Review: To Read or Not to Read? Wheel of Time

Alright, so I am less than 1/3 of the way through this massive series, but as it will be quite a while before I finish the series, and I see a great deal of debate on whether to read the series, I thought I'd post a review of the first few books.  Naturally, since I have a lot of the series left to read, my opinion could change.

One major argument for it - it looks like the television series really is coming, so if you prefer to read the book first (like me), now's the time!

I am not sure I've ever seen a book series with as much debate on whether or not it is worth reading as this one, other than maybe Malazan Book of the Fallen, which is also on my "to read" list. Peopel seem to either love Wheel of Time or hate it; so far, I fall into the "love" category.

Let me address some of the common critiques I see. First, that its a "rip off" of Tolkein. There's definitely some legitimacy to this, at least in the first book. Young man meets mysterious stranger and magic caster, goes off on a great adventure with his companions, while being chased by evil minions of a scary bad guy we don't really see yet. Sound familiar? However, I found this was a lot less true as you go through the books, so if you can bear with it for the first book, I think this particular objection can be overcome.

The second major critique I see is that they're overly wordy and/or that they drag. This is really a personal preference thing, in my opinion. This is definitely in the epic fantasy sub-genre of fantasy, and they're not quick reads. However, I think most people know that going in - it's a long series. Personally, I've yet to feel like it dragged, although I don't think I've hit the books that are traditionally considered the "worst" in this aspect. They're definitely long and heavy on description, but I personally like and expect that in my epic fantasy. If you prefer a more direct, action-paced narrative, I'll admit this might not be the series for you.

There is a similar point I have seen brought up that I have to say is totally correct - there can be some repetitive elements. I can remember reading a review that said that if Nynaeve tugged her braid one more time.... And I must admit, that particular sentence can get annoying. There is also a lot of smoothing of clothes. But to me, while it might be mildly annoying, this is a pretty small complaint.

I've also seen complaints that the characters are boring and one-dimensional. This particular critique I (mostly) disagree with. The characters often do fit fantasy tropes to some extent, but not to such an extent as to ruin the books. There are some cliches that are genuinely annoying - everyone is in love, the men don't understand the women, the women try to control the men, etc. etc. Again, though, I don't feel this ruins the books.

While some of these get more noticeable as the books go on - particularly the gender stereotypes - I also think the characters develop and become more interesting, which out weighs that irritation. It also seems like it's going to avoid some fantasy stereotypes, although it's hard to tell this early on. For example, I don't think Rand - the main character (as much as anyone is the main character) is going to be an all-"white" goody-goody character. That, for me, would be the one thing that would really bring the series down for me, and it doesn't seem like that is going to be the case. 

The primary positive, to me, is the world building. There are so many different cities and peoples, and some really great lore. It's dribbled out slowly, but it's worth reading just for that in my opinion. In the fourth, when we finally see more of the Aiel, it really starts to hit it's stride in this area. They have a pretty fascinating history.

Overall, I am really enjoying it and it will likely go into my pile of things I may even re-read some day. I think it's certainly worth giving a chance - you can always quit if you hate it. However, unless you really hate it, I do think it's worth reading at least through the second one; I think they pick up a lot after the first one. If you enjoy it, you're in for a rare treat!

I'll post another review after a few more books.