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I've read them all & just recently finished re-visiting the whole series on CD..it was great both times!

Michael wrote: "I've been listening to the older books on audiobook too. I forgot how seriously good they are. So many incredible, epic moments. I haven't noticed the slow moving plot too much on my re-read, prima..."

That's probably the best way to read them. I've been considering returning to the series once it's finished. However that would take a huge chunk of time and I remember being so frustrated with the ever growing number of sub-plots without resolution.

I just completed a complete reread (technically a "relisten" since I read the books the first two times, but listened to them on audiobook this last time) of the WOT series. Taken as a whole piece, the pace really does work -- the later books that are thought of by many who read them individually as slow actually feel similarly paced to the earlier books, and the story as a whole flows beautifully. The newest Sanderson novel also fits in nicely. In my opinion, Sanderson hit it just right -- close enough in style that it feels right to switch to his writing, but not trying too hard to sound like he is channeling Jordan, which wouldn't have worked at all.

Holy thread resurrection! Or is there another thread where we can chat about the latest WoT book?

I absolutely adore WoT and Jordan as an author. I am one of those, that even though I didn't enjoy some of the later books as much as others, I still loved all of them. Crossroads of Twilight was my least favourite, but I felt Knife of Dreams more than made up for it. To me, The Wheel of Time series is like my family. Even during the rough patches, I loved each and every bit of it (except Perrin being whipped). When I read it I feel like I am with my closest friends and getting to see their lives through their eyes.

I loved The Gathering storm and Towers of Midnight. Brandon did an amazing job with R.J.'s notes. I don't honestly know how he does it. Out of the two Sanderson books, I found The Gathering Storm was more epic, but Towers of Midnight really tied up so many of the loose ends we have been pining for.

Wow, really?! We get so many answers, reunions, and resolutions. Not to mention there were so many new crazy theories to be had with the conclusion of ToM. I was taking notes while reading, lol. I had so many crazy ideas going through my head and I didn't want to forget them. I am a bit obsessed.

I would think this would be the place. :)

I really like how Mr Jordan made the Chinese elements work in this series. I, on the other hand, had to overcome a number of troubles to do the same. :)

Anybody up for a re-read before the final book comes out next year?

This series is my all time favouriiitee. I LOVE it, I love the world they live in, the complexity, the interweving plots. However, I must agree that the woman reallly piss the shit out of me, it's like they're constantly pmsing! I also can't keep track of the books and the plot. I've read them twice already but can't remember what happens where, all the books just get jumbled up in my head. I'm planning on reading them all again once the final book comes out :p. There is an awesome blog on the TOR website that summarizes each chapter for those who have a goldfish memory like mee and dont want to read the whole books again :P.
Deffinately recommended read! These books changed my life

I plan on reading this series some time before the last book. I read the first few in high school, one of my first fantasy loves, but never managed to come back to it. So if anyone wants to have a re-read I'm in. Would you want to do a book a month? How many books are there? And when will the last come out?

I'm in too. Never read any of them so it will all be new to me.

Oh cool!

There are 13 books and the final book, A Memory of Light will be out sometime next year. Sanderson has mentioned summer, but it will probably be closer to winter so this is a perfect time to start. A book a month would be close, but we might need one every 3 weeks or so.

I know that most libraries have the audiobooks, and that is how I plan on reading them so I can still read other books. I really like the audiobooks as well. That way I can listen while driving, cleaning, and even having a bath.

I've been thinking about reading the series again. I haven't read the whole thing since right before The Gathering Storm came out. I'm starting to get the bug again to read it from the beginning.

Dana- One of the reasons I was hesitant about reading the WOT series was due to the amount of characters in the series. I believe it was numbered around 2000. Was this an issue when you read these books?

No, it was one of the things I love about it. And it's not like you are tossed in the deep end with 2000 characters right in book one. Book one is focused on the core group of characters. More characters are slowly introduced, and I found their arcs just as interesting as the core group.

