A very honest sales job, Sam! I genuinely enjoyed The Wheel of Time and think it’s a magnificent accomplishment. Though it’s not quite in my top ten, I have a lot of respect for it, and I never actually experienced the Slog. I do sort of wish you had used the Icelandic word for irritating. 😁
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy haha it's amazing how often that happens - it's 'pirrandi'. That's very fair! I am also very much aware of nostalgia, but I believe that to be a reasonable reason for holding something higher up the favourites list!
@@freigombert I’ve made a few “top ten” videos over the years, but you’ll find Malazan, Realm of the Elderlings, The Lord of the Rings, First Law, and Earthsea consistently there, among others.
Great video! I'm currently in the latter half of Book 5, and I would say that Wheel of Time truly gripped me with Book 2. And after Book 3, I knew I would be sticking with the series. It can definitely be cringy and repetitive, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. When it hits, it really hits!
From one Sam to another, nice video. I tried reading this, I got maybe 7 books into the series. The world building and magic systems are great. I enjoyed the descriptions. My issue was I found the main characters too depressing. They were just always down in the dumps all the time. Now that I have read a lot of Brandon Sanderson, I think that I might try reading his concluding trilogy to TWoT.
@@samburchard9921 Thank you very much! You basically got to the stage where a lot of people find it hard to continue, so very understandable. There are some real struggles that the main characters go through. I found their resolutions very satisfying though!
Loved it, despite the few mentioned issues up until around book 5, ( don't remember exactly)The "kneel or be knelt" scene, which is where it peaked. Read a couple after that but felt the quality dropped off shockingly. Calling it a slog is a kindness. There were times i actually flipped back a few pages thinking there might have been a misprint repeating passages, sometimes almost entire pages,they were so similar it was disgraceful. The books would have benefited from an editor, easily half the length and they would have been excellent. Definitely felt like a publisher milking the fans. Only time reading a series i never bothered finishing it.
@@johncorrigan268 Yes you most certainly aren't alone with these feelings! I certainly agree some editing and shortening would have benefited the series very well. However I still feel the payoff is well worth it :)
@@SamNot-so-wise by the time a new author had come on board (under tragic circumstances) the damage had been done. Biggest sin was it was just boring and repetitively irritating. I'll forgive you your opinion because of all of the Ian M. Banks on your shelf!😅😉
@@johncorrigan268 hahaha! Well thank you! Maybe check out my latest video - I talk about The Culture and how much I love it. But it's true, WOT is not for everyone and I totally get why.
What a great video! It's my favorite series and I find it hilarious that I disagree with a lot of your points. But we agree that its an amazing series. I never experienced the slog and I liked the relationships.
@@leslielovesreading5665 Thank you so much!! It's my favourite series too :) For me the slog existed but was much smaller than most people make it out to be, and was never going to stop the series from being the best :) I love that we can disagree on part of the series but both love it so much.
Great pitch. I'm waiting to hear what my younger brother thinks of these. A work mate gave him the entire series to read at the beginning of the year. I'm visiting him in late November and hope to have a discussion then. ❤
I've read the first couple, when they first came out, but somehow I did not get around to reading the whole series. Some great concepts - specifically the portal stones. I will complete one day!
@@book-ramble That's understandable, I have been known to do similarly before. As you can probably tell, I recommend coming back to it ;) I am seriously considering a reread.
I only heard about the slog after I finished the series because, obviously, I wasn't going to risk spoilers on youtube while reading. I was utterly surprised it was such a big thing. I never experienced it. Probably because I read the whole series within a few months. I can see why someone waiting a year or two for the next book might find a couple of the books less action driven and I know some people are more plot focused than others. But I would advise anyone who enjoys world building, character development and lots of secondary political and social interactions to ignore the whole "slog" narrative. It won't affect you in the slightest I assure you.
@@ioannispaxinos5171 Well said! The whole series in a few months is impressive work. And I agree with your assessment, even the slower books have plenty going on with them for those who don't need high speed plotting.
I’ve read 1-3 and I loved them. I love epic worlds and a shit ton of characters. I feel like sometimes when there aren’t enough side characters the world feels kind of empty? Like not fully fleshed out and lived in. It’s been 2 years I think since I’ve read book 3. I really want to reread them and finish the series next year! That’s my goal for ‘25!
