What started you on the path to the Wheel of Time?

[Goramier]

I am just curious and decided to toss this out there. What started you into fantasy and ultimately into the Wheel of Time?

 

Here is my story (short form):

 

I was very young, like 8'ish and I saw a cartoon on Lord of the Rings. I was absolutely captivated. That is where it started for me. After that I found out my older brother had played this game called Dungeons and Dragons. He didn't play with me but told me a bit, so I basically made up my own version and played with a couple friends. We had some epic adventures for really not even knowing how to play and only a minimal knowledge of the types of people/bad guys in the D&D world.

 

About 3 or so years later we went to a football game. A family traditional trip. I hadn't been playing D&D for awhile and had gotten out of fantasy by that time. We stopped at a dollar store which was a way new concept then. Well it was to us anyways. They had a box full of books where you could get three for a buck. I grabbed three without looking at them and paid for them. I only wanted them for the 6 hour drive back home after the game. The books where a Greyhawk series by an author who I can only remember her last name, Estes (I think it was Rosa Estes). They were about some wolf nomads and the main character was Mika Oba and his wolf Tam-Tur or something like that. I was officially hooked. They were probably the greatest books I could have gotten and I had gotten them by chance. The story was absolutely epic and to this day the only story I think that was as epic feeling has been the Wheel of Time.

 

Anyways, I kept reading fantasy after that. Read the Drizzt series and others. Then after a while I gave up on fantasy again in my teen years. Finally one day I decided to rekindle my love for fantasy reading. It had been years since I had read a book and I had no idea where to start. I noticed my brother had a fantasy book on his dresser so I stole it. He hadn't read it and never noticed so I just kept it. About a week or so later I actually started reading it. It turned out to be The Eye of the World. I still remember sitting up in bed for about 5 straight hours that second night. I couldn't put it down. I ended up going to the book store the day after to buy the second book and kept going from there. I could go on based on my writings since then and readings but will leave it there.

 

That is how I came to be a reader of the Wheel of Time. By chance.

[maryemi'jigede]

I came across EOTW in '97, buried in a corner of my school library. I have re-read all the WOT books from 1-10 at least half a dozen times and I am in the middle of re-reading again, this time up to ToM. I kind of have always had an interest in fantasy fiction but mostly because I have an interest in medieval history and dark ages history, and a lot of fantasy fiction worlds are set in that sort of a time period, in terms of how far the civilisation/s was developed. Have grown up reading CS Lewis, Emily Rodda, Tolkien, and Jordan. And of course the Harry Potter series was super fun. I do like fantasy as a genre, but so many great ideas are so poorly written, there have been so many FF books that I've put down without finishing, feeling disappointed and faintly embarrassed. Anyway, rambling, I found WOT in my school library and have been hooked ever since!

[Colonel Gooch]

I started off at around 10 with Harry Potter and the Golden Compass, and continued on with various fantasy books. Then one day I googled "ridiculously long fantasy series" and was introduced to WoT and I wish it were longer, Definitley in my top 5 and I have read countless fantasy epics.

 

btw great thread

[1Brotherbill]

I was in the Navy from 1990 - 1996. I was stationed on a submarine. When you are out at sea you need stuff to keep your mind busy. Well reading was my way. I got tired of taking numerous books underway with me. I saw one of my friends reading The Great Hunt around 1992. When I got back to port I started the series. I'm not the fastest of readers. So the phone book sized Robert Jordan book would last me for a good chunk of time while out at sea. Can't believe that it's almost over. What am I going to do for a series now?

[Sid]

My mom used to read to me and my brother when we were growing up. One time it was the Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum. After it was done, I found out he wrote a lot more way past the movie ever went, so I read quite a few of them. They were way out there, but were like nothing I'd read before so I looked for other fantasy type stuff. My sister had the CS Lewis series 'The Chronicles of Narnia' in a paperback boxed set, so I read them and they were great. Then for whatever reason I didn't read a whole lot for years. We'd have to do book reports each quarter in school and my teacher really liked Stephen King, so I did about 3/4 of my reports on his books (same teacher for 4 years). At about the end of high school I read the first Dark Tower book, and it kind of made me think 'why did I stop reading fantasy again?' So it was whatever Dark Tower books were out at that time (I think 3) followed by The Hobbit, then LotR. Then I had to find something that could compare with LotR... and I saw the cover of TPoD in a bookstore (still my favorite WoT cover) and read on the back "Robert Jordan has come to dominate the world that Tolkien began to reveal". So I bought book 1 and that was that. In a way I'm kind of lucky since numerous fantasy series out at that time might have turned me off from the genre but WoT made it stick forever. Hell, chapter 9 of TEotW did that by itself I think.

