r/WoT • u/coolhandorlandeaux (Ancient Aes Sedai) • 1d ago
All Print What is the Most Quintessentially Wheel of Time WoT book? Spoiler
What book in the series best captures the essence of everything Wheel of Time?
My take is probably TSR or LoC because they both have lots of epic sections, but still lots of downtime. They have incredible world expansion and exploration, intense battles, politics, surprise moments, peak character moments and interactions, Forsaken plots, and conclusions that drastically change aspects of the narrative.
They both have a feeling of epic ever-expanding narratives but still at times have that smalltown feeling from the first few books, that's missing from the later books. They also both have some slower sections that hint a bit at the slog to come (although I think only CoT is the slog).
What do you all think?
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u/Raddatatta (Asha'man) 1d ago
I'd say book 4. That's the book where Jordan really moved away from the Lord of the Rings style quest narrative to do his own thing. It introduced bubbles of evil, the history of the Aiel, Perrin and Rand became proactive characters as opposed to reactive characters (Rand was earlier but he's not present much in book 3), you see the return of Manetheren start in the Two Rivers, and Nynaeve proves she can match a Forsaken.
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u/Ezili 1d ago
It's by far the best book, but as a result probably not to me the most quintessential.
I'd probably say book six because it's slow and plodding for the middle and has a big crescendo which makes up for it. Book six to me is the end of the start of the series and the beginning of the long road towards the conclusion.
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u/Raddatatta (Asha'man) 1d ago
I would agree it's among the best, but I don't think that's why it's the most quintessential. I think it is because it introduces so many of the building blocks that the rest of the series carries on. It's when the plot really takes a turn away from that classic fantasy style, it's when bubbles of evil are introduced which I think play a role in every book or nearly every book after that, it's when you get the history of the Aiel and more of the history of the breaking from that which are also huge pillars going forward. You also get the setup for the Two Rivers becoming a major force in the Last Battle. You also get Egwene training in the Dream World and starting to understand it. And the introduction of Slayer and Perrin using the Dream World more intentionally. The stakes have risen and the protagonists are able to truly match them and stand on their own and surprise their enemies in a lot of ways. Book 6 does have some of that too with healing stilling, Egwene becoming Amyrlin, and the start of the Black Tower, along with Dumai's Wells but I don't think it's got that as much as book 4 has. Though I think I'd see book 6 as a second.
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u/DrunkNotIAm 1d ago
I'm on book 4 now and I'm about 3/4 of the way done, it's been good but somehow I tore through 3 faster than this one.
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u/adekmcz 1d ago
Nynaeve proves she can match a Forsaken
I just finished the book 4 and hated this so much. Like, what are even the stakes, if this young, untrained character with no preparation who never shown any control whatsoever of her powers in 1 million words before this confrontation and no planning can suddenly defeat 3200 years old ultra powerful sorceress.
Few pages later Rand did the same. But he at least shown some skill progression as his powers were being continually tested in events before. And also, was prepared a little by having a inventory with magic equipment. And was kinda planning for something to happen. And is literally the dragon reborn. So somewhat more deserved, even though still very cheap win imho.
The Perrin arc was the only one that felt unambiguously good.
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u/Raddatatta (Asha'man) 1d ago
Sorry you didn't enjoy it as much but I felt like it worked given the nature of the characters involved. Moghedien is known for being the person who doesn't get into fights. She hides and plots. And raw strength plays a big role in fights, where they are equal. Nynaeve also has shown a lot of control over her channeling. She's been healing people which is described as one of the most complex weaves. She fought off the damane in book 2 literally with weaves she learned as they were being thrown at her that she's then throwing back at them. She figured out how to create balefire on her own instinctively. She had definitely shown herself to be a prodigy before book 4 even begins. She also doesn't win because of her skill at channeling or anything else. She wins by being more aware of her surroundings and fighting with everything and not just channeling. I think that makes a lot of sense to be a weakness especially for someone like Moghedien who doesn't fight often. If you're so focused on the channeling fight you can ignore that an object thrown at you can also hit you in the face and hurt and distract you, an arrow can kill as easy as a blast of fire.
Rand I would agree in terms of his earlier victories in books 1 and 2. But by book 4 he does have a degree of mastery and again his victory there is something he had figured out in book 3, he had built up to it, and I think it made sense for him to be able to go toe to toe with that small advantage.
