The Wheel Of Time- Robert Jordan

They're really nothing like Lord of the Rings!! There is one similarity which is between descriptions of Black Riders and Myrdraal but that's pretty much it apart from things like their being an Old Tongue - but lotr can't keep dibs on that!!! There's no elves or dwarves or hobbits. No dragons or demons or orcs or goblins. There is a dark lord but he's not really in it. The story has no parallel to lotr at all. It's debatably set in our world (though this is almost believed by no one - exept me!!)

I reall recommend reading them. They're slightly more adult reading than lotr but the only thing you need to watch out for is violence and very slight reference to things.
 
Hm. I'll see if I can get hold of them. (after reading Grimms fairy tales, violence, at least, usually isn't a problem ;))

Edit: Goodness! Which is the first one?
 
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Dernhelm, the 1st book has 2 parts to it- From the Two Rivers and To the Great Blight < I think they're called that
The books are great...I read until 11....Rand is VERY annoying though...


PS:I heard Robert Jordan is dead but he outlined the plot for the 12th book and somebody else is writing it. Is that true?
 
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Georgie the Valient said:
Dernhelm, the 1st book has 2 parts to it- From the Two Rivers and To the Great Blight < I think they're called that
The books are great...I read until 11....Rand is VERY annoying though...
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Rand is annoying and continues to be but the focus lessons on him throughout the book and you read all about the other cooler characters so it's ok.
 
I'm about halfway through the first book – and I have to say, in spite of its flaws, it is a fun book. The pacing is not the best, and there are a lot of clichés, and the feminism is awful! But all of these (except the feminism :() are easy to correct in my head, so I really am enjoying the book. Lloyd Alexander and Robert Jordan are equally bad at names – very Tolkienesque, but they only look nice; they sound dreadful. ;) Neither wrote great literature, but both are fun. (But really, what is this thing about girls on adventures having names that begin with E, and include a w? Lloyd Alexander: Eilonwy, Robert Jordan: Egwene. :p J. R. R. Tolkien: Éowyn. Am I imagining things?)

To be fair, I probably would be less critical if I had read the book before reading things like: The Fantasy Novelist's Exam. It's funny, although the 'bad guy who is the father of the hero' comes from Star Wars, not Tolkien or Lewis.

I'll go finish the book now. :D
 
Dernhelm said:
I'm about halfway through the first book – and I have to say, in spite of its flaws, it is a fun book. The pacing is not the best, and there are a lot of clichés, and the feminism is awful! But all of these (except the feminism :() are easy to correct in my head, so I really am enjoying the book. Lloyd Alexander and Robert Jordan are equally bad at names – very Tolkienesque, but they only look nice; they sound dreadful. ;) Neither wrote great literature, but both are fun. (But really, what is this thing about girls on adventures having names that begin with E, and include a w? Lloyd Alexander: Eilonwy, Robert Jordan: Egwene. :p J. R. R. Tolkien: Éowyn. Am I imagining things?)

To be fair, I probably would be less critical if I had read the book before reading things like: The Fantasy Novelist's Exam. It's funny, although the 'bad guy who is the father of the hero' comes from Star Wars, not Tolkien or Lewis.

I'll go finish the book now. :D
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Pacing is quite a big problem, but bear in mind this is a twelve book long series, and the world Jordan creates is so rich, it's worth plodding through!!

The feminism is there I see more to contrast the masculism (if that's a worse), one thing Jordan does well is depict opposing views with little bias, so you'll find people throughout the books, none of whom are evil, but who all believe their ways and beliefs are right and so conflict with the main characters (who are only good cos we read from their point of view). In this way te feminism is characteristic of the feminine characters - and there is a whole reason as to why the world is so much more feminist than ours... which you will slowly discover...

The name thign is very true. But there is some intention I think. There are names you will meet throughout the series; Artur Paendrag (Arthur Pendragon), Gawyn (Gawain), Galad (Galahad), Egwene (Gwinevere). Clearly there's references intended here.
 
The pacing improves immensely in the second half; I must admit, the first half was actually a slight effort to read. :p The second is far more interesting. :D Artur Paendrag, Gawyn, Galad, and Elayne are definitely references - I'm not sure about Egwene (unless there is some plot parallel later in the series?) - it's certainly possible. Also, Morgawse (can't remember the spelling in the book, but the Queen).

I can't help thinking the Ogair (sp?) are rather like Ents :p You know, s l o w, talking to trees, even a 'hasty' one, like Quickbeam. But . . . then, I guess everyone borrows. Tolkien borrowed from much older sources. Why doesn't that strike people the same way?
 
Dernhelm said:
I can't help thinking the Ogair (sp?) are rather like Ents :p You know, s l o w, talking to trees, even a 'hasty' one, like Quickbeam. But . . . then, I guess everyone borrows. Tolkien borrowed from much older sources. Why doesn't that strike people the same way?
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You're right, and actually, you'll see later that they're even more like Ents. I just see them as different cos they're not trees - really I think of the Nym more like Ents - that's almost a direct parallel.

There may be some parallels, but I think if you keep reading on, you'll realise those parallels are actually very small parts of the plotline and the big themes and the overarching plotlines are really quite original.

So you gonna keep reading them!!! They get better after book 1 i think. They move from typical fantasy novel to epic in book 2 - so much is begun to be introduced - the detail of the world is expanded dramatically, where Jordan really begins to bring the books into their own. My favourite game is trying to parallel the cultures of the books with cultures n our world (though often they're like a mix of two or even three) eg. Carhien has hints of Western Europe in their architecture and personality, but their dress and appearance is quite Japanese. Similarly, the Amadicians remind me very much of the Early Founding Fathers of the Americas while Andor is very English. You'll see more as you read. It's so exciting!!!!
 
Well, it's time for me to surface this thread again in the hope that someone out there may know of the books! They're a great series and I'm currently reading the twelfth book which was published a few months back!

If you've read them or even heard of them please comment!
 
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