Review: Wheel of Time

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, and Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning, there are neither Beginnings nor endings to the turning of The Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."

Based primarily on three young men from a sleepy, long forgotten village in a prosperous kingdom, the Wheel of Time is a duly classified epic fantasy series. Conceptualised and written under the pseudonym Robert Jordan, the series, abbreviated to WoT by fans is nearing the end after 22 years since the first book, The Eye of the World surfaced.

Prelude to the books

Jordan's world was forged by the Creator who fashioned the wheel of time which turns and spins the lives of the characters through the influence of the One Power. In this universe there are men and women who are able to channel the One Power, referred to as Aes Sedai. At the time of creation, the Creator imprisoned his nemesis Shai'tan, the Dark One, but during the Age of Legends his prison was compromised, allowing the Dark Lord to touch the world. Determined to be released and break the wheel of time to recreate the universe in his image, the Dark One recruited and corrupted Aes Sedai who would aid in releasing him. 

To create a balance, the wheel of time spun out the Dragon, a powerful male Aes Sedai who united the world behind him to seal away the Dark One. Sealed away imperfectly by the Dragon, the Dark One in his final act tainted the male part of the One Power which led to the male Aes Sedai eventually going insane and Breaking the World. Loathed, the male aes sedai were gentled by the females whose half of the one power was untainted. In his madness, the Dragon killed all those close to him and in a moment of sanity granted by a servant of the Dark One, the Dragon committed suicide. Since the Dark One's prison was not sealed perfectly it was prophesied that the Dragon would one day be reborn to raise armies and fight in Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle and defeat the Dark One. 

Synopsis

After covering the prelude in The Eye of the World, the epic journey begins three thousand years later when three young men from the Two Rivers in Andor are rescued by an Aes Sedai and her Warder from servants of the Dark One whom for reasons not clear til the end of book one, want the three men dead.  The series follows these three ta'veren who have the ability to unconsciously influence the pattern of the wheel of time.

Thoughts

The series begins very slowly and during The Eye of the World I kept wondering to myself 'why am I still reading this?' Near the end of the first book the story picks up and the events at the end propelled me to the next book. Up until book three The Dragon Reborn, the series seems fairly tame. From book four The Shadow Rising, I couldn't put down the books. The plot went from strength to strength and although there are more characters in the book than I can remember, Jordan miraculously ties up all the characters so you're not left wondering 'but what about this person?' 'what was this one's purpose?' 'why is this bit important?'

Somewhere around books 10 to 12 the story slows down a bit and events are recounted from different perspectives prior to, during and following a major event. After the 11th book Jordan died but left detailed notes for the final book to be titled A Memory of Light. Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson was selected to finish the series but decided to break down the final book into three The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light. When Sanderson picked up the series I immediately saw in The Gathering Storm the difference in writing between him and Jordan. After that initial deviation from the style I was accustomed to with Jordan, the style almost fell back into the same finesse of Jordan. There are subtle signs of Sanderson's style but it does not detract from the epicness of this series. Although, I do get annoyed with some technicalities.

These books are quite large and while it has been said that Jordan expands a world that was begun by J.R.R. Tolkein, I disagree. Tolkein created a wonderful Middle Earth and while Jordan's world seems smaller, the depth that he gave to the hundreds of characters he introduced are phenomenal! He may not have created an elven language but the Old Tongue, what little is shown, is quite remarkable. Jordan intended to write prequels to the series but before his death managed only one, New Spring. Other fans recommended that I read the book after the series and I have to agree that some things in the book just won't make sense until around book 10 or 11. 

Despite being an extensive collection, if you're as skilled as I am, I read this series in two and a half months. I read Winter's Heart in two days and would have finished the penultimate book in two days but tried to drag out the book since the final was so far away.

The Wheel of Time series is comprised of 14 books. Thirteen have already been released and the final book is due on the first of November 2012.

The Wheel of Time Series - 5/5 (because the slow bits didn't detract from the awesomeness of the series)

Wheel of time logo: http://iamcurrentlyreading.co.uk/2011/02/22/the-wheel-of-time-is-a-romantic-drama-masquerading-as-fantasy/