Wheel of Time has the makings of the next Game of Thrones and you have all the time in the world for an epic fantasy book series.
Nothing makes a fantasy — or TV — fan’s eyes roll like the proclamation that something is the “next Game of Thrones.” After all, Game of Thrones was such a phenomenon, such a once-in-a-lifetime moment of breakthrough genre success. Thrones was the last form of scripted appointment television at a time when entertainment habits were experiencing seismic change. On the whole, there will never be another Game of Thrones.
And yet — there will likely be another fantasy epic that captures viewers’ attentions. That draws fans of cinematic serialized storytelling into an elaborate and expertly plotted world for a multi-season adventure full of iconic heroes, villains and sidekicks fulfilling, pursuing and attempting to change their destinies. With all due respect to the Lord of the Rings series in development at Amazon, The Wheel of Time (also being adapted at Amazon) has an exceptional chance at being that next big fantasy show.
What is The Wheel of Time?
The Wheel of Time is the name of a series of fantasy novels by “Robert Jordan,” a.k.a. James Oliver Rigney, Jr. None of the novels — and there are 15 of them — are actually called “The Wheel of Time” but that is the name of the series, the show and the fandom (which also uses the abbreviation WoT).
The first novel, The Eye of the World, was published in 1984 and the most recent — finished by Brandon Sanderson after Rigney’s death in 2007 — was published in 2013.
It would be impossible to recap a series of 15 books, each at least 600 pages, but suffice to say The Wheel of Time series gives fantasy fans everything they’re looking for: a meticulously detailed imaginary world full of characters with exotic names (Rand al’Thor, Nynaeve al’Meara) and a specific system of magic, drawing from both its own internal mythologies and the real-world inspiration of European and Asian religions. From the cyclic nature of time (oh, did you not get that from the title?) and reincarnation to dualism and a light vs. dark creation story, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam all contribute to the narrative.
In any case: The Wheel of Time series begins in a world that is, according to Wikipedia, “simultaneously the distant past and the distant future Earth.” There is a prophecy that a young man living in obscurity (a farm boy, natch) is a savior (“the Dragon Reborn”) and a group of core characters forms (and then splits up for various missions) in an effort to bring the world together in the name of the reborn leader and in opposition to the “Dark One.” And then 14 subsequent books of action happen.
How long is Wheel of Time?
Buckle up, because if you thought reading A Song of Ice and Fire was an undertaking, you have another thing coming. Harry Potter at least built up to door-stop length; Wheel of Time was marking 700+ pages right out the gate.
If you’re up for the challenge — and with everyone social distancing and quarantining with unprecedented amounts of free time to fill, there’s no time like the present — here’s what you have in store.
Pages listed for the paperback editions, per Wikipedia
- New Spring (prequel published in 2004) – 334 pages
- The Eye of the World (1990) – 782 pages
- The Great Hunt (1990) – 681 pages
- The Dragon Reborn (1991) – 675 pages
- The Shadow Rising (1992) – 981 pages
- The Fires of Heaven (1993) – 963 pages
- Lord of Chaos (1994) – 987 pages
- A Crown of Swords (1996) – 856 pages
- The Path of Daggers (1998) – 672 pages
- Winter’s Heart (2000) – 766 pages
- Crossroads of Twilight (2003) – 822 pages
- Knife of Dreams (2005) – 837 pages
- The Gathering Storm (2009) – 766 pages
- Towers of Midnight (2010) – 864 pages
- A Memory of Light (2013) – 912 page
Tell me about this Wheel of Time TV adaptation
More from Game of Thrones
Amazon first announced a series order for a Wheel of Time adaptation in 2018 and the show has slowly but surely come together since then.
It was full steam ahead for the Prime series in early 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down production across the world while Wheel of Time was shooting in Prague. The good news is that, according to showrunner Rafe Judkins, they are able to beginning to work on VFX and post-production remotely.
Rosamund Pike headlines the cast of The Wheel of Time as Moiraine, with Josha Stradowski (Rand al’Thor), Marcus Rutherford (Perrin Aybara), Zoë Robins (Nynaeve al’Meara), Barney Harris )Mat Cauthon and Madeleine Madden (Egwene al’Vere) contributing to the core ensemble.
(Lest you get concerned about the lack of name recognition, remember how unknown the Thrones stars were in 2011.)
Amazon has not announced a release date for The Wheel of Time and don’t expect them to anytime soon. But silver lining: That just means more time for you to catch up or re-read the source material!
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