Robert Jordan and the Wheel of Time - Page 2 - Writers Forum

Sephiroth · 11-03-2005, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhea

I started reading the first book and I thought it was interesting, but then it dragged on and on, and I don't have the patience to read, what, 10 one thousand length books. The Wheel of Time was the first fantasy book I'd read since Narnia, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings - in that order, and I found the similarities to Orcs disturbing...then I found out, apparantly, it's very normal to have Orc-like beings in fantasy books. Which still doesn't really settle with me, but now I think I'm going off topic.

So...it started off pur-retty well, then I noticed loads of similarities with LotR, which I didn't like, and it was very draggy and long, with too many character focuses, so I stopped.

the fist few hundred pages were supposed to remind us of the lord of the rings, Jordan said so himself....trollocs have nothing in common with orcs apart from the fact their both evil, and frankly i think wheel of time is far superior to lord of the rings in terms of scope and vision

Farror · 11-03-2005, 03:53 PM

Quote:

wheel of time is far superior to lord of the rings in terms of scope and vision

I wouldn't say that. Very different visions.

Sephiroth · 11-04-2005, 07:33 PM

Maybe I used the word "vision" in the wrong sense....

Both have the idea of good versus evil, but WoT has shades of grey, and not a simple "if you're ugly or not a caucasian you're evil" thing going on. Both also deal with the fact that to achieve the greater good, there is a horrible amount of sacrifice to be made.
Maybe I used the word "vision" in the wrong sense....

epone · 11-04-2005, 10:25 PM

The Wheel of Time started out with such promise, but then I was young and naive at the time. I aged with the series and slowly became bored with it - too normal and run-of-the-mill, lacking true brutality for such a world, and definitely soul-less. But this is a problem with all fantasy these days. I had to move on to Sci-fi for my fix of realism. If there was little-to-none law enforcement in existence humanity would be morally sick and twisted, not cute and moralistic and fighting the 'good' battle.

I gave up at book eight I think. Has the series concluded yet? Is it safe to leave the house? And why do book makers change the jacket design halfway through a series? Looks really crap on a book shelf when that happens...

epone · 11-04-2005, 10:28 PM

I forgot to mention Tolkien - also over rated. Okay if you have no concept of humanity, but immature if you have. Sorry but dead people die and stay dead for a reason...

blademasterzzz · 11-05-2005, 12:06 AM

Try George R R Martin. I think you might really like it. He loves slaughtering off main characters for good. Loads of grey, no "evil" or "good".

epone · 11-05-2005, 06:35 PM

Thanks for the tip - never read any of his work before. I like it when main character's die, feels more real, more believable... plus I like the mess death makes - especially to a plot.

Raistlin · 12-11-2005, 07:19 PM

This series really started off great. I remember purchasing Eye of the World and thinking, I need to get the rest! So that's exactaly what I did, I bought every single book in the series, and I really regret doing that. Of course I always have to finish a series once I start it, and would end up buying them anyway, but it will still extrememly drawn out and boring most of the time.

Rhea · 12-12-2005, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farror

So you formed you judgement of the series after not finishing the first book?

Actually, I read the first three and half books. Or maybe the first four and a half. I can't remember. But it was soo draggy...I liked Rand al-Thor, and I think Evelyn and Nynaeve they were called, but there were other characters I wasn't very interested in but had whole chapters to them, and it was really slow, so then I stopped.

Farror · 12-12-2005, 03:33 PM

I'd be more inclined to blame this on short attention span then bad writing.

Kimahri · 12-12-2005, 05:08 PM

I think most people who have read the series would say that the first 3 books were actually the fastest paced of the whole series. I thought they were the best but Knife of Dreams was excellent and fast paced as well.

kimahri

Farror · 12-12-2005, 07:56 PM

True enough.

Rhea · 12-13-2005, 02:09 AM

I never said his writing was bad. It's just too slow for me.

eleda · 12-13-2005, 03:53 AM

Ditto most of the opinions on this thread. Jordan could have finished the series with book six. I read up to book 8, and still felt it was too drawn. I love the characters and the plots. Jordan is right up there as being one of the best fantasy writers I've ever read. Try Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant trilogy--it's superb.

jk7070436 · 12-13-2005, 08:58 AM

I didn't read all of the books, not even one. I tried to read the first, but there just seemed to be too much description, much too draggy for my taste. But I've been known to be a rather picky reader, so... yeah.