The world of "Robert Jordans" Wheel of time.

AnCapaillMor

So anyway really getting into the wheel of time, i've about 100 pages to go in book 8(path of daggers). So i picked up the the i suppose the guide book to the wheel of time. Very interested the breaking of the world etc, and the book has "The Strike at Shayol Ghul" now.

My question is, if i read the guide, will it ruin anything as in spoilers for later on. I don't want to read it and find some revelation that i would've found later from book 9 and on. I kinda was flicking around the WOT wiki and found out something i didn't want to find out, don't want that to happen again.

NothingMan

Just stick to the books and don't risk spoilers. There's some epic parts that you could end up ruining for yourself. I've never read anything other than the books.

I know there are a bajillion characters and it's hard to keep track but I found even if I couldn't remember if someone asked me, once I got reading again it all fell into place.

I reread as far as 7 a few years ago but no further, jumped right into book 12 and it all comes flooding back as characters reappear.

Black Sheep

When I read the guide book one of the things that annoyed me was how little new information it actually contains. It felt like a regurgitation of what I already had been told over the course of the WoT narrative as opposed to an authorative history of events, people etc.

I'd say you're much, much more likely to come across a spoiler online (whether in a wiki or in a forum like this) than through reading that guide book FWIW.

On the subject of re-reads- I did a complete re-read once and once-only. If I were doing it again I would suggest the Tor Website's re-read summary with commentaries...

sushisushi

The Guide (also know as the Big Book of Bad Art) came out in 1997, so I doubt very much that it would spoil anything past A Crown of Swords. I just looked at my copy, which is a reissue from 2000, so I'd look at yours and maybe hang on until you finish Winter's Heart, if you have the same one, just in case.

I do remember being somewhat disappointed that there wasn't more detail in the Guide, also. What it really does is take a lot of facts about the different countries and organisations that you pick up in dribs and drabs throughout the series, and put them together in a coherent, organised fashion. I don't remember any dramatic revelations about where the series was going (RJ soooo didn't work like that!), so I'd reckon you're pretty safe. The art is really poor, too, although I like the conceit of calling Sweet's covers 'Some Narrative Paintings of Dubious Authenticity'

There's reputedly going to be a proper encyclopaedia published after the last book, which Harriet is editing, based on RJ's background notes. Now, that I'd like to see, but only once the series is all published.