[SpaceAce]

I was out of town all week and a lot of replies to my comments piled up. I'll just try to cover everything at once:

Although the Wheel of Time books have a certain underlying fantasy formula structure, I really don't see how anyone who has actually read them can think they are a boring rehash of old ideas. The characters, the setting, and the execution transcend the supposedly formulaic nature of the genre.

I am one of the people who tend to believe the story simply got out of control, rather than believe that Robert Jordan was shamelessly milking a cash cow. I think Robert Jordan simply loved his characters overmuch and tried too hard to give every single one of them an epic story of his or her own.

I also recommend the George R.R. Martin series, but that has nothing to do with whether or not you like the Wheel of Time.

I don't ever remember a time when the Wheel of Time was slated to be a trilogy, but I also didn't get around to reading book #2 until many years after its release. Whatever the original intent, I think it's pretty clear midway into book two that the story is nowhere near wrapping up. I don't care if a series stretches out to one hundred books, as long as those books are enjoyable to read and advance the story. Sadly, the Wheel of Time lost all focus by book nine, as far as I can tell.

Based on what some people have said here, I may reread the whole thing one last time just to get to book eleven and see if the story really got back on track.

SpaceAce