Marilyn, if you have trouble remembering stuff, like me, then you'll feel a bit lost with the characters. I re-read the series from book 1 - 11 continously and I still forgot alot of ppl. However, things were clearer the second time round. I'm thinking, third times the charm tho :P.

Lilyan-I do have trouble remembering all characters. I think that is one of the reasons I like Robin Hobb, she gives a gentle reminder for readers like me. You must have enjoyed the books if you are considering reading them a third time. Re WOT-I did find a website that lists all the characters.

There are glossaries in the backs of the books that are a help with characters and other things. They are vague enough to help your memory about who is who without being spoilery.

Wow....I might have to read at my own pace, that's quite a commitment but I will be atleast be starting them sometime in December or early next year.

If I forget somebody I go to encyclopedia-wot and they have a list of characters, places, even prophecies and foretellings.

I am reading Towers of Midnight, the last book out, and I am loving it so much even though I have read it a few times. I love the narrators of the audiobook.

I've only read the last 2 books one time each. As much as I'm glad that Brandon Sanderson is finishing the story, the differences in style threw me off a bit. The story was great, it just made me a little sad to read it and wonder how it would have been if Jordan had been able to finish it.

I've just started this series, have listened to the first two books from my library on my MP3 player. I am really loving it so far. Can't believe I have 11 more books to read. I don't think I'll be done before the final book comes out

Rora wrote: "I liked the first four books in the series, but then the quality of writing seemed to go downhill for me. I think I quit reading around book six or seven.

I have to agree about the women charact..."

I have to agree. I fell in love with the series and devoured the first four books. I just couldn't wait for the next one to come out.

I even got an autographed first edition of The Shadow Rising for Christmas the year it came out. I was thrilled!

Then the next three were a torture to get through. I kept hoping that the story would get better. Instead, I was beginning to resent characters and I stopped reading.

If the final few are worth it, I might pick it all up especially to finish the series. I do hate leaving a series unfinished.

Bridget wrote: "Rora wrote: "I liked the first four books in the series, but then the quality of writing seemed to go downhill for me. I think I quit reading around book six or seven.

I have to agree about the wo..."

Bridgeeet please pull through the boring middle books, the final books make up for them BIG TIME! You will not regret it !
Ya Carrie, I go to Encyclopedia WOT too :P I loooove that website.

For me, the middle books didn't get boring. Books 4, 5 and 6 are hard for me to narrow down as which is my favorite. Some of my favorite scenes happen in book 7 and 9. I would say Path of Daggers is my least favorite, but that's because I didn't like the direction that Rand's story arc was taking him, not that I thought the book was boring. I even liked Crossroads of Twilight. I love any scene with Mat, and Crossroads is full of Mat chapters. Egwene's arc rocks in Crossroads too.

Since I've loved the series so much up to that point, and I hate to leave any series unfinished, I just might need to pick it all back up again.

Can I hold you responsible for my reading list getting even longer, Lilyan?

I loved all of the books, but some are harder when I re-read because the pace is so slow. Mainly books 7-10 (10 being the one where not much happens) for me were slow. I loved 5&6. LoC, book 6, is one of my favourites.

Book 11 definitely picks up and things we have been waiting for actually happen. 12 & 13 were wow worthy. I wish it could have been finished by RJ because some things were still off for me, but I think Brandon did an amazing job. Yes, he's not RJ, but he did the story justice and kept the feeling and mythology alive through the final books, imo.

It is such a shame that Jordan created such a wonderful world, brought us all into it with wonderful characters, and wasn't able to be there to finish it for us. I've heard that Brandon has done a pretty good job of following in Jordan's footsteps, I'm definitely going to have to dive in to finish the series.

