The THE WHEEL OF TIME Series Teaser Trailer.

(H/T: @IMAO_) I’ve never actually read the books. Will that get in the way of me enjoying this? Should I expect to enjoy this? It looks like at least medium-level fantasy and they obviously filmed in some pretty locations, but I know almost nothing about the IP. Are people looking forward to THE WHEEL OF TIME?

14 thoughts on “The THE WHEEL OF TIME Series Teaser Trailer.”

  1. My 2 cents – I don’t care. It began when I was switching my reading from fantasy to sci fi, when i returned to fantasy it was already a long commitment if i wanted to read. Then he died. And it kept going. So when you combine superlong with zombie property…meh. Throw in the absolute inferiority of tv fantasy adaptations when compared to source material ( save 3 seasons of GOT) and there is little hope of it being good.

  2. I tried reading the series years ago, before it was even finished. The first book read fairly well, probably because of a not-subtle leaning on Tolkien’s writing style. By the 4th or 5th book, the series was tedious. Characterization seemed flat, the plot advanced like molasses in winter, and so forth, so I set it aside. I made a second attempt years later after I forgot most of the myriad story arcs, but I quit before I got past the first chapter, simply because I didn’t want to slog through the middle books to see if it picked up towards the end.
    So, meh. Maybe the adaptation will be easier to sit through, or at least get to the point quicker.

  3. The books are … something, but everything after about the fourth one until Sanderson took over would benefit from an abridged edition or something. (The last three move along quite speedily, but felt relatively shallow, to me. YMMV.)
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    I’m not feeling particularly sanguine about the adaptation, and wasn’t planning to watch. There were some controversies about the casting that, while much overblown for unfortunate reasons, make me think it may not be an entirely faithful adaptation.
    .
    I’m not sure what some of it’s *about*, but the trailer *looks* nice, at least.

  4. The first one is definitely worth reading.
    The next 2-3 are good.
    After that… There’s an incredible amount of padding. Expect two pages about what the girls are wearing this time at least every other chapter. And it gets worse the farther in you go. (At least, until you get near the end. Or so I’ve heard. I think I quit after book 6 or 7, but it’s hard to say for certain because stuff mostly stopped happening by that point. It was the book before the girls proved the Black Ajah exists, which was evidently the only thing that happened in that book.)

    1. Addendum: the most sympathetic and interesting characters appear less and less as the series goes on and on.

      I’d have put up with the padding to follow Matt around. (The lovable rogue, who gains Luck as a superpower, as well as the memories of others who have had that superpower, and absolute plot immunity until he fulfills a prophecy.)
      Or Perrin (The Big Guy. Who just wants to settle down and be a blacksmith, except he seems to be turning into a wolf.)
      Perhaps even Rand (Who has virtually unlimited power, and is losing his sanity to it.)

      But nah. You’re stuck following the bossy older sister clique around. And Candace Flynn has more personality than all three combined.

  5. Never read it.
    .
    Will check it out if it lasts more than a season or two.
    .
    That’s .. kind of my new metric. I will only binge-watch shows that start good and last more than a season or two.
    .
    Mew

  6. Read the whole series twice. I enjoyed it inspite of itself, suffers from “kudzu plot”. There is way too much “world building” in the middle books that create storylines that are impossible to bring to a conclusion. The series did end though, Jordan outlined the remainder of the story before he dies, Sanderson finished it based on the notes. Agree with the critiques of padding, it seems like he gave into the worst “flavoring (?)” aspects of Tolkien, Eddings, and Brooks; needed someone to tell him to get to the point but he was making Tor money so they didn’t care.

    The main story is engaging and done well. I may end up reading it again with the new show coming out. My hopes for the show are low, because I wonder if Amazon will be willing to finish what they start.

    1. Agreed here. I loved his imagery and descriptions. It did become overgrown, but Jordan’s vision of the world still shone through. I regret his passing. A lot of authors, you read their stuff and then you realize they are probably horrible people. I get the feeling that I would have liked Jordan.
      .
      Plus, it was OVERTLY old fashioned. Duty. Honor. Fighting to the last against impossible odds. Humor- even in the face of death. Heroes.
      .
      Huh. I think we could use some old fashioned these days.
      .
      I kind of doubt this series is going to capture that, though.

    2. “[The author] was making Tor money so they didn’t care”.

      If memory serves, Tor actually did care: they talked Jordan into expanding the series so that it would make more money for them. In similar fashion, Tor also talked George R. R. Martin into expanding A Song of Ice and Fire from a (planned) trilogy into a significantly longer series, resulting in much greater quantity but (IMO) poorer quality, plus it’s still not finished.

  7. Disclosure: I read through to “Winter’s Heart” before giving up on the series, and comments apply to books 1-9 only.

    I’m in full agreement with others regarding books 1-3, as well as the inverse relationship of declining plot advancement to the amount of padding in subsequent books. Of the 800 pages in Winter’s Heart, about 10% of the count advanced the plot.

    The author enjoyed his world building, seemingly introducing new cultures mid-series just for the sake of doing so. The mid books also saw a shift in gender dynamics; with once equally strong male protagonists turned/browbeaten into submissives by the females, especially those of the Aes Sedai, a magic sorority with BDSM undertones.

    The trailer appears to continue that trajectory, running headlong into woke territory, heavy on the grrl power and throwing away canonical character descriptions for the sake of diversity.

    Had the author continued with tone and pacing of the first three books, and the adaptation followed *that* lead, I think you would have found the series engaging. With what I’ve read on your site for the last 5+ years, the series’ arc and what’s been presented in the trailer, I think less so. Personally, I’m passing on the adaptation.

  8. Agree with so many comments above:
    – great start
    – super slog in the middle, including one book which is 70% about women looking for a bowl
    – solid-ish final 3-4 books
    – old-timey values – Yes! Literally the primary theme of the magic/not magic power that underlies the entire series is that men and women are different and complement each other to accomplish things neither can do alone.

    f that last bit makes it into the adaptation I will fall over.

  9. Well, nobody mentioned but the core of this is based on the King Arthur legend. I ran across the first one while in law school and honestly had to read through all existing tales before studying for finals!! I would re-read all the early books when ever a new one came out. Two of my sons LOVE this as well. Didn’t mind the world building. Some great characters. (though I think it was book 10 where nothing much happened!!!LOL) Have doubts about what Amazon will do.

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