Welcome to the world of The Wheel of Time!
The Wheel of Time is coming to the screen this fall and I’ve been rereading the books that inspired the series and I want to enthuse, so here we are. Welcome and thank you for signing up for the newsletter! This newsletter is kinda an intro but going forward I’ll have news, reactions to new trailers or episodes, brief explainers, character profiles, and more. Any book spoilers will be at the end of the newsletter and very clearly labeled so you can stop reading.
Let’s review some Wheel of Time basics for anyone who’s new and/or, like me, has a memory like a goldfish. The Wheel of Time is a series of 14 fantasy novels (and a prequel) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson; Sanderson wrote the final 3 novels in the series after Jordan passed. It is an epic (like, 4 million words epic) story about good vs. evil, destiny vs. personal choice, badass women wielding magic, friendship, and lots of detailed descriptions of everyone’s outfits and hair. So. Many. Details.
The very basic plot, which is also the plot of the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series, is this: Moiraine Damodred, an Aes Sedai, travels to the small village of Emond’s Field with her Warder (a bodyguard, basically) Lan in search of three young men: Rand al’Thor, Matrim “Mat” Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara. She believes one of them is the prophesied Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy the world. Dangerous hijinks and incredible worldbuilding ensue.
As we go on this journey, I want you to know two things:
The Wheel of Time is a complete book series! Unlike… well, you know. 👀
Google characters at your own risk and definitely do not look at The Wheel of Time wiki if you want to avoid spoilers. The books have been finished since 2013 so it’s risky to go poking around.
That trailer!!
Amazon took their sweet time getting us the first trailer for the series, but finally! Part of me felt worried that Amazon would hold their money close because of their budget for The Lord of the Rings TV series, but clearly they’re giving The Wheel of Time some dollars. I feel so optimistic about the adaptation!
Anyway, I definitely got goosebumps on my first two viewings and felt tears in my eyes with that first shot of Tar Valon and the White Tower. The trailer kind of echoes the story in that it begins in the quiet village of Emond’s Field where everything is totally fine and chill… and then our main group leaves Emond’s Field after an attack on the village and things become the opposite of fine and chill. The trailer shows plenty of Aes Sedai too, which I’m thrilled to see (even if they don’t seem to be wearing the shawls from the books). And last but not least, the final moments tease a bit of the show’s score from Lorne Balfe and I need more.
If you want a full breakdown of the trailer with a bunch of screencaps and book context but not plot spoilers, I have you covered with this article on Nerdist. I also have a spoiler-free rundown of everything you need to know about the Aes Sedai.
Do you NEED to read some of the books before the TV series?
Ah, the perennial question about books that become films or TV shows. Look, The Wheel of Time is a complex world with a cast of approximately 1.5 million characters. If you read just the first book, The Eye of the World, you’ll be largely set up for the first season of the show (Rafe Judkins, the showrunner, says the first season pulls from the first 3 books) and you’ll have 832 pages to see if you vibe with the world. If you get the book now, you have until the show’s premiere on November 19 to read it.
BUT if you watched Game of Thrones without reading the books and followed everything? You’re fine. You’re smart and I believe in you. Plus I’m sure Judkins and co. are doing their best to make the show accessible to everyone, regardless of whether they know what a Myrddraal is (it’s a real creepy eyeless monster by the way).
The Wheel of Time’s magic explained
You know all the white threads swirling around in the trailer? Those represent the magic in this world, though it’s not referred to as magic in-universe. It’s the One Power. As Moiraine explains in the books, "The One Power comes from the True Source, the driving force of creation, the force the Creator made to turn the Wheel of Time."
Two halves comprise the One Power: saidar, the female half and saidin, the male half. In the time of this story, only saidar can be safely used or channeled. The Dark One, this world's big bad evil, tainted saidin many hundreds of years ago, meaning that all men who channel saidin eventually go mad and usually cause mass destruction.
So in the events of our story, it’s mostly only women who channel the One Power and many women, but not all, who channel become Aes Sedai. They weave flows of the five elements from the One Power—Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Spirit—for a variety of purposes: healing, fireballs, to create protective wards, and on and on. Those who have the spark to touch the One Power, male or female, have potential to do big things in this world.
My Wheel of Time story
The Wheel of Time was my first fandom. I got the first book in the series from my high school boyfriend—my first ever fantasy book. Robert Jordan had released 6 books at that point (6 giant tomes between 1990 and 1994, can you imagine?). I fell in love. When a friend of my mom’s got the internet, I would use her dial-up to visit a site called WOTMania and pore over the book’s prophecies with online pals in the forums. Yeah, I printed all the prophecies and made notes. I played an Aes Sedai in a forum-based RPG at TarValon.net. I didn’t know the word then, but I truly got into fandom and fan communities with The Wheel of Time. I used to reread the entire series before new releases. I even had the pleasure of meeting Robert Jordan at two signings.
I don’t share this to run down my cred, because that’s dumb. No one needs to explain their fandom or quantify it. And heck, I still haven’t read the last three books (I’m working towards them in a reread now). I just share because I want you to know my teenage self is flipping out alongside my… quite a bit older self. I’m beyond excited for new folks to come into this fandom and learn about this world.
Next time
Curious about anything you saw in the trailer? Any burning Wheel of Time questions? Anything you think those new to The Wheel of Time should know? Reply and let me know and I’ll include them in the next newsletter with spoiler-free answers! Until then, the Wheel weaves as the Wheel will.
My high school boyfriend also introduced me to this series and I was obsessed with it immediately. I’ve actually been messaging him all the WOT series news I come across, which has been fun. And I, too, have not yet read the final 3 books. I was devastated when he died, then thrilled when they announced the series would be complete but wanted to do a full re-read of the series before I tackled them. News of the Amazon series has finally given me the drive to tackle them and I’m just starting my own re-read. So excited to have someone to follow along on this WOT journey! Apart from the person who introduced me I’ve never had anyone else who was into the series that I could discuss it with.