The Wheel of Time Series

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  • Andrew111888
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2003
    • 2288
    • 3.0.5

    The Wheel of Time Series

    Has anyone read this? I've just finished the Sword of Truth series for the second time, and the 9th book in that series is not going to be out until January 2005, and I need something fantasy-like to pass the time.

    So, who's read it? What did you think of it?

    No spoilers please!
    Last edited by Andrew111888; Sun 9 Nov '03, 12:30pm.

  • Chroder
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2002
    • 1449

    #2
    I've got the first book hanging around here somewhere, but I couldn't get into it. They say its boring and slow at the beginning, but after you get past the first half it starts to get good.

    But if your looking for a different series: I really like Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara series (and the ones following it) - they're great!

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    • Andrew111888
      Senior Member
      • Mar 2003
      • 2288
      • 3.0.5

      #3
      That's why I didn't finish The Silmarillion -- There were too many names, and it was boring, and I was about 1/3 done with it, so I just said "Forget it." and moved on.

      However, I'll probably give it a go -- the brief description Amazon gave makes it look interesting. That's why I love Sword of Truth, though, it's full of action, pain, triumph, failure.

      I'll look into the series you mentioned, as well. I want a good collection of fantasy books.

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      • Tolitz
        Senior Member
        • Dec 2000
        • 1371
        • 2.3.0

        #4
        I got The Wheel of Time series - trying to finish Book 10 right now...

        If you wanna try out WoT, I hope you're a VERY patient reader ... the plot is fast-paced up to the third book, then it slows down considerably up to the sixth and drags on to a crawl from there (granted something VERY significant and climactic happened at the end of Book 9, but the parts leading to that end are long and drawn out).

        I have also read the Sword of Truth series (up to the Blood of the Fold anyway), and Jordan's writing style is much better than Goodkind's, although Goodkind weaves the tale with less descriptions and more dialogues. Jordan can describe a spoon for 2-3 pages, including anything related to it and its history, before you see any dialogue pertaining to it, hehehe

        The story of the Wheel of Time is rich though ... VERY rich, and very engrossing. If you value the joy of reading, then I recommend the series... if you're one of those people who want some action to happen in the first 10 pages and every 20th consequent page after that, lay off the series, coz it'll be sure to disappoint you

        Each book after the first presents more and more characters, in more and more locales, and subplots keep multiplying... what you thought was the main arc suddenly slides out to another, and that one gets split in two, until you are not sure what the main arc was about, lol ...

        I myself love it still, despite the turtle-like pace of Book 10 - as I said, I'm trying to finish it, hehe ... Book 10 is the calm before the storm, so I'm guessing Jordan will finally end this monster in Book 12 sometime in 2007 or 2008...

        Which is not to mention the upcoming release of a PREQUEL (hehe) to the series on January next year...
        Last edited by Tolitz; Sun 9 Nov '03, 8:20am.
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        • Andrew111888
          Senior Member
          • Mar 2003
          • 2288
          • 3.0.5

          #5
          I've never read Jordan's work, so I can't compare it to Goodkind, but I do love how Goodkind describes things a bit vaguely. I like this because it leaves room for you to know what he's talking about, and it lets your imagination picture it as it desires.

          The main reason I quit The Silmarillion was because there were 3-4 names for everthing, and Tolkien liked to use a lot of words and complex sentences. When seven words would do, he used thirteen. I don't like when writers make things too complex -- I spend more time decoding the sentence than I do absorbing the plot.

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          • Tolitz
            Senior Member
            • Dec 2000
            • 1371
            • 2.3.0

            #6
            If you can get to a bookstore selling old paperbacks, I would suggest you check out the Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg ... it's very nice, very funny, and very short, hehehe ... it doesn't actually have an original plotline during the time (a group of cynic college students suddenly being magically transported into the Dungeons & Dragons campaign they were playing, where everything is real, including the dragons), but the execution was great This series runs for about seven or eight books. The first book is entitled The Sleeping Dragon, if you're interested...

            After I finish Book 10 of WoT, I'll be re-reading the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, what with Book 5 already out
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            • someuser190826
              Senior Member
              • Oct 2002
              • 1536
              • 4.0.x

              #7
              A Song of Ice and Fire is a good series. Very unique, and full of goodies. I only have up to Pillars of Creation for Sword of Truth, has new ones been published in paperback?
              Last edited by someuser190826; Sun 9 Nov '03, 9:51am.

