Robert Jordan's The Wheel Of Time Review

I first heard about The Wheel Of Time from my older sister when I was perhaps in my early teens.  She was a voracious reader of novels well above her age group, and she thought that I would really enjoy it.  At the time, I was too intimidated by the size of the books, and I really didn't like the cover of the first book.  I was young, and it had the look of an 'adult' book.  As I got older, and more of the books kept coming out, the increasing investment of time required to read the series continued to weigh down my interest in the series such that I had decided that in all likelihood, I would simply never bother.

Enter Brandon Sanderson

A few years ago, I discovered Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Series.  I loved them.  I loved them in a way that I haven't loved a book since I read J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.  With both series I would spend whole days reading them, doing nothing but reading, I was so completely ensnared by the words on the page that I would forget to eat.  After finishing with Mistborn, I followed up with a Sandersonian binge including Elantris, Warbreaker, The Emperor's Soul, Legion, and his epic fantasy series The Stormlight Archive.  I even read his books aimed at young adults, the wonderful Steelheart and The Rithmatist.  Each one of them was so enthralling, that they were just as hard to put down.  I now had a new favorite author.

Then I discovered a problem.  I felt like a junkie waiting his next fix.  Apart from some short stories, I had pretty much exhausted my supply of his original works, but I was getting desperate for some high quality fictional literature.  As it happened, it was around this time that Brandon had just finished writing the last three books of The Wheel Of Time series after Robert Jordan passed away leaving his story unexpectedly incomplete.

I now had a reason to read The Wheel Of Time.  After an eight month long investment, I finished the series and wanted to review it as a whole unit rather than as individual novels.  Goodreads, my go-to site for this sort of stuff doesn't have a facility to review entire series of books and it didn't feel right to attach my series review to just one of the books.  Somewhere, my internal thoughts about this series needs to be put into words, so here I shall endeavor to do so in as structured a manner as I possibly can.

The First Book vs The Series

After reading the first book, I was quite excited to read further.  The Eye Of The World was a rather fast paced action novel following the exploits of a handful of people attempting to flee the danger of some terrifying monsters that were constantly threatening to overtake and kill them.  There was impressive magic, conflict, world building, danger, and heroics.  All the good things to have in a high fantasy novel, and it seemed to work.  Admittedly, I really didn't understand what was going on in the climax of the novel, insofar as I wasn't aware who the hell the Forsaken were, and why they were important beyond the fact that they were evil.  The leadup to the climax also felt very sudden, almost as if Robert Jordan realized he was approaching the page count limit, and had to come up with an ending that would sell a second book.  

As the series continued, the overall pacing of the story slowed down significantly.  The excitement and activity of the first book was replaced more and more with political, emotional, or logistical drama, and the threat of the horde of monsters introduced in the first novel was essentially forgotten, and when they would appear, would be a pale shadow of the threat they were supposed to have been in the first book.  The individual novels all follow an extremely predictable pattern of slow, plodding pace for the first 90% of the book, followed by a sudden and extreme jump directly into the energetic and important climax.  This structure leads me to believe that in general, the readers would have been much better served if the books had been perhaps 25% shorter.

Sometime around the ninth book, the activity started to pick up again, the monsters reappeared as the threat they were initially introduced as, and shit started getting real again.  The political and interpersonal drama started to be replaced with intrigue, suspense and action once again. 

This pacing issue is honestly, my largest issue with the series, however, if you've read and enjoyed other fantasy authors such as George R.R. Martin, or J.R.R Tolkien a slower pace can allow further exploration of the story.  However, it went to such extremes that I was regularly lacking in motivation to continue, such that I constantly had to check that the end of the chapter wasn't actually getting further away.

Jordan's Writing Style

Every author has their own distinctive style.  Tolkien loves songs, poetry, and flowery language.  Martin likes putting his characters through hell before killing them.  Sanderson excels at worldbuilding, magic systems, foreshadowing, and keeping his readers interested.  Robert Jordan is a rather good writer as well (pacing issues aside), however his style did have some annoying elements to it that were impossible to overlook.  

