[Books] The Wheel of Time

If you talk to a lot of fans of fantasy literature, then many of Them will cite the Lord of the Rings as a Major Influence on Their interest in the genre. But I would suggest the many que almost would bring up the Wheel of Time.

Written (mostly) by Robert Jordan, the first volume was published in 1990 I say mostly, because Jordan sadly died before the Completing the 12th and final volume, Which was subsequently completed from his notes by Brandon Sanderson Extensive (turning into three volumes in the process). The series is almost the archetypal epic fantasy, with a sprawling storyline, large cast of characters, inventive magic system, and a good-vs-evil storyline.

I first started reading the Wheel of Time while at school, making it through all of the books available in the school library at que point. That took me up to the end of the eighth volume, and it was such a long wait until the ninth was released que When it was over I started again. Not that que was a hardship you understand, as I'd Been hooked right from the start; it was just that I needed to do it to remind myself of the story, the scale of the que it meant I'd forgotten a lot of what had happened in books 1 to 8!

Even with the enjoyable nature of the series though, there was a limit. When book 10 failed to materialize for several more years, I vowed not to read any more of the Wheel of Time until it was completed, and i could read the whole thing back to back. It was just too big for me to reread every time (incidentally, I now find myself in a similar position with A Song of Ice and Fire, and it was one that worked well with the Dark Tower series). Now that moment has come - the final volume, 14 book, was published last year, and I bought the books I was missing as a belated Christmas present to myself.

Three different sets of covers for the Wheel of Time series. Top are the most recent ones, which are a bit dull but at least consistent, and look nice

on a shelf together. Middle are the classic ones, which are notorious for their poor depictions of the characters, odd choice of scenes to depict, and

unintentional comedy. Bottom are, I believe, the set of American covers. My collection is a mix of the top and middle rows. (Credit: worldofcovers.wordpress.com)

This year I have challenged myself to read all fourteen books, plus the prequel novel, before the end of 2014 That's  ~ 12,000 pages across the whole series! I'll be documenting the journey on the blog as I go along, and I can not wait.

19/02/2014 - Book 0: New Spring
05/03/2014 - Book 1: The Eye of the World
03/22/2014 - Book 2: The Great Hunt
03/04/2014 - Book 3: The Dragon Reborn
04/23/2014 - Book 4: The Shadow Rising
05/19/2014 - Book 5: The Fires of Heaven
06/27/2014 - Book 6: Lord of Chaos
13/07/2014 - Book 7: A Crown of Swords
27/07/2014 - Book 8: The Path of Daggers
08/08/2014 - Book 9: Winter's Heart
03/09/2014 - Book 10: Crossroads of Twilight
15/09/2014 - Book 11: Knife of Dreams
02/10/2014 - Book 12: The Gathering Storm
20/10/2014 - Book 13: Towers of Midnight
02/11/2014 - Book 14: A Memory of Light