The first thing that made you love the Wheel of Time?

[Rachel_VIP]

Which was the moment you knew that this is a great fantasy and you didn't want to leave it? What was the thing that made you to go on and to want more and more of these wonderful series? Was it a person or Aies Sedai and the White Tower? Or maybe The One Power? Or was it some of the villains? 

 

Mine was in book 1 when Nynaeve found the Rand and the others after they had left. Then it was sure that she was going to be a major character and i was hooked. Mostly because i am a huge Nynaeve fan :)  When i finished the book i was most exited for the fates of Rand, Lan and Nynaeve. 

 

I would love for you to share with me your opinions and first impressions of the series :)

 

 

[clutzyninja]

The escape from the TR grabbed me two, but it was more the mental image of being closed in by the bands of trollocs.  The war horns sounding in the distance and from different directions.  The first descriptions of the Fade grabbed me too.  The whole "unaffected byt the wind" thing reminded me of Pennywise from It.  (I think I had just finished reading that when I picked up EotW)

[Rhienne]

I think the escape from the Two Rivers was that moment for me too.  It was just so dramatic, and the contrast between the mysterious Moiraine and Lan and the terrified, uncertain Two Rivers folk was excellent.  Straight away you had a lot of 'hooks' to draw you in - which of the three ta'veren was the Dragon?  What were the AS?  What was Lan's past, and Thom's?  And then Min's visions in Baerlon provided a lot of new material to get you guessing about the characters and the plot.

 

I think the numerous prophetic talents (Min's viewings, foretellings, Egwene's and Perrin's Dreams, the Finns) was a very good touch to get you hooked.

[Rachel_VIP]

Yes. That is an example of what i appreciate in R. Jordan's writing. You can say that some of his ideas aren't all that new ( like the poor boy, who turns out to be the savior  of the world, gains wealth and power, becomes weapon master, falls in love with a beautiful princess) but they are written in a whole new way with so much original stuff we have never seen. The Fades and trollocs are only part of them :)  It is not only what you write about. It is the way you write it. The mere emotional depth is that grabs me. Everything is so unpredictable and gives so much to the reader. I can say that the Wheel of Time was what made me love fantasy. Before that i knew only "Sword of the Truth" and it was fine but The Wheel of Time made me see the genre on a whole new level. It was so much better! :)

[Rachel_VIP]

I think the escape from the Two Rivers was that moment for me too.  It was just so dramatic, and the contrast between the mysterious Moiraine and Lan and the terrified, uncertain Two Rivers folk was excellent.  Straight away you had a lot of 'hooks' to draw you in - which of the three ta'veren was the Dragon?  What were the AS?  What was Lan's past, and Thom's?  And then Min's visions in Baerlon provided a lot of new material to get you guessing about the characters and the plot.

 

I think the numerous prophetic talents (Min's viewings, foretellings, Egwene's and Perrin's Dreams, the Finns) was a very good touch to get you hooked.

Yes. You are right. We have one thing after another to sustain our interest and the story becomes stronger with every book. The pace is unbelievable. Even the much criticized 7-10 were pure gold to me. I am not only for action, battles and huge changes. I love the quiet moments, the small stuff. the conversations. :)

[Rudrah]

My first OMG moment was from book 1 chapters 19 & 20. The introduction to Shadar Logoth. It was the Parrin POV, he was terrified, running for his life and blindly rides off a bluff and lands in a river. After reading that I had to jump out of my chair and I shouted out load “HOLY S**t THAT WAS AWESONE!”

 

I knew at that moment that the book was going to be great. Any book that gets me physically moving and talking to myself was special. What I didn’t know was 23 years later I would still be have those OMG moments. AMOL had me leaping about and talking to myself again!

[Plato]

The first time I was really intrigued was when they entered the ways in book 1.  But what really sucked me into the series was Book 2! 

[False Dragon1991]

For me it was the Battle of Falme. Coming at the end of a great book it really did get it right for the finale.

[David Selig]

 Moiraine's story about the fall of Manetheren.

[clutzyninja]

 Moiraine's story about the fall of Manetheren.

Oh yes, that was good!

 

The battle at Dumai's Wells is what cemented Perrin as my favorite, I think.  I could just SEE the forces led by Perrin running through the grass, and the wolves rushing out all as one, and slamming into the Aiel.  It was a perfect scene to me.

