That was a nerdy title.
So The Wheel of Time series will finish at last, and the last book will be released… in six days! hype!
BTW, it’s number 1 best seller book (overall category) in Amazon.com since a pair of weeks.
I will link some reviews when they are out.
I barely remember the story any more. I suppose I need to sit down and do a re-read. By the time I work my way back through the series, the library should have A Memory of Light ready for me.
You know what I miss? The Wheel of Time CCG. I loved breaking that game. Nothing like a final battle with Rand rolling a hundred dice.
Hah, I had no idea there was a CCG of it.
I started the series around 1999-2000, and it feels pretty epic to finish it after 12 years. I only can wonder about th people who started it in 1990.
Some resources to refresh the memory
http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/ - Summaries of every chapter, with timelines, index of every character of the series (a lot) etc.
http://www.wotsummary.com/ - Even shorter, to the point summaries, including the ability of filter by character fov.
The recent books from Sanderson are excellent. Far, far better than anything Jordan put out before his death. Shit actually moves. Less arms crossing under breasts, pulling braids, and sniffing, more action and plot motion.
Perfect! I was actually planning on reading this entire series over the coming year as I never managed to get to them before. Nice to know I will be able to get an actual ending.
@stusser:
It’s my theory that is less about the change of authors, and more because the Sanderson books are the final books and shit had to be done and the plot had to move and even get closure already.
It’s a shame there won’t be an ebook version until April.
I don’t even remember if I read Towers or not. The whole series just blends into one mass after awhile.
I stopped reading after the last Jordan book. I do think I’ll pick up the Sanderson books and sweep through them as a grand finale at some point, if only from some misguided sense of duty. No way am I going to re-read anything, though.
Geoff
It’s my theory that it’s all about Sanderson having more writing talent in his left pinkie finger than Robert Jordan had in his entire body.
Debating on picking up the print version or waiting for the audio book. I consumed the last two books via audio book and really like the two readers they have for it. I’ve got a pain in the ass commute and this would be a perfect way to pass the time!
In my country I will have to wait one more year to have their release (I have all the book in Spanish, so now I’m going to finish it in the same idiom) and also pay 50% more. Yay!
Jordan created an amazing world and compelling characters, but he was either completely unaware or just plain against the idea of proper pacing. He also failed at giving payoffs. Like after they cleansed saidin, a major historical moment, he just plain ended the book. He didn’t explore how that would have completely changed everything, in that book or the next. It should have been awesome, and it wasn’t. He sucked.
The Sanderson WoT books are far, far superior. Seriously, if you gave up on WoT read the FAQ summaries for the latter Jordan books and pick it up when Sanderson took over.
Also I recommend his first book, Elantris. Great fantasy.
I’ve had this pre-ordered on Amazon ever since it was listed, but forgot that it was coming out next week. I actually read the first book in Jan of 1990, so it’s been a long, long wait. And like everyone else, I’m not a big fan of books 7-10, but in fairness to Jordan book 11 dramatically picked up the story’s pace.
That’s unfair. But it’s only somewhat unfair. WoT starts pretty good IMO, but it was showing some issues well before it fell off a cliff some time in book X (you’ll see arguments from 3-6; of course this is a symptom of the problem; I’d be inclined to set X==5 but I might, on some days, put it at 4).
I think in some parallel universe Jordan did a solid job wrapping up the series. I don’t believe such an outcome was possible in this universe, bless him. I mean, we had one entire book that was 800 pages of “holy shit, how about that one thing that happened in the last book!” from every fucking relevant person/group in play. And a little maneuvering on the side. Fuck me, it’s hard not to think an author is just in it for the checks when you read a book like that.
This having been said, I’m a Sanderson fan and he hasn’t disappointed me yet (the Mistborne trilogy, Elantris, Way of Kings, and the first two WoT end Parts 1 and 2). The WoT books certainly come of well since they are standing next to the previous N Jordan titles (there are many who think the last Jordan book was good, but I found it overrated. Better than the previous books, but that’s not saying much). Setting that I aside, though, I think they stand on their own feet well (I’d rank them amongst the best books in the series, certainly). They both read quick and there weren’t really any dull moments that I can recall. Well, maybe the Faile chapters, but really that situation is hopeless (and I still enjoyed them more than the later-series Faile chapter from before).
I’ll grant that point.
I read the first WOT book the month it came out. As I’ve stated previously, it was pushed by the publisher to bookstores as a single-volume fantasy. No really, it was! My friend Dave owned a gaming/comics/bookstore in St. Charles (still does, still successful) and I remember how I used to read the “Please stock our books” newsletters he’d get from publishers. That first dogeared copy of that first book even has a review blurb calling it a “great single volume fantasy epic.” Oops.
At any rate, I liked the first book, really liked the second and third…and then sorta felt interest waning in the fourth and fifth and stopped halfway through the sixth. I guess what would be more fair to say is that Jordan set himself a task that was beyond his skills.
I’ve since re-read the first three and am trying to get up the muster to get through these now.
Good plan, but does anybody remember the book that has all the aes sedai (sic?) locking Ran (sic?) in a chest or something? Holy shit was that book terrible. Thinking I will skip that one and reread a synopsis for that one.
Sanderson is way too good for how prolific he is.
That scene where the wolves all howl “they caged the shadowkiller” or whatever was pretty sweet. But yeah, aside from that one cool moment the book was a blur of hair braiding and crossing arms under breasts.
Wait, no, don’t disparage that book - that has like one of the few moments I remember from the series - (from memory) near the end of the book he is able to unweave the spells they have binding him and he busts free. At the same time the Asha’men (or whateve they’re called) burst upon the scene and a gigantic battle ensues. From what I recall it’s the first time the Asha’men are blowing up people and wreaking havoc in a large-scale battle. At the end of it he forces the Aes Sedai to kneel down to him, bringing some prophecy or other to pass.
Even after I decided I hated most of the series, I would re-read that part once in a while because it was such a good payoff for the rest of the whole braid-tugging, skirt-smoothing writing.
You people are such braid-tugging and skirt-smoothing bigots. :)