Series: Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

[Jordan]

Huh, I should check in here since it's my goal to reread to where I was in the series (book 8 I think?) and then finally finish it. I'm almost through with the audio of book 2. It's interesting, I loved this books when I originally read them, but I'm not sure I would if I was reading them for the first time now. As it is, the nostalgia factor lets me kind of see the parts that bug the heck out of me but still look past them to what really drew me in to the world.

[Shannon]

Jordan wrote: "Huh, I should check in here since it's my goal to reread to where I was in the series (book 8 I think?) and then finally finish it. I'm almost through with the audio of book 2. It's interesting, I ..."

A bit the same here. I did a full re-read for memory of light coming out but even that was a long time ago now and I've been "paused" on Lord of Chaos for a good while this time round. I'm more critical now than I was when I first read them (age 12??) and it's not stopping me enjoying them but it is making me need some breaks!

The Everybody Hates Rand podcast is that perfect balance for me of "RJ what the hell were you thinking this is awful" and "these books are my best friends" so even if I'm not reading them rn I'm keeping my hand in!

[Eva]

Lol, it's so true that nostalgia can make it impossible to assess books fairly. E.g. Dragonlance Chronicles: I know they are probably bad, but due to me reading them at age 12 while also playing D&D with friends, they shine like jewels in my mind and all I can think of are epic, mysterious worlds, fascinating characters, etc. I wish I could still get absorbed into books as deeply and uncritically as I did then, even though you'd all roll your eyes at my constant 5 star reviews. Sadly I have no nostalgia for WoT (never read it back in the day), so I hope it holds up without it.

[Jordan]

Shannon wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Huh, I should check in here since it's my goal to reread to where I was in the series (book 8 I think?) and then finally finish it. I'm almost through with the audio of book 2. It's ..."

I'm going to have to go check out that podcast!

[Shannon]

Jordan wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Huh, I should check in here since it's my goal to reread to where I was in the series (book 8 I think?) and then finally finish it. I'm almost through with the audio ..."

Oh they do spoilers all the way up to Book 14 so be warned! The White Tower Podcast is another one which is non-spoilery except for the odd episode and they do warn you beforehand.

[HeyT]

I just finished book 8 The Path of Daggers and I felt like something was missing despite the fact that I enjoyed this one and it only just occured to me reading the blurb for the next one that its (view spoiler)[we never came up on Mat's pov and I really want to know what he's up to (hide spoiler)]

[HeyT]

Okay so today I finished Winter's Heart and I feel so exhausted by the fact (view spoiler)[that Jordan has gaslit me into normalizing Rand's harem (hide spoiler)] and I've just come to accept it and like I'd be pissed off about this but I'm just too tired and now it's a big pile of whelp I guess this is alright now.

That being said I'm still enjoying my time in this world and will immediately pick up the next one.

Oh and also I think my favorite part of Mat's POV was when he (view spoiler)[Just plain out blurts SHE'S MY WIFE (hide spoiler)]

[HeyT]

Finished Knife of Dreams today and I felt this was a really solid entry that had quite a few plot resolutions going on. I totally get now why people were telling me that my dislike of Mat would be thoroughly overthrown by these later books. I have been converted lol.

[Nichelle]

Finished The Shadow Rising. I absolutely love the Aiel and Rhuidean. Jordan has done such solid world building here, which is why I still like these books despite some of their issues. Such as Perrin/Faile. Because these books are so long (and getting longer) I've decided to alternate books in this reread with another long series that I haven't read, the Foreigner series by C.J. Cherryh. So I've gone on to Inheritor (Foreigner #3) before getting back to Jordan.

[HeyT]

In the beginning and the middle I alternated books in between but now that I'm closer to the end it's harder not to binge straight through. But I have other book commitments so I'm still alternating a bit.

[HeyT]

Just finished The Gathering Storm and I really enjoyed it. I like that I'm now at the point where multi book arcs are starting to payoff and all these other plot lines are moving forward rather than just a bunch of set up.

[Bobby]

HeyT wrote: "Just finished The Gathering Storm and I really enjoyed it. I like that I'm now at the point where multi book arcs are starting to payoff and all these other plot lines are moving for..."

Wow you are going through them really fast. I'll be really interested to see your reaction to the final book. It's got tons of payoff.

[HeyT]

I did nothing but read yesterday so I finished Towers of Midnight. I'm still enjoying the world and seeing how things are starting to come together. I'm nervous about the last one though. I'm also kind of sad that all I'll have left after is New Spring.

[HeyT]

I totally did nothing but read for like two days straight so now its done and I've read A Memory of Light. I feel accomplished and sad that I don't have yet another book to binge. Well, i mean aside from New Spring. I get why it ended the way it did though and I'm satisfied with it.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

You're on a roll!!

[Aisling]

I am on Book 7, very first chapter. I love this series so much! There are so many good quotes and bits of "folk wisdom." I think the quote that always comes back to me is: "Duty is Heavier than a Mountain, Death is Lighter than a Feather. "

[Jamie]

I reread the whole WoT series every time a new book came out, so I used to have the whole first half practically memorized by the time Jordan died. I think I finished the series, but I am not entirely sure, and it has been long enough that I am rereading them. I finished The Eye of the World (my copy was a sad paperback that I passed on to my sister for her first read of the series next year; I really ought to get a hardback of the ones I only have in paperback.)
I started The Great Hunt as a comfort reread a few months ago but got distracted, so I'm starting over on that reread as a comfort reread to deal with the stress of the holidays (yay, family gatherings...).

