The Wheel Of Time Sucks: RESPONSE 

Edit: To people saying "It is an April fools joke!" It is not. It has been up for over a year and he has never claimed it to be one. He has responded to people criticizing it well after April harshly defending the article. It is not a joke. I want to make this absolutely clear; I have no issue with Garret on a personal level. This video should purely be taken about responsibility when speaking about others/posting reviews. Do your research. Don’t lie about content. Don’t claim fowl play when you have zero evidence. Content creators have a responsibility to check what they are saying. People will hear what we say and RUN WITH IT. That is why my Goodkind video relies on direct quotes and in context statements. Not speculation and hunches.

This dude really said that RJ planned on dying in his 50s.

I'd think ghosts/wraiths being bound to an object is a trope much older than Tolkien.

Robert Jordan isn't truly dead. He waits in the World of Dreams until he is spun out into the pattern of the next age. Or, someone blows the Horn.

"The chosen one prophecy" thing goes back to Arthurian literature, The Bible, and probably well before that, too.

Im 73 yrs old , not a very good reader so it's your fault that i started reading these books. I read the whole thing. Glad I did, so thank you. i also live in S.C,

"In the real world, if we had a magical prophecy where it's like, 'This dude is gonna save the world.'" People are still talking about it 2700 years later.

"Wheel of Time is too derivative!" "Eye of the World is one of my favorite fantasy books ever!" Bruh

Those of us reading the books, and active on the boards, when he was diagnosed remember how open and transparent he was, about his illness, about his work, and his desire to finish it. I find it particularly egregious that someone would claim the opposite when it was so clear how bravely and honorably he lived and died.

Dude who wrote this article: Claims RJ left a bunch of loops open that he never intended to close. Also Dude: finishes only book 5 or 6 of a FIFTEEN BOOK SERIES!

Don't we have prophecies about Jesus? We talk about that dude everyday. Some people do it for a living

I am a woman. I like the fleshed out, different, amazing female characters. I love some, I hate others. I relate to some, I don't to others.

I almost didnt start reading WoT because of that article when i was searching for recommendations wether to do it or not (being 14 books I wanted to be sure the ammount of time I was going to spend was worth it). However, after less than a week reading the eye of the world I'm 30 pages near the end and I've enjoyed every bit of It so far. It's also the first book i've read in english (being spanish is easy to find books translated) and even without being written in my mother language im loving it.

"I've never heard a woman say x" Do you actually know any women?

“This was too long to post on my tumblr.” Well, that explains a lot.

This dude is probably a Terry Goodkind fan.

I laughed my butt of when he said that faile is a perfect girlfriend. Dude what are your smoking? Do you like really aggressive really stubborn prickly women who make their guy feel awkward just because he won’t shout at her or argue back

As someone who ACTUALLY FINISHED the series, it is not my favorite either for reasons I will likely do a blog on in the future. It is still one of the greatest series of all time. This guy’s criticisms were largely baseless and reveal some sort of personal angst against Jordan. The character assassination was particularly reprehensible toward a man who fought in Vietnam and died prematurely of a heart condition. That article was poorly researched and ill-conceived rant.

"Have you ever met someone in a bar?" "Don't you have social interactions?" I don't think this guy has, or does.

Garret is himself a self published fantasy author, it’s interesting to read this article considering how derivative his own work is. Though I didn’t get 5 books in in his series, I quit after a couple of chapters.

I'm starting to suspect that guy has NEVER met a woman.

I am a woman, I am 52, and I have actually read all of the WOT, I have no problem with the story arc of any of the women characters in the series. I do not like alot of them as people ie Tuon, Forsaken etc., but this is what makes WOT for me. Tolkien is the Grandfather of modern fantasy and in the hundreds of fantasy books I have read, I see his influence at somepoint in all of them, I am so proud that Robert Jordan wanted to use aspects of LotR in his work and how he also built on them to create his own unique world. The point that made me most angry is that Robert Jordan just kept on writing until he died and had no intention of finishing them, I do not know who this person is, but he clearly has no understanding of fantasy from its roots to modern day!

Like others have said, if your statement begins with "I've never heard a woman say X," my first question is: Have you ever spoken to a woman about this topic?

I've read the entire series 8 times looking for flaws. Problem is, I keep forgetting to look for them as I get caught up in the story, darn it.

