Calling it formulaic on that basis strikes me as no more fair than accusing Jordan of plagiarizing everyone from Moiraine to Galad (I DO wish it were less formulaic there, because even the Monty Python Galahad is a self-righteous prick I can't stand; I usually refer to him, in all versions, as "F--KING AVATAR111" ). I don't pretend to be satisfied with the pacing, but I also think it was pretty good until around the time RJ must've begun feeling the effects of the disease that killed him. How big a role that played is hard to guess, but we KNOW it affected things a great deal by the end (hence Sanderson is writing the last three books based on notes) so without that knowledge I can't really fault Jordan much for pacing. I think some of the characters have developed a great deal, Rand and Mat probably being the most obvious ones (Perrin, I concede, does still seem fairly monolithic, and that is a bit embarrassing since he's rather obviously the one most modeled on RJ; if Harriet's anything like Faile I pray I never meet the horrible harridan.... ) Reasonable men can differ though; the very reason I gave up on ASoIaF after the first book is because NONE of his characters seem plausible to me. Usually I describe them as "evil, insane, or evil and insane".

The difference is I don't visit Martin fan boards telling anyone who'll listen what an untalented hack their favorite author is. I read things I actually respect, or at least enjoy (hard to say I really RESPECT Xanth, but it is fun) and if someone brings up the series on boards I do frequent, I THEN state my opinion and leave it at that. I'm not going to change their minds and they won't change mine, and literary criticism, rightly, intentionally, or not, is often as much about taste as it is writing. For example, when I mentioned Sansamillas comment on KoD to my fiancee earlier tonight, I also stated that, "it wasn't that bad, and I'd even say it was GOOD, much better than CoT, Heart of Darkness or TPoD". Of course, what I MEANT to say was, "Winter's Heart" not "Heart of Darkness" but I stand by the comment; nonetheless, the reason I'm in a position to give my opinion is because SOMEONE thought Conrads book good enough to require my entire AP English class to read it. Personally, I prefer The Secret Sharer if I MUST read Conrad; if nothing else, it's a lot shorter, so the torture is sooner ended. My point is that while I don't deny your right to post consistently disparaging comments about TWoT and/or RJ on the WoTMB, I'm not sure why you bother. We get it, the series is beneath you, and no one's likely to forget that (though I won't forget you used to be TVoLT either, and giggle a little inside when I see you Jordan bashing. )

That, I must confess, was a cheap shot; my apologies. You responded to it more reasonably than I deserved. The two comments were jarring to me at the time, so they stuck, and I remember thinking that the only way to reconcile them was Hebrew National (I didn't consider Boar's Head, but that's also a good choice). Still, while I'm gratified to see you're consistent, it's really none of my business, and insinuating it was an example of differences in taste masquerading as culture was little more than an ad hominem. Which I suppose makes it a default concession. Go, me....