Thinking about the end of WOT

[SaintEven]

The other day, I finally concluded watching Battlestar Galatica, which is a series I enjoyed a great deal.  When the end came, I found myself with a feeling of loss.  The ending itself is not what caused this feeling.  It was the end of a series I had grown to cherish.  I was emotionally invested in the characters, the ship, and the story.  When it ended, there was a void.

 

I was not expecting to feel like this.  I really felt like I had lost a friend in my life.  I guess you could say I went through a bit of grieving.

 

I then began to think about other parts of my life and naturally gravitated to WOT.  I have been reading WOT for almost 25 years.  That is more than half my life.  I am soundly invested in the series, the characters, and the world.  I spend a bit of my time reading boards (like Dragonmount), I talk to my wife about the books on occasion when something in my life reminds me of something from WOT, and I daydream and speculate about the future of the series.  WOT is a real and tangible part of my life.

 

Well that part of my life is about to end in the next couple of years.  I have been mulling over how this is going to impact me.  I really think the conclusion of the series (regardless of events) is going to leave me in a real funk.  Has anyone else thought about how the end of the ride is going to sit with them?  Am I the only crazy one?

[Mercer]

Sure, this happens with anyone who gets invested in their interests, especially novels. When you like something enough that after you're done watching/reading/doing that thing you are still thinking about it and gleefully looking forward to watching/reading/doing that thing again...the nostalgia afterwards is always the best and the worst, for me.

 

I'm always baffled by the people (and I've many friends who are this way) who don't have any interests/hobbies in life that they invest themselves into. To me, thinking back to how I was when I last read did a series re-read, or what I was doing at the time, is great fun, and the end of a series is always a bit depressing. I actually did think about this when Gathering Storm came out, and I have no idea how I will feel. I only started reading the series around 2002, so it's a bit different...but I get what you're driving at. WoT is by far my most obsessed over piece of literature, and quite easily the most influential on me...as far as novels go. That might sound foolish given that it's just fantasy/fiction, but I can't think of a single other thing I've read that can alter my mood like WoT can and has for years.

[Malruhn]

No - you aren't the only one... BUT, it depends entirely upon how BS ends the series.  I've seen some series end with a lip-smacking, "And they continued on..." and felt totally satisfied.  I've also seen some series end with a, "And then th..." which left me nothing but frustrated.

 

I am both waiting with baited breath and dreading the last sentence of the last book.  I am praying for a satisfying ending... and I will hunt BS down and give him paper-cuts on his eyeballs if it is the other.

 

No, you aren't the only one.  I just hope I'm not so disappointed that I end up living in a van down by the river...

[Mercer]

I am both waiting with baited breath and dreading the last sentence of the last book.  I am praying for a satisfying ending... and I will hunt BS down and give him paper-cuts on his eyeballs if it is the other.

 

No, you aren't the only one.  I just hope I'm not so disappointed that I end up living in a van down by the river...

For some reason this part of the series coming to a close doesn't bother me in the slightest. I want to enjoy the ending, obviously, but I don't think my satisfaction really rides on it anymore...I feel like I'm demeaning Sanderson's dedication when I say this, but when I found out Jordan died it was kind of like my expectations ended. I don't mean that Sanderson won't deliver a fantastic read or that I'll be let down automatically...I simply don't view post-Knife of Dreams WoT as the same series. A little weird, but in my mind I don't put any pressure on Sanderson's ending. The Wheel of Time I read growing up is not the same as what I will read at the end, I guess is what I'm saying. 

[Cillian]

I have been reading WOT for almost 25 years.  

 

:o How'd you get it before it came out... in 1990...       :P ;)

 

 

But yeah, I was pretty bummed when Harry Potter finished. I first started reading it back in '98/'99 when I was eleven and pretty much grew up alongside the characters, so I became very attached to them.

 

I also become very attached to WOT thiese past 8 years or so that I've been reading, it'll be wierd when it's done and dusted.

 

No - you aren't the only one... BUT, it depends entirely upon how BS ends the series.

 

Didn't RJ finish the ending...... ?

[Kadere]

No - you aren't the only one... BUT, it depends entirely upon how BS ends the series.

 

Didn't RJ finish the ending...... ?

 

He did. Brandon's stated that the ending was the most finished section of RJ's manuscript and that he'd do as little editing to it as possible. The ending will be entirely RJ.

[Cillian]

Thanks, I thought so.

