With the release of the final WoT book due out in 2012, I figured 2011 would be the perfect time for me to re-read the series (I had read it in university, up to about book 7 or 8 and stopped).
I'm about 1/2 way through Eye of the World right now, and I had forgotten how GOOD that book was. Jordan later became in love with his own "voice" it seemed, and his writing suffered for it (some sections of the later books are just brutal, ie: twelve pages describing a tea cup) but the first three books in the series were, IMO, some of the best fantasy ever written this side of Tolkien.
Has anybody read the newer books written by the other guy? No spoilers please, but I'm curious if they're decent or not.
Posted by Wordcaster (Member # 9183) on :
I haven't read the new wot book, but Brandon Sanderson is a solid writer. I heard him in an interview discussing how he put a lot of effort into staying true to Jordan's form for this book.
Posted by Josephine Kait (Member # 8157) on :
I haven't read the new ones yet, (like you, I went back to the beginning) but I have friends who say they are awesome!
Posted by MAP (Member # 8631) on :
I loved the first four WOT books. Then they progressively got worse, longer but with less stuff actually happening and meaningless subplots.
I thought the last one before Sanderson took over finally felt as if the main plot was moving forward.
I've only read one of the new ones by Sanderson, but I really liked it. It felt in tune with the previous novels, but actually had a solid story arc that felt like it was building to something bigger. I only thought that one of the characters was a little bit off. But overall, I'm really impressed with Sanderson.
Posted by tripper (Member # 9485) on :
I also just picked up Eye of the World to reread before looking at the last two, and had a similar experience as you remembering how good Jordan is (before he lost his way a bit). I'm looking forward to getting back into the WoT world and slogging through.
On the topic of Sanderson, someone gifted me ELANTRIS, his first, and I couldn't put it down. Great read if anyone's interested.
Posted by rcorporon (Member # 2879) on :
I'm most of the way through book 2, and still really enjoying my re-read. I had forgotten so much!!!
It is sad though to see how much of a decline in quality the WoT books experience.
Posted by tripper (Member # 9485) on :
I just finished book 3, and have decided that what keeps me invested in the books--through all the descriptions of leaves on trees--is the characters. Almost against my better judgment, I'm hooked and need to finish to see what happens to these people. I care about them and want to experience things with them. Definitely something to think about in my own writing...
Posted by Natej11 (Member # 8547) on :
Robert Jordan chose well, picking Sanderson to finish his series. I would definitely say the latest two books are as good as the first three. It's like we were cruising along in the series, then we got slogged down in molasses, and with these last two books we've finally pulled free and are zipping along once again.
Posted by rcorporon (Member # 2879) on :
I'm into book 5 of my re-read now. Story is still going well, but I know that once I hit "Lord of Chaos" things are going to sloooooow down.
Still enjoying the re-read up to this point though... RJ was quite talented.
Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :
Here's a good place to play catch up if you don't want to go through the trouble of rereading the entire series: http://www.tor.com/features/series/wot-reread Posted by Owasm (Member # 8501) on :
My problem with the WoT series is that Terry Goodkind started writing his knockoff series, the Sword of Truth. For years, as the volumes came out leapfrogging each other, I'd get the stupid plots messed up, especially when Jordan introduced these somewhat unrelated subplots.
My favorite WoT volume is, actually, Eye of the World. Everything was fresh and there was a clear voice. I even remember where I read it. I was on a business trip to Germany and I read it waiting for airplanes.
Posted by WriteRebekah (Member # 9657) on :
I agree with Natej11--the Brandon Sanderson books recapture the pace and feel of the earlier, best books. Definitely worth reading, and I'm equally confident in his ability to pull off a strong finish.
Posted by J (Member # 2197) on :
Jordan took to milking the series, and I voted my disapproval with my pocketbook after volume 6 or 7 (can't remember where, exactly).
Since I'm not going to read the last 23 books (or however many he and Sanderson will have written after the point where I stopped), I get by pretending that the Eye of the World is a standalone novel with no sequels.