How old should you be to start reading WoT?????????

[flexxx]

I have to say, I started reading the Wheel of time books when i was 13, and was completely thrilled, sucked in and loved every minute of it.

 

The problem was, I couldn't keep track of all the plot twists in the later books, and I didnt remember who all the persons were. So while I enjoyed it, it was a sorta stupid thing to do as I didnt really remember what had happened before.

 

I'm 18 now and I'm re-reading the series, and now I realize how much I missed out on the last time around. It's like opening a new dimension.

 

So my advice would be wait until you 18 basically.

[Inara]

oh, no.

you did it the right way the first time. its fantastic on the first read, but the first re-read is always the best.

i'm on my 6th or 7th re-read at the moment, and i'm LOVING it....again

[flexxx]

oh' date=' no.

you did it the right way the first time. its fantastic on the first read, but the first re-read is always the best.

i'm on my 6th or 7th re-read at the moment, and i'm LOVING it....again[/quote']

 

Yeah cause I was looking forward to all these things that I only had vague memories of, and then when they happen its like wow.

[Stefan]

Yes I do think it is based on the Child. For the Series I think you need to have an above Average Reading Comprehension. Also, there are some graphic violent Scenes that may frighten a child, or influence him in a bad way. If my Child was 12 and wanted to read WOT, I would let him. But every once in a while, I would ask him about it, to see what he's reading, and if it's any cause for concern.

[Taor Rayne]

Here are some passages from the series that show some of the most violence (all of it is later in the series, since it isn't very bad at the beginning of the series):

 

(This is for anyone who hasn't read it yet)

 

You might also want to see if these passages bother your daughter?

 

Dunno, I wrote this whole post until I remembered you already read it x_x. Not very helpful. Whoops.

 

"[he strangles someone who might blow his cover]...Rummaging in the cabinets by touch, he pulled out a butchering knife. Disposing of a whole corpse would be difficult, but luckily the dead didn't bleed much; the robe would absorb what little there was...Kneeling, he hummed quietly to himself as he worked, a lullaby that Teodora had taught him."

-The Fires of heaven

 

"Sevanna watched very closely what the other Wise Ones did; the One Power fascinated her, all those things done so miraculously, so effortlessly, and it was very important that it would be seen that what was done to Desaine could only have been done with the Power. she thought it was quite astounding that a human body could be taken apart with so little blood."

-Lord of Chaos

 

As you see, it is not that graphic, and mostly implied. The amount of violence depends on the reader's imagination.

 

There's no language, but there is swearing, but none of it is actually said, except for nonsense words and "Blood and bloody ashes", which isn't bad.

 

The sex is implied, and she prolly won't get it. There is a lot of talk about the neckline of woman's dresses, and at one point Rand is naked under a few sheets, after been healed. The room is full of woman, and they don't want him to get out of bed. Rand shows them that they can't stop him just with embarrassment, and walks naked over to his clothes, in front of them all. One remarks jokingly about his bottomcheeks. This scene was mostly comical, besides sexual, tho.

 

Most of the "bad" stuff happens later on in the series, and she might be old enough by then for it to not be a problem.

[GrandpaG]

Thanks everyone... your comments have been really useful. I think I might look towards next christmas as being a good excuse for the best christmas present ever :D

 

She'll be near enough twelve than and hopefully she'll love the books as much as I do.

 

Hi Egwene,

 

Have you considered starting her with book 3? I did that by accident, but it sparked my interest. Book 1 is much more interesting after you've already read book 3...you're looking for answers to questions that haunted you all through book 3. Maybe try it yourself for a few pages? I might not have made it past the first couple of chapters if I had started with book 1. Just trying to help. Good luck! :)

 

P.S.

Like my new avatar?

[jaimevotrechapeau]

I started reading them when I was 13, but my brother who is now 12, I would not let read (although he has been like WHAT BOOKS ARE THOSE CAN I HAVE THEM?). There are some sexually suggestive things and bosoms heaving about. He's a tard, more or less. But if a kid is mature enough to handle it (as I was -ahem-) then it's a go. But I would say 13 was a bloody good age to start.

[Guest Lord Jameson]

I don't think eleven is to young to start the series at all. Give it to her and let her read it...if she has any questions, answer them honestly. 11 is what grade...6th? Naaa.. It will be fine. I'd encourage it. I read every one of the Tolkien books by the time I was 11. It makes the experience so much better because the younger they are, the better the imagination.

[Elwinn Taron]

My sons started reading them when they first came out, so that was what? 1990, I think. So since they were both born in 1977, that means they they were 13 and 12. Of course, by then they had read Stephen King's IT, The Stand, Tommyknockers, Salem's Lot--all his early works. Also, a real favorite was Dean R. Koonts "Watchers". Also all of Dragon Lance, of course. DH and I had read aloud to them The Hobbit when they were about four and five, and TLotR when they were about seven and eight. Which they promptly re-read on their own, because, they said, we tried to edit the scarey parts--which we didn't, of course, we just read them kinda in non-scarey voices. They also devoured The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe series--which I have never read--when they were seven and eight. Do you get the impression that Green Eggs and Ham didn't cut it very long with these two? Although it wouldn't surprise me if they could still recite it ver-batum. So, yeah, I'd have to say it depends on the child, how well she deciphers what she reads, and her imagination.

