FoH and LoC were great, but I'm still dreading CoT
Orlin_Artemi Send a noteboard - 12/09/2009 01:37:47 PM
This is only my second time through the books, so while I can't say whether or not you've read the books more than once, I can tell you that when I'd reached the Fires of Heaven, I was hell bent on finishing up the series in its entirety before the release of TGS (which, at the time, I was hoping would be a single volume).
My opinion started to change gradually as I pushed through Lord of Chaos. While LoC was a fine book in its own right, it seemed to me that on the second time around I had a great deal of trouble getting involved. I'm ashamed to say that there was even a part where I had to put the book down because it felt as if it was dragging too much.
Dumai's wells stands out as one of my absolute favorite scenes in the series, but it felt rushed... RJ had a habbit of wrapping up his plotlines very quickly. The second reading of LoC was fantastic once I pushed past the middle, and after a considerable amount of thought I'd say it wasn't as rushed as I'd initially believed, but it was still a bit on the quick side.
Going into LoC the first time, I had thought that Rand's capture would be one of the most integral parts of the novel. Needless to say, I was really surprised to see that he didn't even get captured until four chapters before the end. After reading it the second time, I understood that this was because it was a plot TWIST - it was never intended to be a broad arch that encompassed the entirety of the novel. This was evidenced by the way that the Aes Sedai from Salidar were accosted by Aiel (as well as their dramatic response) and the sort of guessing game that RJ plays with you to keep you wondering which faction of the Aes Sedai will hurt Rand, as Min has foretold.
At any rate, I think you'll enjoy FoH immensely, as I did. I even came up with some theories about Asmodean's killer based on the information provided - but sadly none of them hold real weight. Maybe I'll post them later.
I think I'll try to read CoT...but I'm dreading it. Worst case scenario, I'll skip the boring parts and go through the chapter summaries...but just thinking about Perrin going after Faile with no resolution in sight curdles my stomach.
And who knows? One of the other posters brought up an excellent point. CoS is grabbing my interest in many unexpected ways, and I remember that I loathed this book almost as much as CoT when I first read it. Now that I'm a little more mature (and armed with foreknowledge), however, I'm finding it vastly more fulfilling than I did the first time around.
Oddly enough? PoD didn't bother me so much the first time around. I think this was because I was on a Seanchan kick at the time - I was heavily involved with a group of role-players and I had just introduced my first Seanchan character, so I wanted to know everything about them.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy your re-reads!
My opinion started to change gradually as I pushed through Lord of Chaos. While LoC was a fine book in its own right, it seemed to me that on the second time around I had a great deal of trouble getting involved. I'm ashamed to say that there was even a part where I had to put the book down because it felt as if it was dragging too much.
Dumai's wells stands out as one of my absolute favorite scenes in the series, but it felt rushed... RJ had a habbit of wrapping up his plotlines very quickly. The second reading of LoC was fantastic once I pushed past the middle, and after a considerable amount of thought I'd say it wasn't as rushed as I'd initially believed, but it was still a bit on the quick side.
Going into LoC the first time, I had thought that Rand's capture would be one of the most integral parts of the novel. Needless to say, I was really surprised to see that he didn't even get captured until four chapters before the end. After reading it the second time, I understood that this was because it was a plot TWIST - it was never intended to be a broad arch that encompassed the entirety of the novel. This was evidenced by the way that the Aes Sedai from Salidar were accosted by Aiel (as well as their dramatic response) and the sort of guessing game that RJ plays with you to keep you wondering which faction of the Aes Sedai will hurt Rand, as Min has foretold.
At any rate, I think you'll enjoy FoH immensely, as I did. I even came up with some theories about Asmodean's killer based on the information provided - but sadly none of them hold real weight. Maybe I'll post them later.
I think I'll try to read CoT...but I'm dreading it. Worst case scenario, I'll skip the boring parts and go through the chapter summaries...but just thinking about Perrin going after Faile with no resolution in sight curdles my stomach.
And who knows? One of the other posters brought up an excellent point. CoS is grabbing my interest in many unexpected ways, and I remember that I loathed this book almost as much as CoT when I first read it. Now that I'm a little more mature (and armed with foreknowledge), however, I'm finding it vastly more fulfilling than I did the first time around.
Oddly enough? PoD didn't bother me so much the first time around. I think this was because I was on a Seanchan kick at the time - I was heavily involved with a group of role-players and I had just introduced my first Seanchan character, so I wanted to know everything about them.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy your re-reads!
Should I skip CoT?
11/09/2009 08:16:41 PM
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If you've read that far, you owe it to yourself to read all the books, so no *NM*
11/09/2009 10:08:26 PM
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I'm on tFoH and I plan on reading the whole series through and through.
12/09/2009 03:10:01 AM
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FoH and LoC were great, but I'm still dreading CoT
12/09/2009 01:37:47 PM
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If you liked CoS much better the second time around whos to say the same thing won't happen with CoT
12/09/2009 04:19:04 AM
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Give it a try. If you're bored, skip it. You already know what happens. *NM*
12/09/2009 04:31:11 AM
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This is what I do with my rereads
12/09/2009 04:47:53 AM
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ACoS, PoD, WH and CoT are much better understood when read in succcession.
12/09/2009 03:16:23 PM
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My third re-read of ACoS was like that; I couldn't stand it until then.
12/09/2009 10:24:20 AM
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Let me put it this way, since CoT came out I've stopped doing rereads
12/09/2009 04:54:56 PM
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