[Grizz]

I work in law enforcement. Sometimes I work all night long. When it is slow, I pull out a book. After reading a countless number books for several years and getting bored, (8 hours a night for a few years will practically get you through a small library) I took a recommendation from a friend and started borrowing his WoT books. After borrowing his entire set twice, I finally purchased some for my own. I've re-read quite a few different book series over the years, but I have a feeling that I'll end up reading WoT more than any other. IT IS THAT GOOD.

[Finnssss22]

It was 1991, I was 19, winter was starting to recede with the first signs of spring and I had just finished reading the second Dragonlance trilogy, that my friend had lent me.

Upon returning the books to him, he handed me two more and said try these, they of course were The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt.

Bought The Dragon Reborn on release day later that year and haven't missed a book release since

[Eht Slat Meit]

The Forgotten Realms and DragonLance books were what got me hooked, oddly enough. I used to chew through those books at the local bookstore at a pace of a couple each month, and reached the point where I had gotten everything from them either through the bookstore or the local library. They don't put out new ones that often, so in my regular visits, I kept straying through the rest of the stuff on the shelf, and the Wheel of Time books just happened to be on the next shelf up. No alphabetic ordering there, I guess. The Crown of Swords cover, unlike some of the other rather dated-looking art, was just too cool and I decided to hazard a try on the first book in the series.

 

Instant fan.

[baalsmistress]

8 years of peer pressure to read it :)

 

Then the audio book of EotW let me get past the start that had defeated me several times

[Agitel]

My dad got me hooked on it when I was thirteen or fourteen.

[Luckers]

I got given the Eye of the World and a Game of Thrones for my 12th birthday (in my mother's defence, she did tell the book clerk who suggested them to her that she was buying them for a 12 year old). Started reading A Game of Thrones first, got to that memorable scene in the tower with Bran, and gave up--it was too much for me at that age. Started reading the Eye straight after, and was hooked from the manetheren story.

[Magus]

I don't remember anymore. I think I saw it mentioned on a forum of an online game and decided to give it a go. I could be mistaken, however.

[Ananta]

I was bored and re-organizing my bookshelf. I noticed there a book I didn't even know existed, which happened to be the Eye of the World. And about a month later I had read all the published books (The Gathering Storm came out like less than a month after I finished Knife of Dreams. How lucky for me!) :D

 

I have no idea where I got it from, when, or from who. But I like to think it was a divine intervention and I was destined to read the series. :D

[Mandro]

I'm more of a Sci-fi guy. Since Sci-Fi and fantasy are treated as poorly as oliver twist, even though they tend to outsell polemics, it was hard to get the selection of books that you wanted, I joined a book club, LONG before Amazon, like the old BMG list thingy for music. I forgot to deny my monthly selection and I got the . . not the full size hardback, but the like trade paperback sized, only with a hardcover copy of TEotW. I liked it, so I started advance ordering up until Knife of dreams, since, I've been picking the up at my own convenience.

[shadowofomioc]

I first read this book back when I was 12 years old, in middle school, 7th grade. I was captivated from the start and remember reading this book with a night light on into the wee hours of the mornings on school days.

 

How the book came into my possession I really do not remember though. I believe my brother heard about it, read it, told me about it and then gave it to me to read. I finished the book in 4 days, a few school days and over the weekend. Was hooked from then on.

 

I believe he had both the Eye of the World and Great Hunt, so read both of them back to back.

 

I went away from the series after Robert Jordan started milking the series for all it was worth. It began with Book 7 and went into Book 10. Book 9 and 10 were atrocious to say the least and it really turned me off on the series. I just couldn't believe it had been 3 books, 2000+ pages and Perrin still had not reached Faile lol. Was just a ridiculous thing. And Jordan kept adding more and more and more minor characters and it just became a jumbled mess. But then I heard about his passing and someone new was stepping up to finish the series and I could only hope that all the nonsense would stop and the story would finally get going again. Thankfully, that was definately the case.

 

 

So here I am now, 29 years old and fully prepared for this book series to end with a splash. It has been a long time coming! Almost feel like a 70's Star Wars fan. Waiting those many years in between movies to see what finally happens.

