Not to mention the innumerable crutches Jordan used.
Sanderson made huge difference to the series, which led to me being even more blindsided when the surprise racism arrived in the form of the Sharan race.
In Wheel of Time or his own stuff?
In the Wheel of Time. During the final battle the Sharans show up to fight for evil. They're the only human country that's only mentioned as evil, they're dark skinned, their magic users are crazy and "move like apes". It's a real tonal shift for how any other human group is treated in the rest of the entire series. They seem kinda like an homage the Southrons in LotR, only it comes across not just vaguely-maybe racist, but kinda "you're going to have to explain how this isn't blatantly portraying all black people as evil savages".
You've heard of the country, Shara, many times. It's what's on the other side of the Aiel Waste. It's this mysterious place that doesn't allow outsiders in, except for select merchants. It's shrouded in mystery right up until the last battle when the country joins the Dark One. Even if it isn't racist, it's bit of shit writing (that stands out because so much else is good) because it's at odds with how the entire rest of the world works. Rather than people being a mix of good and bad, this country just gets a "nope, we're on the side of evil" with no apparent rhyme or reason. The fact that this entirely evil country is described as dark skinned, curly haired, with lots of tattoos and other tribal imagery... Well, that's at least a bad decision, even if it wasn't meant to be offensive.
*checks the covers of the books I was referring to* Just says David Eddings on them, so what the fuck ever, dude. David and Leigh Eddings. Fine. Good. Happy?
About the time Belgarath the Sorcerer came out, Leigh's name started being added to the books, and David made a big deal about the fact that Leigh had been secretly contributing all along, and after that, Leigh's name started being plastered all over everything as if he was guilty about not including her earlier.
@Null sure doesn't seem to like him.
I could be wrong, but I think he was just accusing D&L of making something up halfway through because they needed something to fill in a plot hole.
I've read The Rivan Codex. There was as much background material as published books.
Same. The only Eddings' books I haven't read are High Hunt and The Losers. The Codex is full of info, but that didn't keep the stories from apparently pulling things out of thin air sometimes. I feel like the Codex was likely revised multiple times during the novels' creation.
I thought that was Zalasta.
He was for most of the books, but in the last book he summons Klael and realizes that rather than controlling Klael, he's the pawn and that all of the conflicts were setting the stage for the confrontation between Bhellom (using Sparhawk as champion) and Klael.
Yeah, I agree. He absolutely revitalized the saga.
I think he dropped the ball somewhat in Towers of Midnight due to his undying love for Perrin, but it was still good.
I've enjoyed the series so far, Nemesis Games is that last that I've currently read, since the newest is still only available in hardcover, and I found it to be the weakest so far. I like the characters, like the world that they've built, and enjoy the story they're telling, but that last book just felt like it was spinning wheels waiting on something else.
