Bookish Thoughts

Even though the final book in Jordan's (and later Sanderson's) epic Wheel of Time series took me almost a month to read, I still finished the whole series in less than a year. Which I'm pretty proud of. I hardly know how to begin talking about this book, because I really want to talk about the entire series. And it's hard to talk about the last book without talking about the whole series, because it's such a fabulous culmination of so many different plot lines and character threads. The series really is epic, and Sanderson sticks the landing. Then again, I struggled with this book. From the beginning this story has been building to The Last Battle, so it was no surprise that the finale was essentially an 1100-page battle scene. Well, that's not the entirely fair. The book comprised several battles, which built into a very short war. The Last Battle itself occurred in a 250-page chapter, which took me three days to read. Battle scenes bore me. I tend to skip...

I know I just said that The Gathering Storm was likely going to be my favorite book in this series. I have to immediately retract that statement, because Towers of Midnight knocked it out of the park. I had so much fun reading this book that, even though it's the longest book I've ever read (clocking in at 1220 pages) (and barring Bone , a 1300 page comic), I almost wish it had been longer. At least there's one more book after this (followed by everything the amazingly prolific Sanderson has written). The thing that makes this book so great is the sense of hope that permeates it. Unlike the last book, which focused on moving Rand and Egwene into the positions they needed to be in for the last battle, this book widens to include every other character. And it's amazing. Character arcs are finished off as person after person embraces their strengths and sheds their last doubts. Side plots are tied off as everyone heads to the Final Battle. Reunions bring ch...

I have finally arrived at the end of the series - almost. Three books left, and they're the ones Sanderson wrote after Robert Jordan died. This book begins with a note from Sanderson, explaining his process and that he wasn't trying to imitate Jordan's style so much as do right by the characters and story. And I think he did a pretty excellent job of doing just that. This book was a big step up from the last two. It flowed a lot better. A lot of the subplots I was tired of were left behind. More importantly, Sanderson did a better job of integrating the various stories. Jordan had gotten in the habit of dividing his books by different characters, essentially writing 3 or 4 books focused on different characters and then just stapling them together. Sanderson switches between everyone more often, which makes everything feel more connected. The best part of this book, though, was the focus on Egwene. She and Rand have the two most important story-lines in thi...

This book dragged for me, and I'm not entirely sure why. There's a lot of plot progression, especially compared to the last book. Several subplots get tied up. But they were subplots that I've long since lost interest in. The characters I love the most were barely in this book. So I had a hard time maintaining interest beyond a few chapters. That said, it's nice to have so many subplots tied up. Mat and Tuon  and married and have gone their separate ways. Which is actually something of a disappointment. I was hoping for more of the two of them interacting, especially once they were married. But at least Mat is back with the Red Band, in command where he belongs. Meanwhile, Perrin has rescued Faile, meaning that they are reunited after entirely too long. And Elayne has survived a siege and gotten herself crowned Queen of Andor. There were some other, more interesting developments. Egwene is infiltrating the White Tower from the inside. Lan is riding int...

In the Wheel of Time prequel, New Spring , Jordan provides a glimpse of the world twenty years before the series proper begins. As it opens, the Aiel War is ending. The Dragon has just been reborn. Moiraine and Siuan are Accepted in the tower. The story details Moiraine and Siuan's discovery of the dragon and how their quest to find and guide him began. It also shows the first meeting of Moiraine and Lan, ending with him becoming her warder. This book was a lot of fun, especially from a world-building perspective. It's nice to see the White Tower whole and functioning as it ought to. Getting more detail about life as an Accepted and Moiraine's test for the Shawl and induction into the Blue Ajah was great. The characters in the series proper leap-frogged the whole process, so there was no chance of seeing those rituals any other way. What's more, Moiraine and Siuan's story here really drives home how unprepared Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve are to beco...

