What's the verdict on this series in 2021 for someone that never started it back in the day? Still worth picking up and reading or maybe try one of Sanderson's series instead?
Agreed, the last jordan book was great. You could tell he realized he was running out of time and the story really started moving. 7-10 were the ones I didn't like.i actually mostly liked the last Jordan book. Knife of Dreams was much better than most of that 7-10 stretch which should have been 2 books and not 4.
I kind of feel like the series ended up being about the right number of books, but 7-10 needed pruning and the sanderson books needed expanding. The Perrin/Faile, and the Nynaeve/Elayne stuff in particular were, way, way too long.The irritating part is that despite all the filler Perrin's character development and his final villain, felt like they needed another half a book to fill out to make his subplot ending something that felt earned. But instead we just got like a decade of "AFK, chasing Faile"
This series does go somewhere and ends though.I got burnt by filler several years back and would never recommend this series. It's the same reason I probably won't ever pick up the Game of Thrones books.
Life's too short to read a series that isn't going anywhere.
Winter's Heart is only worth it for one part:Winter's Heart is aids. Do not attempt to read.
At the time there was no end in sight. And if I were to find time to go back and re-read a series, I'd pick something I know I'd enjoy, like one of the David Eddings series. A re-read of Wheel of Time would essentially amount to a fresh read of 14 books.This series does go somewhere and ends though.
I agree with you in regards to unfinished series, and GoT in particular. I don’t regret my time reading them though, the first three GoT were still enjoyable reads and it made watching the show fun.
Winter's Heart is only worth it for one part:
The chapters where Rand and Nynaeve cleanse saidin
Eddings good, Jordan bad. Wat?
I don't hate Eddings, but it's totally intro level fantasy and all of his characters are essentially trope archetypes dialed to 11. In fairness he wrote a lot of his stuff in the 80s before fantasy was nearly as popular as it became later so it didn't feel as blatant at the time especially as a kid. It's definitely miles better than that Drizzt trash though, for sure.I didn't know there was hate for Eddings. Granted I did the majority of all this reading 20-some years ago, but Eddings still holds up for me. And I know my tastes have changed at least a little over time because other stuff from back then like Drizzt books have not held up.
No way it was longer than The Last Battle chapter in the final book... that was like 300 pages long.You mean the longest chapter in any book I've ever read? That one damn chapter went to so many POV's that I swear to god it was the last eight of the book.
No way it was longer than The Last Battle chapter in the final book... that was like 300 pages long.
From what I read Sanderson was hamstrung in a lot of ways because of Jordans widow.Oh man, I forgot all about that. I swear it was Sanderson deciding to continue what Jordan started in Winter's Heart and take it to eleven.
Absolutely, it is a very good series. Books 1-3 are all pretty self contained, then you hit Book 4 and the story really opens up with lots of back story, I think #4 is the best book overall. Books 5-7 are also very good, with some of the best scenes (and THE best scene overall). The rest of the series suffers from too many plotlines and general fatigue with the stupidity of women. The last three books by Sanderson were alright considering what he needed to do.What's the verdict on this series in 2021 for someone that never started it back in the day? Still worth picking up and reading or maybe try one of Sanderson's series instead?
Maybe, but Sanderson was the one who said the last book needed to be stretched to 3 and she obviously OK'd that.From what I read Sanderson was hamstrung in a lot of ways because of Jordans widow.
He should have never let his wife anywhere near his books
Why wouldn’t she? Oh 3x the money and you’re doing most of the work? Where do I sign?Maybe, but Sanderson was the one who said the last book needed to be stretched to 3 and she obviously OK'd that.