“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass....”
October 11, 2015 8:40 AM Subscribe
The Wheel of Time Reread by Leigh Butler [TOR.COM]
- The Wheel of Time Reread Redux by Leigh Butler
- A Read of Ice and Fire by Leigh Butler
- The Lovecraft Reread by Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth
- Patrick Rothfuss Reread by Jo Walton
- The Great Stephen King Reread by Grady Hendrix
- The Lord of the Rings Reread by Kate Nepveu
- The Hobbit Reread by Kate Nepveu
- The Dresden Files Reread by Rajan Khanna
- Rereading Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts’ The Empire Trilogy by Tansy Rayner Roberts
- The Joe Abercrombie First Law Trilogy Reread by Justin Landon
- Dragonlance Reread by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin
- The Harry Potter Reread by Emily Asher-Perrin
- Rereading Shannara by Aidan Moher
- Rereading Melanie Rawn by Judith Tarr
- Malazan Reread of the Fallen by Bill Capossere and Amanda Rutter
- The Elric Reread by Karin L Kross
- The Way of Kings Reread by Michael Pye and Carl Engle-Laird
Hello! Welcome to the introductory post of a new blog series on Tor.com, The Wheel of Time Re-read. This is in preparation for the publication of the next and last book in the series, A Memory of Light, which isscheduled to bepublishedthis fall. My name is Leigh Butler, and I’ll be your hostess for the festivities. I’m very excited to be a part of this project, and I hope you will enjoy it as well.
- The Wheel of Time Reread Redux by Leigh Butler
- A Read of Ice and Fire by Leigh Butler
- The Lovecraft Reread by Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth
- Patrick Rothfuss Reread by Jo Walton
- The Great Stephen King Reread by Grady Hendrix
- The Lord of the Rings Reread by Kate Nepveu
- The Hobbit Reread by Kate Nepveu
- The Dresden Files Reread by Rajan Khanna
- Rereading Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts’ The Empire Trilogy by Tansy Rayner Roberts
- The Joe Abercrombie First Law Trilogy Reread by Justin Landon
- Dragonlance Reread by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin
- The Harry Potter Reread by Emily Asher-Perrin
- Rereading Shannara by Aidan Moher
- Rereading Melanie Rawn by Judith Tarr
- Malazan Reread of the Fallen by Bill Capossere and Amanda Rutter
- The Elric Reread by Karin L Kross
- The Way of Kings Reread by Michael Pye and Carl Engle-Laird
It's not a re-read, but Eyebrows McGee's first-read and prediction-log of A Song of Ice and Fire is pretty much the definitive commentary on the series.
(Spoiler: She's a bit less enthusiastic about the series than Tor's bloggers are.)
posted by schmod at 8:52 AM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
(Spoiler: She's a bit less enthusiastic about the series than Tor's bloggers are.)
posted by schmod at 8:52 AM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
There's the Valdemar Reread by Ellen Cheesman-Meyer, in case you need a magical horsies fix (and who doesn't?)
posted by asperity at 8:53 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by asperity at 8:53 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
Man. This is a great concept but I have tried numerous times to get through the wheel of time series only to be thwarted by dragging plot and dialogue multiple books in. Gawd. I wanted to see where it all went but it just isn't something you can read the cliff notes/wiki synopsis and get any satisfaction.
/firstworldnovelproblems
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:56 AM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
/firstworldnovelproblems
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:56 AM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ooo, and a Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Reread by Kate Nepveu.
posted by asperity at 8:56 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by asperity at 8:56 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
Even with the high likelihood of spoilers, I find that reading a book/series for the first time alongside these rereads is helpful and entertaining. Like you're in a small book club.
posted by Fizz at 9:15 AM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Fizz at 9:15 AM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
I win again Lewis Therin.
posted by MartinWisse at 9:27 AM on October 11, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by MartinWisse at 9:27 AM on October 11, 2015 [5 favorites]
They've got at least a couple that are no-spoilers first-reads rather than re-reads, which is handy.
posted by asperity at 9:29 AM on October 11, 2015
posted by asperity at 9:29 AM on October 11, 2015
From schmod's link, quoting Metafilter treasure Eyebrows McGee:
30%ish
I think Jon Snow is the secret son of Robert and Lyanna because otherwise this plot is dumb. No, wait, I changed my mind, I think it's Rhaegar and Lyanna so Jon can unite the warring sides of Tagaryn and Stark in the face of whatever greater, supernatural threat is forthcoming. (I suppose that'd make it creepy if he married Danerys but I'm only like 200 pages in so I assume more female characters are forthcoming.) Bran will become the great wizard obviously and Arya the unlikely female warrior.
