This is so sad... WoT news...

[Luvian]

I just learned that the final Wheel of Time novel is number 12.

It's way too fast, I feel like I just learned my best friend only has a month left to live.

At least he'll be writing two more prequel once he's done with number 12...

I hope 11 and 12 are going to be huge, there's so much left to see. I was hoping we would get to see Egwene and Elayne get settled in their roles...

Jordan created such a living world. I could keep reading about his characters forever...

[Harkoliar]

personally im glad the series is about to finish with book 12.. the bad thing is, i hope he wont sacrifice the story because of it

i already forgot most of the characters and would like to reread the entire series again. That would take a month for me at best if that happens .

[Luvian]

That's what I'm efraid about. In book 10, there's apparently enough stuff happening for another 5-6 books or so, and then he anounce he's ending it in 2 books...

Either they're going to be huge, or he's going to cut some stuff...

I don't want to post spoilers, but if you've read book 10 you should know every characters are busy with their own quests. I think there's been more characters and plot elements added in the last 3 books than in the first 7 together... There's no way he can fit it all in two books.

I don't mind the story eventually ending, but I want to get a sense of completion, it's going to suck if he cut off on the plot.

[ScottG]

"I think there's been more characters and plot elements added in the last 3 books than in the first 7 together... "

Thats exactly the problem with WOT.. It was "managable" for the first few books, but now you feel swamped. I often have to go back and read the last 25% of the prior book before even attempting to get into the new book. He should have "capped" it at 3 females and 3 males for most of the emphasis - with the occasional extra "bad guy" chapter. For the past 4 books I feel like I've been "privilidged" to get a miserly 3 chapters for Rand's character.

Ultimatly I think sales are down because of this. This could be the proverbial "nail in the coffin" that is limiting it to 12 books.

Oh well, still perhaps one of the best fantasy series ever written.

[aleph_null1]

Originally posted by ScottG: It was "managable" for the first few books, but now you feel swamped.

Couldn't agree more here. I think Jordan may have gotten in over his head...

... or maybe he's just over it. I mean, seriously, an author devoting entirely himself to an imaginary world & its PG-13 character interactions for well over a decade might just be feeling stale in his artistic development.

[Luvian]

Actually, what I like the most about the series are the tons of characters and their interactions.

I couldn't care less about seeing the final comflict, as long as he kept writing.

I see this series more like those X-Men and Superman comic books that will be written until the end of time.

Or like tv shows. Their story never end either, they just keep having new adventures.

If there had been only 3 male and 3 female characters, I probably would have stoped reading the series after the 3rd book of so.

I know lots of people that like the newest books too.

You guys shouldn't act as if just because you don't like them then no one else does. I'm certain sales are just fine, if not better than ever, as more people get introduced to the series, and because of the d&d setting.

If the series was dying, they wouldn't have planed for two more prequel books to be released after book 12.

[aleph_null1]

Originally posted by Luvian: If the series was dying, they wouldn't have planed for two more prequel books to be released after book 12.

Wasn't at all saying this; if anything, they're probably more popular now (or maybe a couple years ago) than they ever were!

Just saying that Jordan may be getting a bit tired of the whole thing. That reason, more than anything, is why these kind of series tend to stop.

[ScottG]

"You guys shouldn't act as if just because you don't like them then no one else does. I'm certain sales are just fine, if not better than ever, as more people get introduced to the series, and because of the d&d setting."

And you shouldn't assume we don't like them..

Personally, it is my favorite series. While overall sales may be better than ever, sales GROWTH has certainly declined (at least in established markets). Still, aleph_null1 may be right - it could just as easily be that Jordan himself is "over with" the series.

In any event..

"If there had been only 3 male and 3 female characters, I probably would have stoped reading the series after the 3rd book of so."

I would have too. The CRITICAL issue here is how many protagonist "threads" there are, and how much of the book is devoted to them. Even X-MEN typically focus on one character (or a group of characters) all "engrossed" in the same plot thread (i.e. a combat sequence), with minimal partitioning to express action.

[Albromor]

Well I really enjoyed the first 5 to 6 novels, but count me as one of those who gave up on the whole thing because I couldn't take page after page after page of nothing. This is my opinion, I'm not trying the start a war or say anybody is wrong in what they believe, but Jordan took a great and entertaining world and bogged it down until it was unreadable. A shame, too, because I use to look so forward to the next book.

[Morgeruat]

I've owned book 10 since it came out, but haven't been able to bring myself to read it, after book 9, and the power boost Rand got he could take out Shaitan himself with little to no difficulty. One of my friends who was a fanatic (he actually got me into reading them) about WoT felt almost identical, when we talked I was surprised that he hadn't devoured book 10, but he was leary of starting something after what happened in the last book.

as far as characters go you need index cards to keep them straight, and with the number of sideline characters getting all the action I need index cards to keep up with them, and will probably have to reread the whole thing before I can attempt to start book 10, let alone 11 or 12. They're great reads, but when a MAIN character is completely absent for two or more books, and no one notices because of all the concentration on tertiary characters, there's a problem, I was pissed to see Perrin gone from book 5, Matt from book 8, and Rand only having a few appearances in most of the last 3 I read that I'm still trying to decide if I still care enough to try book 10.

[ 10-12-2004, 03:21 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]