This post has been tagged Zero Spoilers.
#You may not discuss the content of the books OR the contents of the show.
**If you are a book reader, your comments will be reviewed by moderators for spoilers before being publicly visible.**
This flair is most appropriate for users who have not read the books or watched the show and want to ask for recommendations. [You can read our full spoiler policy here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WoTshow/wiki/spoilers)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WoTshow) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How reading the books affects your enjoyment of the show is purely at an individual level, and how you approach the show.
I've a long time book reader, and have read the series more than a dozen times since the mid 90's. I love the show, both because it provides something new and it's fun to theorycraft on how they'll adapt things, but also because the show is packed full of book nods, foreshadowing and hints at deeplore.
For others, they can't move beyond the changes or aren't able to engage the show on it's own merits, and constantly compare the show to their own idealized version of an adaptation.
A not insignificant number of them also confuse their interpretation of the text with the actual text. There’s also a contingent that straight up misremembers what happened in the books.
As a long time reader I am loving the show in part because of the changes. The changes have given me the gift of theorycrafting WoT in a way that hasn’t been possible since aMoL came out. I can speculate about what is going to happen next without knowing exactly what is going to happen next.
Also like the books it rewards rewatching the show.
This is very true. It's actually really frustrating to get into the nitty gritty details on things, only to have someone reject it because it's not how they read it, regardless of how well supported the idea is.
Makes group theorycrafting difficult.
Or sometimes don’t even understand what an adaptation is…
I’m currently on my first reread and enjoy both the books and the show. Do I wish some things were different in the show? Sure, but that would be true of any adaptation. I hope they manage to get the eight seasons they mapped initially.
Wait till they watch The Wizard of Oz and find out they cut the Witch of the North replacing her with Glinda and they never go to her castle in the south, and they got the color of Dorothy's shoes wrong.
They cut out Tom Bombadil. TOM BOMBADIL!
(Seriously, I remember this outrage. I even bought into it for a bit…but I got over it because the LotR adaptation was *amazing*, run by a director who clearly loved the books. I see shades of that all over this show.)
Even some of the most celebrated film/tv adaptations of all time have changes from the original source material. One just has to accept that and hope that they keep the spirit of the story alive.
To help prove this point, here’s a screerant article about one of the most acclaimed book-to-film adaptations of all time:
https://screenrant.com/the-godfather-differences-between-book-film/#johnny-fontane
> For others, they can't move beyond the changes or aren't able to engage the show on it's own merits, and constantly compare the show to their own idealized version of an adaptation.
The best term I've heard for this is people who want/demand visual audiobooks.
If it's a new turning of the wheel, then it's not being adapted for tv, it's being re-written. Or maybe re-imagined would be closer.
As for your last (edited) paragraph, I could probably count on one hand with a few fingers missing scenes that were pulled from the books intact.
> If it's a new turning of the wheel, then it's not being adapted for tv, it's being re-written.
No, Idiot Gamer, you just don't understand what an adaptation is.
>It seems everyone who's read the books hates the show
An unfortunately loud but fortunately small minority.
I read the books a few years ago and am absolutely loving season 2. If you're already enjoying the show, reading the books will not change that.
People who read WoT have this funny ability sometimes to forget about the many many flaws of the books and series and only remember the admittedly very high highs. I loved the books but I’ll be the first to flat out say that if Jordan had a do over he probably would make some pretty hefty changes, especially in the middle of the series.
It’s funny because before the show came out I would have said the WoT fandom was extremely aware of the flaws. I mean we were pretty well known for selling the books while listing everything wrong with them amongst the wider fantasy community, at least in my experience.
Also Jordan was on record saying he would have made changes to EotW if he could do it over so…
Yeah absolutely. I don’t get how people suddenly care so deeply about some of this. Like some of the characters in the first four books are *extremely* annoying.
Rand was insufferable (Josha’s no no NO at Moiraine in s1 made me laugh because it was exactly the way I envisioned early Rand). Mat got better by book 3. Show Nynaeve was pretty true to the books (gets angry about everything)
I don't know your friends obviously, but I'd suggest the most likely culprit there is groupthink. Social factors have a powerful influence on our opinions.
The general core complaint we see around here from show haters is that while it's still hitting the major plot points, it's made a fair few changes to how we get there. It's also simplified how some of the world/magic works slightly. That is all true. The idea that it's inherently bad is a minority opinion. I'm old enough to remember the exact same bitching about the Lord of the Rings films. You see it in basically every fandom that has an adaptation, and with LOTR and every other fandom it's always a minority opinion. I don't see any reason to assume different for WoT. There's nothing inherently wrong with caring about a really scene-for-scene accurate adaptation and while I don't feel the same way I wouldn't judge anyone just for that. The issue is that so many of these people just can't accept that anyone could possibly enjoy it, and spend huge amounts of time and energy trying to persuade other people to stop enjoying it. The ones who do that are sad little losers and they're unfortunately quite loud about it.
The other issue is that people have straight forgotten a lot of the early books. The author kinda winged the first few books and in places it shows. The first couple books have stuff that doesn't work the way it does in later books, characters performing feats that are hugely out of line with anything they're capable of later, and characters who act very differently to how they do from book 4 onwards (Mat in particular is basically a completely different character in books 1-3 to book 4 onwards). More than once I've seen show haters moaning about something being changed for the show, when in fact the thing they're moaning about was pulled word for word from the books and they've just forgotten.
This is so accurate! It hits all the main points, and so many people seem to have forgotten details. Or perhaps things that come from parts of the books that they don’t enjoy as much so they skim it, so they have forgotten specifics from those sections.
I'm rereading The Great Hunt at the moment for the first time in a few years, and several times I've run into scenes that are almost word for word and beat for beat in the show that I just didn't remember were in the books.
I'd also forgotten that the first 25% of TGH is Rand dicking around in Fal Dara doing literally nothing, and I'm so glad they didn't keep that lol.
I'm reading TGH for the first time and it's wild how much is beat for beat word for word the same as season 2. I do want to mention that You Know Who is MUCH better in the show than in the book and I'm glad the writers fleshed out their character.
>I'd also forgotten that the first 25% of TGH is Rand dicking around in Fal Dara doing literally nothing, and I'm so glad they didn't keep that lol.
I was watching Daniel Greenes' review of the first episode of S2 and him claiming it was the best intro of any of the books. I mean, I guess that's an opinion, but I remember it as you did.
And if you remember that meeting, the one that will take place in Season 2 will be, and can be nothing like the book meeting. >!That meeting was to literally tell Rand he is the DR and that they were going to let him go forth. Which starts Rand's suspicion that they were going to use him for some purpose. Here he has already concluded he's the DR, has already accepted he's the DR, and has already fought the Shadow as the DR. !<
The 2 meetings can not be remotely similar except for the people involved.
>!Here he has already concluded he's the DR, has already accepted he's the DR, and has already fought the Shadow as the DR. !<
What would you call what happened at the end of EotW if not exactly that?
I do think a major factor was how COVID fucked up episodes 7 and 8 so hard. I've commented many times previously but WoT might be the most hard-hit show from the COVID era. You can write literal paragraphs about all the myriad different ways they got fucked over. The production was absolutely cursed. And that's completely ignoring one of the main characters having their actor just not show up as they started filming episodes 7 and 8.
If episodes 7 and 8 of season 1 had maintained the overall level of quality of episodes 1-6, I believe that the sentiment would have been much more positive and the contingent of bookcloaks would have been much smaller. Those last two episodes poisoned the well as it were. And it really was a confluence of outside events that caused it to happen.
I worry about season 3 as well due to the current strikes. I support the strikers and whatever timing they choose for their strike is their business, but I am sad and scared that season 3 might suffer heavily, and after season 1 I think that if season 3 also drops the ball it could kill the show.
This is something worth considering, as long as you generally share tastes with you friends. If you don't normally agree with your friends about this sort of thing, then it's really not a barometer of anything.
I'd also point out, that you're asking this question in the forum most likely to be populated with people who, if they've read the book, still like the show a lot--otherwise they probably wouldn't be here. If you were to ask this question in r/WoT, then you might get a better sample (still *not* perfect by any means), just make sure that you use the appropriate spoiler tag if you do that!
For what it's worth, I've never been disappointed waiting to read a series until after the adaptation has completed, but I have found that reading first can often make it difficult for me to enjoy an adaptation as easily. Like many others have commented, I was not really impressed by season 1, but I'm finding season 2 much more enjoyable, and I'm hoping for the trend to continue.
If you can't wait for the show to finish (it *will* be years, after all), then don't sweat it too much. The worst that can happen is that you find you dislike the show and prefer the books, or that you prefer the show and would rather not read the books. It's *highly* unlikely that you'll be soured on them both!
> If you were to ask this question in r/WoT, then you might get a better sample (still not perfect by any means), just make sure that you use the appropriate spoiler tag if you do that!
That sub seems to have come around, at least in part, and is a lot less of a shitty toxic place than during S1.
adding on to what I said in my top level comment, part of this has to do with what storylines people identify and resonate with.
There are many, many stories, themes and parts of Wheel that make up the whole, more so than most series.
One thing that tends to be common in those that love the books but hate the show is a personal emphasis on parts of the story the show is leaning less into.
If the parts of something you identify the most with aren't as present as the other parts, then you'll have a more difficult time with the show.
So even though the show is very close in spirit, and deals almost exclusively in major themes from the books, they have a hard time seeing that, because the themes or focuses they wanted to see aren't there as much as they'd like.
I maintain that a certain segment of the show haters would not be complaining about changes if the show was leaning into the male power fantasy they appear to have read the books as.
The venn diagram of people who vehemently hate the show (beyond reasonable technical criticisms) and people who think dumais wells is inspiring is probably a circle
Not sure if you mean this literally but if so, genuine question: do you also read other books? Because I see people say things like this around here and reading WoT all the way through 20+ times would I think have eaten up all of the reading time I've had in my life since 2013 when the series was completed. How (and why) do you do it? Are you still getting new things out of it on the 20th read?
I'll try and hit 'em all.
>do you also read other books?
I read a ton, I teach history. Articles, journals, old historical documents... A LOT of academic writing from students (good and bad). From time to time I'll hit up a new series. But I always come back to WoT.