Bridget wrote: "It is such a shame that Jordan created such a wonderful world, brought us all into it with wonderful characters, and wasn't able to be there to finish it for us. I've heard that Brandon has done a ..."
Sanderson has done an excellent job. The only character I have issues with is Mat. He just isn't as funny when Sanderson writes him. I asked about this on twitter and Sanderson said Mat has been the hardest character for him to do. I'm looking forward to reading A Memory of Light and intend to get started on a full re-read soon.

Sanderson's Mat was the biggest drawback for me as well. I think he did better in Towers of Midnight, but it was still a little off. I had some issues with a couple of other character voices, but Mat was the only one that threw me out of the story the first time he was on screen. For the most part Sanderson has done a good job though.

Oh no! Don't tell me that! Mat is one of my favorite characters. I am putting finishing the series on my to-do list. I hope to rekindle the enjoyment I had of the series in the beginning.

I've mentioned this before but a quick rehash: I loved this series in school but stopped reading them, earlier this year I tried a reread to get ready for the last book out next year but gave up within three hundred pages, just wasn't getting into it. But hoping I just wasn't in the mood I wanted to give it one more chance........

Started again this morning and I'm really enjoying it. I don't know what my problem was earlier...

Traci wrote: "I've mentioned this before but a quick rehash: I loved this series in school but stopped reading them, earlier this year I tried a reread to get ready for the last book out next year but gave up wi..."

Glad to hear you are enjoying it this time around. I've read this series more often than any other books I own. I've lost count over the years of how many times I've read it. I think I'm going to start a re-read after I finish the Sarantine Mosaic. :)

I actually like Sanderson's Mat better than Jordan's Mat. I've found him much more relatable and more layered than in the earlier books. But then again, I think Sanderson has totally rescued the whole series with his writing. While I do think it is a tremendous shame that Jordan didn't get to finish the entire series himself and we'll never get to see exactly how he would have written it, I do find myself comparing the quality of the Sanderson books to the last few Jordan volumes and wondering if I would have enjoyed the end of the series half so much with Jordan at the helm. Maybe Sanderson and I just think more alike!

Have you read Sanderson's other novels? I haven't read a bad thing from him yet. Great author. And the main reason I'm determined to get through the wheel of time books. Although I am enjoying Jordan.

I've never read anything by Sanderson, and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing before getting through the rest of the WoT series.

I'm just focused on getting through the rest of the series again to find out how it all ends. I'm still enjoying the first books as I did before. I'll have to see how it goes when I hit the slow ones for me again.

The slow ones will be my first time of reading them, I stopped around book four or five years ago, I'm hoping they can't live up to how bad I fear they will be. :)

Bridget wrote: "Since I've loved the series so much up to that point, and I hate to leave any series unfinished, I just might need to pick it all back up again.

Can I hold you responsible for my reading list gett..."

Yes trust me you won't regret it! :P And here's the website I was telling you guys about earlier

It's a greaaat Chapter by Chapter summary for a quick re-read. What I did was I'd re-read parts of the actual book then I'd read some of the summary. What I enjoyed about the summary is that, me being not that very observant :P, the summary also held discussions that explained or pointed out things I had completely skimmed over and not noticed, Mr. Jordan weaves a VERY complex storyline. :P
BTW, On the topic of Jordan Vs Sanderson, I kind of enjoyed Sanderson's writing more, it's easier and simpler. But then again, that's also because I'm not very observant and I like things being spelled out for me rather than hinted out and hidden in layers of intrigue.
With regards to the Mat character, I've never liked Mat very much, so I didn't notice the change. I will pay more attention to that when I re-read the third time.
Surprisingly, when I think about the characters, I realize I don't have a fondness for any of the main characters, I like the secondary characters like Galad.. Whaat? I know, but he's not so bad! In the last book we see how awesome he is.
Can we mention spoilers on this thread? Cause there's a question that's been nagging at me ever since I read the last book.

You can hide it under a spoiler tag...