He comes off as an edgelord trying to sound smart by going against the grain and claiming to have spotted all these mistakes that all the fan-boys didn't notice. It strikes me as if he couldn't stand out and seem interesting in the fantasy community by liking such a popular, mainstream franchise, so he instead tries to get attention by being edgy and shitting on it with half-truths and misunderstandings. We shouldn't really be surprised though, it happens with everything, hence r/iamverysmart existing. If anything this guy just makes your consistently level-headed look at different franchises look more respectable and worth listening to, so I'd say ignore this dude and keep up the good work!

I think assigning intent to authors is generally gross and unnecessary, this is very disrespectful to RJ and how much he cared about finishing his work, people can have whatever issues or interpretations to an author's work, but to assume his intention and present it as fact when it is so wrong is next level! Also as a woman, I have a mixed range of emotions toward the female characters, some are complex, some are alright, others are shallow, this isn't particularly unique to the WoT mind you! and I find stuff like the bechdel test arbitrary, like is Gravity considered a sexist movie because the main character who is a female astronaut surviving on her own doesn't even have a conversation with another woman? that is so silly! also us girls are allowed to be catty, vulnerable, talk about boys or whatever we want! we aren't perfect, trying to write female characters as flawless is where most authors go wrong actually.

The Wheel of Time holds a special place in my heart and has for years. I found the Eye of the World one night in a lost and found pile while at work and started reading. I love this series so much, that I haven't even finished it, not because I dislike it, but because I don't want the story to end. My father grew up with Tolkien and his world, while I grew up with Robert Jordan.

"WTF do you think a wolf brother is man?" I died xD

Damm, he really just insulted RJ like that.

Wasn't it RJ's dying wish to get his work completed? Thanks Brandon. :)

As you were reading his "Mary Sue"-rant, I just thought: "Hey, he is describing Richard Rahl of 'The Sword of Truth'!" :-D

5 minutes in and I can see the tears in your eyes and I just wanted to say thank you for this. Unbelievable how many lines this guy crossed and I’m grateful your using your platform to call him out. Okay, back to the video.

I legit thought I'm gonna click on the video and it's just gonna be Daniel saying: "no." And then list of patreons Just continued watching and I'm shocked. Usually I don't like the word "offended" - but it's blatantly offensive. It's horrible. What a shitty thing to do. P.s. the women in wot are the most complex characters I've ever read (I'm a woman btw). Yes, It means that sometimes I don't like them, and sometimes I love and appreciate them with all my heart. Because they are so real - that's why they have ups and downs, the same as everyone. (Another p.s. when someone is sterssed, chased and all around in a sticky situation, it's completely normal to be caty!!!)

This just makes MY BLOOD BOIL! Of course, people just devise a whole epic fantasy story for years and write 10+ super thick books with amazing quality characters and worldbuilding and then decide to die spectacularly on purpose to leave the series unfinished and become legend. Are you fking kidding me?

1225 "have you ever meet someone in a bar?" Lol no Daniel he absolutely has not ever meet anyone in a bar. I don't think he's meet very many people anywhere, especially not women.

"I've dated people I've met at a bar" casual flex but ok

Sappy appreciation comment incoming :) 30, F, Australia here - I am on my first read through, currently on book 8 and had been meaning to start the series 15 years ago - when I was about 7, I was in the library looking at the 'grown ups' books and saw that one area had books with cool wizards and dragons on the covers, so I told myself when I was a grown up I would read those books...anyway nostalgia aside... Two chapters in and I knew it was a good decision, halfway through the eye of the world and I was completely hooked...four books in, I knew it was now just going to be part of my life FOREVER and purchased all of them. have really been enjoying your channel as a little companion along with the books... AND the wonderful audiobooks. I had been meaning to start the series 15 years ago. Have also joined the lovely online Dragon Mount community, and also find myself listen to the awesome audioversion. I think your channel is great and is wonderful to hear your passion for it too. Anyhow, the other reason I chose to comment is that another reason Wheel of Time has been so amazing is that I have never experienced so many wonderful female characters that feel like real people to me. Jordan has somehow done the impossible of knowing *exactly* how women think and interact alone haha. Keep the videos coming, April :)

I was cringing while listening to his "factor" but then he talked shit about Mistborn? Now you cross the line mate!

