Anxiety about starting WoT

[cbgenoseven]

I am a audiobook addict and have enjoyed all the titles I've gone through so far. I picked up the first WoT book and I've read a bit about it in articles like "top 15 fantasy series of all time" and watched some YouTubers talk about how much they love it. None of this did I grab enough to spoil anything so it wouldn't give me a reason to start it. 

However I'm noticing I get the same anxiety I used to get when I would try random fantasy books in the store when you would look at the covers and try and find one that had a cool name and a cool cover with an interesting summary on the back. The cover of WoT book one doesn't give that epic saga feeling so I'm getting anxiety of wasting my time.

Some questions I have are...

1. Is this a normal feeling?

2. What is the general premise of the series? (If Sanderson was inspired by it then it has to be good right?)

3. Does the writing style feel old?

[old man moomba]

Well, I had no clue how long it was when I started, and once I did, I couldn't stop.

Um. Some guys do some cool stuff and save the world. The magic is really cool, as well as the characters. Don't trust the covers, they aren't the most accurate. It's very hard to explain the premise without spoiling it, sadly.

No, it's easy to read, and easy enough to understand.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Dr. Dapper

[Ammanas]

1. I think a lot of people think the beginning of the first book borrows a lot from LoTR. It starts to be more of its own thing as the book progresses. 

2. Various nations and peoples need to unite to fight against a great evil (and his minions) under the direction of a great hero who is occasionally reincarnated. It's a long difficult road to get everyone united enough for that battle.

3. This series was started in 1990. The language is modern. I find the author to be long winded but many enjoy that level or world building

[cbgenoseven]

I appreciate the positive feedback.

[Wyndlerunner]

The Wheel of Time is a long (and sometimes winding) road, so you're in for a journey. 

1. It's perfectly fine to feel anxious about a series like this- a lot of people who I've recommended the series to IRL have cited concerns with length as their primary reason for not picking it up.
2. To quote Portal: "The Cake Covers are a lie." They did a recent paperback reprint of the series with a lot more accurate covers.
3. You mentioned you like audiobooks so I'm going to assume you're listening to them so: Michael Kramer and Kate Reading (the same duo who read Stormlight) are absolutely brilliant (and pronounce everything correctly for the most part)

Now here's the fun part, my general premise of what the series is: Tolkien meets Arthurian legends meets a healthy dose of Eastern Philosophy and influence. This meets Hogwarts+ political intrigue, on steroids. A love square, a magic system that somehow simultaneously manages to be hard and soft, and battles so viscerally written that you can tell RJ served in Vietnam. Incredibly fleshed out characters with incredibly fleshed out relationships, conspiracies, and a large dose of plotting, scheming, and undermining by the baddies.

Hope my answers helped- If all goes well, you will be one of the first people I've talked to about starting WoT to actually start it.

[Turtle373]

I loved this series, its very long but it's not boring, I love all of the characters, the magic system is interesting, and the plot and ending are awesome. Some of the middle books might feel like its repeating itself, but they're different enough to keep interesting.

[NottTheBrave]

I just wanted to chime in here.  I'm really excited to start this series!  I bought book one today.  Can't wait to get into it soon!  Think I'm gonna finish WoR first, than jump in!

[Wander89]

It's an absolutely massive commitment to start Wheel of Time. There are times when you might feel it too long and take a break, that's fine. Some people take years to complete and that's totally fine. If you like Sanderson's work, the story is more Tolkien but it's a great achievement to say you've done it. On the other hand, if you do not like it, don't feel you need to complete it. There are tons of books out there that you'll enjoy that others don't and vice versa, at least you'll have tried.

 

Good luck!