Just do this without the spaces inbetween.
< spoiler > question or comment here < / spoiler >

Simone wrote: "I actually like Sanderson's Mat better than Jordan's Mat. I've found him much more relatable and more layered than in the earlier books. But then again, I think Sanderson has totally rescued the ..."

I have to say I'm not liking the character of Mat so far. I know he's a favorite so I expected to like him more, and I thought I remembered liking him when I was reading these before but now I'm finding him annoying. Maybe it's an age thing. The first time I read these I was a teen and now I'm in my thirties. For a younger person Mat would be the friend that you would never be bored around. For an older person Mat is like the son you wish you never have, the boy you'd not let your son play with, or the husband you'd want to kill.

Dana wrote: "Traci wrote: "I've mentioned this before but a quick rehash: I loved this series in school but stopped reading them, earlier this year I tried a reread to get ready for the last book out next year ..."
Same here Dana as far as my most read series

Traci wrote: "For a younger person Mat would be the friend that you would never be bored around. For an older person Mat is like the son you wish you never have, the boy you'd not let your son play with, or the husband you'd want to kill..." That is so true about Mat but I think that's why I loved him. In ToM, although Sanderson did better, there were just too many
(view spoiler)[ this character reminds of this thing references to create comedy. Jordan's funniness for Mat was more sublime. (hide spoiler)] And Lilian ask away.

Yes! I find Mat extremely annoying too Tracy. He's just.. too much!
Ok, so as for my spoiler, people who have read the books all the way to the last one can you kindly fill me in on the following:
(view spoiler)[When did the whole Moiraine and Thom thing happen?!! I was gobsmacked when he asked her to marry him. Say whaaaat? Someone please explain this. (hide spoiler)]

I'm hoping the slow books aren't as slow as the first time I read them. As for Mat, he's totally the friend your parents warned you to stay away from.

Lilyan wrote: "Yes! I find Mat extremely annoying too Tracy. He's just.. too much!
Ok, so as for my spoiler, people who have read the books all the way to the last one can you kindly fill me in on the following..."

Lilyan, that is one of the things I'm rereading for. I remember the looks they gave each other. I don't remember those being friendly. I remember Rand being intrigued by it all, but I DON"T remember it going that far. Ever. I'll let you know what it is it seems so many of us missed. Wow that was a good one.

Terry wrote: "Traci wrote: "For a younger person Mat would be the friend that you would never be bored around. For an older person Mat is like the son you wish you never have, the boy you'd not let your son play..."

@Terry, you can't put spaces between the < and the word 'spoiler'. The hidden text doesn't work that way.

About Thom, (view spoiler)[There were hints throughout the series. Way back after Moiraine went through the doorway in Tear she mentioned knowing the face of the man she would marry. Many speculated it was Thom. There was also the hints with Min's vision where (or Egwene's dream?) Thom pulled Moiraines blue jewel out of the fire. It seemed important that he would be the one to save her and the vision basically came true in a more literal sense. Also, Moiraine addressed he letter to Thom as "Dearest Thom" or something like that.

Maybe RJ would have had a few more hints right before she was rescued. Either from his POV or hers. A lot of people were thrown by that. I have been waiting for it for a long time though. (hide spoiler)]

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Terry wrote: "Traci wrote: "For a younger person Mat would be the friend that you would never be bored around. For an older person Mat is like the son you wish you never have, the boy you'd not let..."

Oops I didn't even notice I did that.

I'm on a break right now from The Wheel of Time. Read books 1-7 straight through. Had to change to something else. :)

Terry, it took me a long time to figure out spoilers. I was so frustrated. And it ended up being so simple....

Carrie (Care) wrote: "About Thom,
(view spoiler)[ There is also that scene in the beginning of Shadow Rising where Moiraine gets Thom to go to Tanchico with Nynaeve and Elayne instead of staying with Rand in Tear. She heals his leg for him, and there's mutual appreciation for how well each plays the game of the houses. I think Thom refers to her as being a fine woman at some point as well. (hide spoiler)]