Most over-rated book in the series

[sandoz12]

Now that I have seen which book most people think is under-rated (Winter's Heart followed by The Path of Daggers), I would like to know which book people think is the most over-rated.

 

I am going to go for Lord of Chaos (I don't expect many others too), I think it's a great book just not quite as good as most people rate it. I generally see it come in around second to The Shadow Rising. I think people rate it a little higher than it deserves because it had such an epic ending. The ending sticks in your head when you finish the book so can unduly influence your perception of a book. On my first read through I thought LoC was one of the best books but on re-reads I realised that I prefer other books and LoC just has the best ending.

 

Anyway, I will be interested to see what you choose

[True Source Creator]

I loved Lord of Chaos not just because of its ending (which was, of course, brilliant) but because of other things that happened in it. It had two of the most shocking moments in the franchise:

 

Nynaeve healing Logain. She actually Healed gentling/stilling. I was so shocked when it happened that I closed the book and had to absord it all in for a few minutes before reading some more.

 

AND

 

The Salidar Aes Sedai choosing Egwene for Amyrlin. I was almost as startled here as I was when Nynaeve Healed gentling/stilling.

 

Those two shockers impressed me so much, because I love when the books do something I don't expect of them. On top of that, lots of good character moments. It's the first time Mazrim Taim comes to Rand; we can sense the hostility early on. Rand's beginning his journey on his own, more or less, without the guidance of Moiraine after the incidents in "The Fires of Heaven." So, all in all, it's certainly my second favorite book (I actually liked "Fires of Heaven" most, and a lot of that did have to do with the Lanfear/Moiraine and Rahvin/Rand thing, though).

 

I also adored the crap out of "The Shadow Rising" and "The Dragon Reborn," and once they hit Shadar Logoth in "The Eye of the World," that book became hard to set down. Those three, plus "The Fires of Heaven" and "Lord of Chaos," make up my five favorites so far. After that they went downhill, which is not to say they weren't still great, but they've never lived up to the first books. (Oh, I forgot "The Great Hunt"...that would be my 6th favorite.)

 

But most overrated. Hmm, I can't think of any that I'd call overrated.

[Demon_AS]

I chose The Dragon Reborn, simply because it was a long book for not a great deal :).

 

I know, I know, loads of people will disagree - but if I *had* to choose one, it would be that one.

 

Best scene in it, from me, was the moment that Mat became awesome: taking on Galad and Gawyn and caning their asses despite being weak from Healing. What a legend!

[sandoz12]

I loved Lord of Chaos not just because of its ending (which was, of course, brilliant) but because of other things that happened in it. It had two of the most shocking moments in the franchise:

 

Nynaeve healing Logain. She actually Healed gentling/stilling. I was so shocked when it happened that I closed the book and had to absord it all in for a few minutes before reading some more.

 

AND

 

The Salidar Aes Sedai choosing Egwene for Amyrlin. I was almost as startled here as I was when Nynaeve Healed gentling/stilling.

 

Those two shockers impressed me so much, because I love when the books do something I don't expect of them. On top of that, lots of good character moments. It's the first time Mazrim Taim comes to Rand; we can sense the hostility early on. Rand's beginning his journey on his own, more or less, without the guidance of Moiraine after the incidents in "The Fires of Heaven." So, all in all, it's certainly my second favorite book (I actually liked "Fires of Heaven" most, and a lot of that did have to do with the Lanfear/Moiraine and Rahvin/Rand thing, though).

 

I also adored the crap out of "The Shadow Rising" and "The Dragon Reborn," and once they hit Shadar Logoth in "The Eye of the World," that book became hard to set down. Those three, plus "The Fires of Heaven" and "Lord of Chaos," make up my five favorites so far. After that they went downhill, which is not to say they weren't still great, but they've never lived up to the first books. (Oh, I forgot "The Great Hunt"...that would be my 6th favorite.)

 

But most overrated. Hmm, I can't think of any that I'd call overrated.

Yeah a lot definitely happened in LoC and I would still rate it in the top 5 or 6 books just don't think it's the second best or best which is where a lot of people put it. But of course this is all purely subjective with no right or wrong answers.

