Wheel of Time Crack

I've been reading the 10th book in Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, "Crossroads of Twilight", and I have to say I'm woefully disappointed...

I don't feel so bad about hating this book after checking the amazon.com reviews... out of ~1000 people, the average rating is 1.5 out of 5 stars... contrast that to the first book which has 1200+ reviews but averages 4.5 out of 5 stars.

It's really just not very good, and I'm not quite sure why he's releasing books like this with his name on them when he's capable of so much more. I half suspect he feels he has hit his gravy train and is milking it for all it's worth.

For the record- I think the first 5 books were just great. Better than great. They were huge, sprawling books that moved fast, had lots of intrigue, character development, action and intrigue. The first book almost can't be bought in paperback form as just reading it will cause it to start to fall apart... there are just too many pages for the glue to hold. Sure a chapter here and there was a little boring, but it usually paid off as a "set-up" chapter for further plot and character development farther on.

After the 5th book, things just went downhill drastically. Each of these books is 1000-1300+ pages long, and from the 5th book on there may have been just a smattering of plot development or interesting things that went on. With the last, "Crossroads of Twilight" which is the tenth book, there is none. The entire climax of the last book is barely mentioned, with no plot points pushed forward and no character development at all. It sounds impossible to have a 1200 page book where nothing happens, but it is. Perhaps one chapter out of all of them is enjoyable to read...

Now of course you're saying "Well, then don't read any more of them and stop giving the author your money!" But it just doesn't work that way. You've become hooked on the characters, and after the time investment of years waiting for the new books to dribble out you just have to have some sort of resolution.

It's like Star Wars fans... everyone knows that the last two movies have been less than stellar. But if you had seen the first 3 movies, and then the fourth sucked... it doesn't matter if you hated the fourth, you are going to watch the fifth and sixth even if they suck. You have to have some sort of resolution even if it's disappointing... it's storyline crack.

Here's the rub: even though you feel compelled to watch the 5th and 6th Star Wars movies, chances are the name of Lucas doesn't mean jackshite to you now. If Lucas comes out with a new movie based on a different concept you just don't care in the same way you would if all the movies had been awesome.

So thanks Mr. Jordan, you gave me five good books. Please try to finish the series in under 20 installments so I can never read a damn thing you write again.