Robert Jordan @ MindSay 
The wheel of time
I like fantasy-books. But I only read "Lord of the Rings" from Tolkien. But I wanna read more. I also read the books-serie from Terry Goodkind. I don't know what it's called in English, but we call it "Wetten van de Magie". But now I beginning to read a new serie. The Wheel of Time. I just wonder. Is there anyone who readt it and has an opinion about it, cause I want to know it. I read the first two chapters and I liked it. But I don't know what to expect from the other chapters. But more importantly the other books. Cause the first book can be good, but then the 2nd one or the 3rd one doesn't have to be. I remember I read the "Left Behind"-series. It's a sort of religious book series. But there were a few books that were boring, while the others were booming with action. And now I am afraid this will happen here too. For now I like it. But good, maybe you don't know the serie, but you have read other fantasy books. Do you have a tip for me? Cause I want to read a good serie. A serie that will haunt you the rest of the live so good is it. So please and this is real call for action. React! Lemme hear what you think is a good serie or what is a good fantasy book. Ohh, by the way I also read the Hobbit already.
Quote of the Day: Robert Jordan
First a link to the blog: Robert's Blog
And now for the portion I like, from December 19th:
"The reason for the popularity of fantasy, and the reason science fiction is fading in comparison, is quite simple, really. Increasingly in books and films, including science fiction but also in everything from mysteries to so-called "main stream literary" novels, the lines between right and wrong have become blurred. Good and evil are more and more portrayed as two sides of the same coin. This is called realism. People by and large want to believe that there is a clear cut right and wrong, though, and that good and evil depend on more than how you look in the mirror or whether you're squinting when you do. In fantasy, you can talk about good and evil, right and wrong, with a straight face and no need to elbow anybody in the ribs to let them know you're just kidding, you don't really believe in this childish, simplistic baloney. That seems to be less and less so in other genres.
Does that mean fantasy all has to be goody-goody on the side of right and black-as-the-pit on the side of evil. No. In my own work telling right from wrong is often difficult. Sometimes my characters make the wrong choice there. Sometimes they do things are quite horrific. But they try to find the right choice. This is the way I think most people see the world and their behavior in it -- trying to do the right thing with the knowledge that sometimes you're going to make the wrong choice, and with "right" defined as more than simply being of benefit to yourself -- and they want to read books that reflect this. Right and wrong are not simply different shades of gray. Good and evil are not simply a matter of how you look at them. (Have you ever noticed the use of "of course?' As in, "The actions of the suicide bombers is quite horrific, of course...." You know that a "but" is coming, followed by an explanation of why their actions. while "quite horrific. of course" are also "entirely understandable under the circumstances," which come down to "the death and destruction is all somebody else's fault completely.")
As the view of the world, as expressed by the evening news and most books, has increasingly become that everything is really just shades of gray, people have grown more and more to want something that says choosing right from wrong may be difficult, seeing what is evil might be hard, but it is not only worth making the effort, it is possible if you try. Maybe not every time, but most of the time by and large. And that is the heart of the popularity of fantasy, and why it has grown. I suspect that somebody has a doctorate in the waiting simply by showing a correlation between the increase in popularity of fantasy on one hand and, on the other, the increase on the evening news and in most literature of the view that right and wrong, good and evil, are just matters of where you stand and how you're holding your head at the moment."
- Robert Jordan
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