One of the characters would constantly "tug on her braid" whenever she got anxious.  Jordan would repeatedly use that phrase (or slight variations of it), and it felt awkward every time I saw it written on the page simply due to its frequent usage.  

Another similar artifact of Jordan's style is how every single woman in the world would "fold her arms beneath her breasts".  I like boobs, but surely it is possible to explain that body language in some other assortment of words on occasion?  How about "She folded her arms contemptuously" or "hugged herself".  The excessive use of this phrase made me wonder if every woman in the world had such perfectly sized boobs that their forearms were of such exact length to so comfortably support their breasts.  It seemed to be a fixation on breasts.  Far be it for me to judge a man for that, but it just felt a touch uncomfortable how frequently breasts were mentioned, for the sole purpose of having arms folded beneath them.

Having grown up reading R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt novels, I became used to a very exacting and precise descriptions of every sword thrust, footstep, and maneuver that took place in a sword fight.  I was used to this, and I liked it because I felt that I had became part of the fight.  That isn't to say I saw in my mind's eye what exactly each of these movements did, but I was simply able to absorb the impressiveness of the melee by appreciating the smaller details.  Jordan uses a very different approach to swordplay that it took me a long time to get used to, and in fact irritated me beyond belief for quite a while.

Jordan uses forms to represent actions within a fight.  Forms like "willow in the river" or "dances on boulders" are used to represent distinct actions that master swordsmen would use in some sort of rock-paper-scissors-esque duel.  Unfortunately, very very few of these forms are ever explained in any depth, and it becomes very evident that he is simply making up pseudo-impressive names, and listing them out in sequence with barely any further explanation of the fight.

Eventually, this stopped bothering me.  I realized that since I know nothing about sword fighting in the first place, I'm not really missing out on much and I was still able to follow the general flow of the swordplay anyway.  So, although it wasn't impressive in the same way, it was oddly comprehensible and enjoyable. I do however think it ironic that an author so verbose in his writing would find swordplay the one place he decided to truncate his narration.

The Characters

I didn't really like the characters at first.  That isn't to say they were unlikable or all that annoying, they just didn't seem to be all that interesting or appealing at first.  Eventually I became quite attached to the events surrounding the main characters in such a way that I looked forward to seeing more of them.  I would look forward to the next chapter with that character's point of view, just to see how things would continue to unfold, and as the characters developed a little more depth, and actually impacted the world in significant ways, I really did start to like them.

Unfortunately, that cannot be said about some of the supporting characters who are seen so infrequently or are referred to by different names that they, or their importance, becomes entirely forgettable.  More than once I had to check the internet to remind myself who the hell this or that Aes Sedai or politico was and why we care about them at this particular moment.

The Story

Besides being very slow at some places, I really did enjoy the vast majority of the actual plot.  It didn't feel particularly original at times, but honestly, does everything have to be original?  I found myself feeling a wide variety of emotions in response to the events of the story.  There were times where I felt that Jordan was too aggressively herding the plot points in certain directions, notably when two characters were conversing, and both had secrets the other needed to know, but neither of them tried to actually explain themselves, but would instead just shout about how the other should just do as they are told, stop being stubborn, and grow up already.  There were times where this sort of thing worked for the story, but other times that it just felt like a lazy method of delaying the story and injecting false conflict that seemed to just distract from the larger plot.

Somehow, the story worked very well.  Each individual event that made up the plot was logical given the world and the characters involved.  Everything about the story felt like it was intricately interwoven into a complex working machine where we were seeing just a small (but important) part of a living world.  Since I want to avoid spoilers, it is best to just say that I found the story very satisfying, yet not terribly inspired.

The Ending

Since Brandon Sanderson wrote the last three novels, the nuances of Jordan's writing that irritated me were essentially no longer an issue, either because I had gotten used to them, or Sanderson merely avoided them, or used them much more sparingly in ways that felt more like an homage to Jordan.  Sanderson did a remarkable job of conforming to the rest of Jordan's style, and managed to keep the characters voice almost completely intact.

