I finally finished! Two years, 14 books, and 10k pages later, I now know how the Third Age ends (interesting that LotR also takes place in the Third Age).
Was it worth it?
Yes. This series is compelling. The world is immersive and there's a huge cast of different characters whose perspectives we get to experience.
There are some interesting themes and seeing how people from very different backgrounds think about them is an interesting way to explore them.
What's the point?What's the point?
Identity
We follow some dramatic character arcs. Many people from very different cultures and of very different beliefs have to come to terms with changes in their circumstances or revelations about themselves that challenge their sense of self.
In some cases, the characters had to let go of limiting beliefs about themselves in order to adapt, while in others it was imperative that they remain true to themselves in order to succeed. It's not always clear which is which, but often we can tell when a character is lying to him/herself. If each of us were more reflective and honest with ourselves, would it save us from a lot of bad decisions or anguish?
Dignity
There's a Smithean theme, very much along the lines of what @denlillaapan recently wrote about: man desires not only to be loved but to be lovely.
The book has characters from very different stations in life. Those who take their commitments seriously and perform their duties well, regardless of the prestige of their position, are always held in high regard by our protagonists. When one high-born character is brought low and eventually becomes a servant to one of our heroes, she surprises herself by not only gaining an appreciation of those who had served her previously but also finding dignity in the work she now had. Other characters who go through a similar change of circumstance, but end up serving those who are not lovely, find no such dignity.
There are also characters who agonize about not deserving the esteem they are held in. They are loved but don't believe they are lovely. Ultimately, they have to figure out how to either live up to those perceptions or believe that they have earned them.
Heroic Sacrifice
The story has several instances where heroic sacrifice is strategically advantageous. It usually plays out as something the bad guy doesn't see coming because the bad guys have fundamentally selfish motives and their own death is equivalent to losing, while the good guys have higher motivations beyond themselves so they can win even if they don't survive.
I hadn't thought about sacrifice in such practical, game theoretic terms before. It makes sense, though, that a more powerful adversary can be defeated if they need to both kill you and survive themselves, while you only need to defeat them. (Slight spoiler) The sacrificing characters pretty much always survive and I'm not exactly sure what to make of that.
Goodness requires the temptation of evil
This is probably the biggest philosophical point the author makes. I had never liked the claim that there can't be good without evil.
Robert Jordan's point is a bit more subtle and it makes sense to me. If people had no capacity to make evil choices, then there would be nothing commendable about not making evil choices. Further, if evil choices were not tempting, there would be nothing commendable about not making them. So, goodness requires both the capacity to do evil and the temptation to do so, or at least that's the message as I understood it.
SummationSummation
This is a great fantasy epic, most reminiscent to me of Lord of the Rings and Dune. The world is very well developed and the themes will be familiar from stories like those.
It is a monstrous undertaking, though.
cc: @samhainsam
What a great series! Aside from one book that moved pretty slow (either 5 or 6) and seemed mostly to serve as set up for some crazy developments in the plot in the next book, it is well worth the time.
I wanted to make a PSA though in our era of TV adaptions of these type of series (GOT comes to mind). I made the mistake of watching the Amazon series midway through the series because I wanted to see how they handled such an epic collection of characters, settings- amazing detailed cultures fleshed out with specific clothing styles, mannerisms, etc., and a magical system that seems more complex than LOTR.
Short answer is that they didn’t handle WOT. Amazon created a fantastic, exciting series that grabbed elements from WOT (only the first two books are covered thus far) and has kept the basic plot. My husband enjoyed it, but episode after episode I grew increasingly frustrated as things I expected to happen, didn’t; characters I was excited to see fleshed out were either skipped or killed off seemingly randomly… I completely understand that it would be impossible to include every culture or character, but Jordan wove such amazing storytelling and detail that it was sad to see many characters omitted or merged, combining storylines in confusing ways for someone who knows the roles these individuals will play in the future books.
I don’t want to say that the series should be skipped because it is a fun show, but I would recommend reading the first few books before watching the series so you can experience WOT in all its character and world-building amazingness.
Yeah, I wrote up my thoughts about how to view the tv series.
I think there's an in-universe lens for it, but it isn't the same as the book series.
You've sold me on this one for sure. I"m contemplating making it the next series I read out loud to our kids, but I may give one of the books a solo go first.
It hits on a lot of themes that are usually my jam (free will and its implications, the [immortal game[(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_Game), and humility.
Thanks for the review.
The books do get a bit more adult towards the end. There's even some pretty gruesome stuff towards the end.
Cool, I've been going through the series on audio book. Am on book 3 right now.
I have to say, I didn't really like the first one, but I pressed on and I'm definitely enjoying #2 and #3 more.
Did a lot of the first one feel like a miserable grinding slog? Because I think it was supposed to.
I distinctly remember thinking there was too much time spent in meaningless dialogue too, especially in the village
The series becomes less dense as it goes, which I have mixed feelings about.
That’s an impressive feat.
Very. Craaaazy ... But then again, reading a little here and there for two years can really add up I suppose
Especially if you can sneak a little in while on the clock
a smart man once said, "A smart man poops on company time!"
Uuuuhhh, okay. Powerful
What a fantastic reflection and a serious marathon of reading.
what you wrote is how tightly the series ties moral philosophy to concrete narrative stakes. The point about identity is especially sharp. These characters are not just discovering who they are. They are discovering which stories about themselves are useful fictions and which are evasions. That maps very closely onto real life. Most of us live inside some mix of both and only stress reveals which is which.
On dignity I like that you framed it in Smithean terms. The series seems to underline something Adam Smith only hints at. It is not just that we want to be lovely. It is that our daily work is the main training ground for becoming so.
Your game theoretic angle on sacrifice is also valuable. It links virtue and strategy instead of treating them as separate domains. The survival of the sacrificers almost reads like the author insisting that ordered worlds can still be merciful ones.