should book 6 of been the end?

[Eolain]

i was reading some reviews and a lot of different sites say that it should of ended at book 6 but jordan just drags it out like he cant let go of the story. me just starting the second book has no clue what to think on this matter. im one of those ppl who HAVE to have an end so i know i will end up reading them all but am i going to get bored after book 6?

[Majsju]

The books changes character after book 6, in the sense that there is less focus on the Emonds Field gang, and instead we get to see a lot more of the rest of the world. It is almost impossible to elabore on this, without giving away information that would seriously ruin things for you when you read the books, but I can assure you the events some people consider boring are important, and in several places crucial for the greater story.

[Eolain]

ah i c. i have a feeling i will be sad to see theme go :(

[Majsju]

The main theme is still there, it just takes a bit different shape. The story grows more complex, more characters are introduced, we get more politics etc. But everything is leading towards the same endgame we could vaguely see in TEOTW - Tarmon Ghaidon.

[OptimusPrime]

The main theme is still there, it just takes a bit different shape. The story grows more complex, more characters are introduced, we get more politics etc. But everything is leading towards the same endgame we could vaguely see in TEOTW - Tarmon Ghaidon.

 

And it becomes much, much more obvious. There are so many characters beyond the Two Rivers group now that have earned time in the spotlight, its unreal. Especially when you look at the bigger picture. Imagine our world has to organize itself for a cataclysmic battle like this, and imagine how many brilliant personalities would be pulled together. Thats what happens in Wheel of Time I reckon, you see people from afar and dont take too much notice, until it is their time.

 

I dont believe for a second that RJ "dragged it out" but that the Wheel of Time grew a hell of a lot as he wrote it. He said he had all the major events in his head when he started, and I believe him.

 

I just wrote a massive paragraph telling how I see the growth of the series and then realized the OP hasnt (or seems not to have) read all the books. Im glad I remembered that because it was full to the brim of spoilers and I'd have felt bad  :)

[Hybrid]

I dont believe for a second that RJ "dragged it out" but that the Wheel of Time grew a hell of a lot as he wrote it. He said he had all the major events in his head when he started, and I believe him.

I agree.  I believe it's simply a case of the events being so complex that it took a long time to describe them.  That being said, there were some sections in the later books that could have been removed, IMO.  But overall, I think the plot seems to slow down because the focus broadens.

 

Eolain, don't give up yet.  There are plenty of great moments and scenes in the later books.  Though I do think that some of the earlier books (specifically, 3-6) were better than the later ones, the later books are worth reading.  Also, the plot picks up significantly in KOD.

[Balefire to da face!]

The series does suffer a little after book 6 from multiple problems.

 

1. Some plot points get dragged out way too long

 

2. The general "important stuff that happens" decreases while the page count stays roughly the same

 

3. There are times when Jordan goes overboard with useless detail in his writing, making #2 seem even worse

 

That said, while those are general problems seen mostly in the end of the series, it doesn't mean it's "all downhill". Even with those problems, I wouldn't say "first 6 books good, last 5 books bad". If I were to make a list of favorites, book 2 and 5 would probably be below a couple of the post-LoC books.

 

Either way, I have been through the series 4 times now, and if you make it to book 6 you will most likely find books 7-11 immensly interesting(if, sometimes, a little slow). Like, every time I hear anyone talk about how crappy the latter books are, I just think about something that happened in book 9, which may be the single greatest feat we've seen so far in the series, and I think it's definitely worth a slow chapter here or there.....

[mb]

I feel that the series should not have ended at book 6 because there are many prophecies (from the earlier books and it) left unfulfilled at its end.

I think at least the Karaethon Cycle should be fulfilled before the end of the main series; also the other prophecies about Rand.

 

If you do not mind spoilers, the current prophecies of the Karaethon Cycle can be read here:

http://encyclopaedia-wot.org/prophecies/karaethon.html

This page and the other prophecies can be accessed through the following link:

http://encyclopaedia-wot.org/prophecies/index.html

 

[Kadere]

You know I have to disagree with a couple of things that are said here. Maybe I'm in the minority, but as far as I'm concerned the series doesn't even BEGIN to get interesting UNTIL LoC.

