Wheel of Time fans?

[Kreth]

I usually stay on top of things like this better, but I just found out last night while poking around on Wikipedia that the new WoT book, The Gathering Storm, is out tomorrow. Apparently Brandon Sanderson (who took over the series after Robert Jordan passed two years ago) decided that Jordan's plan for one final book was going to be too much, so it's been split into 3 volumes (the others due in late 2010 and 2011). The last volume will bear Jordan's working title for the last book, A Memory of Light.
I got into this series about 10 years ago. My dad gave me most of his sci-fi/fantasy collection when he moved down to Florida, including the first few books of WoT. I usually reread the entire series when a new book comes out (to brush up on Jordan's countless subplots), so I guess I'd best get cracking. :r
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[TheTraveler]

Yep, I pre-ordered the book and can't pick it up till Friday, yet it hits the shelves tomorrow for general consumption. :confused

:bh
:fl
:c

I am looking forward to the finish of this series. I've really enjoyed it all along, including the many, many, M A N Y subplots. :r

I hope it turns out well.

[kayaker]

I was mostly enjoying the series but after a while I started to get really p1ssed off with it. Too many sub-plots, not enough happening to forward the main story and Jordan's writing style in the series kind of bugs me.

I think I will wait until the last of the books are out then try reading it again from the start.

Terry Goodkind's series was like that for me too. Gave up after several books and may go back to it when the series is complete.

Thanks for the update though. It's nice to know the series will be completed at some point. :tu

[Kreth]

Jordan had some issues, I think. Aes Sedai have to do their tests in the nude, and there seems to be an awful lot of spanking. :r
I think it's a given that Rand will defeat the Dark One, completing the cycle. The real question is, who killed Asmodean?
As for Sword of Truth, I enjoyed the first few books, but found a lot of similarities to WoT: Rand/ Richard, Aes Sedai/Sisters of the Light, Moiraine/Kahlan. I've also been watching Legend of the Seeker. Entertaining, but varies widely from Wizard's First Rule.
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[kaisersozei]

Been faithfully reading this series since the very first book was written. I was living in Charleston, SC at the time, and I remember meeting RJ at a "signing." Except it wasn't much of a signing. He was pretty much sitting at a table by himself in the bookstore, waiting for people to come talk to him. :D

Fast forward through the years, and I'm glad to say that I had attended a number of signings that just seemed to grow and grow in size. I attribute a lot of his fan base to the growth of the Internet and various usergroups, forums, etc., that spawned to discuss these books.

Nothing like that first mano a mano signing, though!

I'll be getting my copy as soon as I can. Hopefuly Sanderson does it justice.

[TheTraveler]

Been faithfully reading this series since the very first book was written. I was living in Charleston, SC at the time, and I remember meeting RJ at a "signing." Except it wasn't much of a signing. He was pretty much sitting at a table by himself in the bookstore, waiting for people to come talk to him. :D

Fast forward through the years, and I'm glad to say that I had attended a number of signings that just seemed to grow and grow in size. I attribute a lot of his fan base to the growth of the Internet and various usergroups, forums, etc., that spawned to discuss these books.

Nothing like that first mano a mano signing, though!

I'll be getting my copy as soon as I can. Hopefuly Sanderson does it justice.

It's really cool that you got to meet the guy before he really hit it huge. :tu And just think, you're one of the people that made it happen. :)

I too hope Sanderson does it justice. *crosses fingers*

[Kreth]

I too hope Sanderson does it justice. *crosses fingers*
I wonder if he can actually make Nynaeve likable... :r
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[TheTraveler]

I wonder if he can actually make Nynaeve likable... :r
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<--- sniffs and tugs braid at Kreth



:r :r :r

[Kreth]

<--- sniffs and tugs braid at Kreth



:r :r :r
Keep that up and you'll earn yourself a trip to the Mistress of Novices. :r
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[TheTraveler]

Keep that up and you'll earn yourself a trip to the Mistress of Novices. :r
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Yes please !!! :D :D

[Kreth]

Picked The Gathering Storm up tonight (40% off at Borders with a rewards card). Sweet did his usual craptacular job with the cover illustration. There's a nice forward by Sanderson. I think I might hit encyclopaedia-wot.org and read the synopses rather than wait to read through the entire series again.
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[TheTraveler]

I picked mine up tonight too. Yeah, that dust jacket ain't exactly my favorite, that's for sure, but I haven't really liked any of them so far.

