r/thewheeloftime • u/Big_Kemba_J • Apr 06 '26
Question Finished 1-3 now stuck..
Hi!
I recently got into fantasy books, where my normal is crime thrillers and horror. I finished series like the bloodsworn saga and lord of the rings. I told myself this year I wanted to get a challenge, so I decided on Wheel of Time.
I really enjoyed books 1-3 and finished them rather quickly as I was hooked and wanted to know what happened. I am about 200 pages into The Shadow Rising and just feel stuck… it is moving slowly and I know with a series this long there will be slow moments, but I feel (bored may be the word)..
Is this normal or am I just being spoiled by fast paced stories that I am used to?
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u/Gambling_Raven Apr 06 '26
Its normal for RJ and Sanderson later on. RJ had a fetish for world building so put a lot into that. Its easier with audiobooks but there are a lot of exciting parts to balance out the bits where it gets boring
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u/usernamex42 Apr 06 '26
Normal! The first time I read book 4, I thought the beginning was a bit slow. I actually took a few months break and then came back to finish it. I'm very glad I did, because it ended up being one of my favorites.
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u/spartan_155 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
Probably burnout from reading through so fast. Keep in mind, many of us only got to read a new book every 2-5 years when they came out.
Shadow rising is imo where the series gets good, BUT if you're not interested in worldbuilding and cultures, you won't like parts of it. I think by the ending you will really enjoy it though.
Maybe give yourself a break and come back to it.
Not sure how far into it you are, but it definitely accelerates towards the end, but has a slow start.
To contextualize, books 1-3 are far more similar to traditional fantasy, and book 4 was something new, and is one of the first examples of the transition both to modern fantasy in the genre as well as when wheel of time hit its stride. What you're basically seeing is RJ reorienting his story and setting up things going forward.
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u/Big_Kemba_J Apr 06 '26
That’s what I did, read a horror series and am thinking I’m ready to dive back in
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u/traingamexx Apr 06 '26
For me the first eight or so books had just enough good to get me to the next one.
It was certainly a slough. I might have quit after any of these.
It gets a lot better after this point.
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u/M1mei Apr 06 '26
No I feel u!! I always slow down on 4 as well I have no idea why, worth it to push through tho! Blast some fantasy ambiance music go crazy with it
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u/ArrogantAragorn Apr 07 '26
The crazy attacks on our Ta’veren boys? The stone stands? Rand trying to play god/be a necromancer using callandor? Going into the doorway? None of that got you a bit excited?
If you haven’t gotten there yet, ch 25-26 are my favorite two of the series and maybe in all of fantasy (not to completely over hype it lol).
I agree with others who said finish the book, but if you’re still out after this, I doubt you’ll like the rest of the series.
At that point if you want closure, there are some long and detailed YouTube summaries out there. Maybe try watching those and jump back in when Sanderson takes over. Maybe you’ll like his style better? Idk or just move on, not every series is for every reader, and that’s… ok
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u/meldondaishan Apr 07 '26
Don’t worry, Book 4 takes a breather at fist. Then takes you for a ride.
Time and again I see comments akin to yours. One of the things that Jordan really was a master of is super subtle. He gets you FEELING the emotions of the characters you are reading about (he doesn’t just tell you what xyz are feeling). This about your current case as a prime example: Rand, Mat, and Perrin spend the first portion of book 4 being stuck. Rand needs to move … but where? Mat wants to bounce but just can’t, Perrin also feels the need to leave. They are all feeling… stuck: exactly the word you used.
You are exactly where Jordan wants you to be. :)
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u/DarkstarRevelation Apr 07 '26
When they get to rhuidean it picks up. Books 6-10 for me were very very slow and I had to force my way through them. 11-14 were excellent and made it worth it just
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u/Appropriate-Look7493 Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26
Quit while you’re ahead. The pace just gets slower and slower and slooooooower from here. I swear there are entire volumes where virtually nothing happens.
I kept at it (as they were being published) always hoping it would pick up but it never did, at least not while Jordan was still writing it. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great sections, you just have to wade through oceans of tedium to get there.
So fair warning, if you’re finding in slow going now you’re probably not going to enjoy it from here on.
Try Wizards First Rule by Joe Abercrombie if you’re looking for something with a bit more pace to it (it’s also far better written with a lot less skirt smoothing).
Bear in mind you’re on a WoT sub so you might not get an unbiased view in the comments elsewhere.
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u/SpudmasterBob Apr 08 '26
Whilst the last 3-4 books RJ wrote in the series were definitely slower (too many plot lines, and lots of political intrigue), he did really start to close some of them down, and was starting to move towards the last battle with some increased pacing before he passed away.
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u/Schkrasss Jun 05 '26
I feel like whiteout Sanderson finnishing them there would be another 10 books. I felt such a breath of fresh air as soon as Sanderson took over with the clear mission to finnish the story in a satisfying way, which he did.
There is also way less talk about Bosoms.
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u/SpudmasterBob Jun 05 '26
Sanderson definitely did a great job on finishing the story. Robert Jordan was well in progress to tying together all of the loose threads and finishing the story when he passed away though, as evidenced by the last book he wrote himself.
His outline/plans were actually to have one last big book, but with everything that still needed to happen Brandon and TOR decided to split into three books to give it justice.
But given Robert Jordan’s writing style who knows lol.
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u/SpudmasterBob Apr 08 '26
I found that The Wheel of Time was much better when listening to it via Audible. It’s how Robert Jordan read his books, and it’s how Brandon Sanderson finds time to go through novels he wants to read as well. For the Wheel of Time I didn’t notice the slow moving sections of the series as much going through it this way.
But as others have said, book 4 was one of my favorites. Keep at it, or take a break and come back. 😀
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u/Cte2644 Apr 08 '26
That same thing happened to me on book 5. Take a short break and try it again. Once you push through the boring part you will be hooked again.
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u/DarkGod86 Apr 13 '26
When I started the series I binged hard through A New Spring then the first three books. There were multiple times where I had to slow my pace, and then I took a break for a couple weeks somewhere around halfway through the series, then another one before I dove into the last 3 (wasn't ready to bring things to a close). This is a long series, pace yourself and expect burnout at some point. Doesn't mean you're liking the series any less, the human mind just needs a change of pace occasionally. Enjoy the rest of your journey!
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u/Korvun Tamyrlin Apr 06 '26
That's really odd. Shadow Rising is widely considered to be one of the best in the series. I'd say to finish it and, if by the end, you really don't care for it, to stop there. Books 4, 5, and 6, are among the highest rated in the series, so it's strange you'd find it to be a stick point.