Desdichado
Hero
OK, about 5 years or so ago, I was thinking that the Wheel of Time series was just what fantasy needed; a big sprawling epic with fascinating characters, an intriguing and somewhat non-traditional setting, internal consistency, intrigue and conspiracy, an interesting magic and cosmological set-up; it had the works.
And then Robert Jordan just somehow seemed to drop the ball. When I first discovered it, there were six books out, and the seventh was only a few months away. I devoured the first six books, and waiting eagerly for book seven. Which profoundly disappointed me. On rereading, I realized that some of the other books leading up to it weren't really that good either, although the fantastic climax of book 6 kinda distracted me from that. Book 8, which I also bought in hardback the day it was released disappointed me further. I've never even read book 9 or 10.
He just seems to meander without any clue what happened to his plot. Nothing happens, it doesn't advance, the characters are getting annoying with their stubborn refusals to grow or develop anymore, and he's got some other failing as well, including a number of anticlimactic endings to some of the books.
But a few weeks ago while stumbling around in my book boxes in my basement (since our most recent move, we no longer have a bookcase for my books, unfortunately) I came across the Guide to the World of the Wheel of Time, or whatever that book was called, and I started remembering why I initially liked the books and the setting so much to begin with. Then I found out that my local public library has the entire run on audiobook, and (gasp!) the Eye of the World (Book 1) was available! So I rushed out and picked it up before someone else could, and I've now listened to almost half an hour of it. I'm guardedly excited to get back into it after having left it for so long, and knowing beforehand the issues I have with the book to start with.
Anyone else have an experience like this? I was bound and determined to leave the books behind for good until he was done, at the very least, if I came back to them at all.
And then Robert Jordan just somehow seemed to drop the ball. When I first discovered it, there were six books out, and the seventh was only a few months away. I devoured the first six books, and waiting eagerly for book seven. Which profoundly disappointed me. On rereading, I realized that some of the other books leading up to it weren't really that good either, although the fantastic climax of book 6 kinda distracted me from that. Book 8, which I also bought in hardback the day it was released disappointed me further. I've never even read book 9 or 10.
He just seems to meander without any clue what happened to his plot. Nothing happens, it doesn't advance, the characters are getting annoying with their stubborn refusals to grow or develop anymore, and he's got some other failing as well, including a number of anticlimactic endings to some of the books.
But a few weeks ago while stumbling around in my book boxes in my basement (since our most recent move, we no longer have a bookcase for my books, unfortunately) I came across the Guide to the World of the Wheel of Time, or whatever that book was called, and I started remembering why I initially liked the books and the setting so much to begin with. Then I found out that my local public library has the entire run on audiobook, and (gasp!) the Eye of the World (Book 1) was available! So I rushed out and picked it up before someone else could, and I've now listened to almost half an hour of it. I'm guardedly excited to get back into it after having left it for so long, and knowing beforehand the issues I have with the book to start with.
Anyone else have an experience like this? I was bound and determined to leave the books behind for good until he was done, at the very least, if I came back to them at all.
In my case, I'll be commuting to and from work while listening, but that's still a good hour a day, and more if I go sit in my car during lunch and listen.