[Rachel_VIP]

For me it was the Battle of Falme. Coming at the end of a great book it really did get it right for the finale.

 

Oh, yes. I am on a re-read now and few days ago i finished "The Great Hunt". It's surprising how with every re-read you discover something new. In a way this was Rand's biggest victory, because he defeated one of the strongest Forsaken without any experience. In the later books he was tougher and more experienced but then he was just a boy.

 

 

 

 Moiraine's story about the fall of Manetheren.

Oh yes, that was good!

 

The battle at Dumai's Wells is what cemented Perrin as my favorite, I think.  I could just SEE the forces led by Perrin running through the grass, and the wolves rushing out all as one, and slamming into the Aiel.  It was a perfect scene to me.

 

As for Perrin, i liked him since the beginning. He's always seemed to me like the most level-headed and cool-tempered of the three boys. He is humble, feels awkward most of the time and doesn't see himself as a hero, but he is :)  And i think he is the only one who began new life, but didn't break all bonds with Two Rivers. Remember TSR. :)  For me that was his first really big, heroic moment. 

[thom_merrilin]

So much grabbed me in book one it was insane. As others have said the escape from TR, Moiraine's weaving of the destruction of Manetheran. The first book is magical, then it builds through two and three. But, for me, I was hooked after book one and haven't looked back since.

[Rachel_VIP]

So much grabbed me in book one it was insane. As others have said the escape from TR, Moiraine's weaving of the destruction of Manetheran. The first book is magical, then it builds through two and three. But, for me, I was hooked after book one and haven't looked back since.

 

It was the same for me :)

[jedman67]

I cant say what specifically grabbed my attention; but you can feel the excitement, and the terror. The characters feel human - alive. Real people. Who doesn't want to imagine themselves a hero? But then you start to see what kind of life being a hero is. It's hard work, lots of responsibility, lots of lives in your hand. And you are being chased by Satan himself, not to mention his top lieutenants - people who gave their souls and lives over to the shadow to become gods - wants you. It's enough to make anyone crack. 

It's captivating. Instead of seeing the terror of the people oppressed by the shadow, we see ordinary people doing it to themselves. Regular men and women grabbing power for themselves at the expense of others, and kings and queens practically bending over backwards to restore order, stability and food.

It's so immersive because it feels so real.

[Rachel_VIP]

I cant say what specifically grabbed my attention; but you can feel the excitement, and the terror. The characters feel human - alive. Real people. Who doesn't want to imagine themselves a hero? But then you start to see what kind of life being a hero is. It's hard work, lots of responsibility, lots of lives in your hand. And you are being chased by Satan himself, not to mention his top lieutenants - people who gave their souls and lives over to the shadow to become gods - wants you. It's enough to make anyone crack. 

It's captivating. Instead of seeing the terror of the people oppressed by the shadow, we see ordinary people doing it to themselves. Regular men and women grabbing power for themselves at the expense of others, and kings and queens practically bending over backwards to restore order, stability and food.

It's so immersive because it feels so real.

I liked what you wrote.. It is very insightful and also true. You made me think of Mat's boots analogy. I don't know if you remember it. :)

[jedman67]

I liked what you wrote.. It is very insightful and also true. You made me think of Mat's boots analogy. I don't know if you remember it. :)

hehe. i think that must have been brandons writing, but it was a nice bit. 

[Eht Slat Meit]

Moiraine, Thom and Lan, along with Moiraine's instruction to Egwene were what hooked me in, the Shadar Logoth arc locked me on for the long haul.

[Mateusz Wronowski]

I'm not really sure what hooked me into the series. After I read the first book, there was just something urging me to go on. I really wanted to find out what would happen to the guys and all the rest of the characters. And that's my absolute favorite part of WoT. The characters are unlike anything I have ever seen in any other book. The little mini-battle between men and women, the different points of view and ideas that everyone has, and the vivid detail that Jordan goes into explaining the motives behind their decisions. Whenever I read someone's viewpoint, especially the major characters such as Nynaeve, I feel as if I know everything about her. It only gets better after finishing the whole series, now it's like I've been on the journey with all these characters, I can see how they've changed and why those changes occurred, and I know everything about them. Even if they are fictional characters. You really feel like you know them, and it draws you in, because they are extremely real and believable. It's great and I love it. Time to re-read the series :D

[Darki'n]

When I read the TEOTW prologue first time, I thought something like "eww, that's too bleak, I'm probably not going to finish this." I continued reading anyway.