 

Now I know that when I first read the series, I was like many of you and after about book 6 I did feel that the series dragged on. I started reading in the summer of 2000 and thought that the series was OVER with tPoD, which of course was wrong and while reading it WH came out. So I kept waiting to get to the last battle and felt like there were ALL these other side plots to get through to get to the big battle I was waiting for, and subsequently when CoT came out I put it on my shelf and didn't touch it cause I was waiting for the series to end.

 

Now that was... 6 years ago now, and when I picked the series up again at the end of 2004 cause KoD was coming out the next year, and you guys were talking about CoT and other things I didn't remember a bit, so I had to reread the series, plus I wanted to get back into Fantasy. Anyway, I found that I enjoyed the later books a lot more.

 

And since then in subsequent rereads (I'm currently rereading for the 7th time) I find myself wanting to get to the later books more and more. Now it's like I know all the straight plots of the first three novels so well, and I know how the One Power works, and how T'A'R works, and all these other world elements it's like I just want to hit the ground running instead of spending time relearning things I know.

 

So for me, by the time we get to LoC that's when things start to happen. The dial gets set to 11 and suddenly everyone is a suspected Darkfriend, the Forsaken are on the move, the Dark One's doing things we can only guess at, our heroes are becoming much more interesting and layered, almost everything RJ writes has a double meaning, and things we've been waiting AGES to have happen finally start happening.

 

So to Eolain, I say definitely keep reading, there's tons more to come. After book 5 the series becomes much more about the world and not individual characters per se, but if you know that going in you should be fine. I hope you enjoy it. And if you can finish it, I hope you'll pick it back up again in a few years because the rereads (especially your first reread) are almost more rewarding then your first read through.

[OptimusPrime]

You know I have to disagree with a couple of things that are said here. Maybe I'm in the minority, but as far as I'm concerned the series doesn't even BEGIN to get interesting UNTIL LoC.

 

I liked it pretty much all of the way. I cant think of a particular book that isnt good. Although certain books make me want to sulk because of a lack of focus on Rand (I love the way so many characters come to the fore though, but Rand should be in each book a decent ammount IMO. Issues of timing, plotlines, pagecount, I know) yet I wonder why people dislike the late-middle of the series.  Knife of Dreams was probably my least favorite overall, and even in that there are some of the best parts of the series IMO. 

 

Me and my brother talk about the series sometimes and way before there was ever mention of a split we always said that if there was only one book left, it could easily be the best WoT by a million miles. You all know what I mean when I say the classic fantasy moments where either a great battle lineup is formed (especially one on ones) and where plot twists leave you almost stunned; well, if AMoL would have ended up as one book, it could have been full to the absolute brim of those classic scenes.

 

Edit: Removed some spoilers, since Eolain has not read the later books. /Maj

[Braus]

I would say im thankful that RJ didnt end the books at 6.

Honestly when i first heard there would only be ONE book that would end everything after the Knife of Dreams, i got afraid that we would get a unsatisfied ending.

 

I personally got nothing in the books this far that has been dragging on. Everyone nags about a certain thing that stretches a few books and end in Knife of Dreams, but i honestly got no problems with it.

 

WOT isnt like a bad action movie with nothing else, its so much more, but when it is action going on it truelly is astongishing.

[torrente]

Book 10 was the only book I've ever skipped pages on. 

 

I didn't feel bad about doing it either.  There was a lot of useless information that I didn't want to sit through.  Honestly, elaborate descriptions about pouring tea?  I wouldn't mind something more relevant to the plot.

 

The rest of the series is pretty good.  I'm at Book 11 now and it's one of my favourites.

 

 

[OptimusPrime]

Sorry for the spoilers, I'll be more careful.

[Arkelias]

The division that occurs after book six is very straightfoward, and I can sum it up simply.  The series began as what writers call a character driven story.  We knew Tarmon Gaidon would happen someday, but were most interested in learning about the characters that came from Edmond's field.

 

We wanted to see them develop and grow, and for a while we did.  By book seven many of our favorite characters are left out of entire books in favor of secondary characters no one cares about. 

 

The story transforms into an event driven story, the preparation for Tarmon Gaidon.  We hear from everyone who is even peripherally involved, and many of these plot threads are boring.  I'm not a fan of the Morgase or Faile plot threads for example.

 

But regardless of the slow spots or the eventual problems many have with the later books the series is worth reading all the way through.  Nearly all of us, even those who complain, have read the books many times and will read them again.