 

That is my story. The ups and downs of the WoT. Mostly ups, but for about 6-8 years it was pretty much all down. I kept getting the new books of course, and reading them non-stop, but it became increasingly difficult until Knife of Dreams finally felt like a WoT book again and not a political fantasy mystery novel. Slowest paced mystery novel ever written at that! lol.

[Mandro]

Luckers. "Started reading A Game of Thrones first, got to that memorable scene in the tower with Bran, and gave up--it was too much for me at that age."

 

I started reading martin in. . 2000 I think, a friend told me to give it a try. I was about to give up on the book UNTIL that scene. It's one of those few times where I actually sat up straight from reading a line, and I thought to myself. "Now That Takes balls!!!" That was the part that hooked me to tell the truth.

[Finnssss22]

Luckers. "Started reading A Game of Thrones first, got to that memorable scene in the tower with Bran, and gave up--it was too much for me at that age."

 

I started reading martin in. . 2000 I think, a friend told me to give it a try. I was about to give up on the book UNTIL that scene. It's one of those few times where I actually sat up straight from reading a line, and I thought to myself. "Now That Takes balls!!!" That was the part that hooked me to tell the truth.

 

 

If ever there was a polar opposite it's GoT vs WoT.

WoT hardly anyone has died, GoT hardly anyone has lived heh.

 

 

I have to admit though when a certain somebody strangled a certain somebody and then proceeded to kill another certain somebody on the shitter. That was a pretty entertaining and rather satisfying sequence of events.

[Mandro]

yeah finsss, my brother never read the books but he watched the show. He knew I had read the books and he started asking me about the books. I told him honestly that I really don't know much, other than a few things, that he just wouldn't understand because the show missed a lot of stuff, though I imagine they will fill in some of the things that they missed in the one season since it got picked up again. Bro said, something like "So what kinda stuff should I expect?" I said, "Well, who's your favorite character so far?" before he said anything I said "either dead or maimed."

[2RiversFan]

Until this summer, I read very little of the fantasy genre. The only exceptions were LotR/Hobbit around my middle school years. I've mostly read History and historical fiction, techno thrillers. When HBO's 'Game of Thrones came out this past winter, I became engrossed in it, realized the TV series was based off Martin's books, and quickly read up through book 4. I'm actually no longer a fan of that series though, he killed off ALL of my favorite characters - the characters that just happen to be nearly all of the 'good guys' within it. I want my Fantasy to have happy endings - I can (and do) read about the good guys getting killed any day in the real world news. I also don't like the overall direction that is left for the story to take. What I can say on a positive note for ASoIaF is that it piqued an interest in Fantasy for me (plus I lost my job and needed an escape).

 

So this summer, jobless, I found ToM at the library in the "featured books" section. The cover said it was book 13; so I found the first 3 books of WoT - and had finished them all 5 weeks later. The series was everything I was looking for, and stands as my all-time favorite. I am now re-reading the series much more slowly (and lurking on the forums alot); I've finished Winter's Heart and am waiting for CoT to be returned to my public library.

 

Separately - if anyone has any friends / contacts in the Telecomm industry, I'd be grateful for a PM so I can send my CV.

[mandersen]

When i was little my dad would read to us a chapter or so out of the hobbit or chronicles of narnia just about every night. he actually made it all the way through lord of the rings as well. I'm sure i didn't understand much of what was going on at that age, but I was hooked. So when i was at a full novel reading age, i read through all those again (and even tried reading the silmarilion in 5th grade, but that's a hard one to get through NOW, so i didn't stand a chance back then) and expanded to others. One was Feist's Riftwar saga, which i loved, and the other was dragonlance. Those i was fully into for the first two triogies, and a couple of the legends (?), but then they got crappy. even as a jr. high kid i could tell the writing wasn't good. That's when i was introduced to WoT. my brother had been reading them and had all the books that were out (up to LoC). I was hooked just about from the get-go. compared to dragonlance the writing style was brilliant. and as long as the books were, there was never a boring moment (at least in the first books). Even LotR (which i still love and reread every 5 years or so) in it's 300 - 400 pg. books had slow parts. Anyway, i've been reading and rereading WoT since the mid 90's.

[Luckers]

Luckers. "Started reading A Game of Thrones first, got to that memorable scene in the tower with Bran, and gave up--it was too much for me at that age."

 

I started reading martin in. . 2000 I think, a friend told me to give it a try. I was about to give up on the book UNTIL that scene. It's one of those few times where I actually sat up straight from reading a line, and I thought to myself. "Now That Takes balls!!!" That was the part that hooked me to tell the truth.