Unfortunately, he didn't have carte blanche with the story, as I believe that left to his own devices, he would have produced a significantly stronger ending than he did.  I respect that this was Jordan's story, and that Sanderson was writing from Jordan's own notes, so the ending we got was more or less as Jordan intended, and I wasn't all that disappointed to be honest.

There was a remarkable feeling of everything coming together in the end, and I feel like almost all of the implied promises made to me by the author were followed through on by the end, and I feel satisfied that it is indeed an appropriate conclusion to the story.

There were however, two particular loose threads that I would have liked to have seen concluded in a stronger manner.  Firstly, the darkness within the Waygates never gets directly dealt with.  I had assumed that the darkness there was somehow related to Shai'tan, but we never get confirmation one way or another on that.  Secondly, near the end of the book, a few characters get to see visions of the future following the events of the final battle, yet we never really get any firm indication whether or not  those events actually happen.  I was happy that there was no real epilogue Harry Potter style, but some sort of stronger implication that this future would or would not come to be would have made me a touch happier.

Conclusion

The Wheel Of Time is a series that I am glad I read despite the issues I had with it.  I would not recommend it to someone unless they were very much a fan of epic fantasy, and had read and enjoyed similar slow-paced fantasy novels, and knew what they were getting themselves into.  If you cannot see yourself finishing all of the 12,000+ pages of the series, don't bother starting it, you'll just end up half way through and frustrated.

- Once Again Forgotten

Introducing X-Wing Miniatures to your friends

A while back I got bitten by the X-Wing Miniatures tabletop game something fierce.  I dumped several hundred dollars into the game, and hadn't even had the opportunity to play a single game.  This post was originally a response to a Reddit thread, where I felt I had quite a bit of knowledge to share on the subject.  As someone who got invested in the hobby very quickly with nobody else to share my new passion with, my entire exposure to the game up to this point is getting people I know interested in playing with me.  These are the lessons I have learned on how to go about doing that intelligently.  Not all of these may apply directly to your specific circumstances, but I sincerely believe there is solid advice to be gleaned from all the following lessons.

Lesson 1) "Political Escort"

The Core Rules book has a mission called "Political Escort" where the Rebels pilot a single X-Wing Fighter attempting to defend an unarmed Shuttle against a pair of Imperial TIE Fighters.  You should be familiar with it.  You probably played this as your first game; it is very possible that you played it against yourself.  When introducing a friend to the game this is an excellent place to start since It provides a clean introduction to the fundamentals of maneuvering, performing actions, and combat.  It gives both players a simple, clearly defined goal within the constraints of these rules they are attempting to learn, and it plays quick.  You will eventually get sick of repeating this mission over and over again, but there really is no better place to start when trying to encourage a new player.  You will be doing them and yourself a great disservice by playing any other scenario first.

Lesson 2) Keep It Simple Stupid!

The most important lesson: keep it simple, especially for the first couple games.  Each squadron should have at most a single named pilot and absolutely no upgrades. The logic here is pretty simple. You want to present a game to your 'victims' that is interesting, yet simple to grasp on their first play through.  How many times have you and your friends pulled out a board game and then spend half an hour reading out the rules?  How long does it take for someone's eyes to gloss over and throw their drink and shout "Lets just play the first round already!  We'll pick it up as we go along!"  X-Wing Miniatures has a marvelously elegant rules system that can be explained within five or ten minute tops, but the moment you add pilot abilities and upgrades, it very quickly gets overwhelming.

If your victim has to keep track of three special pilot abilities plus a number of upgrade cards each with their own conditional or event-driven rule, they will find it hard to keep track of the handful of things they really need to and will end the game having completely forgotten about something they could have done and felt they lost the game because it was too much information to keep track of beyond the basic rules for maneuvers, actions and combat.  On the other hand, if they have a single special pilot ability, it is easier to keep track of that single rule and gives them something fun and strategic to do that you cannot do.