[Kreth]

I swear the guy hasn't drawn Rand the same way twice. I'd almost rather have the Harlequin romance cover they did for A Crown of Swords (aka The Passion of the Dragon). :r
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[PeteSB75]

I thought Jordan's wife was going to be the one finishing the series from his notes?

Anyway, I'll have to go out and pick this up, if only to see how it compares to the sprawling monstrosity that is the Wheel of Time so far... :tf

[Kreth]

I thought Jordan's wife was going to be the one finishing the series from his notes?
I know she was involved (along with the publisher) in selecting Sanderson to finish the series. I kinda feel bad for him. He's been a fan of the series since his teens, and now he has to finish it. Talk about a spoiler! :r
Anyway, I'll have to go out and pick this up, if only to see how it compares to the sprawling monstrosity that is the Wheel of Time so far... :tf
Hardcover weighs in at 783 pages, actually a little light compared to some recent books in the series.
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[PeteSB75]

I know she was involved (along with the publisher) in selecting Sanderson to finish the series. I kinda feel bad for him. He's been a fan of the series since his teens, and now he has to finish it. Talk about a spoiler! :r


Hey, I would feel honored if I were him. Probably be very good for the sales of his other books as well, since I would guess a lot of the WoT fans will give him a real try if they like what he does with them. I would guess he is also splitting royalties at the very least on the WoT books.

Hardcover weighs in at 783 pages, actually a little light compared to some recent books in the series.

A bit longer than the last few. Knife of Dreams was 761, Crossroads of Twilight - 680, and Winter's Heart - 656. Not sure how page counts change between hard and soft cover, but those are the only three I have in hard. Honestly, I was little afraid when I heard that Jordan decided to do everything else in one massive book. I pictured this absurd 2500 page volume, and me trying to carry it on the train...

[Kreth]

Hey, I would feel honored if I were him. Probably be very good for the sales of his other books as well, since I would guess a lot of the WoT fans will give him a real try if they like what he does with them. I would guess he is also splitting royalties at the very least on the WoT books.
I'm sure it will help his career. As a fan, it's got to be a bit of a downer. "Here's how it ends, now go write it."
A bit longer than the last few. Knife of Dreams was 761, Crossroads of Twilight - 680, and Winter's Heart - 656. Not sure how page counts change between hard and soft cover, but those are the only three I have in hard. Honestly, I was little afraid when I heard that Jordan decided to do everything else in one massive book. I pictured this absurd 2500 page volume, and me trying to carry it on the train...
Fires of Heaven and Path of Daggers were the two I was thinking of. I have both in paperback. FoH is just under 1k, PoD is just over.
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[earnold25]

I pre-ordered mine. Still waiting for it to show up. There are two more after this one, right?

[PeteSB75]

I'm sure it will help his career. As a fan, it's got to be a bit of a downer. "Here's how it ends, now go write it."

Fires of Heaven and Path of Daggers were the two I was thinking of. I have both in paperback. FoH is just under 1k, PoD is just over.
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Just for comparison purposes, I have Shogun in both paperback and hardcover. The hardcover is 801, the paperback is 1152. Never actually read the hardcover...

[TheTraveler]

I pre-ordered mine. Still waiting for it to show up. There are two more after this one, right?

That's what I've heard - final "book" to be split into 3 parts. I just got mine last night and haven't had much chance to read it. Tonight though I'll sit down with a pipe and dive in.

