Wheel Of Time - Amazon
 

Anyone else excited for this? November 19 begins season one.

I’ll watch it, but I wasn’t a big fan of the books. Enjoyed the first few, but I lost interest along the way and once I got to the slog, I said forget it.

Definitely get that, series lasted about 4 books too long and too many characters introduced by the end. Just hope it turns out better than The Sword of Truth tv series, that was horrendous.

Sanderson did a good job finishing up the series.

Haha, that was a truly awful show. I have no doubt that Wheel of Time it will be better than that steaming pile of garbage.

I’m absolutely not a Sanderson fan, and for that matter, I didn’t even finish the Jordan penned books. It probably would have gone better if I hadn’t caught up to the books as they were being published by The Path of Daggers. I read the next two as they came out over the next 5 years and I just lost interest in continuing.

Books where great, read all of them.

Im afraid amazon will try and turn this show into some woke piece of shit, and the books are exactly the opposite.

It's my favorite book series (though Stormlight Archive will almost certainly be in the running some day). While I'm excited for it to reach a broader audience, I'm a little nervous about how it will play. It's definitely more magic heavy than basically any other fantasy series that has hit mainstream, so I just hope it doesn't come off as overly cheesy.

What was it about the book series you liked so much? I only ask because I got to about book 7 or 8 and stopped. It's like he didn't ever intend to end the series and let it drag on for too long. Granted, that's just my opinion, so I would love to hear opinions from you or others who made it through the whole series. I will watch the series though.

I started reading these books when the first one came out. I read until they stopped coming out for a few years. I guess Robert Jordan wasn't feeling too well or something, because then he died. By the time Sanderson finished things up, I guess I quit giving a shit so I didn't read it.

Same story with George Martin. Started reading his books when the first one came out. He must not be feeling too well because he hasn't written a book since Clinton was in office. Guessing he will die soon.

I now have a new rule. If you haven't finished your book series, I haven't started reading it yet.

I think Jordan's illness had a big effect on his books past say book 7/8. The ones after that really aren't great, but I read them because I started the series in 1992 and don't really like not finishing. I had a lot invested in the characters, with Matt being my favorite by the end, and Perrin a strong second.

Sanderson really did a fantastic job with the ending.

Agreed on Martin. The guy is not getting another penny from me for anything until he finishes the series, which is never.

If you want to read the best (IMO) Fantasy series ever, go find The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erickson. 10 book series that he finished a few years ago.

I've had the first copy of this series, I believe it's called Eye of the World, for quite some time and just have not gotten around to starting it up yet. It's kind of daunting, what with so many books in the series.

I think it's a combination of things. First, the worldbuilding is unlike anything else I've ever read. There are something like 2500 named characters across all of the books across dozens of nations, so it really feels like a place that exists where the story takes place rather than a tunnel with a little fluff around it. The characters themselves are engaging and interesting (especially for a teenage boy, which I was when I started reading them). The magic system has some thought behind it and limitations on what you can do with it, yet they continue to explore it as the series goes on.

Now, that said, the books aren't perfect. RJ had some...odd...perceptions about women and their motivations, which come across as a bit trite after a while. The slog is a real thing, though if you are interested in political machinations, I don't think it's bad. I don't think he ever figured out how to end it, which is why it might have actually been good for the story for Brandon to have to end it.

Almost more than anything, though, was just that it stuck with me for years and years and years. It's kind of my version of Harry Potter I guess. And the ending was worth it. (For those who have started the series and not finished it, there's a chapter in the last book called "The Last Battle." It's like 250 pages, and it's everything it was led up to be.)

Anyway, it's a huge undertaking, and if you're not otherwise a pretty decent fan of the genre, I wouldn't attempt it. But if you can dedicate yourself to getting through it all, I think it's worth the journey.

I've been considering picking the audio books and listening to the series on my commute. I read the first 7 or so books a couple three times, and have listened to them in the past, just can't find where I put the MP3's on my stack of hard drives.

The audiobooks are a great way to get through the slog - that's for sure. I think I have them all on Audible these days. Much cheaper to buy them that way than to pay the outrageous prices Amazon wants to charge for them on their own.

FWIW, local libraries often have subscriptions where you can check out the audiobooks as well, so that's something else you could consider.

I am cautiously optimistic about this. The trailer looked solid. Much like GoT, I think you can make the show and eliminate/minimize a lot of the tedious stuff from the books -- all of the braid tugging, skirt smoothing and mustache twirling.

