Well I guess all in all I'd have to agree with our resident Cow when it comes to the topic of theese books. After all... I do believe he picked up the series because of me! (Tell him to correct me if I'm wrong... :) But anyhow, generally I suppose what he's said is, to most extents, accurate. The first few books were (and still are) the most memorable, something that has truly occurred to me in the past few days - when I began reading the new Book 10 - Crossroads of Twilight, and realized I had forotten just about everything! :)

But there is one thing for me to add. Being an occasional but nonetheless, avid, reader of fantasy, I can tell you very truthfully that the difference between Robert Jordan and say, David Eddings, is Jordan's women. To put it quite frankly, Jordan's women are just about as emotional as rocks. For that matter, so are his men. To put it more bluntly, Jordan's characters are emotional black holes. They really aren't the most expressive bunch in the world. Perhaps that is what makes the first book the most memorable - the fact that the characters have not been truly exposed to the world just yet, and they are yet to have all the emotional blockades they make between themselves later on. It's understandable, of course, why they end up building walls around themselves, but sometimes that kills a bit of the spice of the book. 'Spice' referring to things like in one of David Edding's books where the main female character was hiking thousands of miles across the globe to help fight a battle that involved her husband. Now that was fun to read. :)

But that's not to say Jordan isn't good. In fact, he's amazing. The world he creates, spanning his 10 books, is truly something to behold, being detailed to the last tiny village. Just read and follow his books step by step, and you won't get lost in it. His story telling ability is truly stunning (although yes, a couple of his ideas are borrowed... but then again, who doesn't pilfer an idea or two now and then? :), and Jordan truly manages to keep the series alive even after spanning some 7000 pages.

Bottom line? Read it. It has its flaws, but what doesn't? And read Eddings too, if you like :)

RATING: 4 out of 5

review by: Sean 'ex0dious' Koh