Rating: 
Summary: Zillions of people, not a single action!!!
Review: Jordan should not bother to write any more books in this series, it simlply is not going anywhere! In over 700 pages, the only considerable event is Rand's cleansing the taint from saidin, and that is only in the last 50 pages of the book.
Jordan throws in a lot of number of characters who readers struggle to remember and understand who is who! After almost a year from the last book, readers to tend to forget names in the previous books and that is really a nuisance. A stranger comes out of Jordan's pen and we are supposed to remember if this one is a character from the previous book or a new one? I say, why is the need for soooooo many number of people and why is the need to so much detail their characters when they will appear only for a number of pages in the book. Well, it serves a purpose of course: Fill up the pages without getting anywhere and there you have it: One more book to fill Jordan's coffers! I eagerly anticipate George R. R. Martin's next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, but it does not matter to me anymore if Jordan writes a sentence more in the Wheel of Time series.
Rating: 
Summary: End it, Please!
Review: I was a huge fan of the first five books, and now am trapped; doomed to read the rest of the series. Nothing happened in this book until the last chapter, and that was weak. This book was just a big set-up for the next one, I hope something happens in that one! Please Mr. Jordan, wrap it up!
Rating:
Summary: Long, but definitely not an epic. Not by a long shot.
Review: When the word 'epic' is used, we modern day readers think of 'The Iliad' or 'The Odysey'. Unfortunately, it is becoming fashionable to consider a long book series worthy of the term. Thus, the word 'epic' becomes shortened to mean 'a long series of books'. Dictionary.com defines 'epic' as '(A story), Narrated in a grand style; pertaining to or designating a kind of narrative poem, usually called an heroic poem, in which real or fictitious events, usually the achievements of some hero, are narrated in an elevated style. ' Unfortunately, Robert Jordan's series the Wheel of Time has become an overdrawn and rather mundane collection of books, detailing a group of characters that have ceased to be interesting a few books ago. A long story this may be, but somewhere along the way, the potential for readers to feel that each book and each book matters has faded. A funny thing happened last year. 'Winter's Heart' came out. I bought it in hardcover, and proceeded to read through it over a period of three months. I was surprised to realize that after five years of being a fan of the series, I just didn't care anymore. Maybe it was the plodding sense of the last few entries into the series, but between the hordes of minor characters, annoying descriptions of every dress every women wears, and the frequent absences of one or more major characters in certain books, I began to wonder why everything seemed so trite. My review for this book is rather low. I am puzzled as to how other readers can defend Robert Jordan's choice to draw the series out by saying that the series demands patience and maturity. In my opinion, a key benchmark of a good writer is to express themselves in a way that is both entertaining and meaningful to those that read their books. The Wheel of Time has become an unpleasant pass time for me and I empathize with those readers that feel cheated after years of buying these books. Let's get things straight here. Something very important does happen in this book. But by the time you get to it, there is no attention given to this achievement. Instead, you must sufffer through almost 700+ pages of the usual repetitive descriptions and childish characterizations. A number of inconsistencies can pop up (which is par for the course in WoT these days). For one, if there is a city that is enclosed in a stedding, how is it possible to use the Power at all? Oh, Jordan doesn't really care about that. He circumvents that by introduces yet another new ter'angreal that makes it very convenient for our heroes to succeed in landing themselves in another hackneed scenario. And his characters? He doesn't care about that either, apparently. Cadsuane seems written into the story for the express purpose of knowing everything and having a number of advantages to move the plot along. As for Perrin and Faile? Oh, she was kidnapped in the last book, and while she is gone, he is still worrying about Berelaine. These characters don't have priorities. It is as simple as that. Forsaken escape, and Egwene doesn't care. After all, she is still consolidating her power. Nynaeve is almost killed by another Forsaken. She doesn't care. She is worried about looking good in front of Lan. Rand is surrounded by enemies? His friends don't care. As they remind us again and again, he is always getting into trouble somehow or another. At this point, I miss the simplicity the quest had when it was Egwene, Nynaeve, Mat, Perrin, Rand, Lan and Moiraine. Between the shabbily written court intrigue and half-baked machinations of the enemies, the series has become a continuos soap opera that more resembles a romance novel in fantasy clothing than a Tolkien-level work of strong writing. Robert Jordan, to put it bluntly, just doesn't care about turning out quality work, having compromised that for quantity of pages and characters. And it shows. This books deserves no stars, though as a reader and a writer, I wish another writer would take the reins after book three and redo the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Descriptions, no action
Review: As the series has progressed, Jordan has grown more and more fond of his own flowery descriptive style, at the expense of story and action. I frankly do not care to know the color of the piping on everyone's coat, or to live and relive sceens from various character's points of view! In this book, we visit every group of characters...and none of them move! Literally, except for Rand (and retineu), they are in the same place at the end that they started at the begining! Maybe the story has grown too complex, but frankly I should get half my money back because I didn't read every other paragraph.
