I tell people this about wheel of time. It was originally supposed to be a trilogy and then they all saw $$$ and went "JUST KIDDING" on that ending and wrote 11 more books.
Was it? Didn't know that. It definitely could have been a couple of books shorter, but I love the expansive epicness of the entire wheel of time story.
Well, call it a fan theory. It's not like I have proof.
I was reading them early enough that I remember waiting for Winters Heart to come out, so I had time to lament his decisions in between each book after that 🤣
I understand, but you can tell at book 4 that his plot was going off the rails, and book 5 was his not quite successful attempt to get it back on the tracks. And book 6 clearly reveals it's too much for him.