Wheel Of Time - Amazon

[cookster50]

Anyone else excited for this? November 19 begins season one.

[Third Eye]

Originally Posted by cookster50

Anyone else excited for this? November 19 begins season one.

I’ll watch it, but I wasn’t a big fan of the books. Enjoyed the first few, but I lost interest along the way and once I got to the slog, I said forget it.

[cookster50]

Originally Posted by Third Eye

I’ll watch it, but I wasn’t a big fan of the books. Enjoyed the first few, but I lost interest along the way and once I got to the slog, I said forget it.

Definitely get that, series lasted about 4 books too long and too many characters introduced by the end. Just hope it turns out better than The Sword of Truth tv series, that was horrendous.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by Third Eye

I’ll watch it, but I wasn’t a big fan of the books. Enjoyed the first few, but I lost interest along the way and once I got to the slog, I said forget it.

Sanderson did a good job finishing up the series.

[Third Eye]

Originally Posted by cookster50

Definitely get that, series lasted about 4 books too long and too many characters introduced by the end. Just hope it turns out better than The Sword of Truth tv series, that was horrendous.

Haha, that was a truly awful show. I have no doubt that Wheel of Time it will be better than that steaming pile of garbage.

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

Sanderson did a good job finishing up the series.

I’m absolutely not a Sanderson fan, and for that matter, I didn’t even finish the Jordan penned books. It probably would have gone better if I hadn’t caught up to the books as they were being published by The Path of Daggers. I read the next two as they came out over the next 5 years and I just lost interest in continuing.

[hometeam]

Books where great, read all of them.

Im afraid amazon will try and turn this show into some woke piece of shit, and the books are exactly the opposite.

[DaFace]

It's my favorite book series (though Stormlight Archive will almost certainly be in the running some day). While I'm excited for it to reach a broader audience, I'm a little nervous about how it will play. It's definitely more magic heavy than basically any other fantasy series that has hit mainstream, so I just hope it doesn't come off as overly cheesy.

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by DaFace

It's my favorite book series (though Stormlight Archive will almost certainly be in the running some day). While I'm excited for it to reach a broader audience, I'm a little nervous about how it will play. It's definitely more magic heavy than basically any other fantasy series that has hit mainstream, so I just hope it doesn't come off as overly cheesy.

What was it about the book series you liked so much? I only ask because I got to about book 7 or 8 and stopped. It's like he didn't ever intend to end the series and let it drag on for too long. Granted, that's just my opinion, so I would love to hear opinions from you or others who made it through the whole series. I will watch the series though.

[Beef Supreme]

I started reading these books when the first one came out. I read until they stopped coming out for a few years. I guess Robert Jordan wasn't feeling too well or something, because then he died. By the time Sanderson finished things up, I guess I quit giving a shit so I didn't read it.

Same story with George Martin. Started reading his books when the first one came out. He must not be feeling too well because he hasn't written a book since Clinton was in office. Guessing he will die soon.

I now have a new rule. If you haven't finished your book series, I haven't started reading it yet.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by tredadda

What was it about the book series you liked so much? I only ask because I got to about book 7 or 8 and stopped. It's like he didn't ever intend to end the series and let it drag on for too long. Granted, that's just my opinion, so I would love to hear opinions from you or others who made it through the whole series. I will watch the series though.

Originally Posted by Beef Supreme

I started reading these books when the first one came out. I read until they stopped coming out for a few years. I guess Robert Jordan wasn't feeling too well or something, because then he died. By the time Sanderson finished things up, I guess I quit giving a shit so I didn't read it.

Same story with George Martin. Started reading his books when the first one came out. He must not be feeling too well because he hasn't written a book since Clinton was in office. Guessing he will die soon.

I now have a new rule. If you haven't finished your book series, I haven't started reading it yet.

I think Jordan's illness had a big effect on his books past say book 7/8. The ones after that really aren't great, but I read them because I started the series in 1992 and don't really like not finishing. I had a lot invested in the characters, with Matt being my favorite by the end, and Perrin a strong second.

Sanderson really did a fantastic job with the ending.

Agreed on Martin. The guy is not getting another penny from me for anything until he finishes the series, which is never.

