Posted by Patrick on November 10, 2008 at 10:49AM
With the upcoming publication of A Memory of Light scheduled for next fall, I picked up The Eye of the World for what must be the tenth or eleventh time. I am going to reread all of the books, before the last one comes out (yes, even TPoD and CoT). This will be my last great reread before the publication of the newest WoT book. I haven't done this as many times of some of you, I know; I only started reading WoT in the summer of 1997, and I hadn't read all of the previous volumes before TPoD came out, so the first real reread I did in anticipation of a new book was for Winter's Heart. But, I've reread the entire series twice besides that, and I've reread certain of the books many more times (TEoTW at least 11, TGH and TSR five or six that I remember, TDR-my favorite-seven that I remember, TFoH and LoC four times, I think ACoS probably five times, TPoD three times, and WH and CoT twice, ditto KoD). I had to replace my copy of TEoTW last year, in fact, since my original copy, the book that changed my life and eventually set me on the path to finding this place, had long since fallen apart. For this reread I'll have to buy a new copy of TSR, too, since it's also on the verge of falling completely apart and is already missing several pages from the back. I know we're all awaiting the last book with both anticipation and trepidation. It's hard to think that a journey that began so many years ago, one that well and truly changed my life in ways I never could have imagined, is going to end next year. I've seen the fervor for WoT cool over the years on the Internet, especially after WH came out, as the pace of the story steadily declined (and the quality, some said), the length of time between books increased, and the plot-threads expanded seemingly exponentially while the action slowed to a crawl. I, too, felt some of this, although I sometimes feel as if I'm one of the only "true-believers" left; I never hated any of the volumes, I never grew angry with Jordan (the way I have with Martin, who I now refuse to read). Maybe I'm crazy, but y'all have known that for eight years and more. So, this is it. I know I'll never stop reading WoT, that the urge to read at least some of the books in order will come again (I've done a TEoTW-TSR reread many times; for me the first four are the best), but this is the last time I'll do it in preparation for the new book. I'm going to take it slow, and make it last a year, and try to savor it as much as I possibly can, no matter what duties and distractions real life may throw my way. Patrick
Bonded to KinarraSedai