Interestingly, I disliked EotW because of its 'youth appeal'
Yondaime Send a noteboard - 17/04/2010 12:33:55 AM
I was a teenager when I first read the first book, and I found it to be ridiculously bland. It seemed like a second rate copy of Sword of Shannara, which itself was a poor man's version of Lord of the Rings (Granted, Terry Brooks was quite creative in his other novels. But that is a different discussion). Because of these resemblances, I had a difficult time getting into the book. It seemed fairly obvious to me that the author was simply following an accepted formula in order to make money. I didn't hate the book or the story - the formula works for a reason - but I wasn't what you would call a wotmaniac.
I pretty much had the same impression as you when it came to the story and characters. The plot was a resounding 'meh' to me. It wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't scream 'bestseller' to me.
I had almost the same opinion about the characters. I sort-or-enjoyed Rand, but felt that he wasn't really fleshed out. I didn't like Mat, largely because he seemed the traitor type. I actually enjoyed Perrin's story quite a bit, and his bit about the connection with the wolves. I didn't like Egwene, because she seemed selfish. I didn't like Nyneave, because it was annoying to read her dialogue. I remember reading about Lan and thinking "Jesus, he might has well as named him Aragorn". On the whole, I enjoyed the characters, but didn't really grow attached to any of them.
I pretty much had the same impression as you when it came to the story and characters. The plot was a resounding 'meh' to me. It wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't scream 'bestseller' to me.
I had almost the same opinion about the characters. I sort-or-enjoyed Rand, but felt that he wasn't really fleshed out. I didn't like Mat, largely because he seemed the traitor type. I actually enjoyed Perrin's story quite a bit, and his bit about the connection with the wolves. I didn't like Egwene, because she seemed selfish. I didn't like Nyneave, because it was annoying to read her dialogue. I remember reading about Lan and thinking "Jesus, he might has well as named him Aragorn". On the whole, I enjoyed the characters, but didn't really grow attached to any of them.
"Take the Gleeman!" Rand and Mat cried, throwing Thom to the Myrddraal. Then they ran away as fast as they could, and Thom's screams quickly faded into the distance along with any inconvenient feelings of guilt.
This message last edited by Yondaime on 17/04/2010 at 12:36:24 AM
Re-reading WoT Ten Years Later
16/04/2010 06:07:40 AM
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The Eye of the World (1997-2000, 2010 reads)
16/04/2010 06:08:54 AM
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Re: The Eye of the World (1997-2000, 2010 reads)
16/04/2010 06:29:53 PM
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I think you misrepresent me
16/04/2010 11:15:34 PM
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Re: I think you misrepresent me
17/04/2010 02:56:53 PM
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MA in History? Is there a more useless degree?
16/04/2010 09:56:36 PM
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Yes, whatever degree you have/are studying for
16/04/2010 11:12:55 PM
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Interestingly, I disliked EotW because of its 'youth appeal'
17/04/2010 12:33:55 AM
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Aww...
16/04/2010 07:58:27 PM
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That's next month or June
16/04/2010 11:12:02 PM
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Be sure to send me a noteboard then .
17/04/2010 03:45:46 AM
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Oh, I'd post it at this site as well, perhaps
17/04/2010 03:51:19 AM
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Yeah, but I only lurk in the OF when I'm interested in getting new books...
17/04/2010 04:00:14 AM
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The more posts from this larry guy I read, the more I think.........
18/04/2010 08:56:34 AM
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Interesting metatextual analysis there
18/04/2010 09:47:43 AM
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Nice, but in the future...
18/04/2010 04:04:07 PM
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I know...
18/04/2010 08:11:18 PM
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Re: The more posts from this larry guy I read, the more I think.........
18/04/2010 10:26:12 AM
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The Great Hunt (1997-2000, 2010 reads)
19/04/2010 09:22:40 AM
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It's interesting you thought this about The Great Hunt.
19/04/2010 07:06:57 PM
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Yeah, I almost gave up this series after The Eye of the World too. *NM*
19/04/2010 08:38:25 PM
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Winter's Heart (2000 initial read; 2010 re-read)
07/05/2010 01:35:13 PM
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Re: Winter's Heart (2000 initial read; 2010 re-read)
08/05/2010 09:43:31 AM
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