JTolman

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Eye of the World is the worst in the series.  I always recommend that people try to make it through book 3 before they give up on the series.  It's my personal favorite (well either that or one of the ones near the end when everything starts coming together) and If you aren't hooked by then, you never will be.  That said it can be somewhat of a slog from about book 6ish through book 10 or 11 before it picks up again for the climax.

Really? you found the Eye to be the worst? that tends to be what got most people into it, if not how did it ever become so huge a sucess.

Most people have trouble with the books in the middles.... as you say books 6-9 or 10 get really sluggish and I know a lot of people lost interest in the series by then.

Right guys. Started reading this forum to try and get a few tips on where to go next within the genre of epic fantasy fiction. I'm relatively new to it although I did LotR's years back. I've read most of Brandon's work, loved it. The king killer chronicles blew me away. I'm almost finished with 'the eye of the world' but I can't say that it's gripped me the way that Brandon and Pat had. Should I carry on with TWoT? Is it worth sticking by even if the first didn't enthral me? It's not that I don't like it, it's a good read but I'm looking for a story that sucks me in and doesn't let go, and the TWoT is a large collection of books to commit to if you're unsure. I'm well aware that recommendations would be subjective, but if you guys could just list your favourites and a small explanation as to why, that would be fantastic.

Have you tried the Belgariad Series my David Eddings or Any of the Shannara Series by Terry Brooks?

Jtolman - Magna, Utah, USA

Oh man. That is a lot of time to NOT be writing in. I sure hope the last Cosmere book isn't like that.... *Shudder*

I once wrote a sereies of pages... Very dissapointing.

thing is She is still wrting. It's Not that Melanie Rawn stoped writing or died or something. She Just never completed the series. I mean Heck, they even had a Title for the Finale book, " The Capital's Tower". The book has been listed as "Forthcoming" ever since. Even on her own Website, you can go there today and it is still lsited as forthcoming.

She has published other books since, just never that one.

One Series I was whole disappointed with(Still am), not becuase of the story or the writing as both were excellent, Was the "Ruins of Ambrai" series  by Melanie Rawn.

I throughly Enjoyed Exiles and the Mageborn Traitor, but what has me still disapointed is that she has never finished the trilogy. We are now 17 years since the second book was published and this series has yet to have any closure to it.

DRagon Baked Zucchini Bread humbly offered to your services.

Bakes some Zucchini bread to pass around

When I was trying to register, I tried two of my Primary e-mails.

One Gmail and 1 Hotmail. the Hot mail I have had for nearly 15 years... the Gmail for as long as gmail has been around...

This being the type of e-mails msot people use? Yahoo and such being just as easy to sign up for?

You would think the Verification process would/should get you past the spam filter.

To help you recover, I gave you every up vote I could today.

DUne was my first Sci-Fi series.. I read the first and seond book in the 6th grade.

 

And Dr Who needs a lot more (better) queer rep in my opinion. Actually most shows do really.

That is something I don't get.

I am not against gays and lesbians, I have quite a few friends who are, several transgenders as well..

But they are not that large a percentage of society to say that they need to be in most shows and/or repesented in the main cast cast of most shows.

I would have to disagree there.

Best representation done for it and in best taste I have seen so far was Captain Jack Harkness.

My wife, duaghter and I got our Pictures with John Barrowman at the last Salt lake Comic Con too. love that guy.

I liked the Potato and the Lizard and Jenny. Esp. Jenny

 

and @manhattan

1. He read the chapter titles.

2. He had enough difficulty getting to Rory the first time, the timey wimey stuff would've shot the TARDIS back the second time.

3. He read the gravestone

I liked the Walking Potato and Lizard lady okay as Occasional characters, but not as regualrs.

Jenny would have been a Decent secondary companion.

I built in the past but haven't done so in 10 years.

The VIn/Zane thing also had another connection.

Shared Experience.... You can often have a weird attraction to some one who seems to "Get you" becuase of similiar experiences.

both of them were victims of Child abuse. Which also left them both with a bit of Mental instability.

And Regardless of Whethert that is Shared vocally or not, some people can sense that in others, that shared experience, a sense of similarity.

That is what I took from the Vin/Zane Situation. She was Attracted to him due to a Similiarity of Shared experience/understanding. It is Why Zane was Drawn to her as well.

I really think Brandon was jesting with us also when he Named Zane.. as he was Inzane...

Have you drowned yet? The first time drowning and then breathing underwater can be a real trip.

and for the beneift of others, lol, no I have never done any iIlegal drugs.

Heck I don't even smoke or drink.

JTolman, do you play the collectible card game, by chance?

 

The first time my husband bought cards at the local store, he was sitting there with them on a nearby table when this serious Magic/StarWars/Etc. card game player guy (that's the technical term, by the way. ) walks up and demands, "Whose cards are these?!"  This guy has tough guy written all over him - shaved head, tattoos all up both arms (I think he's got all the mana symbols as tattoos).  My husband knows him, though, and decides to sheepishly admit the Pony cards are his.  As soon as he does, this dude is like, "Are you going to come play on Thursday nights with us?!"  He then proceeds to gush about the game and the show.  Bronies come in all shapes and sizes.