If you want to read the best (IMO) Fantasy series ever, go find The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erickson. 10 book series that he finished a few years ago.

[ThaVirus]

I've had the first copy of this series, I believe it's called Eye of the World, for quite some time and just have not gotten around to starting it up yet. It's kind of daunting, what with so many books in the series.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by tredadda

What was it about the book series you liked so much? I only ask because I got to about book 7 or 8 and stopped. It's like he didn't ever intend to end the series and let it drag on for too long. Granted, that's just my opinion, so I would love to hear opinions from you or others who made it through the whole series. I will watch the series though.

I think it's a combination of things. First, the worldbuilding is unlike anything else I've ever read. There are something like 2500 named characters across all of the books across dozens of nations, so it really feels like a place that exists where the story takes place rather than a tunnel with a little fluff around it. The characters themselves are engaging and interesting (especially for a teenage boy, which I was when I started reading them). The magic system has some thought behind it and limitations on what you can do with it, yet they continue to explore it as the series goes on.

Now, that said, the books aren't perfect. RJ had some...odd...perceptions about women and their motivations, which come across as a bit trite after a while. The slog is a real thing, though if you are interested in political machinations, I don't think it's bad. I don't think he ever figured out how to end it, which is why it might have actually been good for the story for Brandon to have to end it.

Almost more than anything, though, was just that it stuck with me for years and years and years. It's kind of my version of Harry Potter I guess. And the ending was worth it. (For those who have started the series and not finished it, there's a chapter in the last book called "The Last Battle." It's like 250 pages, and it's everything it was led up to be.)

Anyway, it's a huge undertaking, and if you're not otherwise a pretty decent fan of the genre, I wouldn't attempt it. But if you can dedicate yourself to getting through it all, I think it's worth the journey.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I think it's a combination of things. First, the worldbuilding is unlike anything else I've ever read. There are something like 2500 named characters across all of the books across dozens of nations, so it really feels like a place that exists where the story takes place rather than a tunnel with a little fluff around it. The characters themselves are engaging and interesting (especially for a teenage boy, which I was when I started reading them). The magic system has some thought behind it and limitations on what you can do with it, yet they continue to explore it as the series goes on.

Now, that said, the books aren't perfect. RJ had some...odd...perceptions about women and their motivations, which come across as a bit trite after a while. The slog is a real thing, though if you are interested in political machinations, I don't think it's bad. I don't think he ever figured out how to end it, which is why it might have actually been good for the story for Brandon to have to end it.

Almost more than anything, though, was just that it stuck with me for years and years and years. It's kind of my version of Harry Potter I guess. And the ending was worth it. (For those who have started the series and not finished it, there's a chapter in the last book called "The Last Battle." It's like 250 pages, and it's everything it was led up to be.)

Anyway, it's a huge undertaking, and if you're not otherwise a pretty decent fan of the genre, I wouldn't attempt it. But if you can dedicate yourself to getting through it all, I think it's worth the journey.

I've been considering picking the audio books and listening to the series on my commute. I read the first 7 or so books a couple three times, and have listened to them in the past, just can't find where I put the MP3's on my stack of hard drives.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

I've been considering picking the audio books and listening to the series on my commute. I read the first 7 or so books a couple three times, and have listened to them in the past, just can't find where I put the MP3's on my stack of hard drives.

The audiobooks are a great way to get through the slog - that's for sure. I think I have them all on Audible these days. Much cheaper to buy them that way than to pay the outrageous prices Amazon wants to charge for them on their own.

FWIW, local libraries often have subscriptions where you can check out the audiobooks as well, so that's something else you could consider.

[Indian Chief]

I am cautiously optimistic about this. The trailer looked solid. Much like GoT, I think you can make the show and eliminate/minimize a lot of the tedious stuff from the books -- all of the braid tugging, skirt smoothing and mustache twirling.

If the show does well and gets into that slog potion of the books, roughly 8-11, you can fix that too. My contention was always that those 4ish books should have been 2 at most. It would have really fixed those late series issues.

Unfortunately, my favorite part of the books, the combat descriptions, will likely not make it into the show since you don't have to use words. Low Wind Rising, Threading the Needle, Folding the Air, Heron Wading in the Rushes... I thought that was fantastic.