I actually read Book 1 in 2021, Book 2 in late 2021-early 2022, and did not read any more until this year, despite loving them both! Now I'm almost done with Book 5 and want to get through Book 6 before the end of this year. Hoping to finish the series in 2025. Props to you if you can pull of finishing it next year while re-reading the first three! For me, there were definitely some more minor things I forgot, but overall picking it back up again has been relatively smooth.
In line with kids don't need nice things 😂, I told my kids they don't get Wheel of time now. They're a bit too young to care now but we'll see how it goes haha. I have never read it and I wouldn't be against it, but just the absolute length is having my hold off for now since I have a lot I'm trying to prioritize. I hope I get to it before I die at least. Thanks for the vid
@@SeaninsShelf haha oh no your poor kids! I understand not reading it yourself, but the children, somebody please think of the children! But fair, it's a crazy long series. One day you could start it with the thought of it taking 3/4 years no?
I started reading when there were only 6 books it was hard to wait and I remember when Jordan only planned on doing 9 books. But book 9 was not last book and my least favorite and it is my second favorite series. Terry goodkind wizard first rule series is my favorite.
Brother - I was not able to get past 15% of the Great Hunt! I have always wanted to read and complete this series. I want to give it another try. But, the pace is very slow and heavy. Will it really be worth the push through?
@@srinisbookreviews2726 hmm it's hard to say as it depends how you are reacting to it. The last 200 pages of the Great Hunt are wild! But most of the books are on the slower side for pace. I would recommene giving it another go and if it is a struggle again then maybe the series isn't for you.
Push through, promise it’s worth it. I absolutely loved it. Considering how big the series and world is, the 2nd book is still helping to build the world. But I sped through book 5-14 in 3 months.
Some people consider the second book to be their favorite, the buildup and final crescendo contain some of the most epic scenes in the entire book series.
The Forsaken are realistic though. They are flawed people that have made bad decisions. They do have exceptional skills in narrow areas, but none of them are supermen. And you have to remember that they came from a completely different world. They basically had to learn everything about this new world from scratch. That is also why they severely underestimated the good guys in so many situations. And of course, the hype about them being ultra powerful was mostly just propaganda from thousands of years of subversive influence.
@@Merecir These are all truly excellent points, and I would agree! There were some Forsaken I thought to be truly great characters. I do however see where people come from with their criticisms. But those criticisms never occured to me until I heard people talking about them online after I'd finished the series. I'd love to do a re-read and see if anything has changed.
@@SamNot-so-wiseWow, if you haven’t yet done a re-read, do yourself a favor and do it when you can. Honestly, almost everyone who has done a re-read agrees it’s actually better on a second go-‘round. The foreshadowing is ridiculous, and the layers of interweaving is masterfully apparent. Jordan may not have planned the way Sanderson does, but he was a visionary. What a tragedy for the literary world to have lost his genius.
@@mcina001 Amazingly I haven't and I've heard the same from many others. It's difficult with so many books on the tbr 😅 I know I will some day and am seriously considering doing it next year...
I gave up after book 6, IIRC (it was well over 20 years ago). I was a fan at first (even scored a signed copy of the first book), but after pages of tugging of braids and crossing of arms under breasts (Jordan could be such a terrible writer), I just got bored by the bloat and the story seemingly getting nowhere. To me, it was The Waste of Time.
@@bjornh4664 That's a fair way to feel and you aren't alone. It could certainly have been trimmed down but I feel that is so common in fantasy. I'm certainly thinking that whilst reading Stormlight now....
@@SamNot-so-wise I had the same problem with Terry Goodkind's and Harry Turtledove's books. Some authors should be reined in and forced to write by hand. The bloat arrived with the computers making it easier to produce masses of text. This is apparent when reading older works, where the stories are told in a much more effective way.
A very honest sales job, Sam! I genuinely enjoyed The Wheel of Time and think it’s a magnificent accomplishment. Though it’s not quite in my top ten, I have a lot of respect for it, and I never actually experienced the Slog. I do sort of wish you had used the Icelandic word for irritating. 😁
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy haha it's amazing how often that happens - it's 'pirrandi'. That's very fair! I am also very much aware of nostalgia, but I believe that to be a reasonable reason for holding something higher up the favourites list!
if you are willing to tell, whats your top ten then?
