for her to go missing is the worst thing that can happen to Perrin, and furthermore stresses Perrin's loyalty to the cause because the one thing he cares about more than Rand and Mat is Faile. Mat: + Show Spoiler + this one is tough, because he's not even in Path of Daggers, but that made sense too (though it was PAINFUL to wait for WH to come out) because the cliffhanger at the end of CoS made it seem like he could be dead. him being tied to the queen was mainly, i think, supposed to be a role reversal and show how he refuses to hurt women, even if they are taking advantage of him. plus it shows how his being a ta'averan (sp?) doesn't always work out in his favor Rand: + Show Spoiler + book 6 was huge for Rand. his kidnapping by the Aes Sedai and his acknowledgement of Lews Therin causes his madness to accelerate and he above any other character, starts making his own choices (finally!). see, i actually think Rand's character is kind of weak willed before book 7, only in the context of he's fumbling through everything and depending on everyone else, all the while withdrawing into himself. book 7 starts his journey into his recognition of being what eh is, and its when he starts actually planning his moves and surprising his enemies. plus, the last chapter of Winter's Heart is one of the coolest Rand moments ever, so is the chapter with him and Lan in Far Madding. just my two cents. Interesting. I like the idea behind what you're saying. I just felt like he's just spent TOO long stressing those points in Mat and Perrins storylines. And book 8 and 9 has felt like a transitional period, just feel maybe he could've made the transition more interesting, or that, considering he originally planned the series to be 12 books, maybe book 7 and 8 should've been the transition, not book 7 to 10, leaving more time for an epic war against the shadow. Well, about to start book 10 now. Maybe I'll enjoy it more since everyones warned me that its the worst. Dont like the idea of Rand being absent for most of it though. | ||
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elt
Thailand1092 Posts
On April 15 2012 08:45 BabyGiraldo wrote: I haven't read book 13 in a while, but as in every book there are scenes that just make me shiver from the badassness/coolness. Rands: + Show Spoiler + Telling Cadsuane to call him "Rand Sedai", another awesome part was in book 12 when he asks Cadsuane if he could kill her...just by willing it. Rand finally seeing Tam and breaking down crying, his first reunion with Tam left so so much to be desired, but it made his second one way better. Rand meeting Egwene was cool, pretty much everything Rand did in book 13 was fucking sweet. Mat: + Show Spoiler + When Mat realizes that Thom and Moiraine are in love and is so incredulous it was such a classic Mat moment I couldn't help but smile. And of course when he meets Perrin with the badger in the sack haha Perrin: + Show Spoiler + Out of the three Perrin has disappointed me a lot in the middle to later books. (With the exception of his defense of the Two Rivers), but him forging the hammer was really cool. So was his gaining the respect of Galad and finally ending his history with the Whitecloaks. Perrin's best part definitely had to be his fight with Slayer though. Them teleporting back and forth while falling off the White Tower was so sick. The most satisfying Perrin part was when Egwene saw him during the big battle and tied him up "because it was dangerous", then Perrin proceeded to blow her fucking mind by casually blocking balefire etc. So excited for book 14, kind of sad that the series is coming to an end. I would however advise EVERYONE to read Brandon Sanderson's first book "The Way of Kings" in his new series "The Stormlight Archives". It's really amazing and is the first book other than the Harry Potter series that I would rank up there with The Wheel of Time. The world Sanderson makes in The Stormlight Archives is so cool, and almost all the characters are really really awesome. The magic system Sanderson creates is awesome too. O.o I think I have to go and re-read ToM sometime soon because I seem to have forgotten all of that... Second on Way of Kings. Great book. Don't agree with your statement regarding the high placement of the Wheel of Time and Way of Kings but they're still very, very good. I think Malazan, A Song of Ice and Fire, Kingkiller Chronicles and a couple more deserve that accolade more. | ||
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Maginor
Norway505 Posts
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Sofestafont
United States83 Posts
Which book had the three-way in it? I remember reading that in 6th grade and it blowing my freshly pubescent mind. Haha | ||
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Maginor
Norway505 Posts
On April 15 2012 23:24 Sofestafont wrote: I have to agree with the books after six not moving the plot along. Rand was my favorite character until he stopped having anything meaningful happen, but after book twelve he is my favorite again. Mat is also an awesome character who genuinely makes me smile, but I feel like Sanderson can't really write for him like Jordan could, otherwise I have no complaints about Sanderson's writing. Which book had the three-way in it? I remember reading that in 6th grade and it blowing my freshly pubescent mind. Haha Hasn't been a threeway iirc. + Show Spoiler + But after Rand is bonded by the three girls, the other two can feel it whenever he has sex with one of them. He is bonded in book 9. | ||
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ChriS-X
Malaysia1374 Posts
On April 16 2012 02:01 Maginor wrote: Hasn't been a threeway iirc. + Show Spoiler + But after Rand is bonded by the three girls, the other two can feel it whenever he has sex with one of them. He is bonded in book 9. fucking rand and his + Show Spoiler + fucking foursome harem, goddammit he's such a player | ||
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FezTheCaliph
United States492 Posts
On April 16 2012 02:14 ChriS-X wrote: fucking rand and his + Show Spoiler + fucking foursome harem, goddammit he's such a player Does + Show Spoiler + Lewis Therin and Mordin/Ishameal(spelling is wrong my bad =/) make it a sixsome? (and I know Lewis Therin is just Rand's previous life/lives but drawn into person, but I could totally see him humming and tugging his ear while Rand is getting it on =p) Edit: I also skipped book 10 and went straight to 11. And really didn't miss much =p | ||
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Belial-
United States132 Posts
Dear god I've never been in such anticipation for anything in my life. I couldn't keep myself from reading the prologue/chapter1/chapter2 sections they are teasing us with. Now to binge through the last two books in the next few days... | ||
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Ficetool
Germany165 Posts
The only problem I have is that amazon will send it at the 14th =( I wuld have loved to get it ealier. And is it only me or is the publisher one big douchebag for not releasing the ebook versoin before april?? | ||
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Belial-
United States132 Posts
I'm getting mine from a bookstore so I'll be getting it and probably not sleeping until I finish. | ||
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Ficetool
Germany165 Posts
On January 04 2013 03:57 Belial- wrote: They are doing that because they want to maximize money from the hardcover sales, since ebooks retail for around the same price as the paperbacks, their release will coincide with the paperback release. I'm getting mine from a bookstore so I'll be getting it and probably not sleeping until I finish. I don't think I can agree with you. At Amazon you were able to order the paperback version as well, and it was the same date as the hardcover (but I will check that again) | ||
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Belial-
United States132 Posts
On January 04 2013 04:01 Ficetool wrote: I don't think I can agree with you. At Amazon you were able to order the paperback version as well, and it was the same date as the hardcover (but I will check that again) That would be a strange departure from past releases. As far as I know it has always been a hardcover release, followed by paperback a couple of months later. | ||
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~ava
Canada378 Posts
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ThirdDegree
United States329 Posts
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DreamChaser
1649 Posts
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Belial-
United States132 Posts
On January 04 2013 05:08 DreamChaser wrote: Someone motivate me to continue to read these books, i literally read through the first 8 books in 2 months and now i cant get past it. I dislike most of the characters (Especially Nyven GOD i hate her) but im also thinking i just burned myself out reading so voraciously. If you read some of the thread it'd be clear lol. Books 8-9-10 (with the exception being the end of book 9) are all VERY slow. It's tedious reading but it pays off once things start resolving and the plot starts moving forward with book 11, and then leaping forward in the last two books. | ||
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Ficetool
Germany165 Posts
On January 04 2013 04:04 Belial- wrote: That would be a strange departure from past releases. As far as I know it has always been a hardcover release, followed by paperback a couple of months later. That's the way it usually is...I was confused as well. But I checked again and it clearly says Paperback - release date: 8th of January. | ||
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dcemuser
United States3248 Posts
On January 04 2013 05:12 Ficetool wrote: That's the way it usually is...I was confused as well. But I checked again and it clearly says Paperback - release date: 8th of January. http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Light-Wheel-Time-Hardcover/dp/0765325950 I see no other Amazon entry for A Memory of Light, and no Paperback listing in the formats section. Cheapest version is $20 Hardcover. | ||
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sharkie
Austria18401 Posts
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Nunger
Australia76 Posts
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Ficetool
Germany165 Posts
On January 04 2013 06:03 sharkie wrote: German amazon has it. Don't know if its a mistake or not Yeah that's where I ordered it. Would have linked it as well but the majority wouldn't understand it anyway^^ | ||
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Nesto
Switzerland1318 Posts
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
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Velinath
United States694 Posts
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Thermia
United States866 Posts
On January 04 2013 07:49 Nesto wrote: Finished my reread of the whole series one week too early ... what am I supposed to do now? I got to ToM a couple days ago so I've been listening to it on audiobook instead of reading to make it last the rest of the way. | ||
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teide
Spain178 Posts
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NihilisticGod
Northern Ireland174 Posts
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Kronen
United States732 Posts
In full disclosure I've never read books 11-13 as they weren't released when I did my second read-through... so I'm looking forward to those | ||
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Alethios
New Zealand2765 Posts
Absolutely love this series. Easily my favourite fantasy series, just so much going on and so much to learn reading every page. | ||
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LiamTheZerg
United States523 Posts
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
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heronz
25 Posts
The Wheel of Time turns, and Spoilers come and pass, leaving memories that become Legend. Legends fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Spoiler that gave it birth comes again. | ||
Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21242 Posts
gonna see if I can marathon it over the next month lol. | ||
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L_Master
United States8017 Posts
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Skilledblob
Germany3392 Posts
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Alethios
New Zealand2765 Posts
On January 05 2013 07:57 heronz wrote: Spoiler: Rand is the Dragon Reborn... The Wheel of Time turns, and Spoilers come and pass, leaving memories that become Legend. Legends fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Spoiler that gave it birth comes again. + Show Spoiler + Rand turns into a dragon, and gets his engineering schools to fabricate more wheels of time, which are conglomerated into a large undulating device. His giant legs astride the new ''pain train'', Rand fucks the shit out of the remaining forsaken and the dark one. The book ends with Simon Cowell shutting down the entire performance as overly flashy, much to the audience and reader's disgust. | ||
TheEmulator
28088 Posts
On January 05 2013 08:07 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: Read first couple books years ago, abandoned series waiting for conclusion. gonna see if I can marathon it over the next month lol. I read the first six a few years ago as well, and this summer I re-read those as well as up to the last release. Hopefully it ends well | ||
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cz
United States3249 Posts
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scissorhands
United States68 Posts
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cz
United States3249 Posts
On January 05 2013 08:43 scissorhands wrote: I wish someone would just come out with an abridged version of the books -- I know, sacrilege. I stopped at path of daggers ages ago. I don't want to reread everything to get caught up. The last three books are actually fantastic. They have a new author who speeds things up and moves the plot forward rather than just focusing on describing cities. | ||
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Maxyim
430 Posts
Dear Lord Jesus, re-read pending... | ||
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DannyJ
United States5110 Posts
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Sablar
Sweden880 Posts
Sanderson really picked it up I think. The way of kings is also awesome. | ||
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Mastermyth
Netherlands207 Posts
On January 05 2013 14:35 DannyJ wrote: Wow still churning them out. I read the first 3ish or so after reading Ice and Fire. They were pretty good. I think the fact that there were a dozen+ books in the series and people said they werent too enthused about a lot of them made me forget about the series. I think the general consensus (sp?) is like 1-3 = awesome, 4-6 = okay 7-10 = should have been 1 book together 11-13 = holy shit | ||
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~ava
Canada378 Posts
On January 05 2013 08:43 scissorhands wrote: I wish someone would just come out with an abridged version of the books -- I know, sacrilege. I stopped at path of daggers ages ago. I don't want to reread everything to get caught up. | ||
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
On January 05 2013 23:19 Mastermyth wrote: I think the general consensus (sp?) is like 1-3 = awesome, 4-6 = okay 7-10 = should have been 1 book together 11-13 = holy shit Pretty much. CAN'T WAIT to read it. | ||
ToKoreaWithLove
Norway10161 Posts
On January 05 2013 23:08 Sablar wrote: Sweet! My local bookstore apparently cares little for release dates so it was just sitting there in the shelf and I just bought it. Was going to buy another malazan book but this is so much nicer =) Sanderson really picked it up I think. The way of kings is also awesome. Where do you live!?!?!! I'll drive there on monday! | ||
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sharkie
Austria18401 Posts
On January 05 2013 23:19 Mastermyth wrote: I think the general consensus (sp?) is like 1-3 = awesome, 4-6 = okay 7-10 = should have been 1 book together 11-13 = holy shit eh, mine is 1-13 = holy shit | ||
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Gekk02
Switzerland50 Posts
and seeing this thread on tl just makes me laugh :D WOT is just amazing ) | ||
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LiamTheZerg
United States523 Posts
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LimitSEA
Australia9580 Posts
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TheEmulator
28088 Posts
I agree There are ones that are clearly better, like 2 and 3, but in general they are all "holy shit" | ||
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ReignSupreme.