If the show does well and gets into that slog potion of the books, roughly 8-11, you can fix that too. My contention was always that those 4ish books should have been 2 at most. It would have really fixed those late series issues.

Unfortunately, my favorite part of the books, the combat descriptions, will likely not make it into the show since you don't have to use words. Low Wind Rising, Threading the Needle, Folding the Air, Heron Wading in the Rushes... I thought that was fantastic.

Yeah, that's along the lines of where my concerns lie. I like the books almost more for how RJ described things as much as the plot. When you take those descriptions away, I just wonder how it will all play.

Like you said, cautiously optimistic, but a little concerned about how it will translate.

There's a great plot line hidden by some of the needless meandering.

So half way into the first episode, and bored/disappointed enough to post in this thread. :(

It's been years since I read the books, but not a single cast member fits the characters I remember.


Ugh. I the last 10 minutes better be ****ing epic or I won't be watching episode 2. Sucks. Was really looking forward to this,

I lasted about 15 minutes. It was basically playing out like a Kathleen Kennedy femdom fantasy.

The dragon can be either male or female. Click went the remote.

Big fan of the books, and I didn't love ep1. A lot of liberties that I didn't like, and it elt rushed. But ep2 was very good, and ep3 is in progress, but liking it just as much so far.

Well, shit. Was looking forward to diving into this, but your early reviews aren't exactly motivating me.

Reviews are pretty much split between love and hate on Amazon. I'm seeing a trend about "just getting through the first episode". I didn't give the 2nd episode much of a chance (acting at the ferry scene was embarrassing). Just changed the whole dynamic of the story with completely different characters. :(

Fingers crossed the final season of Expanse holds up.

The first episode of WoT looked good yesterday.

I'd love to see one of Neal Stephenson's books adapted for a mini series or movie. Snowcrash or Anathem would be awesome.

Episode 1 was a bit of a slog. 2 and 3 were much better.

Yes, they went a bit pc with having anyone be the Dragon, but those who have read the books know who it will be.

Makes sense on your Perrin thought.

Ok first three episodes are doable. Im ready to see more.

Been damn near 30 years since i read the first book. So I remember enough to know they changed stuff, but I'm probably not really grasping how much. I thought the first episode kinda slogged along a bit, the other two were better. It's no Game of Thrones, but I will keep watching.

While you always have to have changes when adapting a book to tv I think they did fairly decent so far. The first episode change with one of the characters seems stupid right now, maybe there will be a payoff in the future but seemed very unneeded. But all in all things are headed in the right direction. Seem to recall discussion on them wanting it to be 7 seasons which would mean speeding things along soon.

It's ok so far, i think it's just warming up though. It's been like 30 yrs since i read the books. I don't even remember what happens anymore. Normally, I really like Rosamund Pike but i'm just not feeling her in this role. She doesn't have that mystical feel to her.

I liked most of this one. Slow part is slow, the rest of it has some differences, but I'm good with them.

But it is supposed to be better than "Game of Thrones"? Ok so we all know how that ended. From CP reviews, I won't waist my time. Thanks.

Game of thrones ran out of source material. WOT has the entire story to utilize.

Matt and Rand's story have been spot on with the books, Perrin and Egwene too since the whole Perrin suprise. The rest have meandered a bit, but it is good and being used to explain a lot to non readers.

The part I dislike the most is tossing in the women as possibly being the dragon as well. They haven't mentioned saidin and saidar yet, so I'm wondering of they are just combing them altogether.

So I should watch it then? I am off tomorrow so I can get "caught up" Should I?

Fans would flip out if they changed the identity of the Dragon. Ain't happening.

I say yes as one opinion

It's a great story. Whether they handle it well or not remains to be seen, but the source material is in the discussion for top five fantasy series of all time.

As a long time fan, I'm coming around a bit. It's a bit rocky at first because the world is massive and they're having to cram hundreds of pages of book exposition into about an hour of screen time, but the second and third episodes slow down a little. Haven't gotten to the new episode yet.

No way they can or will. I just dislike the narrative of how it could be a woman. The women have their own enormous role in this story....dragon ain't one of them in any tuning of the wheel.

Fourth episode really good it right. Great way to get in some explanations about the different ajahs. I saw there are only 8 episodes this season so halfway there and it's enjoyable so far.

