Robert Jordan planned it all wrong

[Elan Tedronai]

If you look at the series as a whole i think it's safe to say RJ has missed it a trick of making the wheel of time surpass almost every single fantasy series out there. Where he went wrong was not the books but the chronology itself.

 

The first books should have been the age of legends trilogy. The rise and fall of the tamyrlin. I would give my left nut for it. How he became an Aes sedai. His relationship with merin. His interaction with barid bel maidar and tel janin as his former buddies. The events that surrounded the drilling of the bore. The declaring of ishy for the DO in the hall of servants itself in front of the aes sedai. How semi escaped her captors. The war of power itself. The construction of the CK. The back and forth bickering between LTT and Latra posae. The POV of the forsaken, beidomon as well. The history of daishan aiel, the technological wonders and the scenery in AOL and how everything changed as the world geared up for war.

 

Just imagine as a reader when we reach the end and we finally heave a sigh of relief as LTT and his troops seal the bore with the rest of the forsaken only to find out it has come at a terrible price.

 

 

The next set of books would have been about the breaking, arthur hawking and the formation of the seanchan. And from their the current series would have continued.

 

I just think it would have been a more epic series with a tighter storyline. what do you think?

[Feral]

Couldn't agree more about having books concerning the Age of Legends and the troubles that came after, but personally I'm not sure I'd have wanted them released before the current books. I don't know I just think it would have dimmed the impact of some of the stuff in the existing books. Not sure though to be honest.

[Sleeper]

You know what?

 

I kind of agree with you. I don't think a series is necessary about the Breaking, Hawkwing, or the Seanchan, but a book or two set in the AoL, to educate us about LTT and the Forsaken might have been very good.

[Beidomon]

So, um, how many books total would the series have been? Robert Jordan's mistake (and the reason WoT will never be a movie series) is the series went on way too long. It lost its bearing at about book 5, got a lot worse from 7-10, and BS is fianlly putting a bow on it as well as can be expected.

 

One of the reasons the AoL is so cool and mystical is we hardly know anything about it. That's why the brief glimpses we got throughout the series were so fun!

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

One of the reasons the AoL is so cool and mystical is we hardly know anything about it. That's why the brief glimpses we got throughout the series were so fun!

 

That's a good point, and it makes me think that a series set partly in the Age of Legends may have detracted from our current appreciation of that era. I also think that WoT as RJ did conceive of it could have been supremely awesome...he just didn't pull it off that well.

 

Having said all that, I think a series along the lines Elan Tedronai suggested could also have been quite awesome.

[Elan Tedronai]

So, um, how many books total would the series have been? Robert Jordan's mistake (and the reason WoT will never be a movie series) is the series went on way too long. It lost its bearing at about book 5, got a lot worse from 7-10, and BS is fianlly putting a bow on it as well as can be expected.

 

One of the reasons the AoL is so cool and mystical is we hardly know anything about it. That's why the brief glimpses we got throughout the series were so fun!

 

so far there has been 13 books plus one more to go not including NS

 

I would have had 1-3 AOL books. 2 books on the breaking and the aftermath and the rest would be the current WOT series. That would be eight books left. Plenty in my opinion if you cut all the filler our from books 7,8,9,10 and 13.

[Lord D]

So, um, how many books total would the series have been? Robert Jordan's mistake (and the reason WoT will never be a movie series) is the series went on way too long. It lost its bearing at about book 5, got a lot worse from 7-10, and BS is fianlly putting a bow on it as well as can be expected.

 

One of the reasons the AoL is so cool and mystical is we hardly know anything about it. That's why the brief glimpses we got throughout the series were so fun!

 

so far there has been 13 books plus one more to go not including NS

 

I would have had 1-3 AOL books. 2 books on the breaking and the aftermath and the rest would be the current WOT series. That would be eight books left. Plenty in my opinion if you cut all the filler our from books 7,8,9,10 and 13.

