# Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Series???



## Erestor Arcamen

I was reading my Border's monthly newsletter and was reading about Robert Jordan's 11th book in this series and was wondering if anyone had read any of his work? The summary of the book sounded real neat and like something I'd like to read but I was just wondering if anyone has read his stuff at all? Thanks


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## DGoeij

I started in it some time ago, but thought it much too slow moving. The characters weren't very appealing to me and the way it was told didn't work for me either. So I quit reading them.

Robin Hobb is to me the exact opposite. Her characters are believable, the stories entertaining and well paced. Just to give you a frame of reference.


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## Alcuin

Pardon my ignorance, but isn’t _Wheel of Time_ the story with the oft-derided character _Mary Sue_?


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## Eliot

I read about 8 or 9 of the Wheel of Time books. Very interesting at times, but also very boring at times. The story just seems to drag on. Sometimes I wondered if Jordan was ever going to end the series. There are way too many characters. It seemed like there were a million of them, and some of them would be mentioned a lot in one book, and then be forgotten for a few books. Hard to read a book when you can't remember who's who. That's all just my opinion though.


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## Lindir

I quite enjoy them, even though some of the later books are a bit boring. There are lots of people in them but that's not a problem if you read them five or six times. There is officially only one book left now (except for a couple of prequels), which is good. Sadly Jordan is rather seriously ill so when the last book comes out is uncertain.


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## chrysophalax

I've tried 3 tmes to get past the first chapter of the first book...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...


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## Lindir

chrysophalax said:


> I've tried 3 tmes to get past the first chapter of the first book...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...


That is a notoriously difficult chapter to get past. It took me a few attempts, but I think it was worth it, for at least the six first books.


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## DGoeij

It's a bit too long ago to be certain about everything, but I'm quite sure I finished the second book. Wether I started in the third one and put it aside then or never picked it up in the first place, I can't remember. I do remember I wasn't very entertained by it all, so I left it at that (where ever 'that' was exactly  ).


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## Aulë

I've read all 11 of the books released so far, as well as the 1st of the preqels. I found the first 6 books to be brilliant, but as stated previously books 7-10 were very boring: mostly because Jordan became too descriptive with the movements of the characters (eg, several chapters about Rand travelling between two towns), and because two of the more interesting characters (Mat and Perrin) became bogged down in boring relationships. The 11th book was a pleasant return to the style of the first few books as Jordan begins to wrap up the storylines. I think that Jordan stretched out the series a little too far: 8 chapters could have done just fine instead.

The 12th and final book was due to come out around now, but has been delayed for 6-12 months.


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## Maia

The first six or seven books are a lot of fun. Your momentum might carry you onwards to enjoy the next couple, but the decrease in entertainment value is very noticeable. 


- Beleg


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## Aulë

And it appears that Robert Jordan has contracted a rather serious form of cancer and probably only has 4 years to live!  He says that he should get the 12th WoT book, and the 2 remaining prequels finished, as well as a novel on Mat and Tuon.

Very sad, none the less.


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## Wolfshead

I haven't read the newest book yet. I've read all the ones before it, but that was a long time ago and I've largely forgotten what was going on. How easy is the new one to follow if you can't remember who's who? I want to read it, but can't be bothered spending the whole book being confused...


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## HLGStrider

I can't remember the book I dropped out of the series in. Elayne was pregnant. (I may screw up the names because it has been some years) and Mat wasn't in it at all it seemed and he was my favorite character. Perrin's wife had been kidnapped and that dumb slut character was after him . . . slut character was one of several who were just flat out annoying . . . 

I quit because I found that I'd stopped liking every single character, really, and everything had been going on for so long without promise of a reward in sight. My husband has read all of them and promises me they get better about the same time as when I quit, but I know if I tried to pick up where I left off I wouldn't know who anyone is and be very very very confused, so I'd have to backtrack, and for me it just isn't worth the effort. Especially since I just discovered Charles Williams and he promises to be very much worth the effort.


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## Wolfshead

HLGStrider said:


> Elayne was pregnant.


I don't even remember that at all! Who was the father?