The tenth book in Jordan's epic  Wheel of Time  series is essentially a catch up book. At the end of the previous book, Rand and Nynaeve removed the taint from saidin. For the first half (or two-thirds, really) of this book, we look at what each of the other main characters was doing when that happened. Then there are some minor baby steps towards the next bits of those characters arcs. But for the most part, this is 820 pages without a plot. I can see giving up at this point in the series. It's frustrating when nothing happens for an entire book. But I had my expectations tempered. I knew this book was the low point of the series. I know the next book is much more action-packed. I know the most frustrating plot lines (well, Perrin's) are about to get tied off so the characters can rejoin the main story. I persevered through this book to get to the end. And that's all there really is to say about it. You always get that episode of television right shortly before the...

Like every other book in this series,  Winter's Heart  is incredibly slow to start. But then it starts accelerating, and by the end you don't want to put the book down. It took me the entire bus ride from DC to NYC to read the prologue (which is over 10% of the book), and the ride back to get through Perrin's chapters that are so disconnected and full of moping and miscommunication that I hardly care. There are some characters in that subplot that I care about a lot, but right now it feels stuck. After that, though, we get Elayne and Mat and all sorts of excitement. There's more about the Seanchan, more poilitics and intrigue. Rand finally carries through with his plot to rid saidin of the taint, and another Forsaken goes down in the meantime. Although they are effectively immortal, and now that Lanfear is back I'm sure Osan'gar will pop up again at some point. The thing that I really appreciate about these books is that, while the characters all have their ...

Somewhere along the way, the Wheel of Time books became comfort reads. I don't necessarily need anything to happen. There are 6 books left to tie up loose ends (and one prequel that details how two characters met). I know many of the big plot points that are yet to come. In the meantime, I'm content to sit back and hang out with these characters in this world. Some still bug me, but it's the sort of affectionate annoyance you get for younger siblings. Oh Perrin, I'll think as I shake my head, will you ever figure out this marriage thing? Kudos to Robert Jordan for creating such an incredibly detailed and immersive world. With so many well-realized characters. Yes, I still have to look many of them up, especially the tertiary characters who only seem to show up once every other book. But a quick trip to the WoT wiki is enough to jog my memory. In the meantime, I'm learning more about the geography, history, and politics of this world than I think I ever knew about ...

The seventh book of the  Wheel of Time  series is where many people agree that the series takes a dive in quality. Although I think it's less that anything changes significantly and more that people get tired of how stagnant the books are becoming. Nearly nothing happens in this book. Jordan still has serious issues writing female characters and romantic relationships. The world is continuing to be expanded on, and the rules of the magic system are slowly (so slowly) becoming more clear. But this is also a step down in terms of length. We go from a few 1000 page books in a row to one that's only 850 pages (and the next is less than 700!). Combine that with my brilliant idea to read  A Tale of Two Cities  right before this book, and I positively flew through it. I think you have to reach a sort of zen state to get through this series. There are a lot of side plots, a lot of world building, a lot of descriptions of clothing. Rather than just hating certain characte...

It's almost hard to know where to being with this book, the sixth in Jordan's  Wheel of Time  series. There's a lot that happens. Tons of characters and plot threads all over the place. There's also a bunch of repetition and some of the flaws are becoming either more glaring or just more grating with time. I should be clear that the good still far outweighs the bad. I'm enjoying this series, and I'm glad I decided to read it. It's epic and amazing. The plot is fantastic, and Jordan does a good job of showing ripple effects. He also does a good job of yanking the carpet out from under you with sudden plot twists. He keeps battle scenes short and to the point, which I greatly appreciate. He builds up the chaos without losing sight of the smaller moments or the characters motivations. I'm happy to be spending thousands of pages (and what will surely become hundreds of hours) hanging out in this world. But Jordan has a gender problem. It's sneaky and...

