Wheel of Time 1-14 (spoiler-free)

Now that I have spent about 1.75 years of my life reading this fantasy epic (not full time) I found it again a little reasonable (!) Time to invest in a short review (relative to a more than 11,000 pages strong mammoth work).

A brief overview of the volumes:

The series begins with an excellent first book. The following 4 to 5 volumes (I find it somewhat difficult to distinguish these, my excuse) extend the presented world and excellent paint a richly detailed but always interesting picture that very world. The history of the characters is exciting and quite rich application. From about 8 band but captures the story of unbelievable to go in the width and abandon almost any sense of purpose. The mass of the supporting characters is extremely confusing and I suspect that it was not only impossible for me / I do to remember all this and tell them apart (especially since several important supporting characters also sometimes change the name). That kept my feeling until the 10th band. In the 11th, the last written by Robert Jordan belt, the pace suddenly pulls back on; it seems almost a bit rushed (which is understandable due to the fatal disease of RJ). After the death of RJ Brandon Sanderson took over the series in order to bring them to an end. In general I found the in the volumes 12 and 13 very well done but determined not just rushed and with a very good understanding of the world created by RJ. And band 14 is somehow something special, not necessarily very good, but good and the number and appropriate throughout.

Style:

The style of RJ I felt as solid. Linguistically well understood, but it was missing every now and then to act atmospherically dense, the final step in order. For buildings, equipment and the like are easy, especially in later books, described much too detailed. Partly obstruct such descriptions, the action, in the sense of: It's just exciting, I'm interested in the tile color, wood grain and the tapestry pattern as pure not, but what just happened in the room.
Attempts of humor coming back time through, mostly fail, but are also not too often. But humor is well known, very subjective.

World / Characters:

This can be kept short: The created world is great and consistent in itself, full of history and diversity, and for me the highlight of the books. And by the relatively high number of characters is almost every identification and hate figures find (at least Nervensägen or).

Others:

As I have already indicated, the volumes of approximately 8 to 11 pretty boring. But after I had accepted that, it was fine. I did not read the books so much to know how, then, is going on, but simply to visit the world and its characters. This was a new experience for me, but somehow it worked, if probably not intended by the authors also. The remaining books are quite exciting and most books have semi-open ends that ensure that gripped straight to the next band (even the relatively boring). Which, annoyingly, the semi-open ends are often not continued directly.
There are also slight discrepancies in the books in the sense that some early ideas are later no longer taken. Explicitly: These are not logical errors and no real central plot elements, but you realize that not everything has been previously thought completely. Interestingly, BS must have seen it like, he gives himself in recent books but effort to bridge the gap to some early ideas.

Conclusion / Recommendation:

The series is recommended, but not fully. Who is perhaps loves rapid action with quick direction changes here towards the middle to give up (or not, because one has it already done so far). Here who like details and a big world in which it is (as RJ) also can lose time, has his new favorite fantasy series. Which between them I would recommend Wheel of Time, because despite weaknesses also much good is in the books and I think that the series quite unique, almost an experience that is.
I think I will take them in 10 years for a second time in attack, and that, I think, is still a good praise for a book. Better would be: I les in two years again, but it would also much worse. ;)