A couple days ago I finished [The Wheel of Time](https://www.audible.com/series/Wheel-of-Time-Audiobooks/B005NB81EI) series and I wanted to let a bit of time pass before writing about it. For anyone who doesn't know, The Wheel of Time is an epic fantasy series. It's comparable to works by Brandon Sanderson, who actually wrote the final three books in the Wheel of Time series at the bequest of the original author's widow. The series has 14 volumes and in audio form weighs in at a whopping 443 hours. That's a lot of book! Still, that's a pretty lame description. # An entire world Considering I sat through 400 hours of this thing, it should go without saying that I _really_ enjoyed the series. What the author did so well was craft an entire world. Not just compelling characters, not just interesting plot lines but an entire human world. Not only are there soldiers, craftsmen, countries with interesting habits and competing political factions, there's also magic. But here's the kicker—the magic is a system. It's not just magic in the sense that some impossible phenomenon can happen willy nilly, there are rules to this magic. I love this. The author seems to have approached magic as one would approach physics, if they were writing physics from the ground up. Defining rules for how the system works and more than implying humanities overall ignorance. It's quite enthralling and it makes it particularly galling when certain characters in the book seem entirely uninterested in discovery, despite the theme of much of the book being the insurmountable obstacle of technical advantage. # A technical advantage Throughout the book, even up into the last volume, characters are discovering new ways in which to use the magic. - They discover something akin to teleportation which completely changes warfare. Then later they discover a sort of magic wall that can block this type of teleportation. This layering of technology is very appealing to read. - One human faction shows up having mastered the art of taming dragons, which gives them a huge advantage in their ability to scout, send messages and transport goods. The advantage is later mitigated by the discovery of teleportation by opposing factions. # Rich human elements Part of what makes the world so vibrant are the multitude of subtle human touches. Things like: - Myths and legends. Many characters initially don't believe in the forces of evil because they've only heard stories and myths that have been passed down for generations. - Multiple names for the Dark One and the Creator. Similar to how people have multiple names for the devil and for god. It just feels so very human to invent multiple names for figures of such religious intensity - Religion without a religion. The themes of battling the dark one and "sheltering in the Creator's palm" feel very religious and yet there's only partial faith involved. The Creator as an entity of goodness is never manifest in the story, while at the same time the characters in the book are struggling against a very tangible force of evil. - Rediscovered inventions of modern society. There are certain uses of magic discovered in the book that are very pleasantly banal. Things like a telephone and a hard drive—both tools which would undoubtedly cause quite a stir if discovered and invented before the industrial era. - Truly loathsome characters. You know a writer is good when they can write a character who you just detest, especially when that character also has redeeming qualities which you must acknowledge.