One thing that will be very different about this compared to GoT is that the writers for GoT had to make a ton of shit up to fill time, while the writers for WoT will have to leave a ton of shit out to fit it in. If they do it right, they'll manage to entertain people but also attract people who want to read the books for more.

Now, I don't think this will be anywhere near GoT in terms of popularity, but I do hope it does well enough in terms of viewership that they can finish it.

I think WOT is going to have to build up it's audience after season 1 is already completed. GoT was able to hook audiences with TAP (titties-a-plenty) and get the story going while HBO viewers waited to see who shook em next. WOT is going to have to hook viewers by getting them to know the characters and want to see what happens to them.

Right now it seems like they will play musical chairs of who is the dragon to do that, and by the time it is known who it is for sure, hopefully people are invested enough to get this the backing it will need to complete the story.

My guess is the cliffhanger at end of season one will reveal who the dragon is and each episode leading up to it will feature a reason it could be each of the options. I did see a headline that the showrunner is hoping for 7 seasons I think it is which would really leave a ton of crap out, might make it better actually, speed up those later books...

They are gonna have 10-12 seasons to finish it lol.

I guess it all depends on h ow they work it, but god damn there is a lot of content in the books.

I believe it's planned for 8 seasons. But yeah, they're going to have to move fast to get through it that quickly.

The titties were nice, but they could have not shown any and GOT would still be as popular as it was. Sucks what D&D did with it and decided they just wanted to rush through to a finish instead of taking a full season 7 and 8 to finish. They do that and it is remembered much more fondly.

As someone who hasn't read the books, but enjoys fantasy...I really like this one so far.

It's cool to see high fantasy being reviewed and received so well.

I imagine episode 4 did a good job of roping people in.

Fourth episode feels like they're starting to really settle in. In the first episode, Moiraine drawing the Power looked a little cheesy, but since they're sticking with that visual all the way through, you kind of get used to it. And the battle scene started to really showcase what they can do.

I particularly thought it was effective that (book spoiler)...



At this point, I'm relatively confident that this will be good enough to satisfy book readers. Now the only question is to what extent they'll be able to draw in the masses.

I'm in the same camp. Never even heard mention of these books. It has me intrigued.

Y'all are re-igniting the interest now.

I hope they re-work the macarena-style linking of the aes-sedai some.

If you have any patience at all in reading, I recommend them. Jordan was very into in depth descriptions of minute things, but the characters and action in the story are awesome. Leading of a certain Band later in the story and the aiel are both awesome to follow imo.

I don't know. Not having lengthy bits on tugging of braids or chapter long descriptions of dresses should shorten the whole thing enough to get it done in 8 seasons. We've seen pretty significant story progression so far through 4 episodes, and while I feel like they changed/added a couple things for no real reason, the is improving with each episode.


No idea why they added a wife for Perrin or decided there had to be ambiguity on the gender of the Dragon. Saidin is the male half of the One Power, and the Dragon has always been male in the book lore.

Loial was well done
Ep5 was good overall, some stuff was combined and the timelines seem a little off, but this one did move things closer I'd say.

Not sure I understand why they had the character do what he did at the end of the episode, not really matching the mood of that character....

yeah, it was overdone I thought as well. But I think it was supposed to show how much pain he carries around with him already. Knowing the character from the books, he has a lot more personal pain than just what has happened around him recently, like a lot.

Loial is my favorite.

A lot of wasted episode in this last one. No reason for episode 5 to have focused so much on the warders while totally skipping other elements of the story line that they have so far excluded.

Bits I liked, but after episode 4, was a let down.

I really don't understand some of the editorial decisions and how they seem to be editing out important things, while adding in fluff that doesn't add to the story at all.

gotta stay woke

This first season is almost entirely exposition with a little plot thrown in here and there. The warder stuff is pretty clearly setting up...



I didn't mind it.

What part are you interpreting as "woke"?

In case anyone is interested, they apparently have little animated shorts that explain some of the lore behind each episode. They're only 3-5 minutes long and are worth the watch. However, Amazon inexplicably has them hidden in the most obscure location. If you want to watch them, you have to use a PHONE OR LAPTOP (most streaming devices won't see them). Then:

1. Start an episode normally, then press pause.
2. Look for and click on X-Ray.
3. Look for Bonus Content.
4. It should be there under Origin Stories

I have no idea why they don't have them in a more obvious spot.

Well...they have one Asian, one Indian, a couple of African Americans...the feminist Reds...and a lot of out of place forced homosexual references.