 

Perhaps I should have worded it differently. What I am after really is the book which other people rate higher than you would - if there is one.

[sandoz12]

I chose The Dragon Reborn, simply because it was a long book for not a great deal :).

 

I know, I know, loads of people will disagree - but if I *had* to choose one, it would be that one.

 

Best scene in it, from me, was the moment that Mat became awesome: taking on Galad and Gawyn and caning their asses despite being weak from Healing. What a legend!

Yeah I loved Mat's storyline in TDR. What I didn't like so much was how little we saw Rand. The first time reading it I was a little shocked thinking "Isn't he the main character? Yet we barely see him at all."

[UGAShadow]

I voted Shadow Rising.

 

 

 

I love it and its a top 2 book in my opinion but it gets TOO much love. People act like its head and shoulders above the others but I think Fires of Heaven is just as good and sometimes I feel its better (I go back and forth). Lord of Chaos is also just about as good.

 

 

Its a really good book, but its not THAT good.

 

 

 

I chose The Dragon Reborn, simply because it was a long book for not a great deal :).

 

I know, I know, loads of people will disagree - but if I *had* to choose one, it would be that one.

 

Best scene in it, from me, was the moment that Mat became awesome: taking on Galad and Gawyn and caning their asses despite being weak from Healing. What a legend!

Yeah I loved Mat's storyline in TDR. What I didn't like so much was how little we saw Rand. The first time reading it I was a little shocked thinking "Isn't he the main character? Yet we barely see him at all."

 

 

 

I can see that. I actually started with that book. I was confused as heck at first.

[sandoz12]

I voted Shadow Rising.

 

 

 

I love it and its a top 2 book in my opinion but it gets TOO much love. People act like its head and shoulders above the others but I think Fires of Heaven is just as good and sometimes I feel its better (I go back and forth). Lord of Chaos is also just about as good.

 

 

Its a really good book, but its not THAT good.

 

I could agree with this. I would probably rate TSR and TFoH about equal but for the stupid circus storyline - if it weren't for that I think TFoH would be the top book for me; battle of Cairhien, Rand's leadership of the Aiel, Asmodean, Moiraine at the docks, battle with Rahvin. So much good stuff happened in it. Just wish that Nynaeve and Elayne's trip to Salidar were greatly abridged.

[yoniy0]

LoC has a lot going for it, but it lost that simplicity that was still there for TSR. I'm not saying it's more intricate; I actually think TSR wins there as well, if that makes sense. If not, perhaps 'naivete' is more accurate than 'simplicity'.

[David Selig]

Definitely KoD. My theory is that most readers were so relieved that it was better than CoT and some plotlines were finally resolved after we've waited ages, that they ignore or underestimate KoD's flaws. IMO about 2/3 of it as bad in terms of nothing happening and mundane stuff described in extreme detail than CoT, and the resolutions of most plotlines were disappointing.

 

BTW, Egwene becoming Amyrlin at some point was heavily foreshadowed in the first five books. Sure, I didn't expect it to happen so early either, and still think the way it happened was contrived and forced to a degree, but after all the "You will be Amyrlin one day" statements from Moiraine, Elayne, etc, it certainly wasn't a shock.

[True Source Creator]

I thought Egwene would become Amyrlin...in like the last or almost last book. Not then.

 

By the way, I'd go with "Shadow Rising." It's a great book, number 3 or 4 on my list (probably 3), but a lot of people place it as the best in the series. Fires of Heaven and Lord of Chaos top it quite handily. But I do still love it immensely.

[mrexperience]

I voted CoT.A lot of people found it disappointing but still more tried to defend it. We badly wanted to see everybody's reaction to the cleansing of Saidin. Instead we kept reading that 'something major' had happened with the power, but nobody knew what...probably the forsaken. That drove me up a wall cause it happened for the whole book!

