What got you hooked?

[DigitalSoul]

Im sure we all have one thing in common, that we are hooked on the WOT=)

When I first began reading TEOTW it didnt seem very special, maby just another Toliken copy.

But as the story evolved I got to know this fantastic world that RJ had developed. A world

that had a past and a future. RJ made us get to know his world in the first books and introduced alot of

mysteries, the portal stones, TAR, paralell worlds and so on. At the same time as the story was also about

the BIG fight between light and darkness and about main charakters personal development.

All in all it made a very rich and diverse story!=)

 

So what got you hooked?

[JKN-SW]

RJ got me hooked

 

More seriously, as you mention, the worldbuilding and the complexety of the world, the countries and the different cultures are what really makes WoT special to me. Other authors have more complex characters, but RJ's ability describe the world, often into the smallest detail, gets me hooked every time.

[Manscher]

A friend suggested heavily that I should go read the books, and since I had nothing else to do during the time(3 months ago) I decided to buy the first 3 books off Amazon. As you described, at first it felt a bit like just another carbon copy fantasy book with heavy Tolkien inspiration, but the very last line in the book "The Prophecies will be fulfilled," The Aes Sedai whispered. "The Dragon is Reborn." Made me leap straight into The Great Hunt, and the ending of that onto the next, and so forth. And before I knew it I was caught.

And now I'm currently on my third reread(listen) of the series, great way to get the time to pass when nothing else to do and it seems like there's new hints, foreshadowing and such popping up every time you read it again.

 

Since gotten a friend to read the books as well, lending mine to him, and he mentioned just exactly the same things that got him hooked, that very line in the end of The Eye of The World.

[Feral]

I think it was the Aes Sedai and wanting to find out more about them that got me hooked in the begining. Also I was a bit confused about what the Dragon Reborn was. To begin with I thought he was just plain evil and that was that, but then towards the end of the first book there were hints that this wasn't the case. So I wanted to discover whether he was a baddie or a hero.

[brolie]

I was just reading a book a friend asked me to read until Shadar Logoth. After they escape Shadar Logoth, I went to the used book store and bought the rest of the series. The eeriness of the Fades really got me hooked too and I was incredibly sad to lose that when they become less mysterious and easier to kill. The feeling I got when a Fade would show up looking for the boys in EotW always made me grin and get more comfy since I knew I would be in for a creepy treat. Not anymore. Now they're killed with Death Gates or "feathered" with arrows ... No more lurking in halls :( so sad.

 

Anyway, that's my story haha.

[Jay Aldridge]

I started reading because it was a long series.I like reading books that are related or have reoccurring characters. A friend of mine told me I should give them a try and I've been hooked ever since. The characters are distinctive, in depth and have varied personality traits. The plots and subplots leave you guessing and it gives you just enough history to wonder what the world used to be like and where this is going.

[Southpaw89]

I began reading two months after The Gathering Storm came out which is book 12 so I was pretty intimidated by the length of the series. I told myself I would read the first 3 books and if they didn't catch hold completely, I would not continue... 11 months later I was turning the last page on book 13 and now rereading the series again :D

[OptimusPrime]

For me it was mostly Rand in the beginning, he became so badass so quick, and I love the madness. Beyond that though the thing that still amazes me is the whole rivalry between Rand/Lews and Moridin/Elan. The fact that the rivalry spans across mutliple lifetimes, and the fact that the two men become connected via balefire, seeing each others faces and such like... Such an epic rivalry, the buildup is awesome.

[Vambram]

Back in 1991, when I first started reading EoTW, I knew almost right away that I was reading a good fantasy novel. I had no idea that this was going to be a massive series of epic fantasy. However, it did not take long for RJ to draw me in hook, line, and sinker into his world and characters.

But when did I get hooked on the WOT?

It was after the first Trolloc attack in Emond's Field, when Moiraine told the story of the about the legends of Manetheren, and why Manetheren will always be a thorn in the Dark One's foot. The very first time I read that story as RJ wrote it being told by Moiraine, I felt shivers up and down my back and I knew that the rest of the EOTW was going to be something very special. That is when RJ hooked me into his world.

[SylvanFox]

For me it was mostly Rand in the beginning, he became so badass so quick, and I love the madness. Beyond that though the thing that still amazes me is the whole rivalry between Rand/Lews and Moridin/Elan. The fact that the rivalry spans across mutliple lifetimes, and the fact that the two men become connected via balefire, seeing each others faces and such like... Such an epic rivalry, the buildup is awesome.

 

I especially love how this rivalry is immediately introduced. The first scene we get is mad LTT talking to his dead wife and to the Betrayer of Hope.

[OptimusPrime]

For me it was mostly Rand in the beginning, he became so badass so quick, and I love the madness. Beyond that though the thing that still amazes me is the whole rivalry between Rand/Lews and Moridin/Elan. The fact that the rivalry spans across mutliple lifetimes, and the fact that the two men become connected via balefire, seeing each others faces and such like... Such an epic rivalry, the buildup is awesome.

 

I especially love how this rivalry is immediately introduced. The first scene we get is mad LTT talking to his dead wife and to the Betrayer of Hope.

 

Yea its an awesome scene! You know, Im half convinced that if Rand dies and goes to T'A'R and gets brought back by the Birgitte method, it very well might bring Moridin back as well. I'd love if it the end scene of AMoL was like a mirror image of EotW prologue.

