On Mon, Nov 18, 2002 at 06:44:16PM -0800, Pyran Firebrand <pyranf at attbi.com> wrote: > [snipping everything said on this thread as there's too much I'd end up > quoting ;-)] > I read the first 8 Wheel of Time books. I probably won't read any more. A number of people said that prior to the last book and found themselves buying it anyway. > There were entire books -- Path of Daggers comes to mind, as does the > one previous to it -- that were unnecessary. They didn't materially > advance the plot, and all they did was further confuse the reader. > There is an overarching plot to the series; unfortunately, the Robert > Jordan has gotten so wrapped up in the tiny little details of his world > that the plot itself has been thrown to the winds in many cases. This is true. > The other problem was that RJ spent way too much time on throwaway > characters. EVERYONE had a name and backstory. You'd get a new little > character, and he'd be on for exactly three pages: one for his > introduction and purpose, one for his *entire life story*, and one for > his exit from the book. Then he'd never be seen again. The end result > is a plot further confused by a plethora of names that are of no use. > This is especially frustrating when you wait a year to read the next > book -- by that time, you need three whiteboards and a Rolodex to get > everyone's name and purpose straight. I do not know if it will terrify you or merely evoke a small, resigned sigh, but I am obligated to inform you that in the entire Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan has yet to include a throwaway character. Literally everyone we meet has an important story function to fulfill, and if we have never seen them before and they get 3 pages of life story, it's practically certain we will see them later on or have seen them before -- in disguise if nothing else. > I liked the series -- it was very good at the beginning. But it lost > its way around the 6th book or so, and by the time it found it again > (from what I'm told the latest book is excellent and, more importantly, > relevant again) I had lost interest. The only way I'd be able to make > sense of a new book is to reread all 6400 pages or so of the first 8 > books, and I have other things I want to read. This is much easier when you read quickly. > By the way, re: Asmodean -- my friend and I came up with what we think > is the answer to the mystery -- it's the only answer that makes sense in > light of RJ's comments and the available evidence. If only there was such an answer. > I really want to > post it here, but I don't want to give away spoilers to those interested > in the books. Therefore, if you're curious, email me and I'll tell you. > Or, if people don't mind, I'll post it here. :-) The fact that Asmodean is dead is a sufficient spoiler. RJ shows no hints of revealing the real killer in subsequent books. (Feel free to send it to me privately, if you've read the FAQ entry and taken those arguments into account). -- Matthew Hunter (matthew at infodancer.org) Homepage: http://matthew.infodancer.org/index.jsp Public Key: http://matthew.infodancer.org/public_key.txt