Spanning a total of 14 books (of which two still have to be completed by Brandon Sanderson) written over a time of more than two decades, The Wheel of Time series is one of the legends of the fantasy genre.
The series is about the young sheepherder Rand al’Thor who turns out to be the only hope the world has in defeating the Dark One. In a world where women are allowed to channel (use magic), the Wheel of Time spins round and round: every Age going through the same struggle between good and evil. Always there is a so-called Dragon who stands against the Dark One but turns out to be unable to utterly defeat him. This Age, Rand al’Thor is the Dragon Reborn and with the help of many, many friends, he just might pull it of.
The wheel of Time is a great and influential series with the cliché story of a simple boy who turns out to be the great hero. However, these series is well written with original ideas and approaches, both when it comes to story telling and in relation to the use of magic.
A lot of attention is given to the personal issues of the main characters and development of them throughout the books but the series is often considered to be a bit too extensive and having too many characters. It feels like the story could have been told in three books or perhaps a some more and that now it just drags on.
Author Robert Jordan passed away in 2007 before finishing the 12th book of the series. He has handed over the torch to Brandon Sanderson who completed the Gathering Storm in 2009. Hopefully he can write a satisfying end to the series.
The Books
1. The Eye of the World
2. The Great Hunt
3. The Dragon Reborn
4. The Shadow Rising
5. The Fires of Heaven
6. Lord of Chaos
7. A Crown of Swords
8. The Path of Daggers
9. Winter’s Heart
10. Crossroads of Twilight
11. Knife of Dreams
12. The Gathering Storm
13. Towers of Midnight (forthcoming)
14. A Memory of Light (forthcoming)
Tags: Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time