Looking for Opinions on Brandon Sanderson's Continuation of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" Series

[TB]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:11:10 -0400, "Brian M. Scott"

On Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:12:32 -0400, David DeLaney
[...]

And so moted it been.

I can't resist pointing out that 'so mote it be' was a
Middle English periphrastic subjunctive meaning 'may it be
so', not 'so shall it be'.

I love knowing there are people out there who can't resist pointing
out a periphrastic subjunctive. Seriously. Sir, your presence makes
the world a richer place.

Hi to the famous Lawrence Watt-Evans!

I highly recommend reading the entire Wheel of Time Series, which is
full of cool magic and political intrigue.

Speaking of mote, have your read "The Mote In God's Eye"?

[TB]

Hmm, well ... I didn't really see it as a 'homage'. I saw it more
like: this guys's gone and grabbed all kinds of tropes from
different writers and stuffed it into this book, playing on the
'dog whistle' effect. I mean, there's Herbert's Bene Gesserit as
well, and I'd come across the 'wolf boy' thing not long before
(god knows where, I just can't remember). Nor was the 'heron
sword' new to me.

A sword with an S-shaped neck?

A sword with a carving of a heron on it.

[TB]

X-No-Archive: Yes
Just wondering if anybody here has read Brandon Sanderson's
continuation of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" Series. I am
contemplating picking up the first book in the series, "The Eye of the
World," but wanted to ask other readers' opinions.
Is the series worth picking up? Is Mr. Sanderson's continuation a
worthy addition to the series?

Be aware that whether Sanderson's continuation is worthy or not, if
you proceed, you are condemning yourself to reading an entire hefty
novel in which absolutely *nothing* happens except that one of the
female protagonists takes a bath. That's it, for the whole book.

Does she have a man in the bath with her?:)

Of course, you'll have read a number of pretty good novels before that
and some others of declining quality, but eventually, that's where
you'll end up--in a book with nothing but a bath.
The reverse is rather more pleasant....

Which WoT book was that? I don't recall any books with a 780 page
bath!

[trag]

Post by TB

Be aware that whether Sanderson's continuation is worthy or not, if
you proceed, you are condemning yourself to reading an entire hefty
novel in which absolutely *nothing* happens except that one of the
female protagonists takes a bath. That's it, for the whole book.

Does she have a man in the bath with her?:)

Don't be silly. She's a proper WOT woman completely contemptuous of
men except as play things.

Post by TB

Of course, you'll have read a number of pretty good novels before that
and some others of declining quality, but eventually, that's where
you'll end up--in a book with nothing but a bath.
The reverse is rather more pleasant....

Which WoT book was that? I don't recall any books with a 780 page
bath!

It's been a long time. I would guess eight. I remember there was a
book where nothing happened. Then a book where things seemed to
happen but nothing was actually resolved, but still, it raised my
hopes that Jordan had finally pulled his head ou....um recovered from
whatever problem he had. Then in the next book, which I approached
hopefully, he actually backed the timeline up about three days prior
to the book which had some apparent progress and proceeded to dawdle
some more. At which point I put him on my, "Do not read until dead"
list along with Herbert and Card.

So if book 10 was the last book I read, which I think it was, then it
would have been book eight in which Elaine or whatever her name is,
took a bath for eight hundred pages. Of course those eight hundred
pages didn't even cover one day of story time...

[Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)]

Post by trag

Post by TB

Be aware that whether Sanderson's continuation is worthy or not, if
you proceed, you are condemning yourself to reading an entire hefty
novel in which absolutely *nothing* happens except that one of the
female protagonists takes a bath. That's it, for the whole book.

Does she have a man in the bath with her?:)

Don't be silly. She's a proper WOT woman completely contemptuous of
men except as play things.

So? Plenty of people play in the bath!

[Michael Stemper]

Post by Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

Post by trag

Post by TB

Be aware that whether Sanderson's continuation is worthy or not, if
you proceed, you are condemning yourself to reading an entire hefty
novel in which absolutely *nothing* happens except that one of the
female protagonists takes a bath. That's it, for the whole book.

Does she have a man in the bath with her?:)

Don't be silly. She's a proper WOT woman completely contemptuous of
men except as play things.

So? Plenty of people play in the bath!

I figured that statement meant, "Of course she has a man in the tub."

[Sir F. A. Rien]

Post by Michael Stemper

Post by Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

Post by trag

Post by TB

Be aware that whether Sanderson's continuation is worthy or not, if
you proceed, you are condemning yourself to reading an entire hefty
novel in which absolutely *nothing* happens except that one of the
female protagonists takes a bath. That's it, for the whole book.

Does she have a man in the bath with her?:)

Don't be silly. She's a proper WOT woman completely contemptuous of
men except as play things.

So? Plenty of people play in the bath!

I figured that statement meant, "Of course she has a man in the tub."

2+2=5 ... Timmette's school of math.

[Sir F. A. Rien]

Post by Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

Post by trag

Post by TB

Be aware that whether Sanderson's continuation is worthy or not, if
you proceed, you are condemning yourself to reading an entire hefty
novel in which absolutely *nothing* happens except that one of the
female protagonists takes a bath. That's it, for the whole book.

