[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Hawk

I enjoyed Books 4 and 5 quite a bit the second time through them when I read them as one book together (this is KEY), and when I slowed down enought o try to find the subtleties and hints that he does so well. I think he did a real disservice to them by splitting them as he did so they run concurrently in time until about 2/3 of the way through book 5. When you read them together, you get more distance between the boringest (is that a word) chapters, you get all the characters instead of leaving out some of the best ones, and the timeline and story flow is light years better.

Plus when you approach the slower chapters with a frame of trying to learn about the world he created and trying to find all the little hints and foreshadowing, they become more bearable. But I do read faster than many people, so maybe that helps.

Bottom line though...Books 1 - 3 were great books and set up a fascinating world and had a ton of action, especially book 3. But a majority of the really interesting theories about the books come from Books 4 and 5. They are not as exciting as books 1-3, no doubt, but they are every bit as interesting if you really dive into that world.

And yes, reading the "a ball of beasts' version of 4 and 5 is a must. It takes both of those books from flat out awful to at least reasonably doable facsimiles of the 3 superior books that pre-dated them.