The Wheel of Time series

[rocklobster]

Is anyone here a fan of the Wheel of Time series? I think they are terrific! They are written by Robert Jordan, but beginning with the most recent book, The Gathering Storm, Brandon Sanderson (who also wrote the Mistborn trilogy), has taken over due to Jordan's untimely death. (RIP, Robert Jordan)
My favorite characters are Aviendha and Perrin. (The guy hunts with wolves. What's not to like?

[Makachop^^128]

I really need to finish that series I love fantasy

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I've started Eye of the World, but it's been a little hard to get into. I'll read some more of it today. My brother thinks it's really good, and the writing is definitely well-done.

The names for the most part are pretty lame though. I mean "Egwene"? Come on!

[Etoh*the*Greato]

I've been a massive fan of the series since being introduced in High School by a then-girlfriend. Actually, she's responsible for a lot of my hobbies that I've had since then as it happens. Last night I went up to my old work and sat in my wife's cafe while she worked, reading the new one. I like Sanderson so far. You know how you can make two cakes from the same brand of mix and one will come out kind'a dry and the other will be a little moister? That's how I feel about the difference between the two. Definitely both the same ingredients, but the writing style is a little different.

That said, I like them both. I'm big on Jordan.

Favorite character: Mat. Period. From day one his struggles and his triumphs have been my favorite part of the series.

The names don't bug me. Actually, they're for the most part alterations on existing names in Europe or the cultures they are to represent. Egwene is one of the more obvious examples. Put the emphasis on a different syllable and you have any combination of older british names.

[LadyRushia]

I'm only like 300 pages into the first book and I haven't read it in awhile, but I like it a lot. I plan on finishing the series, but that will probably take me a super long time, XD.

[Winry]

A friend recommended this series to me, and I just started the first book like a week ago. So far looks promising =) I like his style of writing.

[Syreth]

I'm on the fourth book and enjoying the series quite a bit. The depth of the story and the detail he delivers is very compelling, and wherever the weak points in the writing might be, they are definitely made up for by his vivid world and by his compelling lead characters. Perrin and Mat are probably my favorite.

[Mithrandir]

I think I started this series when there were only a few books. After that, I waited for each book to come out in paper back before purchasing. Needless to say, this made the whole thing somewhat tough to follow. I got through about 8 of them, but I'm not sure if I'll ever go back through all of them. I don't know... I think I just got too impatient with it.

[bigsleepj]

I've purposely avoided it because, apparently, it just goes on and on and on and I have little or no tolerance for anything that goes on for more than five 700+ page books.

[Sammy Boy]

I gave up after getting through The Fires of Heaven because the series was taking so long to finish.

I did enjoy all of the books I had read in the series up to then, but I stopped mostly because I didn't have time to commit to finish the rest of the series.

[SnoringFrog]

I read the first 3 books a couple years ago and absolutely loved them, but never got any further for whatever reason. I'm considering rereading them all, or at least book 3, The Dragon Reborn, to remind myself of what the heck is going on before I continue through the rest of the series. I can never decide on a favorite character. Perrin's wolf-stuff is awesome, but I really like Mat and Lan as well. I think I prefer their actual characters to Perrin, but Perrin's abilities are cooler.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Yeah, WoT is pretty good - the best part of those books are the climaxes, I think - but there are a few too many problems for me to really endorse them completely. The first is the obvious: They're so long! And that wouldn't be a problem, normally, but the reason their length is a problem is because the beginnings are usually so boring and take so long to get off the ground that if you didn't know the climax was going to be good there's no way you could get through it.

I also have a huge problem with the characters. Like, all of them except Perrin and maybe Mat. I especially loathe the female characters, because they're all exactly the same! Except for Moiraine, all the main female characters are feisty and irascible - which is fine if there's just one such character, but when they're all like that...it gets old really fast. I also don't like the whole "oh noes who do I actually like?" vibes that make it read like a bad shoujo anime...except that it's Rand who does most of it :/

That being said, I love how practically all the main characters have some kind of cool power that makes them stand out. And the writing itself is very good. I've read the first four books, and am slowly making my way through the series.

Favorite character? Definitely Perrin. He's the only character in the series (that I've met so far, at least) who doesn't just selfishly go after his own goals. Even the more "heroic" of the characters are more focused on what they want from life than Perrin, who will give his life away to save others without reserve. Mat is at least interesting, and Min and...oh, what's her name, Perrin's girl...are a bit less obnoxious than the rest of the female cast.

...And my least-favorite character is Lanfear *throws her out the window with a satisfying crash*

[ShiroiHikari]

I've purposely avoided it because, apparently, it just goes on and on and on and I have little or no tolerance for anything that goes on for more than five 700+ page books.

Same.

[ich1990]

Same.

Same.

I almost started it, then I realized that I could read Les Miserables, Foucault's Pendulum, The Anatomy of Melancholy, Shogun, In Search of Lost Time, War and Peace, and the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, and have read about the same number of pages as TWoT. I had to ask myself if it was really wise to start devoting months or years of my life to one series.

I suspect it was not nearly quite so intimidating to those who had read The Wheel of Time as it was being published, from the beginning.

[SnoringFrog]

Oddly enough, I used to go through these books in 2-3 days, a week tops. I was just really drawn in so I did more reading than anything else, but still, when reading other books I never covered that many pages that quickly.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So I read to about page 100 the other day, it's picking up. I think I should read some more, but currently Darker than Black tops it on my priority list.

[Kkun]

I love the Wheel of Time. I'm reading the latest one now and it's like seeing a bunch of long lost old friends again. I'm especially enjoying the new one as a fan of Brandon Sanderson's work. I'm about 100 pages into the new one and it's fantastic.

I don't understand why everyone complains about the length. They're definitely long as far as page numbers go, but they're such quick books that it shouldn't take more than a couple of months for an average reader to get through them. If you read more than average, it shouldn't take long at all. Not to mention...they're good. There are a few points where they drag, but never enough that I've felt that I needed to stop because I was bored. I love Jordan's world as it's darker than Tolkien's but not as grim as someone like George R.R. Martin's.

I'm definitely a fan. This thread makes me want to go read the new one some more...so I think I will.

[Akimos]

Big <3 from me. The last book i was on was the 8th, TPoD, but I really got sick of all the useless fluff involving the chasing of the Shaido, ect and decided to spoilerize myself.

[spoiler]Does the Male Choedan Kal get any use in TGS?[/spoiler]