The 'keep it simple' suggestion goes doubly for Secondary Weapons, as they now have to realize that not only that secondary weapons might have different ranges and firing arcs, but that they don't get the extra damage or dodge dice for ranges 1 and 3 respectively. Firing your weapons is a key mechanic in the game that you don't want them to get confused about. You don't want them to blame the game itself for being too confusing or complex when it really isn't, and that will effect how they feel about investing their time and money into the game.

Remember, just because you are familiar with the rules and want to play with all sorts of complex squadron designs, you cannot assume your victims are at the same level.

Only add additional named pilots and upgrade cards once they are comfortable with it.  Do not pressure them, even if they handily wiped your ass in your first game.

Note: Although most X-Wing miniatures games are 100 points a side, if your fleet cannot support enough common pilots to reach that 100 point mark, play a 50 or 75 point game instead of artificially inflating your squadrons points by adding more complex rules.  Simplicity is paramount early on.

Lesson 3) Keep It Star Wars!

Do your best to harbor a 'cinematic' environment that your victim can relate to.  Pair up Vader against Luke, or Han against Fett if you have the YT-1300 and Firespray-31.  Or Han and Luke and R2 against an endless swarm of  nameless TIEs. This might help fans of the Star Wars franchise really get excited about their pilots doing exciting things. If you can develop a degree of narrative in the events taking place on the table rather than just playing a game to win or lose, both players come out ahead. Also, try to keep to the theme of the Imperials of a larger number of nimble but fragile ships. The TIE Defender and TIE Phantoms are great ships and fun to play with, but have shields and therefore feel more like rebel ships in some ways.

Lesson 4) Equality Between Friends

Keep both faction's lists beginner friendly. Since the Rebels are the heroes of the franchise, and Imperials are arguably a little harder to play, your victims will probably want to play with the rebels first. However, you do want to keep the option open of swapping factions after the first game so that they can try a squad with a slightly different feel.

It is also very important that you design squadrons that appear balanced to people unfamiliar with the rules. If they understand that balance wise a single X-Wing is equal in power to two TIE Fighters, that is a concept they can easily grok. But if they see you flying three named pilots against their squadron of 6 rookie pilots and you're pulling complex shit on them, they'll just get frustrated even though it could be argued your squadrons are 'balanced' points wise.

Lesson 5) Learn To "Newb"

Keep your play at a beginners level when trying to lure in your 'victims'.  Even if you are a beginner, you will have picked up a few subtleties they don't yet know, but especially if you think yourself a skilled pilot, learn to play at their level.

What I absolutely do not mean is let them win outright, constantly pulling bad maneuvers, or 'forgetting' to shoot.  Nobody likes a patronizing prick.

What I do mean is don't fly your TIE Fighters in a tight formation while they spend three turns trying to get their single B-wing facing the right direction. Don't go guns blazing on their best pilot right out the gate, give them an opportunity to have a hero moment before they die. Perhaps just assign yourself the 'challenge' of killing their ships in increasing order of their pilot skill.

Lesson 6) It's About The Game

Remember you want them to get excited about the game, not how clever you are, or what tricks you can surprise them with. Your goal here is not to win.  The goal isn't to lose either, but to educate your victim about how fun the game itself is, and give them a sneak peek at the greater, more glorious depths that await their discovery.

Lesson 7) Don't Go Crazy

I made a mistake and bought almost $700 worth of models within a year and played less than a dozen games in that time frame.  Now when I try playing with my friends I feel obligated to just tell them they shouldn't buy any ships of their own, they can after all just use mine. However; since they are my models and I have possession of all the cards, it is really hard for them to put any meaningful effort into planning out squadrons on their own time, and they are much less likely to buy their own fleet since mine is fully capable of supporting two person play. They also see my 34 ships and don't think they can compete with me and give up before starting.  This puts them in a very awkward position of liking the game, but not wanting to put the time or money into it.

So, if you plan on primarily playing with your friends, do everything you can to keep your purchases to a minimum until they've started to get invested.

