Are all of the WoT books as slow as the first three????

[Slinx]

Last time I really liked Perrin was probably the end of book 6 when he had balls, but I probably started disliking his parts when Faile got involved.

 

So yeah, I can understand skipping him. :)

 

And skipping Rand would be essentially turning a page or two.

 

Us female POV skippers have to use our muscles more. :)

[Guest Egwene]

I didn't skip much at all on the first read... the skipping is more on the re-reads when I concentrate more on the parts in the book that I found interesting or that I am trying to better understand. The WoT is definately a series where if you skip a lot, you really deprive yourself of the full picture.

[the dude]

i've never skipped a part, no matter how much i wanted to. and in many of the above-mentioned cases, i would often be inclined to do so. perrin was pretty much dead to me for a while there, and it wasn't until the 4th or 5th read through that i actually started liking reading the parts with the girls. appreciating is a better word there, actually. they still get on my nerves once in a while.

 

it's worth mentioning though that the first time i read the series (or what was published at the time) was about 12 years ago or so. what was onerous in the extreme at, say, 13, i can sort of appreciate now.

[torrente]

I just finished the first 3 books in the series and I was wondering if they are all as slow as the first three.

 

And also' date=' if the rest of the books continue on having this formula of walking for 500 pages and then having the giant climax.

 

I know this sounds kinda mean, but I don't want to read the books if they are all like the first three so can you save me the suspense. Thanks a bunch.[/quote']

 

The first 3 are action packed compared to book 5 . . . but I didn't think the first 3 were slow at all . . . most books have the formula where the last few chapters contain most of the action . . .

[Guest LurkingFadeFetcher]

I'd be hard pressed to name books that moved as fast as the first three. they covered a lot of ground. Besides, TDR has some of the best scenes in the series.

-Mat thumping Galad and Gawyn when he's sick

-Perrin frees Gaul and whips the Whitecloaks.

-Moiraine, Lan, Perrin, Faile, and Loiol vs. Sammael's Darkhounds.

-Mat and Juilin fighting their way through the Stone.

-Rand's battle with Be'lal was epic the first time I read it, it was like the first time you saw a lightsaber fight in Star Wars as a kid, you never forget.

-and finally, when Rand grabs Callandor, Be'lal gets balefired, and then Rand fights Ishamael in TAR. And after defeating him, declares himself. "I AM RAND AL'THOR, I AM THE DRAGON REBORN!!" or something like that. :)

[Guest Stefania Sedai]

I don't think that the books are slow, exactly, just very detailed. But it is the details that draw us in and make the characters come alive. RJ seems to write with a paint brush instead of a pencil, painting an entire landscape of depth and emotion that so many other series leave blank. I can close my eyes and picture the Wine Spring Inn or the throne room in Caemlyn. I know charcters' expressions and gestures, and because of this they have become more to me than just some people I read about one time; they are my friends and acquaitances. Would the series move faster without the detail? Yes, of course. But would it be worth reading? I don't think so.

 

On another point, I do think that the series is worth a second read. The second time around I have been able to pick up on so many subtle nuances and tiny details that I missed the first time through.

[DPR]

I think you have to look at what RJ is doing and what makes an "epic" story.

Somewhere back in the posts Mat C compared action movies to the books and Egwene compared fast food to gourmet. The bottom line is that the WOT universe is thourough and meant to be so. A characters behavior in book three might not have an explanation until book 10 and the pace of all of the books can't be formuleaic because its all part of a larger story. RJ is not a serialist. He has created maybe the most thorough universe in modern fantasy lit.

 

If you like 'em long, packed with detail, a written in fine style then it doesn't get any better. For me, the thicker the book the better. I do have favorites, but each one is great because of the others supporting it. Re-read over and over - with this series its almost as good as reading a new story becuase you pick up on much more.

[torrente]

I'd still prefer if the thoroughness was in regard to something important, like the description of a sword and not just 50 pages of wagon rides and nynaeve being jolted into biting her tongue.

 

But yeah i appreciate long unending open storylines . . .

[North Star]

there is a short answer to this: yes they are slow. they get very much slower. it took me 3 months to read either book 7 or book 8. nia wouldn;t even lend me book 10 as its SO SLOW she knows she would never get it back

 

yes its detailed...its certainly an epic...but does the detail really need to be there? no in my opinion. i think RJ could have done the entire 13 book series in about 5 books and then they would have been awesome instead of "ok, the story is ok, but its so slow im gouging my eyes out" ;)