[Kreth]

So, I skimmed through the synopsis for Knife of Dreams at encylopaedia-wot.org, and it's not squaring with my memory. I guess I'll need to read them all pretty thoroughly. Rand is the short guy with the ring, right? :r
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[TheTraveler]

So, I skimmed through the synopsis for Knife of Dreams at encylopaedia-wot.org, and it's not squaring with my memory. I guess I'll need to read them all pretty thoroughly. Rand is the short guy with the ring, right? :r
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Yep, he wears a giant black helmet, plays with dolls and uses "The Schwartz". ;)

:r :r

[Kreth]

I've got myself caught up, so I'll probably crack open TGS tonight. WoT is always compared to LoTR. I'll probably get crucified for saying this, but I think Jordan has surpassed Tolkien in terms of depth of the worlds they created.
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[kayaker]

I've got myself caught up, so I'll probably crack open TGS tonight. WoT is always compared to LoTR. I'll probably get crucified for saying this, but I think Jordan has surpassed Tolkien in terms of depth of the worlds they created.
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Nope.:td

:D

[PeteSB75]

I've got myself caught up, so I'll probably crack open TGS tonight. WoT is always compared to LoTR. I'll probably get crucified for saying this, but I think Jordan has surpassed Tolkien in terms of depth of the worlds they created.
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There's no comparison. Tolkien made us live in his world. Jordan told us, in intricate detail, about his. The difference is, IMO, fundamental. Jordan told an ok story, when he actually got down to it. Tolkien was a master.

[Emjaysmash]

I have the first book in the series and maybe read 100 pages of it before giving up.


Terry Goodkind's series was like that for me too. Gave up after several books and may go back to it when the series is complete.

Thanks for the update though. It's nice to know the series will be completed at some point. :tu

The SOT series is finished. GO OUT AND READ THEM!! LOL.

[Kreth]

There's no comparison. Tolkien made us live in his world. Jordan told us, in intricate detail, about his. The difference is, IMO, fundamental. Jordan told an ok story, when he actually got down to it. Tolkien was a master.
I wasn't talking about storytelling, although Tolkien wasn't exactly terse. I just feel like I know Jordan's world and characters better. In LoTR, there's virtually no backstory on Frodo, and he's the main protagonist.
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[PeteSB75]

I wasn't talking about storytelling, although Tolkien wasn't exactly terse. I just feel like I know Jordan's world and characters better. In LoTR, there's virtually no backstory on Frodo, and he's the main protagonist.
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Agree with you there. But honestly, I don't think we need much more backstory on Frodo. The book was about the ring, and we have massive amounts of backstory on that. From the Silmarillion, the Hobbit, and the whole LotR trilogy itself.

In any case, I will agree with you on that - Jordan was character focused, Tolkien was story focused. In both cases, there are flaws.

[kayaker]

I have the first book in the series and maybe read 100 pages of it before giving up.


The SOT series is finished. GO OUT AND READ THEM!! LOL.

hmmmm.... In that case, I'll have to figure what books I need to finish off the series. Thanks for the update.:tu

[Kreth]

Just had time to read the prologue last night. Without giving away any spoilers, I like Faile. :tu
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[TheTraveler]

Just had time to read the prologue last night. Without giving away any spoilers, I like Faile. :tu
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I said that same thing to my buddy yesterday when he asked me how I liked the book so far. :)

[kaisersozei]

I always thought Faile was a cool character--I won't get my copy of the book for a little while, but I'm definitely looking forward to it now! Maybe I'll d/l the prologue

[icantbejon]

I was a huge fan of this series in the beginning. I started reading around the release of the fourth book and I blew through them so quickly that I got frustrated waiting on #5. Then the waits got longer and longer, the stories got longer and longer, and I began getting frustrated. By book 35...ok, I exagerate...book 10, I was a little put off. Does anyone else not get annoyed with the realization that this was supposed to be a trilogy??? I still dig the story, but I recall one of the books which was likely at least 900 pgs covering events of roughly two days worth of time. Two days!! Jordan covered roughly two years worth of time in the first book. He just got too long winded for my tastes. I think he became impressed with his own success. I'll definitely get this book, cause I need to know how it ends.

[TheTraveler]

I was a huge fan of this series in the beginning. I started reading around the release of the fourth book and I blew through them so quickly that I got frustrated waiting on #5. Then the waits got longer and longer, the stories got longer and longer, and I began getting frustrated. By book 35...ok, I exagerate...book 10, I was a little put off. Does anyone else not get annoyed with the realization that this was supposed to be a trilogy??? I still dig the story, but I recall one of the books which was likely at least 900 pgs covering events of roughly two days worth of time. Two days!! Jordan covered roughly two years worth of time in the first book. He just got too long winded for my tastes. I think he became impressed with his own success. I'll definitely get this book, cause I need to know how it ends.

