62 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not overly usefull and could spoil things for new readers, January 4, 2000
This review is from: The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time (Wheel of Time (Tor Hardcover)) (Hardcover)
While I truly enjoy the WoT books, I have to say this was a "Show me the money" book by TOR. The information in the book was primarlily a rehash of things readers discover or can infer through reading the series. In other words, for those that have read the complete series up to the date of this book there was not a whole lot of new information. For those that are just starting the WoT series, this book could spoil a lot of the suprises. I also have to admit that I thought the art was terrible and question wheter the artist even read the series.
On the plus side, the Guide provides a handy reference for hard core WoT fans. It also provides a number of maps that the books have lacked.
I would suggest buying this only after you have completed reading the series up to book 8 and have read the short story in "Legends." This is a good reference book to have if your re-reading the series or just trying to pass the time until the next book is out.
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49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for all jordan fans, January 25, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time (Wheel of Time (Tor Hardcover)) (Hardcover)
I must say, being a fan of Robert Jordan, that the information in this book was invaluable as well as enlightening. It contained more detailed information on such things as the Age of Legends than was in the actual series, and gave background on many otherwise bleak details. However, I would not recommend buying this book for the art it contains, of which I had high expectations and was fairly disappointed in. Granted that the artists idea of such creatures as mydraal and ogier, for example, will conflict with my own ideas. I do regret to say that the actual quality of the art was lacking. It looked to have been done quite quickly and with haste. Overall, however, the book was very well done and deserves 5+ stars for its content, and 3 stars for the artwork. It is definitely something to buy if you can just get past the art.
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73 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Horrible Artwork Ruins Mundane Attempt at a Guide, December 29, 2004
This review is from: The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time (Wheel of Time (Tor Hardcover)) (Hardcover)
This 'guide' has less detail than I expected of a writer who can write entire chapters describing every piece of clothing in a character's personal wardrobe (both small clothes and accessories included).
The artwork in this series is very strage, and this is more of Tor's fault than Mr. Jordan's. Some books in the series make you think the setting is around the time period of the Old West in America, while others seem more akin to Elizabethan England complete with hose and surcoats. These time periods are not exactly mutually inclusive. The artwork in this book falls to new lows - there is a picture of Moiraine that completely ruined my image of her.
Also, minor inaccuracies occur much too often for my taste. Only someone who has an eye for detail can really pick these out from the general presentation, but they do exist.
Understandably, since Ms. Teresa Patterson was actually responsible for writing much of the text, it can be forgiven. However, similiar to what happened to the creators of the 'Wheel of Time' computer game, she indicates on the Tor website that she 'was sometimes forced to make up material herself when Jordan refused to answer specific inquiries'. Strange. Apparently, Mr. Jordan wanted the book to reflect the historical inaccuracies that a historian in Randland might be exposed to. There is a clear difference between a book in a series, and a guidebook. A guidebook should generally offer a detailed look at information the characters might not (nor ever) be made aware of.
A guidebook should be written from the point of view of the fictional setting for exactly that reason. It is my belief, that when you purchase a guidebook, you do so for reasons of clarity. This might indicate that misinformation is also present in the actual series, which complicates the problem of what is accurate and what is not.
Finally, and most damning (in my humble opinion), there is no detailed guide for the extensive list of minor characters that are now present in the series. Though this guide was published well in advance of the most current book in the saga, a list and description for each may have been helpful.
Unfortunately, taking this book for what it is, it clearly does not hold even a match flame against the Tolkien estate guidebooks. If one recalls the 'Lord of the Rings' guidebooks, they offer answers to many questions held by readers. The result is that the reader of the LoTR guidebooks is confident that the information given reflects a well developed fictional world.
The 'Wheel of Time Guidebook' is simply too inaccurate to give a helpful description of the world Rand and his companions live in.
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