'The Path of Daggers' under siege

[RAND AL THOR]

I just typed it up on Amazon to see the cover and guess what I found? Read the first two reviews on this page, (and possibly the others):

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Path-Daggers-Wheel-Time-Book/dp/B000BZEP8W/ref=pd_sim_b_5

 

I am no longer surprised why the WoT isn't any more popular.

 

[trakand_01]

Yes, it would kind of put you off if you were completely new to the series wouldnt it? However, if you've managed to get to book 8, it's likely you're going to read it anyway.

 

Personally, I didnt struggle until book 9, and book 10 well, that's a touchy subject.

 

We're not talking at present.

[Ireond]

The thing is, I'm curious why the first one is complaining about all the 'A' names.. my family was Alma, Angie, Amy, Anne, then me.. and that's just the immediate family, so I suppose he'd complain about that too. 

 

Second thing is.. Each of the books (all books?) has at least one detractor, someone who wanted to read something specific, and when the things they wanted to happen didn't happen, rather than accept the fact that they didn't right the book and the author gets to choose what happens (Except in choose your own adventures.. any WoT choose your own adventures out there?) there are some that accept what happens and just don't read it again, but there are some who are, how you say, vehemently mental, and just must convince everyone to see things the way they want them to be seen. 

 

  The people who wrote the first two reviews I read mentioned how long and slow the books were for them, but at the end they did actually suggest the books for people who don't mind longer reads.  I've run through some other reviews and you seem to get the standard mix of I hate it, I love it, it's okay, and don't even touch the book.  *shrug*

 

  Don't believe me? Read the reviews for the bible

  http://www.amazon.com/Boldtext-Pew-Bible-James-Version/dp/0834003473/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221824260&sr=1-1

  Or even the hobbit..

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0618260307/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?_encoding=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar

sure, there's over a thousand five star reviews, but there's fifty-four that gave it one star review (5%)

 

  Heck, there's people out there that burn the books.  That's about the only criticism I don't like...

[RAND AL THOR]

Some of those reviews for the Hobbit are quite surprising. I found it to be much less detailed than LOTR of course, but it was meant to be that way!

 

I lost a few character names in the WoT too, but you can't blame the author for that because there are SO many characters, and each one needs a name(*nodnod*)

 

It's very very hard to come up with nice names. I spend ages and ages, and then I was told of this very nice site which lists over 20 000 names, and I pick onces I like and modify them.

 

http://www.20000-names.com/

 

[Ireond]

It's definitely an interesting way to get into how people think.  Giving Tree, Harry Potter, all sorts of books have low reviews. Winnie the Pooh has a three star review, Alive in Wonderland has a one star review, etc, etc, etc. The more passionate people care about something, the more energy they put forth to state their views.

 

[trakand_01]

I also find in my own experience that you get certain people who have their ear bended by a friend or critics or experts to read a particular book and when they do so, they read it kind of with a 'OK fine! I'll read it - happy now!?' mentality. They're not reading it because they want to, they're reading it because they're trying to prove they can read it. So tehy read it, think 'what's all the fuss about' and yet because of the way they were hounded into reading it, they feel it necessary to leave a review.

 

If they'd chosen to read it themselves, they'd likely have been unaffected, and certainly wouldnt have felt the need to rant about name choices.

 

You also get people who read something becuase its 'a really good book' but feel the need to be non-conformist, and will give a negative review to anything which gains a massive fan base. LotR, Harry Potter are perfect examples.

[Hybrid]

In the same way, if someone is told it's a boring or slow-paced book, they will go in expecting it to be boring and slow-paced and will be too busy attempting to reinforce their feelings that they don't look for the good parts. 

 

The names argument seems silly to me, but I do have a really good memory.  I never had any trouble keeping track of who was who, except for a few mistakes such as Karede/Kadere, for example.  The problem is probably that the reader didn't read the book seriously, but tried to whip through it quickly, only to find himself lost in the mire of detail.  I, for one, do not think detail is a bad thing, and in WOT it is nowhere near as extensive as some of the classics I have tried to read.

[Ireond]

Well, I can honestly understand the name thing, it's just you have to realize it's something you have a trouble with.  Personally, I'd forgotten Dwynwen's name after talking to her for what, an hour, maybe? Only to remember it again once someone else had said it. *embarassed grin*  Just to use that as an argument as to why a book isn't good is to use being able to slamdunk as reason not to play basketball

[Mr Ares]

I am no longer surprised why the WoT isn't any more popular.

How much more popular would you like it to be? To quote the Amazon review from that page, "Robert Jordan's bestselling Wheel of Time epic is one of the most popular fantasy series of all time for a reason." There's not many fantasy series/books out there that are bigger. One might easily wonder why it isn't less popular.