Australia4123 Posts
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Sanctimonius
United Kingdom861 Posts
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LimitSEA
Australia9580 Posts
On January 06 2013 16:50 TheEmulator wrote: I agree There are ones that are clearly better, like 2 and 3, but in general they are all "holy shit" The Dragon Reborn will always be my favourite book, though Towers of Midnight came really close to dethroning it. Even though Rand wasn't really present for much of that book, it was still great seeing Mat and Perrin develop and really come into their own. | ||
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
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revel8
United Kingdom3022 Posts
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Wetty
Australia419 Posts
Really looking forward to it! | ||
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Harbinger631
United States376 Posts
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LaSt)ChAnCe
United States2179 Posts
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Sablar
Sweden880 Posts
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kingjames01
Canada1603 Posts
The Wheel of Time Reread Enjoy! Edit: Also, if you're worried, from Book 1 to Book 12, it's written spoiler-free for Book 13. The Book 13 reread is spoiler-free for A Memory of Light. | ||
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brooksk
New Zealand3 Posts
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LimitSEA
Australia9580 Posts
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KillerSOS
United States4207 Posts
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DisaFear
Australia4074 Posts
Why was I not informed??? I need to re-read all the books first | ||
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CynanMachae
Canada1459 Posts
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ChriS-X
Malaysia1374 Posts
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MutantGenepool
Australia115 Posts
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ChriS-X
Malaysia1374 Posts
On January 08 2013 15:19 MutantGenepool wrote: I've got it. See you all in about 4 days. 908 pages. Make it about 5 days. deathly hallows took me 8 hours. that was 607 pages. projecting from that this should take 12 hours. :D | ||
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sc14s
United States5052 Posts
On January 08 2013 15:38 ChriS-X wrote: deathly hallows took me 8 hours. that was 607 pages. projecting from that this should take 12 hours. :D mis-read | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
GOD YES FINALLY | ||
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Telcontar
United Kingdom16710 Posts
On January 08 2013 20:15 TheBB wrote: Finished! GOD YES FINALLY How was it? Did the final book pay off the 13 books that came before? I kind of lost interest around Path of Daggers/Winter's Heart. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 08 2013 20:21 Telcontar wrote: How was it? Did the final book pay off the 13 books that came before? I kind of lost interest around Path of Daggers/Winter's Heart. It was intensely satisfying, for sure. They weren't kidding when they said that the whole last book is only about the Last Battle. I will have to read it again in a more relaxed state of mind soon. 500+ pages of military strategy is wearying. | ||
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LatscherGnu
28 Posts
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
Mine is still on route and I can't pick t up until my gf gets home arghhhhhh | ||
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LimitSEA
Australia9580 Posts
On January 08 2013 20:26 TheBB wrote: It was intensely satisfying, for sure. They weren't kidding when they said that the whole last book is only about the Last Battle. I will have to read it again in a more relaxed state of mind soon. 500+ pages of military strategy is wearying. Oh God I'm so excited. I may have to stay out of this thread to avoid spoilers. Even if people spoiler it I won't be able to resist clicking. | ||
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OKMarius
Norway469 Posts
Demandred is such a boss. | ||
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Kaal
Djibouti2514 Posts
Best part was Egwene. I am so sad we will never see the Mat & Tuon lovelove adventures in Seanchan novels. | ||
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pfff
Belgium1352 Posts
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KillerSOS
United States4207 Posts
On January 08 2013 21:32 LatscherGnu wrote: downloading 42 hours of audiobook heaven right now Same here! I have to avoid this thread for the next month though... | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 09 2013 05:07 Kaal wrote: Best part was Egwene. Before this I was leaning towards Egwene as my favourite character. Now, totally confirmed. | ||
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redviper
Pakistan2333 Posts
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Just_a_Moth
Canada1950 Posts
On January 09 2013 07:04 redviper wrote: Man I can't believe they aren't releasing it on the kindle. I am buying a real book after so long, and waiting for shipping is just awful. Can't you go to a book store? Edit: Just noticed you're in Pakistan. I guess it might be hard to get physical books from western authors there? | ||
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Kaal
Djibouti2514 Posts
On January 09 2013 07:02 TheBB wrote: Before this I was leaning towards Egwene as my favourite character. Now, totally confirmed. Are you serious? Egwene is like the worst female character. She shows the Post-Jordan changes the most, and it is fucking terrible. Pre-Amyrlin she's ok, after she just goes straight to shit. In the last 3 books she has completely changed character at least 3 times. It's sickening. Sanderson should stick to writing settings and have someone else write characters because he can't write characters worth my left nut. | ||
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Telcontar
United Kingdom16710 Posts
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Undrass
Norway381 Posts
It is probably the only thing I don't like too much about Sanderson, he is totally awesome writer and the best possible replacement for Jordan, but it kinda irks me that he can't write this character. I really, really hope Sanderson gets the Mat right in this last book. Guess I have to read it to find out. Heading to bookstore tomorrow! | ||
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nikj
Canada669 Posts
Can't wait to finally finish this series! I started my 3rd read thro in the spring finished book 13 about a month ago. Really like Sanderson's writing the last few books, but the last chapter better live up to the hype,apparently it's 50k words and was writen by RJ himself before he died. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 09 2013 10:24 Kaal wrote: Are you serious? Egwene is like the worst female character. She shows the Post-Jordan changes the most, and it is fucking terrible. Pre-Amyrlin she's ok, after she just goes straight to shit. In the last 3 books she has completely changed character at least 3 times. It's sickening. Sanderson should stick to writing settings and have someone else write characters because he can't write characters worth my left nut. Yeah I am. She was middling at best and has been shooting straight up since LoC. I don't recognise my own opinion in anything you are writing. | ||
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
I need to take a break I can't take it | ||
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PROPrototype
Canada36 Posts
Thanks. Poll: Should I look into the seris? Yes (22) No (2) 24 total votes Your vote: Should I look into the seris? | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 10 2013 00:27 PROPrototype wrote: This seris sounds interesting, mind summarizing it for me? This is like asking for a brief summary of the history of the world. There's too much to do justice. Anyway. Imagine that you discover you possess a terrible ability. It will eventually drive you insane. You will become a danger to everyone around you. People with this infliction are everywhere shunned for the terror they cause. Yet you are special. You are the reincarnation of a figure of legend 3000 years gone, who slaughtered everyone who ever loved him and died a pitiful lunatic. Nonetheless, it is on you to save the world from impending doom. Nobody will want to help you, nobody will want to give you advice, in fact nobody can. You are hunted by foes who are stronger, more knowledgeable and more devious than literally anyone else in the world. So, what do you do? Wikipedia has more: In the series's fictional mythology, a deity known as the Creator forged the universe and the Wheel of Time, which, as it turns, spins all lives. The Wheel has seven spokes, each representing an age, and it rotates under the influence of the One Power, which flows from the True Source. Essentially composed of male and female halves (saidin and saidar) in opposition and in unison, this power turns the Wheel. Those humans who can use this power are referred to as channelers; the principal organization of such wielders in the books is called the Aes Sedai or 'Servants of All' in the Old Tongue. The Creator imprisoned its antithesis, Shai'tan (or Dark One), at the moment of creation, sealing him away from the Wheel. However, in a time called the Age of Legends or the Second Age, an Aes Sedai experiment inadvertently breached the Dark One's prison, allowing his influence into the world. He rallied the powerful, the corrupt and the ambitious to his cause and these servants began an effort to free the Dark One fully from his prison. In return, the Dark One promised them worldly power and immortality. Few even among the servants of the Dark One realized that one of the consequences of freeing him might be the breaking of the Wheel of Time and the end of existence itself. In response to this threat, the Wheel spun out the Dragon as the champion of the Light. The Dragon was a male Aes Sedai named Lews Therin Telamon, who rose to great influence and power among the Aes Sedai. A century after the initial breach of the Dark One's prison, a time during which the Dark One's influence spread throughout the world, causing society to become corrupt and decayed, open warfare broke out between the forces of the Dark One and those of the Light. After ten years of a grueling, world-wide war filled with atrocities on a scale never before imagined, the Light found itself facing the real possibility of defeat. In desperation, Lews Therin led a hand-picked force of channelers and soldiers in a high-risk, daring assault on the site of the earthly link to the Dark One's prison, and was able to seal it off, although imperfectly. However, at this moment of victory the Dark One tainted saidin, driving male channelers of the One Power insane. The male channelers, in the "Time of Madness," devastated the world with the One Power, unleashing earthquakes and tidal waves that reshaped the planet, referred to in subsequent ages as "The Breaking of the World." In his insanity, Lews Therin himself killed his friends, his family and anyone in any way related to him, and was known afterwards as Lews Therin Kinslayer. Given a moment of sanity by Ishamael, chief among the Dark One's servants, Lews Therin realized what he had done. In his grief, he committed suicide by drawing on far more of the One Power than even he could handle unaided. Over time, the remaining male Aes Sedai were killed or cut off from the One Power. In their wake, they had left a devastated world: the land and the oceans reshaped, people scattered from their native lands, civilization itself all but destroyed. Only women were now able to wield the One Power safely. The female Aes Sedai reconstituted and guided humanity out of this dark time. Men who could channel eventually became objects of fear and horror, as they would inevitably go insane unless stopped, and even the Dragon became a loathed figure. Among the Aes Sedai there were women whose sole function was to hunt such men down and cut them off from accessing the One Power. What followed was three and a half thousand years of history that was marked by a series of rises then inevitable declines in civilization, a time of troubles and chaos that stood in marked contrast to the now mythical Age of Legends. Nations and civilization itself fell, rose, and fell again. Occasional periods of uneasy peace were punctuated by warfare. There were two major conflicts that were of particular importance, in terms of their effect on civilization as a whole. The first were the Trolloc Wars, in which servants of the Dark One tried to destroy civilization once more, in a more or less continuous war that lasted for several hundred years. This period finally came to an end thanks to an alliance of nations led by the Aes Sedai. The second was the War of the Hundred Years, a devastating civil war that followed the fall of a continent-spanning empire ruled by the High King, Artur Hawkwing. These wars have prevented the human race from regaining the power and high technology of the Age of Legends, and left humanity divided. Even the prestige of the Aes Sedai has fallen, with their terrible power and shrinking numbers, and the emergence of organizations such as the Children of the Light, a militant order who hold that all who dabble with the One Power are servants of the Shadow. The human race has clawed its way back to a level of technology and culture roughly comparable to that of our 1450 to 1600 (although without the sciences, formalized learning, or the military use of gunpowder), with the difference that women enjoy full equality with men in most societies, and are superior in some. One likely explanation for this is the power and influence of the female-only Aes Sedai spilling over into everyday life. During the last war of note, called the Aiel War and taking place 20 years before the start of the series, the nations of the modern era allied themselves against the warrior-clans of the Aiel, who crossed into the western kingdoms on a mission of vengeance after suffering a grievous insult at the hands of one of the western Kings. The Aiel have since returned to the Aiel Waste, with some saying that they were defeated and fled, but others saying that they got their vengeance and left on their own terms. Despite this confrontation, little is known of these fierce warriors in the kingdoms of the east. In the time in which the novels are set, mankind lives under the shadow of a prophecy that the Dark One will break free from his prison and the Dragon will be reborn to face him once more, raining utter destruction and chaos on the world in the process of saving it from the Dark One. | ||