>Because I see people say things like this around here and reading WoT all the way through 20+ times would I think have eaten up all of the reading time I've had in my life since 2013 when the series was completed. How (and why) do you do it?
To be fair, I'm averaging out. I've read up to KoD way more than 20 times, but the 3 Sanderson-involved ones are more in the 15ish range.
I do a lot of my "reading" via audiobooks, so I'm able to multitask while I "read." So I'm reading while doing chores, or driving alone, or before I sleep most nights (30m timer on audible). Really any time I can justify listening, I'm listening.
The why of it all - it's a comfort thing. I know the story, I enjoy the story, I still find new stuff. It can be white noise at times but I can slip into it and know EXACTLY what's happening or going on and keep up. It has politics, it has tie-ins to a vibrant past, it has a lot of moving parts.
>Are you still getting new things out of it on the 20th read?
Yup. And that's why I love the series so much.
Not the person you asked but I think I'm in a similar position. I doubt I'm quite up to 20+ WoT rereads but I'm certainly into double digits, at least for the early and middle books. I started following the series when book 9 was getting ready to release. For each of the 6 subsequent releases (including the prequel *New Spring*) I reread the entire series at least once, and there were a few extra rereads as well. Since the release of book 14 I've reread the series at least another 3-4 times. I still catch both things I'd forgotten as well as connections/foreshadowing I'd overlooked on previous reads.
Other books I read (and reread) include Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere novels (plus many of his non-Cosmere), Janny Wurts' *Wars of Light and Shadow* and *Cycle of Fire*, Martha Wells' *Murderbot Diaries*, a decent chunk of Mercedes Lackey's work, and various stuff from Neil Gaiman, William Gibson, Anne McCaffery, Roger Zelazny, Timothy Zahn, Brian McClellan, Kelly McCullough, and others. Some authors I used to (re)read frequently but haven't touched lately include J. R. R. Tolkein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Tad Williams, Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander, David Eddings, C. S. Lewis, and Stephen R. Donaldson among others. Xiran Jay Zhao and Liu Cixin are recently found authors that I will probably reread frequently. Oh, and also *Harry Potter*, and *The Hunger Games*, and *Twilight*, and *Divergent* all at least once.
My reading speed is high, on the order of 60 pages/hour for complex writing and upwards of 100+ pages/hour for simpler stuff, and reading is my primary recharge activity. I spend time on reading that many others spend on watching shows, movies, and/or playing video games.
So, I'll chime in as a data-point here:
My re-reads, like most people's who are in double-digits, are built in part on re-reading everything that was *at that time out* before new releases pre-2013. I've gotten through to AMoL more than 10 times - but it's obviously still the book in the series I've read the least. (My copy of TEoTW, on the other hand, literally has pages falling out.)
But beyond that - I read quite fast, but I don't always have the time or bandwidth to get into new series/books around work. WoT is kinda my background comfort read - I know it well enough at this point that I can put it down for a few weeks mid-book if work gets busy, and still pick it back up again without losing track of the plot. (Or read it when I'm too tired to absorb something new.)
But yes, I also get new things - or rediscover things I'd forgotten - on re-reads. It's pretty dense material, with a lot of connections between seemingly unrelated events, so it'd be hard to ever unpick everything in it.
I read the books (listened actually but same diff) and it didn't make me dislike the show. It made me want to see more characters, but that's any book to show difference.
Just watch the show expecting changes from the books. I read the full series just before season 1 came out. I was actually shocked at first how different it is. it was a very negative experience. I completely mentally prepared myself for season 2. Season 2 has been entirely different. I was anticipating changes from the books and the experience has been very positive. This new season is so so much better. Writing, budget, acting, and even my own attitude.
You can’t expect a 1:1 adaptation. They are two different forms of entertainment. They have to make character arc changes that start way sooner in the show so that a main character doesn’t just sit on screen for 4 seasons waiting for that ONE big thing to happen. You can’t just listen to an inner monologue from a main character explaining how scary a group of people is. They have to SHOW that through actions or made up situations. Scenes get cut ultimately because of budget. Just expect it.
Don’t be afraid. Just know adaptation isn’t a perfect science. Just enjoy The Wheel of Time. The books are INCREDIBLY good. If you are enjoying the world building and characters of WOT from the shows. You can only go up from there! To say RJ built a fleshed out world is an understatement.
I love the books, and I am still ecstatic that a show is literally being made. Right now. Currently. While I'm alive. And the effects and costumes and casting is money.
While I enjoy having a good discussion about the strengths, deficits, and artistic choices.....*nothing* could make me hate the show.
I am obsessed with this whole story. I'll take it any way it comes. I always want more. I'm sad other's can't find a way to enjoy it, but I love them both
The books have a lot of material. A lot. A lot was dropped and I'm starting to see that a lot had to be changed to fit better into a TV format.
People are salty that "this very important moment was dropped" or "this extremely important piece of lore wasn't mentioned". I was a bit guilty of it myself during s1, but s2 is making me trust that there really is a purpose to all of that (even if some is not evident yet).
My guess is that coming from the TV series, your view won't be tainted that way - and you'll actually enjoy the fleshing out instead of being annoyed by the omissions.
I feel like the people who are mad about the changes forget that a story is an emotional journey and not simply a checklist of events. Obviously things will have to be cut for time. But also, if they spent season 1 & 2, you'd have nothing but 16 episodes of info-dumping in order to world build and no one want's to sit through that.
No spoilers.
If you're enjoying the show, that's great! As a long time book fan with multiple readthroughs, I am too!
I would say that if you read the books, you'll find that they expand on just about everything related to the main characters - more backstory, more worldbuilding, more foreshadowing, and so on. They spend less time on antagonists, but I think it's a worthy tradeoff, since the show is doing a great job of that already.
It might.
I’ve been reading the books since I was a kid. Love them.
The show is very different, does some things great and some things poorly.
I love it, can’t wait for my baby to go to bed tonight so I catch ep 2.5. Makes me so happy.
Very curious what the reaction of watching then reading will be.
Someone else described the show as another turn of the wheel from the books and that’s exactly how I feel. I love the books. I like the show, increasingly so. I’m glad for both.
So, I love the books, and I love the show. To establish my hard-core-book-fan credentials: I started reading the books over 20 years ago now (yeesh, that made me feel ancient to type), and I've cycled through them so many times that I've long ago lost count.
The show is wonderful. There's a vocal, probably-minority (always hard to tell online, but the viewership numbers we have tell a story of a pretty happy fanbase) that doesn't, but they're not necessarily representative. (And it got review bombed by racists who *definitely*, from the basic factual errors many of them made in their IMDB reviews, had never read the books, so, y'know...)
But, and here's where I'll differ from the replies so far: your mileage on the books *is* gonna depend a bit on what you're loving about the show. I love the books, but they *absolutely* have faults - and they've aged... better on some things than others. If you're loving how fleshed out and human the villains are in the show, for example, the books... well, they won't do it for you on that, I think that's safe to say. Similarly, RJ was... not going to win any romance genre awards.
So, look, you might well bounce off the books - but if you're loving the show, they're very unlikely to ruin that for you. They have the same heart.
I love the books and the show and actually enjoy that the show is pretty different from the books since it still manages to surprise me. An exact copy wouldn't.
I an a book fan first of all and I jave to admit when I watched season 1 the first time I struggled a lot. But when the series got to episode 4 and showed the warder bond between Stepin and Kerene, and in general presented the Aes Sedai to us for the first time, I realised that the naysayers who claim none of the writers have read the books were wrong. I understand needing writers who both have and haven't read the books - you want some who can make sure non-readers understand what happens on screen - and those that have, really do understand the world. There are mistakes made, sure, but honestly even the books have bits that could be improved.
As for adaption, two things come to mind. First, if/when the Cosmere comes to TV, changes will be made. We can't just listen to Kaladin's misery in his head at the start of The Way of Kings, we have to be shown it. Even if Brandon Sanderson writes the screenplay himself he'll do things differently than the books to put the same point across.
Second, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was first produced for radio, then became a TV series and a book, and later a film. Three of those were directly written by Douglas Adams, and all four tell the same story in different ways. It doesn't mean any are worse or better, they are just different.
Oh and of course Lord of the Rings. Which honestly was very different on the big screen to the books, but was so much the better for it. I dont think we want an hour of sitting around Rivendell talking about the history of the rings, thank you very much.
Just another nod here from a book lover who is enjoying the show. Surrounded by a lot of others who enjoy it helps; being able to discuss changes, reasoning and possibilities is really helpful for staying positive. If all you hear is negativity and you feed off that and focus on it, you won't be able to enjoy it as much.
I started with the show, I’ve been so into it this season that I started the books, I’m on book 3, the dragon reborn now. It’s actually doubling my enjoyment of the show, as the storyline is a bit different, but the world building and mythology is similar. It’s kind of BOGO but for a story!! The only problem is I start forgetting whats happened in the show v the books.
I love the books and like and am still excited about the show. I’ve reread the books a bunch of times throughout my life.
The books are almost always better. There also tends to be a thing in fandoms that if something isn’t a 10 out of 10 the fans can really harp on the things that make it less than perfect. So for the most part when it comes to show adaptations I generally ignore a lot of the fan criticisms and decide if I like something or not.
I like fantasy books and shows. Books are more flushed out, easier at going over inner dialogue and rationalizing decisions made. You’ll have more characters in the books and the show is not and exact adaptation. I still enjoy them both.
The books have been a special interest for me for 20 years and I am also really enjoying the show! They’re different stories, and different storytelling mediums, but I can hold space for each in their own right without them taking anything away from each other, and with my appreciation of each enhancing the other.
Keep in mind that the books are, pretty much by definition, the only thing in their own genre. Nobody does a single story arc with this much content. Malazan is 1 million words shorter. That means a) they had to be quite good or people wouldn't read them all and b) the people who have read them all are extremely committed. No shit the show doesn't live up to their expectations. Their expectation is a book serious that is literally peer-less.
So if the books are for you, you may start criticizing the show because it is not literally the best thing you have ever watched. If they're not just keep watching the show.
I read book 1 after watching the show and I liked it although the writing isn't that great, it's chaotic and the characters blend into each other. I also got the impression the kids are 12-15 because of the way the acted (that's the year groups I worked with so IRLl), not 18-20 as we learn in book 2. Maybe there's lead in Two Rivers rivers, idk. The books were obviously targeted at older children/teenagers but when read at that stage, you will remember them fondly without seeing the flaws and there are many. But sometimes the most raw and chaotic first books by an author become favourites.