[Nicole]

I just finished#2 and I'm not sure that i love this series yet. should I continue? does it get better and back to the Aes Sedai? I feel like Rand's decision making is not great and all the main characters are falling out of my favor. anyone else struggling with this dilemma in the beginning?

[Jamie]

Nicole wrote: "I just finished#2 and I'm not sure that i love this series yet. should I continue? does it get better and back to the Aes Sedai? I feel like Rand's decision making is not great and all the main cha..."

I never really liked Rand. My favorite of the boys was always Mat, and I like how his story develops a lot. I always loved the idea of the White Tower, though I waver over whether I'd take the Brown or maybe the Green. There is a LOT more about Aes Sedai in the rest of the series. I also like Min as her story develops. Jordan seems to have had a hard time imagining women, especially in relationships, but I like that the series is so full of strong women. Few men seem willing to take on the task of writing such overwhelmingly female-centered epic fantasy stories.

[Gabi]

@Nicole: ^^' - it may not help in your decision, but I got really frustrated with the series after book 5 or 6. The writing of the women, especially the Aes Sedai becomes downright childish, like teenager bitching the whole time. It gets a lot better from book 12 on, but that's a long way to go.

[Gary]

Finished reading A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan. It’s my first read of the series. It’s the seventh book in the series, so I have seven more books to read yet to finish the series. I liked the book. It had a great ending. I’m wondering about the next few books since I’ve been warned that they have problems. I will “read and find out” like Robert Jordan was known to say.
I watched all eight episodes of The Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime Video. The season covered book one with aspects of later books added in. I thought the episodes were great. There were changes that I don’t totally agree with as a book reader, but I’ll give the showrunners the benefit of the doubt and see where the story goes in season two.

[Gabi]

@Gary: If you had no problems with books 6 and 7 you will probably will be fine with 8-11.

[Hank]

I agree with Gabi. I had problems with 6 and 7 but they still seemed passable. 8-11 were, for me, unreadable. I think I read 1/2 of 8, 200 pages of 9, skipped 10 entirely and read the last 200 pages of 11 just to catch up to Sanderson's books

If you had no problems with 6,7 8-11 should be fine.

[YouKneeK]

I was a weirdo who liked 6-7 and 8-11 just fine, so hopefully you’ll be a weirdo too Gary. :) I read through the whole thing for the first time about 4 years ago. It definitely had its issues, but I mostly enjoyed it.

The plot progress slows to a crawl because Jordan pulled so many different side plots and side characters into the mix, but I had fun trying to keep it all straight and was usually interested in those side plots/characters.

Don't forget New Spring, the prequel published between books 10 and 11. I read it in publication order myself and thought that worked well, although there are lots of opinions about when to read it.

I have 2 episodes left to watch in season 1. I originally stalled out after those first 3 episodes dropped, during the week-long wait to episode 4. I had enjoyed them, but TV isn’t a normal part of my schedule, and I’ve never done well with week-long waits when I do watch it. I lose the momentum and the enthusiasm. So after the last episode was released, I started over from the beginning and watched one per night. It’s easier for me to do 1 hour at the same time every night for 8 days in a row, making it a routine and allowing me to watch them closely enough together that I can keep the momentum going. They’ve skipped/changed/added so many things versus the books that I’m almost treating it as its own entity at this point, but I’m enjoying it quite a lot.

[Rob]

Personally I liked books 6-8 fine. 9 was a bit slow at times, 10 was barely readable, but 11 was a return to form.

I've really been enjoying the show. The pace is break-neck compared to the books, but so far it's working for me apart from a few issues.

I'm hoping season 2 will be even better.

[Kirsi]

I've liked all the books just fine - I think the Path of Daggers was the only one I thought was a bit of a disappointment. However, I'm one of those who started reading WoT in the 90s, so I waited and waited and goddamn waited for every new book and was running on endorphins every time I got ANYTHING new to read. When there's no opportunity to binge-read, you approach the books a bit differently, I think. I'd probably have more beef with the books of the Slump if I started re-reading the whole thing now.

[Gabi]

Yes, I think the difference is very much like Kirsi stated. When reading back to back the shortcomings weigh so much more. I read them the first time in the last two years and for me it was nearly unbearable to get through most of them. Only books 3, 12 and 14 got me somewhat on board. Now my boys asked me, if we could read them aloud once we finish out current Stormlight Archive reading. I'm very curious how they will feel for teenage boys.

[YouKneeK]

I think it depends on the individual’s reading habits, because for me it was the opposite. Similar to my above description of my issues with episodic TV, I also much prefer to read a book series all together after it’s complete so I can maintain the immersion and the investment.

I read the full Wheel of Time series in a span of about 4.5 months, with only the occasional short break, and I never felt the slog that most people described. For me, that was because I was interested in all the little side plots and minor characters too. I think I was able to maintain that interest better because I remembered more of the nitty-gritty details from book to book and was able to appreciate the little connections and payoffs.

At the time I was reading it, most of the people who were talking to me about how much of a slog the series became were people who had read the books as they were published. I think for some people, it was harder to remember the details with so much time between books, and they didn’t necessarily have the time or desire to re-read such long books before each new publication. They mostly remembered the main plot threads surrounding the main characters and the people I spoke with were frustrated that the threads they were invested in took so long to go anywhere, and that some main characters had so little page time because of all the other “filler”.