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DreamChaser
1649 Posts
On January 10 2013 00:27 PROPrototype wrote: This seris sounds interesting, mind summarizing it for me? Thanks. Poll: Should I look into the seris? Yes (22) No (2) 24 total votes Your vote: Should I look into the seris? The first 3 books are so far my most favorite it starts out with a bang, but now im on book (8? "Path of Daggers") and i just stopped because its brutally slow. So i guess i would say its up to you really, they are an invesment in time and if theres any reason i will strong hand my way through these next 3 books its because i spent so much time reading the first 7 i want to know the damn story. | ||
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ChriS-X
Malaysia1374 Posts
p.s. moiraine is totally a bad ass motherfucker | ||
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RockIronrod
Australia1369 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Through the entire pavilion scene I was mentally screaming at everyone in sheer frustration. As a people they spent millennia collectively masturbating to these prophecies, but when it came down to it no one even noticed them before devolving into an orgy of greed and self-righteousness, which cemented a dislike of Egwene that's been growing for a while now. It was in character, had purpose and was actually somewhat justified, but fuck me with a trollocs barbed dick if it wasn't frustrating. Other than that, or rather, despite it, I enjoyed the shit out of it and am glad to have read it, it's as good as it could get without Jordan himself writing it. | ||
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revel8
United Kingdom3022 Posts
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TheEmulator
28088 Posts
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TheEmulator
28088 Posts
On January 10 2013 05:30 revel8 wrote: Ordered my copy! Will stay out of this thread until I have read it! Don't want to be spoiled! everyone dies, and the bad guys win jkjk, I have no idea. | ||
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PROPrototype
Canada36 Posts
*goes back to parents house* screw you guys! I'm going home! *goes to tent* | ||
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Gendi2545
South Africa50 Posts
The best WoT book I've read by far was some sort of encyclopedia which described the world before the fall and explained more about the angreal etc. It was someone else's copy though, but I remember RJ wasn't the (only?) author. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 11 2013 02:04 Gendi2545 wrote: The best WoT book I've read by far was some sort of encyclopedia which described the world before the fall and explained more about the angreal etc. It was someone else's copy though, but I remember RJ wasn't the (only?) author. http://www.amazon.com/World-Robert-Jordans-Wheel-Paperback/dp/0312869363 | ||
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elt
Thailand1092 Posts
It certainly was an ending. | ||
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Mikau
Netherlands1446 Posts
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Visas
Turkey119 Posts
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 11 2013 02:27 Mikau wrote: I decided to try this out recently as well (after finishing A song of ice and fire). I quit halfway through the first book. Everything seems really slow and tame I don't recognise this at all. More action happens in the first half of Eye of the World than all of Game of Thrones. | ||
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Mikau
Netherlands1446 Posts
On January 11 2013 02:56 TheBB wrote: I don't recognise this at all. More action happens in the first half of Eye of the World than all of Game of Thrones. Like what? I liked the start where they get invaded by (sorry, I forgot names) the orc like creatures and the wannabe Nazgul, but after that it all just seemed like a lot of running while being chased by said creatures. Maybe I gave up on it too soon, but I felt it didn't even come close to all the intrigue, plots and subplots and subtlety of even the first GoT. I might give it another chance after my exams, but I'm also having fun rereading GoT (and picking up on all the clues I missed the first read-through). | ||
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Falling
Canada11349 Posts
On January 11 2013 02:04 Gendi2545 wrote: I read the first WoT book more than 10 years ago and loved it, the second was ok, and from there I just remember things getting really slow and drawn out, and every page had some male character thinking how women were impossible to understand. I gave up at about book 6. The best WoT book I've read by far was some sort of encyclopedia which described the world before the fall and explained more about the angreal etc. It was someone else's copy though, but I remember RJ wasn't the (only?) author. Or alternatively have some women crossing their arms under their breasts and sneering at the "woolen headed lummoxes." I've read the first, second, and fourth, but I find the interactions between the genders very irritating. I guess it's supposed to be 'men and women just can't understand each other' but the series pre-occupation with the concept is over-much for me. That said, I have enjoyed pretty much everything else about the series. I'll wade through a few more this summer if they are available at the regional library. (They have far too few copies.) Haha. I actually actively avoided this series because a publishing blurb on the cover said something like 'what Tolkien began, Robert has mastered." And I was like, screw you. Tolkien is the master. And so years later, after reading 3 books, I still think Tolkien is the master, but I now know that was a publisher thing, not a Robert Jordan thing, so I'm okay with it now | ||
stuchiu
Fiddler's Green42661 Posts
On January 11 2013 03:03 Mikau wrote: Like what? I liked the start where they get invaded by (sorry, I forgot names) the orc like creatures and the wannabe Nazgul, but after that it all just seemed like a lot of running while being chased by said creatures. Maybe I gave up on it too soon, but I felt it didn't even come close to all the intrigue, plots and subplots and subtlety of even the first GoT. I might give it another chance after my exams, but I'm also having fun rereading GoT (and picking up on all the clues I missed the first read-through). You can't go into every fantasy/sci-fi book expecting to read GoT or you'll have a bad time. They are two completely different books and I could probably write an entire thesis on how and why they differ as stories. Just try to enjoy it for what it is. Personally I didn't really get into it until the end of the second book and after a while, I basically stopped reading everything but Mat and Rand's sections. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 11 2013 03:03 Mikau wrote: Like what? I liked the start where they get invaded by (sorry, I forgot names) the orc like creatures and the wannabe Nazgul, but after that it all just seemed like a lot of running while being chased by said creatures. Maybe I gave up on it too soon, but I felt it didn't even come close to all the intrigue, plots and subplots and subtlety of even the first GoT. I might give it another chance after my exams, but I'm also having fun rereading GoT (and picking up on all the clues I missed the first read-through). Well, just off the top of my head (not sure exactly where the midpoint lies tbh): + Show Spoiler + Attacked by shadowspawn seven times. Attacked by Mashadar. Attacked by darkfriends twice. Attacked and captured by whitecloaks. Rescue operation. At least three freaky dreams. And in GoT: + Show Spoiler + Prologue fight with Others. Kid attempted killed twice. Dwarf captured, attacked, released after fight. King dead, throne couped and lord executed. Exiled king also killed. Did I miss anything? Could be, it's been a while since I read it. I don't think your problem was pacing. It must have been something else. Sure, WoT is not for everyone, but almost everyone who dislikes it agrees that EotW is not the problem. | ||
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Mikau
Netherlands1446 Posts
On that note: are there any other fantasy series where either the writer isn't afraid to kill off characters (bonus points if they're important characters) or where the story isn't as linear as (the start of) Wheel of Time is? On that note, does Wheel of Time get less linear at some point? Instead of the whole fellowship moving from a to b thing. Last thing I remember reading was the group fleeing out of the haunted city and being forced to split, with some people ending up on a boat and the rest going god knows where. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 11 2013 03:18 Mikau wrote: On that note, does Wheel of Time get less linear at some point? Instead of the whole fellowship moving from a to b thing. Last thing I remember reading was the group fleeing out of the haunted city and being forced to split, with some people ending up on a boat and the rest going god knows where. People split up in books 2 and 3, though they are gathered again at the ending both times. For the rest of the series, the main characters are never all in the same place again. | ||
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Mikau
Netherlands1446 Posts
edit: Pleaes don't misunderstand me. I *want* to like Wheel of Time. I love fantasy and I love it when series go on for so long you just have thousands of pages of getting to know everything about that world and the characters in it. The longer a series goes on for the better imo. It's just that what I read so far didn't do it for me, just like LotR didn't do it for me. I'm hoping that might change if I finish the first book. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
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stuchiu
Fiddler's Green42661 Posts
On January 11 2013 03:18 Mikau wrote: On that note: are there any other fantasy series where either the writer isn't afraid to kill off characters (bonus points if they're important characters) or where the story isn't as linear as (the start of) Wheel of Time is? There are plenty of series where main characters or a lot of characters die really quickly, but that doesn't necessarily make them good reads. I feel what separates Martin from other writers is that you can tell in his writing how attached he is to a lot of them and when they die a bit of him is physically hurt. But he still pulls the plug because he knows that's how the story is supposed to go. + Show Spoiler + Technically speaking, Ned didn't need to die. The story could have gone on without him dying and just going to the Night's Watch and telling Jon about his parents. All signs pointed him to the NW and Martin still killed him. Not out of anything like shock value or apathy, but because he knew that the anarchy set forth from that 1 event was a much better story going forward than a civil war with Ned safely tucked away at the Wall. As for a book I'd recommend, it would have to be Lies of Locke Lamora. + Show Spoiler + The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a ghost that walks through walls. Half the city believes him to be a legendary champion of the poor. The other half believe him to be a foolish myth. Nobody has it quite right. Slightly built, unlucky in love, and barely competent with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. He certainly didn't invite the rumors that swirl around his exploits, which are actually confidence games of the most intricate sort. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else, pray tell, would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny of it. All of Locke's gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves, the Gentlemen Bastards. Locke and company are con artists in an age where con artistry, as we understand it, is a new and unknown style of crime. The less attention anyone pays to them, the better! But a deadly mystery has begun to haunt the ancient city of Camorr, and a clandestine war is threatening to tear the city's underworld, the only home the Gentlemen Bastards have ever known, to bloody shreds. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends will find both their loyalty and their ingenuity tested to the breaking point as they struggle to stay alive... You can read the prologue here: http://www.scottlynch.us/excerpts.html It's a really good prologue. | ||
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Mikau
Netherlands1446 Posts