 

On a side note, one thing I noticed after they tricked me into reading TWoT, and they would finally talk to me about it--not until after I had finished KoD--That they had never read the glossary. So while I had read the books for about 2 months, and they for 15 years--They mis-pronounced most names. I'd say something about Egwene, they'd ask who? finally they'd say, "Oh, you mean "Egg-weeenie" Or I would say, Tah-eem, and they would say Tame. So from that standpoint, if I had read the books before them, or with them, I would have taught them pronounciation. Apparently, that is not taught in school anymore...more the pity.

[Llanfair]

I started only last year, a few weeks before I turned 16. I had been reading Sidney Sheldon (which I'd been borrowing from my parents) before that, and Sheldon's definitely more graphic (sexually) than WoT. Before Sheldon, though, I read mostly HP, LotR, The Hobbit, the Silmarillion, Narnia, and His Dark Materials. And Diana Wynne Jones. My parents give me limited allowance, so I can't buy all the books I want :cry:

 

I think it's okay for kids below thirteen to read the first few books. I'm sure they'd be mature enough for the rest when they get there. And try to answer them the AS way when there's something they don't understand, like the sex and violence in the books .

[Fiera Taishar]

I started when I was 13 or 14. Now I'm 15, and everything has made sense to me. A younger person tend to forget or overlook the small details, I think, but it doesn't shrink your comprehension of the books. I'm doing my first reread to get everything out of them I possibly can. 11 might be a little bit young and I don't think she will understand a good portion of it, but she will still have fun reading them and filling in the gaps with her own imagination. I'm a very good reader, so I always understood the huge books I was digging into, but a lot of people I knew looked at the stuff and read and went wha? It depends on you reading skill, really, but if she is an avid reader I'm sure she can do it. She probably won't understand the politics, but then who does? :lol:

 

WoT isn't really grapic either, except with violence, but I think a good dose of violece never hurt anyone

[Tommar]

attracting the younger fans coming off Harry Potter is why TEOTW was split into two volumes with extra prologues.

 

If you are going to start a younger reader out on WOT I would suggest starting them with the split versions. They are not so big and have better character lead ins. Unless they are exceptionally skilled or devoted to reading by the time they get done the two they will be ready to move on to TGH.

[richglennon]

Great question. I read these as they were published, but I will admit I was in my late teens at the time of Eye. You need patience and attention to read them seriously though.

 

I would get them reading Tolkien; The Hobbit first. When I was 8, I thought about those Trolls turning to stone for 3 weeks. At 11 I read the trilogy and was so transported out of myself. I didnt understand lots of words, but it helped to jump start my imagination. Too bad Elijah Woods has ruined it for me forever though. I read them again last year and they are no good past 30. I think the movies detracted from that.

 

Also, I would point them towards Ivanhoe and Anne McCaffrey. Those are the works that turned me into a Fantasy nut.

[Child of Lir]

I would say, let her try if she's interested when you tell her about it, but don't push her. There are a lot of complex issues in the book - politics, historical references to our world, re-working of myths and legends from our world etc. that can only really be appreciated by someone older, or by someone with a wider world view and knowledge base. To really get the most out of the books, you need to have an understanding / knowledge of these things. The excitement when you realise that RJ is actually aluding to something in our world is unbeatable. However, if she loves them she will read and re-read them (which we all need to do to pick up on everything) and as she gets older she'll understand more.

[fader6818]

I began reading The Great Hunt when I was 12 and am still reading it, which I think may have made a SERIOUS impact...

 

A new reader doesn't have to wait years between volumes. :) I've "grown up" reading The Wheel of Time.

[Breaker of Light]

i started at 12, read each of the books within two days, longest was a was a week. All im doing is rereading the good parts and waiting for the 12 book. i think i started around, say April 2007. :D

[Aleita]

Well I personally didn't start reading WoT until I was 19... yes shocking! But I think that people at a very young age could begin reading it. I was having a discussion with my housemates about what we read when we were back in primary school and I seem to remember us thinking that looking back we probably read things which were way beyond our level of maturity and social and emotional development.

 

But I think that you could easily start reading Wheel of Time in primary school but only in the later years.

[**min**]

I've just read them for the first time at 14 and that was fine. Not sure about 11, but if she's almost 12 when you give them to her it should be fine. I wouldn't count on her being much older by the time she reaches the later books, especially if you give them to her over the holidays (Christmas). I finished all 11 books in about 3 weeks, just over.

[Mashiara O Aan.a--ein]

I understand that every person matures at a different rate, but even taking that into consideration, I'd recommend to wait until your niece is close to 14 before giving her the book. There's a lot of violence and sex in popular culture and all over TV, but if your niece is still innocent, I say protect the innocence for another couple of years. But once again, it really depends on her own maturity level.

[Despair]

Good question.  Depends on the reader.  I started WOT at 15 and have continued on since then.  Gotta admit, I get way more out of re-reading them 10 years later.  But who am I to say? I finally started reading the Hogwarts novels and am halfway through book 4 in 2 weeks.  Wow, what a great writer.  Authors like Jordan, Rawlings, Tolkien, CS Lewis, and Asimov are good for all ages, anytime!

[Charlz Guybon]

I started in 8th grade, so lets use that arbitrary date.  ;D