First off, Any article that starts out with: "Someone on my Tumblr said..." is obviously hot steaming garbage. Secondly, that entire question seems like a plant, I really do not believe that some random internet user asked that exact, perfectly worded question so that Garrett could go on his epic rant.

The whole rant is a flashing neon sign that reads the boy just doesn't understand women. The rant says more about the writer than it does about the books.

You're right, Daniel. This guy should apologize to his readers for misleading them.

Just started the wheel of time never even heard of it before your channel. I’m really enjoying so far.

Rand al'Thor, The Dragon to Bone? Also, as a Tolkienian, while I recognize his books to be a major player in the modern epic fantasy genre, he has always spoken about borrowing many of His ideas from folklore and tales of epicness... So, all fantasy is 100% derivative. But way to be edgy... Lol

I’m a girl, and I’ve been reading Wheel of Time since I was 16. This article is full of bs.

That guy writing Perrin is powerless, got me gnarling like a wolf. Literally.

1:16 > on his tumbrl Dis gon be gud

I have a friend who has a lot of these same opinions, including hating how Robert Jordan wrote women and saying he's derivative after the first 3 books. I'm a woman and loved the entire series including how the women were written and the nods to Tolkien, which I started reading the same year I started reading WoT.

I don't care if its "woke" I care if it's a good story

Those lines about Robert Jordan, in addition to being factually wrong, are despicable on a human level. PS: I haven't read the WOT yet so I have no opinion on the rest of it.

If you’re suffering through Mistborn than I really don’t think modern epic fantasy is gonna please you regardless of the content.

All writers are just copying gilgamesh, that's why I don't read

I haven't watched the video yet but I read his complaint. Dude literally plugs his own book at the end of his diatribe, he can eat it.

The guy who wrote the article is a classic example of projection. Claims to be interested in women being treated fairly but in the end he just shows his own prejudice. Thanks for doing this video.

Actually, WoT had a fair amount of LGBT representation, especially among the Aiel and the red Adja.

It's been at least a decade since I read the books, but my overall memory / impression of the female characters was that (not all) but a lot of them really were just... so annoying at times. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for powerful female characters. The Aes Sedai and White Tower being a massive driving force in the world, the Wise Ones being respected leaders that no one, even from different clans, would dare to disrespect. The Seanchan being ruled by an Empress. Great concepts. I wholeheartedly prefer having female leads in the books I read. But when a lot of your dialogue is spent unnecessarily belittling the male characters and each other? They're just so damn arrogant and constantly vying to be the 'alpha' of whatever group they're in. I've never in my life enjoyed being around anyone like that, either male or female. In some of the worst cases it'll even come across as "Oh, it's a guy that's being verbally or physically abused? That's fine then. We'll laugh about it. He probably deserved it anyway." All I can say to that is... you can empower women without degrading men. Maybe I could do with a reread now that I'm not in my teens anymore, but... that's one of the biggest impressions the books left on me. That, and page long descriptions of the clothes people are wearing.

I have to admit, when I first started reading Eye of the World, I put it down after a couple chapters thinking it was derivative of Tolkien (I was also young and the LotR movies just came out so I was very attached to them). Black-cloaked riders, Mountains of Mist, the Third Age (even opening almost word for word the same way, 'legend fades to myth' and whatnot). But the similarities pretty much end with that surface level stuff. I read the first 7 or 8 books one after another and had taken a huge break between 9 and 10...like...a ten year break. It's actually what brought me to this channel, I had to look up summaries of the books before reading Crossroads of Twilight. And now that one is out of the way and I'm onto Knife of Dreams where I hear it picks up again. It's going to feel weird to finish a series I started in high school over 15 years ago but I'm looking forward to it.

Lesson learned: never come for Daniel’s babies. He’ll snatch a wig.

Oh wow he was really mean, who ever this was, I don't know why I'm so shocked but I really am. He sounds like a really sad petty person..

What amazes me at least it feels like to me is how much you talk about books and how few spoilers if any are in your videos really appreciate this, currently reading ASOIF but I’m almost done 500 pages left. The second I’m done I am picking up the wheel of time because of your recommendation!

