The Wheel - Of Time
As the final line of the series says: “There are no endings, and never will be endings, to the turning of the Wheel of Time.”
In an era of grimdark cynicism (Martin, Abercrombie), The Wheel of Time remains stubbornly romantic. It believes in friendship (the bond between Rand, Mat, and Perrin). It believes in redemption (the villain Lanfear, the fool Gawyn). And it believes that even a world built on the ruins of a thousand apocalypses is worth saving. The Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time is not for the faint of heart. It is slow. It is repetitive. It has a thousand Aes Sedai with names like "Sarene Nemdahl" and "Teslyn Baradon." As the final line of the series says:
Epic fantasy often hinges on the "Chosen One" trope, and The Wheel of Time embraces this fully with its protagonist, Rand al’Thor. When the series opens in the quiet village of Emond’s Field, Rand is a tall, red-headed shepherd unaware of his destiny. He, along with his friends Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara, is swept up by a mysterious Aes Sedai named Moiraine, who believes one of them is the Dragon Reborn. And it believes that even a world built
is the blueprint for modern epic fantasy. It proved you could write a series longer than ten books and maintain coherence. It normalized strong female magic systems (the Aes Sedai run the world long before Daenerys had dragons). It taught fantasy readers that "the journey" is just as important as "the last battle."