Does she have a man in the bath with her?:)

Don't be silly. She's a proper WOT woman completely contemptuous of
men except as play things.

So? Plenty of people play in the bath!

Got your Rubber Ducky, right handy then, eh?

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by trag

Post by TB
Which WoT book was that? I don't recall any books with a 780 page
bath!

It's been a long time. I would guess eight. I remember there was a
book where nothing happened. Then a book where things seemed to

While book eight was indeed the weakest, there were a couple of
notable points in it including the escape from Ebu Dar,
Perrin encountering Morgase & co, the re-appearance of Elyas
and the Queen of Ghealden swearing fealty to Perrin.

The second half of the book can be skipped without missing anything
important.

Post by trag
happen but nothing was actually resolved, but still, it raised my
hopes that Jordan had finally pulled his head ou....um recovered from
whatever problem he had. Then in the next book, which I approached
hopefully, he actually backed the timeline up about three days prior

Yes, even Jim thought in retrospect his notion of replaying that
time period over from different viewpoints was a failure in book 10.

Book 11 reversed all the trends and was quite good, particularly
the Egwene scenes. Book 12 was excellent (again, particularly the
WT scenes).

scott

[David DeLaney]

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by trag
It's been a long time. I would guess eight. I remember there was a
book where nothing happened. Then a book where things seemed to

While book eight was indeed the weakest, there were a couple of
notable points in it including the escape from Ebu Dar,
Perrin encountering Morgase & co, the re-appearance of Elyas
and the Queen of Ghealden swearing fealty to Perrin.

Leigh Butler's reread is currently partway through Book Seven, but I'm assuming
she'll find things to talk about in books 8-10.

Post by Scott Lurndal
The second half of the book can be skipped without missing anything
important.

It's still interwoven with cross-references into the rest. Agreed, though, that
things slowed down a great deal in those few books. (A Major Event that had
been being foreshadowed since the start of the series occurred near the end
of book 9; pretty much ALL of book 10 covers the events of that day and the
few days after it, repeatedly, from several other points of view. Significant
Events still manage to occur in most of those short-period scenarios, including
Yet Another Kidnapping of one of the Supergirl Trio.)

Post by Scott Lurndal
Yes, even Jim thought in retrospect his notion of replaying that
time period over from different viewpoints was a failure in book 10.
Book 11 reversed all the trends and was quite good, particularly
the Egwene scenes. Book 12 was excellent (again, particularly the WT scenes).

I used to joke that the Harry Potter series was covering the same amount of
time in each book (one school year) but getting exponentially thicker as you
went on - I can SEE this in the stack of four of them to my left - while the
Wheel of Time was having the books stay the same thickness but covering less
and less time in each one. As noted above, that trend did reverse, though
we're still not actually at The Last Battle as of the end of Sanderson's first
one.

Dave

[Sir F. A. Rien]

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by trag
It's been a long time. I would guess eight. I remember there was a
book where nothing happened. Then a book where things seemed to

While book eight was indeed the weakest, there were a couple of
notable points in it including the escape from Ebu Dar,
Perrin encountering Morgase & co, the re-appearance of Elyas
and the Queen of Ghealden swearing fealty to Perrin.

Leigh Butler's reread is currently partway through Book Seven, but I'm assuming
she'll find things to talk about in books 8-10.

Post by Scott Lurndal
The second half of the book can be skipped without missing anything
important.

It's still interwoven with cross-references into the rest. Agreed, though, that
things slowed down a great deal in those few books. (A Major Event that had
been being foreshadowed since the start of the series occurred near the end
of book 9; pretty much ALL of book 10 covers the events of that day and the
few days after it, repeatedly, from several other points of view. Significant
Events still manage to occur in most of those short-period scenarios, including
Yet Another Kidnapping of one of the Supergirl Trio.)

Post by Scott Lurndal
Yes, even Jim thought in retrospect his notion of replaying that
time period over from different viewpoints was a failure in book 10.
Book 11 reversed all the trends and was quite good, particularly
the Egwene scenes. Book 12 was excellent (again, particularly the WT scenes).

I used to joke that the Harry Potter series was covering the same amount of
time in each book (one school year) but getting exponentially thicker as you
went on - I can SEE this in the stack of four of them to my left - while the
Wheel of Time was having the books stay the same thickness but covering less
and less time in each one. As noted above, that trend did reverse, though
we're still not actually at The Last Battle as of the end of Sanderson's first
one.
Dave

Woudn't the end of the last baltle mean the end of the series - or doesn't
logic play any part in this?

Perhaps someone can 'splains it to you, eh?

[David DeLaney]

Post by Sir F. A. Rien

Post by David DeLaney
I used to joke that the Harry Potter series was covering the same amount of
time in each book (one school year) but getting exponentially thicker as you
went on - I can SEE this in the stack of four of them to my left - while the
Wheel of Time was having the books stay the same thickness but covering less
and less time in each one. As noted above, that trend did reverse, though
we're still not actually at The Last Battle as of the end of Sanderson's first
one.