My buddy feels pretty much the same way about the series that you do, though he would have preferred a double-trilogy (book 6 be the end book). Since I like Jordan's style of writing and, for the most part, like the characters and I truly enjoy the depth and the many, many sub-plots he could have doubled the length of the series and I would have enjoyed it.

My only real gripe was the L O O O O N N N N N G G G G G wait between books!

[Kreth]

I always thought Faile was a cool character--I won't get my copy of the book for a little while, but I'm definitely looking forward to it now! Maybe I'll d/l the prologue
The prologue and the first chapter are both on the Tor website.
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[Kreth]

Just under 300 pages in, and a couple of thoughts:
-Nynaeve seems much more likeable in this book. Dunno if it's Sanderson's writing style, or something Jordan had planned for the character...
-I believe this is the first time that we've seen a Cadsuane POV. IIRC, up until now we've only seen her through other POVs. It makes an interesting parallel to her theory on how to deal with Semirhage.
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[PeteSB75]

Book is sitting on my shelf right now. Waiting to finish my current book - re-reading Shogun, one of my all-time favorites. That will be done on my train ride home today. Then I have to at least work through Knife of Dreams, since I've not looked at any of them in the four years since it's publication.

[Kreth]

Book is sitting on my shelf right now. Waiting to finish my current book - re-reading Shogun, one of my all-time favorites. That will be done on my train ride home today. Then I have to at least work through Knife of Dreams, since I've not looked at any of them in the four years since it's publication.
Check out the synopses at encyclopaedia-wot.org, Pete. They cover the key plot points, and character/place/object names are all hotlinked, in case you've forgotten who the hell those 101 people are following Rand around. :r
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[PeteSB75]

Check out the synopses at encyclopaedia-wot.org, Pete. They cover the key plot points, and character/place/object names are all hotlinked, in case you've forgotten who the hell those 101 people are following Rand around. :r
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I might have to do that. The prologue of Knife of Dreams is reminding me somewhat, but there are so many story lines, I can't keep them all straight, especially after more than 4 years.

[Kreth]

I might have to do that. The prologue of Knife of Dreams is reminding me somewhat, but there are so many story lines, I can't keep them all straight, especially after more than 4 years.
Same here. There are so many minor characters to keep track of, and you never know when one of them might feature prominently in the story. The FAQ there is only current up through Crossroads of Twilight. Dragonmount.com was supposed to update it in time for the release of TGS, but that didn't happen. Still, the entries at encyclopaedia-wot are very handy, as they give a brief description of the character, place, or object; as well as listing a brief summary of each time they've been mentioned in the books.
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[gvarsity]

I usually stay on top of things like this better, but I just found out last night while poking around on Wikipedia that the new WoT book, The Gathering Storm, is out tomorrow. Apparently Brandon Sanderson (who took over the series after Robert Jordan passed two years ago) decided that Jordan's plan for one final book was going to be too much, so it's been split into 3 volumes (the others due in late 2010 and 2011). The last volume will bear Jordan's working title for the last book, A Memory of Light.
I got into this series about 10 years ago. My dad gave me most of his sci-fi/fantasy collection when he moved down to Florida, including the first few books of WoT. I usually reread the entire series when a new book comes out (to brush up on Jordan's countless subplots), so I guess I'd best get cracking. :r
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Wow that is a lot of reading to do if you are going to read all 30k pages or whatever. At this point I just read one of the online summaries before each new book because I just don't have the time to re-read the whole series again.

I got the first book of the WoT in 1993. I traded Jurassic Park for it on the ferry from Patras to Brindisi while traveling in Europe.

I'm not sure I can be considered a fan any more. Overall I like the series and the world in general but it just got out of control length and complexity wise with way to many random diversion and pointless plot lines. Several books felt like they had no overall plot to them and were just updates of where the characters are now. INMHO a couple of books can have been completely eliminated with a couple of key plot points rolled into other books.