With the fifth  Wheel of Time  book, I feel like I'm settling in to this world. I know a few of the major plot points coming up, because sometimes I just can't help myself when it comes to spoilers. Okay, most of the time. It helps, though. For instance, I went into this book knowing that Perrin wasn't in it, and that kept me from spending a lot of time wondering when he was going to turn up. I'm also able to sit back and enjoy the journeys of these characters. Watch them become the kind of people who are going to save the world. The Fires of Heaven  mostly splits its time between Rand and Nynaeve. We get a few chapters from the points of view of the people around them: Mat and Egwene and Elayne. And there's a subplot concerning the former Amyrlin Seat and the exiled Aes Sedai. Another about Queen Morgase losing her throne. But mostly this book is all about Rand and Nynaeve. Rand is beginning to come into his own. He's hardening himself in preparation to lea...

The fourth book in the  Wheel of Time  series took a really long time to get going. Everyone starts out in the same place, trying to figure out what they're going to do next. And it takes nearly 200 pages for the various groups to head out and become interesting again. Thankfully, the back half of the book was so good I actually considered calling in sick to work so I could spend all day reading it. The book ultimately breaks off into three different plots. Perrin and Faile head to Two Rivers to deal with the Trollocs and Whitecloaks there. Elayne and Nynaeve take off to Tanchico in search of the Black Ajah, with Thom the Gleeman in tow. And everyone else heads in to the Aiel waste. Perrin's adventures in Two Rivers, growing into a general and falling in love with Faile, take up the bulk of the book. Initially I wasn't happy with this story. Faile is an incredibly frustrating character, and she and Perrin have some serious communication issues. But they figure them out ...

This book was super disjointed, jumping between several different stories and spending a long time with each one before moving on to the next. As such, I'm going to split this up by character so I don't miss anything Perrin The book starts with Perrin and, frankly, he becomes a very frustrating character in this installment. He spends a lot of time resisting his wolfish side, which I didn't understand at all for a hundred pages or so. He's worried that he'll lose his human side, and Jordan takes far too long to confirm that this is a legitimate worry. I still think he should just embrace it, and I'd like for him to take off and spend some time with Elyas. It's the most obvious solution to his problem, and it takes him entirely too long to realize it and not nearly enough time to just dismiss it. Beyond that, I like the addition of Zarine/Faile to his story. She asks a lot of questions, which is always refreshing. Even if Moiraine refuses to answer any o...

Like the first book in  The Wheel of Time  series,  The Great Hunt  took a little while to get going. Action happened more quickly, but it still felt like everyone was hanging around until Jordan managed to get all his pieces in place. And then it was off and running. Once the plot really kicked in, the book became pretty thrilling. There's a lot going on in this series. It's not just that there are tons of characters (I looked it up and there are 147 pov characters over the course of the series) with their own subplots. The story really does encompass a whole world. The bulk of the book follows Rand, Mat and Perrin, as them attempt to recover the Horn of Valere which gets stolen in the early going. Rand does recover it, then it gets stolen again. Meanwhile Egwene and Nynaeve begin their Aes Sedai training, where they meet and befriend Elayne and Min. On top of that, there are two nations at war by the end of the book, and a couple that seem on the brink of it. T...

2015 is the year I finally read Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series  The Wheel of Time . Or at least make a dent in it. There are 14 books, each nearly 1000 pages long. I could easily do it in a year if that's all I read. But I want to make room for other things, too. We'll see. For now, I'm off to a great start, having finished the first book,  The Eye of the World , just a few days into the new year. Yes, I read half of it last year. It counts as this year anyway. I was pleasantly surprised by the first book in the series. Yes, parts of it are plodding. The plot takes over 100 pages to show up, and seems to disappear again halfway through the book. Jordan borrows heavily (and I mean heavily) from both  The Lord of the Rings  and the Arthurian Legend. And ultimately it feels like nothing more than setup for the rest of the series. Which, with 13 more books is to be expected. Despite this, I was thoroughly entertained and finished with a strong desire to start ...