Rating: Summary: Argh...just finish it all ready... Review: Last June, I stumbled upon one of the best books I have ever read. After The Eye of the World, I devoured the rest of the series. Unfortunately, the series started getting worse and worse after The Dragon Reborn. Finally, Winter's Heart was released, and I was hoping for some kind of retribution for the terrible writing that I endured because I enjoy the series. I found that, but only with one part. Yes! Rand FINALLY cleansed the male half of the One Power, but that's the only thing that happened. Nothing else. Perrin is still looking for Faile, Elayne is still trying to be a queen and Egwene...well, what happened to her? Mat's bit was interesting as well, but it took him long enough to figure out who the daughter of the nine moons was. Please, Mr. Jordan, either end the series while you still have some dignity or start making the story move again.
Rating: Summary: Ahhahahahahahah!! What a joke... Review: I quit reading this series in the middle of the fourth book. Why? Because it is boring. However many people have apparently dedicated their life to proving this series is the most exciting fantasy work since Lord of the Rings. Fanaticism isn't very convincing to me. Nevertheless I checked the reviews of this book just in case I was missing something. Looks like all I'm missing is frustration and anger. Damn! So I laugh at all you who are still reading this series while complaining about every book. Meanwhile, I'm reading A Game of Thrones, which is actually GOOD. HAHA, enjoy your suffering, you masochists! PS. Even though I havent read Winters Heart, for the boredom I suffered in trying to read the fourth book, I give it 1 star.
Rating: Summary: Winter's Heart Review: It was interesting to read reviews of WOT and find that others shared my opinions - both good and bad. I have enjoyed all of the books in this series. However after reading Winter's Heart, I found that it had been so long between books, and the story had advanced so slowly in the last several books, I couldn't remember who was doing what and why. Mr. Jordan did not refresh our memories with little reminders to bring us back up to speed, as he did in earlier books. So, I decided to go back and reread all of the books. I am on book 4 and am enjoying the story even more the second time. I recommend this to anyone who has been reading WOT from the beginning (I couldn't believe it has been 11 years since the first book!). I am not complaining about how many books there are, just that it is too long in between books.
Rating: Summary: An Epic saga Review: I find it hard to understand the criticism of such a tapestry of interwoven tales. I do wish that a full cast list was supplied, as some of the less famous names seem to drift into obscurity during the intricate weaves. I believe this book is the continuation of an Epic which, when complete will be one of the most famous tales, along with Lord of the Rings. Buy it, become immersed in the rich characters and enjoy the anticipation of what's to come!
Rating: Summary: Fine by me Review: I don't think anyone would mind if the people who continually whine about the length of the books would stop reading them. If you don't like his style, or think he is a terrible author, STOP READING. By all means, go right ahead, we won't miss you. There's a reason this book has numerous devotees, (just try searching for RJ on any search engine) and it isn't due to the poor quality of the writing. The plot, characters, and everything else are interesting, or at least they still are to some of us. I don't care when it ends, because I have enjoyed reading every book so far, critics are just about the most irritating people around, especially since they don't stand a chance at creating what they mock.
Rating: Summary: Enough Already Review: Make him stop! Robert Jordan, that is. I agree with all of the negative reviews of Winter's Heart--it's not a very good book but, more importantly, it's part of a more and more frustrating series which continues to sell (well? I wonder) and which has addicted a number of unsuspecting readers like myself. I want to stop, I just can't. When a new volume in a series only comes out every two years or so, who can remember by then how annoyed one was two years ago? Maybe it will be better, one thinks--maybe it will end some day, hallelujah! I don't know what Robert Jordan's motivations are for writing so poorly, i.e., dragging this out endlessly (please, get this man an editor who can stop the madness), but he used to do better. Which is what hooked us all. And, puh-leeze, stop those poor girls (I can't call them women) from sniffing, pulling their braids, gripping and/or smoothing their skirts and all the rest of their incredibly annoying, and endlessly repetitive habits. Maybe they need medication. And the male-female interaction doesn't even bear mentioning, ugh! You want to read a good fantasy series, read George R.R.Martin superb work. I'm trying to stop, I swear it!
