Rating: Summary: A Long Days Journey Into Futility Review: Well here we are Book 9 of the Wheel of Time series and I still scratch my head wondering why I continue to bother. True, as others have mentioned, after investing so much time in this, it's almost mandatory reading now, as if I was still in school. Winter's Heart is an improvement over the preceding 3 books, but it in no way captures the spirit of the early volumes. Jordan is obviously in it only for the money now and suckers like me will continue to line his pockets. The ending by the way, had the potential to be terrific, but Jordan drops the ball by failing to complete the narrative action on many of the point of view set pieces. He becomes lazy by setting up the individual conflicts then abandons them. You only discover threads of what transpired when it's all over. Very sloppy, and not considerate to the reader who had to endure much minutia before reaching the climax.
Rating: Summary: Sorry - there are better books out there Review: Sorry, fans of Wheel of Time, there are better books out there. I really enjoyed the first 3 books of this series, then it got boring, long, and dull. Jordan writes like he is just milking this for as much money as he can make. For a far better series turn to George Martin's 'A Song of Fire and Ice.' I just finished the 3rd book (A Storm of Swords) and it was amazing.
Rating: Summary: Light at the end of the tunnel Review: Finally another good book by Robert Jordan. After the last two books I was starting two worry about this series. While not the best of the bunch I think it was still good. Plot lines start to wrap up and things actually happen! I swear the last 2 books could be condensed into one slightly larger than average book. While a little slow in places it's pretty engrossing for the most part. I really didn't enjoy reading about the details of Elayne running her soon to be kingdom. THough it was nice to see the love quadrangle(???) with her, aviendha, min, and Rand get some attention. It will be interesting to see what happens later if she really does have Rands children. Also I wanted more on perrin and egwene but I guess those will have to wait. If anything this book could have been longer and taken care of more plot, but it was refreshing to read what did happen. The ending is very climactic and left me wondering where Jordan is going to take this serires. I am most definately going to be looking forward to the next book! So overall this book was very invigorating, a little slow in spots but overall good, and it really moved the series along in my opinion. And he kept the addition of more plot lines to a minimum for once! So I would suggest you go out and but it.
Rating: Summary: Review of series, not just book Review: OK, I thought fantasy was supposed to be fun, supposed to take you away. This series has gotten harder to read than a John LeCarre novel. Granted Winter's Heart is better than the past few books, but I am beginning to believe I deserve at least a dinner and a movie for what Jordan is doing to me. Like everyone else, I just want to see the end. And if you are like me and remember when fantasy was fun, do what I did and go back and read Edding's Belgariad or The Lord of the Rings and see if you still have patience left for this series. At the end of the Belgariad I still cared about those characters and was disappointed to see their story end (until the Mallorean) but with the WOT I hope they all die in Book 10 and we wrap this up. Who truly cares anymore? Lucas will make 5 more Star Wars movies before this thing is done.
Rating: Summary: Ouch! Review: I love the series that's why I'm buying it. Those who hate it then don't buy it. I don't get the point of the people who criticize Mr. Jordan's WoT series. They are on a hard trail of campaigning to discredit and series and dissuade the fans from buying the book, when they themselves bought the 9th of the series. THE NINTH! Am I missing something here? I am a fan and I like to read what other fans think of the series and share some of my own. Constructive criticisms are healthy and very welcome. But please, this is THE NINTH of the series and you're still at it? If you hated it so much get off and forget about it. I, like the rest of my fellow fans continue to appreciate Mr. Jordan's WoT. Sure we have complains on some points that we wish to ventilate but it does not harm the talent of the author who is giving us our money's worth everytime we pick his book. Winter's Heart is another pleasurable read!
Rating: Summary: Better than Expected Review: I thought the first 6 books were great, Crown of Swords slowed down, and Path of Daggers stalled. Here, I found the pace to be quicker, but finally, we get to learn about the Seanchan which I felt was a missing piece. I haven't finished this book yet, and I'm told the last 50 pages will make me mad whatever that means. I'm assuming I'll be left hanging, but after putting it down, I find myself wondering what's going to happen next which didn't happen in the previous two books. In those, I found myself thinking, when is this book going to end?
Rating: Summary: Give us more faster! Review: I have just finished reading Winter's Heart, and the only thing I would have changed is the length of it. I like a thousand pages or more! I love the series, and already, I can't wait til the next one is out. Please Mr. Jordon, give Aviendha some time with Rand! And hurry!
Rating: Summary: Better Than Almost Anything Review: I think most people who are expecting an end to this series are missing Jordan's stated intentions here. He repeats at the beginning of every book that, to paraphrase, The Wheel Of Time never ends, it just revolves back around again. Jordan has no intention of writing a final book in teh series. And why should he, you keep buying each book as it comes out, don't you? Talk about your job security! The man is a genius! But who cares? Think of it as a soap opera - they never end, either, and that's one of the things that keeps viewers coming back for more. So what? This series is written better than anything else out there. It is safe to say he has surpassed Tolkien. There is no one out there writing stuff this rich, this engaging, this enthralling, this compelling. So sit back and enjoy! Where's the rush! How many times have you read a book so lovely you never wanted it to end? The Wheel Of Time is just that never-ending story! My only complaint is that it is very hard to keep track of everyone and everything in the year or two between the release of volumes. I think he should include a brief "What Has Gone Before" type of foreword to each book to at least help us ramp up each time. At any rate, [...]! This is the best thing to come along in literature probably ever, and I for one consider myself lucky to have lived contemporary to such a great writer.
Rating: Summary: Good ending, too much filler, but still worth it Review: By the ninth book, robert jordan has started so many subplots, forshadowed so many things, that it will take atleast several more books to resolve them all. I had thought that this book would provide some resolution for atleast some of these, but in fact he only chooses to focus on one plot line and totally ignores many others. He also spends an inordinate amount of time reintroducing characters.. I know this is necessary for people who havne't read the series in two years, but we have heard the same things about characters so many times that it's nearly cliched.. Yes, we know Nynaeve is stubborn.. Yes, we know Lan is hard. The constant repetition is annoying. Back in the other books, there was much more happening, much more new and interesting creations and characters at every turn.. This book just sort of stagnated.. The world loses is losing it's sense of magic and mystery, since it seems like everything that could be introduced, has been introduced already and there is nothing left that is unexplained. It's also kind of disappointing knowing that not much has happened and we will have to wait another two years to get any kind of resolution from the series. We've been on the edge of our seats long enough! Still, I am not putting down Robert Jordan.. I still think he is a great writer and the Wheel of Time has proven to be a fantastic escape for me. My guess is that he is just trying to set things in motion for the next book, and wanted to "save some things for later". If you are a fan of the series, definately buy this book.. I just hope that RJ reads over the first few books of the series and tries to bring back that sense of mystery that was there, and keeps things moving. I wouldn't care if this series took ten more books, as long as each keeps me interested.
Rating: Summary: Speeding up the pace a bit... Review: Jordan still captivates with his writing and imagery. However, whereas the past two books have been slower, and more flowery, this was definitely more action-filled, revealing and overall much faster paced. It presented an anxiously awaited conclusion that leaves one a little more satiated compared to the open-ended resolutions the previous two books had.
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