The world of fantasy can easily be divided into high and low. Low fantasy has often been the stuff of popular entertainment – swords and sorcery, realistic worlds and problems therein. High fantasy, though, has always been something special. High fantasy is something higher, something a bit nobler in form. While the stakes aren’t always higher than those in low fantasy, they are often much grander. There aren’t many books that really give readers the sense of scope that this subgenre calls for, but the few that do really stand out. While the classic series of high fantasy will always be The Lord of the Rings, there’s one other series that has come close to capturing the same scope and depth as those books. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is perhaps the best-known work of modern high fantasy, one that has sadly lived on past the life of its author. The Wheel of Time incorporates much of what one would expect from a high fantasy experience, but does so in a manner that creates a world that seems quite familiar at the same time. From the books to their various adaptations, the world that has been created is one that has amassed a legion of fans. https://litrpgreads.com/blog/high-fantasy-wheel-time
Dammit! My brain is on oddball mode again. Every time I read "High Fantasy" my mind supplies the image of Cheech and Chong as adventurers. Maybe called, "Lord of the Bong". Cheech would be a thief and Chong is a Narcomancer. Three bowls for the Elven Kings completely high, Seven water pipes for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stoned, Nine roach clips for mortal men doomed to fly, One Bong for the Dark Lord in his dark pad in the land of Mordor where buds grow so high. One Bong to rule them all, one Bong to find them, One Bong to bring them all, and in the darkness smoke them, in the land of Mordor where buds grow so high. ok, I'm done now, I'll go back to my corner.
Never felt Sanderson really nailed Matrim or most of the ladies at the end. Not his fault, after all the other books by Jordan there was a sort of intuitive resistance on the part of some readers to another authors voice in that world. I had favorite scenes from the Jordan books, except for Path of Daggers which didn't feature Matrim and had a lot of Rand embracing his fate. But I think my dislike for path of daggers was the Illian politics more than anything else. Not so for the Sanderson books whose only character I really enjoyed was the new male channeler that was introduced. The Dothraki from Game of Thrones (a book series I could never get into, but which made great TV) seem based on the Mongols / Kalmyks and organized more like the Four Oirats, and has a pretty strong basis in reality. The Aiel from the Wheel of Time are crazy similar to the American plain's indians who would Count Coup in fights. The Illians were like any South American version of Puerto Vallarta mashed up with gritty Renaissance Paris France and a Caesar Era Senate in Rome. It was so god damned busy up in that place that the Book 3 (I think) coverage gave a way better impression of the city overall than did the entirety of Path of Daggers. Cairhien (I think was the name of the country) on the other hand was like basecamp for a quarter of the series and always got better. For me High Fantasy is made by the settings and the writing style more than anything, and Jordan was definitely up there was Tolkien for crafting foreshadowing that wouldn't pay off for another couple hundred thousand words. Finding out that the last 3 books were meant to be one big blow out makes more sense. Even though its unlikely Jordan himself would have been able to pull it off. I think the "Jordan writes more than he planned on" is the understatement of the century. Still my favorite book series just because it was easy to reread the books... well except for some of the Rand only parts. 3 wives, kids, and an entire universe resting on his shoulders. That whole "heavy as a mountain" stoic crap was just like, "dude if you had to do all that shit for just one person you cared about the steps required wouldn't be any f**cking different, get off your mind trip!" But then we wouldn't have gotten the whole twisty False Dragon hunter character and the freed Damane plot line... so I'm not sure what came first for the WoT story. A Rand that could piss off the readers or the ending that tied it all together that required the main character drag out his asshattery. Annnnnnnd this is how I talk about the books I love... edit: spelling
Here are the books in the series that I've read. As you can tell, I did not go the distance. 'The Fires of Heaven' has Robert Jordans autograph. I met him at a local bookstore, and funny story, I used to write to him. When I nervously stepped up to meet face to face, I blurted out something about him remembering my correspondence. He looked completely befuddled and it was that moment his wife saved the day by recalling me. See, I had sent glitter in my letter and he wrote back that it got all over his beard. Now, I suspect his wife was the one corresponding with me all along. Anywho, good memory!
I so need a wife haha Thanks for sharing that amazing story! Is that your diary on the right of the shelf or a painting/art project?
I don't keep a diary, who does that? *eyes paul speculatively* My grandma was an artist and she made that, along with the other pieces you see on my somewhat book bare shelves. I did a HUGE purge, selling off what I could on Amazon and donating the rest to the local library. E-books all day erry day for me now.
I got into the series right after Winter's Heart came out, so I got to join the people waiting for the next book. Didn't realize I was starting a tradition. You got out at a good time, I spent another 13 years in the trenches. Have never been to a book signing or a book release party or anything like that, but on the plus side these forums let us meet plenty of LitRPG authors! The only "celebrities" I see in my neck of the woods are indie bar bands that do the Seattle to San Francisco tour and back loop. They go down the coast, and back up the central valley on the I-5.
I learned my lesson early with decorative coffee table books. Bought a huge book by Anne McAffrey A Diversity of Dragons and immediately got it wet and ruined the damn thing. Now the largest published thing I display is a calendar.
@Felicity Weiss poetry is my diary, and it's out there, on the web, but it would give away my secret identity!
The Wheel of Time is one of my inspirations. And I am such a geek, I recognize the gif above from GTO.
I love the wheel of time. Got hooked about the time Lord of Chaos came out. Spent the next decade waiting in sheer torture for the next book to come out. Then I would read it within a day and be right back to the torture of waiting.