I will finish the series considering how much time I have invested but I have been waiting for the series to end for like eight years. Hearing the news that the final book will be three books over another couple of years just makes me groan. I understand it though there are so many characters and plots to bring together I can't imagine how you could bring it together in one book.

Sorry about the rant. Thanks for posting because I am glad that the next one is coming out and I will pick it up in a few weeks when I have finished what I am currently reading.

[bilkay]

I've enjoyed all the books and wasn't frustrated by the length, level of detail, or the breadth of the story.

I'm almost through the new installment. It's a great read and Sanderson did a great job. I wish that Jordan had been able to finish the story himself. He's one of my all-time favorite writers.

Good thing he left the notes necessary to complete the tale.

[blugill]

hmmmm.... In that case, I'll have to figure what books I need to finish off the series. Thanks for the update.:tu

I'd skip Pillars of Creation and head right into Naked Empire.

[PeteSB75]

Working my way through Knife of Dreams, and it's really been a long time since I read this book. I remember some of the bits, but certainly not all of them. Major characters are starting to come back a bit.

[TheTraveler]

Working my way through Knife of Dreams, and it's really been a long time since I read this book. I remember some of the bits, but certainly not all of them. Major characters are starting to come back a bit.

Yeah, I re-read the series early this year. I should have timed it better, finished the last book just before the new book came out. Oh well, I'm just happy to be actually enjoying the new book. I felt a little trepidation while waiting on it and I'm glad he didn't bugger it up! :tu

I'm enjoying the story. You can certainly tell a difference between Jordan's style and Sanderson's style but it's not a bad thing in my opinion. Just a slightly different angle looking out the same window.

Although I must say, Mat is much better at cursing than Sanderson allows. :td However, if that's my only real complaint about the book so far then I don't have much to worry about. :D

[Kreth]

Overall, I like Sanderson's writing style. I do think his version of Mat reverted a bit to the old joker. Mat had matured quite a bit over the last few books.
Now, whether it's Sanderson's style, or a planned character arc by RJ, I no longer groan when I turn to a new chapter and see Nynaeve's name. She was easily my least favorite character in the last few books.
I've got about 100 pages to go, and one other minor quibble: couldn't we have seen what's going on with Lan? He's the only major character (well, aside from Moiraine, but that's a special case) we didn't see.
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[TheTraveler]

^^^ I'm at pretty much the same point in the book. :)

I think Sanderson did a good job. Didn't get the cursing right (from my POV) but I'm pretty happy with his work. His work doesn't sound the same or "feel" the same as RJ's but it's certainly not about style in this case, it's about the story and the characters. He's done well. It's like he and RJ were looking out the same window at the same scenery and just describing things from their own POV. Nice.

I was worried before; I'm happy now. :tu

[srduggins]

I just picked up the 1st book and a little over 1/2 way though it. Hopefully, the last book will be written when I am done with the rest.

i much prefer George R. R. Martin (when is his next book coming out?), but am enjoying this read. I enjoyed the Sword of Truth series as well, but the books all seemed to follow the same pattern.

[TheTraveler]

I just picked up the 1st book and a little over 1/2 way though it. Hopefully, the last book will be written when I am done with the rest.

i much prefer George R. R. Martin (when is his next book coming out?), but am enjoying this read. I enjoyed the Sword of Truth series as well, but the books all seemed to follow the same pattern.

Keep going with the WOT series. :tu Books 3, 4 and 5 are the favorites of many people - they're certainly my favorites, not that I think the rest are bad.

[Kreth]

I just picked up the 1st book and a little over 1/2 way though it. Hopefully, the last book will be written when I am done with the rest.
First book written (Eye of the World) or first book chronologically (New Spring). I just started a friend off on WoT a few months ago, and I had him start with New Spring. I like the way it fills in some backstory before you jump into the "current" books.
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[srduggins]

Eye of the World. My son reads all this stuff before me, so I just asked him to get me started on WoT.

