A lot of people are saying not to bother until Jordan finishes it, other say that the first few books are great but the last few are average.
Any opinions? Advice? Warnings?
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
***Peeks in*** ***cringes*** ***ducks*** ***leaves***
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
Don't waste your precious life on it - there are far better books out there.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
They are awesome. I’ve read the series twice. Noticed things that Jordan tied together from this book to that later book on the second time. It is masterfully done. Yes, some of the later books have some long areas in them, but they are still good reads. You have to do some development before you have an earthshaking climax. The last book is probably a couple of years off, but it is going to be worth it.
Posted by Swampjedi (Member # 7374) on :
To be brutally honest as well as cold - wait and see if Robert Jordan dies before finishing the last ones. It's a long series, and having no end will really stink. It won't stink as bad as losing RJ though.
It's slow sometimes, but the highs make it worthwhile to me.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I liked the first 3 or 4 alright. After that, I completely lost interest. The later books in the series get longer and longer with less and less happening in each book.
As much as I enjoyed the first few at the time, I wouldn't bother. Either that, or enjoy the first ones for what they are, and then make your own choice. If you want to get stuck up in a long series to nowhere, be my guest.
Posted by Earendil18 (Member # 3180) on :
After reading the first 5 I got tired. If the goal is 14 books averaging 900 pages each then RJ is on his way, but the entire story arc could've been condensed down by several books. After a while it just seems like:
Character Group A- We need to go here to get/find this!
Character Group B- We have another goal let's go over there!
CharA- OMG, vital info that group B needs!
*marathon run*
CharA&B- *kick some evil enemy butt*
Rand "You guys hear anything?"
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I found the biggest problem was Jordan's love of his characters, to the point he not only refused to kill any off, but he kept making each minor character you ran across a major character with chapters in the next book devoted to them.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I agree with Jhai -- there are so many good books out there, there's no reason to read Jordan.
<-- disgruntled ex-fan
Posted by Jacen (Member # 9543) on :
I fought my way through the first book and then started the second and couldn't finish it. I'm the type that normally like descriptive, verbose books, but this was just too much. I also don't like the premise. Yay! I get to read about a hero who's work really doesn't matter in the end 'cause it'll all just get undone again later anyway! In fact, if the bad guy wasn't so darned evil I'd be on his side. Time is cyclical and you wanna pop it out of it's rut so that what happens today actually matters later on?! Go for it! Eh, but like I said, he really is evil so I just can't support that. Posted by Swampjedi (Member # 7374) on :
I'm in too deep to give up now.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
quote:Originally posted by Swampjedi: I'm in too deep to give up now.
Yeah, me too. Posted by Swampjedi (Member # 7374) on :
I'd have never guessed it...
I've been swept away by saidin.
Posted by Avadaru (Member # 3026) on :
I don't think the books are outstanding, but I was completely addicted. I read them all, one a week for a couple of months, and felt...lost...when I finished that last one. I guess that's kinda sad. But yeah, I liked them.
Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
Also when people say to wait til he finishes they aren't joking quite as much as they used to be. Sadly, Jordan has been diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare blood disease.
Yeah, I was being serious, unfortunately. That man has lost some serious hair and weight. He looks like a pale Vulcan now.
I feel awful for not wanting him to die for selfish reasons.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I really enjoy the series. He had a couple of weak books in there, but the last one really picked things back up again.
Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :
I'm waiting to get book 4 right now. I didn't read the series for FOREVER because my friends were so insistent that I should. I'm stubborn like that. (I put off reading Ender's Game for like four years for the same reason.) Anyway, book 1 drug on and on and on, and was really boring until almost the end. Luckily for me, I got "New Spring" on CD from the library at around the same time and listened to it at work. It was significantly better than Book 1, so gave me the energy to go ahead and finish. I'm glad I did, because books 2 and 3 have been good, although I agree that they ARE rather formulaic.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I loved the first few books, found the next half-dozen increasingly inconsequential and maddening, and feel that the last couple, and the last one most of all, have really started to move back toward what I liked about the first few, and I feel like they're making progress toward wrapping things up. I'll snap up the next one as soon as it comes out. (I wish we got more of Elaine and less of Matt and Tuon, though.)
Would I recommend you start? Huh. That's actually a tough question. Right now it's a wash. Let's see how Jordan does with the remaining books.
(And I too hope he lives to finish the series.)
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
The Great Hunt is an awesome action novel. It was by far my favorite, and I even thing that it could stand alone, as much as it stands out.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
The Great Hunt is an awesome action novel. It was by far my favorite, and I even thing that it could stand alone, as much as it stands out.
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
I read the first one but only got part way through the second. I stopped because Rand got waaay too whiny for me.
When it comes to a series of books that's not done yet, I'm more inclined to recommend George RR Martin's series. I've read the first one and it moved so much faster than Jordan's does.
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
My sister had a conversation with a die-hard fan that went something like this:
"You didn't like the Wheel of Time? Read the second book, you'll start to see-"
"I started with the second book."
"...Oh."
I gave it a lot longer than that. When Jordan stopped all forward momentum in book #10 and started putting out prequels, I decided I wasn't giving him any more of my money.
It's been mentioned there's better stuff out there. It's true.
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
i read 33 pages. nothing had really happened, and what little did occur pretty much sucked. i put it down. i have never regretted my decision.
i felt like the author was too infatuated with his own writing and it really slowed things down for me.
Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :
I would wait til they're all out. I totally lost track of the gazillion details after it took him years and years to put out book nine. I stopped reading after that one.
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