Wheel of Time - Giving It Another Spin (Har Har)

[Jiffy]

Finished my read through. From start to finish, with no other books being read, it took me more than a year to get through the series. I started in July 2019...

I had read probably the first 7-8 books previously, years back, so there was a bit of familiarity early on, and indeed, there still were a few books where I slowed. It's interesting looking back on my purchase history on Amazon to see that I generally would go at a 3-5 weeks per book pace....except for Crossroads and Knife, which were 6 and 7 weeks.

All in all, it was a great journey. Some frustrating aspects to be sure, but the final books being wrapped up by Sanderson were well done and I found very satisfying for such a big, detailed series.

That 'chapter' in a Memory of light was probably one of the most exhausting parts of a book I can remember (in a good way). I stayed up waaaaay too late several nights in a row reading that part of the book.

[JCC]

I find the slowness of the middleish books are way more palatable when you know the whole series is finished as opposed to when they were coming out at such a slow pace. (I mean not as slow a pace as Rothfuss or Martin, but they have set new standards for failing to write the books that made them famous....) And, when I re-read the WoT after having finished it, I blitzed through the slow books because I already knew how great the ending was.

My only criticism of Sanderson is that I don't think he quite got Mat "right". Don't get me wrong the Mat stuff in his books are GREAT, but they didn't quite click completely for me. (shrugs). Just one idiot's opinion that I have probably already shared in this thread.

[Jiffy]

And, when I re-read the WoT after having finished it, I blitzed through the slow books because I already knew how great the ending was.

Indeed, it was what kept me going - knowing that others had said they found that the ending actually was well done.

I do agree that Mat felt a bit off under Sanderson. I felt Mat was always a bit more conflicted/dynamic in what he said or did, compared to the other two. Less predictable and therefore I can imagine harder to take over. Still, his final arc was great, especially as I generally *didn't* like him as much as Perrin.

Now just to wait for Amazon to do the series justice... hopefully.

[Moat_Man]

Lord of Chaos put me on the mat. I haven't picked up the next one but I gotta get back into it.

[Hipolito]

Lord of Chaos put me on the mat. I haven't picked up the next one but I gotta get back into it.

Lord of Chaos is where I am now (about 100 pages in). For previous books in the series, I was listening to the audiobooks. I got frustrated by all the excess ponderings and confusing details. But now I'm listening to the audiobook while reading the hardcover book, and I'm enjoying it a lot more. Not that the book+audio combo makes the story amazing all of a sudden, but it's a lot more easy to follow now.

To avoid spoilers, I haven't been reading this thread except for little peeks here and there. But I look forward to posting my impressions of all the books (and even a certain OOer's favorite game of 1999) when I'm done with them!

[Paingod]

It’s taken almost 30 years, and in the end the only way to do it was to switch to Audible and consume the series in 50 minute intervals as I commuted to and from work, but I have *finally* completed The Wheel of Time.

I was curious what this was in terms of Audible. I had re-purchased the books I owned for my Kindle to complete my last reading and have since taken a shine to listening to audio books during my drives.

The whole series, 15 books, is 462.68 hours for $812.08

In 50 minute chunks each way to and from work, that's 278 days of driving. My commute is 25 minutes. It'd take me 556 days.

I've embarked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy this way a while back when I had a long drive ahead of me one day, and am only partially into the second audio book. This is just a 54 hour endeavor.

[Blackhawk]

The whole series, 15 books, is 462.68 hours for $812.08

In 50 minute chunks each way to and from work, that's 278 days of driving. My commute is 25 minutes. It'd take me 556 days.

Or about 18 months, which means you could get the entire thing on membership credits for a tiny fraction of the cost (annual membership = $150 = 12 credits.)

[Paingod]

I'll keep it in mind for my next hankering for the series. I don't know when that'll be. It's several years between each one. I'm reluctant to 'waste' my monthly credit on anything insubstantial, so these books certainly count.

The Kindle versions were mostly because most of my paperbacks had disintegrated and I didn't own anything past book 8.

[hitbyambulance]

i looked it up - the entire series is 11,308 pages

having just now read most of this thread, i have a burning question:

Lord of Chaos (#6) broke me

Lord of Chaos almost breaks me

so which is it?!?

[Smoove_B]

“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Lord of Chaos breaks Smoove_B again.”

[Formix]

Not to denigrate the wheel series, which I think I've read through three times total??? Maybe 2.5. But really, if you want absurdly long, well-written books, just start on The Way of Kings.

[stessier]

Not to denigrate the wheel series, which I think I've read through three times total??? Maybe 2.5. But really, if you want absurdly long, well-written books, just start on The Way of Kings.

It's on my list, but I won't start until he finishes. Burn me once...