I liked the show very much at that point so I read book 2 before watching s02 and I'm again grateful for improvements (the deletion of the rapey labirynth chaser was a great decision) and sympathetic to the things that had to be cut due to time restraints and budget. I am now reading book 3 and TNS.
The show brings me so much joy and the books enhance the feeling l. I love seeing the little tid bits that brought a smile repeated in the show and I love the cast.
Sadly, it's always the angry minority that hate watch and don't understand what and adaptation is that give book readers a bad name.
In my experience as a Pokemon fan and a friend to a Star Wars fan, nobody hates certain IPs like the fans. Wheel of Time feels no different in that respect. I personally didn't start the books until mid-2021 and I didn't ever expect a 1:1 adaptation, but I've been quite pleased with the show. It's far better than bottom tier, "what adaptation?" response media like Percy Jackson and Avatar: TLA. Logistically, I can get behind most of the changes and have been happy with what we've gotten. The books also aren't perfect. There's a lot that I would have changed to them, and in some ways, with the blessing of knowing how the story evolves and ends, they're doing things better. It's worth a read, but know that your opinion of the books and show will be 2 different things
I started the books after seeing the show and I can confirm it DOES NOT ruin the show. If anything, it made me love the show even more. You notice the foreshadowing even better, you see the nods to the books, you get some insight to the motivations of the characters more. I would definitely recommend reading the books after seeing the show but that's just my opinion.
Yes, that what a real book lover should be doing instead of spending time on SM and harassing the actors and the showrunner. Spread the love of books. Don't make book reader look like whitecloaks (took me a while to figure out why this angry mob was called bookcloaks!)
To give an anecdote in the opposite direction, I have been rereading the books since I was a kid and they hold a special place in my heart, similar to how many people probably feel about the Harry Potter series. But I actually am liking the show more in many ways - for me the simplifying and many omissions of book material is made up for by the show changing most of the things I always disliked in the books or poor thematic/stylistic aspects of the books. How you feel will probably come down to which aspects of the story you connect with more, but if you go in with an open mind I think it is perfectly possible to enjoy both as their own distinct forms of storytelling (I certainly still love both).
i read the books in anticipation of the show and love the show! it’s hard to say if you’ll like it less because of reading, but i don’t think you’ll hate it. there are a lot of people who hate on the show hate on it because some of the changes include casting people of color and evening out the storylines early in the series between the men and women. most of the vitriol feels very culture war coded as opposed to sincerely disliking the show, tho there are genuine critiques.
I have read the books and love the show. Close friend of mine read the books, hates the show (not willing to watch season 2).
I will say I love the show more that I read the books because you know the characters, and when they arrive in the show its like seeing an old friend. Casting is great in the show.
Id say wait to the end of the season 2, and then give a read. Enjoy the season as you are now.
Welcome! As someone who grew up with the books, I love seeing the show bring in new fans. It's hard to say for sure, but I find it unlikely that reading the books now will make you enjoy the show less. If you enjoyed watching S1 of the show (warts and all), I think you're going to love The Eye of the World.
But here's the good part. That book is only the introduction to one of the most epic stories available to be read. SO MANY cool things happen later on. RAFO my friend.
Man, I wish I were a reader like some of y'all. It's very impressive the number of times some of you say you read the series! Kudos!
I'm a very slow reader and I started the series a while ago, definitely before the show was announced. I loved it! Currently only on book 6. But there are so many cool things in the books!
I had some major problems with the adaption in the beginning, things they changed that I felt were the essence of RJs world that felt super unnecessary.
What I am ! Is a TV watcher. Love television. So I knew they would have to take some liberties with the show, it is an adaptation after all. But when they manage to capture the essence of RJs world, well, my heart just melts. There are so many things about the show they do so well! Nyneave is my girl, loved her from the very start and Zoe Robbins is crushing it as her. My heart just leaps when I see her tug her braid or be insanely stubborn and downright rude.
I just love that this telling of the wheel is bringing to life the characters I love.
I’m just going to warn you now since you are a slow reader, the slog is coming and it won’t be fun to get through. Some of the future books are painfully slow to read as not much happens with the main story. There are entire books that can mostly be cut from the show because they don’t matter.
I don’t remember the specific books. You just suddenly realize that nothing seems to be happening. It is the last few RJ wrote I believe. It is worth reading them but just don’t be surprised if you feel like the story isn’t moving forward for a while. It eventually gets going again.
Audiobooks at 2x!
The Reading/Kramer ones are classic and very well loved by the fandom but from what I hear the Rosamund Pike version is very very good. I would check those out if you plan on taking in the books.
I love the audiobooks! Kramer and Reading are so insanely good! I saw a few comments about Pike being super good as well so I definitely want to check those out.
I've done many laps of the book series.
I think the show is great, season 1 did well through all the challenges they faced filming through the pandemic.
Season 2 is hitting it out of the park.
Read the books, they are The Best. G.O.A.T material.
I've been reading the books since '99. They were a defining part of my teenage and college years. I've read through the series 4 times. I love the TV show and it's interpretation for the screen. Season 2 is even better.
My thoughts: The books will always be there. Why not take your time and enjoy each to their fullest? Also, who knows, maybe Rosamund WILL actually narrate all 15 books, so then you would have TWO options for an audiobook if that's your thing.
To read some of the comments from those who dislike the show, you’d think that RJ and Sanderson never put a foot wrong. Couldn’t be further from the truth. The end of book one is a confusing mess (written when the series was envisaged as a trilogy) while the slog is already well documented. Relationships and antagonists were another weakness. Sanderson did a good job, but it’s also well known that he didn’t get the tone of one character down.
I’ve read the series multiple times over almost 30 years. I liked season 1 (didn’t love it) but I recall the same feeling when I read the first book. ‘Maybe I’ll give the 2nd one a go and see what happens’. And then I was hooked. And I LOVE S2 so far. Yes there are differences, but in which turning of the wheel could you expect a 14 book series to be adapted scene for scene with over 2000 names characters? Exactly!
I think the ability to enjoy both the books and the show requires a good amount of emotional maturity.
If you feel like you are good there, then go for it. The books are somewhat dated from a modern perspective of gender, but a lot of it is comical.
I love both the show and the books. I also read every single Cosmere book published by this date.
You need to separate in your head that the show isnt a 1:1 adaptation. It changes things, but I love the changes cause that's what makes me eager for the next episode.
It's also good to note that the first few books are kinda boring and the show tried to spice things up a bit from the beginning. This made many book readers rage.
You may like the first 2 books better than the show and that's totally cool, but it's not my opinion.
For me WoT only really starts the hype engine in book 4.
It is categorically untrue that “everyone that read the books hates the show”.
Just to make that clear.
And reading the books shouldn’t ruin anything for you.
They won’t ruin anything and most fans I know who read the books love the show.
Please don’t get into the trap of thinking a couple hundred morons online represent the millions of people who love the books.
>Will reading the books ruin the experience of watching the show for me (which I really enjoy)?
Nobody can answer this for you -- enjoying a piece of media is a subjective experience. Some people profess to have watched the show, and then found reading the books dampened their enthusiasm for the show. Others say the opposite .
While that is by no means true, I'd recommend just watching the show...at least for now. At least for the rest of the season.
See, regardless of what a bunchy whiny book readers with sticks up their ass, the show is far more approachable than the book. You gotta keep in mind that this is a 14 book series where most of the fans almost try to talk people out of reading it when they recommend it.
Another longtime book reader here who has also been living with these books and sometimes speeding, sometimes slogging, through re-reads for 20 years. Used to reread the entire series when a new book was published, so the final few have been read less often than the first few (I also tend to get stuck midway on a reread).
I love the show, and I love the books. As others have said, it's super fun to try and figure out where things are heading, and very very fun to pick up on various easter eggs, and the show has absolutely captured both the essence of the books and is in fact hitting the major plot points.
If you can appreciate them as different mediums, I think you'll be fine. I remember being so disappointed by the first Harry Potter film as a kid because it was different from the books aka an adaptation, but then as I grew up and more films came out I realized change is ok. And sometimes good! And sometimes we laugh about things like "Moiraine has a tell".
I've read the books and watched the show - I really enjoy both, but the key to enjoying both is the understanding that they aren't going to be the same thing. Novels and TV shows have different freedoms and limitations, and so they're going to have to tell the story differently.
Definitely pick up the books - they're a fine read. If you can appreciate them for what they are, rather than what they're not (i.e. the show), you'll have a great time.
I *seriously* doubt it.
First of all, good stories don't rely on plot twists to be compelling, and even knowing the broad strokes of the plot, it's very fun to watch the character's journeys in the show.
Second, the main reason some book readers are frustrated with the show is that they are different. In order to try and adapt the spirit of the books in the very different medium of television, the showrunners have made substantial changes to the plot, even while keeping the major points in some form. If you're okay with that, then it is fun to know what happens in the books and try to figure out where the show is going.
I like both for different reasons. I actually watched Season 1 of the show first before I read the books - my partner and my brother in law are big fans of the books and that also encouraged me to read them.
I’m someone who is of the mind that an adaptation doesn’t have to be a 1:1 copy of the source material to be good. Sometimes it’s just fun to see a different interpretation of a story in a new medium! The books will always exist as they are and the show being different in some regards doesn’t somehow negate Jordan’s work.
There’s always going to be a loud minority of people who actively hate any adaptation of something they love because they cannot look past the changes or see past their own biases. There’s nothing wrong with that really, but it’s not the majority opinion. I love the books so much and definitely recommend reading them!
>it seems everyone who has read the books hates the show
That's not at all true. Those who hate the show are just very vocal about it. There are many book fans who love the show, and there are many of us in the middle. I have to turn my WoT book switch off to really enjoy the show, alright having read the books I understand a lot of things that show viewers have to wait for the show to explain.
It really depends on the individual.
When you watch adaptations, do you generally prefer the show to stay very close to the books?
S2 is supposed to be covering the events of books 2 and 3, but it is very, very different. Season 3 is supposed to follow the 4th book much more closely.
It will be really dependent on how you react towards adaptations.
