New to the Wheel of time

[bluetear111]

Hi all, so im a new fan of the wheel of time (bit late i know). But i liked the tv show, so now im working my way through the books (im currently halfway through the great hunt).

 

I was just wondering are their big battles coming up in the book series to look forward to (ala like lotr?).

 

And also although its called the wheel of time, i am assuming there isn't really any time travel in it, more about the breaking of different ages? I ask this last question who i want to try and get into this, and he is a massive time travel fan, but i do not want to miss sell him when talking about this series.

 

thanks

[DojoToad]

Welcome.

 

There are many battles and skirmishes.  RJ writes them well.

 

There is time travel of a sort, but I don't want to say much more about that.

 

How are you liking the books compared to the show?

Edited August 10, 2022 by DojoToad

[Kalessin]

It's called the Wheel of Time because time is talked about as circular, with the Ages being spokes on the wheel. That's the explanation for the wheel with spokes you'll find on some printings of the books, and for that same image at the heads of some chapters.

 

As far as "Time Travel" of the sort we got in Quantum Leap, there's none whatsoever. Or in HG Well's Time Machine, again, none whatever.

 

And there's a lot more battles than in the Lord of the Rings. Enjoy!!! 🙂

[bluetear111]

thankyou for the replies, im looking forward to what lies ahead, and thanks for clearing up the questions i had.

 

With regards to show vs books, id have to say i think the books are superior. I understand it must be a huge task to adapt the books into any form of tv or film, but upon reflection parts of the show didn't quite sit right with me. But in the shows defence, i understand there were covid issues when filming which inevitably changed scenes, and i also don't blame them for changing the end of the eye of the world, as for me this was the weakest part of the first book i thought. And the show did do enough to pique my interest which has got me onto these marathon of books, so it definitely did something right.

Plus i thought they did the exploration of the warders and aes sedai really well, i just hope amazon stick with this so they can tell the full story in the show, and not cancel after 3 seasons for example.

[bluetear111]

Out of interest for people who are far more seasoned in the books than i am, what are your early impressions of the show so far? Only the first season down? Promising? Disappointed? whats the feeling?

[DojoToad]

Very disappointed myself. But other readers have liked it. 

[Stedding Tofu]

On 8/10/2022 at 3:41 PM, bluetear111 said:

With regards to show vs books, id have to say i think the books are superior. I understand it must be a huge task to adapt the books into any form of tv or film, but upon reflection parts of the show didn't quite sit right with me.

 

i just hope amazon stick with this so they can tell the full story in the show, and not cancel after 3 seasons for example.

 

When it was announced that Amazon were adapting the series I had reservations.  RJ wrote a 14 book cycle and the average book length is c. 800 pages.  Does a tv audience have the appetite and attention span for such a lengthy series?  Do the actors want to tie themselves in for years?  Given the size of the cast of characters in the series and the different locations, nations, peoples and cultures is there any way an audience can tune in for an hour a week for, say, 8 weeks, every year or eighteen months for, say, two decades and keep it all straight in their heads?

 

I'm glad it brought you to the books though, enjoy!

 

On 8/10/2022 at 5:24 PM, bluetear111 said:

Out of interest for people who are far more seasoned in the books than i am, what are your early impressions of the show so far? Only the first season down? Promising? Disappointed? whats the feeling?

 

It was okay but it didn't grab me.  I am something of a purist so dislike large amendments to characters and story line, e.g.

 

Spoiler

Perrin having a wife who he accidentally killed

Mat deserting the party

Nynaeve's accelerated channeling ability

Nynaeve and Lan's relationship becoming physical - so at odds with Nynaeve's character and morals in the books

the absence of Caemlyn and the Trakands (perhaps this was moved to season 2 rather than being cut entirely)

 

don't sit well with me. 

[qlorin]

On 8/10/2022 at 1:05 PM, bluetear111 said:

I was just wondering are their big battles coming up in the book series to look forward to (ala like lotr?).

Basic answer yes there are.

More complex anwser. There are many battles of different kinds. Some of them with opposing armies like LotR. Some of them with opposing groups of 20-30 people who are channelers. Some battles told from pov of battleling men/woman. Some are pov of generals. Some even after the battle pov of some charecther rememberin sort of flashback. You can find all sorts of battles you enjoy.