Actually yes. I do. The later books, after 4 or so, fit in better with the rest of the books. Any magical items from the first two books seem more shoehorned in later than something that would happen organically. So yes, I would go back and tame down the magic and mysticalness in the first 2 or 3 books and make it a consistent story.

fwiw my quick take. Up until the later books they lost the ability to make circles. They also seemed to lose or not train with some powerful weapon weaves that we see later. So sure, it'd make sense they would be around being healers, but it doesn't seem like later where a small circled group of them could fend off a lot. There also were comments that they didn't have the numbers... Also a quick morning take. Aes Sedai evloved in the stories from this female Gandlaf figure into an inverse to the Seanchan. Not inverse being one is good or bad morally, they both are pretty grey or equally bad. But, reading the tower chapters, Aes Sedai are pretty much every bit as restricting and "bad" as the Seanchan. I think as the story goes on this is built up (either on purpose or by accident) so when we get to Tuon (I think it was her) explaining the damane and how they were looked after more like fond pets than what we saw from the other perspective of those who were collared. So looking back I don't think that "The Tower" must mean "good", they are as bad as everyone else. Anyway to me the whole point of these books, again be it happenstance or on purpose, is what happens when people stop working together. The Aes Sedai focused on internal bickering and power moves, and it almost cost them the tower. They come together later, and they (in my current book position) are stronger than ever and in a good spot.

Oh I don't know. He was busy trying to give us a complete world, and exploring that world within the series. It may get long, but we eventually learn about every people and faction, and most of their motivations. Doing it this way meant that there wasn't as much of a need for any companion books or long appendices. We get to read about all of it in time with the characters, and there is something to that. But, if we want to go and label anything inferior. I think the first few books are more out of place and should be updated, and I'd mostly leave the middle and later ones alone. But that's just me.

Just speaking for me, I'm not "dissatisfied", it is what it is and it's been a pretty neat and wonderful time going through the audio books. What I am though is realizing that the world isn't as tight as it could be, and seems to change a lot from a really fantasy mystical type place to more of a regular, maybe 1700's, type world with a magic system and items. So it'd be nice to go back and make it a little more consistent and polished. It's still a great series, and I'd still recommend it.

Just to add to the discussion. I don't mind them that much, and generally I default to taking the position that its the way RJ wanted to tell or evolve his story. That said, I think Egwene and Nynaeve would work better in a short story, like the 3 books planned, than they do in what this all turned into. I get the "old blood" but do we really need 5 main characters from the Two Rivers area? It just seems much, and I'd have rather them fell into more of a Harry Potter style of friendship or band with them all meeting at the White Tower. Thankfully RJ seemed to drop some plans with the other girls from there that came way later, they were seeming to be being propped up for something. I can live with what seems to be the later superpowers of them rediscovering things and stuff. I mean Rand is doing what he is, so it makes sense there are others in this time that can achieve great things.

I guess nothing really specific, just some thoughts as I'm turning the corner into the Sanderson books. I like the Perrin arc in the early books, and the Wolf Dream and stuff is fun. We're in this magical world, dreaming is different, and there are different ways to access those dreams. It's also a fun take on wolves. However, after the first few books I'm not sure how much it adds, and the whole character of Perrin could be re-written to remove the wolves and I don't think much would be lost. I never really liked the Padan Fain story arc and never thought he really added anything. I have to wonder if he was kind of an in-between before the idea of the forsaken really took off, or what. Mat can have the cursed knife, and then it can stay in the white tower - or later turned into a different type of a magical weapon when the Aes Sedai go visit that room and notice it. In hindsight, we don't need the Green Man or a mythical place that appears when you need it most. I can't remember much else being magical like that later in the books. It is fun, and it fits in with the world of the first few books but we really don't need it. That can be written as some town or magical holdout in the Blight, kind of the inverse of Shadar Logoth. Not sure we need as much about the Whitecloaks as we get. No need for those waystones or whatever was in the first book. It was never revisited as far as I can remember. I'd do the ways a waygates a little differently. I don't need two types of traveling, plus the ways, plus the waystones... The dark ones seals could be more or less built in around his prison rather than these quest items that are all over the place. I wouldn't have Loial be a main character, or the Ogier be included as much. They can still be in the world, the Steadings can still be a thing, but more like the Circus rather than main characters. In a way I'd have the story more focused on Rand meeting all these different legends and prophecies about the Dragon Reborn. Him, Mat, and Perrin along with an one or two Aes Sedai can have the adventures that the girls did. Then lastly on my mind or now, and maybe I glossed over this in the audio books. I get why Caemlyn and Andor are important, but we spend all this time on what seems like a side story. I'd treat them more or less like the other city states, or maybe have them associated with a prophecy that Rand can fulfill (I can't remember if there was one, but it wasn't a spinning sword that's not a sword type thing). Whatever the crystal jewelry piece that held one of the forsakens souls or whatever it was. That seemed odd when reading it, also seems out of place, and I'd get rid of it or maybe include it earlier and more. Then I forgot. We have all kinds of different Dark One beasts and creatures, maybe we don't need as many. RJ was a discovery writer, and seemed to wander off the main plot a lot. That's fine, it has it's moments, and it's entertaining. But, the first few books are different than his middle books, are different than 7-9 and then Sanderson picks things back up as best he can. So the above is to get more contentunity and consistency throughout the series. [edit] since I forgot there was a TV show... For TV I'd change the above and then limit the main characters and maybe even limit their scope. I wouldn't try to do to much at once, that works in a book, but not on the screen. I'd also maybe just do something like a Northern Exposure that focuses on the Two Rivers area and run with that for a while.

I guess I can't edit my previous comment, so I'll put this here. I just started The Gathering Storm, and being newer to books (audio) it's my first real transition into both Brandon Sanderson and now a shared authorship over a series or property. Anyway, Brandon does a great job when he is on the ball and good, but yeah, some of it in chapter 15 and even 16 (I'm a little past that now) in my opinion isn't all that great. When he is on it doesn't seem that different from RJ, so I'll overlook the bad parts. Point being is that when I re-read this (well audio book) I'll pay more attention to the slog and RJ's attention to detail within it. Because the books do change a little later when Brandon takes over.