An age yet to come, an age no one gave a shit about
June 25, 2012 6:42 AM Subscribe
I want to skip the 10th book of the Wheel of Time series. Help me do so
From everything I've heard, Crossroads of Twilight is the worst book in the series- nothing major happens, boring sideplots focused upon worthless characters abound, etc. I desperately want to continue reading this series but I can't even get through the prologue without literally falling asleep.
That said, I don't want to spoil any possible good parts for myself by reading a plot summary before I move on- so my question(s) are:
1. Should/can I safely skip the book?
2. If I do 'skip' it, are there certain chapters worth reading? Good battles, the rare moment of decent character development?
3. Recommendations for summaries that might be out there?
Thanks~
From everything I've heard, Crossroads of Twilight is the worst book in the series- nothing major happens, boring sideplots focused upon worthless characters abound, etc. I desperately want to continue reading this series but I can't even get through the prologue without literally falling asleep.
That said, I don't want to spoil any possible good parts for myself by reading a plot summary before I move on- so my question(s) are:
1. Should/can I safely skip the book?
2. If I do 'skip' it, are there certain chapters worth reading? Good battles, the rare moment of decent character development?
3. Recommendations for summaries that might be out there?
Thanks~
I don't know how you can make a determination that the series is worthless with the series still up in the air. Really, the series went on far too long and some of the early books were definitely better, but I wouldn't advise skipping it and continuing with the series.
posted by J. Wilson at 6:48 AM on June 25, 2012
posted by J. Wilson at 6:48 AM on June 25, 2012
Response by poster: With over 30+ regular characters, the wiki is... insufficient for anything but a cursory re-cap, and again, don't want anything spoiled that'd be worth reading
Wilson you did see that I like the series, right? It's this one book that has me stumped
posted by MangyCarface at 7:10 AM on June 25, 2012
Wilson you did see that I like the series, right? It's this one book that has me stumped
posted by MangyCarface at 7:10 AM on June 25, 2012
You can skip reading anything you don't want to read. This is supposed to be fun.
Nothing terrible is going to happen if you read a summary of the book and later realize you want to read it. You can just... read it later. Nothing is going to explode. No sirens are going to go off.
I will never understand how pop culture became so obsessed with spoilers and experiencing everything IN THE CORRECT ORDER. For one thing, if the media in question will be ruined if you know anything about what's going to happen, it can't possibly be very good media. For another thing, you will not die if you find out that Azraiel is going to wear a green silk frock to the ball, or whatever, before actually getting to Chapter 23 where Azraiel wears her green silk frock to the ball. Barring a few major plot twists that tend to become notorious*, it's just not that big of a deal.
*And chances are, if you've heard this is the dull book that is worth skipping, it doesn't have any of those in it.
posted by Sara C. at 7:11 AM on June 25, 2012 [4 favorites]
Nothing terrible is going to happen if you read a summary of the book and later realize you want to read it. You can just... read it later. Nothing is going to explode. No sirens are going to go off.
I will never understand how pop culture became so obsessed with spoilers and experiencing everything IN THE CORRECT ORDER. For one thing, if the media in question will be ruined if you know anything about what's going to happen, it can't possibly be very good media. For another thing, you will not die if you find out that Azraiel is going to wear a green silk frock to the ball, or whatever, before actually getting to Chapter 23 where Azraiel wears her green silk frock to the ball. Barring a few major plot twists that tend to become notorious*, it's just not that big of a deal.
*And chances are, if you've heard this is the dull book that is worth skipping, it doesn't have any of those in it.
posted by Sara C. at 7:11 AM on June 25, 2012 [4 favorites]
Oh, and a suggestion for both a summary and an easy way to find out whether there are huge spoilers without seeing said spoilers: TV Tropes.
posted by Sara C. at 7:16 AM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Sara C. at 7:16 AM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
One of the complaints that I've heard about the series is that Jordan too often repeats stuff and/or reminds the reader of things that happened in earlier books. In this case, I think that might help you.
I also found more detailed chapter summaries here.
