I was very happy to find this. I heard complaints that it's just a Tolkien clone and Jordan doesn't portray women well. But what I found was kind of a relic. It's an excellent fantasy series that probably couldn't be written again. Wish we had more like it.
What a flattering complaint. Reminds me of this:
"Terry Brooks has often been disparaged for imitating Tolkien, particularly by those reviewers who find his books inferior to Tolkien's own. I can say only that I wish there were more imitators -- we need them -- and that all imitations of so great an original must necessarily be inferior. "
https://web.archive.org/web/20110823100353/https://www.theni...
It doens't feel like a Tolkien clone. There are definitely parallels you can draw but they start very broad and become even less defining as the books progress. A hero's journey, humble beginnings, a powerful magic user, clear good vs evil. And the world is very different than middle earth.
> Jordan doesn't portray women well.
tugs braid
There's a lot of awkward folded her arms beneath her breasts for sure but I never understood this criticism. Some female characters were trope-y, but so were many of the male characters.
I went in hearing about controversy online and guess I ended feeling like I'm miscalibrated from fantasy that is so much worse.