"The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come to pass."

[Narnia93]

Hey all you Robert Jordan fans out there. I created a little poll here about which book is your favorite and why. Mine is The Shadow Rising because it is mostly about Perrin, who is my favorite POV. Thought this would be interesting to get Narnia fans input who have read RJ especially since The Gathering Storm is coming out Oct. 27th in the United States.

[Shadowlander]

I'm not a huge Wheel of Time fan but I liked the first several books well enough. I got the distinct impression as I read on further into the series (starting with The Great Hunt) that Jordan hadn't really planned the sequels out and was sort of "winging it" with regards to both the plot and the locations used. This becomes evident as early as books 4 and 5 where there are entire books filled with really not a whole lot except characters moving from one location to another, or lots of chit chat about nothing in particular. It's been a few years but I stopped around book #8 because I wanted desperately for something to happen...anything. But nothing really seemed to, and that's not the mark of good writing.

I'm told that after book 8'ish that the books start to speed up plotwise and that things begin to come together, but that's an awful lot of reading to get to the juicy center of a story that's wrapped in 20 lbs. of endless cardboard flavored candy. And the whole concept of the love "quadrangle" just irks me to no end, not because it's happening but because the participants all decide to just...share Rand . And they're all rather fine with it. Is it just me or did that strike anyone else as a little weird? And there came a point where I wish Nynaeve, who constantly pulls on her braid when she's upset, would just be done with it and yank the stupid thing off of her head.

Still some of the characters are pretty cool, I must admit. I like the character of Perrin but my favorite is Mat. There is some good stuff in the books, one just has to dig really deep at times to find it. I might have to dust of the books I have and have another go at it. It has been several years.

[Narnia93]

You have a point there Shadowlander. Although I would say that after the fourth book it starts to slow down and then when you get up to the eighth a little bit more starts to happen again.
Mat is also one of my favorite characters mostly because of how he can speak the ancient language, but Perrin's POV as mentioned before is my favorite because of the battle in Edmonds Field and his transformation into a leadership role. I also find that he has some of the more interesting characters surrounding him. Faile for instance, has always amazed me because of how bipolar she is. Aram is also interesting. A Tua'than turned soldier of sorts.
I also agree that the "sharing" or Rand is a little weird. Especially in today's world.
I definately agree that Nynaeve should just get rid of the braid, but that's kind of her connection to Edmonds Field so I doubt it.

[stargazer]

Please note that this Special Feature will be closed on Saturday, October 31.

After that time, Robert Jordan's books can be discussed in the Books thread. Thanks!

[lysander]

I started reading these one summer years ago, and only made it through book four. I liked them, but they got old pretty quickly. Jordan wrote absolutely epic climaxes, but after the first book the middle section of each became slightly wander-y. I glanced back over some of them recently and the world he created struck me as unnecessarily complicated; also, the romances are so weird and a little soap opera-ish. I waited until one of the couples settled down and then quit; it provided closure in lieu of finishing the series.

So, not really a fan, per se. As for the poll, I'll probably choose book 1 because it was best realized overall, but I did like the climaxes to books 3 and 4 very much indeed.

[wisewoman]

I have friends who love these books. I will probably read the first one eventually to see what all the fuss is about. Is it true that the series is not finished yet? I hate waiting, so if that's the case I'll just wait till it's complete

[Shadowlander]

I have friends who love these books. I will probably read the first one eventually to see what all the fuss is about. Is it true that the series is not finished yet? I hate waiting, so if that's the case I'll just wait till it's complete.

It's not a bad series but there's a palpable lack of direction throughout much of it, and so many of the characters just meander about doing their thing without any real sense of purpose. At times it's like being stuck on a rudderless ship crewed with interesting people, but the boat floats whimsically where it goes completely unguided and at its own speed.

Jordan passed away a few years ago but left notes for what he wanted and how he desired the series be completed and a ghostwriter is finishing the project now. All told there will be around 12 books, I'm told. I only read the first 7 or 8 and feel that the first two were the strongest of the bunch. At places Jordan's writing is pretty good and he definitely makes interesting characters, but the wandering plot and lack of action may snuff out any desire you have to get past a few of the books. You'd probably be ok with the first few books but I suspect you'd probably start to dislike some of the middle ones. Just a guess though...give it a shot, you may like it.

I need to reread it myself. I've got 9 of the books in storage, but they're accessible, so maybe I should have another go of it.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I like some of the ideas of the books but I've read the first book and didn't enjoy it. I found it extremely slow-paced and just a bit run of the mill.
The pace of these books almost makes Tolkien's work seem action-packed!

[wisewoman]

LOL, really Warrior? I didn't know the next book had just come out this week until I was informed last night by one of my obsessed friends. He stayed up till almost three a.m. reading it, read it in his car on his lunch break, etc. He says he can't put it down

A rudderless ship crewed by interesting people... what a great description . I will have to try it out on my friends and see if they'd agree.

[stargazer]

Please discuss Robert Jordan's books in the Books thread. Thanks!