synopsis of WoT

[kilika]

ive tried to find and fail to find a decent synopsis for the wheel of time as a whole

i have a couple of friends that might wanna start reading WoT but whenever i try to explain it all i come up with is: good vs evil fantasy sort of lord of ringsy but totaly different and i cant seem to explain the complexities and positive points without major spoilers

 

any1 help me out with a good synopsis?

 

ty

[Roxinos]

"The Wheel of Time is about a young man named Rand who is destined to save and destroy the world while battling the ultimate evil, known as the Dark One."

 

That's about as simple as you can get it.

 

If you want to use more terms relevant to the series.

 

"A young farmer named Rand al'Thor is the Dragon Reborn. A man with the reborn soul of the Kinslayer, Lews Therin Telamon. As the Dragon Reborn, Rand is destined to battle the evil of the world saving and destroying it in the process."

 

If you want to make it longer, you can fit something like this in:

 

"Rand is aided by his friends Mat and Perrin who soon discover their own place in this epic tale."

 

However, in order to get someone into the series, you may want to start with the first book. But in order to do that, you must give away a bit of what happens.

 

"Rand al'Thor and his friends Matrim Cauthon and Perrin Aybara are mere farm boys in a remote town called the Two Rivers sitting at the base of the Mountains of Mist. They lead simple lives until a strange woman and her dangerous looking companion wander into the town on the eve of the Bel Tine festival. Shortly after their arrival, the town is attacked by monsters known as trollocs. The strange woman convinces the three young men that the trollocs are after them and spirits them away to safety and towards their destiny."

 

A bit longer, but that's because you have just the very beginning to work with.

 

Also, you should keep in mind that if you're trying to get friends to join you in reading the Wheel of Time you shouldn't press how awesome the series is. You shouldn't bother them about reading it too much, you should just mention it a couple of times whenever books are brought up or offer to lend the first book to them saying it's a good read.

 

If you're honest, you may want to let them in that there are 12 books in the series and a prequel. If you want them to read it, you might want to skip that part. Usually people are put off by the sheer size of the series. Needless to say, the more you lift something up in their minds, the higher the chances are that they won't read it and the higher the chances are that their expectations will be so high as to make them hate the series when it fails to meet those inflated expectations.

 

If you haven't noticed, I've done a lot of thinking about this.

[dmanmiller34]

Wikipedia does a fiar job of it.

[Gentled Ben]

I like the Wiki's synopsis of it, but I assume the OP has read it and formed a different opinion.

[Cillian]

Just give them book 1 and say "hey! you might like this!"

 

Don't try to build it up.

That's how I started, my cousin threw the book at me from across the room and said "Read that!"

[mb]

I guess your two friends have seen you read the series.

Giving them a synopsis of the series I think would not be necessary if they want to read the series.

 

Though this might be a good summary::

"Main character is a former farmer that leaves his home town with friends and visitors after an attack on the town.  He is later told about something special about him and even later he is told that he shall be the savior of the world.  Long after he and his friends become rulers of various countries & groups."

 

[Roxinos]

I think mb basically just said my post was tl;dr.

[Gentled Ben]

Yeah, he isn't real good at acknowledging things. Read his "Various Issues" thread, and you'll see what I mean; he asks a ton of questions, people answer them, then he asks a ton more, people answer those questions too, then he asks...

 

Never once does he acknowledge that he has been answered, except in a few instances where he indicates that the answer is inadequate for his needs. *Shrugs* I wouldn't take it personally.

[Charlz Fel]

I think that the plot may be the wrong thing to try to summarize, because in synopsis it inevitably ends up sounding shallow and uninteresting to anyone except an avid fantasy fan.  I would concentrate more on deeper issues--for instance, What is it like to live with the sure knowledge that you are destined to go mad and die, unless you can abstain from something as hard to give up as water?  or, What is it like to be tapped on the shoulder as the savior of the world?

 

Another strategy would be to talk about aspects of Jordan's writing--for instance, the realism of the battle scenes.  Or, perhaps you could describe some interesting scenes (see the "goosebumps" thread for ideas).  Just find whatever aspect of the series you love most, and show your friends your enthusiasm about that.  It will be much more interesting than a synopsis.

 

I also would agree with previous posters that it would be easy to overdo it.  And, do keep in mind that the series is not for everyone.

[Roxinos]

Yeah, he isn't real good at acknowledging things. Read his "Various Issues" thread, and you'll see what I mean; he asks a ton of questions, people answer them, then he asks a ton more, people answer those questions too, then he asks...

 

Who's the bigger fool: the fool, or the fool who follows the fool?

 

Never once does he acknowledge that he has been answered, except in a few instances where he indicates that the answer is inadequate for his needs. *Shrugs* I wouldn't take it personally.

 

I don't. If this thread had been made by mb, I would not have even responded to it.

 

I think that the plot may be the wrong thing to try to summarize, because in synopsis it inevitably ends up sounding shallow and uninteresting to anyone except an avid fantasy fan.  I would concentrate more on deeper issues--for instance, What is it like to live with the sure knowledge that you are destined to go mad and die, unless you can abstain from something as hard to give up as water?  or, What is it like to be tapped on the shoulder as the savior of the world?

 

Another strategy would be to talk about aspects of Jordan's writing--for instance, the realism of the battle scenes.  Or, perhaps you could describe some interesting scenes (see the "goosebumps" thread for ideas).  Just find whatever aspect of the series you love most, and show your friends your enthusiasm about that.  It will be much more interesting than a synopsis.

 

This is an interesting take on a tired subject.

 

I think the most important factor is to know your audience.

[motblades]

I have to agree with the others based on personal experience.  It took me forever to get my wife to start reading the series exactly because I had extoled the praises of RJ and WoT. 

 

Let's just say, she stopped reading the series after the 3rd book but that's mainly due to the fact that she's a writer herself and can't help but dissect ANY book when she reads it. 

 

And I do mean dissect a book.  Poor books, what a horrible way to go. . . T_T