Interestingly enough, my favourite so far is ToM (although its close).I was blown away by the the happenings in T'AR. I mean, the wise ones blending in to the wall tapestries chameleon style during the battle of the white tower?!!! Shit like that is off the chains.Had to take a moment when I read that bit. Emotionally, there was also a palpable sense of relief with Rand now finally fitting into his own skin properly. I loved the Rodel Ituralde arc in this book as well.

[Zhipp]

I thought Egwene would become Amyrlin...in like the last or almost last book. Not then.

Ah, but she did.

 

I'll have to go with LoC, myself. The book was just boring for me, because I already knew Nyneave would heal stilling(still an awesome moment), and Egwene being chosen as Amyrlin was so heavily foreshadowed I knew it would happen right when it did. Why else would they be calling her to Salidar? Who else could the "biddable child", specifically chosen by Suian, be? The book didn't get really good until Perrin showed up, in my opinion.

[True Source Creator]

At one point I thought they were going to choose Moiraine to be Amyrlin. In "FoH", they first started talking about how they needed to choose someone who wasn't at the Tower to make it less suspicious (I don't remember the exact reason, my bad), so I was thinking they were pointing to Moiraine...then she went and got herself vanishing through an arch.

[Finnssss22]

I think it has to do with when you started reading the series.

I can see how someone who started reading the series later and got to read most of the books in a relatively short time might call LoC over-rated.

 

It's definitely not over-rated to me as it and tSR were by far the best books until KoD came out and for people reading from near the beginning, that was an agonizing 9 year period in-between #6 and #11.

aCoS was good, PoD was ok, WH was good, CoT was annoying and then finally KoD came out and at least came close to the great level that LoC and tSR were.

 

 

I guess I just have a problem with anyone taking away from LoC. The introduction of Taim and the Black Tower, Perrin meeting the parents, the healing of Siuan and Leane, Egwene's raising, our first really detailed insights into the Forsaken, Mat's development of the Band and Olver introduced.

Then, IMO, we have THE best ending of any book in the series to date.

I dunno, just hard to call it over-rated even one bit to me.

 

I voted CoT as the most over-rated because I have actually seen people say it was a decent book heh.

[Hopefire]

I picked TSR. It's one of the better books in the series, but I don't think that it's the best. The Perrin sections are fantastic; the return home helped reinforce how far the boys had come since the start of the series. But beyond Perrin, it had a tendency to drag. It didn't have the urgency of the previous three books, and it didn't have the growing complexity of the next two books. It felt like Jordan was still uncertain about how he was going to handle Rand's insanity at that point as well.

 

In rating the series, I'd rate The Eye of the World, The Fires of Heaven, and Lord of Chaos higher than The Shadow Rising; I'd actually put it on a level with The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight.

[UGAShadow]

Anyone that puts Eye of the World as a top book is overrating it. Its just an average book and doesn't have the added complexity of the later books to use as an excuse.

[sandoz12]

Definitely KoD. My theory is that most readers were so relieved that it was better than CoT and some plotlines were finally resolved after we've waited ages, that they ignore or underestimate KoD's flaws. IMO about 2/3 of it as bad in terms of nothing happening and mundane stuff described in extreme detail than CoT, and the resolutions of most plotlines were disappointing.

 

BTW, Egwene becoming Amyrlin at some point was heavily foreshadowed in the first five books. Sure, I didn't expect it to happen so early either, and still think the way it happened was contrived and forced to a degree, but after all the "You will be Amyrlin one day" statements from Moiraine, Elayne, etc, it certainly wasn't a shock.

This is very true. KOD only does seem so good in comparison to COT and also because finally the arcs that felt like they were never going to end (Faile's captivity, Elayne gaining the throne)finally did end.

 

Agree about Egwene too - I wasn't surprised at all and when they summoned her to Salidar already knew what it was for.

[sandoz12]

Anyone that puts Eye of the World as a top book is overrating it. Its just an average book and doesn't have the added complexity of the later books to use as an excuse.

It may not have the complexity of the later books but I still think it is a very good book. What it has is a fantastic, fast-moving plot. It was the perfect way to begin a series. Then the complexity can be introduced - if RJ had tried to put all the complexity in the first book it wouldn't have been anywhere near as compelling or readable. I believe complexity is best built up gradually, layer after layer being gradually added.