My problem with both men and women in the wheel of time is that there were few if any middle spectrum people. Nearly every character worth speaking of had eronious assumptions of how the opposite sex needed to guided by the sex of the person thinking the thought. I am married and will admit that there are times when I think thoughts of "women be like..." but there are many more sensible times where I know I am wrong and that my wife is right. I didn't see enough of that in the books. It didn't ruin the story for me (which I have physically read or had read to me, thanks audible, more than 6 times) but was an issue I had with RJ storytelling. There were great relationships in the series, but there was a distinct lack of open communication between couples that led to the same conflicts that I had a hard time believing that people of their caliber would not overcome. The closest it got was the double warder bonded couple in the last book, and it took their minds literally being linked to make it happen.

I finally gave up on Malazan last night and started WOT. It really broke my heart to do so because they are really well written. They just arent for me. I made it to the end of book 6 and cant go any further. Maybe ill come back to it one day, but ive been reading malazan for months and havent been enjoying or looking forward to reading like I normally do. That being said, I still have immense respect for Erickson and his vision. Wow. What an ambitious man. We as readers need to understand that not every popular series will connect with us, and that doesnt make the series bad. The guy who wrote this article seems like hes trying to get under people's skin, like hes trying to go against the grain to appear cool. We dont need that in the fantasy community. Good on you for speaking out Daniel. Lastly, readers, dont be afraid to DNF a book. Ive been struggling for days contemplating if I should set them down(because im a completionist), but at the end of the day, we read for enjoyment. We read to delve into another realm, to leave our mundane lives behind and enter a fantastic one. So if youre not enjoying a book, set it down, and move on. You can always return to it later, but theres always more books that will touch your heart around the corner ❤

From someone yet to start reading WoT, that was an abysmal article that should've been posted on Tumblr in the first place and kept there.

I straight named my car Fade, it's a glossy black stang with sun damage on the hood and various parts of the care, almost like the coloring of the myydreal

Anything that starts with “On their Tumblr” should be taken with a MOUNTAIN of salt.

Is he whining because there's resemblances to Middle-Earth? Does that mean that mentioning dragons, elves, swords and such is intellectual property appropriation?

I'm in the middle of Eye of the World and I actually saw this article a week or so ago that made me really worried about investing time and money in the series. I still don't like taking an odd review seriously, but I was afraid of ending up 3 or so books in and feel the need to stop because of sexist tropes or lack of female character development. I'm glad you took the time to respond to this as I've come to respect and trust your opinions on fantasy books, even if you may be WoT biased. This did diminish my fears from seeing both this article and several rough reviews on GoodReads.

The part about him having sex with multiple companion is a little weird, and then it even got weirder that they told him that they are in control of which of them he sees, and when.

Wait, if he bailed halfway through book 5, how can he comment on the Aviendha/Min/Elayne/Rand relationship? I think Rand is only just starting to get romantically affiliated with Avienhda in Book 5. I haven't read the books in a while so maybe I'm wrong, but I do recall Rand's romances being more of a slower burn.

*Looks at video title* Oh Sh*t...here we go again.

Forget about Bechdel test not being enough, Wheel of Time definitely passes it in the first book alone. Egwene and Moirane talking about one power. And in the later books (by which I mean book two/three) supergirls talk about the Black Ajah. It is pretty easy to see WOT passes Bechdel Test

"He's only doing this for the fame and the prestige of leaving a happy and eternal lasting impression in our hearts! That's why HE'S AN ASSHOLE!" Ummm... what? Seriously, his entire starting argument is that he believes RJ wanted to inspire people for generations to come with an enormous and expansive fantasy universe. That's AWESOME. That is SUPER AWESOME. If the basis of his argument revolves around him claiming that RJ has reached peak levels of awesomeness... then he has no argument. Lovecraft was a xenophobe and left an enormous and expansive fantasy-horror universe that has inspired generations. Lovecraft is one of the greats. I guess, according to this guy, we have another name to add to the list, and RJ didn't have nearly the problems of Lovecraft.

I havent even read the series and this still made me extremely angry. I cried twice about how despicable he was being to a late author, who is well know and respected, who cant even defend himself. This is sick.

Wait a minute? WOT Aces the Bechdel test.

Brother. I am more than twice your age, and you are so much more grown-up than I will ever be. ☮

WOT WAS a chore after a while because it was just too wordy, and descriptions got to be so boring.

