Robert Jordan died.

[StevieG]

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The Wheel of Time is by far the greatest fantasy book series I have ever read... up until about book 9.

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Up until about book 4. Then it was already clear he was meandering far too much and wasn't going to finish anytime soon.

The first three are quite good, though.

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The Wheel of Time is by far the greatest fantasy book series I have ever read... up until about book 9.

[/ QUOTE ]

Up until about book 4. Then it was already clear he was meandering far too much and wasn't going to finish anytime soon.

The first three are quite good, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Right from the beginning, Robert Jordan was predicting eight (I think) books in the series, so no one expected a conclusion in or around book four. I think it's pretty unrealistic to say the books were meandering or off-track that early on. The story only really hit full steam around book four, in my opinion.

SpaceAce

[SpaceAce]

Even if we assume Jordan's motive for stretching the series was purely financial, how does that cause you to "lose all respect" for him? The characters are his, the story is his, the decision is his. If people keep buying the books, why shouldn't he keep writing them? Poker players of all people should understand pushing an edge.

I agree the books became tiresome, but how does that wreck the rest of the series? How does book seven or eight or nine or ten retroactively [censored] on books one through six? It's not like the suck in book ten can reach back in time and take the enjoyment out of book three.

SpaceAce

[amplify]

Out of callous self-interest I hope that this prods George Martin into finishing A Song of Fire and Ice in a timely manner.

[Falc]

This is sad. WoT is by far the best fantasy series I've read. Haven't read them all yet tho (haven't reached the "sucking").

Rest in peace.

[TxSteve]

DAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!! !!!!!

that sucks.

he had a terminal illness and he knew his days were 'numbered'

in previous interviews he has said that his notes were extensive enough and that he had enough written that the series would be concluded if he didn't make it.

i think he really got the books back on track in the most recent 1 or 2.

[Keepitsimple]

actually felt sad. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

rip robert jordan

ps. i own a t-shirt and a mug from www.wotmania.com :/

[ZeTurd]

[ QUOTE ]
Right from the beginning, Robert Jordan was predicting eight (I think) books in the series, so no one expected a conclusion in or around book four. I think it's pretty unrealistic to say the books were meandering or off-track that early on. The story only really hit full steam around book four, in my opinion.

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Actually, originally he stated that it'd be 5 books in the series. Then it became 8. And then 10. And well, you get the picture.

I think he reached his peak around book 4 ("The Shadow Rising"). Up until then, the constant expansion of his universe and the increasing number of plot lines were actually welcome additions. Then came "Fires of Heaven", which still is a pretty good book, but in retrospect you can see how he's starting to meander and lose focus. After that, it just got worse and worse with a few glimpses of light in between.

[censored] it. I wasted too much time on these books, and now I'll never know who killed Asmodean! Anyone here used to hang around in rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan? Here's some gems from the newsgroup that fellow Jordan fans might appreciate:

Titles for book 10-25
Tarman Gaidon Bowl
A New General For Rand
Wrapping Things Up

[JackInDaCrak]

RIP Robert Jordan for sure. I'll buy the ghost-written conclusion to the series anyway. What an awesome writer.

[bisonbison]

8000 pages of addictive crappiness.