Lesson 8) Come Prepared

Having squads designed well in advance and pre-sorted in a baggy is invaluable. If you take fifteen minutes pulling ships, cards, and tokens out of a massive tackle box and doing math before the first turn, your 'victim' will be seeing all this prep work and thinking he's gotten in over his head. Your primary goal is to not intimidate your victim at this stage.

Lesson 9) Finding Their Own Way

Don't underestimate the intelligence of your victim.  If they understand the three basic rules of the game, they should be able to figure out what most pilot abilities and upgrades do.  If they want to try something silly, don't shut them down and tell them the 'right' way to do it.  People learn from their mistakes, and in a game like this, sometimes those mistakes can be hilarious.

Lesson 10) Don't Be A Dick

Ser Wheaton's universal rule applies here just as well as for life in general.

Sample Squadrons

Using the basic thought processes outlined above, I came up with a handful of 100 point squadrons you might want to try fielding in some early games with a new player, depending on how comfortable with the rules they are.

Rebels:

• Luke Skywalker (X-Wing), 2x Red Squadron Pilot (X-Wing), Dagger Squadron Pilot (B-Wing) 
  [98 points, simple rules and iconic pilots and ships]
• Han Solo (YT-1300), 2x Red Squadron Pilots with Proton Torpedoes (X-Wing)
   [100 points, Everyone loves Solo, and an introduction to secondary weapons/upgrades that once used they can forget about]
• 2x Gray Squadron Leader with Ion Cannon Turret (Y-Wing), 2x Dagger Squadron Pilot (B-Wing) 
  [98 points, I love this build for new players because the turrets on the Y-wings are very forgiving and can interfere with their opponents (your) maneuverability. This is great for new players who are unable to predict their opponents moves and keep their targets in front of them]

Imperials

• Darth Vader (TIE Advanced), 2x Obsidian Squadron Pilot (TIE Fighter), 2x Royal Guard Pilot (TIE Interceptor) 
  [99 points, simple rules and iconic pilots and ships]
• Boba Fett with Autoblaster (Firespray-31), 4x Black Squadron Pilot (TIE Fighter)
  [100 points, Boba should feel pretty badass, especially up close]
• "Echo" with Marksmanship (TIE Phantom), Shadow Squadron Pilot (TIE Phantom), 3x Obsidian Squadron Pilot (TIE Fighter)
  [99 points, the Phantoms might be a great tool for a new player because they can protect themselves with stealth, as well as gives them additional maneuverability, all while being very deadly, but this could be a mean squad to play against a new player]

- Once Again Forgotten

Obligatory

This is my little corner of the internet.  I like to think of it as my little soap box.  This particular soap box is made of wood half rotted through, tucked away in a tiny, windowless room with a single grimy light casting gloomy shadows across the floor.  There is no table.  Tables are cliche.

Yet, this is my room.  My soap box.  I stand upon it, and I shout my ravings to the room.  Empty though it is, save for my soap box and I, the occasional lost soul may wander in trying to find some pocket of sanity in this world.  They will not find it here and will inevitably make their escape back the way they came and never look back.

The Ramblings

My maniacal ravings I plan on shouting from this particular soap box will be mostly personal thoughts about my life, my hobbies, or things I am proud of.  If you don't know me personally, I don't know why you'd be reading this blog, but by way of introduction, here are a few tidbits of information about me.

• I am a 27 year old software developer living in Edmonton, Alberta Canada.  
• I am an avid reader of fiction (mostly epic fantasy and Sci-Fi)
• I play video games, watch television, and collect LEGO
• I find enjoyment in live orchestra performances, theatre, and opera
• I ride a motorcycle, and I play D&D
• I am a casual Warhammer 40K player
• I play Magic: The Gathering fairly frequently
• I play board games with my friends
• I have some small artistic skill that finds unusual places to manifest itself
• I love food, and find sports boring.
• I enjoy skeet shooting and target practice
• I.  Am.  Geek.

This blog will jump from one interest of mine to another fairly quickly, as my interest in my hobbies fluctuates depending on the things going on in my life at any given time.  I hold no intentions of a schedule for posting updates, and I have no assumptions that anyone will actually read what I write.

- Once Again Forgotten