I detest series that are like this, because, other than some immortals, everyone you know has died by the time you return to the world. That means there's no character continuity; this is why I've never read Terry Brooks very much.

 

I do agree that the books between Lord of Chaos and Winter's Heart could have been truncated.

[papelr]

the mystery keeps it good..if he was still alive i would say go for it, but now, i say nah, let us wonder

[Ashandarei]

As people have mentioned, we wouldn't have been very much in awe of them if we knew too much. So here's my solution. After WoT is completed(assuming RJ hadn't passed away) he could have written a collection of short stories from the last decade of the AoL and published it as a book. (including characters like the Forsaken before/after they turned to the Dark and LT/Ilyena etc and other people like Latra Posae)

[sfgiantsfanmike]

So, in essence, Jordan should have started with LTT? I liken that to George Lucas starting with Anakin instead of Luke... totally changes the series. You would see the awesomeness of those Jedi and then, midway through the series, get stuck with a bunch of scrubs...

 

In WoT terms, the transition from AoL awesomeness to the bumbling civilization (by contrast) would be to jarring. This way left the nostalgia/awe of the previous age in a general sense and allowed the current characters/civilization grow without the full shadow of the AoL cast over it.

[Beidomon]

So, in essence, Jordan should have started with LTT? I liken that to George Lucas starting with Anakin instead of Luke... totally changes the series. You would see the awesomeness of those Jedi and then, midway through the series, get stuck with a bunch of scrubs...

 

In WoT terms, the transition from AoL awesomeness to the bumbling civilization (by contrast) would be to jarring. This way left the nostalgia/awe of the previous age in a general sense and allowed the current characters/civilization grow without the full shadow of the AoL cast over it.

 

That's a perfect analogy. I agree that it would have been fun to have a few AoL books after the series ended, but definitely don't start that way.

[Dakota]

In a perfect world? Yeah, the series could have easily been cut down to about 9 books, maybe 10, if enough fat had been trimmed from books 7 onward. Would have made it easy enough to get a good solid book or two of backstory, Age of Legends 'what happened before' kind of stuff.

 

Now? There's so much bloat and glut in the series, that even if RJ was still around to write more, I personally would probably just call it quits as soon as the series proper is done.

[UncleButcher1980]

This series is perfect the way it is. Though I would never complain about more books I do like the mystery surrounding the Age of Legends and it wouldn't have been, well, so legendary if we knew too much about that time.

[Annia]

There were many more prequels planned originally, so I wouldn't be surprised if we would have actually gotten our wish if Jordan hadn't died. Bradon has said that he doesn't know if any of them are going to be made now, but he thinks that the publishers would want to continue with the outtrigger novels if any are going to be made, even though he would be more interested in writing the prequels. We'll just have to waiit and see.

[nolirion]

It would have made no sense at all .

As much Pre-industrial fantasy story Wot follow a few rules , witch I won't state here , but one of them is that in the beginning almost nobody know the full extent of their place in the plot or the world , and those who know are half wrong . The point of that is to catch the attention of the reader to let him see the story build , to let us experience the struggle between right and wrong .Well simply said it is .

Frankly Wot is not about the AoL but about Rand and the other champion of the light (Matt , Perrin , Egwene , Nynaeve ,Moraine , Lan etcetera) if some PoV of the Aol are enlightening they are just that .

I find little sense in your post but well there are not much in mine so.

[jemron]

I completely disagree. What makes this ENTIRE SERIES interesting is the fact that the current characters and people are making crazy assumptions based on legend that has faded to myth. One of the major points of RJ's is to portray just how much time skews history. The AoL is interesting to us because it is an unknown time of legends that has soo many mysteries.

 

Star Wars, you could argue, was ruined after the prequels were made, because there was TOO MUCH insight given into things that were better left unexplained. Many would also argue that LOST was ruined for the same reasons. It is the mystery and lack of complete understanding that makes the AoL cool and fun. RJ never intended to write that story, he intended to write the story of the Third Age and The Dragon Reborn. Not of the 2nd Age and the Dragon.