@@freigombert My top 10 or Philip's?! If you're looking for mine you can find it here -
ua-cam.com/video/HsmWZeK29vI/v-deo.htmlsi=LhX71517StZ7TbRk
@@freigombert I’ve made a few “top ten” videos over the years, but you’ll find Malazan, Realm of the Elderlings, The Lord of the Rings, First Law, and Earthsea consistently there, among others.
Must read!
Great video! I'm currently in the latter half of Book 5, and I would say that Wheel of Time truly gripped me with Book 2. And after Book 3, I knew I would be sticking with the series. It can definitely be cringy and repetitive, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. When it hits, it really hits!
@@CinematicGalaxy Thank you!! I couldn't agree more.
I'm a simple man, I see the Wheel of Time getting praised, so I press like and subscribe.
Great video, great new channel as well! 😀
@@allthekingsbooks haha well thank you so much and welcome on board!!
You’re a funny funny man. Loved that start
@@NevsBookChannel Haha thanks!!
From one Sam to another, nice video. I tried reading this, I got maybe 7 books into the series. The world building and magic systems are great. I enjoyed the descriptions. My issue was I found the main characters too depressing. They were just always down in the dumps all the time. Now that I have read a lot of Brandon Sanderson, I think that I might try reading his concluding trilogy to TWoT.
@@samburchard9921 Thank you very much! You basically got to the stage where a lot of people find it hard to continue, so very understandable. There are some real struggles that the main characters go through. I found their resolutions very satisfying though!
Loved it, despite the few mentioned issues up until around book 5, ( don't remember exactly)The "kneel or be knelt" scene, which is where it peaked. Read a couple after that but felt the quality dropped off shockingly. Calling it a slog is a kindness. There were times i actually flipped back a few pages thinking there might have been a misprint repeating passages, sometimes almost entire pages,they were so similar it was disgraceful. The books would have benefited from an editor, easily half the length and they would have been excellent. Definitely felt like a publisher milking the fans.
Only time reading a series i never bothered finishing it.
@@johncorrigan268 Yes you most certainly aren't alone with these feelings! I certainly agree some editing and shortening would have benefited the series very well. However I still feel the payoff is well worth it :)
@@SamNot-so-wise by the time a new author had come on board (under tragic circumstances) the damage had been done. Biggest sin was it was just boring and repetitively irritating.
I'll forgive you your opinion because of all of the Ian M. Banks on your shelf!😅😉
@@johncorrigan268 hahaha! Well thank you! Maybe check out my latest video - I talk about The Culture and how much I love it. But it's true, WOT is not for everyone and I totally get why.
What a great video! It's my favorite series and I find it hilarious that I disagree with a lot of your points. But we agree that its an amazing series. I never experienced the slog and I liked the relationships.
@@leslielovesreading5665 Thank you so much!! It's my favourite series too :)
For me the slog existed but was much smaller than most people make it out to be, and was never going to stop the series from being the best :)
I love that we can disagree on part of the series but both love it so much.
Great pitch. I'm waiting to hear what my younger brother thinks of these. A work mate gave him the entire series to read at the beginning of the year. I'm visiting him in late November and hope to have a discussion then. ❤
@@heathergoldsmith oh nice, I hope he has enjoyed them!
I've read the first couple, when they first came out, but somehow I did not get around to reading the whole series. Some great concepts - specifically the portal stones. I will complete one day!
@@book-ramble That's understandable, I have been known to do similarly before. As you can probably tell, I recommend coming back to it ;)
I am seriously considering a reread.
I only heard about the slog after I finished the series because, obviously, I wasn't going to risk spoilers on youtube while reading. I was utterly surprised it was such a big thing. I never experienced it. Probably because I read the whole series within a few months. I can see why someone waiting a year or two for the next book might find a couple of the books less action driven and I know some people are more plot focused than others. But I would advise anyone who enjoys world building, character development and lots of secondary political and social interactions to ignore the whole "slog" narrative. It won't affect you in the slightest I assure you.
@@ioannispaxinos5171 Well said! The whole series in a few months is impressive work. And I agree with your assessment, even the slower books have plenty going on with them for those who don't need high speed plotting.
I’ve read 1-3 and I loved them. I love epic worlds and a shit ton of characters. I feel like sometimes when there aren’t enough side characters the world feels kind of empty? Like not fully fleshed out and lived in.
It’s been 2 years I think since I’ve read book 3. I really want to reread them and finish the series next year! That’s my goal for ‘25!