[Kreth]

Eye of the World. My son reads all this stuff before me, so I just asked him to get me started on WoT.
New Spring is not essential, but it's a good read. It's set about 20 years before the other books and fleshes out how things got started around the birth of the Dragon Reborn.
As for TGS, I finished a little while ago and I was *shocked* to read that Moridin is Rand's father.

j/k :r
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[PeteSB75]

New Spring is not essential, but it's a good read. It's set about 20 years before the other books and fleshes out how things got started around the birth of the Dragon Reborn.
As for TGS, I finished a little while ago and I was *shocked* to read that Moridin is Rand's father.

j/k :r
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Hmm, the Sa'a reminded me of that too...

[TheTraveler]

I was relieved that Sanderson didn't bungle the story.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was a good read. I think they made a good choice in getting Sanderson to finish the series. :tu

[Benwoo]

I usually look for the larger books when trying to find something to read. I used to bounce between 3 series as these books came out, WoT, Sword of Truth, and I think it was the Order War series (or maybe that was one of the books). WoT did seem to stall out and the story sprawled all over over the place. I eventually got tired of waiting for new books to come out in the series and lost track of them. I plan to pick up all 3 series again and finish them off. I'm glad the last book of the WoT series seems to be good and thanks for the reminder to pick this stuff up again.

Now if only I could smoke my pipe while reading:pi

Happy Reading guys

Chris

[TheTraveler]

... Now if only I could smoke my pipe while reading:pi

Happy Reading guys

Chris

Now THAT is one of life's pleasures ... smoking a pipe and reading a good book. :)

I'm very pleased with the end result and happily recommend the book to any fan of the series. Like I said, not exactly the same style (and he can't cuss right !) but still very good. :tu

[PeteSB75]

Yeah, wish I could do that too. In a few more years, when I can sell my condo and buy a house.

[Ashcan Bill]

I have the new one sitting on the bookshelf, but it's going to stay there for a while. I've decided to reread the whole series before tackling any more new installments.

I read the The Eye Of The World when it was first published, what, twenty years ago. I've read most of the following books as they came out, but it's been such a long process I've forgotten too many details.

I'm missing a couple of books in the series, so once I pick them up I'll start over again with The Eye Of The World.

That should occupy a good bit of my reading for 2010. :D

[Kreth]

Now THAT is one of life's pleasures ... smoking a pipe and reading a good book. :)
As long as it's good Two Rivers tabac. :r
I have the new one sitting on the bookshelf, but it's going to stay there for a while. I've decided to reread the whole series before tackling any more new installments.
I did that the last few times. This time around I read the synopses online. I got the major plotlines, and do I really need to reread the probably hundreds of pages on things like the intricacies of Tairen fashion and the in and outs (pun intended) of Domani flirtation?
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[Whynot]

I need to reread as well. It has been several years for me too.

[Ashcan Bill]

One of the nice things about being retired is I finally have time to do pretty much anything! :D

[Kreth]

Towers Of Midnight came out on Tuesday. Anyone reading it yet?
On a related note, do *not* read the Wikipedia entry on Asmodean before you read ToM. Apparently, we find out who killed him in this book, and someone already added that tidbit to the wiki entry. :(
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[CigarNut]

Towers Of Midnight came out on Tuesday. Anyone reading it yet?
On a related note, do *not* read the Wikipedia entry on Asmodean before you read ToM. Apparently, we find out who killed him in this book, and someone already added that tidbit to the wiki entry. :(
Posted via Mobile DeviceThanks for the heads up!

[PeteSB75]

It is winging it's way to me as I type this. Just wish they put this on kindle so I didn't have to drag the book along with me... I've gotten spoiled.

[kaisersozei]

Thanks for the heads up!

:tpd: My book shipped from Amazon on Monday. Supposed to be a Christmas present from my wife, but she may be wrapping an already read book :D

[Brutus2600]

I put the WoT series out of mind after I'm done with the latest book so I don't go crazy waiting for them to be released. So, needless to say, I was surprised when I read yesterday that this had been released on Tuesday! Anyway, ran by Borders over lunch and picked up a copy. I'm expecting to start it either this evening or tomorrow evening and probably finish it by the end of the weekend :r I love these books.