On January 11 2013 03:34 stuchiu wrote: There are plenty of series where main characters or a lot of characters die really quickly, but that doesn't necessarily make them good reads. I feel what separates Martin from other writers is that you can tell in his writing how attached he is to a lot of them and when they die a bit of him is physically hurt. But he still pulls the plug because he knows that's how the story is supposed to go. + Show Spoiler + Technically speaking, Ned didn't need to die. The story could have gone on without him dying and just going to the Night's Watch and telling Jon about his parents. All signs pointed him to the NW and Martin still killed him. Not out of anything like shock value or apathy, but because he knew that the anarchy set forth from that 1 event was a much better story going forward than a civil war with Ned safely tucked away at the Wall. As for a book I'd recommend, it would have to be Lies of Locke Lamora. + Show Spoiler + The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a ghost that walks through walls. Half the city believes him to be a legendary champion of the poor. The other half believe him to be a foolish myth. Nobody has it quite right. Slightly built, unlucky in love, and barely competent with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. He certainly didn't invite the rumors that swirl around his exploits, which are actually confidence games of the most intricate sort. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else, pray tell, would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny of it. All of Locke's gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves, the Gentlemen Bastards. Locke and company are con artists in an age where con artistry, as we understand it, is a new and unknown style of crime. The less attention anyone pays to them, the better! But a deadly mystery has begun to haunt the ancient city of Camorr, and a clandestine war is threatening to tear the city's underworld, the only home the Gentlemen Bastards have ever known, to bloody shreds. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends will find both their loyalty and their ingenuity tested to the breaking point as they struggle to stay alive... You can read the prologue here: http://www.scottlynch.us/excerpts.html It's a really good prologue. I wasn't saying killing off characters makes a good fantasy book, but I do like the feeling that nobody is safe. The feeling that there might not be a happy ending. I think GoT was the first series that gave/gives me that feeling. Even moreso after the events at the end of ADWD. Thanks for the link, I'll read it soon. I'll also reread The Eye of the World. At what point would you guys say "if you don't like it now, you'll never like it"? | ||
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stuchiu
Fiddler's Green42661 Posts
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
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Cheap0
United States540 Posts
On January 10 2013 01:35 DreamChaser wrote: The first 3 books are so far my most favorite it starts out with a bang, but now im on book (8? "Path of Daggers") and i just stopped because its brutally slow. So i guess i would say its up to you really, they are an invesment in time and if theres any reason i will strong hand my way through these next 3 books its because i spent so much time reading the first 7 i want to know the damn story. Books 8, 9, and 10 are widely considered to far and away be the worst books in the series (9 has a good ending though). I'd suggest either skimming or reading the parts of characters you like. Just hang in there. It gets better with 11 (Knife of Dreams), then the last three are all pretty good. Also, on an unrelated note (Final book spoilers below) + Show Spoiler + Did anyone else really like the way they handled Demandred's battles with Gawyn, Galad, and Lan? When they showed Gawyn going to kill him with the Seanchan ring, I was expecting him to kill Demandred, because surely, Gawyn can't lose. Nope. Well, surely Galad will avenge his fallen brother! Nope. By the time Lan shows up to fight him, you genuinely don't know or feel confident that he's going to succeed. It made that scene really intense, and it was my favorite part of the whole book. | ||
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
I'm kind of shocked that Lan lived. I'm actually surprised that as this many main characters survived | ||
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elt
Thailand1092 Posts
On January 12 2013 02:25 KOFgokuon wrote: + Show Spoiler + I'm kind of shocked that Lan lived. I'm actually surprised that as this many main characters survived + Show Spoiler + Talking about that, looking at this list http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-survey-amol-body-count.html I personally put down 5 or more, but out of that list only 3 died. I could see Lan surviving, but I thought say Perrin might have bit it, or Moiraine for the shock. | ||
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Sablar
Sweden880 Posts
On January 11 2013 03:08 Falling wrote: Or alternatively have some women crossing their arms under their breasts and sneering at the "woolen headed lummoxes." I've read the first, second, and fourth, but I find the interactions between the genders very irritating. I guess it's supposed to be 'men and women just can't understand each other' but the series pre-occupation with the concept is over-much for me. That said, I have enjoyed pretty much everything else about the series. I'll wade through a few more this summer if they are available at the regional library. (They have far too few copies.) Haha. I actually actively avoided this series because a publishing blurb on the cover said something like 'what Tolkien began, Robert has mastered." And I was like, screw you. Tolkien is the master. And so years later, after reading 3 books, I still think Tolkien is the master, but I now know that was a publisher thing, not a Robert Jordan thing, so I'm okay with it now The whole reaching for the one power thing with dominance or subission between genders is also kind of interesting. Lots of things like that in the series. Sanderson seems a lot more humanistic in his approach though. Honestly I like his books better, though not really because of that, even if I loved the first ones like 10-12 years ago. Thought it was a worthy ending with the last book. Someone thought Mat had changed for the worse with Sanderson and I agree but I liked his parts in this book. | ||
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
On January 12 2013 03:49 Sablar wrote: The whole reaching for the one power thing with dominance or subission between genders is also kind of interesting. Lots of things like that in the series. Sanderson seems a lot more humanistic in his approach though. Honestly I like his books better, though not really because of that, even if I loved the first ones like 10-12 years ago. Thought it was a worthy ending with the last book. Someone thought Mat had changed for the worse with Sanderson and I agree but I liked his parts in this book. Yeah, for me the Mat thing really hurt because he was always my favorite character by far. | ||
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lagmaster
United States374 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Lanfear's death was anticlimactic. I was hoping she would turn to the light. I don't think Faile should've lived, but that might just be my personal bias against her. I also was unsure how to feel about Rand's new power at the end when he lit his tabac just through imagining it lit. That being said, I enjoyed the quick pace of the book. I think it allowed me to feel the "pulse" of the battle by having so many quick chapters with so much constantly happening. Sanderson is a great writer and I'm very happy with how the series ended, the only wish I have for him as an author is for him to allow for some grittier scenes and some more erotic scenes. Jordan was far more detailed in describing the sex scenes than Sanderson and even Jordan kept those descriptions sparse and vague. | ||
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
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ReignSupreme.
Australia4123 Posts
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LiamTheZerg
United States523 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + I was really glad that rand had some powers at the end. I hate when books end and either the main character loses all their power, chooses never to use it, etc etc to make the world a better place. If i was anyone in these books, I'd keep all my power and while I wouldn't dominate, I would maybe just check in now and then with it. Was cool that Rand could either be stronger now or at least he has some power. | ||
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LimitSEA
Australia9580 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Lan killing Demandred was awesome. The battles, fighting and tactics were all masterfully done - and that essentially made up the whole of the book. While a lot of the main characters lived, the ones who did didn't feel like they'd avoided death unnaturally. The only one I think I felt should have died, or was in a position that would've made sense for them to die, was Lan. I hadn't expected him to get back up, and when he did at first I assumed he was a hero of the horn. At the same time, happy he did. All in all, a very satisfying ending. I wasn't sure how Jordan/Sanderson was going to make a final battle against what more or less amounts to a deity of darkness work, but the way they pulled it off was quite brilliant. Happy the series ended so well, sad that it has to be over. | ||
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JaYbOc
Australia97 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + Sanderson likes to have his characters give cheesy motivational speeches, which I found mar the more solemn tone of Jordan's uiniverse (see Galad's speech to the Whitecloaks in ToM, Elayne's speech in aMoL, among others). They just sounded childish/weakly written. I couldn't imagine the characters, as I've known them over the 11 initial books, spontaneously orating like that (ok, Elayne maybe). While the way Demandred dueled with Gawyn, Galad and Lan really cool to read, I found it unrealistic and illogical that two of the most skilled leaders of the Light throw away their lives so rashly. Also, how the hell would they've been able to get so close to Demandred without being seen, even with the ring ter'angreal's powers? Demandreds considerable powers aside, he was surrounded by channelers and guards, who then just happened to not blast them to pieces the second they revealed; this defiance of the Shadow's nature (unmerciful, opportunistic, dishonorable), I think, overexaggerated Demandred's competitive side, making him seem more arrogant and petty than he should have been. The ending was good, but I found the surprise with Rand surviving to be slightly underwhelming. Whilst it was clear that Sanderson was going for a Rand-riding-off-into-the-sunset-at-peace kind of ending, it didn't resolve a lot of things. The dynamic of Rand's bond with the three women, and his death was terrifically understated, and things happened too quickly at the end for my taste. Also, and I've heard this complaint from other reviewers of the book, I felt somewhat cheated that we didn't have some of the ending hints from the previous books tied up with the climax i.e. Nynaeve's healing of someone 3 days dead. Either I don't understand, or it doesn't make sense, but I don't know how Rand logically 'switched souls" with Moridin, leaving him to die as a decoy in the tent, with Rand himself somewhere else? (since he could no longer channel, using the Mirror of Mists and other complicated weaves to disguise and compel Moridin's body were out of the question) Rand's resolution to seal the Bore, after he said something like "the Dark One isn't the problem", was also confusing, since it didn't make an ultimate end to the Dark One's future influence over the world, since it would still be theoretically possible for someone like Lanfear to drill through the Dark One's prison, making another Bore and letting him influence the world again. Perhaps Sanderson was going for a kind of morally neutral resolution (people have to have both good and evil to be human), but I can't judge that since I know Jordan himself had a hand in how the specifics of the ending would play out before his death. But still 5/5, epic read, was really excited throughout the book. Well done Sanderson and Harriet! | ||
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Sablar
Sweden880 Posts
On January 12 2013 05:18 mierin wrote: Yeah, for me the Mat thing really hurt because he was always my favorite character by far. Why? | ||
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Generic SC
New Zealand179 Posts
![[image loading]](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/849/achievementunlockedwot.jpg/) + Show Spoiler + Really, really wanted a more epic battle with the Dark One. Got a dragonballZ-esk shouty match. I think the whole Androl arc blew my mine a little bit. How could I have not seen all the possibilities? Obviously I was not thinking with portals. I feel that the horn, The Black Tower, Fain, Shaidar Haran and the schools rand established were underutilised in the last battle. The ending chapters of the book felt rushed, and needed a little more fleshing out. I just don't feel like all the characters had their arc's resolved well enough. I now have a love hate relationship with the series :/ | ||
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Monsen
Germany2548 Posts
Mat so awesome >< | ||
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Mastermyth
Netherlands207 Posts
On January 12 2013 12:51 JaYbOc wrote:+ Show Spoiler + Rand's resolution to seal the Bore, after he said something like "the Dark One isn't the problem", was also confusing, since it didn't make an ultimate end to the Dark One's future influence over the world, since it would still be theoretically possible for someone like Lanfear to drill through the Dark One's prison, making another Bore and letting him influence the world again. Perhaps Sanderson was going for a kind of morally neutral resolution (people have to have both good and evil to be human), but I can't judge that since I know Jordan himself had a hand in how the specifics of the ending would play out before his death. + Show Spoiler + I didn't find this confusing at all. Removing the Dark One completely would have basically meant using compulsion on the entire world. (This was shown in Rand's "ideal" reality, in which he met a completely unrealistic Elayne). People have good and bad in them, and what Rand did was rebury the Dark One to reset the situation back to before the Bore was opened. The final sentence of the entire series ("but it was an ending.") pretty much confirmed that people would mess up and open the Bore again at some point in the distant future anyway. The Wheel of Time keeps spinning. | ||
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ThaZenith
Canada3116 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + What were the (3000+?) kinswomen doing during this? And the (1000+?) novices? Even if they didn't want to fight, they'd have been perfect to be used as wells. I mean, that would bring it to 5000+ for white tower, maybe 500-1000 damane, and 300-400 black tower guys. With that many it should have been a walkover for them, against under 1000 sharans and i'd imagine just a few hundred evil folks. And what's up with rand, is he the creator now or something? On a side note, Alivia's "help Rand die" thing was definitely one of the most amusing moments of the series. And Matt kicked ass this entire last book | ||
