The Progress Since Conan
I first read Robert Jordan as a teenager. I had seen the Conan movies and wanted to read more, and at that time I didn’t even consider that the series might have different authors. I bought the comics, and I bought the books that were being pushed by BandN or Walden or somesuch. Soon I started realizing that there were a whole bunch of authors for Conan. Jordan was briefly my favorite… until I finally got my hands on the original.
Robert E. deftly replaced Robert J., and then he vanished almost entirely from my mind.
Years later I started hearing about this great new author of something called The Wheel of Time, and I remembered the writer’s name from my Conan days. To me he was like a cover band of one the favorite rock-bands of my teenage years, so I didn’t give him much thought and didn’t read the books.
But about the time the author passed away, I spotted The Eye of the World for 50 cents in my library’s donated books pile, and just had to pick it up.
It was a good read and Jordan was a fine writer. The “dark rider” did indeed irk me, as it did in Eragon and Shannarra et al, and the typical characters, scenarios, and plot features did seem a bit droll. But Jordan was no less efficient at suspenseful, intrigueing prose than the majority of writers on the bestseller lists today.
It’s good stuff for a fantasy fan to read, if he or she is hungry for fantasy. Face it, there’s not enough Tolkien/Howard/Dunsany caliber fantasy to keep us fantasy junkies occupied…and Jordan’s not a bad choice in between gold-mine discoveries.
But i’ve read reviews trashing this book only because the author is said to have drug out the series too long. I think that this is an unfortunate perspective. He summed up “Eye of the World” pretty well, with a climax and everything. Sure there’s more to tell…but does that mean I’ll read the next book?
Perhaps I might sometime, perhaps not. The characters were beginning to become a little too much like superheroes for me, with wolf-eyes and superpowers and such, and I may decide to quit while I’m ahead. But if I do come back to the series someday, I’m sure it will be an exciting and imaginative read until I put it down again.
4 Comments on “The Progress Since Conan”
I have to say that you could read Robert Jordan’s book(s) and not be truly amazed by his logic and thinking. Almost, almost every character is well talked about and has a history of some sort. When he delves into a character, he manages to bring to life all sorts of things involving that person you would have never thought of. Now saying that, he does ramble on about everything and anything that might or might not pertain to the given situation. But the battles and sieges and ultimate struggle of good verses evil is not surpassed by anything I have yet to read. Not that there is something out there I haven’t read that might intrigue me. It’s just the overwhelming situations he puts his characters into. Using all of my imagination and thinking power, I don’t even suppose I could dream as well as he has written. I can not say anything about anyone mentioning the series was/is too long. I personally love long books and couldn’t be happier. The only series I can put him against is the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Wow. That’s all I have to say. I’ve cried to parts of his books and laughed at others. Giving me some weird looks by people happening to be nearby. If you can manage to immerse yourself in his books, you might be able to lose the sense of “superheros” everywhere. He uses everyone and no one to reach the end of his story.
Some excellent points and well worth sharing. However, though the praise you give Goodkind and Jordan is well deserved, it is hard for me to believe that you have read Tolkien..in that both of those authors owe so much to him and you didn’t mention him at all (implying that they are as good or better than him).
I realize that some people find J.R.R.’s style tedious or outdated as opposed to the more flashy fantasy authors which he spawned, but what others find tedious or outdated I find “authentic.” I want a fantasy book that reads like it was written by a modern sage or a modern bard, or even a modern grandfather, not by a modern suspense or mystery bestseller.
I wish modern authors had stolen J.R.R.s style instead of his world and creatures.
Tolkien was indeed the forefront of most (good) fantasy epics. I do apologize for leaving him out. His books are rich in detail and characters. The entire saga of Bilbo and Frodo that he (barely) managed to contain in 4 volumes is truly amazing. I remember watching the poorly animated story of Bilbo Baggins years ago when I was very young. When the dwarves sang at Bilbo’s house, that first eventful night, of the Tale of the King Under the Mountain, it certainly stirred up dreams about entering myself into his stories. I managed to pick up a copy of this movie on vhs at Blockbuster a few years back, and I love to pull it out on cold rainy days to have “The greatest adventure”. You may have watched it may have not. I think it was made back in the 1980’s. I can’t exactly put a finger on it, but yes, you mentioning the newer “flashy” authors makes me think of the possible reason so many people don’t appreciate the older material. They are slightly aimed at a younger generation, needing more action, death and so forth. Tolkien does seem to tell of the story of the battle and slip it into his stories more than other authors. But I would compare him to Jordan on that point. Jordan does get his history on the battle and previous battles very well. So many books just have action, adventure and the end.
And yes, I am slightly put out by Jordan seeming to steal the idea of an Orc-like creature for his story. If you follow the story of them both, it is pretty damn near the same thing. Half or part man. Part creature.
I do love Tolkien’s books, don’t get me wrong, but here’s my two cents. His stories although very good, have unfortunately ended. Terry Goodkind has just ended The Sword of Truth series, so they are still kinda fresh. And hopefully Robert Jordan’s family will be able to put his last book together for him. I suppose that’s why I like them better right now. The story is yet to be told or finished.
Yes I too hope Jordan’s family will be able to put the last book together. It would be very sad if they didn’t.
What upsets me most is that both Jordan and Gygax have recently died with what I would consider very little news coverage and eulogy. Certainly they are both many times more important to the shaping of our modern world and forms of entertainment than Anna Nichole Smith.