The Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordanby Robert Jordan
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 11 fantasy novel series by recommenders
Epic fantasy series that people call a classic and enjoy reading; the most common caveat is slow pacing and padding in later books.
Epic fantasy series that people call a classic and enjoy reading; the most common caveat is slow pacing and padding in later books.
30 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 20
- criticize it
- 10
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 20 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Excellent, classic epic fantasy
“It's an excellent fantasy series that probably couldn't be written again.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “Wheel of Time is still some of the finest fantasy you will ever read.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “No Slop Grenade” “Wheel of Time is my favorite fantasy series.”
Comment from 16 Aug 2026 in “Speaking for the Dead” - Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Fun and enjoyable to read
“the story is fun - I enjoyed every bit of Wheel of Time”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Maybe the Default Settings Are Too High” “because I had so much fun reading them”
Comment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Little Free Library Books” “I really enjoyed the books but there is a lot of issues around pacing.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Sanderson completed the series
“Brandon Sanderson's work completing Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time is very respectable”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Butlerian Jihad” “So pleased that Brandon Sanderson stepped in to finish it.”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “Sanderson somehow managed to end the Wheel of Time”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Brandon Sanderson just sold his Cosmere universe to Apple TV”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Pacing and consistency problems
“I really enjoyed the books but there is a lot of issues around pacing.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “the pacing and consistency are atrocious”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Overpadded, long books
“I still thinks these books are radically overpadded.”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Maybe the Default Settings Are Too High” “epic cycles like Wheel of Time, that go on forever and in which the author carefully doles out plot points”
Comment from 13 May 2026 in “Show HN: I asked AI to write Sci-Fi for eternity” Sanderson books weaker than Jordan's
“Unfortunately I felt mostly underwhelmed. I think the Sanderson transition did not age as well as initially received.”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “But the Sanderson books are pretty meh and not really worth doing a reread of the whole series for.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Hard to get into
“I got to about the third book and completely lost interest”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “could never get into the Wheel of Time book series”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams”
Other fantasy novel series people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novel series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discworldby Terry Pratchett | 33 | 4 | 89% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Harry Potterby J.K. Rowling | 28 | 7 | 80% | 9 | 1 yr4 owners | Approved |
| The Wheel of Timeby Robert JordanThis page | 20 | 10 | 67% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Stormlight Archiveby Brandon Sanderson | 12 | 1 | 92% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Malazan Book of the Fallenby Steven Erikson | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
27 of the 31 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Brandon Sanderson's work completing Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time is very respectable”
“Some female characters were trope-y, but so were many of the male characters.”
“Books 2-4 remain the high point, I would say”
“But the Sanderson books are pretty meh and not really worth doing a reread of the whole series for.”
“the pacing and consistency are atrocious”
“It's a classic, but this is absolutely true”
“If you don't like to be sad, at least wait to forget most of it before watching the Prime Video series.”
“I really enjoyed the books but there is a lot of issues around pacing.”
“It's an excellent fantasy series that probably couldn't be written again.”
“Wheel of Time is my favorite fantasy series.”
“Was myself grossly disappointed with the Wheel of Time series.”
“I still love WoT but I do give a disclaimer when recommending it.”
“It's great, though. I'm sad it's over, and I'm going to miss the characters.”
“I loved it purely based on the show itself.”
“The third season was great and left me wanting for more.”
“it was a train wreck apart from the actresses who played Moiraine and Lanfear”
“Wheel of Time is still some of the finest fantasy you will ever read.”
“epic cycles like Wheel of Time, that go on forever and in which the author carefully doles out plot points”
“because I had so much fun reading them”
“You can add the Wheel of Time to the list”
“could never get into the Wheel of Time book series”
“Sanderson somehow managed to end the Wheel of Time”
“Unfortunately I felt mostly underwhelmed. I think the Sanderson transition did not age as well as initially received.”
“So pleased that Brandon Sanderson stepped in to finish it.”
“I got to about the third book and completely lost interest”
“I still thinks these books are radically overpadded.”
“the story is fun - I enjoyed every bit of Wheel of Time”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.