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Monsen
Germany2548 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + The Aiel channelers hardly seemed to take part at all, same as the Sea folk (both only at shayol grul). In the Aiel wars, the spears of four clans basically kicked the ass of most wetland nations combined, while in the last battle the armies of eleven clans only get mentioned as a side note. Taim claims that he is about to "match the white towers numbers" in book six, at dumai wells there already seem to be several hundred ashaman, the kin numbers in the thousands, same as the novices Egwene took in (if every last farmer goes to fight so should they), the Sea folk and the Aiel are two entire people worth of channelers, the Seanchan Return represents at least a good chunk of an entire continent, but in the last battle channelers usually get mentioned as "dozens, several, twenty" etc. I guess there's a reason why Sanderson abandoned his natural sciences studies in favor of English, heh. | ||
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Bill Murray
United States9292 Posts
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ferdia
Ireland13 Posts
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redviper
Pakistan2333 Posts
What the heck was the point of Gawyn, Galad, Logain and Lan all going one after another to kill Demandred. Where in the world did that magical weave to counter balefire came from. How did Olver survive when the trollocs reached for him and started to tear his clothes? (Also wtf is with that part). Why (if it was the original intent) did Moridin have to stab himself in the hand to cause Rand to drop Callandor. And this is why I hate Sanderson. Plus he didn't even try to write in the style of Jordan. Disappointed with the last 3, but over all happy that its finished. Now for Song of Ice and Fire. | ||
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Monsen
Germany2548 Posts
2. Sanderson wrote all three books according to the notes and instructions Jordan left behind with his wife (who also was part of the editing process) and in writing. 3. It appears that the ending was already finished long ago by Jordan himself. At the very least I remember a quote where he said he knew how the story would end from the start. Hints such as all the viewings and phophecies throughout the series suggest the same. 4. + Show Spoiler + Obviously the failed attempts at Demanded are used to build up suspense and show how strong he is. Seems to work very well for other readers. The Flame of Tar Valon was figured out by Egwene just like she did with Traveling. The trollocs could barely reach Olver. The whole scene is probably only a few seconds long until Noal rescues him. It introduces him as the new Hornsounder and was one of the few surprises for me (had forgotten about Mats death in book 5). Rand and Moridin have been linked since their balefires touched in Shadar Logoth. ... So yeah, don't see much of your criticism as warranted. | ||
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SafeAsCheese
United States4924 Posts
On January 14 2013 02:21 redviper wrote: While I am happy that the story is finished and I feel that it probably finished in the same way as Jordan intended, Sanderson really has no talent at all for endings. Every single fucking time its the same damn thing. I hope he doesn't fuck way of kings like he did wheel of time (and mistborn and warbreaker), the first book was very interesting. The only time sanderson has written a passable ending was Elantris and even that was a mess. What the heck was the point of Gawyn, Galad, Logain and Lan all going one after another to kill Demandred. Where in the world did that magical weave to counter balefire came from. How did Olver survive when the trollocs reached for him and started to tear his clothes? (Also wtf is with that part). Why (if it was the original intent) did Moridin have to stab himself in the hand to cause Rand to drop Callandor. And this is why I hate Sanderson. Plus he didn't even try to write in the style of Jordan. Disappointed with the last 3, but over all happy that its finished. Now for Song of Ice and Fire. A majority opinion would be that you have a different taste than most people. 1. Sanderson wrote the ending RJ wanted, I think it would have been better if Sanderson re-wrote the ending, or at least majorly edited it (WoT needs major major editing) 2. 99% of fans prefer The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and AMoL. Books 8-11 were, for the most part, considered a death blow to the series where vast section of it were no important story happening. Book 10 is one of the lowest ever reviewed major fantasy books. http://www.amazon.com/Crossroads-Twilight-Wheel-Time-Book/product-reviews/0812571339 Had RJ finished the last 3 books, I think the series would have been dead to a lot of people. | ||
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cablesc
United States1540 Posts
On January 14 2013 13:47 SafeAsCheese wrote: A majority opinion would be that you have a different taste than most people. 1. Sanderson wrote the ending RJ wanted, I think it would have been better if Sanderson re-wrote the ending, or at least majorly edited it (WoT needs major major editing) Sanderson didn't even write that ending. Tor/Sanderson are on record as saying the ending was pretty much word for word what Robert Jordan had written. Now I'm not totally sure if that means the entire epilogue or just + Show Spoiler + Rand's | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 14 2013 14:15 cablesc wrote: Sanderson didn't even write that ending. Tor/Sanderson are on record as saying the ending was pretty much word for word what Robert Jordan had written. Now I'm not totally sure if that means the entire epilogue or just + Show Spoiler + Rand's It means the whole epilogue. http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/1136/Its-finally-out. The sequence (it is more than one scene) that I am referring to most of the time when I talk about this encompasses the entire epilogue of A Memory of Light. Once you get there, you can know you're reading Robert Jordan's words, though of course there are other scenes scattered through the book that he worked on too. | ||
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Sanctimonius
United Kingdom861 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + And the Last Battle between the Dark One and Rand not being epic enough? Really? They fought with the probability of reality and Rand realised that destroying the Dark One would have destroyed all he loved just as surely as if the Dark One won. In leaving it alive Rand kept humanity alive, leaving the good and darkness in the world, but making sure the Dark One could not directly interfere. Of course someone could come along again in the future and bore back down to the Dark One, but as someone noted, the Wheel spins once more. The only thing that disappointed me was Padan Fain's arrival. He kinda came from nowhere, did nothing and was killed, a loose end to be dealt with. I was hoping for a little more from him, for someone who had been such an unpredictable wildcard throughout the series. As for the numbers of channellers, keep in mind the Sharans' arrival. An entire continent, previously unexplored in the series, filled with warriors and channellers trained in warfare fighting the White Tower and Black Tower for most of the book, while the Seanchan hung back. The Wise Ones fought mainly at Shayol Ghul against Dreadlords there. The numbers didn't seem that off | ||
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TallMax
United States131 Posts
I, too, was disappointed with the lack of details in Padan Fain's story, and with some of the concrete details, but I think people would have been really pissed if they tried to split this book in two. All in all, I think it was a decent finish and I'm glad I don't have to pick these books up for another 10-15 years (they're such an addicting time-killer). | ||
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OKMarius
Norway469 Posts
This one had so many moments that just failed to live up to what they could've been. The war in itself was also really underwhelming. I actually prefer that chapter where the asha'man army appear in Lord of Chaos, to the entire war-section of this book. Sure, RJ messed up from books 7-10 or so - but it was pretty clear by book 11 that he was back on track again. I'm 100% sure this book would've been better written by him, and I think Sanderson himself agrees with that. (I don't hate Sanderson or anything, love his Mistborn triology, and the Way of Kings shows promise.) | ||
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Undrass
Norway381 Posts
oh well, lost opportunities | ||
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ThaZenith
Canada3116 Posts
On January 15 2013 04:04 Sanctimonius wrote: + Show Spoiler + As for the numbers of channellers, keep in mind the Sharans' arrival. An entire continent, previously unexplored in the series, filled with warriors and channellers trained in warfare fighting the White Tower and Black Tower for most of the book, while the Seanchan hung back. The Wise Ones fought mainly at Shayol Ghul against Dreadlords there. The numbers didn't seem that off + Show Spoiler + There's no reason to imagine they have very many at all. They're only ever referred to as 'hundreds' right from when they first attacked Egwene's army. And Shara isn't another continent, Seanchan is. Shara is reached crossing the waste (or sailing around by the sea folk) The area of Shara is also fairly certainly less than the rest of the continent as well. The numbers were heavily off, should be 3:1 to 5:1 (or more) in favor of 'the light', it was just glossed around by the fact the Kinswomen/Novices are never used and never do anything. | ||
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Kaidaten1234
10 Posts
On January 14 2013 13:47 SafeAsCheese wrote: A majority opinion would be that you have a different taste than most people. 1. Sanderson wrote the ending RJ wanted, I think it would have been better if Sanderson re-wrote the ending, or at least majorly edited it (WoT needs major major editing) 2. 99% of fans prefer The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and AMoL. Books 8-11 were, for the most part, considered a death blow to the series where vast section of it were no important story happening. Book 10 is one of the lowest ever reviewed major fantasy books. http://www.amazon.com/Crossroads-Twilight-Wheel-Time-Book/product-reviews/0812571339 Had RJ finished the last 3 books, I think the series would have been dead to a lot of people. I find it incredibly annoying how Sanderson is credited for bringing the series back on track when Knife of Dreams is at least equal to or better paced than any of Sandersons WoT books. Yes, 8-10 ranges from not very good to barely worth reading, but I still managed to get through them in my re-read before AMoL. I didn't get more than a 200 pages into TGS and ToM before I had to give up and just accept that I didn't feel like finishing them. As for AMoL, I'll always be grateful to Sanderson for giving me the end I've been waiting for during the past 13 years, but it's incredible that a book with this many faults and inconsistencies got released. On January 15 2013 09:35 ThaZenith wrote: + Show Spoiler + There's no reason to imagine they have very many at all. They're only ever referred to as 'hundreds' right from when they first attacked Egwene's army. And Shara isn't another continent, Seanchan is. Shara is reached crossing the waste (or sailing around by the sea folk) The area of Shara is also fairly certainly less than the rest of the continent as well. The numbers were heavily off, should be 3:1 to 5:1 (or more) in favor of 'the light', it was just glossed around by the fact the Kinswomen/Novices are never used and never do anything. + Show Spoiler + A single Aiel clan has more channelers as the Sharan's brought to the battlefield. That's grossly inconsistent with the fact that Sharan's use male and female channelers, actively tries to breed them and that Shara itself is 5-6 times as large as the entire Aiel Waste. According to interviews from Jordan the number of channelers was 2-3% of the total population in the Age of Legends, the percentage in Shara should be similar since they don't actively hunt down men who can channel or send them to the Waste to battle the Dark One. | ||
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ThaZenith
Canada3116 Posts
On January 15 2013 10:21 Kaidaten1234 wrote: + Show Spoiler + A single Aiel clan has more channelers as the Sharan's brought to the battlefield. That's grossly inconsistent with the fact that Sharan's use male and female channelers, actively tries to breed them and that Shara itself is 5-6 times as large as the entire Aiel Waste. According to interviews from Jordan the number of channelers was 2-3% of the total population in the Age of Legends, the percentage in Shara should be similar since they don't actively hunt down men who can channel or send them to the Waste to battle the Dark One. + Show Spoiler + Yup, the numbers really annoyed me. Although I can argue, though the male Sharans were bred, they were killed before they started channelling. So not only did they have a limited window to have kids, it's never really proven how exactly channeler + channeler affects the kids. Maybe they have to be proficient with the power for it to really take hold, maybe a certain age, maybe (lol) having feelings for each other matters, and even then who knows what the chances are. So it wouldn't be close to the age of legends percentages. I personally would be interested in reading something set in Shara anyways, even just a few pages, maybe of Jain's travels there. The entire series there's this awesome place that you know exists, but he doesn't really ever tell you anything about it. | ||
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redviper
Pakistan2333 Posts
