Should I invest the 50million hours required to read Wheel of Time?

coltyhuxx

coltyhuxx

CAGiversary!
They don't have the first one at the library in town.. so that means i'd have to buy it. I keep hearing back and forth, good and bad, about Robert Jordans huge series. I really would like to read a complete story and not just "the first three good ones." I've gotten some good rec's from fellow CAG's - so I'd rather hear from you than some randoms on Amazon or Epinion.

Right now I'm reading the precursor to Terry Brooks Shanarra novels. I really enjoyed the first eight. (Never delved into the Jerle/Isle Witch stuff).
 
well, The Wheel Of Time is one of the best fantasies of all-time (though the last few books have been meh) so yeah, you should read it
 
Don't bother. Really. When people say "Yeah, it started out ok, but the last few books sucked...", they mean it. They're not just some overly critical pretentious internet prick, they are (were) Wheel of Time fans like I used to be.

Books 6-10 could have been condensed into one short book (200-300 pages). Really, almost nothing happens in those books. The series stops being entertaining around the end of book 4.

I would start George RR Martin's A Song Of Ice and Fire. It's not your generic "sword and sorcery" shit, it's some of the most intense fantasy I've read since Tolkien. The best part is that it's so gritty. Martin isn't afraid to kill off his characters--just when they're on top of the world. Plus there is no "good" and no "evil", though there are obviously those characters you hate and some you love. Another great part of the series: Martin's books have gone further in just four novels than Jordan's has in eleven.

Other stuff I'd reccomend:

Malazan: Book of the Fallen series (deep stuff, not a quick read)
Prince of Nothing series
Farseer trilogy
 
Like most extensive series, its plotlines become drawn out and bordering on inane as it progresses. It ends up banking on your becoming attached to the characters in order to maintain your interest.

Still, the beginning sections of the larger narrative are quite good.
 
Alllright I'm gonna go check into Song of Fire and Ice and A Wizards First Rule.

I think I still have to read the first Wheel of Time....
 
I don't read, but my wife does. :p

She was a big fan of TWOT, but got fed up with it being drug out & never ending and quit around book 6 or maybe 7 I believe. On the other hand, she loves the George R.R. Martin series, so I'll give that another second-hand recommendation. :)
 
[quote name='coltyhuxx']Alllright I'm gonna go check into Song of Fire and Ice and A Wizards First Rule.

I think I still have to read the first Wheel of Time....[/quote]
Please don't bother with Sword of Truth. Terry Goodkind is essentially another Robert Jordan. Except where Jordan gets wordy with descriptions, Goodkind goes on and on with own political beliefs to the point of forcing it onto the reader. Actually, if you'd like to read Wizard's First Rule, it's actually a decent stand-alone book, but after book 3 of the series Goodkind got all caught up humping Ayn Rand and start trying to justify selfishness with his bullshit "Objectivism".

Song of Ice and Fire is excellent though, as I said. Just pay attention to all the names and use the Appendix in the back if you don't know who someone is. I had to read the book twice to really get ahold of it all. A Storm of Swords is great though, once you get to it. Make sure you start with A Game of Thrones first though, obviously.
 
I love the Wheel of Time, even though it's very true that the last few books could have been condensed into one. However, that doesn't mean they're not good. I quickly read them from cover to cover... and then I say "Wait, what?" Love what I'm reading, but suddenly it's done and you look back and nothing really happened.

As long as the bastard gets the series concluded before he dies (he has some sort of medical condition), I'll be happy. That is assuming he's known all along where it's going, and just hasn't gotten there yet.

If you decide not to go with WoT, please look into Terry Brooks' series (I assume you've read Shannara, otherwise get your ass moving on that - he's actually still putting out new story arcs/trilogies to this day, so there's a good bit of material there) Word & the Void - Running with the Demon, A Knight of the Word, and Angel Fire East. Very good series, fairly quick read.
 
C.S. Friedman's Coldfire trilogy is also excellent, if you don't mind a little mythology or sci-fi with your fantasy.

The setting of the books is actually a lot of what makes it interesting, aside from the interaction between a paladin and his religion's greatest betrayer.
 
Like others, I read the first couple (maybe 5) WoT books and then really started to get sick of them.

That was probably 7 years ago though so I can't really recall what my complaints were.
 
I like the WoT series, though I'll be the first to admit the series starts to drag after book 6 or so. the last one is coming out in 2 years or something like that, and i hope all this buildup in the last books really pays off
 
As long as we're reccomending, let me suggest the Recluse series by L.E. Modesitt. A very cool series with some neat new ideas on order vs chaos.
 
I'll second that nomination for Recluse. And that earlier nominations for Word and the Void.

And go read American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
 
I've seen a lot of reccomendations here, and not to downplay them, but many are simply Tolkien ripoffs, particularly stuff by Terry Brooks.

I guess it's better than pull out Eragon, at least.
 
I think the WoT books are only worth reading if you have a ton of time to go straight through the series. I've been reading the series since the mid 90s and don't remember much so I feel like I have to re-learn what's going on every time. I feel the same way about Terry Goodkind, although his books don't have as many characters so they're a little easier to follow.
 
[quote name='xghostsniperx']I've seen a lot of reccomendations here, and not to downplay them, but many are simply Tolkien ripoffs, particularly stuff by Terry Brooks.

I guess it's better than pull out Eragon, at least.[/quote]Welcome to the last 50 years of epic fantasy? Pretty much every current author was in some way influenced by Tolkien. Hardly prevents them from being recommended unless you just wanna read Tolkien and never read another series (coming from someone who has read practically everything the guy wrote, from Gawain to his son's dozen cash grabs).
 
I used to be a huge WoT fan. (I mean, hell, look at me user name.)

Around book 7, I got annoyed...once I hit book 9, I was done.

It just takes too damn long for things to move. I actually picked up book 10 and tried to read it, but I was fed up after about 50 pages. Nothing at all had happened.

Logain is still 5 kinds of a pimp though.


Edit: Of course, recommendations.

I actually haven't read much since my WoT days. I used to be a fanatical reader, but then WoT just killed it for me.

Right now, I'm reading The Horus Heresy, based off of Warhammer 40k. I'm halfway through the first book, if you like SciFi, it's exceptionally good.
 
[quote name='botticus']Welcome to the last 50 years of epic fantasy? Pretty much every current author was in some way influenced by Tolkien. Hardly prevents them from being recommended unless you just wanna read Tolkien and never read another series (coming from someone who has read practically everything the guy wrote, from Gawain to his son's dozen cash grabs).[/quote]

Brook's The Sword of Shannara is to LoTR as Eragon is to Star Wars.

True, there is only so much creativity one can have, but at least Martin has done something different with A Song of Ice and Fire. Character viewpoint chapters, killing off main characters, heavy use of unique mythology and history, etc.
 
[quote name='xghostsniperx']Brook's The Sword of Shannara is to LoTR as Eragon is to Star Wars.

True, there is only so much creativity one can have, but at least Martin has done something different with A Song of Ice and Fire. Character viewpoint chapters, killing off main characters, heavy use of unique mythology and history, etc.[/quote]

The Shannara series has some great novels tucked away in there. Even Elfstones (#2) gets started pretty quickly. The Hertiage quadrilogy is pretty cool too.

Dare I sound too low-brow by saying I really enjoyed a lot of the Forgotten Realms trilogies... the fall of the Avatars (Waterdeep, Tantras, Shadowdale) and I really like the Moonshae Trilogy (first one).
 
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