Books on CD - WoT edition

I must admit that for a time I considered shutting down my blog and "merging" with Angela's because I felt that I had so little to say that didn't concern David. Now I have four or five posts in mind but no time to write them! Anyway, I'm making a start today. I like reading other blogs somewhat regularly, and I know some people read mine when I actually post, so here goes:

I recently discovered the TV series "Legend of the Seeker". It is somewhat loosely based on a fantasy fiction series by Terry Goodkind. Goodkind's work is/was contemporaneous with that of Robert Jordan (though Jordan had at least two books published first). This renewed my interest in Jordan, so I did some web searching and discovered that an author named Brandon Sanderson would be penning the conclusion to the Wheel of Time series using copious notes left by Jordan before his untimely demise.

Knowing that the series will one day reach a conclusion, I wanted to read book 11 all the way through, but with the stress of tax season, I knew that I wouldn't fit in a 784-page novel. So I got it on CD form the library and listened to it during my commute. It was 26 discs long, so this took a few weeks.

To those of my readers who have read some of the books (Mike P., Brad) I say this: skirts were smoothed, arms were folded beneath breasts, Illianer men wore beards that left their upper lips bare. and so on (Jordan must have programmed several macros in Word to save time).

In the meantime, there was surprisingly little braid pulling as the Wheel of Time move to what should be the very precipice of Tarmon Gaidon (the Last Battle). Several major plotlines wrapped up or moved along substantially. There was a feeling of tension throughout the book as Jordan moved various pieces in the puzzle into alignment. It would seem that everything is in readiness for a good, exciting, conclusion.

The book, entitled Knife of Dreams, was mostly satisfying - the story did draw me in successfully. I remembered why I liked Jordan's early books so well. It also reminded me why I got frustrated with others - but not as much as I feared. I guess on the whole I liked it, and I will look forward to reading the conclusion when it comes out.