The Shadow Rising also has the Battle of the Two Rivers at the end. It's my favourite book and the Glass Column chapters are my favourite from the entire series. Everything you learn is just mind blowing.
Egwene in The Gathering Storm, when she rose to defend the White Tower i literally had tears in my eyes reading this, it was just so beautiful and epic! But what really makes WoT shine is that even with minor main Characters you spent more time with them over the span of the 14 Books than you would do with the main Character of a regular series. Combine all chapters with him alone and Mat for example would have enough page count for a full trilogy. I only wish that Perrin would have accepted himself earlier, seeing a full power perrin earlier on would have been amazing!
I like your overall ranking. I think I’d have ranked many of them like you on my first read. On re-read, you may find that the earlier books (1-5) may rank higher, because you’d appreciate them on a whole new level. Book 4 especially tends to rise among frequent re-readers’ rankings. Having said that, I’d agree with your putting book 12 so high. Not everyone think it’s the best, but it’s such a powerful culmination of our top tier characters’ arcs, and the reveals are endlessly entertaining (including Verin!). The only thing that brought down book 12 for me was that Mat felt different from how RJ wrote him, but Sanderson did a masterful job closing out the series (all 3 of his books are excellent).
It's always so difficult to place a book... because even the weaker entries can have some of the most impactful chapters (as you sau, Dumai's Wells elevates a more average entry) Think you made the perfect choice by comparing them only against each other. There IS a substantial difference between the best and the worst (and I'd personally disagree on EoTW being so low :P... admittedly I was ALREADY invested through recommendations and had the first 5 books on my shelf at the time. Totally smashed them out in a matter of weeks on my first read, which likely very much coloured by perspective on them as a whole) but they're all *readable*. I've had more issues with some critically acclaimed books (notably Handmaids Tale, Grapes of Wrath and The Three Body Problem. All of which I found REMARKABLY dry and difficult to get through :P) And I'm definitely a Cadsuane Stan myself ^^ I did the same thing for the prequel too. Read it for the first time on my first full reread. It absolutely adds to the narrative and I hope you enjoy returning to the world when you're ready. I DO have a habit of leaving things unfinished bc I don't want them to end. (I'm a huge Pratchett fan, but I have a handful more of his later books still to read. I read two more during covid lockdown and I will be VERY sad when I finally have more more left to read)
I also really enjoyed Winter’s Heart, by the end of 8 I thought the books were becoming overly formulaic and it was a nice change. Also Rand exploiting the guardians at Far Madding to prove a point to the Ashaman was a great way to show that he was tough without the power helping him.
I think you'll place 5-8 much higher on your reread. Pay attention to how awesome the girls' plots are once you know where they're going (and don't have the drawback of having to track the arcs across books), and how much Rand's military moments are a clear place where RJ is processing Vietnam trauma.
Here's my approximate rankings, from someone who's read the whole series a couple of times, but last a few years ago. S: The Shadow Rising A: Eye of the World, Great Hunt, Gathering Storm, A Memory of Light B: The Dragon Reborn, The Fires of Heaven, Lord of Chaos, Path of Daggers, Knife of Dreams (Maybe high C, but after CoT felt like a breath of fresh air), Towers of Midnight C: Crown of Thorns, Winter's Heart(Maybe Low B, loved parts dearly.) F: Crossroads of Twilight (This is bad. Just plain bad. The kind of bad that sticks with you.) I'll add that B rank means it's a lot of fun to read. EotW gets its rank by setting up and introducing so much world and lore smoothly. I love discovering a new world, one of my favorite parts of reading a new fantasy series, and EotW delivered the sense of wonder and discovery well. GH was just plain fun. SR gets S tier by transitioning from a more derivative hero's journey structure into something more complex and original, and holding my interest through that transition. That's no mean feat. CoT can be safely skipped if you're reading the series for the first time - none of the main characters will be in a new situation at the start of the following book.. seriously. Do read a plot or even chapter summery though, because there's some events that get set up through the actions of tertiary characters that you should be familiar with.
Greaaaaaaaaaaat rankings mate!! I have a lot of love for TDR as well, Mats scenes in it are the best scenes in the series imo - id have Lord of Chaos top tier? AMOL probably down a tier and upon re-reading, EOTW goes up for sure so I look forward to you doing this after a re-read brother lol.
Yes, I agree that The Gathering Storm is probably the best book overall. I have The Great Hunt higher up, just because of the Egwene kidnapped plot line, which is so gripping. Maybe you could also do a ranking of favourite scenes/chapters?
