Coming out November 19th on Amazon Prime, there is going to be a Wheel of Time show. This is a very ambitious project that I’ve talked about a little bit before. It was only a brief write-up though when it comes to a very epic story. You can read about that here. So, I think it’s time that we dive into the world of the Wheel of Time, so you have a bit of an idea before the show comes.

What Is The Wheel of Time

The Wheel of Time is a series that was written by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson from 1990 to 2013. Robert Jordan passed away before he could finish writing the series. Knowing that he wasn’t likely to, he took notes and planned it out so someone else could. Brandon Sanderson, writer of things like the Stormlight Archives and The Reckoners was tasked to do that.

The Wheel of Time is an epic fantasy series following a main group of characters, that grows and changes as the series goes. It mainly focuses on a group of kids/young adults from Emond’s Field in the Two Rivers, and their adventures as they go out into the larger world after they fall under the eyes of the dark one. And their lives are spun into the Wheel of Time.

That’s very general idea of the plot. Without going too deep into it, there is magic, there is darkness, there is romance, back stabbing, and wolves. There’s high adventure, legends coming to live, and a very involved world which you’d expect from a series with 14 books or 15 if you count the prequel. There is even a character sent on a mission that never comes back because there are so many characters.

What is the Show?

So the show is going to be an adaptation on this series. Thankfully the series takes place over quite a long period of time in the world. That means that as the show spans years and actors get older it is going to work. This is almost a bigger scope, I’d say, than something like Game of Thrones, but it’s generally going to be on that scale. This is going to be more of an epic adventure with political intrigue kind of in a backdrop.

Key Wheel of Time Players

Rand al’Thor

From the Two Rivers and Emond’s Field, Rand grew up on the farm with his father. His mother is an outlander and Rand stands out a bit from everyone. He’s one of the characters who the Dark Lord takes note of. The story and the Wheel of Time spin around him more than most of the other characters, though they all have their moments to shine.

Perrin Aybara

Perrin also comes from Emond’s Field. The blacksmiths apprentice, he is slow to speak but very quite smart, just not ready to rush in. He has some interesting times as he meets up with some wolves that influence and change his life. His path leads him back to Emond’s Field more often, but still travels and explores the world.

Matrim Cauthon

The final of the boys from Emond’s Field. Mat is the light hearted one. He plays jokes, he is impulsive, and that often gets him into trouble. It really changes him early on in the series when he comes cross something as they leave Emond’s Field to escape the Dark Lord.

Moiraine Damodred

Moiraine is an Ais Sedai from Tar Valon. They are the magic users, the female half of the one power, which has not been tainted by the dark one. She comes to Emond’s Field, drawn by the weaving of the wheel of time and the hope for saving the world from the Dark Lord. She is the one who helps the boys on the run with her warder Lan

Lan

Moiraine’s Warder. He is very stoic and while a caring man, he doesn’t show emotions. As a Warder he is connected with Moiraine and when she dies, he will die, not immediately, but soon. He helps train and protect the boys and the others from Emond’s Field.

Egwene el’Vara

Egwene is the daughter of the Mayor. She’s head strong and loves adventure. When the boys are slipping out of Emond’s Field, she follows them and joins their adventure. While she is not as tightly wound into the wheel of time, she plays an important role in helping them complete their missions and it wouldn’t be possible without her. She never loses that sense of adventure but does mature throughout the series.

Nyneave al’Meara

Nyneave is the wisdom of Emond’s Field. The wisdom is basically a herbalist and healer of the town. They are considered to be wise in those arts and generally considered to be a stable force in the town. Generally they lead or are an important part of the women’s circle. Nyneave is young and a bit hot headed to be a normal wisdom. She doesn’t join the group immediately but is a major player.

Now, there are many more players in the Wheel of Time. In fact, there are too many to really talk about, because like I said, it’s 14 books. Not all 2782 of them are throughout the whole story though. These characters are all important, through most of the story if not all of it. But like Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time is not always shy about killing off characters.

What Are My Thoughts on the Books?

I am not going to do any spoilers here. I could, but I think it’s more useful to have an idea of the feel of the series and my thoughts on that. The series is interesting, I am not going to call it great, and I am not going to call it bad. It does a few things that are fairly standard for a lot of these epic fantasy stories coming from that time. And the story is very long.

I think the audiobooks, not counting the prequel story are going to take about 400 hours, which is very long. Needless to say with me listening to it now, I’ll maybe be on book two or three when the series starts. I think that the show is going to be quite good. There is a ton of information and story to use in the show. I hope they cut it down a long ways, and I think they will. The first book with everything that happens could be feature length movies and probably five of them.

Normally I want a story to stay true to the story. And with Wheel of Time I do want it to stay close. But I want it to tighten up the story. The story is epic, the characters are interesting. A few things need to change because it gets too long and too repetitive. Now that I have all of it on Audible audiobook, I can imagine that I will come back to these books often.

Have You Read The Wheel Of Time Series?

Let me know your thoughts on the series? Do you think this will be a good show? What do you think of the trailer?

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