On January 14 2013 13:47 SafeAsCheese wrote: A majority opinion would be that you have a different taste than most people. 1. Sanderson wrote the ending RJ wanted, I think it would have been better if Sanderson re-wrote the ending, or at least majorly edited it (WoT needs major major editing) 2. 99% of fans prefer The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and AMoL. Books 8-11 were, for the most part, considered a death blow to the series where vast section of it were no important story happening. Book 10 is one of the lowest ever reviewed major fantasy books. http://www.amazon.com/Crossroads-Twilight-Wheel-Time-Book/product-reviews/0812571339 Had RJ finished the last 3 books, I think the series would have been dead to a lot of people. Firstly, I love it when people post their subjective opinion as the majority's opinion and quote a ridiculous number like 99%. 99% seriously? All 3 of Sanderson's books (actually all of his books) are way too badly written. Perhaps the children who have no appreciation of writing like his action packed, god focused bullshit, but adults probably don't. Infact let me be ridiculous like you and say 99% of adults with an education don't like Sanderson. | ||
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brobrah
220 Posts
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Premier
United States503 Posts
My Thoughts: + Show Spoiler + I thought all the characters that died off was necessary, though I did think Lan should have died while battling Demandred. Egewne's moment with the anti-balefire was sweeet, and her death was well done. With Rand in the Epilogue... so he cant channel... but can use magic? My first thought was that it was like the World of Dreams, where you can simply imagine things and they are the way you imagine it. Anyone have any other thoughts? Also... Mat was a complete badass, and I wish there was a spinoff series with him and Tuon. | ||
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aloT
England1042 Posts
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{ToT}ColmA
Japan3260 Posts
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OKMarius
Norway469 Posts
The first book is called The Eye of the World. It's not similar to A Song of Ice and Fire at all, more like a mix of Middle-earth and the Malazan universe I'd say (but not really similar to those either). | ||
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Kaidaten1234
10 Posts
On January 16 2013 05:27 aloT wrote: I have occasionaly had this book recommend to me, is it similar to A Song of Ice and Fire? No. Wheel of Time is oldschool black/white fantasy with lots of magic and shit. Contrary to GRRM, Jordan doesn't kill of a lot of characters. On January 16 2013 06:35 {ToT}ColmA wrote: Hey guys, gonna finish up the malazan book of the fallen stuff around the end of this month, can someone tell me with what to start in this series? amazon link is appreciated :D Starting with Eye of the World is advisable. There is a prequel called A New Spring which you can read right before or after The Fires of Heaven. | ||
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Kimaker
United States2131 Posts
On January 15 2013 12:29 brobrah wrote: I am the 1%. LOL Well played my good sir, well played. Was it worth it? I still need to read 2 more books before I try and tackle the last one. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 16 2013 10:52 Kaidaten1234 wrote: There is a prequel called A New Spring which you can read right before or after The Fires of Heaven. You should wait until at least after A Crown of Swords, which contains the first introduction of a character that features in New Spring (not "A New Spring"), and of which you're not supposed to know anything at the time. It was published between books 10 and 11, actually, so if you want the canonical order of reading that would be the way to go. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 16 2013 02:07 Premier wrote: + Show Spoiler + My first thought was that it was like the World of Dreams, where you can simply imagine things and they are the way you imagine it. Anyone have any other thoughts? Also... Mat was a complete badass, and I wish there was a spinoff series with him and Tuon. + Show Spoiler + I've heard unconfirmed rumors that there is a self-lighting pipe ter'angreal in the stash that the supergirls find in Ebou Dar in book 7 or 8, but I can't remember any such thing myself, nor can I be bothered to check right now. | ||
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Kaidaten1234
10 Posts
On January 17 2013 01:49 TheBB wrote: You should wait until at least after A Crown of Swords, which contains the first introduction of a character that features in New Spring (not "A New Spring"), and of which you're not supposed to know anything at the time. It was published between books 10 and 11, actually, so if you want the canonical order of reading that would be the way to go. The character whom I think you are referring to is mentioned as early as book 2 or 3 if I recall correctly and we get a proper introduction in New Spring as well. As long he/she avoid the KoD prologue and doesn't read it before EoTW (and arguably TGH), it's fine. The reason why I suggested reading it before or right after TFoH is because who the main characters in New Spring are and events in TFoH. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 17 2013 06:32 Kaidaten1234 wrote: The character whom I think you are referring to is mentioned as early as book 2 or 3 if I recall correctly Pretty sure this is not true. If so, these guys have glossed over it. | ||
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teide
Spain178 Posts
Jordan rest in peace | ||
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teapot
United Kingdom266 Posts
To clarify, is the experience, like say, watching Battlestar Galactica where the first half of the first series is really good, but it is all down hill from there and while there is just enough to keep you going you are only really watching it out of habit, and not really giving a shit who the final cylons are, or about how corny and absurd it has become? | ||
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
On January 18 2013 08:21 teapot wrote: I haven't read any of these, but I have enjoyed reading about people's experiences of reading this series, when they gave up etc. Stuff like that. To clarify, is the experience, like say, watching Battlestar Galactica where the first half of the first series is really good, but it is all down hill from there and while there is just enough to keep you going you are only really watching it out of habit, and not really giving a shit who the final cylons are, or about how corny and absurd it has become? Not really, IMO. The patch between 8-10 is a little rough, but after that it improves and by the end it was almost as good as when it began. | ||
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LimitSEA
Australia9580 Posts
On January 18 2013 08:56 mierin wrote: Not really, IMO. The patch between 8-10 is a little rough, but after that it improves and by the end it was almost as good as when it began. I actually had no trouble with 8-10, so I was quite surprised to hear people giving up around this point or describing it as a rough patch. But looking back on it now I can definitely see what people mean. I can agree, though, that everything after 10 was really good, almost as good as the first few were for me. | ||
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Sunaj
Canada2041 Posts
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Reborn58
United States238 Posts
On January 18 2013 09:12 Sunaj wrote: meh, the patch of 8-10 was only "bad" * I enjoyed them personally* because people were waiting for the books, If one were to start the series now, it wouldn't be anywhere near as bad I think. I actually disagree, haha. I think if I had been waiting for them and had only one to read I would be ok with it. But since I was playing "catch-up" and had 8-10 to read all in a row, with no break...it was killing me to get through them. | ||
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Gradius
United States112 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + I still wish Rand hadn't destroyed the Choedan Kal and still don't really understand the reasoning for doing so. With that kind of power he could have pimpslapped the armies of the shadow back to the 18th layer of hell and made things a lot easier for everyone. Ending felt a tad rushed to me. I knew that there would be pretty much no plot progression for 800 pages with the author trying to cram the resolution into the last 100/50 pages, and alas that's what happened. I wanted to know what else happened to Rand after the battle, his schools, Tuon meeting Artur. What went on in Shara after the battle? What about the Land of Madmen? What happened to Moiraine? Overall though I'm sure there is plenty to nitpick, especially with the channeller numbers & what not, but the series itself was enjoyable. The Cleansing of Saidin is still one of the coolest things I've ever read. Now I'm just waiting on a Song of Ice and Fire to finish. | ||
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JazzNL
182 Posts
On April 09 2003 00:57 badteeth wrote: not yet, waiting for pdf on kazaa. Kazaa, boy that really brings back memories! | ||
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Qwyn
United States2779 Posts
Holy shit. Time to dust off my old hardbacks and get caught up before I dive on in. OR, maybe I should just go for it. I hope the last battle is as rewarding as I imagine it to be. | ||
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Kaidaten1234
10 Posts
On January 17 2013 06:58 TheBB wrote: Pretty sure this is not true. If so, these guys have glossed over it. I said that I seem to recall her being mentioned, but I don't care enough to spend a couple of hours looking through all of Egwene's POW's in TGH and TDR to find out whether I'm right or wrong. | ||
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revel8
United Kingdom3022 Posts
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I cannot believe + Show Spoiler + Bela died! + Show Spoiler + Good to see Demandred actually appear and do something. It would have been anti-climactic if he had only appeared briefly after all the suspense. To be fair, he was a bad ass. All those duels and balefire blasts. Sad about Egwene. I guess a series needs some major character (apart from Bela) to die in order to bring in the sacrifice aspect of the victory. Jain Fairstrider being a Hero of the Horn was a nice touch too. Sanderson weaved all the storylines together nicely akin to the Pattern. I also approve of the clever usages of gateways to spy on the battlefield, and direct cannon fire. It was good to see how the Shadow forces had various tricks and plots to try and help them kill Rand or win the Last Battle. They always are sneaky and cunning and always try to play dirty. It would have been interesting to see a bit more about Shara and find out how exactly Demandred ended up leading them. I enjoyed the book. I waited long enough and it delivered. | ||
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OKMarius
Norway469 Posts
Google it if you want source, cba to find link. | ||
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ShaLLoW[baY]
Canada12499 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + "I'm not here to win, I'm here to kill you" LAN OP | ||
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nikj
Canada669 Posts
On January 21 2013 09:51 ShaLLoW[baY] wrote: I started to tear up quite a bit at points during the Last Battle, partly because I've been emotionally involved in this series for a decade, and partly because it was so fucking incredible. + Show Spoiler + "I'm not here to win, I'm here to kill you" LAN OP Lan is such a boss. | ||
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lolspoon
450 Posts
On January 19 2013 12:02 JazzNL wrote: Kazaa, boy that really brings back memories! Holy shit yes. I was like wtf, kazaa? This guy must live in some prehistoric country... then I realized, its 10yrs old :/ | ||
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Meadowlark
United States349 Posts
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LimitSEA
Australia9580 Posts
On January 20 2013 00:07 revel8 wrote: Just finished it! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I cannot believe + Show Spoiler + Bela died! + Show Spoiler + Good to see Demandred actually appear and do something. It would have been anti-climactic if he had only appeared briefly after all the suspense. To be fair, he was a bad ass. All those duels and balefire blasts. Sad about Egwene. I guess a series needs some major character (apart from Bela) to die in order to bring in the sacrifice aspect of the victory. Jain Fairstrider being a Hero of the Horn was a nice touch too. Sanderson weaved all the storylines together nicely akin to the Pattern. I also approve of the clever usages of gateways to spy on the battlefield, and direct cannon fire. It was good to see how the Shadow forces had various tricks and plots to try and help them kill Rand or win the Last Battle. They always are sneaky and cunning and always try to play dirty. It would have been interesting to see a bit more about Shara and find out how exactly Demandred ended up leading them. I enjoyed the book. I waited long enough and it delivered. I KNOW OMG. + Show Spoiler + Bella dying made me instantly sad. She made it through everything only to die at the very end, how ;-; | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 20 2013 11:06 OKMarius wrote: Btw, there are a lot of cut chapters from this book from Demandred that will be released as a standalone story apparently. It's called River of Souls, and will be released early this year in an anthology called Unfettered. I think the ones who have read AMOL can imagine what it's gonna be about. Google it if you want source, cba to find link. You sure it was Demandred? Most people seemed to think it was Fain. | ||
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ChriS-X
Malaysia1374 Posts
On January 21 2013 10:49 LimitSEA wrote: I KNOW OMG. + Show Spoiler + Bella dying made me instantly sad. She made it through everything only to die at the very end, how ;-; i was sooooooo sad T.T On January 16 2013 10:52 Kaidaten1234 wrote: No. Wheel of Time is oldschool black/white fantasy with lots of magic and shit. Contrary to GRRM, Jordan doesn't kill of a lot of characters. RJ has such a massive cast of characters, and the ones that he kills off are relatively minor (excluding the last book obviously). I feel that he does kill a fair amount of characters, they just don't have the same impact as in George RR Martin's series | ||