[PCL]

Let's all pray to the Creator that it doesn't end up like "The Guardians of The Flame".  >:( That was a great series that, like WOT, I invested a lot of myself in and to have no closure at all with it is very disturbing. :(

 

Another great series is the Companions of The Hall (Drizzt for you not-ers). I thought for a while that the Transitions Trilogy was to be the last of the series. ??? I was soooo thankful when RAS announced that there will be several more books in this series. Albeit, some of the characters are done. :'(

[SaintEven]

I have been reading WOT for almost 25 years.  

 

:o How'd you get it before it came out... in 1990...       :P ;)

 

 

I always round up to numbers divisible by five.  :P  You know, I originally had 20 years written down.  Then I went back and changed it to 25 because I thought that sounded more right.  ;-)  I guess I am getting old.

 

I began reading the series when I was in junior high.  At that point in my life, I was reading Terry Brooks.  I had a long plane ride in front of me and no new Terry Brooks books to read.  I went to the book store and saw the paperback of tEow on the new release section.  The cover looked cool (NOTE--one of two covers I actually like) so I bought it.  The rest is history.

 

Thanks for keeping me in check.  My wife tells me I sometimes embellish the past.  Just another example of her being right.  :-)

[Elgee]

SaintEven, I feel exactly like you do. I've been reading this series since somewhere in the '90's. It doesn't matter what the ending is going to be like - what matters is that it will end! No more speculating about what's going to happen next. No looking forward to the next one. *Shudders*

[Owayn The Traveller]

Its a horrifying thought that the end is near. Will we have the last book in 2012 though? If we do it might not matter.

I agree no matter how its ends, good bad or indifferent, it doesn't matter as it will be the last one in the series.

 

I know we might see prequels but I don't fancy them so much as we know whats really going to happen. Also the possibility of the outrigger novels doesn't allievate the sense of loss either, as them books will be really about Mat. Say what you like about other characters in the books , Rand is the most interesting character everything revolves around him and not to have him in the outriggers is a loss. Also no choo :-[sen, dark one and all them guys.

[Stanley the Bugman]

I will probably be kinda sad when I finish the series, as it's taken me aback more than any other book or series I've read. On the same note however, I'm very glad Harriet found a competent writer who will finish the series properly and that the series will actually GET an ending. (Well, obviously Jordan had the ending written, but BS is the one who has to put all the pieces together and make it work.)

 

So yeah, I'm hoping when I finish that last chapter, I will come away both kinda sad, but at the same time very satisfied.

[Senexx]

The Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legends fade to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the third age by some, an Age yet to come, an age long pass, a wind rose in [some place]. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

 

There you go, the final words of the Wheel of Time series.  Do not be concerned by the final sentence, be concerned about what happens before that.

 

I'm fairly confident the passage I've quoted above or a variations thereof will be the final words in the final book.

[Faolin]

I've thought about it to, Rand and co have become like friends that I can visit whenever I want and up til now their lives have been moving ever forward and when this ends it will be like there is no more growth to them as people coz their story has been told and I will know whats gonna happen. Makes me a little sad but I am also super excited to see what happens in the end and I wont stop reading the series over and over again.

[Cirin]

The Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legends fade to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the third age by some, an Age yet to come, an age long pass, a wind rose in [some place]. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

 

There you go, the final words of the Wheel of Time series.  Do not be concerned by the final sentence, be concerned about what happens before that.

 

I'm fairly confident the passage I've quoted above or a variations thereof will be the final words in the final book.

 

I actually wouldn't be surprised if the last words where a play off that, but instead of talking about a beginning, it talked about an ending.  Like maybe the wind will stop blowing somewhere, and it will not be the ending.  There are neither beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time.  But it was an ending.

 

That would be a fitting close, I think.  The storyteller, Robert Jordan, telling you that at long last, his story is done.  It gives it more the feel of an oral history, a bardic tale, etc.  Although I do agree, what comes before the last sentence will ultimately be more important.

[Kaman]

Hey SaintEvan we must be about the same age. I started reading WoT in '93 when I was in high school. Before that it was all Terry Brooks and Piers Anthony. I agree with you totally. When this series is done it will feel like losing a long time friend. I would like to see Harriet throw it wide open and let several different authors write novels about the WoT world much like George Lucas did with Star Wars. Also I would like to see some officially sanctioned fan fiction with the best of it being posted directly on the WoT website. Many of us fans have powerful imaginations I am sure.