Wheel of Time fans?

[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?
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[TheTraveler]

Originally Posted by 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?
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Yep, he wears a giant black helmet, plays with dolls and uses "The Schwartz".

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.
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[PeteSB75]

Originally Posted by Kreth

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.
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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]

Originally Posted by PeteSB75

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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[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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Originally Posted by 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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Nope.

[PeteSB75]

Originally Posted by 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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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.

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by PeteSB75

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]

Originally Posted by Kreth

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.

[Kreth]

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

Originally Posted by Kreth

Just had time to read the prologue last night. Without giving away any spoilers, I like Faile.
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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

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by 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

The prologue and the first chapter are both on the Tor website.
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[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

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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[gvarsity]

Originally Posted by 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.
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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.