 

Yeah, but I had just turned twelve--as in literally, like a week before I was eleven. Think fully about everything that happens in that scene.

[aunt_pol]

Well my brother is five years older than me and I was always a greedy reader - unfussy, just plenty - so I actually read The Hobbit at about 8, I think. After a brief foray into all sorts of nonsense, I hit on the Chronicles of Narnia at 11, then LotR at 13 or 14, wandered to Eddings in the late 90's, a brief time with Goodkind, (I know!) then hubby got me books 1 to 7/8 of WoT in 2000, up to whichever was out by that stage.

 

I read them, enjoyed them and thought no more of it until a far more geeky friend went on and on about how good they are and how I had probably missed a lot in a casual read and that re-reads would be well repaid. I obliged, and I've been an addict ever since. I've read the lot fresh every year since 2002, I think, and will start another go round on New Year's Day. My favourite books by a country mile.

[mb]

Wheel of Time; a nephew gave me the first book (Eye of World), have been buying the rest.

 

Fantasy; do not remember first fantasy book (or fantasy story). A class went through the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien; have bought most of his fiction.

[Songstress]

I've been a voracious reader since I was a kid, often coming home from the library with 10-15 books at a time. I read a bit of fantasy in my teens and twenties (I'm a bit beyond that now... but it's not polite to ask a woman her age, and suffice it to say I don't look OR act my age :P )... Of course I read Lord of the Rings, was a huge fan of the Narnia Chronicles as well as Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet, devoured Terry Brooks' Shannara series, and dabbled a bit in sci fi, but eventually began leaning more toward mystery, suspense, thrillers, and some horror (Stephen King, John Saul, Dean Koontz, etc.). Eventually I came back to fantasy in a roundabout way.

 

Ten years ago I married a gamer geek, who had been playing a text MUD since college. I watched over his shoulder while he played for about 3 years before I finally caved in and rolled my own character on TorilMUD - a half-elf bard who was MADE OF WIN. After I got her to max level, I started trying to level a grey elf invoker, but found it a little more difficult because suddenly all of my hubby's friends who were my leveling helpers disappeared into the void that was known as (dun dun dun...) World of Warcraft. Eventually hubby was sucked in to WoW as well, and I tried to resist, but it only took 3 months of watching him play before I succumbed.

 

We played WoW pretty casually for the most part, until I quit my full time job and had enough free time to devote myself to a semi-serious raiding guild. And then 3 years ago, my hubby suddenly passed away (aortic dissection at the age of 31), and in a fog of grief and depression, I spent even more time playing WoW, and every spare minute reading. Not being a Blizzard fangirl before I was dragged kicking and screaming into World of Warcraft, I found myself curious about the Warcraft backstory, and began picking up the Warcraft novels at the recommendation of one of my guildies.

 

When I'd devoured all the available Warcraft books, I asked a few fantasy-lit enthusiasts in my guild for recommendations of what to read next. George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire was the immediate consensus, so I picked up books 1-4 and barely came up for air long enough to get a full time job again.

 

You'd think these fantasy-lit friends were the ones who recommended WoT to me too, but they actually didn't -- I was giving a nutshell of the Game of Thrones plot to my massage therapist, and she was fascinated with the Stark children/direwolves connection and began to relate a bit of the Perrin storyline from the Eye of the World to me. Having gone as far as I could with ASoIaF, I tracked down a copy of EotW and decided to check it out. Before I'd finished that one, I knew I was hooked, so I started snagging copies of the rest, including The Gathering Storm. And right after I finished TGS, I bought a hardback copy of Towers of Midnight because I could not fathom waiting for the paperback (even though I'm OCD enough that I can't stand collecting a book series mixed between paperbacks and hardbacks).

 

(As a side note, about the time GRRM's A Dance with Dragons was released, I decided to convert to e-books because of my extremely limited bookshelf space. With all the books I want to collect and re-read over and over, I just can't keep buying paperbacks, much less hardbacks.)

[Finnssss22]

A lot of mention of the Hobbit and rightfully so.

 

It's also the first fantasy book I ever read and believe it or not, it was because my grade 5 teacher was a huge LotR fan. He actually assigned The Hobbit in class, made us take turns reading it aloud and had to do a report on it.

 

Funniest part of it all, is that I ran into that teacher at Chapter's a few years back. Both of us came there to pick up KoD at release