[DigitalSoul]

I began reading two months after The Gathering Storm came out which is book 12 so I was pretty intimidated by the length of the series. I told myself I would read the first 3 books and if they didn't catch hold completely, I would not continue... 11 months later I was turning the last page on book 13 and now rereading the series again :D

 

Hehe yeah well thats proabably the best way to read the series. I am almost done with my first re-read now but the first time i read the series it was quite slow around book eleven. Its not that bad when you

know that there is a another book waiting after that one but it was quite frustrating when u had to wait for another year at least for the next book. Especielly since i read the books in swedish the first time, in sweden

they translates each wot book into two swedish books. Think of reading the first half of COT after waiting over a year for it=)

[DigitalSoul]

What do you think it the most epic scenes or quotes then?

I have a few favorites, at least three from the great hunt:

1) when Ingtar reveales himself as a DF and sacrifices himself

2) the blowing of the horn

3) the ending of TGH, He made a choise...

 

Then after Dumais wells when Mazrim Taim tells the captures Aes Sedias "Kneel before the lord dragon, or be knelt" or some such. Sent quivers up my spine=)

[Gentled Ben]

I thought it was unremarkable until Moiraine's Manetheren speech. That committed me to finishing the first book, and the end of The Great Hunt committed me to finishing the series.

[sandoz12]

I only found of WoT because my brother recommended it to me. Before that I thought I didn't like fantasy apart from LotR. I am not sure quite what got me into it exactly - I think it has a sense of epic grandeur to it. The magic system is easy to understand and the first few books are really well plotted which got me 'hooked'. The other main part is the whole darkfriends/black ajah, trying to work out whether someone is dark or not adds a lot to the series.

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

A friend recommended WoT to me; actually got me the opening trilogy for my birthday. TEotW was a very Tolkienesque read and I enjoyed it on those merits. The next two were not necessarily as enjoyable--I prefer Tolkien's style over Jordan's, which emerged as Jordan's style stepped out from Tolkien's shadow--but by the end of TDR there were two things that really gripped me: Mat, and all things Mat, and Lanfear and her plan to overthrow the gods (at that point, I thought that is where the series might actually be headed).

 

So I kept reading, and here I am.

 

It's not the plots or the themes that keep me going. It's the characters. Besides Mat and Mierin, there's Nyn, Avi, and a handful of others whose appearances make the story as enjoyable as it is. But to be honest with you, at this point I'm ready for the series to be done and am really looking forward to AMoL.

[Muad Cheade]

My mom, my brother and I were going on a roadtrip. A library is right down the street from the house we lived in so I begged my mom to let me get a book to read during the trip. We were late so she said I had 2 minutes. I ran into the library and grabbed a random book from one of the racks (I think it was the cover that got my attention). The book happened to be tEotW and I read it 3 times during the trip.

[MauricXe]

I think it was the Aes Sedai and wanting to find out more about them that got me hooked in the begining. Also I was a bit confused about what the Dragon Reborn was. To begin with I thought he was just plain evil and that was that, but then towards the end of the first book there were hints that this wasn't the case. So I wanted to discover whether he was a baddie or a hero.

 

I think this is what I liked. I also wanted to know more about the forsaken and the AoL

 

one of the reasons the later books declined is the lack of forsaken screen time. Lanfear was in and out of Rand's company for 3 books. I just loved her obsession.

[Sid]

I thought it was unremarkable until Moiraine's Manetheren speech. That committed me to finishing the first book, and the end of The Great Hunt committed me to finishing the series.

I wouldn't call the first part 'unremarkable' for me as I read it, since I was fairly interested in where things were going and trying to link anything I could to the Prologue, but upon reaching 'Tellings of the Wheel' my experience can be described almost perfectly by this quote.

[Niniel]

I never understood the Prologue. So I just continued reading. Then I read about the dragon and I didn´t understand it anyway. Is the dragon good or evil? It took me some time to figure that out.

 

I don´t remember exactly what got me hooked but I think it was two things. The first was the Aes Sedai and the magic. Moiraine was mysterious and it was fun to read how Egwene started to learn channeling. The other thing was reading about Rand and Perrin. It was clear to me pretty soon that Rand was the dragon but he didn´t know. And watching Perrin´s meeting with Elyas and the wolfs got me interested to see what more to come.

[Randommer]

The complexity of the worldbuilding, the whole multiple lives thing (your crazy ex from from your previous life chasing you? Yikes.) and Rand.

[OptimusPrime]

But to be honest with you, at this point I'm ready for the series to be done and am really looking forward to AMoL.

 

Absolutely. Its been a long journey.

[Jonathan Barbato]

I am still hooked. I am on book ten right now and I'm loving it. I finally made it to the double digits! Wooohooo! Anyway, My boyfriend at the time about 2 years ago would read New Spring to me and forced me to listen every night before we went to bed. I couldn't stand it because it was forced on me. I had no idea what was going on. Then we went on a road trip last year and we had EOTW on audio book playing the whole time... By the time we listened to The Great Hunt on Audio book I was sooooooo hooked! I finally got why he loved the series. It is just so complex and really appeals to my intelligence. I feel like it treats the reader as someone who is capable of memorizing lots of details, places, names and figure out how situations connect to everything that makes up a world. I have broken up with the guy, but Wheel of Time will always be with me :D

[Nolder]

the prologue

it was honestly so confusing I just had to figure out what was going on...so I kept reading

along the way I fell in love with the story and the world but I'll admit it took awhile

[Sarabhi]

My ex had them and I always saw them on his bookshelf when I was at his house. Then one day about three years later I saw them in a bookstore, had to give in and see what it was all about! I'm so glad I did! When I first read about the Man with the cloak that didn't move, the badger antics, and the Trolloc attack-I was hooked! Loved it ever since!!! I fell in love with the world, the characters, everything.