Thanks for the heads up about the wiki entry. Sometimes I'll refer to it to see character info...but I'll avoid Asmodean's entry because I don't want that spoiled!

[Kreth]

Thanks for the heads up about the wiki entry. Sometimes I'll refer to it to see character info...but I'll avoid Asmodean's entry because I don't want that spoiled!
Yep, I was skimming through some WoT stuff to brush up, and saw mention of the big fan debate over who killed Asmodean. Next thing I see, something like "In Towers Of Midnight we learn that [someone] was the killer." Talk about a buzzkill.
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[Brutus2600]

Are you kidding me? Did that person ever hear of something called a spoiler alert? Sheesh :td

[Kreth]

Are you kidding me? Did that person ever hear of something called a spoiler alert? Sheesh :td
Wikipedia doesn't do spoiler alerts. TBH, with Jordan's insistence over the years that it (the identity of the killer) was "obvious," I wasn't expecting it to ever be revealed.
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[Brutus2600]

Without posting any spoilers, just thought I'd talk about the reading I got done this weekend!

I'm about 1/3rd into the book (didn't get to spend nearly as much time reading as I wanted). I've really like how Rand's character has been developed. In all honesty his crap was getting kind of annoying in the last few books. Don't want to really get too much into it, like I said, trying to not drop anything about the book that would spoil anything :)

Have any of you finished it yet?

[CigarNut]

I'm also about a 1/3 (page 255) into the book and I am enjoying it very much. I was wondering how Sanderson/Jordan was going to tie some of the straggling loose ends together and it seems like he/they are doing a good job!

[PeteSB75]

Just finished the book and must have completely missed the bit about Asmodean.I looked at the wikipedia page, and while it makes sense who did it, was one of the two main suspects I had, I guess I will have to go back and re-read the conversations where it is supposedly revealed.

Book was excellent, btw. I felt Sanderson did a much better job with Mat in this one, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing.

[TheTraveler]

Just finished the book and must have completely missed the bit about Asmodean.I looked at the wikipedia page, and while it makes sense who did it, was one of the two main suspects I had, I guess I will have to go back and re-read the conversations where it is supposedly revealed.


I've finished the book and really, really enjoyed it. But if I remember correctly it's never mentioned straight out in the book explicitly, it's just alluded to at one point. It's explicitly stated in the glossary at the end though under a certain character's entry, or so I've heard. Hmmm, gotta go check the glossary now to be sure.

Edit: Yep, it's in the glossary under _______'s entry. :)

[Brutus2600]

Just finished it today as well, possibly one of my favorite books so far. I think it was a fantastic setup for the final book as well.

Totally missed the part about Asmodean as well. As big of a deal as Sanderson made his curiosity about it that it seemed to be almost an afterthought, hah.

Can't wait for the last book!

[TheTraveler]

When I bought this book I thought it was the last in the series. I know, I know, my info was way, WAY out of date. Over two years ago when I first learned Sanderson was going to finish the series there was talk of a final TWO books. I didn't keep up with the scuttlebutt and so had absolutely no idea there would be a book 14.

Which leads me to the ending of this book (book 13) .....

My first reaction was "You m*(*&^fu*&(*&r !!! How dare you end the series like that!?" Then I calmed down and gave it some thought and, with so many loose threads being tied up (or at least brought into some semblance of near-finality), and certainly with all the foreshadowing near the end (especially Aviendha's POVs), and finally with the last-minute tweaks such as Rand's meeting with _______ in the cave, well, that really could have been the end of the story. So I gave it some thought and grudgingly admitted that, while not my first choice of endings, it was a pretty unique way to end such an epic series. It really could have worked out like that.

Then I read online that book 14 would be out next November. Did I ever feel like a douche. :r :r :r

[Brutus2600]

Lol...yeah if you didn't know they had made it a 14 book series and there was still one more to go I could see how angry you would be!

I hate to break it to you though, but according to Sanderson's blog, he's not expecting to finish the 14th book until March of 2012...so we've still got a little while to wait.

