 "Jordan guilty of Too Many and Too Much but still a great series" | 2009-09-11 |
| - Reviewed By dwwilkin |
The reread before the release of book 12.1 continues. That the Gathering Storm being the first of an ending trilogy of books did not bother at the time they announced this fact. But now as I continue to read and see how Jordan has had to throw in so many elements to stretch things to these books, it has made me unappreciative of so many books.
There was a good pace in the early books and the format we come to expect, hero that is reluctant to take on such an onerous task, gains the skills to handle it, then takes in on, seemed to be followed quite well. Time frame wise we now run into issues.
Jordan wants to move his people all over his map that originally took half a year to transverse. There were his ideas to circumvent this, first the Ways, then portal stones, and now he can just open up holes and take entire people thousands of miles in a blink. But those long distances served another good balance, it caused the timeline to slow. All these subplots could develop because weeks and months were passing.
That allowed the climax that is approaching to have more depth, to have more elements. Now we have in Lord of Chaos, again a book that the previous few could have led us to a conclusion of the story, so many elements that the story needs to be revaluated and since it was not planned from the beginning, we have problems.
The illuminator Alludra and her not recognizing Thom whom they had met when her life was about to be snuffed out, is now explained in an elegant way. Someone, probably thousands of someones let Jordan know he had muffed it. Somewhere along the line, Jordan began to get full time assistants to help with the story. My understanding is there were 2 at one time, and his wife, and the editors at TOR.
Jordan began to make things so complex with so many characters (something like 1800 now) that keeping track of it must have been difficult, but it seems clear now that we have gotten to another book where he could have brought us to an end, and instead holds us off, with so much that it is clear book 7 won't finish it either. Jordan has fallen into a pit. He is going to be writing and then have an inspiration, well if I were this character in book three, and all these things I have been writing about were happening in the world, then this thing that I had never thought of before must also be happening.
Here is what is wrong with that. We see good keep maneuvering, and doing things to get their houses in order for the big battle. But evil isn't really concerned. Oh a few lieutenants of the head number one bad guy (The Dark One) are carefully fighting each other, and fighting our heroes every so often. But why is there not a Saruman making Uruk Hai armies to spring on the millions of human troops that are being united.
Why are not the Trolloc and Myrdrall warriors skirmishing more and more to be ready for the fight, instead of just a few little attacks, that never succeed here and there. Why not use the opportunities that come the way of the lieutenants to snuff out Rand's friends, as Rand has killed several of the Forsaken when he could. Rand must be at the last battle, but the others need not, if you were evil, you would feel that.
So Jordan has opened up the door too wide. There are too many things that he wants to tell in a short time as if every day is a crescendo to the climax. It of course is still great when read all in context. But you have to think that if he had sat down to dissect the plot of his entire arc, he would have known that the world he set up, would not be turning out the way he was writing it. |
| |
 "Beginning to slow down, but still good" | 2009-08-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: AWXMKD9XEVAEW |
I was rather frustrated thinking of what to rate this book. It's not quite as good as "The Fires of Heaven" or the previous books, but it's still a bit better than most four-star books, including the first two in the series. I've settled on four stars, since giving this book five stars is just too much of a stretch and might imply too strongly that there aren't any flaws.
The high points: Excellent characterization, great and detailed worldbuilding, awesomely funny scene where Rand researches his heritage, good writing and dialogue, intense conclusion, extremely awesome Asha'man, Mat Cauthon in general, and RAND AL'THOR TOTALLY KICKS AES SEDAI ASS!!!
The low points: Plot moves along a bit slower than it should, quite a bit more detail and filler material than there strictly needs to be, the final few chapters feel a bit rushed, romance pops out of nowhere and is ill-explained, Min is not nearly good enough for Rand, most of the women are still bitches, and the sections with Morgase and the Whitecloaks were still boring as heck.
Lord of Chaos is very good, but not quite up to the level of the previous three books. For those curious, Rand and Egwene get the majority of the chapters to themselves, and there are a total of 45 PoV characters in this book(no, I'm not kidding), the majority of whom get only a brief spot to themselves.
If you liked the previous five books, you'll probably like Lord of Chaos, though you should keep in mind that this is not the kind of series to read if all you're interested in is immediate action and gratification. The Wheel of Time requires definite patience to get through and appreciate, though it is well worth it in the end.
