Wheel Of Time on Amazon Prime (Nov 2021)

jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
I'm going to be the cynic that craps all over this: Not only were there 14 books, they are HUGE 600-800 page books.

They are never going to be able to encapsulate that amount of depth in a live action series. FYI I picked up the first book at K-Mart in 1990.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I don't like going into these things not having read the books. I think I would have been a little bit lost with some of Dune had I not read the books. I know ground zero nothing about Wheel of Time.
 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
I know ground zero nothing about Wheel of Time.
Put it this way. Get the first book. If you put it down after page 90 then it wasn't meant to be. But I don't think you will put it down after you hit page 90 (that's page 90 in the large, hardcover book) not sure if the smaller formats would follow exactly.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
The second inverse article I linked touches s bit on the fact that there is no way possible to keep every detail from the books and pass it through to the show. I think they joked that the younger actors would all be in their 50s by the time they were done. ;)
I’m just hoping for a good ride. And I think we will get it.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
I don't like going into these things not having read the books. I think I would have been a little bit lost with some of Dune had I not read the books. I know ground zero nothing about Wheel of Time.
If they do their job well, you shouldn’t need to have read the books. ;)
That said, it’s still not too late… you can watch or not, tomorrow… not like it’s going to disappear from the universe after it “airs!” I know I have another couple credits on Audible… but for me, I’ve already polished off the series several time over.
 
davidscott

davidscott

Audioholic Ninja
So is this gonna be a Game of Thrones wannabe? That said I do like some of Robert Jordan's stuff and I really like Rosamund Gone Girl Pike. So I will definitely be tuning in.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
First impression: pretty cool.
Overall I liked it.
I’m a bit surprised at some of the choices they made; how they tweaked the story for adaptation to live action. Of course, I knew going in that this wouldn’t be literal to every turn of the page.

I’m eager for next Thursday afternoon, now. :)
 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
As someone who read the books: They are driving through the material at 100 miles per hour, or 160 kph for our Canadian brothers and sisters).
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Just for kicks, I put in the audiobook yesterday while I was working and got through ~2/3 of chapter 8. That saw the story advance through Bel Tine day and Tam’s healing by Moiraine. The party did not leave Emond’s Field, yet. By audiobook, about 4.5 hours of performance.
Watched E1 twice last night. :)

The one thing they really don’t convey well is the scope of time that is elapsing in their condensing of the story. I can accept the adaptive changes well enough, but the psychology of the characters came off as the most jarring when seeing Rand act out so explosively to Moiraine the morning after their first night camping out. It just seemed incongruous given the timing of events. While it definitely occurs in the books, it’s something that builds over time becoming a major plot device.
I guess, really, in the condensed timeline they need to portray its not so surprising, though.

What I really am impressed with is the portrayal of the Trollocs. I think they succeeded in conveying how absolutely bestial and twisted these monsters are. While there are times you see the books as almost a coming of age story, the underlying gruesomeness and violence is always there. Jordan just didn't make it the driving factor in the novels. In the condensed story, it stands to reason this is going to begin to standing out.
 
davidscott

davidscott

Audioholic Ninja
I'm definitely going to order the 1st book before I start watching.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
There is an audiobook available, if that’s your jam, with Rosamund Pike reading. I believe Audible has it among others. ;)

Very good book, nonetheless, and I freely recommend it as a great high-fantasy read or listen.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
I didnt read the books but I think I'm going too. Not having any background from the books, I quite like the story. I have 3 episodes under my belt.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
For any of you who haven't yet, they have some "behind the scenes" shorts with the Showrunners. It does give some interesting insight into the adaptation, including how the "age the characters" a little to make the story a little less of an adolescent coming-of-age story.
What I find a little intriguing is that it's not so much a coming of age story as it is a twist in that with "simple folk" being thrust onto a world of political intrigue, war, and the social complexities that come with that.

Anyway, I finished listening to the first book, The Eye Of The World, yesterday. I am pleased with the fact the story is still fairly true to the original, enough so to be recognizable.

For those familiar with the story, it is not too hard to follow along in a manner. Perhaps the more significant aspect, while being askew, is the Town where Mat and Rand meet Thom and the first Darkfriend in the show. This is Four Kings in the book. Without introducing spoilers, there is a lot of territory covered by the time the characters find themselves in their respective places at this point in the story, and of course several adaptations to keep the story moving for the video audience.
Frankly, this might have been done easier and more completely true to the original story arc with a good animation studio...

Regardless, The Lady and I will be having Holiday Dinner this afternoon at a local Steakhouse serving today, and after that we will be ditching them to continue the story!
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Six episodes in.
So far I am enjoying the adaptation, even as it diverges from the books.

For those interested, Amazon has added some "origin" stories, 4 min. animated shorts, along with there "behind the scenes" snippets. When you are in the Amazon menu for the show, just scroll off to the left beyond E01 and enjoy!

I find myself hoping they continue the series through completion. *fingers crossed
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I haven't checked this out yet, but there's a lot of grumbling from fans of the book series and very mixed reception across the board. I'm seeing it compared to getting "The Last Jedi treatment".

I absolutely hated TLJ. It was the only time I walked out of a theater feeling so disappointed and almost... angry. I wanted to give it back and pretend it never happened. Which btw, is apparently what Disney wants to do too.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I never read the books. I am enjoying this WoT series. Definitely NOT Game of Throne caliber. But to me WoT is a lot more exciting than The Witcher. :D
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
I never read the books. I am enjoying this WoT series. Definitely NOT Game of Throne caliber. But to me WoT is a lot more exciting than The Witcher. :D
Never read the books either. WoT so far is good TV, I like it and hopefully for many seasons.
To me the complexity of Witcher WORLD is on par with GoT, however, I have to agree that most of the intricacies didn't quite make it into the TV series. But then again my opinion isn't very objective as a die-hard Witcher fan.
WoT jumps two feet into action and character development is an ongoing process - this way it's much harder to quickly get people hooked on it.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Never read the books either. WoT so far is good TV, I like it and hopefully for many seasons.
To me the complexity of Witcher WORLD is on par with GoT, however, I have to agree that most of the intricacies didn't quite make it into the TV series. But then again my opinion isn't very objective as a die-hard Witcher fan.
WoT jumps two feet into action and character development is an ongoing process - this way it's much harder to quickly get people hooked on it.
I don’t ever read any of these books. :D

I probably would like Witcher much more if I had read the books. Still watching The Witcher S02. I think I got through S02E04 last night. :D
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
I don’t ever read any of these books. :D

I probably would like Witcher much more if I had read the books. Still watching The Witcher S02. I think I got through S02E04 last night. :D
Witcher season 2 fairly well correlates to Witcher 3 Wild Hunt - one of the best-sold video games (30mil sold just for Witcher Wild Hunt and 50mils sold for all 3 Witchers games combined).
 
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AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Witcher season 2 fairly well correlates to Witcher 3 Wild Hunt - one of the best-sold video games (30mil sold just for Witcher Wild Hunt and 50mils sold for all 3 Witchers games combined).
I just finished S02.

I think S02 is 100% better than S01.

But Jaskier is still 100% worthless and total waste of time. They need to get rid of him. He’s just excess baggage.

I look forward to S03. Hopefully S03 will be even more serious and without any jokes like Jaskier. :D
 

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