Faugh! WoT is my literary verruca

[Slubberdegullion]

Blood and bloody ashes these books are driving me CRAZY.

I don't want to read any more. Started on book 6 yesterday and after two pages I threw it down the stairs and yet this morning instead of putting all 9 or however many of the damned things I bought from oxfam back in an oxfam bag I am compelled to start reading again.

Why do I want to find out what happens? I only like about three characters.

I'm concerned if I shove them all in the attic and come back to them in 3 years I wont have a bleeding clue who anyone is and will be forced to re-read the first five again.

I'm cursing the day I picked up The Eye of the World.

Shall I keep going then?

Alan Mandragoran is the silliest fantasy name ever.

Alan TitularCompensation(Sorry). Maybe that's why he's so brooding and cross all the time, small penis.

Small penis and his mum and dad called him Alan. Poor guy.

He has a lovely magical cloak though and who doesn't love a magical cloak?

I can take a spoiler here as I can't face reading the prequel.

Did Alan and Moraine ever get it on?

Noooooooooooooo. He's her warder. Professional relationship. If you read the prequel I think there's a sort of frisson but no, he loves the tuggy braid wind listener.

Oh good. I thought that all the sullenness was a whole load of pent up unrequited sexual tension. For a while was convinced that a warder was bonded with well a bonding. Then I read the Elayne and Birgitte bit and it all became clear.

al'Lan Mandragoran is the most masculine character in any of the fantasy I have ever read and I've been reading it for more than 30 years. His sword of throbbing justice is just about right.

Neither Mat nor Perrin do anything for me at all, although I don't cringe at Perrin. They have just always seemed so young and foolish and full of angst, even when I was young. Lan has always been mature, reliable and beautiful. I also have a bit of thing for the Aiel. Am thinking Gaul and Rhuarc. Strong, reliable, solid, masculine men.

Faile is the least annoying female character but I feel she deteriorates as time goes on.

More than Aragorn?

OK I will try harder with Alan a'Lan. Maybe his gorgeousness will bloom in book 6.

I like the Aiel. I like them a lot. Book 4 (can't remember the name) when they go to Rhuidean has been my favorite bit so far. They are a bit like the Fremen, but that's OK. The Fremen are cool and very hard.

My DH is extremely glad that the whole series is nearly over.
Even he is struggling

Damn you, Slubber, damn you to Hell! This thread is going to make me go and start reading these chuffing books again. I think I was on book 10 when I gave up stopped. I have no buggering idea where I was up to and I'm going to have to read the whole thing again.

I confess to skipping huge chunks of Rand boringness in favour of sticking needles under my fingernails.

Oh God. I'm so sorry Sacharissa. Surely you don't need to go back to the start. Can you not go back to book 8 or 9? I'm sure the WoT knowers on here would fill you in.

I meant read all of book 10 again.

at reading them from book 1 again.

Richard Cipher - remind me, who the fuck was he in which series?? The name rings a bell but in the dim, distant dark corners of my mind.

And Do Not Diss Garion - we did the best we could with the material provided

Aragorn is a big girl's blouse compared to Lan. However, I have to confess to not being an LOTR fan at all.

Richard Cipher is the Seeker of Truth with a grey eyed raptor's gaze and a razor sharp intellect. It's the Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind.

Sdly, Poledra, you and Belgarath didn't have much to work with did you.

Ahhh, that feels better - been meaning to get rid of the fairy bit for ages. Anyway, thanks stressedHEmum, it's the series with the Confessors, isn't it? I think I read 4 and DH read 3 of them before we gave it up as a bad job.

What about Pug in Midkemia? Though personally, I'd rather do Tomas.

I'd rather do Jimmy the Hand, he was always my favourite, although Tomas is a bit of alright. Not Pug, though, he always strikes me as being a bit dumpy and more than a little shady. As time goes on in Midkemia, I find I like him less and less. I felt that his treatment of Talon was appalling for example.

Yes, SoT is the one with the Confessors. I have read them all (from the very beginning just like WoT) and am awaiting the new release. A bit like WoT also, I loved the early books, found they began to drag half way through and by the end was only hanging in there because I couldn't bear not to know how it all ended. What happened to Richard, he started out so full of promise and ended up a pompous prat.

Ah, I've been re-reading the WoT books, since the (hopefully) final book is due out sometime soon (early next year? I'd need to look and too lazy at this time of night) Couldn't get into the Game of Thrones. I was snoring by the time they'd found wolf cubs. I'm not the type to give up on books easily either, it's just that I couldn't find anything about any of the characters that made me care what happened next. I'm only watching the series cos they have Sean Bean and I still have a crush...

I find that most of the problem WoT characters have could be fixed by them actually talking to each other, rather than storming off in a sulk. I would dearly love to slap most of the females, especially any/all of the Aes Sedai who seem to have broom handles stuck up their backsides. Having said that, I personally like Egwene, she's turning nearly Aiel and that can only be a good thing :)

book 14 due out beginnig of November I believe. Will be a tussle between Dh and I as he's finished his re-read now.....I'll win

I was wrong :( no date yet but definitely not out this year. Boo!

Not read them but they boast some of the worst covers in history! A hugely popular series with a terrible press. They say that Sanderson (who has taken over from Jordan (RIP) to finish the series) is doing very good work.

My dh has been badgering me to read this series. I like reading but the amount, size and possible content of the books has put me off.

He has said he would read a book of my choice for every WoT book I complete. He doesn't really read books but has been re reading this series. Part of me wants to do it just to expand his horizons.

I don't really want to start it if I am going to be in a similar position to the OP as I don't like giving up on books. I ploughed my way through LotR to get to the end but didn't really enjoy the experience. What will I make of it and can I even be bothered to start?

I'm on the third book and will probably stop at the end of this one, because I don't think I can be bothered any more. Maybe I can skip straight to the Sanderson ones :) Or will I have no clue what's going on (not that the story seems to have moved on very much so far, still seems to be the same bland and slightly annoying characters pottering around the countryside endlessly).

Good point earlier about fantasy protagonsists being a bit dull. I thought Dragonlance had some good characters too, and I liked Althea in Robin Hobb's Liveship trilogy. Struggling to think of many more good ones though. Song of Ice and Fire has fantastic characters, but doesn't really have a single central 'main character', and everyone is morally complex, no one gets to be unrelentingly 'good'.

I love WoT. Yes it goes a bit crap around book 8/9 but picks up again. You have to read them all or the interminably complicated plot will make no sense. I do think they are a bit too epic - too much in there! Almost all of the plots involving the Children of the Light could be sliced right out, for example.

I have been impressed with Sanderson, but then I'm just a fan, not an obsessive. I'd rather read a conclusion than not at all, however it was written - but I don't think he does a bad job.