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Skilledblob
Germany3392 Posts
I preordered the paperback edition of the book and now three weeks later amazon tells me that in germany the paperback is not yet allowed to be sold -__- well what's kinda nice is that they gave me a 8€ discount on the hardcover version | ||
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FailCow
United States49 Posts
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Mordanis
United States893 Posts
On January 17 2013 01:53 TheBB wrote: + Show Spoiler + I've heard unconfirmed rumors that there is a self-lighting pipe ter'angreal in the stash that the supergirls find in Ebou Dar in book 7 or 8, but I can't remember any such thing myself, nor can I be bothered to check right now. + Show Spoiler + My thought after reading this part is that Rand had retained some of the ability to "weave the pattern", so even though he couldn't channel the True Power or the One Power, he could still weave the pattern to some level. | ||
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Iranon
United States983 Posts
On January 21 2013 10:49 LimitSEA wrote: I KNOW OMG. + Show Spoiler + Bella dying made me instantly sad. She made it through everything only to die at the very end, how ;-; + Show Spoiler + It was actually Harriet's decision to kill off Bela. She thought Sanderson was artificially keeping her alive, and that didn't seem appropriate in the world of the story. | ||
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aloT
England1042 Posts
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LimitSEA
Australia9580 Posts
On January 27 2013 06:49 aloT wrote: Hey everyone. I saw someone reading book 14 of wheel of time on the bus home the other day. I just struck up a conversation and he said it was the best thing ever, so I just placed my order on Amazon. I feel like I'm starting a new journey. I have no knowledge of what I am about to read at all. You definitely are. I don't know how it'll be for someone picking up the series now that it's over, but growing up with the series and waiting for each new book to come out was incredible. The world just sucks you in and doesn't let you go. | ||
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aloT
England1042 Posts
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Kronen
United States732 Posts
On January 27 2013 20:18 aloT wrote: I feel like I'm either cheating or extremely priviledged that I'm able to read the whole thing in one go without any waiting :D There are definitely slower moments though. All characters, whether ancillary or primary, are handled with the same lengthy prose so cutting through chapters featuring characters you don't like (or find bone gratingly boring i.e. Sevanna) can be a chore. For those passages, it's totally acceptable to skim. I'm currently on book 10 of re-read number 3 and liking it a lot! Hope you enjoy the journey! | ||
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aloT
England1042 Posts
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LimitSEA
Australia9580 Posts
On January 27 2013 21:17 aloT wrote: The only thing I know is that the last books were completed by another author, what is the general concensus on quality on them? did the writing style change alot? For the most part I didn't really notice. The last three books were almost as good as the first three, which were for me the best of the series. The style itself didn't change a great deal, though certain characters were written slightly different in my opinion. In all, though, the change in author didn't impact the quality a great deal since parts of it were written by RJ himself and the rest seemed to fit in nicely with the detail oriented style Jordan's known for. | ||
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aloT
England1042 Posts
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Metaphysic
63 Posts
On January 27 2013 21:22 LimitSEA wrote: For the most part I didn't really notice. The last three books were almost as good as the first three, which were for me the best of the series. The style itself didn't change a great deal, though certain characters were written slightly different in my opinion. In all, though, the change in author didn't impact the quality a great deal since parts of it were written by RJ himself and the rest seemed to fit in nicely with the detail oriented style Jordan's known for. There's definitely a difference in writing style; I'm not sure how you can not notice it. Character behavior is slightly different from what Jordan established as well, although characters don't do anything so far beyond the norm that it throws you off. The best way to convey it is that Sanderson's writing is less nuanced and more direct. I don't think he's as good a writer as Jordan, but he's not bad. | ||
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Alethios
New Zealand2765 Posts
EDIT: + Show Spoiler + I guess i'm happy to have finally finished. The general thrust of the novel was satisfying, particularly for Rand and Perrin. That said, there were certainly plenty of opportunities missed to my eyes - such as the Rand/Egwene confrontation, No real resolution reached with Tuon and the Seanchan, but it being all roses at the end regardless, Demandred was a boss and all but unfortunately aside from his interaction with Shendla was rather one dimensional... and so forth. One of the main reasons I've loved WoT so much during my life was that Robert Jordan packed so much meaning and truth into it. It was a condensed version of everything he knew about our world. The power, and Tel'aran'rhiod in particular were such amazingly versatile metaphors for discussing (and explaining) things that lay beyond our normal understanding of this world. However, while I enjoyed reading about the various battles and tribulations of the characters in AMoL, there was rarely any meaning that I could discern from any of it. I can only assume that these meaningful sequences and ideas came directly from RJ's notes, the very zen understanding Rand reaches by the end for example. The rest was just a regular old fantasy novel. | ||
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Conquest101
United States1395 Posts
After finishing and thinking on the series as a whole, I came to the conclusion that Mat and his storylines were the best in the series by far. Who would read a spinoff series featuring Mat + Tuon leading the Seanchan/Band of the Red Hand back to the Seanchan continent and cleaning house, dealing with usurpers, exploring a whole new landmass, etc. etc. ? I would read the fuck out of something like that. | ||
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Mercy13
United States718 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + 1. Where did Rand get the sword that he gave Tam? He says he got it from "a kindred spirit" or something like that. 2. When Rand recreates the Dark One's prison, the book says that he is using a "new" power. Do you think this new power is what was used by the Creator to create the world? Does the catechism that "at the moment of creation, the Creator bound the Dark One in Shayol Ghul" perhaps refer to the "Adversaries" like Rand who faced the dark one and created a new prison? 3. Who is the Aiel woman that Avienda sees during her second trip to Rhuidean, and that Rand sees when he leaves the cavern leading to the Bore carrying Moridan? Is she the same woman that Egwene runs into during (I think) book four in the World of Dreams who tangles her fingers in Egwenes ter'angreal, forcing her to feel a flash of pain and wake up? Maybe this woman was the last "Adversary" that created a new prison for the Dark One? Maybe she is an incarnation of the Creator? I'm especially interested in question number 3, I really am at a loss to explain who this woman is. Thanks! | ||
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Iranon
United States983 Posts
On January 29 2013 15:23 Mercy13 wrote: After finishing AMoL I have a couple questions and I'm wondering whether you guys can help answer them (contain spoilers): + Show Spoiler + 1. Where did Rand get the sword that he gave Tam? He says he got it from "a kindred spirit" or something like that. 2. When Rand recreates the Dark One's prison, the book says that he is using a "new" power. Do you think this new power is what was used by the Creator to create the world? Does the catechism that "at the moment of creation, the Creator bound the Dark One in Shayol Ghul" perhaps refer to the "Adversaries" like Rand who faced the dark one and created a new prison? 3. Who is the Aiel woman that Avienda sees during her second trip to Rhuidean, and that Rand sees when he leaves the cavern leading to the Bore carrying Moridan? Is she the same woman that Egwene runs into during (I think) book four in the World of Dreams who tangles her fingers in Egwenes ter'angreal, forcing her to feel a flash of pain and wake up? Maybe this woman was the last "Adversary" that created a new prison for the Dark One? Maybe she is an incarnation of the Creator? I'm especially interested in question number 3, I really am at a loss to explain who this woman is. Thanks! Not sure about any of this, but I'll speculate. + Show Spoiler + 1. I suspect it's Justice, Artur Hawkwings sword. It's possible it's Lews Therin's, some archaeologists dug it up from god knows where. It could also be an old false Dragon's. He said it belonged to a kindred spirit, IIRC, which could mean almost anything. (Some ta'veren, some Dragon, someone from the Age of Legends we never heard about, etc). 2. Rand is somehow weaving the pattern (and talking in CAPSLOCKese) the same way the Creator does, yes. I would guess the DO is using "Adversary" to mean "current agent of the Creator". 3. The Aiel woman's name is Nakomi, and Sanderson explicitly said somewhere that he wouldn't say who Nakomi was. Personally I have no idea, and I'm not even sure she was a real person, but that could mean any number of things. There's a forthcoming encyclopedia of some kind which might clear up a few loose ends, but there are also some things that Robert Jordan specifically noted to be left ambiguous. Rand's pipe-lighting shenanigans are one such thing, maybe she's another. She could certainly have been sent by the Creator in some form, and I don't recall the TAR scene with Egwene you're referring to. Speculate away; I'm not sure that we'll ever know that. | ||
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LDdota
United States1465 Posts
"Kneel and swear to the Lord Dragon," he said softly, "Or you shall be knelt." Gave me chills! I can't believe there's still 8 more books to go... so excited! | ||
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Umpteen
United Kingdom1570 Posts
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beachbeachy
United States509 Posts
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Slayer91
Ireland23335 Posts
On January 29 2013 15:23 Mercy13 wrote: After finishing AMoL I have a couple questions and I'm wondering whether you guys can help answer them (contain spoilers): + Show Spoiler + 1. Where did Rand get the sword that he gave Tam? He says he got it from "a kindred spirit" or something like that. 2. When Rand recreates the Dark One's prison, the book says that he is using a "new" power. Do you think this new power is what was used by the Creator to create the world? Does the catechism that "at the moment of creation, the Creator bound the Dark One in Shayol Ghul" perhaps refer to the "Adversaries" like Rand who faced the dark one and created a new prison? 3. Who is the Aiel woman that Avienda sees during her second trip to Rhuidean, and that Rand sees when he leaves the cavern leading to the Bore carrying Moridan? Is she the same woman that Egwene runs into during (I think) book four in the World of Dreams who tangles her fingers in Egwenes ter'angreal, forcing her to feel a flash of pain and wake up? Maybe this woman was the last "Adversary" that created a new prison for the Dark One? Maybe she is an incarnation of the Creator? I'm especially interested in question number 3, I really am at a loss to explain who this woman is. Thanks! + Show Spoiler + The sword was Laman's sword. I assume he bested the other blademaster in a duel, his first one perhaps, and made himself a "true" blademaster by taking his sword. He was a "kindred spirit" because they were both blademasters, I guess. EDITEDITEDIT: Wiki'd it, AVIENDHA gave him the blade for some reason something to do with repaying her toh to him which he countertrolled by giving her gems in the hilt and scabbard so he thought he being nice but it fucked her toh because it wasn't the full payment then since he "refused" it. The new power = saidin+saidar+true power. Shayol Ghul is just where the Bore was originally opened by Lanfear and that other dickhead in the Age of Legends. The catechism is just incorrect. Because as myths fade to legends etcetc as the wheel of time turns that's just how things have been since anyone can remember; the dark one being a shayol ghul since the age of legends. When Rand leads the cavern I think its Alivia, the old super powerful damane who rand released way back. She helps him "die" by giving him lots of money and a horse and shit so he can start a new life when nobody knows who he is (since very few people recognize moridin, maybe avienha from Book 8 BUT she's bonded so she knows anyway) I dunno why alivia dresses as aiel, cant remember tbh. Remember rands body was fucked, but yet he carried "a body" out of Shayol ghul before it was shut, so he must have been in moridins body then, and alivia probably is a massive beast and figured out that it was really rand and helped him hide while everyone else discovered rands dying body conveniently just outside shayol ghul. I reread again and it seems like yes, saidin+saidar+true power creates weaves in the wheel, since rand lit his pipe without having access to any of the 3, it seems he has a mini version of the Creator. The creator must have split the 3 powers after creating the world and sending the wheel weaving or w/e On January 19 2013 11:56 Gradius wrote: I think I read the first book about 6 years ago. Glad to finally finish it. Gotta thank Sanderson for taking up the mantle and finishing a great series. + Show Spoiler + I still wish Rand hadn't destroyed the Choedan Kal and still don't really understand the reasoning for doing so. With that kind of power he could have pimpslapped the armies of the shadow back to the 18th layer of hell and made things a lot easier for everyone. Ending felt a tad rushed to me. I knew that there would be pretty much no plot progression for 800 pages with the author trying to cram the resolution into the last 100/50 pages, and alas that's what happened. I wanted to know what else happened to Rand after the battle, his schools, Tuon meeting Artur. What went on in Shara after the battle? What about the Land of Madmen? What happened to Moiraine? Overall though I'm sure there is plenty to nitpick, especially with the channeller numbers & what not, but the series itself was enjoyable. The Cleansing of Saidin is still one of the coolest things I've ever read. Now I'm just waiting on a Song of Ice and Fire to finish. + Show Spoiler + Tuon meeting artur: Hi I'm a pretty big fan of you you're kinda the foundation of our own empire Land of madmen: No longer mad since saidin cleansed hurrdurr Shara lost the vast majority of their channelers but it won't matter since peace is coming to the land since shara is the only land not in the dragons peace they will not last long. They were being misled by a forsaken anyway they'll be feeling pretty silly Moiraine gets to have some fun sexy times after all her hard work with Thom as they travel around Rand goes on and lives happily ever after having sweet hot emotional-self-resonance-amplication sex with his 3 hot babes and now he's tall dark and handsome instead of tall red haired and handsome without lots of unhealable wounds and a fucked up brain | ||
