So, The Wheel of Time

[The Man]

I want to pick this series back up now that the final volume's out (because I've wanted to find out how this series ends for at least ten years) but due to the Kudzu Plot and Loads and Loads of Characters I'm intimidated to just jump back in. I'm not entirely sure I have the endurance to reread the entire series. For the record, I haven't read a book in this series since 2005. How difficult would it be to jump in at The Gathering Storm without having reread any of the books recently? If too difficult, what should I reread first, or are there good resources on the Internet for getting people back to speed without rereading the entire series?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

Once my questions have been answered you can use this as a general-purpose thread for discussing the series.

[Ouch!]

I read through just before the Gathering Storm in summer 2010 and picked it up when it came out. Both the Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light--without having re-read the preceding material since as recently as 2010--were difficult to keep track of. If you haven't read anything since 2005, I would imagine the only way you're going to be able to catch up is to re-read, which is understandably daunting. I do not know of any resources that will also be spoiler-free for the last few books, unfortunately.

[Del Murder]

I got through about 15 pages of the first book, which covered a short walk though the woods in which nothing even happened, before I decided this series was not for me. What's with fantasy writers and their focus on inane detail?

[Ouch!]

I would imagine it's an effort to emulate Tolkien. At this point, I would not recommend the Wheel of Time to anyone who hasn't already started. The conclusion was satisfying for those already invested in the series. But as a complete work? It's not worth the investment of time.

[Lonely Paper Star]

At this point, I would not recommend the Wheel of Time to anyone who hasn't already started. The conclusion was satisfying for those already invested in the series. But as a complete work? It's not worth the investment of time.

Duly noted. I had been thinking of reading it just because I hear about the series a lot, so I bought the first book (despite my already growing stack of books I've yet to read) when Border's bookstore was having its going-out-of-business sale. O_o

[The Man]

I think it's worth reading, but you're going to have to be prepared for some pretty troutty writing about midway through the series. The Path of Daggers and Crossroads of Twilight are the worst. A Crown of Swords is better, but still not very good. Winter's Heart, which comes in between the two worst offenders, is fine. The other books are at the least good and some are great.

I'll start a reread of the series then. At my recent reading rate I should probably have it done by next year. Maybe I should re-purchase The Eye of the World. My mass-market copy has almost fallen apart.

One thing that's great about ASoIaF is that one of the sites, Tower of the Hand, allows you to set spoiler visibility based on what books you've already finished. I wish something like that existed for TWoT :<

[Citizen Bleys]

I had no problem remembering key events picking up the last volume without having read any WoT since the previous one came out.

That being said, I've been reading WoT for literally twenty years, so it doesn't take much of a reminder to call up key scenes in my mind.

[theundeadhero]

When the reading gets dragged down by some of the less well written books throughout the series try to remind yourself that the last three books make up for it. They get back to progressing the main story and developing the characters rather than trying to flesh out who and what everything else in such a large imaginary place is.

I've been reading the series off and on for the past ten years and have never once gone back to reread previous works. I remember them well enough as they're mentioned if needed.

[Raistlin]

At one point I had read all of the WoT books that were out, but that was nearly a decade ago. I don't regret it, but the relatively poor writing made it so that I could not even begin to care enough to read the books that came out later. There's no way I can read the final books now, which is a very little bit of a shame.

[Bolivar]

I was just talking about this series today with a friend who asked if I wanted to read it with him. I'm in the middle of a series, have my next one picked out, and I'm not so sure about diving into this one. He told me how sick the prologue is, and showed me how it ended, it was kinda cool.

So you guys are satisfied with how Sanderson helped finish it?

[Citizen Bleys]

I'm quite happy with Sanderson's work, yes.

[theundeadhero]

I think he gave it a freshness that Jordan's earlier works had but later works were missing.

[Ouch!]

Sanderson is a far better writer than Robert Jordan at his best. His admirable completion of the series prompted me to read some of his own work. I've finished The Way of Kings, Mistborn: The Final Empire and Mistborn: The Well of Ascension in the past two weeks. I know I read faster than most people, but that's over 2,000 pages. I just finished the second book in the Mistborn trilogy and looked up at the clock to find myself awake after 4:00 AM--not something I've done in a long time. If you're going to invest in fantasy, Sanderson is absolutely worthy of your time.

Side note: he's deceptively ambitious, as well. While all of Sanderson's adult fantasy fiction (he has a few young adult novels that do not adhere to this) stand alone (you need not read Elantris to understand the story of the Mistborn trilogy), they all occur within a shared universe called the Cosmere. There is something of an overarching narrative going on throughout all these series. It's a nice little bonus for following everything.

[The Man]

Having read Elantris, Warbreaker, and the original Mistborn trilogy (there's a new book in the series out that I don't have yet), I can concur with the assessment that Sanderson is probably a better writer than Jordan ever was. His prose isn't the greatest, but his pacing, plotting, and characterisation are top-notch and I have encountered literally no one in the genre who does a better job creating believable and internally consistent magic systems. He also does a good job creating strong, believable female characters, which is a trait that far too few male fantasy authors seem to share.

I will also add that while a lot of Jordan's later entries in the series seemed to sag, Knife of Dreams managed to reclaim the pacing of the earlier entries in the series and stands among the best entries he wrote in the series. Assuming Sanderson's Wheel of Time books are as good as I suspect they are, the last four books of the series are among the best the series has to offer.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I'm having the same dilemma with Song of Ice and Fire. I read the first book in like 1998. The last one I read was in 2005. I've decided to wait until Martin finishes the series, and go back to read it. I don't need some WoT situation where the original author dies leaving incomplete work. Martin, Ive been waiting to hear how the story ends for over 15 years. Don't you dare die on me you old son of a bitch.

EDIT: okay, okay. Almost 15 years....