[Smittyphi]

I voted CoT as the most over-rated because I have actually seen people say it was a decent book heh.

 

It's a decent book.

 

I started right before TGS so I read all of those books in a row without stopping. It's certainly not on par with books 4-6 but it's not horrible.

 

I voted The Great Hunt as I didn't find it as awesome as everyone else says it is. The part was excellent but that's about it.

[plague fiend]

COT for me is the most over-rated. Most of the book could have been left out of the series and nobody would have noticed.

[coolpool]

i've always thought the rising shadow was over rated... like on my first read through i didn't even take not that it was ment to be this awsumly epic book that its made out to be... like reading it through for a second time not too long ago.. like it was ok.. as u get information about the breaking which is cool... but i even tho i like perin.. i prefer his wolfy moments.. not his constant struggle to accept leadership blablabla... but i just feel.. like its still not as impresive as its made out to be...

 

i will always find the fires of hevean the best.. i love the relationship between rand and asomedean (excuss my bad spelling..) and just the enitre book and the ending was great..

[True Source Creator]

^

I kind of agree with what you say. When I was reading TSR, I didn't like it as much as AFTER I had read it. In the months afterwards, maybe from reading the next few, I appreciated it more. But I agree that Fires of Heaven and even Lord of Chaos trump it in terms of quality and entertainment.

[Dakota]

KoD. It's an 'alright' book, but nothing really spectacular. It's only because two of the most tedious plot threads -finally- wrapped up that gave the sense of "The plot is moving again." Yeah, those two plot threads got wrapped up, but the 'big picture' plot was still pretty much on hold until Sanderson took over.

 

Runner up would be Winter's Heart. A lot of people (myself included) remembered this one as one of the big 'Something's Happening' books because of the Cleansing. But when I've gone back and re-read, it's still pretty slow and tedious, it just happened to have an important event at the climax is all.

[sandoz12]

What's interesting is that KoD is rating as both one of the most over-rated and under-rated books. Showing that people have highly different feelings about the book. And that it is a book that people have a strong reaction to it they either think people don't give it a enough credit or that people give it to much credit.

[drizzt_scimitar]

Most books in the Wheel of Time seem to be pretty well-liked, except for POD and COT, and even those are defended by most fans, at least to some degree. I think the ones that seem to come up most often in "Best of the series" polls are the first six, generally with 4-6 being (roughly) the most popular, especially TSR and LOC. Of the two, I think I have to jump on the LOC bandwagon as being more overrated.

 

TSR, I feel, really deserves its place as top 1 or 2 book in the series; just everything about it is very close to perfect. Perrin's arc is one of the best in the entire series, IMO, and Rand's group learning about/living with the Aiel is very well done and interesting, not to mention the awesomeness of the Rhuidean scenes. The girls plotline in Tanchico isn't quite as interesting, I didn't think, but it's still well written and overall enjoyable. I think the biggest strength of TSR is its pacing: It has three main plot arcs that all start at the beginning of the book, are well-paced throughout, and all come to great conclusions by the end of the book. It's just... well polished. The only complaint I can think of against TSR is that the beginning in the stone of Tear drags a bit before all of the plotlines really get moving, but that's very minor.

 

LOC is a great book, I'm not saying it isn't, but I don't think it's top 1 or 2 material. It has a lot of great scenes in it: The Salidar scenes are very good, and the ending is fantastic, but I didn't find Rand's scenes to be nearly as interesting. I think the reason LOC is so praised is just as has been stated: It contains a lot of the best moments in the series. However, as an overall novel, I don't think it's as good as TSR, or even FOH or TDR (I always liked TDR a lot; I think I'm a bit biased towards it). It just doesn't have the plot arc symmetry/simplicity that some of the earlier books do, and though some plots move along nicely, I've always felt that the ending (well, the parts leading up to the ending - before Dumai's Wells) felt a bit uneven and unfocused. I think it's just that, as a whole, TSR is the best well-crafted SINGLE novel in the series, whereas LOC really relies more on the rest of the series, if that makes sense.