So my wife and my sister in-law, love the female characters.

I remember reading that post when it came out and being annoyed at how unfactual it was.

Thank you for posting this. This almost prevented me from reading Wheel of Time at one point. I read HP and LoR, and consider myself an aware reader, but his fantasy analysis left me uncertain and confused like talking about Nayneive's name. It also didn't help that my Google feed kept throwing this up randomly even though I hid the story. I started listening to WoT in August of last year, finished it, then listened to New Spring and started all over again. I just started TGS today. This misinformation is super toxic and I'm glad I didn't heed it. Thanks for your quality content!

Damn it. It didn't know about mat's eye, I just started knife of dreams (book 11). Now I'm just mad at myself for ignoring a spolier warning. Great vid btw

I am a woman over 70 and read the Wheel of Time books years ago - I still have them to re-read in the future. I loved the story. So many strong girls who matured to stronger women as the story progressed was amazing to me - as a reader of fantasy and science fiction, women as main characters, not needing rescue, are not common. I look forward to, and also fear, the series which will present the characters as others have envisioned, not as I did as a reader.

"His (Rand's) only flaw is that he sometimes goes crazy because he's just too powerful..." - well, sure if you ignore the madness caused by the Taint on Saidin or the voices in his head. Rand's going crazy from the Taint creates a ticking clock of whether he'll go crazy and destroy the world before he can save it from the Dark One. It serves to create story tension and (internal) character conflict when he questions his own sanity and ability to succeed. As a practical matter, the fact that Rand is so powerful and draws so much of Saidin makes it even more of a problem as it increases the amount of the Taint and crazy. Chosen One Trope: In the real world, we do have a magical prophesy about a "Chosen One" destined to save the world and all mankind - and people talk about him incessantly. In fact, there are entire religions devoted to him, wars fought in his name, and people cannot stop talking about him. Based our real world example, one might argue that people in the Wheel of Time don't talk about Rand enough, nor does he inspire near the blind faith and devotion that has actually occurred in the real world. Wheel of Time is not perfect. Frankly, I also believe that PoD, WH, CoT, and KoD could have (and should have) been edited down to 2 books. However, Garrett Robinson's criticisms are based on both factual flaws regarding the characters and their stories AND lack of literary knowledge around the fantasy genre. As for the absurd criticism regarding Jordan's desire to die before he's finished, most stories suggest that Jordan devoted much of his time before dying consolidating his materials and working with Sanderson to ensure that the series was completed the way he wanted it to be. There is no evidence to suggest that those stories are merely PR to make sure fans were onboard with someone else finishing the books to increase book sales. People are entitled to their opinions. It's too bad that they're not required to be based on reality when they express them.

At the end he manages to call Well of Ascension a mediocre book... not the most lucid analysis

You cleared up one thing for me. I always enjoyed the first book but considered it the weakest of the bunch because it seemed a near carbon copy of Fellowship of the Rings until future books went waaaaay past it. I know most fantasy authors borrow heavily from Tolkien but Jordan’s seemed so blatant that I considered it a weakness. But when you said that Jordan stated it was a retelling of Lord of the Rings in a more realistic setting and continued from there, it all clicked for me. Now what I thought was a weakness, I now see as strength. Thank you for that Daniel.

wow dude..you destroyed him. he shouldn't write critiques anymore. Should delete all his social media accounts

I laughed through this guy’s article as I have had criticisms of WofT in the past (loved the series, by the way) and none of them match any of his eight factors. I’m all for educated speculation but his character assassination was the worst example of armchair psych I probably have seen.

I don’t even like the Wheel of Time, but I can appreciate aspects of it.

Honestly, what gets me the most about this is that the guy actually did research, but only for stuff he thought he could pick on. He picks on Nynaeve's name, el'Nynaeve ti al'Meara Mandragoran. Except, wait a minute, he also says he gave up during the fifth or sixth book. The "el" at the beginning of her name isn't part of her first name. It's an honorific given to the Queen of Malkier. And Mandragoran is obviously Lan's last name, which she took in her marraige to him (iirc, the ti also signifies a maiden name, but I'm not positive). Trouble is, by the end of book six that still hadn't happened. Not only is Nynaeve's full name incredibly situational, popping up only a couple of times in the series, but this guy never even read far enough into the series to see it. He just looked it up after the fact to complain about it. Also, Man, now I'm really curious what the unprofessional bit that got edited out was.

