> Indeed, you have that right. the cities, the history and environements are quite well drawn - not as good, not as deep and believeable - alive, for want of a better word - as Herbet's Dune series (well, the first 3 books anyway), but still very good IMHO.

At my fiance's insistence ("The best series ever written," he said) I read up through the beginning of the fifth book of Jordan's before I cried "Enough is enough!" It was sooooooo slooooooww. Someone I know described him as the "most patient writer I've ever read." Well, I'm not a patient enough reader, and I can put up with some pretty slow-moving stories! (Read Cherryh. I love her!)

As for Dune, the first book was wonderful, but I couldn't get through the second. I think whoever wrote the Dune Book-A-Minute (Sam, or Dave?) hit the nail on the head with "I challenge my readers to understand even one of my paragraphs!" I got the impression he was showing off, and (to me) it got unbearable in the second book.

I mentioned C. J. Cherryh... for a convincing world, try the Chanur series (starts with The Pride of Chanur) or the Foreigner/Invader/Inheritor trilogy.