I thought you were about to drop a bomb and reveal that you had read New Spring. Would love to see this list updated book by book during the re-read alongside the comparison to predictions
Not yet! There are so many wheel of time things I want to do on this channel whilst I read other series. It sure when they’re read will be but it will be glorious when it happens
@conorreads it was at least a year before I went for a re-read considering much like you it must have taken me about a year to read through the first time.
I like that The Gathering Storm is so high up. It is my favorite of the Sanderson books. But The Great Hunt and Lord of Chaos get only B tier? Those are my two favorites and are S tier imo
Still great books, I mentioned in the video but it’s been a long time since I read them and I love only done 1 read through so maybe I’m not remembering them in all their glory
who's storyline were you dissatisfied with? is there another vid that discusses it since its a "spoiler"? (i've read it all so it wouldnt spoil for me lol)
Mine: S: A Memory of Light A: The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight B: Lord of Chaos, solely cuz Dumai's Wells, New Spring, cuz it's short and the final scene C: The Shadow Rising, Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, The Fire of Heavens, Crown of Swords. D: A Path of Daggers, Winter's Heart, Crossroads of Twilight, Knife of Dreams,
Lol, I’m going to have to disagree with you about The Shadow Rising… somehow you forgot the whole Two Rivers part… that’s when I couldn’t put the book down, and even cried. Lol
Loved that you put The Gathering Storm so high up. I don't think it gets enough credit compared to other books.
The best book!
The Shadow Rising also has the Battle of the Two Rivers at the end. It's my favourite book and the Glass Column chapters are my favourite from the entire series. Everything you learn is just mind blowing.
I did forget about the battle of the two rivers when making the ranking!
Egwene in The Gathering Storm, when she rose to defend the White Tower i literally had tears in my eyes reading this, it was just so beautiful and epic! But what really makes WoT shine is that even with minor main Characters you spent more time with them over the span of the 14 Books than you would do with the main Character of a regular series. Combine all chapters with him alone and Mat for example would have enough page count for a full trilogy. I only wish that Perrin would have accepted himself earlier, seeing a full power perrin earlier on would have been amazing!
Yeah Egwene had some incredible scenes and development
I like your overall ranking. I think I’d have ranked many of them like you on my first read.
On re-read, you may find that the earlier books (1-5) may rank higher, because you’d appreciate them on a whole new level. Book 4 especially tends to rise among frequent re-readers’ rankings.
Having said that, I’d agree with your putting book 12 so high. Not everyone think it’s the best, but it’s such a powerful culmination of our top tier characters’ arcs, and the reveals are endlessly entertaining (including Verin!). The only thing that brought down book 12 for me was that Mat felt different from how RJ wrote him, but Sanderson did a masterful job closing out the series (all 3 of his books are excellent).
You are right on Mat, I felt that also, but it couldn’t get in the way of the magnitude of the arcs that were masterfully brought over the hill
It's always so difficult to place a book... because even the weaker entries can have some of the most impactful chapters (as you sau, Dumai's Wells elevates a more average entry)
Think you made the perfect choice by comparing them only against each other.
There IS a substantial difference between the best and the worst (and I'd personally disagree on EoTW being so low :P... admittedly I was ALREADY invested through recommendations and had the first 5 books on my shelf at the time. Totally smashed them out in a matter of weeks on my first read, which likely very much coloured by perspective on them as a whole) but they're all *readable*.
I've had more issues with some critically acclaimed books (notably Handmaids Tale, Grapes of Wrath and The Three Body Problem. All of which I found REMARKABLY dry and difficult to get through :P)
And I'm definitely a Cadsuane Stan myself ^^
I did the same thing for the prequel too. Read it for the first time on my first full reread. It absolutely adds to the narrative and I hope you enjoy returning to the world when you're ready.
I DO have a habit of leaving things unfinished bc I don't want them to end. (I'm a huge Pratchett fan, but I have a handful more of his later books still to read. I read two more during covid lockdown and I will be VERY sad when I finally have more more left to read)
I also really enjoyed Winter’s Heart, by the end of 8 I thought the books were becoming overly formulaic and it was a nice change. Also Rand exploiting the guardians at Far Madding to prove a point to the Ashaman was a great way to show that he was tough without the power helping him.