@@reading_faerie I love to hear it!! And I agree. Love me some thicc books with lots of world and characters, it feels more real to me.
I actually read Book 1 in 2021, Book 2 in late 2021-early 2022, and did not read any more until this year, despite loving them both! Now I'm almost done with Book 5 and want to get through Book 6 before the end of this year. Hoping to finish the series in 2025. Props to you if you can pull of finishing it next year while re-reading the first three! For me, there were definitely some more minor things I forgot, but overall picking it back up again has been relatively smooth.
Great opener 😅
In line with kids don't need nice things 😂, I told my kids they don't get Wheel of time now. They're a bit too young to care now but we'll see how it goes haha. I have never read it and I wouldn't be against it, but just the absolute length is having my hold off for now since I have a lot I'm trying to prioritize. I hope I get to it before I die at least. Thanks for the vid
@@SeaninsShelf haha oh no your poor kids! I understand not reading it yourself, but the children, somebody please think of the children! But fair, it's a crazy long series. One day you could start it with the thought of it taking 3/4 years no?
@@SamNot-so-wise Hahaha I think that'd be the plan! Read it over a couple of years once I finally start so at least I get it done at some point
I started reading when there were only 6 books it was hard to wait and I remember when Jordan only planned on doing 9 books. But book 9 was not last book and my least favorite and it is my second favorite series. Terry goodkind wizard first rule series is my favorite.
@@teengrogu5177 That's very fair! Book 9 is a difficult book for most people.
I read a number of the books, eventually gave up on it. It's essentially a soap opera much like Game of Thrones,
Brother - I was not able to get past 15% of the Great Hunt! I have always wanted to read and complete this series. I want to give it another try. But, the pace is very slow and heavy. Will it really be worth the push through?
@@srinisbookreviews2726 hmm it's hard to say as it depends how you are reacting to it. The last 200 pages of the Great Hunt are wild! But most of the books are on the slower side for pace. I would recommene giving it another go and if it is a struggle again then maybe the series isn't for you.
Push through, promise it’s worth it. I absolutely loved it. Considering how big the series and world is, the 2nd book is still helping to build the world. But I sped through book 5-14 in 3 months.
Some people consider the second book to be their favorite, the buildup and final crescendo contain some of the most epic scenes in the entire book series.
🇮🇳
The Forsaken are realistic though. They are flawed people that have made bad decisions.
They do have exceptional skills in narrow areas, but none of them are supermen. And you have to remember that they came from a completely different world. They basically had to learn everything about this new world from scratch. That is also why they severely underestimated the good guys in so many situations.
And of course, the hype about them being ultra powerful was mostly just propaganda from thousands of years of subversive influence.
@@Merecir These are all truly excellent points, and I would agree! There were some Forsaken I thought to be truly great characters. I do however see where people come from with their criticisms. But those criticisms never occured to me until I heard people talking about them online after I'd finished the series. I'd love to do a re-read and see if anything has changed.
@@SamNot-so-wiseWow, if you haven’t yet done a re-read, do yourself a favor and do it when you can. Honestly, almost everyone who has done a re-read agrees it’s actually better on a second go-‘round. The foreshadowing is ridiculous, and the layers of interweaving is masterfully apparent. Jordan may not have planned the way Sanderson does, but he was a visionary. What a tragedy for the literary world to have lost his genius.
@@mcina001 Amazingly I haven't and I've heard the same from many others. It's difficult with so many books on the tbr 😅
I know I will some day and am seriously considering doing it next year...
I mean, it’s only the second best fantasy series of all time.
@@CScott-wh5yk Pray tell, what is number one?
17:15 I also think he’s got lovely descriptions from the 3 I read!
I gave up after book 6, IIRC (it was well over 20 years ago). I was a fan at first (even scored a signed copy of the first book), but after pages of tugging of braids and crossing of arms under breasts (Jordan could be such a terrible writer), I just got bored by the bloat and the story seemingly getting nowhere. To me, it was The Waste of Time.
@@bjornh4664 That's a fair way to feel and you aren't alone. It could certainly have been trimmed down but I feel that is so common in fantasy. I'm certainly thinking that whilst reading Stormlight now....
@@SamNot-so-wise I had the same problem with Terry Goodkind's and Harry Turtledove's books. Some authors should be reined in and forced to write by hand. The bloat arrived with the computers making it easier to produce masses of text. This is apparent when reading older works, where the stories are told in a much more effective way.