[Agraba]

When I suggest this to people, they always have such a hard time getting into the beginning. Even someone I met in univ. said she tried the beginning, and stopped reading. When reading the beginning of GotM, I kept going on and off, and it took me about a week to get the first chapter or so done.

It's a little slow to get exciting, isn't it? Could SE have been much more famous if he made a more compelling introduction.

[Dolorous Menhir]

It's just too much with too little exposition, I think. You just get dropped in at the deep end, and it takes some perseverance before you learn to swim.

But once you can, staying afloat couldn't be more enjoyable.

[Agraba]

I know, but maybe he could've been so much more successful if he started people on a slope until about halfway into the book.

[Varunwe]

I had no problems getting into the book. Sure, at the beginning I didn't have a clue what was going on, but that made it all the more interesting.

[High House Death]

The bad part is that the reader is left to fill in the details, especially regarding the magic system. However, it's highly worth it to persevere.

[Reborn]

I experienced no problems when reading the book, and despite the fact that it was rather confusing for the first hundred pages I was practically hooked from the beginning, which occurs too seldom. I understand why some people are discouraged, though, but I, personally, enjoyed the way you were thrown into the story head-first.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

People are so used to being spoonfed everything in a book it bothers them when they don't know what's going on at first. It's just very different from most other things out there.

[Falco]

I loved the fact that you got dropped into the middle of the action. It was a great hook I thought. It just confuses a lot of people apparently.

[Achak Bemossed]

I think the amount of Characters has something to do with it as well. When I read through the Dramatis Personae bit I was all like 'What the Hell?' In a way it was a relief that a lot of them died of soon.

It was the part with Crokus and the rooftop chase that got me hooked (I'm a big fan of the Thief game series)

[McLovin]

Now see, it's not so much the beginning-that's-not-really-a-beginning that I found difficult, it's just the sheer volume of information that SE hurls at you on every page. Hurts my itty bitty head...

[Zoso]

It was a new world and a lot gets thrown at you from the start. I was drawn in but knew so little and I'm one of those that needs to know why is why if you know what I mean. With all that info you still don't have near enough to understand this new world, so I feel this can make it rough to get past the first book and or at least the first few chapters. I have read the first book and second book two times before moving on to the third just to get a better understanding. I'm glad I did!

[Abyss]

In the first hundred pages or so, you're thrown into a war you know nothing about, ref'd a bunch of significant characters who appear to have died just before you got there, a magic system that seems to make no sense at all, some non-humans who resemble neither elves, dwarves or anything else familiar, a bunch of gods who seem to be good guys, working against an empire who also seem to be good guys, some oversized dogs who use armies as chew toys, all the good guys are ambiguous enough to be bad guys and the only good guy is an overweight sorceress who just allowed a bunch of soldiers to be killed...

It's a bit much if all you're used to is 'Rand al'Thor walked thru the forest...'

- Abyss, loved that about the book.

[blewin]

I actually picked up book 2 first, so getting into book 1 was no problem as it filled in some holes for me. Still, I wish I had read book 1 first. Though book 2 was still enormously enjoyable, it would have been an even greater read had I read the series in order.

for those of you who have given up or are close to giving up, please, continue to read on! this series is so fabulous and awesome. It is exactly what the stale fantasy genre needs. You'll never have read anything like it! You won't regret crawling through that first few chapters to get there.

Or if you're desperate, read book 2 first.

[Grimjust Bearegular]

Reborn;141584 said:

I experienced no problems when reading the book, and despite the fact that it was rather confusing for the first hundred pages I was practically hooked from the beginning, which occurs too seldom. I understand why some people are discouraged, though, but I, personally, enjoyed the way you were thrown into the story head-first.

I second that:)

[Urko Crust]

I like when i havent got a clue what is going on, makes you think more about what you are reading. I dont like the Dramatis Personae at all it nearly put me off and i still dont like it in the later books. Bit irrational, i just ignore it now.