> At my fiance's insistence ("The best series ever written," he said) I read up through the beginning of the fifth book of Jordan's before I cried "Enough is enough!" It was sooooooo slooooooww. Someone I know described him as the "most patient writer I've ever read." Well, I'm not a patient enough reader, and I can put up with some pretty slow-moving stories! (Read Cherryh. I love her!)

Due to start the fifth book myself, so it will be interesting to see if I encounter the same probelm ... so odd, as I'd enjoyed the books so very much at the start ...

> As for Dune, the first book was wonderful, but I couldn't get through the second. I think whoever wrote the Dune Book-A-Minute (Sam, or Dave?) hit the nail on the head with "I challenge my readers to understand even one of my paragraphs!" I got the impression he was showing off, and (to me) it got unbearable in the second book.

Hmm, I actually found the second to be even better - just personal tastes, I suppose. But by the end of the third, I'd have to agree with you - he (Herbet) was either writing to show off, or purely for the money.

> I mentioned C. J. Cherryh... for a convincing world, try the Chanur series (starts with The Pride of Chanur) or the Foreigner/Invader/Inheritor trilogy.

: ) Thank you! Have added this author and title to the ever growing list of 'must-reads', which has been developing quite icely since I first started visitng rinkworks.

Once again, thank you Ginkgo : )