What would you change to improve the series?

[driftnet]

I feel like the series really starts to drag in the middle and should probably have been maybe nine or ten books. I'm curious about what others think. This is what I would do:

 

• Remove the Seanchan entirely (everything about them, not just their POVs)
• Remove Valan Luca and the circus stuff
• Remove the Kin and probably the Windfinders
• Remove most of the camping captive stuff (a lot of this is Shaido)
• Trim the Tower novice lessons

 

Getting rid of the Seanchan alone eliminates or trims a bunch of other character POV chapters where they're dealing with the invasion one way or another, on top of the Seanchan POVs themselves. Besides, being in the minds of slavers is just gross.

 

It seems like every woman in the series gets captured at least once and spends time as a prisoner in one camp or another, which is just repetitive and excessive. The discovery of new weaves and re-discovery of lost abilities or talents doesn't require a bunch of new POVs. Neither does the quest to find the Bowl of the Winds. And there's too much switching and dishwashing and so on with characters in the White Tower.

 

There are some pretty annoying Nynaeve POV chapters outside of those bullet points that could go. I also think you could probably get rid of most of the Morgase/Gareth Bryne stuff, and move the rebel Aes Sedai along much more quickly.

 

I can't fail to note that trimming the books might have allowed RJ to complete the series himself. I'm mainly talking about structural stuff here, not mild annoyances like highly improbable knife throwing, but if you have thoughts on that I'd like to hear them, too. So what would you change to improve the series ("Nothing" is a perfectly valid answer)?

[Dedicated]

Make the Aiel black. That is all. 

[Figs and Mice]

Well you could cut out a lot of stuff and still get to the end of the story... But what would be the point  ? It would no longer be the book series Jordan wrote , which has so enthralled all of us that we spend time on here nit picking about every tiny detail  🙂

 

Any long book - or series thereof - is likely to contain some fluff that might be done without : but opinions would differ as to which bits are best removed. I for one am happy to take it as it was written ... minor flaws and all...

[DojoToad]

I'm good with removing the circus.

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

25 minutes ago, DojoToad said:

I'm good with removing the circus.

For all the amusement of Nyn in her low-cut dress and Elayne in her trousers, yeah, I agree. I still remember my frustration each time Nyn tells them to turn the wagons around (happens once with the circus and once with a wagon, I think) and start to really slowly go back the way they came. While arguing if they are going to eat beans or vegetables. 

 

And to be fair, pretty much the whole Shaido arc, including the Prophet. And the Seanchan Gardeners. And Beslan. And Setalle Anan. And the Kin. And Oliver, the odious little gremlin. And the battle tactics and endless duels at Tar'mon Gaiden. Or perhaps more exactly it would be nice if these arcs didn't just peter out to really unsatisfactory conclusions. But the story would be much less rich without them. And it is largely down to how Jordan wove all these different threads together to make such a magnificent tapestry. Not all story arcs have to be super meaningful, some should be red herrings, some should fall short of their potential. But some things like the Prophet that went on for so long, that picked up so much pace along the way just to be tossed aside as irrelevant, with pretty much no explanation but he was mad, then corrupted (which kind of contradicted his religious zeal in the first place, he kills thousands for not acclaiming the Dragon Reborn and by the time we get to his POV, he is actively sabotaging the Dragon? It felt... contrived to mesh into the dumpster fire that was the Shaido arc) was kind of grating. 

[RextheDog]

theres bits and pieces, but nothing cut out as such, just changed a bit

 

the top of the list is to rewrite Failes character, and adjust Perrins arc....its just gratingly painful to read for me....

 

.... i really enjoyed the circus and Mat and Tuons courtship....