Do you need to read The Wheel of Time books before watching the show?

Later this year on Nov. 19, Amazon Prime’s The Wheel of Time will be premiering, and fans are understandably excited.

The long-awaited series comes from the popular fantasy book series of the same name from Robert Jordan. And with the first book having been released in 1990, that’s given the book series plenty of time to rack up lots of fans over the years. And of course, the exciting story does all the talking. Here’s how Amazon Prime Video describes the series:

"Set in an epic fantasy world, The Wheel of Time follows Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), a member of the incredibly powerful all-female organization called the Aes Sedai, as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. There, she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young villagers, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn… the one who will either save or destroy humanity."

Judging by the trailer that Amazon Prime Video released for The Wheel of Time, that just adds to even more of the excitement. But if you’ve been keeping an eye out on the series and you aren’t familiar with Jordan’s writing, you might be wondering if you should read The Wheel of Time before watching the series. So, should you? We have the answers.

Do you have to read The Wheel of Time books before watching the show?

Like with any adaptation, you certainly are not required to read The Wheel of Time books before watching the TV series. If you’ve watched any adapted series, from Harry Potter to The Hunger Games and even Game of Thrones, the on-screen adaptation is always set up to make sure it’s as accessible to as many people as possible.

With that out of the way, you still might be wondering if it’s worth reading the series anyway. Well, we definitely recommend reading The Wheel of Time if you can spare the time — the books series is incredibly long (currently spanning 15 books). And the books themselves are quite long as well. But the series is regarded as some of the best fantasy fiction of all time, and the first book has nothing but glowing reviews on Goodreads.

So if you’re someone who enjoys having that extra information about the characters, events and lore as you watch, then there’s certainly an advantage to that. And if you’re a fan of fantasy books and TV series in general, you won’t want to skip out on this.

On the other hand, if you’re a more casual fan of the genre or can’t spare the time, then don’t worry. But if watching the series inspires you to read the books later, then that’s even better!

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