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Has anyone read Roberts Jordan's Eye of the World series? If so what ya think?

A fellow student introduced me to Robert Jordan, it was the first real fantasy series I read. I loved it! Until it got to around the 8th book, then it just got boring for me. I felt like it was all the same, and not much action. I lost interest and stopped reading it in the middle of that 8th book. I think there are 9 or 10 of them now?

i thought it was the wheel of time series or dear lord does he have another whacking huge set under way?

It's "The Wheel of Time" the first book is the "Eye of the World" which i am halfway thru at the moment (814 pages). It's very good so far plenty of magic and monsters. This is my first fantasy sci-fi.

The point is im almost halfway thru the book and i still dont know who the main character is, its hard to tell. I couldnt even begin to predict the outcome at this time, which is driving me nuts.

~A~

It's The Wheel of Time series, Eye of the World was the first book. But I knew what he meant :O)

Please, I beg you all, if you haven't started reading this series DON'T start it. If you've started now, stop on the very page you are on. These books will break your heart, leaving you with an empty feeling like you've been played the fool. Yes, they start out very good. EOTW is excellent, as are the next 3 or 4 books. Then something happened to Jordan, some kind of "greed machine" kicked in and he started dragging things out for as long as he could. He started adding more and more characters into his story that you just didn't care about. He would spend entire chapters that would go nowhere and tell you nothing AT ALL. He started filling it with expressions that will drive you nuts...how many times do I need to hear that so-and-so "pulled their braids" or "smoothed their skirts?" His treatment of his female characters is deplorable. The last book in the series was so bad that I hated myself for just borrowing it from the library. He's gotten so greedy that now, instead of finishing this series, he's writing prologues! The whole thing is such a terrible, terrible shame because the story had so much potential.

I feel like Ive written this rant before, but I'll say it again anyway....it can't be said enough: don't waste your time with Robert Jordan!

Laephis wrote:Then something happened to Jordan, some kind of "greed machine" kicked in and he started dragging things out for as long as he could. He started adding more and more characters into his story that you just didn't care about. He would spend entire chapters that would go nowhere and tell you nothing AT ALL. He started filling it with expressions that will drive you nuts...how many times do I need to hear that so-and-so "pulled their braids" or "smoothed their skirts?"

you say this like it's a bad thing Laephis

things still sell like crazy so he must be doing something right for an awful lot of people. and don't you find it comforting to know that no matter how long you live there will be a new wheel of time novel out next year?

Honestly, I think it's mostly that people are hooked on the story and want to know what happens. I know I am, which is what makes it all the more frustrating. I used to own a hardcover version of every book, but I sold them all on ebay and now will only get them from the library. I'm not going to encourage his horrible writing with my hard-earned money.

Take a look at all the bad reviews on Amazon for the last book, Crossroads of Twiddle...er Twighlight:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312864590/002-7261754-8759241?v=glance

You can also read a lot of negative comments if you do a search on google groups (AKA Usenet). I think a majority of RJ fans are very, very upset with how things have turned out.

Book 7 was probably the most excruciatingly slow book that I've ever read. I mean that quite seriously, hands-down, no comparison. Has everyone seen that Far Side comic, Hell's Library, where ever book was story problems (math)? After WoT 7 was published, all those story problem books were replaced with new hardcover versions of book 7.

Book 8 picked up quite a bit, and book 9 managed to keep things going, but book 10 definitely drooped quite a bit. Not nearly to the level of book 7, of course: NOTHING could compare to book 7, but it was somewhat close.

I absolutely loved books 1-3, and even into book 4. At this point, though, I'm just sludging through them to find out what happens. After that, I have no intentions of ever picking up any Robert Jordan book, except POSSIBLY after the series (the new series, I mean) is entirely finished. That way, I can find out if they're all worth reading before I even start...

Im almost done with the first book...which was the only one i was planning to read. I guess ill just ask someone how it all turns out.


~A~

Read 2 and 3 too - they're well worth it. Even book 4 is worth a read, I would say, and MAYBE 5 if you're still interested.

Anyway, wondering what happens when you've only read book 1 is rather like asking what the ending of the Lord of the Rings is if you'd stop reading before they even left the Shire: Even just the GOOD sections of the book are so much bigger than what you see in book 1 that the later parts of the story simply aren't going to make any sense. Heck, you didn't even get to the World of Dreams part that our shard is named after

[quote="Laephis"]Please, I beg you all, if you haven't started reading this series DON'T start it. If you've started now, stop on the very page you are on. These books will break your heart, leaving you with an empty feeling like you've been played the fool. quote]

This post kinda scared me. The first book has been a breath of fresh air reminding me so much of WOD. I guess i will wait till i finish it before deciding to continue to see if it leaves me wanting more.

~A~

I am very heavy into "The Wheel of Time" series. I personally would recommend reading all of the books. I have read and reread all of them waiting for book eleven to come out. Yes, he has drug the story line out a little much, but I enjoy the series so much I don't mind.



~Tristan~

Looks like the last one I read was Book 6 unless one has gone astray. Anyway the best summary I ever read for it was "They caught him and put him in a box." Thats pretty much all that happens and it takes 900 and someodd pages.

the thing with jordan is he adds new characters fairly regularly to what's going on. updating a person on what everyone is doing eats up pages and as the series goes along each book winds up covering less and less time. he has been focussing books on what particular members of the main line are doing which is great when it's focus is Perrin say and not so hot when it's a character i am less fond of.
there are an awful lot of balls in the air in that series which i rather like but apparently some people lack the patience of Job.