VERY first impressions of WoT

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Dreia Raieese

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Wow. I'm still waiting for The Great Hunt from the library. My sis owns them all, but she's in sunny California. My copy of The Eye of the World is actually hers. You can imagine how much I've ruined for myself by now. :embarassed:
 

Dreia Raieese

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Hehe, it's so frustrating! I usually read right before I go to sleep, so I'll tell myself "Just one more chapter won't hurt, right?" And then I finish that one and have to read another, but then fall asleep in the middle because I just can't put it down until my eyes are drooping. :yawn

I'm reading The Great Hunt (FINALLY) and it really does pass quickly!
 
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That's exactly how I've been falling asleep every night since I started my reread. I end up having to start a few pages back the next day to make sure I didn't miss anything. That point between sleeping and waking usually makes my mind wander into some pretty strange places, that have nothing to do with the books or real life.

What's great about these books is that from the very start they are hard to put down, and they continue that way for most of the entire series.
 
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My first first impression was of New Spring, which I somehow figured was the first book, and, in one way it was. It begins with Lan walking around and thinking about war in snow. I wasn't exactly amazed. But I got through the LotR-battle scenes and talks, so I would get through this too. And I did. With the Aes Sedai, it started getting interesting for me, and I really wanted to be one of them (still want to). I was totally hooked at the end with (spoiler for New Spring)
Moiraine bonding Lan and incinerating a black sister.

I later realized that story line wouldn't be finished, so I started with EotW, and basically just sat there and waited for an Aes Sedai to appear through that part of the book.

That's it I think.
 
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My first impression of reading the Wheel of Time (as an 8 year old) was "I want to go to Tar Valon to be a Warder!" I read the big white book first and was sure it was a history book. :D Then I met Robert Jordan that summer and asked him where I go to train, and he laughed at me. I've been addicted to Wheel of Time since then, and I'm 28 years old now lol.
 
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A friend of mine introduced me to WoT about ten years ago. I wasn't too interested at first as the books themselves look so big and imposing! (especially if you've seen the "black" versions) The other problem was that they were actually quite rare then, so once I got hooked, it was a mad dash to get the next one! Didn't have the internet back then :) I think one of the reasons people don't want to start reading, initially at least, is the sheer size of the books. I was a little loathe to start from the beginning again (the last one I read was Towers of Midnight), but there's something about the way Jordan wrote that grabs you and doesn't let go!
 
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I first read tEotW when my then boyfriend gave it to me. We were dating long distance at the time. I knew from being in his apartment that he had all these "weird fantasy books" lined up on his dresser. :laugh: He had started reading them when he was in high school. He brought me the first 2 books once when he flew out to visit me. I started reading them, more just to appease him than anything. And was very pleasantly surprised! Unlike a lot of people, book 1 hooked me from the first chapter. I felt and still do feel so much anxiety in the beginning. The anticipation of knowing what is to come when Rand and Tam are back at their house the night before Bel Tine. Rand dragging Mat through the woods. It only got better from there!
 
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When I first read EoTW it felt a lot like just another generic epic fantasy (farm boy suddenly finding himself a hero, mysterious magician/wizard helping them out, grizzled and experienced adventurer coming along for the ride) but I enjoyed the prose, even if it was a little long winded in places, and he story had some nice pace to it.

Of course, the generic fantasy feeling I got when I read the first book was probably down to it being over 20 years old and part of one of the longest running fantasy series ever...so I can forgive that :P

The second book was much better, where the first book lacked a little in character progression and characters gaining powers and skills without much effort or training, the second book made things seem a lot more realistic in how they came to be this way.

The allusion to the Arthurian legend is a nice touch and the world has a definite depth to it that you don't always find.

All in all, a good series so far! I'm about to start The Dragon Reborn and I expect to be similarly impressed :)
 
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A'rohn Baile

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The prologue of Eye of the World really caught my interest. I really loved how fast the reader was thrown into this world. On the second or third page we're already introduced to this mysterious black rider with a cloak untouched by the wind. I was hooked pretty fast
 

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The Dragon Reborn gets very interesting! I blame Robert Jordan for my inability to properly prepare meals during my time with this book. :p
 
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When I started reading the first book I was really impressed on how Robert Jordan described the events. It was like I could picture everything in my head. I was finished with the first four books in 2 weeks. It was page turner.
 
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well, this is perfect time to reply to this thread because I just started the series. I finished Eye of the world just a few days ago.
I had several first impressions depending on where in the story I was. the first impression was: "this story is so slow! it needs a catch or something to keep you going!". this impression was much due to the fact that the last book I read was a intense fantasy that started out with fighting and assassinations, while this one started out with a farm boy. the whole part about the man in the black cloak was better than nothing but it was still very slow going for a while it felt.
after Winternight and the trolic attack I got more into it but still wasn't compleatly hooked until the part of the journey when they were in shadar logoth, really it was up and down. The part in the ruin city was a "can't put the book down" moment for a while, after everyone was separated it really slowed down. the details about the wolves, and Matt's dagger was all interesting and necessary but there was also something disenchanting about how long it took to tell about those things.
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).
All that being said, I finished the first book craving to know what would happen next, knowing what rand was and what he could do, I couldn't help but start the second book as soon as possible. I'm new to the whole series, and its different writing style and genre than I am used too, but over all, it seems to be a excellent story!
 
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The ups and down keep going up and down...its painful sometimes. :P

HOWEVER! My first impression were automatic love for the book. I grew up on farmboy tales and I had just gone TWO FULL YEARS not reading one page of any novel aside from religious texts. So my Foray into the World of WoT was like a breath of fresh air.

I loved every page. But again...I was probably reading through "I have not read fantasy in forever" glasses. Since progressing up to book 8 in the series. I doubt I would feel the same of book one. Book 4 seemed to take forever to me. And honestly the best book so far seems to be book 7. I hear 8 is just as good. Then it all dives for 9 and 10...sa day...
 
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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.
 
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ahhh this website is awesome! iv been looking for a forum to discuss the books since reading book 2 but all of them dont have specfic sections for specific books

but this one does! im only on Crown of Swords, just started it yesterday after reading the strike on shayol ghul prequel thingy

but anyway.. when i first started the book i had really mixed feelings...

the prologue was incredibleeeeeeeeeeeeeee and i was so excited for the rest of the book...


but then in the beginning i thought it was very slow and seemed like it was gona be childish, but that all changed as soon as a trolloc showed up..it was a real up and down book for me, high points being shadar logath and the ways.... among perrin and his wolves

the eye of the world itself was very confusing.. but i continued to the next book regardless which was the one that won me

i literally then went on and finished the first 3 in a week...
 
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