Project WOT
What is the Wheel of Time?
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan is a world phenomenon. And pretty chunky! This started as a book series, with 14 books (lengthy books too); mostly outlined and written by Robert Jordan himself while the last few books needed to be completed by Brandon Sanderson (Jordan’s widow personally selected Sanderson as the author to continue her husband legacy).
It is one of the most popular fantasy series of all time and it has shaped modern fantasy in a pretty significant way.
Interesting details
This is also a series that is particularly interesting for some philosophy experts (see Jared H) and this added depth to the story. While my philosophy knowledge is pretty basic, this perspective pushes me to think that Robert Jordan put a lot more research and content in the story compared to what I first experienced in the few books I read. I will keep my attention higher to try to catch these themes; the only obvious one is the concept of reicarnation!
My reading experience so far
I have started the series a couple of years ago right before the first season of The Wheel of Time, the tv series, was released.
At the time, I felt in love with a few things: the magic system and the Aes Sedai were some of my favorite representation of fantasy. I loved the idea of having a gender based magical society (with all the personalities, from those who just want to help to those who are power hungry only) mostly because men can become insane while wielding the power (this is a key element of the story).
I also really loved Moraine and Lan above all characters but there is also a few characters that I want more from!
And after a few books, I dropped the ball; at some point, I stopped paying attention to this series after reading four books. So it is time to resume!
What is the project?
I have, accidentally, leaked the content of the project a few lines before: there are really two elements to this work and I want August 2023 as the month I dedicate to this project, as a priority to above everything else.
The project is simple: read the series and experience the tv show.
The complexity comes in the details; I need to be pretty aggressive in my reading in August, pushing myself to read and take extensive notes (as I normally do for any fantasy book since mid-2022) The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt (books 1 and 2 of The Wheel of Time book series).
I also would love to watch the first season once again, and potentially take a few notes. I am not sure if I will “just” have an overview of the season or if I will comment each episode individually.
And be ready for when season two drops, and I saw the 1st of September as the date for it (I have not seen a whole lot of advertisement for it, have you?) and I want to be ready to comment each episode.
Summarizing
My goal is to keep myself accountable for starting and finishing the whole The Wheel of Time series, mostly the reading version of it.
And I want to make sure I spend the right amount of time and brain resources to enjoy the series as much as I can and to the fullest extent I can (and hopefully bring a little bit of value to anybody coming onto this blog; but also so that I can have fun with the process!).
