Author Topic: Wheel of Time: Reading Order (New Spring and The Eye of the World Spoilers)  (Read 9217 times)

guessingo

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Well, it's clear that Tom Doherty really wants one book per year, but how much he NEEDS one book per year I don't know. I mean, I doubt Tor will have huge financial problems if book 14 doesn't come out next year (which it almost certainly will not). But the publishing industry as a whole is going through tough times right now. And I believe TGS was Tor's only #1 NYT bestseller in 2009.

John Scalzi wrote in his blog that the New York Times top 30 outsell the next 2 million books combined and the top 3 on the New York Times Bestseller list outsell the rest of the New York Times Bestseller list. That is telling. Publishers are reliant on a very small number of authors for the bulk of their revenues. That is a pretty dangerous type of business loaded with lots of risks. Does TOR get many New York Times top 10 bestsellers? It is genre fiction. I think they had Goodkind, so he would be one. 

Way of Kings will probably open in the top 10 of the New York Times bestseller list. I would think Brandon won alot of WoT fans and we (I am included) see his new series as an epic similiar to Jordan's. So that is attractive to us.

Also, I was not criticizing Brandon for being a different writer stylistically from Jordan. He writes to his own voice. However, his writing style, pacing, and descriptiveness is very different than Jordan. Brandon's book have a much faster pace and are more direct. They do remind me more of the style I see in thriller novels. That is not a criticism. I have diverse tastes in books.

btw, I won't be complaining if WoT book 14 is not out in 2011. I prefer if Brandon has more time to work on it. I am also looking forward to the end and dreading it. I am the same age as Brandon and started reading the series when I was in high school. It will end a chapter in my life.

Matt was too over the top in TGS. It was not awful, but he dialed it up a 1-2 extra notches. I did like the book. There are also alot of things I don't like about WoT and I am a big fan. So this is not really a big criticism on my part.

Tasslehoof

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I still haven't gotten around to reading New Spring, but I very much enjoyed all of the WoT books.  Eventually, when I'm caught up on all the other books I'm reading, I'll really "finish" the WoT books that are out now :)
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Comatose

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Halfway done the Great Hunt, and loving it so far!  The best book yet, I say.  I didn't really like Eye of the World, and this tops new spring!
Neither tops The Name of the Wind though!!!!  I immediately lent it out to the first book-intelligent friend I saw so I would have someone to talk about it with!
Now I just can't get over how no one can tell that Selene is bad news.  I mean come on!  She is obviously bad news, right?
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Rrikor

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I might have to look that one up.  I am in a reading lull right now with nothing new to read.  I have been going through my bookshelf and rereading them.  I am just finishing off The Annotated Elminster trilogy.

I am glad that you are enjoying the WoT books.  There are a few that are better then others.  Over all I enjoyed them all though.  I just finished my reread last year in time to finish the new book at the beginning of this year.  Now it is just a waiting game.  I will be picking up the Way of Kings book later this summer too.

Hobbun

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A reading lull is the exact opposite for myself, right now. With my long time off of not reading, I have fallen behind on quite a few books. After finishing my Drizzt books (only 7 more to go), I plan to finally start some of Brandon’s works (I think I’m going to start with Elantris). After completed with that, I will finally start my WoT reread.

So I have many months of reading yet to keep me busy.

Oh yes, then there is Way of Kings coming out, as well. But I think I may wait on that one for awhile. Last thing I want to do is start that series and then in book 3 or 4 the release time becomes longer and longer between books, like what happened with WoT. It really depends on how quickly Brandon puts them out, if they are released fairly quickly, it won’t be an issue.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2010, 03:19:21 PM by Hobbun »

guessingo

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I read a few drizzt books. That is more of a serial that goes on and on, than a series that has a specific end point. You don't really need to read all of them to get the jist of what he is doing. I thought the idea was better than the execution. I found the dark elf world a bit hollow and hard to believe. I kept wondering how every can be right and if there is constant warfare, and very few births why do they have such a big population?

Salvatore was ok. What he was trying to accomplish in his writing is not really what I like to read.

Comatose

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I just found Drizzt's constant moral dilemmas to be annoying.  By the end of the first book I read (not the first in the series mind you) I got it, he's a good guy.  A very good guy.  But every action he makes that might possibly be seen as 'not right,' he goes over and over in his head, trying to rationalize it.  What Drizzt really needs is some real flaws.

Of the forgotten realms, the books I really enjoyed were the War of the Spider Queen books.  I think true dark elves are really interesting, and several of the authors brought up some interesting dilemma's for the characters.  I particularily liked the friendship of Pharaun and Ryld.
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Hobbun

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I read a few drizzt books. That is more of a serial that goes on and on, than a series that has a specific end point. You don't really need to read all of them to get the jist of what he is doing. I thought the idea was better than the execution. I found the dark elf world a bit hollow and hard to believe. I kept wondering how every can be right and if there is constant warfare, and very few births why do they have such a big population?

Salvatore was ok. What he was trying to accomplish in his writing is not really what I like to read.

Well, to each their own. I agree, and as I said above (at least I think it was this thread), the Drizzt books do not have the complexity of like the WoT (or similar epic series), but for me it is a very fun read.

You can sit and analyze most series or books in general, writers are not perfect. But the idea is not to look too much into it and take it for what it is.  But if you don't enjoy reading those stories in the first place, I can understand not liking the books.

And you are right, right now they are more of a serialized story, with no specific end in sight.  Although I guess we could have said the same with the WoT 4-5 years ago.  :D However, of course eventually there is going to be end to the series, just like there is an end to everything.

And I am not reading them to get the gist of the series, but to experience the whole story. I know I am not going to get 'to the end' as there will be more, but I want to at least finish off what he has currently written up to as I will be seeing Salvatore at GenCon in less than a month and want to be caught up when going to his Q&A.

Hobbun

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I just found Drizzt's constant moral dilemmas to be annoying.  By the end of the first book I read (not the first in the series mind you) I got it, he's a good guy.  A very good guy.  But every action he makes that might possibly be seen as 'not right,' he goes over and over in his head, trying to rationalize it.  What Drizzt really needs is some real flaws.

Of the forgotten realms, the books I really enjoyed were the War of the Spider Queen books.  I think true dark elves are really interesting, and several of the authors brought up some interesting dilemma's for the characters.  I particularily liked the friendship of Pharaun and Ryld.

But that's part of who Drizzt is, he is that 'Lawful Good dark elf Paladin'. Which is why he constantly questions motives and actions. If he gave him flaws, and I am assuming you mean flaws as in sometimes doing things that are questionable, in the gray, then that would no longer be Drizzt.

He does have his inner demons he goes through, and he actually does have one  big flaw that he keeps under wraps as he loses part of his 'Paladin' demeanor. He loses control.

But I realize these books are not for everyone, but I really love Salvatore as a writer and really enjoy his writing style and characterization. His DemonWars series is excellent, as well.   :)