I keep seeing that cool box set of it everywhere and a lot of people saying they love it, but I’m wary to start a 13 book series with like 800 page average per book lol. I like fantasy like ASOIAF and LOTR trilogy but I’ve been told this is like the high fantasy to end all fantasy. Could you just take down the first book and go from there? I feel like it’s kind of an all or nothing thing cuz I don’t wanna read like 2-3 and have them start to get meh. Or really even waste the time reading the first one if I don’t wanna read the second. I also have like 50 books on my TBR list already lol
by heyheyitsandre
4 Comments
It’s a great series, you’ll have a good idea if it’s “for you” or not after reading *Eye of the World.* The world really keeps expanding for the first 6 or so books, so in one sense you’re just scratching the surface with book one, but you’ll have a decent idea of style and pacing at least.
Can you borrow the first 3 from your local library? The series isn’t for everyone and I often find that that is the easiest way to judge whether I like a book/series enough to buy it.
I have the original hard covers. So I just grabbed every book as it was published. It definitely has its slow points.
So, I’ll start by saying I love WoT and can’t recommend the series enough. Basically, the first 3 books kind of follow a traditional LotR-like plot because that is what Jordan’s publisher wanted. It’s only book 4 and beyond that the series really gets it’s on unique flavor. 4-7 are the best books of the series, IMO. Most readers consider books 8-10 to be kind of a slog because RJ had too many characters and plots all trying to move forward at once. Personally, I didn’t think it was that bad. Still good books. 11-14 brings a satisfying conclusion to the series with the help of Brandon Sanderson for the last 3 books.
To answer your question, if you like the kind of fantasy you mentioned above…then you’ll probably like WoT. Read the first book. You’ll know if his intricate writing style is for you or not. The world he creates gets progressively bigger with each book but the first few don’t have the thousands of named characters that the series is known for. It’s a gradual build up.
I think it absolutely it. It can be slow at times, and I needed a break halfway through because it’s a lot. But it’s easily one of my favorite stories.