By the way, did I mention that Rand and the Asha'man totally own? |
| |
 "a waste of your time, you should have stopped at the 3rd" | 2009-02-28 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1NMR7VXXNAJV3 |
Just the 3 first of the serie are somehow worth the reading. Following the readers review I bought straight the 9 first books. What a mistake. the Game of Thrones or even Sword of truth series are far better than the Wheel of time serie. It is as if Robert Jordan is paid by the line like the french writers from the 19th century, Balzac, Flaubert etc...
So far I have finished 1 to 7. From the 4th (till 7th) they just are impossible to finish. Like chewing branflakes forever and being unable to swallow it.
I really regret I went further the third.
Do not make my mistake unless slow rythm and low level action is what you seek.
Robert Jordan has also the gift for beginning threads of stories with no intention of closing them, creating new characters without really caring to give them substance, depth or real influence on the plot.
My recommendation: read the 3 first ones, and then taste the 4th, if you have the patience and like it carry on. If not don't hope it'll get better and you'll get some action or anything ...stop right there.
Same with the 5th etc...
Don't buy them all at once like me.
This a real never ending story, not even close to that, and it just gets slower and slower with more and more characters...
I hate it, but may be you won't.
My bet ? you will.
|
| |
| "Let the Lord of Chaos Rule!" | 2009-02-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2TPMLC2LN43OG |
This review is intended for people who have not read the series yet
and not as a discussion piece.
I was thrilled by Lord of Chaos. I have read a lot of disparaging
remarks about this book from supposed Wheel of Time fans, but this
book did not live up to their badmouthing. For one thing, the story
takes a noticeably different track than the previous books, focusing
on the developments laid in The Fires of Heaven. In other words, this
book does not follow the "pack up and leave" storylines of the
previous five books. With a few exceptions, the characters are not
journeying, but are dealing with developments as other characters come
to them. I found this quite refreshing.
I expected Lord of Chaos to be a dud because I knew that there were
several events in the storyline that had to take place, and at the end
of The Fires of Heaven, none of them seemed close to happening.
Quite the contrary, Lord of Chaos shows new windows into previously
neglected areas, including The Forsaken, men who channel, and several
other areas. The workings of Aes Sedai are further fleshed out by the
events in Salidar --- I really like reading about the ceremonies in a
way that is relevant to the characters. That is particularly
satisfying in a way that The Star Wars prequels just were not.
Further disappointment in my expectations occurs in the last third of
the book where no fewer than six major twists occur in the plot.
These were things that I totally did not expect. In other words, the
first six hundred pages are merely good and the last three hundred are
incredible. I was blown away by things starting at around page 600.
The story picked up phenomenally at that point. The conclusion is
even more earth-shattering. The story totally did not go the way I
thought and it was very entertaining.
Keep reading. The only recommendation I have is to have a copy of A
Crown of Swords on hand for when you finish. There is little
resolution after the thrilling final scene, except some setup for the
next book. A Crown of Swords even begins with a retelling of the
final scene of Lord of Chaos, which I welcomed.
I am still anxiously waiting to be disappointed by these books: so far
I haven been thrilled.
|
| |
| "Halfway there!" | 2009-01-28 |
| - Reviewed By noxush |
| 'Lord of Chaos' is book six of a projected twelve (!) in the 'Wheel of Time' series. The series is now firmly less an adventure story and more like a political thriller (fantasy style). There are plots and schemes and machinations and conspiracies galore. In fact I would say there are too many subplots and way too many characters- especially give Jordan's penchant for naming everyone and everything (including horses!). Having said that although I think the series could use a lot of trimming, I'm still caught up in the storyline and can't wait to find out what comes next. My understanding is that next few books are a lot like this one. We'll see if the momentum from the first five books is enough to carry me through. |
| |
| "Lord of Chaos Review" | 2009-01-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: AE2EVUZQVDSQM |
| This is book six in a series of books by Robert Jordan called "The Wheel of Time." It is a well-written sprawling science fiction fantasy saga about a young man who is born to end up battling with the evil force in the world. He and his friends travel all over the world trying to get everyone on his side, getting ready for the big battle which will decide whether the end of the world will go to the evil one or the good people. But not everyone will believe in him. There is magic, and unseen forces, monsters, strange peoples from far away, all kinds of different unexplainable things happening that can only happen when magic is used. It's a fun read, there are many small plots and twists to follow along the way. I love the story line, and the writer is wonderful. It's very colorful, and it is easy to visualize in your head, based on his descriptions, what is going on. The characters are very real and their personalities are very distinct and some are quite unusual. I have looked forward to each book as I have gone along through the series. |
| |
International Available