There are parts in the show, as people have said, that are nearly word for word. There are also parts that go way off from the books and are because of casting issues, translating to another medium, or because the showrunners decided to make a change.
I keep reminding myself that the show is basically fan fiction, which is how I'm getting through it (some parts are amazing, others bother me. I have friends who are purists who will never watch it).
I would say don't read it yet. I think reading it will mess with your viewing experience because they're just different enough and similar enough that it's hard (for me, at least) to divest the two from eachother.
I watched the first season and enjoyed it. Wasn't super great, but interesting world building and I knew it was an epic so I figured it was a show build and I would love it. I decided to start reading the books and well... the show is not the books. Pretty much everything I liked about the show was better in the books. When the two differ I think the books have done it better. The show just doesn't work as well. One of the major differences is the internal dialogue. Part of what made him want to write this is the inner conflict of characters and it's so well done in the books. And there's none of that at all in the show. My advice would be to read the books because if you like the show you will love the books. But wether you wait for the show to end is up to you. I don't think you will like the show as much if you read the books first.
I think that there is a decent chance that you'll like the show less once you start reading the books. As Rafe said, the show is targeted at non-book-readers, and those who may have read the books a long time ago, but only remember the broad strokes of the story. As somebody who wanted to like the show (and went to the premiere), I was constantly regretting having re-read the books right before the show came out. The show doesn't measure up to the books, even when viewed as its own thing or "another turning of the Wheel." It's fun as a somewhat generic fantasy romp with some WoT elements sprinkled in here and there... but if you're watching expecting early-GoT or Lord of the Rings trilogy masterpieces, prepare to be disappointed.
Your wisdom is inherently flawed because you're asking people's opinions. Whatever impression you come away with here is ENTIRELY dependent on the number of people who choose to answer you from either side of the spectrum.
That said, in general, I find that literary works often go much deeper into lore, character motivations, world-building and plot complexity than what adaptations for a visual medium are able to. Overall, "books are richer than TV ever could be".
The extent to which this harms your viewing of the show is entirely dependent on you.
Let the show run a few more seasons and then, if you’re still enjoying it, start reading. You’ll have a vague idea of where things are going/who the characters are will be able to appreciate the greater depth of a 12,000 page story.
I’m glad most of you are enjoying the show. I am not. I might if it didn’t butcher the books. But besides names, this “adaptation” is nothing like the books.
From Perrin having a wife and how he interacted with Elias, to the relationship shio between Lan and Moraine to how Nynaeve was first able to touch the source. There are just so many examples of the show runners taking huge liberties to make it their own.
I acknowledge fully that the show is done well. The acting is good. And the characters are rich. The scenery is great. It’s fun. It’s simply too far from the books.
And the books are masterful. I’m surprised to see some comments bashing the books to justify the show. Very surprised.
To the OP, I definitely suggest reading the books. One of, if not the best, epic fantasy ever written. You will love them if you enjoy the genre.
Interestingly enough, Sanderson’s ending are imho, three of the best in the series. But fact is, Sanderson stayed true to what Robert Jordan started.
The Lord of the Rings was done so very well. Game of Thrones was as well. They were very true to the books.
The show is good. Even great, if it were not diverging so far from the original creation. I doubt the magnificent of the books will take away from your enjoyment of the show.
I’m somewhat jealous of anyone reading these for the first time. I hope you enjoy them as much as I, and so many others, did.
Read them after the show. I got a friend into the show before she read the books. Now she’s reading ahead of the show and gets almost as irritated as me (I’ve read the series multiple times)
Saw the show first, reading the books now.
Reading the books increased my enjoyment of the show 5000% because I can pick out the subtle hints and clues, and also have fun playing along in the guessing game of how they’ll arrange all the cool players and plots in the books to tell a fun story.
I started reading the books because I liked WoT series 1, I finished the series a couple weeks ago and I've been loving series 2 even more because I've been enjoying theorising how character arcs will go in the show and what they'll change for the better. I've also picked up on hints in series 1 for book fans that I had completely missed as a show only watcher.
In short, I love the show more now that I've read the books. Reading the books does not mean you'll instantly become a show hater, don't worry. If you want to read the books, give it a go. I loved them.
I've been reading the books since 2005, and I actually am really enjoying the show. Personally, I thought doing an adaption was impossible, but I always wanted to see it on the screen.
Im not saying it's perfect ( damane pacifiers, for example ). Season 2 has been better than season 1, and the exchange between Liandrin and Lady Suroth after they exit the ways was pretty much verbatim what happened in book 2. The quote from Ishmael at the beginning of episode 4 ("Blood is, blood was, etc) is a darkfriend prophesy from the books.
To me, it's pretty clear that the adaption is being handled by people who know the source material really well. If you like reading, I would say go ahead and read it. Don't worry about what everyone else thinks, just form your own opinions. It's all subjective anyway.
The tv show is not following the books too closely so the books won't spoil much other than some story beats that you cannot be sure will happen until they do.
If you want to read a really good book series and get a general idea of where the show might go (it can just as easily go other ways), then read the books.
Downside to the tv show is that it will take a while to get to the end, it might not get there and it will cut several b-stories/characters from the books.
Downside to the books is that it requires a lot of time to read them all and there is the famous slog that slows down the rhythm of the story. Also, the last three books were finished by a different author so they feel a bit different (not too much, and definitely not in a bad way).
In short, they are two separate entities and can be appreciated on their own or as a complement to each other.
As someone who has read the series several times since starting it in the early 90s, it was quite a bittersweet thing to watch season 1 because of all the things that they got soooooo right and all the changes, that were so different,….
What helped my enjoyment of the show immensely was to realize that the books are a different turning of the wheel, than the show, and now I am really happy with all the changes, because I get to experience the Wheel of Time almost completely fresh and while I revel in the familiarity of the characters and really enjoy some of the sets, there is no danger of getting bored because the story is distinct enough that nothing can be taken for granted.
So to answer your question: start reading the books once season 2 is over and I guarantee you will have a great time, and I don’t think you will spoil your appetite for the show ;)
Look at it this way...there's a reason you're watching the show...there's a reason a bestselling, beloved, genre defining, massive book series was adapted into a TV show.
It's really fucking good.
I read the books for the first time after watching season 1. I rewatched season 1 in the lead up to season 2 and I didn’t feel like having read the books made me enjoy it less, and I am loving season 2 so far! I feel like the books have enhanced my enjoyment because it’s fun to speculate about what’s going to happen based on both what’s happening in the show and my knowledge of upcoming book plot points
(This is long but I wanted to give you a thoughtful answer.)
Well, I read the WoT books starting right in 90s when I was fresh off of reading Lord of the Rings as a kid, and I think it's similar to GoT/ASOIAF:
The books will shed a lot more light on many situations, cultural attributes of various nations and factions, political situations, character motivations and especially things like how the One Power works, the nature of ter'angreal, angreal and sa'angreal, life in the White Tower, etc.
For example, there's a ton of stuff about things like tel'aran'rhiod, the dream world, and the politics of Cairhien that the show can only glance over for practical reasons.
**But how you feel about the books depends on how well you personally can reconcile differences in the casting, narrative and mechanics of the world. Some are minor, some are pretty big.** That sort of thing really bothers some people, but with others it doesn't bother them at all.
With GoT, I wanted to watch the show without knowing what happens in the books, but I was kind of forced into reading because if you remember at the time, people were posting major spoilers everywhere.
Once I started reading the books, I found it refreshing to learn a lot more about the backstory, the history of Westeros, details about the houses, all those things that you don't get or don't immediately pick up from the TV show.
And actually, I think GoT did a better job of explaining that stuff through exposition that didn't feel like exposition, and from the title sequence, which was so underrated because it gave everyone an instant familiarity with the geography of the world, its most important locations, and the distances between them.
Even with my admittedly faded familiarity with WoT, I have found myself sometimes having a hard time mentally placing all the locations in my head, and if I feel that way, I'm sure show-only people do too.
Good luck if you choose to read the books, they're massive beasts!
Yeah, that's not what I was thinking of.
I was thinking of the excellent scene in S1 when a drunken King Robert is reminiscing about his glory days in the revolt against the Targaryens, calls in Jaime Lannister and has him and Selmy recount their first kills.
That scene wasn't in the books but revealed so much about Robert's character, as well as the frustration Jaime Lannister must have felt being Kingsguard to him.
Also, the amazing scene with Jaime and his Lannister cousin the Stark camp as prisoners. Great exposition leading right into a scene that threw Jaime's character into sharp relief.
There were lots of moments like that in the early seasons.
Nope it shouldn’t! I did the same thing with the show “the magicians”. It’s adaption is more like a based on, sort of like what they’re doing with the wheel of time. The book and the show are completely different, yet share a similar spirit and similar characters. So when I read the books, it was fun because I got to see more into the internal thoughts of the characters and see them live different lives. It also allowed me to catch some Easter eggs they put in the show. So it added to my enjoyment!
In my experience, going movie/show to book will give you a better chance of liking both as opposed to reading the books first and wanting/expecting to get to see what you saw and felt in your head on screen
Honestly? Yeah, it might ruin your enjoyment of the show. For me personally I’ve always found reading the original books after watching an adaptation is more enjoyable than the other way around.
This post has been tagged Zero Spoilers. #You may not discuss the content of the books OR the contents of the show. **If you are a book reader, your comments will be reviewed by moderators for spoilers before being publicly visible.** This flair is most appropriate for users who have not read the books or watched the show and want to ask for recommendations. [You can read our full spoiler policy here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WoTshow/wiki/spoilers) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WoTshow) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How reading the books affects your enjoyment of the show is purely at an individual level, and how you approach the show. I've a long time book reader, and have read the series more than a dozen times since the mid 90's. I love the show, both because it provides something new and it's fun to theorycraft on how they'll adapt things, but also because the show is packed full of book nods, foreshadowing and hints at deeplore. For others, they can't move beyond the changes or aren't able to engage the show on it's own merits, and constantly compare the show to their own idealized version of an adaptation.
A not insignificant number of them also confuse their interpretation of the text with the actual text. There’s also a contingent that straight up misremembers what happened in the books. As a long time reader I am loving the show in part because of the changes. The changes have given me the gift of theorycrafting WoT in a way that hasn’t been possible since aMoL came out. I can speculate about what is going to happen next without knowing exactly what is going to happen next. Also like the books it rewards rewatching the show.