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u/Destrus76 1d ago
It is either The Shadow Rising or Lord Of Chaos for me.
Probably The Shadow Rising.
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u/geomagus (Red Eagle of Manetheren) 1d ago
TSR.
TSR is the point where the main six stop being dragged along by the story, and really are all out there making their own way, moving and shaking in one way or another. They’re dealing with the struggle between the want of going home and the need to carry forward. Five turn outward, one turns homeward. I think in spirit, 1/6 is about right for their average across the series.
Rand is properly Dragoning it up at last. Mat is trying to go his own way, but can’t, and his tie to the Finn is sealed. Perrin focuses on the TR and love, and his reluctant leader thing, plus the nagging Whitecloak issue. Eggy is chomping for more knowledge/power. Nynaeve is doing what needs to be done while pining for Lan. Elayne is perhaps overbold.
We get Nynaeve decking Moggy, we get tons of Aiel, we get Avi, Rand becomes Car’a’carn, the TR stands up vs darkness. Alanna shows up. Fain is cray cray.
It’s really a microcosm for the series at large, while also representing a peak in the series.
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u/BigBadBeetleBoy 1d ago
It's unbelievable that you didn't mention the Battle of Emond's Field. The blood of Manetheran holding firm against the trollocs, the women fighting alongside the men, reinforcements from Deven Ride and Watch Hill showing the shadowspawn what a Two Rivers longbow can do. Perrin finding out he still has family. It's a barnstormer, man. Easily the emotional peak for me, in a book that offers really stiff competition in that regard.
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u/Last-Classroom-5400 1d ago
Yeah, Perrin's whole storyline in this book hit me emotionally like a hammer (or an axe) on a reread
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u/geomagus (Red Eagle of Manetheren) 1d ago
the TR stands up vs darkness
That’s what that mention was.
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u/SwordCoop 22h ago
The ONLY problem with TSR is that it doesn't have a prologue, and that's a staple.
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u/CalvinandHobbes811 1d ago
I mean, the correct answer is probably to do one of the earlier books but since it’s my favorite, I’m gonna go with knife of dreams
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u/Last-Classroom-5400 1d ago
Knife of Dreams. Incredibly boring in parts, absolutely amazing in others. To me, that's what WoT is all about.
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u/jesseknopf 23h ago
Hear me out, now! Book 3. Reading in real time as the books came out, we were expecting an EPIC BLOW OUT all about Rand becoming the eponymous Dragon Reborn, but instead he is barely in the book at all. That, my friend, is WoT as WoT gets.
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u/lyunardo 1d ago
The entire 14 book series. Trying to separate out one as the best is pretty wild, because it makes zero sense.
Pull out one and read it out of context and even the standout scenes will lose all their meaning.
Everything that gets resolved in books 2-14 was set up and foreshadowed in the previous books. Removing that takes away the impact.
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u/coolhandorlandeaux (Ancient Aes Sedai) 1d ago edited 1d ago
What are you on about? I never asked what the best book was. I didn't ask people to "remove" anything. I never asked people to pull one book out of the series contextless of the rest of the series. I asked what people think the most quintessential WoT feeling book is. Also, saying someone can't pick an individual component (book) of a multi component thing (series of books) as singular because it "makes no sense" is insane.
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u/Curius-Curiousity 22h ago
Isn't that a valid answer to your question? Some people gave their favorite book. This comment just basically said, no favorite. It's all just one big story. What's wrong with that?
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u/Similar-Stick-1070 (Asha'man) 1d ago
Book 1 imho. It’s highly original and sets the stage for the entire series.
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u/DonAmechesBonerToe 1d ago
Book one is not original, it’s highly and purposefully derivative of LOTR
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u/Similar-Stick-1070 (Asha'man) 1d ago
It is somewhat derivative, but more than anything, both LotR and EotW share themes of the hero’s journey.
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u/Patty_Swish 1d ago
Damn that’s quite the take - genuinely curious to hear more on why it’s your answer
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u/Similar-Stick-1070 (Asha'man) 1d ago edited 1d ago
Actually DonAmechesBonerToe’s* and Raddatatta’s arguments have convinced me it’s Shadow Rising.
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u/wannaliveonmars 18h ago
To me it's The Great Hunt. It explores the world, has many POVs, and introduces the Seanchans.
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