Trying to get into Wheel of Time

[Cephandrius]

Haha, I got this feeling too. I'd heard of the so-called "Ewgene bashing" and I didn't get it, but in the end I was screaming at the book about how, well, stuck-up and biased she got.

I disagree.  I think she just went insane.  

 

But i was reading that prologue written up for I think it was the first half of the eye of the world (they made bits of new material for the YA editions of the series, which were really the first two books split in half).  And the whole thing is Egwene going on about sheep and boys and why can't girls open their shirts and I just closed the book and took a nap.  This coming from a guy who three years before spent most of a year reading the entire series in preparation for A Memory of Light's release.  My girlfriend said she thought she lost me to those books, but it worked out because she married me anyway.  (after I finished AMOL, of course.)

 

My point is this: the series is worth it and awesome.  But if you do succeed, don't be surprised if you can't do it again.  

[tobar14]

Everyone seems to be hating on the fact that this series is extremely long and slow moving.  That's why I love it, my least favorite part about reading is finishing the book.  That is what lead me to the fantasy genre where often times you will have a large series.  I hate it even more when I finish a series, so WoT was perfect for me.  I've re-read it at least 4 times, it definitely holds me over while I'm waiting for other books to be published.

[The Sovereign]

Everyone seems to be hating on the fact that this series is extremely long and slow moving.  That's why I love it, my least favorite part about reading is finishing the book.  That is what lead me to the fantasy genre where often times you will have a large series.  I hate it even more when I finish a series, so WoT was perfect for me.  I've re-read it at least 4 times, it definitely holds me over while I'm waiting for other books to be published.

 

I agree with you mate. And not for nothing but outside of the first 200 pages of EotW and the Faile-Shaido stuff the series really isn't all that slow moving, there is just a LOT going on.

[tobar14]

I agree with you mate. And not for nothing but outside of the first 200 pages of EotW and the Faile-Shaido stuff the series really isn't all that slow moving, there is just a LOT going on.

I agree with your agreement. Didn't feel that it was slow, just a lot of important characters.  But that Faile-Shaido stuff, that part was not cool 

[Cephandrius]

The series really isn't all that slow moving, there is just a LOT going on.

I agree, there was a ton going on, but it's been too long since I read any of it to make further judgement (like is there too much going on or whatever), beyond the stuff I said about Egwene's prologue in the YA volume.  Once I finish words of Radiance I'll give Wheel of Time another go and tell y'all my thoughts on trying to get back into it.  

[soulcastJam]

So, I'm re-reading the series right now.  I got through book 10 when it came out but I was busy for a couple of years and lost interest.  Anyway, I'm half-way through book 10 again and looking forward to new parts of the story, especially Brandon's part.  

  I used to feel like there were slow parts to the books but I think that was just because I had particular characters I liked (like Perrin) that were neglected for a while.  This time through I'm just in awe at the scope of this world and the inclusion of so many interweaving plot-lines. The whole world is focused on the events in this series and a lot of people are trying to influence what happens.  It's kind of amazing how he holds it all together.  

  Obviously, that's not for everyone.  A lot of people prefer a streamlined plot without looking too deeply into the implications that it has on characters outside a small core.  In fact, I prefer that for most of my reading because it doesn't take me 6 months of heavy reading to get through the plot.  I still think that RJ's work is nothing short of brilliant.

 

  My one beef with the series has always been the male/female dynamic.  RJ clearly goes out of his way to make women overly aggravating, bullying, hypocritical, ungrateful, manipulative, stubborn, violent etc.  The only relationship you see that is any sort of healthy is Perrin/Faile, but that only lasts for a short time.  I don't think there is a single female perspective mentioning a man where she doesn't either say or think that he is a fool.  There is almost no attempt at real communication between the sexes with the men assuming it's impossible and the women banding together to enjoy talking about how inept the men are.  The men don't really stand up for themselves most of the time either (excepting maybe Mat).  The whole thing seems to be contrived to make male readers angry at women.  I have no idea how this affects the women reading it but I assume they are also annoyed at the portrayal.     

 

  I've wondered if RJ writes this way to showcase a world where men are generally subservient to women (somewhat a reversal of how many people see the history of our own world).  It also might just be that he chose this as a consequence of having the most powerful people (those who can channel) being women for several thousand years.  Or maybe it's just to drum up your emotions like a TV soap to make you more invested.  Whatever it is, I've also wondered how his wife felt about him writing this way...

[Erunion]

 

 

  I've wondered if RJ writes this way to showcase a world where men are generally subservient to women (somewhat a reversal of how many people see the history of our own world).  It also might just be that he chose this as a consequence of having the most powerful people (those who can channel) being women for several thousand years.  Or maybe it's just to drum up your emotions like a TV soap to make you more invested.  Whatever it is, I've also wondered how his wife felt about him writing this way...

 

Isn't it annoying how men are always assumed to be inferior? How they're opinions are of less worth, even with evidence and experience backing them up? How women put men down and they don't fight back or do anything about it because that's just the way things are? 

That, my friends, is sexism. RJ wrote a world that was (for the most part, not exclusively) sexist AGAINST men. All the annoying ways men are treated by different characters in WOT (especially those super anti-male ladies from Far Madding), are ways that men have historically treated women in our world. 

 

It's not perfect, and there are mistakes made, but a huge part of the WOT dynamic that doesn't really leap out to people is that sexism is pervasive, hard to notice, ingrained in society and just massively SUCKS. Add to that how much characters sexist attitudes harm the plot and slow things down. 

So yes, the women can be annoying. Yes, they treat men terribly (even though 90% of the sexism is not overt, but is rather assumed and subtle). That was, I believe, the intention. 

The Wheel of Time is why I, as a guy, consider myself a feminist. It showed me just how subtle, pervasive, dangerous and AWFUL sexism was, and continues to be in our society.