I think it's hilarious that she called what seems likely to be the correct scenario 1/3 of the way into the first book but misspelled both of Daenerys' names
posted by clockzero at 9:34 AM on October 11, 2015 [6 favorites]
30%ish
I think Jon Snow is the secret son of Robert and Lyanna because otherwise this plot is dumb. No, wait, I changed my mind, I think it's Rhaegar and Lyanna so Jon can unite the warring sides of Tagaryn and Stark in the face of whatever greater, supernatural threat is forthcoming. (I suppose that'd make it creepy if he married Danerys but I'm only like 200 pages in so I assume more female characters are forthcoming.) Bran will become the great wizard obviously and Arya the unlikely female warrior.
I think it's hilarious that she called what seems likely to be the correct scenario 1/3 of the way into the first book but misspelled both of Daenerys' names
posted by clockzero at 9:34 AM on October 11, 2015 [6 favorites]
Bah on worrying about spoilers, certainly for something as sprawling as this but mulling over if it's interesting enough to dig into. Or distracting enough (as in a grab a few hours break for daily stresses escapist fiction kind of way). That enough smart folks are finding it worth a re-read is a good sign.
posted by sammyo at 9:38 AM on October 11, 2015
posted by sammyo at 9:38 AM on October 11, 2015
but misspelled both of Daenerys' names
Eh, Maertyn likes throwing in so many diphthongs and ys into names, who can keep them all in line? Besides, we are well before the point where spelling was standardized, so it's more realistic that the names be spelled several different ways.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:40 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
Eh, Maertyn likes throwing in so many diphthongs and ys into names, who can keep them all in line? Besides, we are well before the point where spelling was standardized, so it's more realistic that the names be spelled several different ways.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:40 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
So I just read the first entry for the Dragonlance reread. Yup., it acknowledges right there that those books are still as clumsily written as I remember them. So much for diving back into Dragonlance.
posted by KingEdRa at 9:46 AM on October 11, 2015
posted by KingEdRa at 9:46 AM on October 11, 2015
tugs braid
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:49 AM on October 11, 2015 [17 favorites]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:49 AM on October 11, 2015 [17 favorites]
at a certain point, i gave up on this series - 7th or 8th book, i think - it really would have made a very good trilogy, but started to be an endless slog where storytelling was sacrificed for more product
posted by pyramid termite at 9:49 AM on October 11, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by pyramid termite at 9:49 AM on October 11, 2015 [4 favorites]
Dragonlance reread
Oh thank Paladine I didn't want to do this myself.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:56 AM on October 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
Oh thank Paladine I didn't want to do this myself.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:56 AM on October 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
I wanted to see where it all went but it just isn't something you can read the cliff notes/wiki synopsis and get any satisfaction.
At some point I'll give this a proper effort, but I think you can do something of a Machete ordering of Wheel of Time, reading the first few books, skipping to some proper synopsis (and snark) of the middle books, then pick up where Brandon Sanderson stepped in to finish things off. His writing is so much more lively and fun, somehow keeping in character while making the characters better. (OK, I might be swayed by Matrim Cauthon's character alone, but IT'S SO MUCH FUN!)
I really liked how the world started, and where it went in the end, but it really does drag in the middle. I think some authors are great at worldbuilding, and others make characters come alive, while others are great at plotting coherent stories. But to get all these abilities, it may take a few authors to work together, which is what I feel happened at the end of Wheel of Time.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:45 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
At some point I'll give this a proper effort, but I think you can do something of a Machete ordering of Wheel of Time, reading the first few books, skipping to some proper synopsis (and snark) of the middle books, then pick up where Brandon Sanderson stepped in to finish things off. His writing is so much more lively and fun, somehow keeping in character while making the characters better. (OK, I might be swayed by Matrim Cauthon's character alone, but IT'S SO MUCH FUN!)