The only thing worthwhile that I remember reading in Book 10 are the couple of Egwene chapters at the end. Otherwise I think you'll be fine skipping it, especially if you read those summaries.
posted by VTX at 7:18 AM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
I also found more detailed chapter summaries here.
The only thing worthwhile that I remember reading in Book 10 are the couple of Egwene chapters at the end. Otherwise I think you'll be fine skipping it, especially if you read those summaries.
posted by VTX at 7:18 AM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
I've read it, I am one of those people who's super obsessed about reading things in the correct order, and you can totally, totally skip it. It's extremely frustrating to read because as you recall, the ninth book ends with a major plot development and the ramifications of that are essentially not explored at all in the 10th book. I found it such a frustrating reading experience that I have yet to read the eleventh book, because the 10th snapped my last nerve.
posted by Diablevert at 7:24 AM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Diablevert at 7:24 AM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
I have read this book (at least) twice.
The first time was enraging for all of the reasons you stated, plus the fact that I had waited a little over two years to read it, and had to wait almost three years for the next one.
The second time the book had most of the same flaws it had the first time around, but they were mitigated by the fact that this time reading it wasn't a Five Year Event. Rather, I was reading the books back-to-back, and knowing that everything I wanted was coming, eventually, transformed the experience.
The reason that Book Ten was bad was that most of us were looking for payoff from Book Nine. The best argument for reading Book Ten is that it sets up payoff in future books that one may not want to miss (I'm glad I've read it), and if you read it at a fairly steady clip you may finish it in a week (or a weekend. Whatever).
So I say read it.
If you still can't be bothered, my vote is with VTX's recommendation. Encyclopaedia WOT is a pretty great summary site, and their character/event/item summaries are super-helpful even if you aren't skipping the slow parts.
posted by Poppa Bear at 7:30 AM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
The first time was enraging for all of the reasons you stated, plus the fact that I had waited a little over two years to read it, and had to wait almost three years for the next one.
The second time the book had most of the same flaws it had the first time around, but they were mitigated by the fact that this time reading it wasn't a Five Year Event. Rather, I was reading the books back-to-back, and knowing that everything I wanted was coming, eventually, transformed the experience.
The reason that Book Ten was bad was that most of us were looking for payoff from Book Nine. The best argument for reading Book Ten is that it sets up payoff in future books that one may not want to miss (I'm glad I've read it), and if you read it at a fairly steady clip you may finish it in a week (or a weekend. Whatever).
So I say read it.
If you still can't be bothered, my vote is with VTX's recommendation. Encyclopaedia WOT is a pretty great summary site, and their character/event/item summaries are super-helpful even if you aren't skipping the slow parts.
posted by Poppa Bear at 7:30 AM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The Tor Wheel of Time Reread is a chapter-by-chapter analysis that will tell you absolutely everything that happens in the book in 23 blog posts instead of 1200 pages. It's basically Cliff Notes. (And Leigh Butler is delightful, I think.) The downside is, there are spoilers. The upside is, the spoilers are fairly neatly contained in the commentary, which you can skip and just read the chapter summaries. So it's really half of 23 blog posts!
posted by restless_nomad at 8:00 AM on June 25, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad at 8:00 AM on June 25, 2012 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I desperately want to continue reading this series but I can't even get through the prologue without literally falling asleep.
The prologue is a beast, even the summary is a slog. You may find the actual book easier to read.
1. Should/can I safely skip the book?
I wouldn't, but if that's what it takes skip away. Though you'll absolutely need to read a summary.
2. If I do 'skip' it, are there certain chapters worth reading? Good battles, the rare moment of decent character development?
I just did a quick skim for you. The chapters most worth reading are 3, 4, 19, & 27-30. Which break down as:
Mat: Chapters 1-3, & 28-29
Egwene: Chapters 19 & 30
Perrin: Chapter 27
And if you want a little more.
Rand: Chapter 24
White Tower: 21 & 22
3. Recommendations for summaries that might be out there?
VTX nailed it with the Encylopedia.
posted by zinon at 8:35 AM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
The prologue is a beast, even the summary is a slog. You may find the actual book easier to read.
1. Should/can I safely skip the book?
I wouldn't, but if that's what it takes skip away. Though you'll absolutely need to read a summary.