Rating: 
Summary: Its all about the CHOEDAN KAL
Review: i basically agree with both the positive and negative reviews. But the last 4 chapters of this book easily rival any fantasy series, including Tolkien. I truly feel bad for all the people who will never be able to read "With the Choedan Kal", the last chapter of this book, because it is simply the best chapter of fiction i have ever read. The only draw back: it is chapter 35 of book 9, of a very insuccint series. May the light have mercy on my soul.
Rating:
Summary: Debunking Insults
Review: I've noticed many of the reviews have critiqued Jordan's work for borrowing ideas from Tolkien, therefore lacking an original an original piece. I would say that is a pointless arguement against it. Every fantasy epic I've read has borrowed from Tolkien. Take for example, in R.A. Salvatore's "Icewind Dale Trilogy", Bruenor, a dwarven king, is in search of his lost homeland in a mountain that was stolen by a dragon. Sound familiar to those of you who have read "The Hobbit"? Or even "Dungeons & Dragons" and any derivitive has completely stolen the idea of a hobbit/halfling right down to every detail. The approximate height, the furry feet, and the superior dexterity. And I could go on. (I would like to point out though that Tolkien's work is very dependant on Norse mythology and is not really that original) People have also complained that the series is too long. Why is that a bad thing? I, personally, hate it when a good book ends and wish that it wouldn't end. Many also think that Jordan's books have gotten more and more dry and boring. WAKE UP! Fantasy readers have become too addicted to the large amounts of fighting in the fantasy genre and don't seem to like it when an author has more character/plot development than action, which is Hollywood's downfall right now. Another thing that really bugs me is people complaining about the repetition of "blood and bloody ashes", "Light", and "Burn you". They are quite obviously swears! If you think about, a large amount of people swear on a very frequent basis and Jordan is merely making the dialogue more realistic by adding in some archaic English swears. And for those of you who can't stand how much detail and repeating of himself Jordan does, try reading "War and Peace" and you'll stop complaining. Tolstoy lists everything to the dot that happens. To end this commentary, I think that Jordan has created a very immense and 3-D world with an intricate past and fully developed, evolving characters. He has a great mix of action, politics, setting, and characters. Probably my one gripe is that the I have to wait long periods of time in between books.
Rating: 
Summary: Modern day Tolkien
Review: Many have complained that Jordan has drawn out his series too long. Yet to fulfil the emotions, thoughts and actions of 8+ characters in a way that makes people crave more, does take awhile. Vivid landscapes draw you in and let you experience the characters for yourself. Rand's fight to stay sane is something everyone feels at least once in thier lives. Each character possesses a small part of what we feel in everyday life and hopefully, the only rare tragedy. Become one or more of the characters, grow from innocent, backwater farm boy/girl to a confident, knowledgeable leader. This book is not for the faint of heart. Grow in the Light!
Rating:
Summary: Jordan has comeback!
Review: Jordan has the knack to keep you anticipating the novels. I would rate the series higher if the publisher would publish the novels sooner rather than keeping us waiting for so long. This one is one of the better books (comparable to the first 2 or 3).
Rating:
Summary: A Long Series
Review: Jordan just keeps getting better and better. Winter's Heart can be described as the prequel to Tarmon Gai'don - the last battle of the Age, if not the Wheel itself. It may be the ninth book in the series, but the characters are just now assuming their positions for what is coming and the reader can feel the urgency between the lines. Jordan is making good use of his RAFO ploy to keep readers coming back for more. So many threads, so many plots begin to converge the reader can almost see Jordan setting everything in place to begin what it has all been about: will Light conquer Darkness? Winter's Heart is well written and is full of intrigue. Narrow escapes, assassination attempts, humorous dialogue and mindnumbing love all play a part in this novel. With all of the characters battling their own troubles in Winter's Heart will they be ready for what is coming?
Rating:
Summary: Improvement - but that isn't saying much.
Review: Was Robert Jordan beaten by his mother? What else could possibly explain his treatment of women in these books? While the level of detail is impressive there is a lot of stuff that is just plain irrelevant. He could cut 5 pages by putting a little note at the start of the book saying that, unless otherwise noted, when Nynaeve is mentioned she is tugging her braid.
|