I guess that covers the "woke" demographic quota from the producers.

Did like the two black demons whispering to the false dragon on top of the castle...nice effects.

I didn't read the books...so I'm not horrified by it. I could see how fans might want to burn it to ashes though. The first episode started a bit ruff...

If you put the Hobbit, the Witcher, Harry Potter and GOT in a blender and added dashes of modern politics/woke propaganda...you have this. It's entertaining escapism...the effects are decent.

Sure, but all of those are in the books to some extent. Perhaps RJ was woke before woke was cool.

Yes, and it could have been done without using half a damn episode to do so.

Honestly, so far it feels a bit like they've nerfed the warders.

What did I just watch? Ugh. Why why why.

Referring to Moiraine and Siuan scene I assume? That definitely felt forced. Other than that I thought it was decent.

That, but more so the ways being activated by channeling. Also the ease with which Mat was healed.

Btw, great casting for Liandrin. She has a major RBF that you really just want to punch over and over again.

I tried; about 20 minutes into the first episode... Not my cup of tea.

Eh, I'm trying not to get too hung up on things that are only bad because they're different from the books. I do worry that the gravity of the situation is being lost a bit when problems can be solved in about 15 seconds, though.

And maybe they discover the other method of opening a waygate later, it just doesn't make sense to limit it to channelers. Otherwise the explanation for how trollocs got to two rivers undetected is gone.

Yeah, first episode plodded a bit, the fourth has been my favorite so far. Maybe give it a try up through 4 before tossing it aside?

The show gets much better after the first episode.

I know the show needs to cut out a lot to try and fit the main storyline onto the screen in a reasonable amount of time, but how they are going about it isn't making me particularly happy on many instances.

They've added things that don't really add to the story while cutting things that absolutely would. Mucking about with the Dragon's possible identity also seems ridiculous.

Eh, that one seems silly but harmless to me. It's pretty clear that they decided to make the "who is it?" plotline the big story arch for season 1. I'd be floored if they don't make that reveal in the last episode.

More broadly, they're definitely making some eyebrow raising decisions, but I always knew it would be tough to do the books justice. And a show with a different take on what's important than mine is better than no show at all.

I dont mind the who is the dragon plotline.

The books make it clear all of them are required to defeat the dark one. Jordan did a great job of illustrating the dragon cannot be everywhere at once and will require the help of the whole group.

If the show enhances that aspect of the story by getting the audience invested in each character through "is that person the dragon" storytelling, I like it.

Of course, the lines of dialogue in episode 6 about a multi headed dragon... it wouldnt surprise me if the show went that direction. That would be... bold. Not sure if I'd agree there.

I'm glad the speed up the dagger plotline. Mat is a great character once he got past the dagger. I do agree it felt s bit too rushed though. And they better show what happens to that dagger now.

I just can't imagine they'd do that. They're simplifying plotlines from the books, but not fundamentally changing how the story is constructed.

To be fair, the books do mention that Moraine and Siuan Sanche where 'pillow friends'.

Certainly the producers want to be as woke as possible so there is no skipping over that, but I am ok with it in this case, as its part of the 'canon' so to speak.

The last two episodes where quality IMO, and the show is heading in a good direction overall.

One thing that I keep thinking is that the chick playing Moraine has to have a botox content of about 90 percent in her face, she is so stone faced at all times. I mean I get that's part of the character but seriously, not a wrinkle, not a line, not any emotion of 'realness' to her face. That shit is creepy and certainly not natural~

The recent episode was a whole lot of meh...I'm not liking the acting/casting and other than the sick one...they are all forgettable. The leading is woman decent...

The director could have used the time allotted to the lesbo scene for developing the history of the stolen dagger.

That whole possession scenario was resolved in like 4 minutes...and seemed soap opera level. Magic woman is here...you're all good now...carry on.

Not having high hopes as the characters/dialogue arent strong...this will end up being a "if I'm bored" series. Dinklage had some great dialogue moments in GOT...I'm not seeing that happening here. It just feels unconnected...and staged.

The whole "Reds vs. Blues"...yeah, once again soap opera-level drama.

R/whitecloaks has been a great spot for me to find some catharsis on just how badly they are screwing up RJ's master work.

Sanderson screwed the pooch with the character Mat Cauthon…one of my favorite characters in sci-fi/fantasy literature. In my opinion, Knife of Dreams was the last good book from the series.