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## HLGStrider

Rand. There was a scene (and I may have the wrong girl, the queen one) where she pretty much seduced him near the end of the book and the next book she was traveling around not speaking to him and Min (??? name) said she was going to have a girl. Just after the three girls all bound him or whatever it is called.


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## Wolfshead

HLGStrider said:


> Rand. There was a scene (and I may have the wrong girl, the queen one) where she pretty much seduced him near the end of the book and the next book she was traveling around not speaking to him and Min (??? name) said she was going to have a girl. Just after the three girls all bound him or whatever it is called.


Ah, I have a vague recollection of them making him their Warder, but as for Elayne being pregnant... completely gone. It's that kind of thing that's making me apprehensive about reading the newest one - I can't remember what the hell is going on!


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## Lindir

It is rather hopeless to keep track of the events in this series. There are some Internet resources which might be helpful in summing it up. 

The Last Battle is approaching rapidly (obviosly as there is only one book left to come), Rand has issues with sanity (Lews Therin Telamon in his head), has lost an arm and damaged his eyesight while capturing Semirhage (one of the Forsaken). He har furhermore cleased Saidin, is bonded to Min, Elayne and Aviendha (as well as to Alanna) and is the father to be of Elayne's twins (which he, of course, doesn't know). Has yet to learn laughter and tears.

Perrin made a deal with the Seanchan to defeat the Shaido, which he did and thus finally rescued his annoying wife. The tinker Aram (under the influence of Masema) tried to kill him but was killed himself in the process.

Mat is now married to Tuon (Daugther of the Nine Moons) and is on the verge of inventing some weapons of mass destruction. He and Thom will also attempt to rescue Moiraine (at last!) from the Aelfiin andd Eelfinn. 

Nynaeve is trying to raise support for her husband Lan who has gone to the Blight to fight. She was also instrumental in the cleansing.

Elayne has at long last secured the throne of Andor and is, apart from pregnant, very irritating.

Egwene managed to get herself captured again and is now held at the White Tower. She is the elected Amyrlin of the Rebels and is currently stirring things up in the Tower. She wants to unite the Aes Sedai before the Last Battle.

Those are some of the things that has happened recently but I would imagine it to be quite difficult to keep up without re-reading the previous books as there are so many characters, of which some are even important.


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## Aulë

I'm feeling rather guilty that my first thought when I heard of Robert Jordan's death was "Oh no! I won't know the ending to the WoT series!!!". Hopefully his relations and business partners can piece together some form of book to farewell Mr Jordan once they are done grieving.


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## Varokhâr

I'm only on book seven - would've been done with the series already if a myriad of events in my personal life had not happened, but I still find his series to be very entertaining. 

It won't quite capture my heart and soul like LOTR did, but it is coming close


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## Aulë

OH DEAR GOD NO! 
I really thought that I'd finally get my closure this year. Damn you, Tor! Damn you to hell! November 2011 is a long, long way away.