 

When I reached the Winternight scene, my feeling might have been "well, maybe this isn't so bad after all. Let's go on..."

 

Then came Rand's dream in Ch9 where he saw Ba'alzamon for the very first time. Of course I thought it was the Dark One, and that thrilled me. I was still not seriously hooked.

 

The escape from Two Rivers to Baerlon. There I think the story really started to seem great: Rand meeting Ishamael - awesome. His wanderings in the town and meeting Min, Fain and Whitecloaks - great feeling, great characters. I started to read faster.

 

Shadar Logoth was the point where I think I became Hooked. Mordeth, Mashadar, Myrddraal, Trollocs... From there on I read almost without pausing.

 

Finally, to answer the actual question: The first thing that made me love Wheel of Time and convince me that this was better than any fantasy I had read before, was the battle of Callandor and the Stone of Tear. Perrin rescuing Faile, Rand killing Ishamael - It was a beginning for me, and there hasn't been an ending yet.

[clutzyninja]

Was there an edition without the prologue in EotW?  It was a long time ago, but I didn't remember reading until until my 2nd read.  My first memories of the book opened with the TR.  Weird...

[Darki'n]

I have never read it myself, but I think there's an edition with an additional prologue "Ravens", written from young Egwene POV. Could you mean it?

[Myrelle Green]

I can't remember when I realized I loved WOT. It's probably a combination of all the things already said by everyone so far. I especially loved the relationships between the characters in the beginning. I thought the narrative was incredibly strong throughout, and while there are countless references and acknowledgements to symbols and spirituality from around the world, it never felt like that was forced, or being used gratuitously.

[jedman67]

Im in the middle of book 5 reread, and so far i think its the worst book ever. the wondergirls plot is so dreary and awful, they act like a bunch of spoiled brats. Siuans Escape From Tar Valon subplot is also kinda meh, but thankfully short. Thankfully i get to skip to the Aiel/Rand/Mat stuff, which carries the book.

[EmperorAllspice]

I gotta say, I didn't start LOVING anything about the books until book 5. It was the combination of Lanfear skinning a dude alive and absolutely stomping Rand and his armies. It finally made Lanfear awesome after books of her using and messing up the other forsaken's schemes.

 

It just got better up into the finale, where Rahvin cemented his status as one of my favourite characters in the story by first showing enough savviness to Lanfear's crap to actually anticipate a scheme on her part (setting up the trollocs and ruining Rand's ambush attempt) then casually killed off 3 of the core cast, then managed to duke it out with an angered and empowered Rand, relying on skill and cunning to fight rather than raw offense, managing to lure Rand into TAR then changing him into a lion. Rand needed to rely on Pattern bullhockey to win that fight.

 

It was just awesome to see a forsaken do something ON PAGE for once.

[Elynde]

I started the series on the third book, if I remember correctly.  With that in mind, Loial was the single most creative spark I had ever seen.  I had read many fantasy books before, filled with all the typical fare of elves, elfs, giants, and trolls.  Yet here was this Ogier walking into existance out of seemingly nowhere with a whole racial history and mythos built in!  The creativity didn't stop there, with countless characters, places, societies, histories, and even languages to explore.

 

Although I was slightly confused as to what was going on and why (a problem starting three books in), it was all the details that kept me reading.  I wanted answers to my questions and I wanted a whole picture of what had happened in the world the book portrayed.  So, I kept reading.  It wasn't until some time later that I was given the first books of the series, but I have to admit that I am glad my first experience was out of order.  Frankly, while the first two books are amazing in their own right, the third holds the scenes that have resonated the loudest in my mind.  Remember the taking of the Stone, the introduction of the Aiel, and the sword that isn't a sword?  All the glamour of old myth drapped in the grandest new clothes!  And in the midst of it all, the secret of just what forgotten scrolls RJ pulled the foundations of the Ogier from.

 

While I never figured out the real life equivalient of the Treebrothers, I greatly enjoyed reading these books.