Yeah far madding have a nice break from channeling being the solution to everything
I think you'll place 5-8 much higher on your reread. Pay attention to how awesome the girls' plots are once you know where they're going (and don't have the drawback of having to track the arcs across books), and how much Rand's military moments are a clear place where RJ is processing Vietnam trauma.
Here's my approximate rankings, from someone who's read the whole series a couple of times, but last a few years ago.
S: The Shadow Rising
A: Eye of the World, Great Hunt, Gathering Storm, A Memory of Light
B: The Dragon Reborn, The Fires of Heaven, Lord of Chaos, Path of Daggers, Knife of Dreams (Maybe high C, but after CoT felt like a breath of fresh air), Towers of Midnight
C: Crown of Thorns, Winter's Heart(Maybe Low B, loved parts dearly.)
F: Crossroads of Twilight (This is bad. Just plain bad. The kind of bad that sticks with you.)
I'll add that B rank means it's a lot of fun to read. EotW gets its rank by setting up and introducing so much world and lore smoothly. I love discovering a new world, one of my favorite parts of reading a new fantasy series, and EotW delivered the sense of wonder and discovery well. GH was just plain fun.
SR gets S tier by transitioning from a more derivative hero's journey structure into something more complex and original, and holding my interest through that transition. That's no mean feat.
CoT can be safely skipped if you're reading the series for the first time - none of the main characters will be in a new situation at the start of the following book.. seriously. Do read a plot or even chapter summery though, because there's some events that get set up through the actions of tertiary characters that you should be familiar with.
Greaaaaaaaaaaat rankings mate!! I have a lot of love for TDR as well, Mats scenes in it are the best scenes in the series imo - id have Lord of Chaos top tier? AMOL probably down a tier and upon re-reading, EOTW goes up for sure so I look forward to you doing this after a re-read brother lol.
Was really fun to go back through and look at what was happening with n each book again just for this video
@@conorreads yeah dude, it's the gift that keeps on giving :-)
Loved this man!! Great rankings agreed with pretty much everything here. I own new spring but haven't read it yet, will get to it at some point haha
I will get round to it at some point!
I think you’ll come to appreciate the earlier books and even CoT a ton more upon reread.
I love your wot series, though im not done with the series yet, I cant wait to catch up. Thanks for making all the read alongs!
Hope you enjoy it!
Yes, I agree that The Gathering Storm is probably the best book overall. I have The Great Hunt higher up, just because of the Egwene kidnapped plot line, which is so gripping.
Maybe you could also do a ranking of favourite scenes/chapters?
Yeah that’s something I would enjoy doing I’ll add it to the list
I thought you were about to drop a bomb and reveal that you had read New Spring. Would love to see this list updated book by book during the re-read alongside the comparison to predictions
Not yet! There are so many wheel of time things I want to do on this channel whilst I read other series. It sure when they’re read will be but it will be glorious when it happens
@conorreads it was at least a year before I went for a re-read considering much like you it must have taken me about a year to read through the first time.
I found the end of Towers of Midnight bewildering - looking forward to a reread.
I like that The Gathering Storm is so high up. It is my favorite of the Sanderson books. But The Great Hunt and Lord of Chaos get only B tier? Those are my two favorites and are S tier imo
Still great books, I mentioned in the video but it’s been a long time since I read them and I love only done 1 read through so maybe I’m not remembering them in all their glory
Agreed, but would put the Shadow Rising higher
Cadsuane is one of my favorites as well
Yes big fan of Cadsuane's as well!
Yes!
who's storyline were you dissatisfied with? is there another vid that discusses it since its a "spoiler"? (i've read it all so it wouldnt spoil for me lol)
Padan fains!
Mine:
S: A Memory of Light
A: The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight
B: Lord of Chaos, solely cuz Dumai's Wells, New Spring, cuz it's short and the final scene
C: The Shadow Rising, Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, The Fire of Heavens, Crown of Swords.
D: A Path of Daggers, Winter's Heart, Crossroads of Twilight, Knife of Dreams,
verin.
Enougth said
Lol, I’m going to have to disagree with you about The Shadow Rising… somehow you forgot the whole Two Rivers part… that’s when I couldn’t put the book down, and even cried. Lol
I absolutely agree with you about every other book in the series!
Yeah maybe I didn’t recall all it’s best parts when ranking
Goldeneyes and the car’a’carn were top tier moments
I thought Rhuidean was in Fires of Heaven
The Gathering Storm is definitely #1
Clear winner for me
This is Fires of Heaven slander!
So I have heard 😂
Too many “fake out” deaths in Memory of Light.