Nice! :fistbump Welcome to the site, and definitely keep us updated with your thoughts as you read through them.
thanks for the welcome
Nice! :fistbump Welcome to the site, and definitely keep us updated with your thoughts as you read through them.
Robert Jordan seems to have a unique way of writing, in the sense that the semi important details were over described, but the points of transitions (like when Rand would begin to dream) and points of conflict (such as all the encounters Matt and Rand had with all the dark friends) were very quickly written with little detail (it seemed to me).
When I first started reading it, I was all geared up for Bel Tine, I totally wanted to see the celebrations and the casks of brandy and honeycakes made me hungry. Then stuff happened and I was like "But...what about BEL TINE?! " I was so disappointed because I really wanted to see the festival
But of course it didn't keep me from reading it and what happened after that was all very amazing
I will also note, though, that it took me a while to get into the first one. I thought the characters were annoying (especially Nynaeve and Egwene), and thought that parts seemed rather ...goofy?... and it was hard for me to suspend disbelief for long enough to be drawn in. Eventually, I became totally hooked (even though I still find Nynaeve and Egwene annoying at times). I'm excited to keep going with the series because the characters are starting to develop and become super interesting.
My first impression..
Well, I had just finished reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time and saw my buddy reading a book that was just as big as the series I had just finished. He let me borrow the book and it blew my mind. I honestly thought the trollocs were the size of Trolls, Myrddral were analogous to the Nazgul and that Ogier were analogous to the Elves...
Yeah.. I was a little wrong, but I have never regretted picking up that book.
My first impression..
Well, I had just finished reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time and saw my buddy reading a book that was just as big as the series I had just finished. He let me borrow the book and it blew my mind. I honestly thought the trollocs were the size of Trolls, Myrddral were analogous to the Nazgul and that Ogier were analogous to the Elves...
Yeah.. I was a little wrong, but I have never regretted picking up that book.
The very first time I read EotW I had recently finished LotR (one of my favorite books of all time) and my reaction was along the lines of "this author is just copying Tolkien... I mean Mat and Perrin? Sounds just like Merry and Pippin."
Many years later the things that I remembered the most was the ending amd how, well, trippy it is but I couldn't remember the details of the rest of the story so I decided to reread it. Then I realized how excellent it is in its own right and that it diverges from Tolkien's style a lot more than I thought.
I feel like I lived the most traumatizing part of my childhood inside of this series. It was an escape for me and it was more real than the world actually lived in. This series may very well have literally saved my life.
It's amazing how often I've been able to lose myself inside of books. It truly is unbelievable. I wish that I could meet Jordan in person and thank him for everything he's done for me through these books.That was my initial impression as well, but then--as I recall--I read an interview with Jordan where he said it was more or less an intentional tribute to Tolkien, even though tLotR was not his favourite (despite admitting he had read it at least eleven times, but I get it ).
Thank you for resurrecting this thread and sharing! I can relate to this, as not long after my one-and-twentieth birthday, I was injured and developed a rare nerve disorder. I had always been a reader, but have never considered myself much of a fantasy fan. I was looking for new books to read when a friend of the family recommended tWoT. It drew me in immediately, to the point that I could distance myself from the extreme pain I was experiencing, and I will forever be grateful to RJ for that.
Hey all! I'm really new to the site, and to WoT. So forgive me if this thread has been done before!
I'm also so new that I just started EotW for the first time ever today (don't judge!!!). I'm not far in - only a couple chapters, but I wanted to share my first impression, and maybe start some discussion with others to see what THEIR/YOUR first impressions were/are. You know, so I can share, and others can NOSTALGIAAAAAAA!!!!
So far, I'm really anxious and curious what lies ahead. I've heard SOOOOO much about the series that... I don't even know what to compare it to - how to describe my anticipation.
Some things I like:
The world seems very large and filled with a lot of history. I am a HUGE Tolkein fan/buff/nerd... ringer... and I like history and culture. I can see that there's going to be quite a bit in that simply by the references of the wheel of time and a comment made alluding to what I'm going to call a "repetitive history with different clothes". I would dig out the quote but I'm kinda lazy at the moment.
I also like how there are a variety of character types. the characters have distinct personalities. It makes them realistic and relatable.
Some things I'm not sure about:
I've never been a fan of "this type of people is better than that type" mentalities, and I kinda am afraid that that might be happening with glorifying Aes Sedai and Warders. It's like everyone is worshiping a master race or something. IDK, everyone around here seems to like them, so maybe I'll prove to be wrong.
I'm also realizing what a sexist I am because immediately all of the people with power and authority and control seem to be women - not the ordinary in a high fantasy setting! However, I've read a lot that really refers to some of the main male characters I'm just now meeting, so maybe it won't be so bad.
Overall, I'm enjoying the story, and I'm excited and curious to see where it goes!
What about you? What were/are your VERY first impressions of WoT?