I really liked how the world started, and where it went in the end, but it really does drag in the middle. I think some authors are great at worldbuilding, and others make characters come alive, while others are great at plotting coherent stories. But to get all these abilities, it may take a few authors to work together, which is what I feel happened at the end of Wheel of Time.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:45 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
but I'm only like 200 pages in so I assume more female characters are forthcoming
Ironic that this was one of her few predictions that turned out to be false...
posted by schmod at 11:07 AM on October 11, 2015
Ironic that this was one of her few predictions that turned out to be false...
posted by schmod at 11:07 AM on October 11, 2015
(Spoiler: She's a bit less enthusiastic about the series than Tor's bloggers are.)
If you think Tor is going to slag off on one of their biggest money makers ever, you need to think again.
WoT did one good thing -- it let Tor publish many good books.
posted by eriko at 11:07 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
If you think Tor is going to slag off on one of their biggest money makers ever, you need to think again.
WoT did one good thing -- it let Tor publish many good books.
posted by eriko at 11:07 AM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
Thanks for linking the other re-reads, Fizz. I'm doing a Moorcock Eternal Champion/Von Bek re-read of my own now, and I've noticed two things:
1. Moorcock loves to give characters names that are anagrams, soundalikes, and corruptions of Jerry/Jeremiah Cornelius.
2. Some of these novels read like they were written in like a month.
3. A lot of the Eternal Champions have wayyyy more brawn than brains.
posted by infinitewindow at 1:09 PM on October 11, 2015
1. Moorcock loves to give characters names that are anagrams, soundalikes, and corruptions of Jerry/Jeremiah Cornelius.
2. Some of these novels read like they were written in like a month.
3. A lot of the Eternal Champions have wayyyy more brawn than brains.
posted by infinitewindow at 1:09 PM on October 11, 2015
2. Some of these novels read like they were written in like a month.
Considering that Moorcock dedicated at least one of his novels to his creditors, I think we can safely say that many of them were written as fast as Moorcock could type.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:38 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Considering that Moorcock dedicated at least one of his novels to his creditors, I think we can safely say that many of them were written as fast as Moorcock could type.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:38 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've looked through a bunch of these, and I kind of wish they weren't so enthralled by the summary -- in the Lovecraft one, the summary takes up a good third of each entry, and, really, if you haven't read the story, what are you doing here? As entertaining light analyses go, they are a bit above Hite's Tour de Lovecraft (mostly because Hite's entries are extremely condensed) and the mildly epic scope of the H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast, and they miss more than a few tricks (easy to do, given that Lovecraft is one of the more researched authors of the genre), but the entry on "The MUsic of Erich Zann" was genuinely thought-provoking, and I wish they were doing this at greater length.
Otherwise, I am skeptical of this sort of work being done under a publisher's aegis -- I mean, you can't expect any of them to get overly critical, whether out of brand loyalty or professional courtesy. I was going to say that, on the other hand, I can't imagine anyone writing at this length and detail about a series they detested, but then Fred Clark's awesome take down of the Left Behind books on Slacktivist rose up and reminded me how wrong I was.....
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:20 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Otherwise, I am skeptical of this sort of work being done under a publisher's aegis -- I mean, you can't expect any of them to get overly critical, whether out of brand loyalty or professional courtesy. I was going to say that, on the other hand, I can't imagine anyone writing at this length and detail about a series they detested, but then Fred Clark's awesome take down of the Left Behind books on Slacktivist rose up and reminded me how wrong I was.....
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:20 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Is there any reason why there isn't a FanFare for books?
posted by schmod at 4:32 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by schmod at 4:32 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Cortex hates us. That's all I can figure.
posted by Justinian at 4:49 PM on October 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 4:49 PM on October 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm flipping through the Dragonlance one (and cringing at my preteen self's love of those books), and have the Melanie Rawn one on deck (I think the Dragon trilogies are woefully underappreciated and have reread them in the past year or so, so it's nice to read another take), and I'm persistently bewildered by how frequently they repeat that they're not going to have any spoilers... followed by virtually blow by blow recaps. Unless by spoiler they mean "only information up to and including this chapter" which is kind of an idiosyncratic usage.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 4:53 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 4:53 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
oh god I just got to this line about Raistlin and I am CACKLING:
Bless his coughin’ socks.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 5:00 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Bless his coughin’ socks.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 5:00 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh, yay! Leigh is a dear friend of mine, found because of Those Damned Books. Her writing is always a delight.
