has anyone read the Wheel Of Time books?

SooTyLaD

SooTyLaD

SooTyLaD

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ok heres the thing...

sitting out in my garden and thought i'd just start the first one in the series (eye of the world) and see how it goes, it was like 3 quid or summat so i thought i'd give it a chance due to good reviews etc.

anyway, i've only read about 50 pages or so but i get the very distinct impression that this guy is just trying to blatantly rip off LOTR... what do we have so far:

• instead of the misty mountains, we have the "mountains of mist"

• instead of mount doom, we have the "mountains of dhoom"

now i dont mind persevering with it cuz like i said i've heard good reviews but i was just after some assurance from someone saying its just a coincidence and the story is nothing alike, cant be bothered to read it if its just a parody to LOTR if you get my drift?

anyway, back outside :) - gonna go back on the lawn and have a kip - the only reason i'm asking all this is that im a pretty slow reader and dont want to spend like 6 weeks reading a booking which is a bit too familiar :)

cheers ;)
 
I finished this a couple of weeks back, its has a very LOTR feel, somebits are very similar indeed but the plot isn't the same, and its a good read all the same. The ending seemed very rushed to me though, didn't see it coming really and it was all over in a few short pages.
 
Have read all the Wheel of Time books apart from the latest (waiting for it in paperback) and the story is NOTHING like LoTR. Now Terry Brooks Shannara on the other hand..... :p

So I wouldn't stop reading Wheel of Time because it's samey, but you might want to consider stopping if you want your sanity to remain intact.

He wrote the first of the series in 1990....he's at book 11 now and STILL hasn't finished the bloody story! :mad:

Add to that that there are 3 or 4 books in the middle of the series which are PANTS and that he's just announced that he's suffering from a rare blood disease (which may possibly kill him before he can finish the series) and you get a very frustrating reading experience!
 
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Wheel of Time and Sword of Truth are very similar, at least at first glance, but Wheel of Time and Lord of the Rings are nothing alike asside from a couple of place names. :)

Hell, Sword of Truth and Wheel of Time's similarities go so far as to both second books having almost the same key plot element, Wheel of Time book 2 has something called The Stone of Tear as a key plot element, Sword of Truth book 2 revolves around the Stone of Tears. Ok they're not the same thing, but the general plot is so similar it's scary.
 
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Wheel of Time is a great series if you like stories where you often get whole chapters devoted to a group of people talking about stuff, not very interesting stuff at that.

It's a pity really as I think the first few books are exiting and interesting, the middle books get increasingly boring and the last few seem rushed and have major events that are squashed into a few pages or a chapter if they're lucky.
 
hmmmmm well thanks very much for the insight guys, i'll think about it before i decide to embark on such a read ( like i said i'm a pretty slow reader so it'd be quite a commitment :rolleyes: )

i don't think i'll ever find an epic as good as stephen kings gunslinger series, and i've read quite a few... well, ta anyways ;)
 
I'm about half way through book 5 - The Fires of Heaven - & have been for @18months. After a great start I found the series got very slow & repetitive so I can't be bothered with it anymore:)

Edit: Try Raymond E. Feists 'Magician' series, cracking stuff:)
 
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I've read books 1-5 then took a break to read some other stuff.

I thought the first 5 books were quite good but am disappointed to hear that it falls off a bit in the middle. I will have to rethink whether or not to continue after I finish my current read.

Stan :)
 
That's pretty accurate tbh, when I started to re-read the Wheel of Time series recently, I got through 1-5 fairly quickly, then just dropped off.

Agreed on the Magician books, easily one of the best series of books I've ever read.
 
It's obviously very influenced by Lord of the Rings, as almost any fantasy book written after 1950 is. However, Jordan's world is much, much more developed and the story pulls you in much more - even if it is a little slow paced.

His dialogue sucks and his character interactions are pretty ludicrous (especially the romances) and he obviously has an incredibly warped view of women - but still, it's a good lark.
 
QuiKsiLVeR said:
anyway, i've only read about 50 pages or so but i get the very distinct impression that this guy is just trying to blatantly rip off LOTR... what do we have so far:
Click to expand...


Most fantasies are ripping off LOTR, so no surprise. My quibble with that series is that they are probably the dullest books ever written: I read the first one, closed the back cover and realised I couldn't remember a single thing in it; not a character's name, any of the plot, anything. I vaguely remember that some people had to go from a to b - aka the first part of TFOTR, or more generally Fantasy Stock Plot #1: "The Quest". Fantasy Stock Plot #2 is "The Talisman", BTW, so LOTR gets in both at the same time. Now give me a list of ten fantasies which don't use either of those two plots.


M
 
I read them to about book 8 or 9 and just got bored!!!!!!

I prefer reading David Gemmell books, i find them much more exciting and fast paced.
 
Ah Wheel of Time is a fantastic series and nothing like Lotr (its much MUCH better mainly).

However by far the best fantasy ever written is Magician by Raymond E Feist. Takes the genre Tolkien invented and makes it oooooh sooo much better and bigger in scope.
 
Hi all. Just finished this epic series which was thoroughly enjoyed despite it's well known problems.

I didn't quite understand something that happens near the end and can't find any explanation online, can anyone help?

The part where Grady is holding the canyon as he's told by Matt to stay hidden and don't fight if the villagers are attacked which they are and killed.

He's told to open a gateway at dawn to the same village and when he does, the same villagers pour through with members of the band killing the Dreadlords.

How did Matt know this would happen? Grady asks him and he just says he'll tell him another time. I'm guessing I missed something?
 
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