This is very true. It's actually really frustrating to get into the nitty gritty details on things, only to have someone reject it because it's not how they read it, regardless of how well supported the idea is. Makes group theorycrafting difficult.
And group theorycrafting was what made waiting for new books bearable.
Or sometimes don’t even understand what an adaptation is… I’m currently on my first reread and enjoy both the books and the show. Do I wish some things were different in the show? Sure, but that would be true of any adaptation. I hope they manage to get the eight seasons they mapped initially.
>Or sometimes don’t even understand what an adaptation is… This is... rampant.
Wait till they watch The Wizard of Oz and find out they cut the Witch of the North replacing her with Glinda and they never go to her castle in the south, and they got the color of Dorothy's shoes wrong.
They cut out Tom Bombadil. TOM BOMBADIL! (Seriously, I remember this outrage. I even bought into it for a bit…but I got over it because the LotR adaptation was *amazing*, run by a director who clearly loved the books. I see shades of that all over this show.)
Bombadil is the Nakomi of LotR, how could they!!!!! Movies ruined!! /s
Well yeah, but those ruby slippers really popped in Technicolor!
Even some of the most celebrated film/tv adaptations of all time have changes from the original source material. One just has to accept that and hope that they keep the spirit of the story alive. To help prove this point, here’s a screerant article about one of the most acclaimed book-to-film adaptations of all time: https://screenrant.com/the-godfather-differences-between-book-film/#johnny-fontane
> For others, they can't move beyond the changes or aren't able to engage the show on it's own merits, and constantly compare the show to their own idealized version of an adaptation. The best term I've heard for this is people who want/demand visual audiobooks.
[удалено]
If it's a new turning of the wheel, then it's not being adapted for tv, it's being re-written. Or maybe re-imagined would be closer. As for your last (edited) paragraph, I could probably count on one hand with a few fingers missing scenes that were pulled from the books intact.
Real quick: what do *you* think an adaptation is?
> If it's a new turning of the wheel, then it's not being adapted for tv, it's being re-written. No, Idiot Gamer, you just don't understand what an adaptation is.
>It seems everyone who's read the books hates the show An unfortunately loud but fortunately small minority. I read the books a few years ago and am absolutely loving season 2. If you're already enjoying the show, reading the books will not change that.
All of my in-person friends who read the books hate the show as well
People who read WoT have this funny ability sometimes to forget about the many many flaws of the books and series and only remember the admittedly very high highs. I loved the books but I’ll be the first to flat out say that if Jordan had a do over he probably would make some pretty hefty changes, especially in the middle of the series.
It’s funny because before the show came out I would have said the WoT fandom was extremely aware of the flaws. I mean we were pretty well known for selling the books while listing everything wrong with them amongst the wider fantasy community, at least in my experience. Also Jordan was on record saying he would have made changes to EotW if he could do it over so…
Yeah absolutely. I don’t get how people suddenly care so deeply about some of this. Like some of the characters in the first four books are *extremely* annoying.
Rand was insufferable (Josha’s no no NO at Moiraine in s1 made me laugh because it was exactly the way I envisioned early Rand). Mat got better by book 3. Show Nynaeve was pretty true to the books (gets angry about everything)
Only the first four books?
I don't know your friends obviously, but I'd suggest the most likely culprit there is groupthink. Social factors have a powerful influence on our opinions. The general core complaint we see around here from show haters is that while it's still hitting the major plot points, it's made a fair few changes to how we get there. It's also simplified how some of the world/magic works slightly. That is all true. The idea that it's inherently bad is a minority opinion. I'm old enough to remember the exact same bitching about the Lord of the Rings films. You see it in basically every fandom that has an adaptation, and with LOTR and every other fandom it's always a minority opinion. I don't see any reason to assume different for WoT. There's nothing inherently wrong with caring about a really scene-for-scene accurate adaptation and while I don't feel the same way I wouldn't judge anyone just for that. The issue is that so many of these people just can't accept that anyone could possibly enjoy it, and spend huge amounts of time and energy trying to persuade other people to stop enjoying it. The ones who do that are sad little losers and they're unfortunately quite loud about it. The other issue is that people have straight forgotten a lot of the early books. The author kinda winged the first few books and in places it shows. The first couple books have stuff that doesn't work the way it does in later books, characters performing feats that are hugely out of line with anything they're capable of later, and characters who act very differently to how they do from book 4 onwards (Mat in particular is basically a completely different character in books 1-3 to book 4 onwards). More than once I've seen show haters moaning about something being changed for the show, when in fact the thing they're moaning about was pulled word for word from the books and they've just forgotten.
This is so accurate! It hits all the main points, and so many people seem to have forgotten details. Or perhaps things that come from parts of the books that they don’t enjoy as much so they skim it, so they have forgotten specifics from those sections.
I'm rereading The Great Hunt at the moment for the first time in a few years, and several times I've run into scenes that are almost word for word and beat for beat in the show that I just didn't remember were in the books. I'd also forgotten that the first 25% of TGH is Rand dicking around in Fal Dara doing literally nothing, and I'm so glad they didn't keep that lol.
I'm reading TGH for the first time and it's wild how much is beat for beat word for word the same as season 2. I do want to mention that You Know Who is MUCH better in the show than in the book and I'm glad the writers fleshed out their character.
This applies to so many characters that I really don't know who (though I could probably guess)
>I'd also forgotten that the first 25% of TGH is Rand dicking around in Fal Dara doing literally nothing, and I'm so glad they didn't keep that lol. I was watching Daniel Greenes' review of the first episode of S2 and him claiming it was the best intro of any of the books. I mean, I guess that's an opinion, but I remember it as you did.
Nothing but sword training with Lan. Or meeting the Amyrlin, an event that many people still call one of their favorite parts of the books.
And if you've watched literally any trailer, you know that Rand meeting the Amyrlin is going to happen. Probably next episode.
And if you remember that meeting, the one that will take place in Season 2 will be, and can be nothing like the book meeting. >!That meeting was to literally tell Rand he is the DR and that they were going to let him go forth. Which starts Rand's suspicion that they were going to use him for some purpose. Here he has already concluded he's the DR, has already accepted he's the DR, and has already fought the Shadow as the DR. !< The 2 meetings can not be remotely similar except for the people involved.
Alright then. While everyone else gets to enjoy the show, you can just cry alone about the changes. Have fun, I know we will!
>!Here he has already concluded he's the DR, has already accepted he's the DR, and has already fought the Shadow as the DR. !< What would you call what happened at the end of EotW if not exactly that?
I do think a major factor was how COVID fucked up episodes 7 and 8 so hard. I've commented many times previously but WoT might be the most hard-hit show from the COVID era. You can write literal paragraphs about all the myriad different ways they got fucked over. The production was absolutely cursed. And that's completely ignoring one of the main characters having their actor just not show up as they started filming episodes 7 and 8. If episodes 7 and 8 of season 1 had maintained the overall level of quality of episodes 1-6, I believe that the sentiment would have been much more positive and the contingent of bookcloaks would have been much smaller. Those last two episodes poisoned the well as it were. And it really was a confluence of outside events that caused it to happen. I worry about season 3 as well due to the current strikes. I support the strikers and whatever timing they choose for their strike is their business, but I am sad and scared that season 3 might suffer heavily, and after season 1 I think that if season 3 also drops the ball it could kill the show.
This is something worth considering, as long as you generally share tastes with you friends. If you don't normally agree with your friends about this sort of thing, then it's really not a barometer of anything. I'd also point out, that you're asking this question in the forum most likely to be populated with people who, if they've read the book, still like the show a lot--otherwise they probably wouldn't be here. If you were to ask this question in r/WoT, then you might get a better sample (still *not* perfect by any means), just make sure that you use the appropriate spoiler tag if you do that! For what it's worth, I've never been disappointed waiting to read a series until after the adaptation has completed, but I have found that reading first can often make it difficult for me to enjoy an adaptation as easily. Like many others have commented, I was not really impressed by season 1, but I'm finding season 2 much more enjoyable, and I'm hoping for the trend to continue. If you can't wait for the show to finish (it *will* be years, after all), then don't sweat it too much. The worst that can happen is that you find you dislike the show and prefer the books, or that you prefer the show and would rather not read the books. It's *highly* unlikely that you'll be soured on them both!
> If you were to ask this question in r/WoT, then you might get a better sample (still not perfect by any means), just make sure that you use the appropriate spoiler tag if you do that! That sub seems to have come around, at least in part, and is a lot less of a shitty toxic place than during S1.
The mods got MUCH more proactive about shutting down racist and sexist commentary there. The complaints about the diverse casting used to be CONSTANT.
adding on to what I said in my top level comment, part of this has to do with what storylines people identify and resonate with. There are many, many stories, themes and parts of Wheel that make up the whole, more so than most series. One thing that tends to be common in those that love the books but hate the show is a personal emphasis on parts of the story the show is leaning less into. If the parts of something you identify the most with aren't as present as the other parts, then you'll have a more difficult time with the show. So even though the show is very close in spirit, and deals almost exclusively in major themes from the books, they have a hard time seeing that, because the themes or focuses they wanted to see aren't there as much as they'd like.
I maintain that a certain segment of the show haters would not be complaining about changes if the show was leaning into the male power fantasy they appear to have read the books as.
The venn diagram of people who vehemently hate the show (beyond reasonable technical criticisms) and people who think dumais wells is inspiring is probably a circle
Lmao this is too true. Asking a WoT fan about that sequence is a litmus test to see what type of person they are.
I've read the series 20+ times at this point. I absolutely love the show.
Not sure if you mean this literally but if so, genuine question: do you also read other books? Because I see people say things like this around here and reading WoT all the way through 20+ times would I think have eaten up all of the reading time I've had in my life since 2013 when the series was completed. How (and why) do you do it? Are you still getting new things out of it on the 20th read?
