By the time I started reading WoT, the first 4 books were already out and Book 5 came out soon after. For the most part, I enjoyed the first 6 books. There were some very weird pacing issues prior but Book 7 drove me nuts. That was '96 or '97 and I didn't touch the series again until 2018 when I bought the remaining books and powered through the series. The pacing issues continue. I think it was Book 8 where I was halfway through it and realized that everything that was happening was before the end of Book 7.