Wheel of time series any good?

kinger8938

kinger8938

kinger8938

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Come across this series whilst looking for fantasy stuff to get on my kindle for holiday this week, trying the sample at the moment and sees pretty good, any opinions on it?

Going to get The Martian aswell i think!
 
chroniclard said:
It's ok, little bit formulaic, but decent enough read. Last three books done by brandon sanderson as Jordan sadly passed away.
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Ah ok ta! I did read that he passed, nice that his series was continued hopefully did it justice?

Im after something in similar style to a song of ice and fire really, but this kept popping up so thought i would try the sample atleast
 
I really enjoyed the first book. Got halfway through the 4th and lost interest.

It was recommended to me by a family member who is a fantasy nut, and it's their favorite series alongside Thomas Covenant.
 
Good but overrated. The middle books are very 'filler'-y and there is some very sexist attitudes in the books (against both sexes weirdly) I think it is worth reading if you love your epic fantasy.

It was better when Sanderson took over and finished it off.
 
It is good but books 7-9 (iirc) are just complete guff. Yhe sexism against men is plain irritating and against women sadly ecoected and s bit pathetic. His obsession with his own ability becomes really tedious mid series when it stalls and very little happens. In addition I found the ending highly disappointing considering how tge series developed.

All the above criticisms aside, it is a very good epic fantasy series and you will struggle to find better as long as you can put up with the idiosyncrasies.

On your comment something similar to game of thrones, no similarity what do ever. For that perhaps look at Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence or perhaps Eriksen though whilst fantastic and arguably the best fantasy series ever, it is a little "out there" at times.
 
Pretty much covered above. I'm currently re-reading it and I'm in the really long boring bit in the middle were nothing really happens. It is nothing like Game of Thrones really.
 
The battle of the sexes stuff in the middle books is mental, after the first read I skipped whole sections on re-read because it was annoying. By and large a good series the first 5 books are really good and the last 3 books get the show back on track but the ending does suffer a little frpm a few loose ends and clarity of vision but Sanderson at least got it moving at a decent pace again.
 
Does sound like a bit of a big ask length wise for me, and seems everyone has the same complaints about the middle section of books so will look into the other suggestions above i think!
 
Just finished The Martian on my holibobs! Really enjoyed that and now i get to be the smug book reader for a change when the film hits :D. Never read the book first on anything! Just watched the trailer and it looks great

Got to get into a fantasy series now, i like the sound of the Malazan series, or the first law? They keep popping up! And te shattered sea series seems to have promise! They are all muli book series so its hard to just dive into one, may try the samples out
 
I'd definitely recommend reading WoT. Although it's certainly not the best thing I've read, it's definitely one of my favourites. It has depth, mythology and a broad character list. It's not quite as dark as a few of the other series out there, but there are certain scenes which are quite troubling.

In terms of the "slump" everyone talks about - books 8-10 - it was initially regarded as a slump due to Jordan reducing the speed in which he released books (1990-1992 for the first 4 books, but 1998-2003 for 8-10), so things definitely slowed down. Also, there does seem to be a lack of action in those 8-10 compared to the earlier books, however the slump books do contain some of the most important and momentous events in the series before things pick up in book 11, which is excellent.

I'd go as far as to say that books 1-6 are some of the best fantasy out there.
 
toshj said:
I'd definitely recommend reading WoT. Although it's certainly not the best thing I've read, it's definitely one of my favourites. It has depth, mythology and a broad character list. It's not quite as dark as a few of the other series out there, but there are certain scenes which are quite troubling.

In terms of the "slump" everyone talks about - books 8-10 - it was initially regarded as a slump due to Jordan reducing the speed in which he released books (1990-1992 for the first 4 books, but 1998-2003 for 8-10), so things definitely slowed down. Also, there does seem to be a lack of action in those 8-10 compared to the earlier books, however the slump books do contain some of the most important and momentous events in the series before things pick up in book 11, which is excellent.

I'd go as far as to say that books 1-6 are some of the best fantasy out there.
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I probably will go for it at some point tbh, want something with a lot going on, reading prince of thorns atm and its not really creating a universe, just 1 characters story, still really good though
 
Shamikebab said:
Look at Brandon Sanderson. Everything he has written has been fantastic imo.
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Whilst I quite like Sanderson I find him a little too vanilla and his religious beliefs a bit too overt in how he tells his story, a little by the numbers as well.

Despite that I think he is a great author and his works building is fantastic, it may just be my personal preference for dark and gritty that puts me off slightly.
 
kinger8938 said:
I probably will go for it at some point tbh, want something with a lot going on, reading prince of thorns atm and its not really creating a universe, just 1 characters story, still really good though
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Wheel of Time is massive in scope, huge list of characters and relatively complex - although it probably pails in comparison to Malazan on complexity levels. Jordan mixes up traditional mythology, folklore, culture and history into the story and it works really well.

I'd definitely give it a go.
 
Finished prince of thorns, was good, certainly got better towards the end. Dont know if i want to go on to the 2nd book now, or try one of the others suggestions!
 
kinger8938 said:
Got to get into a fantasy series now, i like the sound of the Malazan series, or the first law? They keep popping up! And te shattered sea series seems to have promise! They are all muli book series so its hard to just dive into one, may try the samples out
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The Malazan series is a little slow at points, and has a lot of characters, but it is great. The First Law trilogy is superb; easy to get into, great story and characters, and the follow on books are also great. The same goes for The Shattered Sea series.
 
I started reading the Wheel of Time series, got to book 9 but had to stop, it was getting a little ridiculous. I've just read The Belgariad, I couldn't put it down, and now I'm onto The Malloreon, the second series focusing on the characters from The Belgariad but on a different adventure, and again I can't put it down. I'm on book 3 now, which is effectively book 8. David Eddings is simply fantastic!
 
Its not a patch on some other epic fantasy, ie Game of Thrones or the Malazan Book of the Fallen, but its worth a read.

Its a good story, it does lose its pacing in the middle but picks up again when Sanderson takes over. The final book wasn't great though.
 
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