This is me giving you permission to read the chapter summaries instead of books 5-11. The only thing that kept me going through the middle of this series was the fact that I knew I got to read some Brandon Sanderson at the end. I have no idea how anyone managed to keep going on it when it first came out.
Honestly, if you Spark Notes the series, you will, without a doubt, have a better understanding of it than I did reading it in its entirety, because it took me months to muscle through some of these books. As a result, entire plot points and call backs were just lost on me. And what's worse–I was so sick of the series that I didn't even care to put in the effort to look up what I was forgetting. So do as I did not–when you get bored of this series, just read the chapter summaries. I promise you, you are missing nothing.
The act of reading most of this series IS NOT ENJOYABLE. It feels like homework for a class you don't want to be in. And I should know what reading for homework feels like, because I majored in goddamn English Literature. So given the fact that I am a (very minor and insignificant) semi-authority in this field, please, please, PLEASE take my word for it that most of the books in this series are barely readable, and not worth the effort of even trying.
That being said, the series itself is still worth experiencing. Robert Jordan was an excellent world builder, and many of the characters are complex and interesting to read. It's just that his writing and plotting are absolutely GOD AWFUL. However bad you think it is, it is worse, and it is genuinely not worth the precious hours of your life that you will spend on it.
Please, I have sacrificed myself so that you may be spared. DO NOT READ EVERY BOOK IN THE WHEEL OF TIME. Books 4 and 12-14 are the only ones worth reading in full. Books 1-3 are ok, read at your own discretion.
And to those idiots who still insist on reading books 5-11 in their entirety: I hope that you think back on this post in the middle of book 7, and I hope the memory of my warning makes you weep.
by kogasfurryjorts