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              • Tolitz
                Senior Member
                • Dec 2000
                • 1371
                • 2.3.0

                #8
                I heard that A Song of Ice and Fire was a great series ... I am a little wary of trying it though, since the synopsis looks like it reeks of politics more than actual adventure ... then again, who knows, maybe I'll try it out when I run out of books to read
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                • someuser190826
                  Senior Member
                  • Oct 2002
                  • 1536
                  • 4.0.x

                  #9
                  Actualy it is based heavily on politics and such, but there is alot of adventure and story, the first few books are just breath-taking. Not to give it away but I have never read a story of such, you are reading it and you think this character is the hero, because he is honest, true etc, and he is doing good then he gets his head chopped off, you will find yourself reading these parts over and over again just to check if that is what happened.

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                  • rylin
                    Senior Member
                    • Jan 2001
                    • 1067

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Tolitz
                    I heard that A Song of Ice and Fire was a great series ... I am a little wary of trying it though, since the synopsis looks like it reeks of politics more than actual adventure ... then again, who knows, maybe I'll try it out when I run out of books to read
                    UGH!
                    I struggled to get past the first 150 pages of the first book in the series..
                    Haven't bothered picking it up again..

                    Anyway.. on the topic of WoT, I'm your man! Hurrah! :P
                    While the Eye of the World starts off rather slowly, it definitely picks up the pace afterwards (to the point that the ending feels somewhat rushed).

                    As was mentioned earlier, the other books are a little slower though, but up until the end of LoC, they're still nice and fine (and my, what an ending! )

                    ACoS slows down quite a bit, as does the path of daggers, with winter's heart being somewhat boring (though the end is quite nice)..

                    Crossroads of Twilight though.. what a piece of ****.

                    New Spring (part of the prequel Jordan is working on atm) will be nice though, as it'll let Jordan to focus on plots that he hasn't gotten lost in already.

                    But basically, the quote they still use on each and every WoT book (to my knowledge) holds true.. for me, at least
                    "Jordan has come to dominate the world that Tolkien began to reveal".. I think that about sums it up

                    Also, I have a little collection of the more memorable events in the series (and they do contain spoilers )
                    feel free to check it out, http://www.thatforum.com/showthread....&threadid=5107
                    My open eyes see everything, and you see nothing. . .
                    That forum

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                    • Andrew111888
                      Senior Member
                      • Mar 2003
                      • 2288
                      • 3.0.5

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Arunan.S
                      A Song of Ice and Fire is a good series. Very unique, and full of goodies. I only have up to Pillars of Creation for Sword of Truth, has new ones been published in paperback?
                      Naked Empire is not available in paperback yet. The 9th book has an estimated release date of January 2005. I can't wait.

                      When I was ordering the SoT books off of Amazon, it said "People who have bought this book also bought..." and I saw the Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire as well. Two series that I will definitly look into, I need something to hold me over another year while I wait for book ten.
                      Last edited by Andrew111888; Sun 9 Nov '03, 12:29pm.

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                      • rylin
                        Senior Member
                        • Jan 2001
                        • 1067

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Chroder
                        But if your looking for a different series: I really like Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara series (and the ones following it) - they're great!
                        I'll second that.
                        The Shannara series is next on my list of books to purchase (I've read the Swedish translations quite a few times).

                        Basically, I'd say that belonging in each and every true fantasy lover's bookshelf, there'll be (in no particular order):
                        • Wheel of Time
                        • Sword of Truth
                        • Memory, Sorrow, Thorn
                        • Deathgate Cycle
                        • Sovereign Stone
                        • Shannara (and the sub-series)
                        • Paksenarrion
                        • Farseer Trilogy
                        • Tawny Man (followup trilogy to Farseer..)
                        • Demon Wars saga I
                        • Demon Wars saga II


                        The list could easily go on, but these are the ones I could think of off the top of my head.
                        (and yes, Tolkien's works are not on the list.. while they're a nice read, i don't consider them a must-have .. so bite me!)
                        My open eyes see everything, and you see nothing. . .
                        That forum

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                        • Tolitz
                          Senior Member
                          • Dec 2000
                          • 1371
                          • 2.3.0

                          #13
                          Originally posted by rylin
                          As was mentioned earlier, the other books are a little slower though, but up until the end of LoC, they're still nice and fine (and my, what an ending! )
                          Yep ... the battle at Dumai's Wells in the ending of Lord of Chaos is still IMHO the bloodiest battle in the whole series - bloodier than the one in Path of Daggers, even though the latter was a longer battle ... the savage side of the One Power in full effect
                          Last edited by Tolitz; Sun 9 Nov '03, 12:29pm.
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                          • Andrew111888
                            Senior Member
                            • Mar 2003
                            • 2288
                            • 3.0.5

                            #14
                            The current fantasy books I posess are:

                            Lord of the Rings
                            Hobbit
                            Silmarillion
                            Harry Potter (1-5)
                            Sword of Truth (1-8)

                            The ones I'm looking into getting within the next few months:
                            The Wheel of Time
                            Song of Ice and Fire
                            Sword of Shannara

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