 

The best stories don't start in the beginning, they start in the middle, IMO. That is to say, if there's no history to make the story interesting, it comes across as stale; without a solid foundation. With that said, my favorite part of the series are the scenes where Rand gets a very small glimpse of the AoL through Rhuidean. It was just enough to wet my appetite and leave me wanting more, without ruining it all for me. I say it should be left at that.

 

RJ knew what he was doing. It shouldn't bug me, but it does when people say he did it wrong. It's his story, not ours. Let him tell it the way he intended.

[Sid]

Well said, jemron.

[Vermillion]

I'd rather have an outline of events with short stories about some of the things that happen in the wheel loop.

[Cutlass]

I personally would love to have a book based around the relations of the primary characters (lews therrin, the forsaken lattra possae) just to get an idea how the War of Power began, how/why the bore was opened - why Ishmeal went over - and how it relates with his hatered of Lews Therrin - and the possible confused love triangle that was Lews, Elan and Merin??? I think a book about the war of power, and the breaking as we know it would be fairly stright forward with the informaiton that we have already (just a matter of filling in the details). It would be nice to see the forsaken do soemthing other then be picked off one at a time. They got the name for more then being cruel I'm sure.

 

Alternativly a book based around Hawkwings rise & fall woudl be a good read - the realities are based on a world that we are familliar with and very little of the individual actions will affect any characters that we have a history with in the current series. The only Character that would make an apperance that would be familliar would be Ishmeal (and maybe Brigitte) Might be nice to see some of the hero's of the horn in action.

 

It does make sense that any books would eb prequels ( I was kinda hoping for something re. the AoL after TSR anyway) if they were done with regards to the current series - it would be 50 friggin years before we had any kind of ending... its hard enough waiting now!

[Elan Tedronai]

i can imagine Elan standing on the pedestal saying ' My dear brothers and sisters, i follow a new path now. One unhindered by rules. Join me and the rest of our brethren in declaring our true allegience to the one who would set us free. Our lord Shaitan!

 

I could just imagine the faces of the Aes sedai sitting there going what!

[Dagon Thyne]

Having the series start out with books that take place in the AOL would ruin the series......there were many things that took place in the AOL that the reader is not supposed to know about when starting to read the core series......It would ruin alot of the storytelling....

 

 

Kinda like in Star Wars if you watch the prequels first it kinda ruins the supprise when you you hear "I am your father".....You already knew it...

[MauricXe]

I agree with Jemron.

 

I found the Guide, and the snippets we get in the text, to be sufficient.

[haloun]

i disagree with just about everything about this thread... robert jordan pklanned it perfect, or you still wouldnt be reading after so long. you muddled through 7,8,9, and 10 but if you actually go back and re read them... there is more in there than most people think. you see more taveren effects, and more of the wheel taking a personal hand in peoples lives than you ever would have otherwise. to go back to the star wars analogy, you dont see han solos strugle when going back to yavin 4 to help with the death star battle, and it ended up being a bit surreal, this guy just left, he is going to pay back a guy who can have him killed anywhere in the galaxy, and he ends up leaving it all behind, almost deux ex machina. but here you see han solo, (perrin) and his struggle throughout the trilogy (series) before he finally volunteers to go down to the moon of endor and actually be a part of the rebel alliance (perrin finally accepting his role as leader, and joining up with rand after telling elayne to screw herself because she is a dope). all of mats struggle, rands struggles, and perrins struggles, are necessary to give you a proper set up for the spike that is the LB. a word of advice, if you daont like the "fluff" dont read shakespeare, cause you'll HATE him.

[Vambram]

I agree with Jemron.

 

I found the Guide, and the snippets we get in the text, to be sufficient.

 

 

+1 QFT

 

I agree.

[Mats Spare Hat]

Now now fellas, his opinions have merit. I think he should call up TOR and let them know how it should have been done. They've clearly missed the boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Deadpan. Tongue firmly in cheek. In good fun