Woudn't the end of the last baltle mean the end of the series - or doesn't
logic play any part in this?

The Last Battle will quite probably be in the last book, yes. Though Jordan
_was_ planning some "outrigger" books, over and above the one prequel he
wrote; three of them, I think, were going to deal with Mat & Fortuona in the
Seanchan Empire, a couple decades later. (Shades of Feist!)

Dave

[Brian Palmer]

Post by David DeLaney
I used to joke that the Harry Potter series was covering the same amount of
time in each book (one school year) but getting exponentially thicker as you
went on - I can SEE this in the stack of four of them to my left - while the
Wheel of Time was having the books stay the same thickness but covering less
and less time in each one. As noted above, that trend did reverse, though
we're still not actually at The Last Battle as of the end of Sanderson's first
one.

Well, we're not at Shayol Ghul yet. In the latest book, though, it's
pretty clearly suggested that the Last Battle isn't what Rand was
assuming it was.

[Sir F. A. Rien]

Post by Brian Palmer

Post by David DeLaney
I used to joke that the Harry Potter series was covering the same amount of
time in each book (one school year) but getting exponentially thicker as you
went on - I can SEE this in the stack of four of them to my left - while the
Wheel of Time was having the books stay the same thickness but covering less
and less time in each one. As noted above, that trend did reverse, though
we're still not actually at The Last Battle as of the end of Sanderson's first
one.

Well, we're not at Shayol Ghul yet. In the latest book, though, it's
pretty clearly suggested that the Last Battle isn't what Rand was
assuming it was.

When has a battle ever been predictible ?

[Sir F. A. Rien]

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by trag

Post by TB
Which WoT book was that? I don't recall any books with a 780 page
bath!

It's been a long time. I would guess eight. I remember there was a
book where nothing happened. Then a book where things seemed to

While book eight was indeed the weakest, there were a couple of
notable points in it including the escape from Ebu Dar,
Perrin encountering Morgase & co, the re-appearance of Elyas
and the Queen of Ghealden swearing fealty to Perrin.
The second half of the book can be skipped without missing anything
important.

Post by trag
happen but nothing was actually resolved, but still, it raised my
hopes that Jordan had finally pulled his head ou....um recovered from
whatever problem he had. Then in the next book, which I approached
hopefully, he actually backed the timeline up about three days prior

Yes, even Jim thought in retrospect his notion of replaying that
time period over from different viewpoints was a failure in book 10.
Book 11 reversed all the trends and was quite good, particularly
the Egwene scenes. Book 12 was excellent (again, particularly the
WT scenes).
scott

Loo, butt he's 'good' !

[Sir F. A. Rien]

Post by trag

Post by TB

Be aware that whether Sanderson's continuation is worthy or not, if
you proceed, you are condemning yourself to reading an entire hefty
novel in which absolutely *nothing* happens except that one of the
female protagonists takes a bath. That's it, for the whole book.

Does she have a man in the bath with her?:)

Don't be silly. She's a proper WOT woman completely contemptuous of
men except as play things.

Post by TB

Of course, you'll have read a number of pretty good novels before that
and some others of declining quality, but eventually, that's where
you'll end up--in a book with nothing but a bath.
The reverse is rather more pleasant....

Which WoT book was that? I don't recall any books with a 780 page
bath!

It's been a long time. I would guess eight. I remember there was a
book where nothing happened. Then a book where things seemed to
happen but nothing was actually resolved, but still, it raised my
hopes that Jordan had finally pulled his head ou....um recovered from
whatever problem he had. Then in the next book, which I approached
hopefully, he actually backed the timeline up about three days prior
to the book which had some apparent progress and proceeded to dawdle
some more. At which point I put him on my, "Do not read until dead"
list along with Herbert and Card.
So if book 10 was the last book I read, which I think it was, then it
would have been book eight in which Elaine or whatever her name is,
took a bath for eight hundred pages. Of course those eight hundred
pages didn't even cover one day of story time...

Gad, think how much toilet paper she would have used if it had described
another act.

[TB]

X-No-Archive: Yes
Just wondering if anybody here has read Brandon Sanderson's
continuation of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" Series. I am
contemplating picking up the first book in the series, "The Eye of the
World," but wanted to ask other readers' opinions.
Is the series worth picking up? Is Mr. Sanderson's continuation a
worthy addition to the series?

Yes, yes, 1,000 times yes!

[Don Stockbauer]

Post by TB

On Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:11:10 -0400, "Brian M. Scott"

On Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:12:32 -0400, David DeLaney
[...]

And so moted it been.

I can't resist pointing out that 'so mote it be' was a
Middle English periphrastic subjunctive meaning 'may it be
so', not 'so shall it be'.

I love knowing there are people out there who can't resist pointing
out a periphrastic subjunctive.  Seriously.  Sir, your presence makes
the world a richer place.

Hi to the famous Lawrence Watt-Evans!
I highly recommend reading the entire Wheel of Time Series, which is
full of cool magic and political intrigue.
Speaking of mote, have your read "The Mote In God's Eye"?

I started to read it, but then God went out into His yard and turned
on His garden hose and flushed it out, so the title became false.