LOL I have not, LOl the Wife doesn't let me gt into collectable card games anymore even if I did have the disposable money to do so.

Agreed quiver.... Having My daughter as an excuse just makes it easier to go pick them up from my hold at the game/comic book store without to much ridicule from my gamer peers

I agree with him making a Mistake of adding things like you could become an angle jsut by looking at a photograph of one....

they were frightening enough without any more abilities.

And Manhatten Episode could have worked easily enough without the staue of liberty. I thought it was a good episode if you had taken out the statue of liberty.. at that point I was like "whu??"

but then again... IT never happened...


One other thing I was a bit annoyed, durring the later seasons of Matt Smith, was the attempt to add Addtional Regular Cast members.

I really wasn't a Fan of the Walking Potatoe and the Lizard Lady of Means.

Ooooooooooh, watch out mate, there is a lot of hate for the divergent books here hahaha, only read them as a favor for a girl friend.

thats okay, every where I go, there are a few book series I always find myself on the wrong side of Liking.

Forinstance.... I and my wife also very much enjoyed the entire Swored of Truth series.

sooooo... there is that.......

Ya thats the message I was getting trying to register the last two weeks until I found the chat room and got help from Shivertongue.

Need to figure out what is causing that issue for future applicats... who knows how many have tried and jsut never tried again not being able to register.

I am not familiar with the meaning of the abreveation, could some one enlighten me please.

Might be useful, espcially for people new to the forums and to the Sanderson Fandom to post a Glossary of definitions some where of such things?

Currently Reading "Divergent", Enjoyed the movie so the wife and I bought the series.... she is ahead of me.... says it "Diverges" from the  movies some.. so far in teh first book I haven't yet seen it but I am bonly 7 chapters in.

We just watch "Maze Runner" and we might buy that series as well... but I am trying to keep my reading plate light at the moment as I am trying to focus my energies and time.

Some people do have and have had that experience.

I don't view it as derailment to discuss your position, as that is the point of this thread.

 

I'm not going to try and convince you that you are wrong, but rather merely point some details out you may have missed. Then I'm going to agree with you on a part of your post.

 

For Elantris, you seem to be under the impression that when Sarene and Raoden meet face to face in the novel it is their first meeting. That...is not true. It is mentioned a total of two times (If I counted correctly) within the novel that Sarene and Raoden had been communicating for months via their Seons. Most of the romance in that novel occured off screen, prior to page one.

 

For Alloy of Law, Marasi has spent much of her time studying Wax and Wayne. To her, the two of them are heroes. From my reading of the novel, I understood her initial infatuation to be mostly fangasms at actually meeting these two legendary crime fighters. I know for a fact that the internet is full of girls who feel the same way about Tom Hiddleston. I would think it logical to be jealous that her cousin is the one engaged to such an icon.

 

As for Era 1 Mistborn, I totally agree with you. Vin falling for Elend was a bit too ridiculous for me. I can understand being infatuated, given their exposure to one another. But the first time she thinks to herself "I love him," I was taken aback. She barely knew the guy!

 

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Warbreaker. It is the romance that Brandon himself thinks he got right, and I agree with him. I won't spoil anything for you though.

 

I want to add one more romance to your list though. Adolin and Shallan. Don't get me wrong, they are adorable, but they totally "fell at first sight," and it really erks me. Yes, they went on a date or two before "getting serious," but the thoughts that Adolin has upon seeing her, and she him, gave it all away. I was quite disappointed in that turn of events.

Just to throw My 2 cents into this little discussion.... I have seen romances like this happen.

My sister met a Guy and Married him 2 months later, and were talking about a religios family where the Parents were Kewl with it... So for me, though I was at firs a bit surprised by the VIn /Elend Romance, It wasn't Totally Unbelievable to me.

The problem with Stuff like this is we all judge based on our own Life experiences, and in some ways we may be jaded and in other ways we may be totally Naive, and in Other ways Totally exceptting of something others would look askance at.  It is why some people are drawn to different styles of Writing or different movies... Different things speak to each of us in different ways based on our view of the world which was shaped by our experiences.

I beleive Brandon Sanderson does his research. I think he goes out looking for different view points and different experiences, KNOWING he hasn't experienced them all himself, so he goes seeking to hear/read others so that when her writes a new story, he isn't jsut repeating the same wrote experiences again and again.

So, Vin and Elend's Rmanace may speak to one reader differently than to another, and Marasi's will speak to anotehr person's Heart where it might not to yours as you didn't have that experience in your life.

And Raoden and Sarene's Situation may speak to other readers who had Long distant relationships before they finally met face to face....

The world is vast and varried and far beyond the experiences of jsut your single life, Which is the magic of Literature, it allows us to experience more than one life beyond our own.

Yeah, it doesn't really mean much in the scheme of things right now. It's not like they actually created a thinking, living  hard AI. Just means that they've gotten it to some particular level of confidence in responding to human conversations.

 Hey... This is Much beyond Many people in our own society... so perhaps this really is an achievment.