The good news is that we still have a book to wait for though :p hah

[TheTraveler]

The interesting thing is that if the series ended right there I'd understand (after some time to adjust to it anyway). But I'm definitely glad to hear there's another book coming. :)

[Kreth]

About 700 pages in. So when does Voldemort make an appearance? :confused:
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[Partagaspete]

My son just gave me book 1...I guess I am set for books for the nexr year or so.

T

[Ashcan Bill]

I did end up rereading the whole series this year, finishing up about a month ago. As soon as I finish up a couple of other books I'm reading, I'll hit Towers of Midnight. It's sitting on my desk. :D

Sanderson did a great job on Gathering Storm. I wonder how detailed the notes Jordan left were, and if he had had time to flesh out any of the final story himself?

[PeteSB75]

I did end up rereading the whole series this year, finishing up about a month ago. As soon as I finish up a couple of other books I'm reading, I'll hit Towers of Midnight. It's sitting on my desk. :D

Sanderson did a great job on Gathering Storm. I wonder how detailed the notes Jordan left were, and if he had had time to flesh out any of the final story himself?

From what I've read Jordan outlined the remainder of the story and how it should end before he died. The last few books before he died were starting to get back into progressing the main story after too long of wandering off in tangents and unimportant characters. I think Sanderson is bringing the story to life, and providing most of the dialogue and interactions, but the main story points were sketched out by Jordan.

[Kreth]

From what I've read Jordan outlined the remainder of the story and how it should end before he died. The last few books before he died were starting to get back into progressing the main story after too long of wandering off in tangents and unimportant characters. I think Sanderson is bringing the story to life, and providing most of the dialogue and interactions, but the main story points were sketched out by Jordan.

According to this interview (http://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/interview-brandon-sanderson/) with Sanderson, there are a few whole scenes that Jordan wrote, the rest is outlines, notes, etc.
Finished up ToM last night, great read! I think I'll have to pick up a few of Sanderson's other books to tide me over until the last WoT book comes out in "early 2012."

[kaisersozei]

Release date news:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/02/the-release-date-for-a-memory-of-light-has-been-set

[tsolomon]

Release date news:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/02/the-release-date-for-a-memory-of-light-has-been-set:tt After all this time, I guess I can wait another 11 months. Maybe I can time re-reading the whole set prior to the release date.

[Brutus2600]

Wow. Last year I heard this was tentatively set to be released next month. Then I read fall of 2012. Now the beginning of next year? Astounding.

I was gearing up to read all 12 books leading up to the fall release, but I guess I have some time to wait. Sigh.

Thanks for the link though :tu good to know I shouldn't be expecting it any time soon, haha.


Edit: I can't be that mad I guess, it's a HUGE book that takes a long time to edit. I'm just overly frustrated at TOR never EVER releasing anything near their tentative release dates. Not like "oh, we're a month late" more like "oops, sorry, here it is a year later".

It's still better than George R.R. Martin's release schedule though! haha.

[CigarNut]

When Towers of Midnight came out I attended one of Brandon Sanderson's book signings and he "promised" that the wait between books would not be so long -- six months tops -- he went on to say Jordan's policy of two years between books was much too long. So now he exceeds that by having 2.25 years between books...

Oh well. Gives me some extra time to re-read before A Memory of Light comes out.

[tsolomon]

Memory of Light is out in hardcover and I started into it last night. :D

[Bluetick]

I'm into the first 90 pages, it's a little "dry" so far.

[CigarNut]

I'm into the first 90 pages, it's a little "dry" so far.
So what else is new??

These books don't get juicy until about the 600 page mark :)

[tsolomon]

I'm into the first 90 pages, it's a little "dry" so far.I'm at page 67 and still trying to figure out what is going on as they have bounced around a lot describing what the minor characters are doing. I recently reread the entire series so that I might stand a slight chance of remembering more of the details. I wished they had released the Kindle version as this book is massive and I read it on Metro commuting to work.

[kaisersozei]

My copy came in on Monday, but been traveling this week and haven't had time to get started. Might change that this weekend.

[CigarNut]

Brandon Sanderson is going to be at a local bookstore tomorrow evening and I am going to go see him, get a couple of books signed and listen to a short reading from MoL.

I have all but one of my Jordan books signed and I am really looking forward to it!