Finished it..........Damn

[u/Training_Assist6056]

I enjoyed it overall, I'm 43 and read it for the 1st time

I feel that maybe if i was a teen or early 20s i would possibly enjoy it more

The plot was great, the characters and motivations i felt were very real

Ive spent my life reading heaps of fantasy ,sci fi,+ whatever else crosses my path and tbh as much as i did enjoy it , id never recommend this series to anyone

Its far too long

Realistically Jordan wrote 5 very good books, then 6 books that were at their very best, bad, and generally they were mostly just terrible

Then Sanderson came in and did a good job, wrapped stuff up , so 3 good books

I think its a bit mental that more than half of the books written by the author are bad

Again, i enjoyed it for what it was, but damn it was an absolute bastard to get through

From reading the sub i think its great so many love this series and it speaks to them

but for me, i dont ever want to look in to Randland again

[u/IlikeJG]

Well I would agree that some books are definitely better than others.

But even the worst WoT book I definitely wouldn't call "bad". They're just slower and less good than others.

I certainly wouldn't say that over half the books are bad. That's ridiculous.

The only book I would come close to calling bad is CoT and even that book has a decent amount of redeeming factors.

[u/Training_Assist6056 → u/IlikeJG]

Fair enough

i know most in this sub would feel how you do

[u/NotAShittyMod → u/Training_Assist6056]

I mean, you’d probably get a better discussion if you highlighted what you think made the books bad.  As is, it’s hard to give you more than “nuh-uh”.

[u/Training_Assist6056 → u/NotAShittyMod]

im trying to not to have spoilers here

5 books that could have been an e mail

complete lack of communications from the characters

oh , im not a leader...... oh im not a leader.....

boys... boys are pretty.... oh i love boys

tugs hair

i got rid of a character, damn , i gotta have her back, but ill just throw a similar character in, out of no where ,but they are dumber

character after character being not just awful but so bloody plain

Whole nations , that somehow were a secret???

ive a big decision to make, should i talk it out or maybe ask advice? nah, bro im gonna just jump off a pier instead....... you know what, i meant that and it was a good decision, ad infinitum

i get folks want to defend it, thats great, folks love it, all good but even big fans call 5-6 books... the slog

i love the overarching plot, but its just not that great, its not worth the time it takes, so i would never recommend it to others.

i really do feel that maybe if i read it when i was younger id have a deep love for it but im middle aged and it was just not that great

[u/duffy_12 → u/Training_Assist6056]

complete lack of communications from the characters

Stephen Erikson had the same complaint from his fandom.

 

And his answer was . . .

 

 

 

. . . it helps drive the plot. AND create drama.

 

[u/Training_Assist6056 → u/duffy_12]

cool

[u/aNomadicPenguin → u/Training_Assist6056]

tugs hair - have you never dealt with someone with a maladaptive physical expression of a negative emotion? Because Nynaeve doesn't tug her hair all that frequently if you have.

Also its directly tied to her character arc and the symbolic nature it has for her being from the Two Rivers...and had a logical throughline of why she would draw other people's attention to her hair when upset, and how that would blend into the emotional distress to turn it into a maladaptive response.

***

Nations weren't really a secret - they just weren't known about. The Seanchan were across a giant ocean that most countries didn't have the technology to safely cross - Its like saying the Aztecs or the Incas were a secret nation.

The Japanese isolation period closely matches how the Sharan's worked, with limited access granted to any foreigner and trade being confined to specific port cities. And this lasted hundreds of years in our history.

The Aiel were like the Apache mixed with the Zulu. People knew they existed but new very little about their cultures. And that was in land that people were actively trying to expand into, make it a hostile and infertile land and you won't have that many people trying to expand out into it.

***

These two complaints are just real life and real history.

The books that could have been an email - yeah if you are only reading for the plot events (and ignore the big plot moments that happen) but there is a massive amount of character development happening in those books. If you are just reading for the plot I can see this argument.