Well then, I guess I’ll be your first. (I hope it doesn’t hurt much.)
Seriously, I enjoy his books and am excited about getting and reading Crossroads of Twilight. I don’t mind the intricate details, the drawn out plot, the mini-plots and the millions of characters. (Hell, The Brothers Karamazov had a cast of billions, too, and I managed to slough through that. Of course, I’m not sure I’d be able to stick with a series should Dostoevsky have actually written sequels and all. ;))
I also enjoy reading Martin (and, interestingly enough, was looking at Hobbs the other day) and others (Jennifer Roberson’s always been fun for me with her Cheysuli and Sword-Dancer series), too. They’re all good authors, just different. (I am not a fan, however, of Modesitt or Feist because they tend to write with too little detail.)
But I do agree with the notion that he doesn’t write all of his female characters very well. They DO pull braids once too often and they all seem to be timid flowers, waiting to bloom with a lot of bosomy busts.
All-in-all, if he goes another two or three books in the series, I won’t mind much. There are thousands of other books out there that I can read in the mean time, so I’ll be happy. Besides, I’m patient like that.
Well, yeah, but “The Brothers Karamazov” wasn’t published in forty-three installments, either. The author said what he had to say, and then FINISHED THE BOOK.
Then again, I suspect Dostoevsky wasn’t getting advances from his publishers, either.
Oh, sure. I agree. I definitely think Jordan is dragging this out, but I don’t think he’s doing it badly. YMMV, of course. (Okay, okay, I know your mileage does.)
I think he’s created a an interesting, complex world that needs the amount of detail he puts in his book. I wish more authors would provide detail when they give us a book with “Okay, here’s this entire world and all I’m gonna describe is this itty-bitty portion of it. And even if I DO have my characters venture out to another country–or city, or tavern or hell dimension–I’m gonna make the other country/city/tavern/seven levels of Hell just like the country they came from. Except the ‘foreigners’ might wear different clothes. Or have horns on their heads.”
Take Edding’s Belgariad and Mallorean series, for example. No matter which country Garion and his Scooby Gang traveled, they all seemed the same. I mean, yes, there were superficial differences, but none of which to really take note.
Don’t get me wrong, I like those two series (and they are fun to read over again), but they don’t live up to Jordan’s for level of detail.
I mean, very few authors flesh out their books with enough detail, IMHO. True, I know that a lot of readers are tired of Jordan’s “fleshing out”, but I think he still has a masterful grip on his books. I enjoy 'em.
—I think he’s created a an interesting, complex world that needs the amount of detail he puts in his book.—
It isn’t detail that I object to, but repetative detail about things we already know: characters we’ve already met. Especially if we believe Jordan’s claim that he’s writing it as if it’s all one book. I mean, if it WAS all one novel, wouldn’t it be weird to be told, every six hundred pages, that Mat wears a wide brimmed hat, or Elayne has blond braids that she tugs on, or whatever?
—They DO pull braids once too often and they all seem to be timid flowers, waiting to bloom with a lot of bosomy busts.—
Not that I’m complaining (though it would be nice to have more than just Brigette and Moraine as exceptions for some variation in character), but TIMID? WHAT?
—Stopped after reading Fires of Heaven, never looked back. Pity, it came so highly recommended. My recommendation to anyone in the future will be to stop reading one book before I did.—
Oh, Lord of Chaos is pretty good, and Path of Daggers, though it definately has the problems of slowdown, isn’t horrible. Winters Heart is where you realize that too many things are just spinning in place.
I thought Winter’s Heart was a sign that the plot might start moving again…they actually acclompished something for the first time in several books. Apparently things have stopped again.
I liked the end of Winter’s heart. Too bad that this book is so… dead. (You see, mr. Watson, the body is still warm, the corpse has not been dead for long. Or wait, it has.)
I, too, gave up on the RJ stuff ages ago. At some point a new book came out and I forgot to read it, and after that I just didn’t care.
Try Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville. It’s not the High Fantasy stuff that others have been recommending in this threadmore like steampunk-flavored urban fantasybut it is nonetheless fabulous. Plus it all happens in one volume.
I tend to be the type that either likes a story and continues reading it, burdensome details and all, or hates it and never finishes the first installment. I myself enjoy the Wheel of Time series, even though I agree that things need to get moving again plotwise. I enjoyed Winters Heart and look forward to reading the new book. Even if he doesn’t advance the plot in the places I’d like, RJ spins a yarn that I enjoy.
I particularly enjoyed the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Book One, Wizards First Rule was a very enjoyable read. Many people I know who are frustrated with Robert Jordan are now infatuated with this series.
Since I read everything, I’m still reading the WoT. Yeah, I do enjoy it, but I wish the week in that world would get over with… (I think the series has moved forward about 6 days in the past 2 books)
I’ll continue to read the series.
I’m assuming you mean the first trilogy of The Black Company. I really like Cook’s earlier stuff (esp. the Starfisher’s trilogy, but it’s all out of print now.
I liked Wizard’s First Rule, and the sequels were ok, but I hated how Goodkind kept coming up with ever more ominous and horrible ways that the world was going to end in each book. At least the end of the Wheel of Time only comes once in the timeframe of the series, if Jordan would ever get to it.
I remember I started reading the Wheel of Time series way back in seventh grade. I enjoyed them, very much in fact. Perhaps his writing style isn’t for everyone but I was not intimidated by it and I am commited to reading the whole damn thing someday (if it ever gets finished). Many of the complaints brought up here are the same ones that me and my friends would debate time after time… years ago. I knew then, as I know now, that I would be long out of college before the series ever ended.
Personally, if you couldn’t even make it through the first few books then I could care less about your whining. Read something shorter. If there are too many characters and plotlines then read something more simple. I won’t pretend that the Wheel of Time is the series to end all series (God knows it isn’t), but I hear a lot of complaining from people who seem offended that it should ever be as popular as it is. Well it is, and I know as well as anything else that that draws the critics like ants to a picnic.
Some good fantasy series would be:
George R.R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire - this man blows Jordan away.
Steven Brust - anything based on his Dragaeran world.
Raymond E. Fiest - Got me started on fantasy books with Magician: Apprentice and the the Rift War Saga. Avoid his newer works like the plague, especially the latter half of the SerpentWar Saga.
Elizabeth Haydon - The Rhapsody Trilogy, excellent series IMO. Excellent writer.
Frank Herbert - Dune Series… Classic. A fantasy story in a sci-fi setting.
David Eddings -The Elenium. Read it a long time ago but I really enjoyed it.
As for Robin Hobb, all I can say is that I was with him until that utter disapointment of a book he chose to end The Farseer Trilogy with.
www.dragonmount.com has all kinds of resources, including a chapter by chapter summary of the entire series and an extensive (it’d have to be) database of every character in the series and what we know about them.
I was kinda disapointed in then ending of the first trilogy as well, but I thought the Liveship trilogy was a lot better. Much more sense of conclusion, and I liked the characters more (mostly).
—I thought Winter’s Heart was a sign that the plot might start moving again…they actually acclompished something for the first time in several books. Apparently things have stopped again.—
To make up for it, at least half this new book takes place WHILE that accomplishment is going on.