2. If I do 'skip' it, are there certain chapters worth reading? Good battles, the rare moment of decent character development?
I just did a quick skim for you. The chapters most worth reading are 3, 4, 19, & 27-30. Which break down as:
Mat: Chapters 1-3, & 28-29
Egwene: Chapters 19 & 30
Perrin: Chapter 27
And if you want a little more.
Rand: Chapter 24
White Tower: 21 & 22
3. Recommendations for summaries that might be out there?
VTX nailed it with the Encylopedia.
posted by zinon at 8:35 AM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Some good stuff here, thanks for the input. I'll be going with some hybrid of r_n's and zinon's suggestions-a special TY to zinon for personally skimming & selecting notable chapters
posted by MangyCarface at 10:58 AM on June 25, 2012
posted by MangyCarface at 10:58 AM on June 25, 2012
Came here to mention the TOR Re-Read.
Also to agree with Poppa Bear, some of the slower books, when re-read back to back feel more rewarding to me.
I decided a while back to wait till the series was done and then I was going to read back to back in order from the beginning. (AGAIN)
posted by PlutoniumX at 11:54 AM on June 25, 2012
Also to agree with Poppa Bear, some of the slower books, when re-read back to back feel more rewarding to me.
I decided a while back to wait till the series was done and then I was going to read back to back in order from the beginning. (AGAIN)
posted by PlutoniumX at 11:54 AM on June 25, 2012
I will agree - a big part of the problem with the slower books is that it was all we got for a five year span, and so they were almost bound to be disappointments. The last reread I did, I was surprised how much I actually liked my previous least favorite (which was actually Crown of Swords.) There's also a theory that your least favorite book is always the first book you read after waiting for it (so if you started reading when six books were already published, you'd hate book 7.)
Doesn't mean the series doesn't get super slow, though, and part of the improvement is knowing what's coming and being able to see the relevance of a lot of the non-obviously-important digressions.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:58 AM on June 25, 2012
Doesn't mean the series doesn't get super slow, though, and part of the improvement is knowing what's coming and being able to see the relevance of a lot of the non-obviously-important digressions.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:58 AM on June 25, 2012
Sara C. - The following quote may be your opinion, but is certainly not valid for everyone: "For another thing, you will not die if you find out that Azraiel is going to wear a green silk frock to the ball, or whatever, before actually getting to Chapter 23 where Azraiel wears her green silk frock to the ball. Barring a few major plot twists that tend to become notorious*, it's just not that big of a deal."
When "Wayne's World" came out, my brother saw it before I did and he told me about a funny cameo where Robert Patrick, the liquid-metal terminator from Terminator 2, comes up to Wayne and says "Have you seen this boy?"
It's an innocuous enough anecdote. It's not important to the plot of the movie. Yet when I sat down to watch "Wayne's World", I found myself pulled out of the story, thinking "I wonder when the Terminator guy is going to show up?" It distracted me completely, and since the scene in question is near the end of the movie, it really lessened my enjoyment overall. It is like trying to NOT think about an elephant. I couldn't relax and laugh at what was going on because I was anticipating something else.
So I agree that Mangy should avoid spoilers at all costs. Knowing something simple *can* affect your future enjoyment.
posted by tacodave at 2:33 PM on June 25, 2012
When "Wayne's World" came out, my brother saw it before I did and he told me about a funny cameo where Robert Patrick, the liquid-metal terminator from Terminator 2, comes up to Wayne and says "Have you seen this boy?"
It's an innocuous enough anecdote. It's not important to the plot of the movie. Yet when I sat down to watch "Wayne's World", I found myself pulled out of the story, thinking "I wonder when the Terminator guy is going to show up?" It distracted me completely, and since the scene in question is near the end of the movie, it really lessened my enjoyment overall. It is like trying to NOT think about an elephant. I couldn't relax and laugh at what was going on because I was anticipating something else.
So I agree that Mangy should avoid spoilers at all costs. Knowing something simple *can* affect your future enjoyment.
posted by tacodave at 2:33 PM on June 25, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 6:48 AM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]