'The Wheel of Time' Is Finally Coming to Amazon Prime Video

It has been a while since a book series with a deep mythology was successfully adapted for television. And while the Wheel of Time series isn't akin to Game of Thrones, it has a following and a fictional world that viewers will likely eat up.

But for those who are unfamiliar with the books or the show based on them, which is coming to Amazon Prime, they may be wondering how many books are in the Wheel of Time series.

Or, more importantly, what The Wheel of Time is even about. At its core, the books and the show revolve around a middle-earth type of world wherein women are at the top of the political chain. But, as the title suggests, it also takes place in a distant future.

Things can get confusing for those who have never read the books, so let's break down a few key details.

The Wheel of Time books, by author James Oliver Rigney Jr. under his pen name Robert Jordan, take place in a fictional world that includes the past and future. The series starts with the news that servants of the Dark One, an all-encompassing evil being, are looking for a man who is said to be the Dragon reborn.

According to a prophecy, this man will have the power to control both good and evil, and the first book follows him on his journey with other characters.

From there, the other books continue with the same mythos, and readers are introduced to new characters and storylines while some of them converge. It's not unlike Game of Thrones in that regard.

There's an ensemble of characters, and the TV version of The Wheel of Time will be the same way with a large cast.

The Wheel of Time books involve an intricate story woven through time and space between lots of different characters, some of whom also have magic powers. Again, it's similar to Game of Thrones in that way. And the Wheel of Time TV series might be Amazon's chance to bank on fans of the fantasy novels.

Unlike the novels from the Game of Thrones franchise, however, the Wheel of Time books are a lot to take on. There are 15 books in the series. The first was published in 1990, and in 2004, a prequel titled New Spring was released to add to the story.

The most recent book from the Wheel of Time series came out in 2013.

Right now, it's not totally clear how many books are included in the Wheel of Time TV series. With so many books, the show has virtually unlimited material to pull from. But there's a chance that the show's writers could take different elements from all 15 books and mix them in, rather than have Season 1 follow the first book, and so on.

Showrunner Rafe Judkins told Entertainment Weekly that he wants the show to stay true to the novels.

"I try to stick to the spine and the heart of the books, and bring that to the screen," he told the outlet. "If I can successfully do that, the story and the characters will sell themselves."

The Wheel of Time premieres on Amazon Prime in November 2021.