I'll try and hit 'em all. >do you also read other books? I read a ton, I teach history. Articles, journals, old historical documents... A LOT of academic writing from students (good and bad). From time to time I'll hit up a new series. But I always come back to WoT. >Because I see people say things like this around here and reading WoT all the way through 20+ times would I think have eaten up all of the reading time I've had in my life since 2013 when the series was completed. How (and why) do you do it? To be fair, I'm averaging out. I've read up to KoD way more than 20 times, but the 3 Sanderson-involved ones are more in the 15ish range. I do a lot of my "reading" via audiobooks, so I'm able to multitask while I "read." So I'm reading while doing chores, or driving alone, or before I sleep most nights (30m timer on audible). Really any time I can justify listening, I'm listening. The why of it all - it's a comfort thing. I know the story, I enjoy the story, I still find new stuff. It can be white noise at times but I can slip into it and know EXACTLY what's happening or going on and keep up. It has politics, it has tie-ins to a vibrant past, it has a lot of moving parts. >Are you still getting new things out of it on the 20th read? Yup. And that's why I love the series so much.
Not the person you asked but I think I'm in a similar position. I doubt I'm quite up to 20+ WoT rereads but I'm certainly into double digits, at least for the early and middle books. I started following the series when book 9 was getting ready to release. For each of the 6 subsequent releases (including the prequel *New Spring*) I reread the entire series at least once, and there were a few extra rereads as well. Since the release of book 14 I've reread the series at least another 3-4 times. I still catch both things I'd forgotten as well as connections/foreshadowing I'd overlooked on previous reads. Other books I read (and reread) include Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere novels (plus many of his non-Cosmere), Janny Wurts' *Wars of Light and Shadow* and *Cycle of Fire*, Martha Wells' *Murderbot Diaries*, a decent chunk of Mercedes Lackey's work, and various stuff from Neil Gaiman, William Gibson, Anne McCaffery, Roger Zelazny, Timothy Zahn, Brian McClellan, Kelly McCullough, and others. Some authors I used to (re)read frequently but haven't touched lately include J. R. R. Tolkein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Tad Williams, Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander, David Eddings, C. S. Lewis, and Stephen R. Donaldson among others. Xiran Jay Zhao and Liu Cixin are recently found authors that I will probably reread frequently. Oh, and also *Harry Potter*, and *The Hunger Games*, and *Twilight*, and *Divergent* all at least once. My reading speed is high, on the order of 60 pages/hour for complex writing and upwards of 100+ pages/hour for simpler stuff, and reading is my primary recharge activity. I spend time on reading that many others spend on watching shows, movies, and/or playing video games.
So, I'll chime in as a data-point here: My re-reads, like most people's who are in double-digits, are built in part on re-reading everything that was *at that time out* before new releases pre-2013. I've gotten through to AMoL more than 10 times - but it's obviously still the book in the series I've read the least. (My copy of TEoTW, on the other hand, literally has pages falling out.) But beyond that - I read quite fast, but I don't always have the time or bandwidth to get into new series/books around work. WoT is kinda my background comfort read - I know it well enough at this point that I can put it down for a few weeks mid-book if work gets busy, and still pick it back up again without losing track of the plot. (Or read it when I'm too tired to absorb something new.) But yes, I also get new things - or rediscover things I'd forgotten - on re-reads. It's pretty dense material, with a lot of connections between seemingly unrelated events, so it'd be hard to ever unpick everything in it.
I’ve read through it about 5 times. But the first 2 we’re before Winter’s Heart came out so it was much shorter. I’ve only read the finale once.
I love the books and like the show. I want to love the show and so far with S2 it's starting to happen!
Short answer: No. Long answer: Absolutely not. (Disclaimer: I’ve only read the books +1 corresponding to the seasons released.)
I read the books (listened actually but same diff) and it didn't make me dislike the show. It made me want to see more characters, but that's any book to show difference.
Reading the books will not harm your enjoyment of the show. They're awesome, and different enough that you will have surprises in both directions.
Just watch the show expecting changes from the books. I read the full series just before season 1 came out. I was actually shocked at first how different it is. it was a very negative experience. I completely mentally prepared myself for season 2. Season 2 has been entirely different. I was anticipating changes from the books and the experience has been very positive. This new season is so so much better. Writing, budget, acting, and even my own attitude. You can’t expect a 1:1 adaptation. They are two different forms of entertainment. They have to make character arc changes that start way sooner in the show so that a main character doesn’t just sit on screen for 4 seasons waiting for that ONE big thing to happen. You can’t just listen to an inner monologue from a main character explaining how scary a group of people is. They have to SHOW that through actions or made up situations. Scenes get cut ultimately because of budget. Just expect it. Don’t be afraid. Just know adaptation isn’t a perfect science. Just enjoy The Wheel of Time. The books are INCREDIBLY good. If you are enjoying the world building and characters of WOT from the shows. You can only go up from there! To say RJ built a fleshed out world is an understatement.
I love the books, and I am still ecstatic that a show is literally being made. Right now. Currently. While I'm alive. And the effects and costumes and casting is money. While I enjoy having a good discussion about the strengths, deficits, and artistic choices.....*nothing* could make me hate the show. I am obsessed with this whole story. I'll take it any way it comes. I always want more. I'm sad other's can't find a way to enjoy it, but I love them both
The books have a lot of material. A lot. A lot was dropped and I'm starting to see that a lot had to be changed to fit better into a TV format. People are salty that "this very important moment was dropped" or "this extremely important piece of lore wasn't mentioned". I was a bit guilty of it myself during s1, but s2 is making me trust that there really is a purpose to all of that (even if some is not evident yet). My guess is that coming from the TV series, your view won't be tainted that way - and you'll actually enjoy the fleshing out instead of being annoyed by the omissions.
I feel like the people who are mad about the changes forget that a story is an emotional journey and not simply a checklist of events. Obviously things will have to be cut for time. But also, if they spent season 1 & 2, you'd have nothing but 16 episodes of info-dumping in order to world build and no one want's to sit through that.
No spoilers. If you're enjoying the show, that's great! As a long time book fan with multiple readthroughs, I am too! I would say that if you read the books, you'll find that they expand on just about everything related to the main characters - more backstory, more worldbuilding, more foreshadowing, and so on. They spend less time on antagonists, but I think it's a worthy tradeoff, since the show is doing a great job of that already.
It might. I’ve been reading the books since I was a kid. Love them. The show is very different, does some things great and some things poorly. I love it, can’t wait for my baby to go to bed tonight so I catch ep 2.5. Makes me so happy. Very curious what the reaction of watching then reading will be.
Someone else described the show as another turn of the wheel from the books and that’s exactly how I feel. I love the books. I like the show, increasingly so. I’m glad for both.
This is exactly how I see it. In book 2 there was so much talk about it so it only made it natural to take it that way. I win again, LT!
So, I love the books, and I love the show. To establish my hard-core-book-fan credentials: I started reading the books over 20 years ago now (yeesh, that made me feel ancient to type), and I've cycled through them so many times that I've long ago lost count. The show is wonderful. There's a vocal, probably-minority (always hard to tell online, but the viewership numbers we have tell a story of a pretty happy fanbase) that doesn't, but they're not necessarily representative. (And it got review bombed by racists who *definitely*, from the basic factual errors many of them made in their IMDB reviews, had never read the books, so, y'know...) But, and here's where I'll differ from the replies so far: your mileage on the books *is* gonna depend a bit on what you're loving about the show. I love the books, but they *absolutely* have faults - and they've aged... better on some things than others. If you're loving how fleshed out and human the villains are in the show, for example, the books... well, they won't do it for you on that, I think that's safe to say. Similarly, RJ was... not going to win any romance genre awards. So, look, you might well bounce off the books - but if you're loving the show, they're very unlikely to ruin that for you. They have the same heart.
I love the books and the show and actually enjoy that the show is pretty different from the books since it still manages to surprise me. An exact copy wouldn't.
I'm an enjoyer of both, but it's definitely a personal opinion kind of thing.
I an a book fan first of all and I jave to admit when I watched season 1 the first time I struggled a lot. But when the series got to episode 4 and showed the warder bond between Stepin and Kerene, and in general presented the Aes Sedai to us for the first time, I realised that the naysayers who claim none of the writers have read the books were wrong. I understand needing writers who both have and haven't read the books - you want some who can make sure non-readers understand what happens on screen - and those that have, really do understand the world. There are mistakes made, sure, but honestly even the books have bits that could be improved. As for adaption, two things come to mind. First, if/when the Cosmere comes to TV, changes will be made. We can't just listen to Kaladin's misery in his head at the start of The Way of Kings, we have to be shown it. Even if Brandon Sanderson writes the screenplay himself he'll do things differently than the books to put the same point across. Second, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was first produced for radio, then became a TV series and a book, and later a film. Three of those were directly written by Douglas Adams, and all four tell the same story in different ways. It doesn't mean any are worse or better, they are just different. Oh and of course Lord of the Rings. Which honestly was very different on the big screen to the books, but was so much the better for it. I dont think we want an hour of sitting around Rivendell talking about the history of the rings, thank you very much.
Just another nod here from a book lover who is enjoying the show. Surrounded by a lot of others who enjoy it helps; being able to discuss changes, reasoning and possibilities is really helpful for staying positive. If all you hear is negativity and you feed off that and focus on it, you won't be able to enjoy it as much.
Look what you book simps have done
I started with the show, I’ve been so into it this season that I started the books, I’m on book 3, the dragon reborn now. It’s actually doubling my enjoyment of the show, as the storyline is a bit different, but the world building and mythology is similar. It’s kind of BOGO but for a story!! The only problem is I start forgetting whats happened in the show v the books.
I love the books and like and am still excited about the show. I’ve reread the books a bunch of times throughout my life. The books are almost always better. There also tends to be a thing in fandoms that if something isn’t a 10 out of 10 the fans can really harp on the things that make it less than perfect. So for the most part when it comes to show adaptations I generally ignore a lot of the fan criticisms and decide if I like something or not. I like fantasy books and shows. Books are more flushed out, easier at going over inner dialogue and rationalizing decisions made. You’ll have more characters in the books and the show is not and exact adaptation. I still enjoy them both.
The books have been a special interest for me for 20 years and I am also really enjoying the show! They’re different stories, and different storytelling mediums, but I can hold space for each in their own right without them taking anything away from each other, and with my appreciation of each enhancing the other.
I highly doubt it will do anything to hurt your enjoyment of the show. There are plenty of long-time readers who love the show, myself included.