Rating: Summary: 9 Books and ....to go Review: 10 years and 8 books ago, Robert Jordan got me hooked with good, solid writing (please note the term "solid"), but may lose me with all the "fluff" and indirect writing that has appeared in books 4-9---wait I'm still reading them! It seems that I cannot stop reading this series due to all the time and energy I have invested in memorizing all the names and places, wondering when Nyneave will pull out all her hair, or if the Aes Sedia are actually Bene-Jeserits in disguise. I still see glimpses of the writing that got me hooked, but they are so few and far between, I find myself skipping paragraph after paragraph until I see something that cathces my eye. Word to the wise (that wouldn't be me)read the first three books and then wait until the last book in the series and then only read the last 100 pages of that book--it will give you more time to read the George Martin series.
Rating: Summary: Big time disappointment Review: Ok, I read all of the other reviews and unlike most I didn't think the ending was up to par. After all, hasn't this been building for 9 books, and thousands of pages. And there's going to be a 10th book!! I was very let down by how unexciting Rand's cleansing of the Source was. Very ho hum. It was about as exciting as if he had just finished his chores, not something that will change the world forever! After finishing the book I kept saying but what about this???what about that??? All of the story lines that I wanted to know about were either left unfinished or barely mentioned. Why do I keep reading these books? First of all, I DO want to see how all of the storylines end. Second of all, I've committed so much time to this already that I can't bear not to finish all of the story.
Rating: Summary: Back On Track (sort of) Review: After the unmitigated disaster that was A Path Of Daggers (negative stars in my book), I am glad to say that Winter's Heart was a satisfying read for me. From APoD Jordan retains his plodding and deliberate pace, I am afraid that readers of the series will have to be get used to it. On the other hand, I felt that the charcters became of flesh and blood again. Perhaps because Perrin, who used to be interesting but has become a royal bore, is only present in the first few chapters. Mat return with a vengeance and I can see why he was missed so much in APoD. He is simply the most unpredictable guy out there. While we witnessed the growth of these kids we were constantly surprised by their actions. Once they became legends, they stagnated and became a sum of their mannerisms. It is nice to see that Mat is as interesting as ever. As usual, there are too many plotlines out there to be satifactorily advanced in a single book, but the developments with the Seanchan deliver some serious punch. And at long last, the book ends with a real bang: not a cliffhanger this time, but a climax we have not seen yet from Jordan.
Rating: Summary: Argh, the horror... Review: I began reading the WoT several years ago, thought it was the best thing, then realized that Jordan was "borrowing" from Celtic, Arthurian, and common fantasy cliches ad libitum. "Tarmon Gaidon" is Armageddon; Shaitan is Satan, and actually Shaitan in Arabic; Tel'Aran'Rhiod is the name of the Celtic moon goddess; Artur Hawkwing is Arthur. Where is the originality in this series? This man lacks even the subtlest ways of stealing material from ancient and medieval sources. But I thought I could stick it out to the end, till I read he has anywhere from 3 to 5 more books planned in the series after this. Thus, it takes 12-15 books to complete an entire saga? And each book advances the plot no further than a snail's pace? I usually ignore what people say about the length of a book; but this truly shows how inept Robert Jordan is at writing. Read his Conan books, read any of his books, and you'll notice how flat his characters are. 6000+ pages on Rand do not make him a 3D character. Nynaeve tugs her braid every other page; Rand finally gets his act together to clean up Saidin; and you learn how incredibly fruitless it is to keep paying peanut money to feed RJ's bad writing habits and lack of skill. I bought this book from B&N, read the first 200 pages, then returned it promptly the next day, and bought the first two books of George RR Martin's Fire and Ice trilogy using that money. I like to compare new SF and fantasy books to Gene Wolfe's works, and sadly most of them don't compare. If you want real story, real action, and real characters, I recommend you take up reading Gene Wolfe (who is admired by even Orson Scott Card) and George Martin, because they know how to handle story lines and characters par excellence. Lux dei vitae viam monstrat.
|