[Suzerain of Sheol]

Right, I should probably mention I'm an English major, so I tend to look at things from a slightly different perspective.

And the way I see it, all those diversions do nothing but dilute the story that is being told. They make it look like the author (Jordan, or anyone else who succumbs to this *cough* George RR Martin *cough*) has lost focus on the reason he or she originally began to write the story. There has to be a balance when it comes to world-building. It has to serve the story, not the other way around. And I think Jordan got lost in his own setting around halfway through the series, started fleshing out *everything*, which just slowed the plot to a crawl. Again, though, he looked like he was getting back on track by Knife of Dreams.

And the sexism thing is more subtle than that. It's things like... the multitude of magical rituals that involve large numbers of nude women, and/or lesbian sex acts for no apparent reason beyond titillation. Or, alternatively, look at the way pretty every woman in the series treats males. They're a stereotype of militant feminists that paints the female characters in a negative light, rather than a positive one. Which seems sexist.

Like I said, there have been extensive essays written on the subject. It doesn't interest me that much, but I'm sure a quick Google search would find some, if you're interested.

Anyway, let's talk about RJ's writing style. I honestly can't even remember what his prose is like, it's been so long. What are your thoughts on it?