Should you ever find yourself at JordanCon, seek her out. She's an absolute scream.
posted by MissySedai at 5:21 PM on October 11, 2015
Should you ever find yourself at JordanCon, seek her out. She's an absolute scream.
posted by MissySedai at 5:21 PM on October 11, 2015
(Spoiler: She's a bit less enthusiastic about the series than Tor's bloggers are.)
If you think Tor is going to slag off on one of their biggest money makers ever, you need to think again.
I believe the poster was referring to A Song of Ice and Fire, which is published by Random House / Bantam. But in regards to The Wheel of Time...the Reread is home to a lot of criticism of Jordan's work, mixed in with excitement and analysis.
Other series that I've really enjoyed include:
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: A reread of the titles and stories in Gary Gygax's "Appendix N," which inspired D&D.
Genre in the Mainstream: I miss this column. It reread and reviewed those books that kind of float in between mainstream literary bookshelves and "known" sci-fi/fantasy and I've picked up a lot of very worthwhile reading recs from it.
Frequency Rotation: The only "re-listen" as far as I know. Jason Heller digs up the history of geeky songs and SERIOUSLY deep cuts.
And anything Mari Ness does. She digs into children's book series (Lloyd Alexander, Oz, Narnia, Disney books) and is consistently hilarious and insightful.
posted by greenland at 5:33 PM on October 11, 2015
If you think Tor is going to slag off on one of their biggest money makers ever, you need to think again.
I believe the poster was referring to A Song of Ice and Fire, which is published by Random House / Bantam. But in regards to The Wheel of Time...the Reread is home to a lot of criticism of Jordan's work, mixed in with excitement and analysis.
Other series that I've really enjoyed include:
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: A reread of the titles and stories in Gary Gygax's "Appendix N," which inspired D&D.
Genre in the Mainstream: I miss this column. It reread and reviewed those books that kind of float in between mainstream literary bookshelves and "known" sci-fi/fantasy and I've picked up a lot of very worthwhile reading recs from it.
Frequency Rotation: The only "re-listen" as far as I know. Jason Heller digs up the history of geeky songs and SERIOUSLY deep cuts.
And anything Mari Ness does. She digs into children's book series (Lloyd Alexander, Oz, Narnia, Disney books) and is consistently hilarious and insightful.
posted by greenland at 5:33 PM on October 11, 2015
oh good lord this gem:
This chapter is full of Sturm and dragon, signifying nothing.
These writers are marvellous.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 5:35 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
This chapter is full of Sturm and dragon, signifying nothing.
These writers are marvellous.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 5:35 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
I heartily recommend Jo's re-read of Rothfuss. I'm not a big fan of most re-reads but hers was excellent and revealed a lot of things I'd missed. Jo is a great reader.
posted by Justinian at 5:36 PM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 5:36 PM on October 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
Kate Nepveu does a great job, too. I also liked the tangentially related Hugo reviews by Jo Walton.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:30 PM on October 11, 2015
posted by Chrysostom at 6:30 PM on October 11, 2015
Sadly, I have read them all.. multiple times.
What seems like a slog in the middle is plot-line explosion. Where telling the story is taking the author much deeper and into places they did not preplan. It happens :) and if it doesn't ensnare your interest in all of the (oh god.. so many) sub-plots then the main story arc helps carry you through.
I made a point after book 4 or 5 (I seriously originally though this would be a trilogy) of just re-reading them before starting the next one...and by 10/11 this was a challenge :)
I have (so far) read the last book a total of once. I must be overdue.
posted by twidget at 1:22 PM on October 12, 2015
What seems like a slog in the middle is plot-line explosion. Where telling the story is taking the author much deeper and into places they did not preplan. It happens :) and if it doesn't ensnare your interest in all of the (oh god.. so many) sub-plots then the main story arc helps carry you through.
I made a point after book 4 or 5 (I seriously originally though this would be a trilogy) of just re-reading them before starting the next one...and by 10/11 this was a challenge :)
I have (so far) read the last book a total of once. I must be overdue.
posted by twidget at 1:22 PM on October 12, 2015
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posted by Fizz at 8:41 AM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]