I have been listening to The Wheel of Time for four solid months. That’s how long it takes to get through this behemoth. Over 400 hours of audio, seriously. So, yes, a commitment and a challenge. Worth it? I’m gonna go with ABSOLUTELY.
This was not my first time trying to tackle The Masterpiece. I’ve read Eye of the World probably five times, and the furthest I’d gotten in the series was into the sixth book, but fatigue/ADHD/life got in the way of my previous attempts. Honestly, I may not have made it through this time, but my partner is an MSNBC addict and the news has been particularly horrendous lately, so keeping those headphones on was part survival tactic this fall.
(Really, I don’t even know how to review this. This post is me just bragging that I finished. I wish typing all those titles tallied for my word count.)
This is the most epic of fantasies. It is the story of a group of friends from a small village who have the entire fate of the world resting on their shoulders. It is history and adventure, discovery and rediscovery, travel and battle and romance. There is magic and evil and loss and salvation. It is sweeping and expansive and immersive, detailed and thorough and brilliantly plotted. There is a reason it has a place of honor in fantasy literature.
All that said, there are moments of slog. Of course there are, there are five thousand different characters with their own backgrounds and motivations and Robert Jordan needed us to know everything. I didn’t know if I’d make it through Winter’s Heart, but then neither did our protagonists, so I was in good company.
I have to give a special round of applause to Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, the narrators of the audiobooks. They do a spectacular job and I doubt I’d be here without them.
Now that I’ve finished, I must admit, I see why so many people reread this. It’s a time commitment, yes, but it’s also so rich and so many things happen, so many lessons are taught, so much character growth happens – and I have honestly fallen in love with this cast – that I can see myself revisiting down the road. Once I’ve recovered a bit. For there are no beginnings or endings to The Wheel of Time, but this is an ending.
ps- I believe this completes my cannonball goal and my first time ever doing the cannonball read! This was a blast, thanks to all y’all for making me feel welcome and for all the amazing book recommendations!