I started the last book and felt lost, like I had missed something, maybe it was the long wait but I haven't been able to pick it up and go on. Is it worth plowing through, will there be cohesive satisfaction with the previous books and characters? I enjoyed all the books but this felt like I was dropped into a fast forward and it wasn't making sense.

Halfway through, I realized that I've made a mistake in watching this video. Spoilers abound. Don't watch this video if you've not finished the series. Edit: I'm on the 10th book, if anyone wants to know.

Well plotted, structured and reasoned rebuttals. I believe you were too nice, should have burned this down much sooner. Thanks for the great content.

Its so weird that these kinds of people don't understand that its not a case of "women being attracted to men is bad" the problem comes when the men never show such attraction and the women only ever seem to care about men and have no other motivations. That's literally not even sort of the case with wheel of time... every single male protagonist has a chapter talking about wanting to dance with pretty girls, so it would be weird if the women never ever expressed attraction to men. The amount of times this reviewer mentioned that the women just want to bone Rand made me so confused cause my reaction to read the first few books was "wow this book is incredibly unsexy and has 0 wish fulfillment for a series where the protagonist marries three women." Like, any time a woman shows interest in Rand, he immediately turns them down cause he clearly doesn't think of sex as a thing outside of relationships and marriage. Any power Rand possesses seems a billion times more like a burden than a thing any real person would want so its ridiculous to call him a Mary Sue... Also this is a world where WOMEN ARE IN CHARGE. It's literally a de-facto matriarchy where women are entrusted with all the power and men are treated like fools who can't be trusted with too much power. How could anyone read this and consider the women to not have agency when they're literally the ones calling the shots even on a systematic scale. Considering the white tower exists only for women, you can bet your ass that almost every single scene inside the white tower passes the Bechdel test with flying colors, so he must have just skipped those parts... The Shadow Rising starts with Min's entire motivation being that she's worried about Rand's status, and yet she mentions it I think one time and then never mentions it again for that entire chapter, focusing instead on the Aes Sedai and their mission and Egwene and Elayne and Nynaeve. This dude is a weird contrarian and disgustingly disrespectful to a person who died relatively young, unable to finish his life's work. Framing it like it was Robert Jordan's goal to die before finishing it is beyond ghoulish. I'm not even the biggest WoT fan but holy shit this was a ridiculous review and everything this guy publishes in the future should be absolutely scrutinized.

Did he say that the second book in the mistborn trilogy was bad? You have got to be kidding me.

I dont think he even read the first 5 books like he says......

Just a question that has nothing really to do with the video.. is wheel of time worth to continue to read? Because i got through the second book and felt like i didn’t have the energy to read the third one

Hot take from Mars on that sudden Well of Ascension diss. Damn

i read the entire series, and now im rereading it again because i absolutely love it. i love the little details that are left unanswered, like Nakomi, (please correct me if that isnt her name, i dont quite remember) From the aiel waste. in book 5, when Asmodean died and we didnt know how until later on. i recommend this series to many of my book-loving friends because i too, admire it.

I wonder if this is the same Garrett Robinson that has a booktube channel. If he is he also is an author. I would be interested to read some of his books to see if his books fit into his criticisms

This guy must be a Terry Goodkind fan Mr. Jordan had knew the ending before he wrote EOTW I really don't like this article it's very disrespectful and seems to have a personal hate for the man and not really the books this made me very angry And there is a prophecy in the real world it's in the last book of the Bible

1st thank you for liking and promoting these books so much. I started to WoT so many times and just couldn’t get into it. so many ppl love these books and then i seen how to talk about these books i tried it again. I have finished 2 books and cant wait to start the 3rd now. ( finishing Lightbringer 1st then back to WoT) I couldn’t finish this video cause i didn’t want any spoilers but good on you for calling this guy out. too many ppl start talking without fact checking 1st these days. Keep up the good work i really enjoy the vids and opinions

14:20 Also the prophecy of the dragon doesn't really state he's going to save the world, it's just as often said he'd going to destroy it, and even when he's going to save it it's not clear he's really going to save it as much as his death somehow end up saving it.