http://www.dragonmount.com/News/?p=483
*Tor announces The Gathering Storm, Book Twelve of Robert Jordan’s legendary Wheel of Time® fantasy series* 
Tor Books is proud to announce the November 3rd, 2009 on-sale date for _The Gathering Storm_, Book Twelve of _The Wheel of Time_ and the first of three volumes that will make up _A Memory of Light_, the stunning conclusion to Robert Jordan’s beloved and bestselling fantasy series. _A Memory of Light_, partially written by Jordan and completed by Brandon Sanderson, will be released over a two-year period.
Robert Jordan, one of the greatest storytellers of the 20th and early 21st centuries, passed away in 2007 after a courageous battle with the rare blood disease amyloidosis. Brandon Sanderson, the _New York Times_ bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor—his wife, Harriet McDougal—to complete the final book.
_The Wheel of Time_ series has sold over 14 million copies in North America and over 30 million copies worldwide with translations into 28 languages. The last four books in the series were all #1 _New York Times_ bestsellers, and for over a decade readers have been eagerly awaiting the conclusion to the epic story.
Harriet McDougal said on the process behind A Memory of Light: “The scope and size of the novel was such that it could not be contained in a single volume, It was a piece of marvellous good fortune that Brandon Sanderson undertook the work. He is a great pleasure to work with, as well as a wonderful writer.”
President and Publisher of Tor Books, Tom Doherty, also expressed his happiness with _A Memory of Light_, saying: “It is a magnificent closure to a great American epic fantasy whose journey began almost twenty years ago. There is no way Robert Jordan would have squeezed it to a single volume, and somehow it seems fitting that what began as a trilogy will also end as one.”
The first ever JordanCon will take place this April 17th – 19th, 2009 in Alpharetta, GA. Harriet McDougal, Tom Doherty, Brandon Sanderson, and other members of “Team Jordan” will attend as featured guests and speak personally on _The Wheel of Time_ and _The Gathering Storm_ and the stories behind the rich literary legacy of Robert Jordan. JordanCon will also include a special preview of _The Gathering Storm_.
This year will also see major publications of Robert Jordan’s _The Wheel of Time_ comic books and graphic novels with the launch of _The Eye of the World_ comics in May and the _New Spring_ graphic novel with bonus material in November. The Dabel Brothers will be releasing the comic book series, which will then be collected and published as graphic novels by Tor Books.
Universal Pictures acquired the movie rights to _The Wheel of Time_ in August 2008, and currently plan to adapt _The Eye of the World_ as the first movie. ​


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## Illuin

I read _The Eye of The World_ and thought it was decent. After I was finished, I thought about continuing the series, but I obviously didn't think too much about it, because I haven't done it yet, and it's been years. I don't know, I just don't have the time to read a tale that takes 10,000 pages to complete unless it is beyond uber-spectacular. If a writer can't close the deal in a thousand pages or so, then I'll pass. The only soap opera I've ever gotten into is the one with Luke & Laura about thirty years ago, and that will never be topped, so why bother with another .


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## Lindir

I had also hoped for a final book this year, but I am not entirely displeased. There will at least be a book and the conclusion of the series certainly needs quite a few pages, as there are still too many loose ends. It really wouldn't do to rush it.


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## Aulë

Here's a good response from Brandon Sanderson regarding the issue: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/article/56/Splitting-AMOL


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## Starflower

Here's an interview with Harriet on the subject:
http://www.dragonmount.com/Books/Memory_of_Light/harriet_interview_01.php

Dragonmount.com in general is a good place for inside news.


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## EdBurke

The first three books are excellent, but the following 6 were hard work. I didn't bother reading 10 or 11. There is also the fact that the man is now dead, and that a second rate fantasy writer has become his literary executor. 

I dislike the publishers splurge at the back of the books, which says 'dominated the world that Tolkien created' - blah. Not true. It doesn't hold a flame to Middle earth. Randland is a shallow world masquerading as being deep. All the socieites have superficial differences which Jordan deliberate invented so as to make them appear different - whereas you never doubt for a moment that Tolkiens world is entirely organic. I think Jordan is guilty of trying too hard, as well as being a much inferior writer.

That said, there are some good aspects. The story can be exciting at times, and its best when its sentimental.


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## Belladonna

I have read and reread ALL of Jordan's _Wheel of Time_ books. They are epic in many ways: the vast subplots; the numerous characters and the larger-than-life story which never ceases to captivate. Yes, the middle books are slow, but get past them to books 11 and 12 and the pace picks up really well. Sanderson has done a great job on _The Gathering Storm_. The audio books are wonderfully read and bring the story alive (and make travelling in heavy traffic a breeze!). If one is a fan, as I am, then the books are compelling. I suppose that like Tolkien, one either loves Jordan or not. I love Tolkien's books and, old fashioned though they might be and a little "stuffy", they are wonderful tales to read and reread. Jordan is the same, only bigger, deeper in some respects, and just as powerfully gripping. To those of you who cannot remember what's what - try the audio books instead. However, one cannot read Jordan half-heartedly because then one will not remember what is what and who is who. Open _The Eye of the World_ and simply enjoy it. It's worth the slog at the end.
_"The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills."_


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## Halasían

I still haven't found the time to read more of Wheel of Time....


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