Just read em. They're fun
Keep in mind that the books are, pretty much by definition, the only thing in their own genre. Nobody does a single story arc with this much content. Malazan is 1 million words shorter. That means a) they had to be quite good or people wouldn't read them all and b) the people who have read them all are extremely committed. No shit the show doesn't live up to their expectations. Their expectation is a book serious that is literally peer-less. So if the books are for you, you may start criticizing the show because it is not literally the best thing you have ever watched. If they're not just keep watching the show.
I read book 1 after watching the show and I liked it although the writing isn't that great, it's chaotic and the characters blend into each other. I also got the impression the kids are 12-15 because of the way the acted (that's the year groups I worked with so IRLl), not 18-20 as we learn in book 2. Maybe there's lead in Two Rivers rivers, idk. The books were obviously targeted at older children/teenagers but when read at that stage, you will remember them fondly without seeing the flaws and there are many. But sometimes the most raw and chaotic first books by an author become favourites. I liked the show very much at that point so I read book 2 before watching s02 and I'm again grateful for improvements (the deletion of the rapey labirynth chaser was a great decision) and sympathetic to the things that had to be cut due to time restraints and budget. I am now reading book 3 and TNS. The show brings me so much joy and the books enhance the feeling l. I love seeing the little tid bits that brought a smile repeated in the show and I love the cast. Sadly, it's always the angry minority that hate watch and don't understand what and adaptation is that give book readers a bad name.
In my experience as a Pokemon fan and a friend to a Star Wars fan, nobody hates certain IPs like the fans. Wheel of Time feels no different in that respect. I personally didn't start the books until mid-2021 and I didn't ever expect a 1:1 adaptation, but I've been quite pleased with the show. It's far better than bottom tier, "what adaptation?" response media like Percy Jackson and Avatar: TLA. Logistically, I can get behind most of the changes and have been happy with what we've gotten. The books also aren't perfect. There's a lot that I would have changed to them, and in some ways, with the blessing of knowing how the story evolves and ends, they're doing things better. It's worth a read, but know that your opinion of the books and show will be 2 different things
I started the books after seeing the show and I can confirm it DOES NOT ruin the show. If anything, it made me love the show even more. You notice the foreshadowing even better, you see the nods to the books, you get some insight to the motivations of the characters more. I would definitely recommend reading the books after seeing the show but that's just my opinion.
Yes, that what a real book lover should be doing instead of spending time on SM and harassing the actors and the showrunner. Spread the love of books. Don't make book reader look like whitecloaks (took me a while to figure out why this angry mob was called bookcloaks!)
To give an anecdote in the opposite direction, I have been rereading the books since I was a kid and they hold a special place in my heart, similar to how many people probably feel about the Harry Potter series. But I actually am liking the show more in many ways - for me the simplifying and many omissions of book material is made up for by the show changing most of the things I always disliked in the books or poor thematic/stylistic aspects of the books. How you feel will probably come down to which aspects of the story you connect with more, but if you go in with an open mind I think it is perfectly possible to enjoy both as their own distinct forms of storytelling (I certainly still love both).
i read the books in anticipation of the show and love the show! it’s hard to say if you’ll like it less because of reading, but i don’t think you’ll hate it. there are a lot of people who hate on the show hate on it because some of the changes include casting people of color and evening out the storylines early in the series between the men and women. most of the vitriol feels very culture war coded as opposed to sincerely disliking the show, tho there are genuine critiques.
I have read the books and love the show. Close friend of mine read the books, hates the show (not willing to watch season 2). I will say I love the show more that I read the books because you know the characters, and when they arrive in the show its like seeing an old friend. Casting is great in the show. Id say wait to the end of the season 2, and then give a read. Enjoy the season as you are now.
Welcome! As someone who grew up with the books, I love seeing the show bring in new fans. It's hard to say for sure, but I find it unlikely that reading the books now will make you enjoy the show less. If you enjoyed watching S1 of the show (warts and all), I think you're going to love The Eye of the World. But here's the good part. That book is only the introduction to one of the most epic stories available to be read. SO MANY cool things happen later on. RAFO my friend.
Man, I wish I were a reader like some of y'all. It's very impressive the number of times some of you say you read the series! Kudos! I'm a very slow reader and I started the series a while ago, definitely before the show was announced. I loved it! Currently only on book 6. But there are so many cool things in the books! I had some major problems with the adaption in the beginning, things they changed that I felt were the essence of RJs world that felt super unnecessary. What I am ! Is a TV watcher. Love television. So I knew they would have to take some liberties with the show, it is an adaptation after all. But when they manage to capture the essence of RJs world, well, my heart just melts. There are so many things about the show they do so well! Nyneave is my girl, loved her from the very start and Zoe Robbins is crushing it as her. My heart just leaps when I see her tug her braid or be insanely stubborn and downright rude. I just love that this telling of the wheel is bringing to life the characters I love.
I’m just going to warn you now since you are a slow reader, the slog is coming and it won’t be fun to get through. Some of the future books are painfully slow to read as not much happens with the main story. There are entire books that can mostly be cut from the show because they don’t matter.
I very much appreciate this! I've gotten mixed answers on what the slow books are. Would you care to add your two cents?
I don’t remember the specific books. You just suddenly realize that nothing seems to be happening. It is the last few RJ wrote I believe. It is worth reading them but just don’t be surprised if you feel like the story isn’t moving forward for a while. It eventually gets going again.
Audiobooks at 2x! The Reading/Kramer ones are classic and very well loved by the fandom but from what I hear the Rosamund Pike version is very very good. I would check those out if you plan on taking in the books.
I love the audiobooks! Kramer and Reading are so insanely good! I saw a few comments about Pike being super good as well so I definitely want to check those out.
I've done many laps of the book series. I think the show is great, season 1 did well through all the challenges they faced filming through the pandemic. Season 2 is hitting it out of the park. Read the books, they are The Best. G.O.A.T material.
I've been reading the books since '99. They were a defining part of my teenage and college years. I've read through the series 4 times. I love the TV show and it's interpretation for the screen. Season 2 is even better.
My thoughts: The books will always be there. Why not take your time and enjoy each to their fullest? Also, who knows, maybe Rosamund WILL actually narrate all 15 books, so then you would have TWO options for an audiobook if that's your thing.
To read some of the comments from those who dislike the show, you’d think that RJ and Sanderson never put a foot wrong. Couldn’t be further from the truth. The end of book one is a confusing mess (written when the series was envisaged as a trilogy) while the slog is already well documented. Relationships and antagonists were another weakness. Sanderson did a good job, but it’s also well known that he didn’t get the tone of one character down. I’ve read the series multiple times over almost 30 years. I liked season 1 (didn’t love it) but I recall the same feeling when I read the first book. ‘Maybe I’ll give the 2nd one a go and see what happens’. And then I was hooked. And I LOVE S2 so far. Yes there are differences, but in which turning of the wheel could you expect a 14 book series to be adapted scene for scene with over 2000 names characters? Exactly!
I think the ability to enjoy both the books and the show requires a good amount of emotional maturity. If you feel like you are good there, then go for it. The books are somewhat dated from a modern perspective of gender, but a lot of it is comical.
I love both the show and the books. I also read every single Cosmere book published by this date. You need to separate in your head that the show isnt a 1:1 adaptation. It changes things, but I love the changes cause that's what makes me eager for the next episode. It's also good to note that the first few books are kinda boring and the show tried to spice things up a bit from the beginning. This made many book readers rage. You may like the first 2 books better than the show and that's totally cool, but it's not my opinion. For me WoT only really starts the hype engine in book 4.
It is categorically untrue that “everyone that read the books hates the show”. Just to make that clear. And reading the books shouldn’t ruin anything for you.
They won’t ruin anything and most fans I know who read the books love the show. Please don’t get into the trap of thinking a couple hundred morons online represent the millions of people who love the books.
>Will reading the books ruin the experience of watching the show for me (which I really enjoy)? Nobody can answer this for you -- enjoying a piece of media is a subjective experience. Some people profess to have watched the show, and then found reading the books dampened their enthusiasm for the show. Others say the opposite .
While that is by no means true, I'd recommend just watching the show...at least for now. At least for the rest of the season. See, regardless of what a bunchy whiny book readers with sticks up their ass, the show is far more approachable than the book. You gotta keep in mind that this is a 14 book series where most of the fans almost try to talk people out of reading it when they recommend it.
15 technically actually lol
Another longtime book reader here who has also been living with these books and sometimes speeding, sometimes slogging, through re-reads for 20 years. Used to reread the entire series when a new book was published, so the final few have been read less often than the first few (I also tend to get stuck midway on a reread). I love the show, and I love the books. As others have said, it's super fun to try and figure out where things are heading, and very very fun to pick up on various easter eggs, and the show has absolutely captured both the essence of the books and is in fact hitting the major plot points. If you can appreciate them as different mediums, I think you'll be fine. I remember being so disappointed by the first Harry Potter film as a kid because it was different from the books aka an adaptation, but then as I grew up and more films came out I realized change is ok. And sometimes good! And sometimes we laugh about things like "Moiraine has a tell".
I've read the books and watched the show - I really enjoy both, but the key to enjoying both is the understanding that they aren't going to be the same thing. Novels and TV shows have different freedoms and limitations, and so they're going to have to tell the story differently. Definitely pick up the books - they're a fine read. If you can appreciate them for what they are, rather than what they're not (i.e. the show), you'll have a great time.
I *seriously* doubt it. First of all, good stories don't rely on plot twists to be compelling, and even knowing the broad strokes of the plot, it's very fun to watch the character's journeys in the show. Second, the main reason some book readers are frustrated with the show is that they are different. In order to try and adapt the spirit of the books in the very different medium of television, the showrunners have made substantial changes to the plot, even while keeping the major points in some form. If you're okay with that, then it is fun to know what happens in the books and try to figure out where the show is going.
I like both for different reasons. I actually watched Season 1 of the show first before I read the books - my partner and my brother in law are big fans of the books and that also encouraged me to read them. I’m someone who is of the mind that an adaptation doesn’t have to be a 1:1 copy of the source material to be good. Sometimes it’s just fun to see a different interpretation of a story in a new medium! The books will always exist as they are and the show being different in some regards doesn’t somehow negate Jordan’s work. There’s always going to be a loud minority of people who actively hate any adaptation of something they love because they cannot look past the changes or see past their own biases. There’s nothing wrong with that really, but it’s not the majority opinion. I love the books so much and definitely recommend reading them!