[xenocide]

Man, lots of Lord of Chaos talk, and not necessarily in a good way. I admit I find that a little strange as it is one of my favorite books in the entire series. In my last read through a couple things I noticed were that book 5 was not as good as I remembered but that #6 (Lord) was. A lot of stuff happens. And not just random new stuff but important to the series things that need to happen. And it has one of the best endings.

[coopasonic]

Not to denigrate the wheel series, which I think I've read through three times total??? Maybe 2.5. But really, if you want absurdly long, well-written books, just start on The Way of Kings.

It's on my list, but I won't start until he finishes. Burn me once...

Sanderson writes like a madman. The downside is that he has SO MANY concurrent projects.

[stessier]

Not to denigrate the wheel series, which I think I've read through three times total??? Maybe 2.5. But really, if you want absurdly long, well-written books, just start on The Way of Kings.

It's on my list, but I won't start until he finishes. Burn me once...

Sanderson writes like a madman. The downside is that he has SO MANY concurrent projects.

Yep, but they still space this series every 2 or so years. Given the 10 book target, I'll be reading around 2030.

[Isgrimnur]

[xenocide]

Yep, but they still space this series every 2 or so years. Given the 10 book target, I'll be reading around 2030.

You are correct. If you look at the two release histories, Sanderson is actually on a slower pace then Jordan was.

Here is Jordan (I left out the first few as he already had them partially written when the first one came out):

#4 The Shadow Rising 15 September 1992

#5 The Fires of Heaven 15 October 1993

#6 Lord of Chaos 15 October 1994

#7 A Crown of Swords 15 May 1996

#8 The Path of Daggers 20 October 1998

#9 Winter's Heart 7 November 2000

#10 Crossroads of Twilight 7 January 2003

Prequel New Spring 6 January 2004

#11 Knife of Dreams 11 October 2005

After that he got sick. 2.5 years between 7&8 was the longest gap. For books of this length I don't think that is bad. Even Sanderson, who most consider one of the fastest writers around has himself said it takes him 1.5 years to write new Stormlight books. With his other projects mixed in his will be done no sooner.

Here is Sanderson:

#1 The Way of Kings August 31, 2010
#2 Words of Radiance March 4, 2014
#3 Oathbringer November 14, 2017
#4 Rhythm of War November 17, 2020

He's currently at a 3 year pace, slower than Jordan's.

[stessier]

I should mention I read his Mistborn series and really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to reading all his series. I just don't like starting something I know isn't finished. I only started The Expanse because I was under the mistaken impression that the 8th book was the last. At least I got lucky and it will be done next year.

[coopasonic]

I was more comparing Sanderson to the likes of Martin and Rothfuss where I have spent most of my adult life waiting for their next books.

[Zarathud]

Sanderson writes multiple series. He’s not stuck on one book for years, he’s between projects for years. Big difference.

[xenocide]

Sanderson writes multiple series. He’s not stuck on one book for years, he’s between projects for years. Big difference.

Yes, and I mentioned that. Doesn't change the fact that if Stormlight is what you want they come out like I said.

If one of the fastest writers takes 1.5 years to write a book, 2 or 2.5 for a book of similar length for other normal writing speed people seems right on track to me.

[Blackhawk]

I'm a little tempted. I read Eye of the World shortly after it came out. A year or so later, when the second book hit, I re-read the first, then went straight into the second. I missed the third, but when the fourth came out, it had been a long time since I'd read them, so I started again with the first and read straight through. I believe I did that again with the sixth, then read the seventh without going back. I never picked it back up after that, and that's been oh, 17 years.

Nine years later...

I'm partway through book three. I've been reminded that A) women are all wise, mysterious, and universally responsible for keeping men from walking off of cliffs, and B) whoever isn't there is the one who doesn't have any problem talking to women.

I'm really enjoying it, though. It's been 26 or 27 years since I last read them, and I remember only a few 'major' scenes without any context. That gives me a clean palette for giving the finished beast a full read (it's the longest fantasy series ever written if you count the prequel.)

[Blackhawk]

You know, I just realized something about Mat (Spoilers through the end of book 13, haven't finished 14 yet):

Spoiler:

Mat is Odin. Distinctly enough that I doubt it's coincidence (and Jordan does pull a lot from mythology.)

~Magic spear. The inscription says "thought is the arrow of time, memory never fades." Odin's two ravens names translate as 'thought' and 'memory.'
~Two ravens on the spear/Prince of Ravens
~Hung from the Tree of Life in sacrifice in order to gain knowledge
~One eye plucked out in sacrifice

Other (less clear) parallels:
~Magic jewelry (Odin had a ring, not an amulet)
~Memory of past lives (Odin had a very strong connection to ancestral memory, as represented by one of his ravens, Muninn, whose name literally means 'memory'.)
~Multiple references to foxes, while Odin had multiple connections to wolves (possibly because wolves were already spoken for...)