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GranDim
Canada1214 Posts
The one plot hole that is really annoying me is that the DO should know the true power is essential to fully resealing him(That has already happened many many many times from his point of view), if he had just denied it to Moridin when Rand entered the cave he would have broken the pattern of being fully sealed at the end of the third age | ||
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Slayer91
Ireland23335 Posts
The dark one isn't a sentient being like that, he exists as a form of pure chaos and isn't capable of reason the way humans are Besides he's probably concentrated completely on trying to win ONCE and break the cycle forever and it's that kind of close-mindedness that is the bane of the forces of evil throughout the series despite having sizeable advantages from being able to manipulate and sow chaos among humanity. If they were organized the 13 could link and run around balefireing everything until the pattern unraveled or even just kill rand and be done with it, but they dont trust each other and assume the guy controlling the link would just kill the rest when he has all their power which he WOULD | ||
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GranDim
Canada1214 Posts
Most of the 13 wouldn't want to balefire the world into oblivion, the DO influence them but they are still free beings. Agreed on the take Rand out part but that's part of the organised light side vs stronger but chaotic dark side. IDK about the dark one not being sentient, maybe he lose most of his memories when the pattern reset back to the first age(and I guess that's when the balefired threads come back too) but its been shown that he remember the 2nd age pretty clearly | ||
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Mercy13
United States718 Posts
On January 30 2013 07:38 Slayer91 wrote: + Show Spoiler + The sword was Laman's sword. I assume he bested the other blademaster in a duel, his first one perhaps, and made himself a "true" blademaster by taking his sword. He was a "kindred spirit" because they were both blademasters, I guess. EDITEDITEDIT: Wiki'd it, AVIENDHA gave him the blade for some reason something to do with repaying her toh to him which he countertrolled by giving her gems in the hilt and scabbard so he thought he being nice but it fucked her toh because it wasn't the full payment then since he "refused" it. The new power = saidin+saidar+true power. Shayol Ghul is just where the Bore was originally opened by Lanfear and that other dickhead in the Age of Legends. The catechism is just incorrect. Because as myths fade to legends etcetc as the wheel of time turns that's just how things have been since anyone can remember; the dark one being a shayol ghul since the age of legends. When Rand leads the cavern I think its Alivia, the old super powerful damane who rand released way back. She helps him "die" by giving him lots of money and a horse and shit so he can start a new life when nobody knows who he is (since very few people recognize moridin, maybe avienha from Book 8 BUT she's bonded so she knows anyway) I dunno why alivia dresses as aiel, cant remember tbh. Remember rands body was fucked, but yet he carried "a body" out of Shayol ghul before it was shut, so he must have been in moridins body then, and alivia probably is a massive beast and figured out that it was really rand and helped him hide while everyone else discovered rands dying body conveniently just outside shayol ghul. I reread again and it seems like yes, saidin+saidar+true power creates weaves in the wheel, since rand lit his pipe without having access to any of the 3, it seems he has a mini version of the Creator. The creator must have split the 3 powers after creating the world and sending the wheel weaving or w/e + Show Spoiler + Tuon meeting artur: Hi I'm a pretty big fan of you you're kinda the foundation of our own empire Land of madmen: No longer mad since saidin cleansed hurrdurr Shara lost the vast majority of their channelers but it won't matter since peace is coming to the land since shara is the only land not in the dragons peace they will not last long. They were being misled by a forsaken anyway they'll be feeling pretty silly Moiraine gets to have some fun sexy times after all her hard work with Thom as they travel around Rand goes on and lives happily ever after having sweet hot emotional-self-resonance-amplication sex with his 3 hot babes and now he's tall dark and handsome instead of tall red haired and handsome without lots of unhealable wounds and a fucked up brain + Show Spoiler + Well I know for certain that the sword that Rand gives to Tam wasn't Laman's that Avienda gave him, because Rand had Laman's sword with him when went into the cavern. I have a feeling you're just making stuff up : ) | ||
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Slayer91
Ireland23335 Posts
On January 30 2013 13:43 Mercy13 wrote: + Show Spoiler + Well I know for certain that the sword that Rand gives to Tam wasn't Laman's that Avienda gave him, because Rand had Laman's sword with him when went into the cavern. I have a feeling you're just making stuff up : ) + Show Spoiler + yes im making stuff up, you caught me, im trying to undermine jordans creation what? the only other sword that rand acquired from besting a blade master is Turak Aladon's sword. I MIGHT be his but it wasnt mentioned to be a heron marked, so I'm not sure. It's probably one of rands old swords from somewhere in books 6-10, it's pretty minor but being the first sword that rand "earned" would make sense edit: I googled it, apparently it's "justice" Artur Hawkwing's sword. Makes sense since it's "ancient" and "well-used" | ||
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Monsen
Germany2548 Posts
"Rand slipped back into the portion of the tent where he'd awakened. Laman's sword was there, sitting atop a neat pile of mixed clothing." | ||
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Monsen
Germany2548 Posts
On January 30 2013 07:27 beachbeachy wrote: I've recently started the series, but I keep hearing that the books slow down from 6 (7?) on? I love reading and I don't mind if there 'isn't a lot going on' in terms of plot progression. Personally, I think it's a matter of perspective. Anyway, do people really consider the latter books that difficult to get through? Most readers agree that books 7-10 are weaker than the rest of the series, but Jordan really picked it up again with book 11 and 12-14 ( Sanderson) are quite good too. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On January 31 2013 01:54 Slayer91 wrote: + Show Spoiler + yes im making stuff up, you caught me, im trying to undermine jordans creation what? the only other sword that rand acquired from besting a blade master is Turak Aladon's sword. I MIGHT be his but it wasnt mentioned to be a heron marked, so I'm not sure. It's probably one of rands old swords from somewhere in books 6-10, it's pretty minor but being the first sword that rand "earned" would make sense edit: I googled it, apparently it's "justice" Artur Hawkwing's sword. Makes sense since it's "ancient" and "well-used" + Show Spoiler + Rand is given a sword at some point during the last three books (can't remember where exactly). It was dug up from somewhere. It's never explicitly stated that it's Justice, but there are hints. On January 29 2013 15:50 Iranon wrote: Not sure about any of this, but I'll speculate. + Show Spoiler + 1. I suspect it's Justice, Artur Hawkwings sword. It's possible it's Lews Therin's, some archaeologists dug it up from god knows where. It could also be an old false Dragon's. He said it belonged to a kindred spirit, IIRC, which could mean almost anything. (Some ta'veren, some Dragon, someone from the Age of Legends we never heard about, etc). 2. Rand is somehow weaving the pattern (and talking in CAPSLOCKese) the same way the Creator does, yes. I would guess the DO is using "Adversary" to mean "current agent of the Creator". 3. The Aiel woman's name is Nakomi, and Sanderson explicitly said somewhere that he wouldn't say who Nakomi was. Personally I have no idea, and I'm not even sure she was a real person, but that could mean any number of things. There's a forthcoming encyclopedia of some kind which might clear up a few loose ends, but there are also some things that Robert Jordan specifically noted to be left ambiguous. Rand's pipe-lighting shenanigans are one such thing, maybe she's another. She could certainly have been sent by the Creator in some form, and I don't recall the TAR scene with Egwene you're referring to. Speculate away; I'm not sure that we'll ever know that. + Show Spoiler + Many people have been speculating that Nakomi is an avatar of the Creator. Presumably his rules about not interfering are somewhat bendable. | ||
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OKMarius
Norway469 Posts
On January 29 2013 14:02 Conquest101 wrote: I kinda wish there was more backstory to Demandred/Shara though. Apparently they removed those chapters because it didn't fit the flow of the story. Gonna be released as a standalone short-story in the near future, according to Brandon Sanderson. | ||
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Iranon
United States983 Posts
On January 30 2013 13:43 Mercy13 wrote: + Show Spoiler + Tuon meeting artur: Hi I'm a pretty big fan of you you're kinda the foundation of our own empire Land of madmen: No longer mad since saidin cleansed hurrdurr + Show Spoiler + It was actually Hawkwing's son that conquered Seanchan, Artur didn't live to see the Conquest through. Artur probably would be interested to see that his worldwide unification campaign only met with lasting success across the Aryth Ocean, in the one place where his empire failed utterly to bring the native culture of the land in line with his own. Tuon would probably collapse and beg him to assume the Crystal Throne, and Artur would explain that he was bound to the horn, you silly girl, and needed to disappear back into Horn-limbo pronto. As far as the Land of Madmen, yeah, future generations won't be insane, but those that are already still are. Plus, the other defining characteristic of the LoM is near-constant volcanic and seismic activity. It's not clear how much of that is channeling-related and how much of that is just wonky geography, so that might not go away. In any case, nothing interesting will happen in the LoM for a long, long time. The main problem with it isn't that there's lots of madmen, it's that there are so many that civilization never managed to reestablish itself after the Breaking; it's been over 3500 years since then, and no semblance of social order has arisen. Just primitive villages, no contact with the outside world, chaos, and more chaos. | ||
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acinx
Australia181 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + 1. Can someone explain to me how the mists didn't kill Mat and he can just walk up to kill Fain? 2. In Winter's Heart wasn't Alivia said to be super strong and equalled Lanfear or something? How can Graendal just hold off her + Cadsuane wtf. | ||
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TheBB
Switzerland5133 Posts
On February 22 2013 01:23 acinx wrote: Just finished reading urgh. Have some questions though + Show Spoiler + 1. Can someone explain to me how the mists didn't kill Mat and he can just walk up to kill Fain? 2. In Winter's Heart wasn't Alivia said to be super strong and equalled Lanfear or something? How can Graendal just hold off her + Cadsuane wtf. + Show Spoiler + 1. Being exposed to the dagger made Mat immune to the whole Mordeth/SL/Mashadar-type evil. 2. Not sure about this one, but note that Graendal had access to the True Power at this point. | ||
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Earll
Norway847 Posts
On February 22 2013 01:28 TheBB wrote: + Show Spoiler + 1. Being exposed to the dagger made Mat immune to the whole Mordeth/SL/Mashadar-type evil. 2. Not sure about this one, but note that Graendal had access to the True Power at this point. + Show Spoiler + Was she not also linked to some people or something? I mean after Aviendha travels with her alone I believe she says /thinks something like that Graendal has not been fighting using her own Edit: So I just finished the last book, really satisfied with the last 3 myself and thought sanderson did a great job. So many great moments in the last 3 books in my opinion. Feels sort of weird that something which has been a 'part of my life' for so long is just over now. When is land of madmen mentioned in the books? | ||
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