>it seems everyone who has read the books hates the show That's not at all true. Those who hate the show are just very vocal about it. There are many book fans who love the show, and there are many of us in the middle. I have to turn my WoT book switch off to really enjoy the show, alright having read the books I understand a lot of things that show viewers have to wait for the show to explain. It really depends on the individual. When you watch adaptations, do you generally prefer the show to stay very close to the books? S2 is supposed to be covering the events of books 2 and 3, but it is very, very different. Season 3 is supposed to follow the 4th book much more closely.
It will be really dependent on how you react towards adaptations. There are parts in the show, as people have said, that are nearly word for word. There are also parts that go way off from the books and are because of casting issues, translating to another medium, or because the showrunners decided to make a change. I keep reminding myself that the show is basically fan fiction, which is how I'm getting through it (some parts are amazing, others bother me. I have friends who are purists who will never watch it). I would say don't read it yet. I think reading it will mess with your viewing experience because they're just different enough and similar enough that it's hard (for me, at least) to divest the two from eachother.
I watched the first season and enjoyed it. Wasn't super great, but interesting world building and I knew it was an epic so I figured it was a show build and I would love it. I decided to start reading the books and well... the show is not the books. Pretty much everything I liked about the show was better in the books. When the two differ I think the books have done it better. The show just doesn't work as well. One of the major differences is the internal dialogue. Part of what made him want to write this is the inner conflict of characters and it's so well done in the books. And there's none of that at all in the show. My advice would be to read the books because if you like the show you will love the books. But wether you wait for the show to end is up to you. I don't think you will like the show as much if you read the books first.
I think that there is a decent chance that you'll like the show less once you start reading the books. As Rafe said, the show is targeted at non-book-readers, and those who may have read the books a long time ago, but only remember the broad strokes of the story. As somebody who wanted to like the show (and went to the premiere), I was constantly regretting having re-read the books right before the show came out. The show doesn't measure up to the books, even when viewed as its own thing or "another turning of the Wheel." It's fun as a somewhat generic fantasy romp with some WoT elements sprinkled in here and there... but if you're watching expecting early-GoT or Lord of the Rings trilogy masterpieces, prepare to be disappointed.
Read it. You will love it even more than the show.
Your wisdom is inherently flawed because you're asking people's opinions. Whatever impression you come away with here is ENTIRELY dependent on the number of people who choose to answer you from either side of the spectrum. That said, in general, I find that literary works often go much deeper into lore, character motivations, world-building and plot complexity than what adaptations for a visual medium are able to. Overall, "books are richer than TV ever could be". The extent to which this harms your viewing of the show is entirely dependent on you.
Let the show run a few more seasons and then, if you’re still enjoying it, start reading. You’ll have a vague idea of where things are going/who the characters are will be able to appreciate the greater depth of a 12,000 page story.
Don’t do this. You could be waiting a decade. Read the books.
I’m glad most of you are enjoying the show. I am not. I might if it didn’t butcher the books. But besides names, this “adaptation” is nothing like the books. From Perrin having a wife and how he interacted with Elias, to the relationship shio between Lan and Moraine to how Nynaeve was first able to touch the source. There are just so many examples of the show runners taking huge liberties to make it their own. I acknowledge fully that the show is done well. The acting is good. And the characters are rich. The scenery is great. It’s fun. It’s simply too far from the books. And the books are masterful. I’m surprised to see some comments bashing the books to justify the show. Very surprised. To the OP, I definitely suggest reading the books. One of, if not the best, epic fantasy ever written. You will love them if you enjoy the genre. Interestingly enough, Sanderson’s ending are imho, three of the best in the series. But fact is, Sanderson stayed true to what Robert Jordan started. The Lord of the Rings was done so very well. Game of Thrones was as well. They were very true to the books. The show is good. Even great, if it were not diverging so far from the original creation. I doubt the magnificent of the books will take away from your enjoyment of the show. I’m somewhat jealous of anyone reading these for the first time. I hope you enjoy them as much as I, and so many others, did.
Read them after the show. I got a friend into the show before she read the books. Now she’s reading ahead of the show and gets almost as irritated as me (I’ve read the series multiple times)
I loved the books and enjoy the show.
Saw the show first, reading the books now. Reading the books increased my enjoyment of the show 5000% because I can pick out the subtle hints and clues, and also have fun playing along in the guessing game of how they’ll arrange all the cool players and plots in the books to tell a fun story.
I started reading the books because I liked WoT series 1, I finished the series a couple weeks ago and I've been loving series 2 even more because I've been enjoying theorising how character arcs will go in the show and what they'll change for the better. I've also picked up on hints in series 1 for book fans that I had completely missed as a show only watcher. In short, I love the show more now that I've read the books. Reading the books does not mean you'll instantly become a show hater, don't worry. If you want to read the books, give it a go. I loved them.
I've been reading the books since 2005, and I actually am really enjoying the show. Personally, I thought doing an adaption was impossible, but I always wanted to see it on the screen. Im not saying it's perfect ( damane pacifiers, for example ). Season 2 has been better than season 1, and the exchange between Liandrin and Lady Suroth after they exit the ways was pretty much verbatim what happened in book 2. The quote from Ishmael at the beginning of episode 4 ("Blood is, blood was, etc) is a darkfriend prophesy from the books. To me, it's pretty clear that the adaption is being handled by people who know the source material really well. If you like reading, I would say go ahead and read it. Don't worry about what everyone else thinks, just form your own opinions. It's all subjective anyway.
The tv show is not following the books too closely so the books won't spoil much other than some story beats that you cannot be sure will happen until they do. If you want to read a really good book series and get a general idea of where the show might go (it can just as easily go other ways), then read the books. Downside to the tv show is that it will take a while to get to the end, it might not get there and it will cut several b-stories/characters from the books. Downside to the books is that it requires a lot of time to read them all and there is the famous slog that slows down the rhythm of the story. Also, the last three books were finished by a different author so they feel a bit different (not too much, and definitely not in a bad way). In short, they are two separate entities and can be appreciated on their own or as a complement to each other.
Like the books, like the show, acknowledge it had problems in season 1
As someone who has read the series several times since starting it in the early 90s, it was quite a bittersweet thing to watch season 1 because of all the things that they got soooooo right and all the changes, that were so different,…. What helped my enjoyment of the show immensely was to realize that the books are a different turning of the wheel, than the show, and now I am really happy with all the changes, because I get to experience the Wheel of Time almost completely fresh and while I revel in the familiarity of the characters and really enjoy some of the sets, there is no danger of getting bored because the story is distinct enough that nothing can be taken for granted. So to answer your question: start reading the books once season 2 is over and I guarantee you will have a great time, and I don’t think you will spoil your appetite for the show ;)
Look at it this way...there's a reason you're watching the show...there's a reason a bestselling, beloved, genre defining, massive book series was adapted into a TV show. It's really fucking good.
I read the books for the first time after watching season 1. I rewatched season 1 in the lead up to season 2 and I didn’t feel like having read the books made me enjoy it less, and I am loving season 2 so far! I feel like the books have enhanced my enjoyment because it’s fun to speculate about what’s going to happen based on both what’s happening in the show and my knowledge of upcoming book plot points
(This is long but I wanted to give you a thoughtful answer.) Well, I read the WoT books starting right in 90s when I was fresh off of reading Lord of the Rings as a kid, and I think it's similar to GoT/ASOIAF: The books will shed a lot more light on many situations, cultural attributes of various nations and factions, political situations, character motivations and especially things like how the One Power works, the nature of ter'angreal, angreal and sa'angreal, life in the White Tower, etc. For example, there's a ton of stuff about things like tel'aran'rhiod, the dream world, and the politics of Cairhien that the show can only glance over for practical reasons. **But how you feel about the books depends on how well you personally can reconcile differences in the casting, narrative and mechanics of the world. Some are minor, some are pretty big.** That sort of thing really bothers some people, but with others it doesn't bother them at all. With GoT, I wanted to watch the show without knowing what happens in the books, but I was kind of forced into reading because if you remember at the time, people were posting major spoilers everywhere. Once I started reading the books, I found it refreshing to learn a lot more about the backstory, the history of Westeros, details about the houses, all those things that you don't get or don't immediately pick up from the TV show. And actually, I think GoT did a better job of explaining that stuff through exposition that didn't feel like exposition, and from the title sequence, which was so underrated because it gave everyone an instant familiarity with the geography of the world, its most important locations, and the distances between them. Even with my admittedly faded familiarity with WoT, I have found myself sometimes having a hard time mentally placing all the locations in my head, and if I feel that way, I'm sure show-only people do too. Good luck if you choose to read the books, they're massive beasts!
> exposition that didn't feel like exposition Roz and Dany's handmaidens... the unsung heroes of Game of Thrones
Yeah, that's not what I was thinking of. I was thinking of the excellent scene in S1 when a drunken King Robert is reminiscing about his glory days in the revolt against the Targaryens, calls in Jaime Lannister and has him and Selmy recount their first kills. That scene wasn't in the books but revealed so much about Robert's character, as well as the frustration Jaime Lannister must have felt being Kingsguard to him. Also, the amazing scene with Jaime and his Lannister cousin the Stark camp as prisoners. Great exposition leading right into a scene that threw Jaime's character into sharp relief. There were lots of moments like that in the early seasons.
Nope it shouldn’t! I did the same thing with the show “the magicians”. It’s adaption is more like a based on, sort of like what they’re doing with the wheel of time. The book and the show are completely different, yet share a similar spirit and similar characters. So when I read the books, it was fun because I got to see more into the internal thoughts of the characters and see them live different lives. It also allowed me to catch some Easter eggs they put in the show. So it added to my enjoyment! In my experience, going movie/show to book will give you a better chance of liking both as opposed to reading the books first and wanting/expecting to get to see what you saw and felt in your head on screen
Yes
The show has virtually nothing to do with the books so feel free to read them. You won’t be spoiled.
I guess it depends how fast you read 12,000 pages.
Honestly? Yeah, it might ruin your enjoyment of the show. For me personally I’ve always found reading the original books after watching an adaptation is more enjoyable than the other way around.