Wheel of Time Books - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Elemmakil · 01-06-2011, 10:54 PM

At the insistence of a friend, I gave WoT a try. I really did. I read the first five books but finally gave up. While the basic plot was fine, the writing was utterly tedious.

Some folks (my friend, for one) insist that Tolkien is too long winded, etc. Really? The entire LoTR story (possibly even including the appendices, but I'm too lazy to do a page count) only adds up to ONE of Jordan's ponderous tomes. I really cannot comprehend such thinking.

I found myself skimming entire chapters in the WoT series, it was so painful to read. What Jordan really needed was a sharp and ruthless editor to stand up to his diarrhea of the word processor and cut out all of the useless drivel. Seriously. I do not care one whit how many ribbons are in Egwene's dress, nor do I need a travel guide to all the taverns between Two Rivers and Caemlyn. And all the incessant babbling about the "taint of Saidin" blah blah blah.... One could very easily told the entire essential elements of WoT in a couple of books, three at most, and had an excellent series. Instead, we got what we got...

At least the Good Professor had the excellent sense to stuff all of the detail stuff in appendices. Perhaps such would have aided Jordan's work as well. Couldn't have hurt....

Nor did I find Jordan's attempts at Conan to be any better.

I have found Terry Goodkind's books much more enjoyable to read that Jordan and the character's much more pleasant, even if I think the plot of the latter's may have been somewhat better. And I have found George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" to be far and away better than both. That *is* a top notch series, though I still prefer Tolkien a great deal more. (Parenthetically it would be nice if Martin would get around to finishing just the latest book - I do not hold out much hope of him finishing the series)

Jordan's books remind me of a great line from Commander Ivanova of Babylon 5: "If you get anywhere near a point, MAKE IT."

01-06-2011, 10:54 PM	#36
Elemmakil Pile O'Bones Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 19	WoT... ugh... At the insistence of a friend, I gave WoT a try. I really did. I read the first five books but finally gave up. While the basic plot was fine, the writing was utterly tedious. Some folks (my friend, for one) insist that Tolkien is too long winded, etc. Really? The entire LoTR story (possibly even including the appendices, but I'm too lazy to do a page count) only adds up to ONE of Jordan's ponderous tomes. I really cannot comprehend such thinking. I found myself skimming entire chapters in the WoT series, it was so painful to read. What Jordan really needed was a sharp and ruthless editor to stand up to his diarrhea of the word processor and cut out all of the useless drivel. Seriously. I do not care one whit how many ribbons are in Egwene's dress, nor do I need a travel guide to all the taverns between Two Rivers and Caemlyn. And all the incessant babbling about the "taint of Saidin" blah blah blah.... One could very easily told the entire essential elements of WoT in a couple of books, three at most, and had an excellent series. Instead, we got what we got... At least the Good Professor had the excellent sense to stuff all of the detail stuff in appendices. Perhaps such would have aided Jordan's work as well. Couldn't have hurt.... Nor did I find Jordan's attempts at Conan to be any better. I have found Terry Goodkind's books much more enjoyable to read that Jordan and the character's much more pleasant, even if I think the plot of the latter's may have been somewhat better. And I have found George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" to be far and away better than both. That is a top notch series, though I still prefer Tolkien a great deal more. (Parenthetically it would be nice if Martin would get around to finishing just the latest book - I do not hold out much hope of him finishing the series) Jordan's books remind me of a great line from Commander Ivanova of Babylon 5: "If you get anywhere near a point, MAKE IT."