You Guys Are Right : It's Addictive

[Vinny]

I am halfway through EOTW and have read the New Spring Graphic Novel, in addition to "Strike At Shayol Ghul" and "Ravens" and I am becoming utterly absorbed.

 

There are frustrating weaknesses to Jordan's prose that could so easily have been corrected but (so far) they do not take away from the impression that you are reading the work of a "man of letters." For all the little faults there is a feeling of depth here that leaves other modern fantasy series far behind. To be honest it is this sense of deep thought and painstaking work, not the ad-hoc Englishisms and archaisms, that give his writing a feeling of "actual imagined history." You can almost feel the presence of masses of written material behind the already enormous surface of the story. Despite ill-advised borrowings from true legend & Tolkien, there is a highly intelligent mind behind the tale, someone with something to say.

 

I read at such a slow pace and like to read several books at the same time, so it seems like it would take me at least a decade to finish this darned thing! But knowing that the ending is going to be there might make it possible; 'though I must confess that I find Brandon Sanderson as readable as a Russian newspaper that's been shredded & pasted randomly back together...meaning no disrespect, that's just me :P

 

So I'll go on...

[Justanotherfacet]

Im not sure whether that was mildly insulting or curiously encouraging but either way, it only gets better =D

 

I've always thought that the strength of the books wasn't the writing, nor the concept. Instead its the way that something so damn complex all comes together, combining elements from book one into major events even in book 13 that makes it so FUCKING incredible!

 

EDIT: Don't slam on BS, what he's don't for the WoT community is priceless and i actually find myself enjoying his books more than many others in the series.

[Joshua Hendrickson]

Yeah, I remember my first read-through of TEOTW and how it completely sucked me in. It still works for me on subsequent rereadings. In fact, in many ways that first book is my favorite to this day, although all of the early books in the series are equally thrilling and inventive. Jordan's flaws as a writer, unfortunately, do tend to increase rather than decrease as the series drags on. But I'm still addicted.

[Vinny]

I'm not "slamming" Brandon :)

It's just my opine, is all...

 

Without spoiling anything, please tell if me Min's in the rest of the books...

She just jumps off the page, more alive than any of the other characters.

I want more Min!

[Terez]

Yup she's in it till the end. Also...hard to say the borrowing was ill-advised. The whole concept of the Wheel is that the myths and legends of our Age are the stories told in the WoT world...and the stories in our world are corrupted versions of the actual events of the WoT world. Including Tolkien.

[contempt]

Without spoiling anything, please tell if me Min's in the rest of the books...

She just jumps off the page, more alive than any of the other characters.

I want more Min!

As RJ would probably have said back in 1990...

 

RAFO

 

Edit: We should have pulled an RJ on that question!

[Vinny]

Yup she's in it till the end. Also...hard to say the borrowing was ill-advised. The whole concept of the Wheel is that the myths and legends of our Age are the stories told in the WoT world...and the stories in our world are corrupted versions of the actual events of the WoT world. Including Tolkien.

 

Min: Yaaaaay!

 

"Borrowings": That makes perfect sense then, thanks!

 

Contempt: RAFO, huh? Lawd, I've got a lot of readin' to do!

[Terez]

Yup she's in it till the end. Also...hard to say the borrowing was ill-advised. The whole concept of the Wheel is that the myths and legends of our Age are the stories told in the WoT world...and the stories in our world are corrupted versions of the actual events of the WoT world. Including Tolkien.

 

Min: Yaaaaay!

 

"Borrowings": That makes perfect sense then, thanks!

Pay attention to those really old stories Thom mentions when he first shows up in Ch. 4. You might recognize some of them...with effort. There are a few things like that scattered throughout the books. It's a bit easier to recognize stuff like the reverse-engineered Arthurian legend and such, but keep in mind that RJ draws from everything he can get his hands on. Essentially every major religion and culture of the world is referenced in some way or another, and the wealth of borrowing is one of the things that makes WoT so awesome IMO (since it's all part of what is essentially a very independent and original world, cast, and story).

[Vinny]

Yup she's in it till the end. Also...hard to say the borrowing was ill-advised. The whole concept of the Wheel is that the myths and legends of our Age are the stories told in the WoT world...and the stories in our world are corrupted versions of the actual events of the WoT world. Including Tolkien.

 

Min: Yaaaaay!

 

"Borrowings": That makes perfect sense then, thanks!

Pay attention to those really old stories Thom mentions when he first shows up in Ch. 4. You might recognize some of them...with effort. There are a few things like that scattered throughout the books. It's a bit easier to recognize stuff like the reverse-engineered Arthurian legend and such, but keep in mind that RJ draws from everything he can get his hands on. Essentially every major religion and culture of the world is referenced in some way or another, and the wealth of borrowing is one of the things that makes WoT so awesome IMO (since it's all part of what is essentially a very independent and original world, cast, and story).

 

Well, religious myth is my specialty so I'll keep a lobe cocked for the references as they come ;)