Keep hearing mixed reviews for the wheel of time series. Is it really difficult to follow? Iv always been intrigued by it but just dont know!
Keep hearing mixed reviews for the wheel of time series. Is it really difficult to follow? Iv always been intrigued by it but just dont know!
It’s good, dragged in the middle (and I never got around to finishing it, it’s on the list to do)
It was hard to follow when it was being published and there was a year+ between books. But now if you can read one after the other, or short break between, it won’t be hard.
There are a lot of characters so it’s easier when they remain fresh.
Awesome. I might give it a go soon then. Got so many to get to though lol reader problems ?
It’s not at all hard to follow. It’s one of the first fantasy books I ever read, and it follows a really classic (overdone) theme in fantasy where there’s this young boy living on a farm and he get embroiled in world-shaking events, yadda yadda yadda.
The only real problem with the series is that it’s HUGE and it tends to get REALLY off track about 4-5 books in. It’s a great, epic, story, and it’s really well written and fun to read, but around book 4 or so, there are so many sub-plots going on and so many of them are just abandoned and it’s impossible to keep up with it all.
Jordan really lost focus at some point and the plot started wandering around and it got annoying. And then, of course, he died before finishing what was supposed to be a 12-book series. I think they brought in Brandon Sanderson to finish off the last 1 1/2 books or something like that. So it’s complete, now, but I have up after the plot got so scattered and it just got frustrating. 🙂
That’s your opinion, I don’t think he lost focus and I don’t suggest skipping 3 or 4 books like a lot of people do. If you feel like skipping books just stop reading. It’s such a massive story that the world and character building needed to happen for the characters to become who they needed to be. He died after the 11th book and wanted a 12th but Brandon Sanderson said he couldn’t do one book and still do the story justice. So he wrote 3 to finish the series at 14 with a prequel novella
And most readers consider Book 6 to be among the best, so the drop off, if there is one, is for books 7-10, before the series really kicks into high gear again.
Yes, it is my opinion. Around the 4th book or so, I was reading and thinking, “WHAT?!? You are starting yet another long sub-plot? What about all the other stuff that you’ve left hanging?”
Maybe huge 12-volume epics just aren’t for me. 🙂
Hm. I might have the numbers wrong. It’s been a long time since I gave up on the series. It could easily have been book 6 or 7 that it started to get scattered.
I found it amazing! The book, The Long Winter, was annoying and repetitive, but the rest was awesome!
I’ve been hesitant to start that behemoth of a series because I just don’t know if I will be able to commit the time to “the slog” as everyone calls it.
Just do it mate, it’s not as bad as everyone makes out
The slog is only 2-3 books long, and still has some of the best moments in the entire series. Absolutely worth reading.
I’ve heard that the first few are fantastic and then they drag for a while then get good again towards the end. I’m not really a fan of Sanderson’s so finishing it seems like a difficult task for me and so I’ve been putting it off anytime I finish a book. I tried the audio version but the narrator was very dry and damn near put me to sleep on my way to work.
that’s what’s preventing me from rushing in to finish it.
I LOVED the early ones, the middle dragged and I’m not a big Sanderson fan so…
I read the whole series once every two years or so. I do skip parts that are a repeat from the last book i just read. I don’t need the recap. I love the books.
My favorite fantasy series of all time. The first six books are fantastic, seven, eight, and nine are uneven, but have truly awesome moments, 10 is pretty bad, 11 gets good again, and 12-14 are awesome.
long and dull
Amazing.
DO ITTTTTT. It is as close to perfection in fantasy as you can get
I could write a lot about the series. It starts off kind of slow but gets really interesting as you progress through the series and the characters each develop in different ways. Robert Jordan died before he could complete it and Brandon Sanderson used his notes, at the behest of his wife, to finish it. There are A LOT of characters and you’ll either need your own spreadsheet or you’ll constantly be googling character synopses to remember which Aes Sedai or Forsaken that is again. I don’t think a lot of the main characters got their due in the end but it was the fault of Robert Jordan throwing so many balls in the air that it was really impossible to due justice to every character or plot point. Overall it was a pretty good series and worth reading.
Yeah, that’s why I said it’s easier to read and follow if don’t have a large gap between books.
When I was readying 5 and 6 as they got release I spent a lot of time tryung to remember who some characters were and this was before google and Wikipedia
It would be easier but still not easy. He ignores some characters between books only to bring them back later.
Jordan just really, really liked long metaphors and similes every couple of sentences.
He also likes to put in parts that are happening at a different time/etc. and doesn’t immediately explain them. Just go with it and it’ll start to make sense. Also, the glossary in the back of the first book is really helpful (didn’t notice that until I was almost done haha!).
Its a big commitment, i will probably re read. Probably one to do before you die.
Just started the 2nd book and I’m enjoying it. I want to read it before the TV series comes out.
It’s not difficult to follow. Some people think parts of books 8-10 are a little slow. Read it.
I tried book 1 and didn’t like the style so didn’t continue on
It gets better after the first book or so.
Finishing my 6th re-read. Learn something new every time.
Think il give book 1 a try! Thanks all
It’s better for anyone who wasn’t trying to read it as the books were released. The huge gap between books, and the fact that they were so long, made it so I had to go back and reread the whole frickin’ series with each release…
Read with this lady’s blog. She is the best
https://www.tor.com/series/wot-reread/
I bit the bullet and got the first book after work today!