[Important Note: contains spoilers for the Wheel of Time series]
[Another Important note: No matter the tone of this post, remember I think these are wonderful books, and Robert Jordan is a wonderful author]
[One more Important Note: It is tragic that Jordan never got to finish the work he had put so much effort into, if I sound otherwise it was not my intent]
Okay so I am going to rant (That means, this essay was not well thought out, in structure and the grammar and mistakes may just be atrocious, prepare for many mislepsings).
I remember reading Robert Jordan's “The Eye of the World,” in college. It was a large book but a wonderful book. I could not put it down. I loved it, as I did the two books that followed. The story was gripping and I was hooked. However, by the time I got to Crossroads of Twilight, there had been a good 9 months since fighting through the last book that was out at the time. I swore after finishing book 10, that I would never touch another Robert Jordan Book. That is not to say he wasn't a good writer, I just knew I would have to reread the entire series to understand book 11 which was to come out AFTER he finished a prequel. My worldview states that prequel's shouldn't come out until after the series is done, because it doesn't matter if they are finished before the author dies (Too soon?).
Well, I got this ereader for my birthday from an amazing woman, and found the EPUB's for the entire Wheel of Time series, so I hate admitting it but, I started reading the series again, thinking, he HAS to be finished by now.
I quickly moved through the first three books, the Stone has fallen, we now have a Dragon Reborn, I go to look and see what the last book is called to find out that, the series remained unfinished when the Author died. So I sound cold. Let me explain why I am so cold when it comes to this. Robert Jordan's series, what was to be his greatest work remained unfinished. I am cold about it because if I connected any feeling to this situation I would probably cry. He worked so hard and left something incomplete.
I am glad the series was picked up by another author whom I read was chosen by Jordan's wife, and based off of Jordan's notes and outlines. But it is still unfinished. Maybe I started reading them too soon because the release date for the last book is 2012 and at the rate I am going I will have knocked this series out, including the book I never read, by summer. Then I will be in the same situation as before. I excitedly pick up the final book with very little memory of the intricate story, only the general, and if I have learned anything about my mistakes in the past it is this, to follow a Jordan series you must remember EVERYTHING. I just don't think I am that smart, let me tell you why.
There is a set of readers out there that love to follow multiple stories within the same story. I got lost reading Jordan the first time, and I put The Arabian Nights, down halfway through. I can do three or four stories in the book, don't get me wrong, if the books are well contained and the series short. But Jordan's attention to detail is a little too grueling for me, that is why I love Stephen King movies but don't read Stephen King books, as opposed to someone like Kathy Reichs who is very detail oriented but leaves us to one woman's story at 300 pages.
I now begin to clime the great Oak Tree that is the Wheel of Time series a third of the way through the fourth book where:
Rand still hasn't told us what he is going to do
Nynyeve and Elayne are headed to Tanchio with Thom
Mat will be heading to the Waste with Egwene
Perrin, Faile, and Loial are into the Ways Back to two rivers
Min is at the White Tower which is about fall (if I remember correctly, which I may not)
All I really remember about the next series of books is that reading them was like pulling teeth and each branch seen above is going to fracture into two or three stories itself. I do not look forward to books 5, 6, 7,8 and, 10. These books were written for men and women with a great mind for details, I am am neither one of these men or women.
But what does it say that picked the books up again. Any story that touches so much emotion, both in the story and the writing style is worth fighting through. Sometimes I long for that fight through a series, to me it helps make the series worth reading. I am forced to confront myself not only in the characters themselves but in the manner in which they are brought to life. We will see how it goes from here.
Having said all that I feel it is important to reiterate my important notes.
- This is a very good series especially if you like multiple story lines.
- I feel sad that Jordan worked so hard and never finished
- I am glad that the new writer was picked the way he was, and that he uses Jordan's notes to complete the series, I am driven to get to the joint novels to see how he does.
- I plan on fighting through the series, and will probably be glad I did.
