> find it just amazing that jordan has (pressumedly, as i've not read the other 5, but know people who have and they all agree they're fantastic) been able to sustain the story to such a high level for 8 novels of considerable size! it speaks well of him as a writer, don't you think?

All right. I'll dunk my head into the fire. Let me preface this remark by saying I have not read any of Jordan's books, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

No. I don't think it makes him a great writer at all. Initially, he was going to write a trilogy. Then he was going to stretch it out a little longer. Then longer. Then he was going to make it ten. Now he says he couldn't possibly finish it in less than twelve. To me, not having even read the books, this is an indication of a major fault as a writer. He is apparently not capable of keeping the beast he started under control. Regardless of whether or not his books are good, this in itself is bad.

Second point. I am told by others (correct me if I'm wrong) that starting around book four, give or take, he has become incapable of saying "she took a bath" but rather must expound on the temperature of the water, the particular scent and composition of the soap, the length of time the bath took, and so on. If this is in fact the case, this is also a major fault, and this attention to detail should not be mistaken for a responsibly thorough job of world- and atmosphere-building. One of the most important lessons a writer may learn is what to leave *out*.

I can't imagine *any* story that can't be told in less than twelve 1000-page books. Now maybe if you read around the details like bath water temperatures, the Wheel of Time is the most riveting, engrossing tale ever, and I can't dispute that until when and if I've read them. But that's a different argument than whether or not Jordan is a "great" writer and whether or not Wheel of Time is a "great" series of books. However, riveting they may be, I fail to see how either can be "great."

> would love to see these books turned into film - on the one hand; it probably wouldn't be practical, and a part of me is afraid these marvelous stories would suffer in the transition from page/imagination to cgi/celluloid ...

Unless you're willing to have 90% of the story cut out, you'll never get a movie version that resembles the series without it being a mini-series the size of "War and Remembrance." Of course, if they cut out the bath water details, maybe they'd be able to do it after all. :-)