Wheel of Time

i thought the plot of the first series was more interesting but the second series had better characters

The main settings are literally:

1. The remains of the Roman Empire but they were magically advanced in their heighday.

2. The Holy Roman Empire but they're also a colonial power.

3. England and Scandinavia but England is occupied by the HRE as per #2.

4. The Ottoman Turks but a cannibal wizard is the real power behind the throne.

5. An implied (but never visited) Far East.

It's definitely going to be a shitshow.

Why do Slavs hate Turks so much?

you're talking to a certified shill so idk what you want me to say, yes i fricking love it lol. like many long series, the first book is all prologue. you have to read the 1st book and then the 2nd book gets into the meat of the plot. read it if you like books where 95% of the characters are detestable and nothing good ever happens. very grimy books, every scene smells awful. i like the way magic is handled in the story, 99% of characters have absolutely no reason to understand it and barely believe it exists so when it (rarely) shows up they're mystified and get their shit rocked.

many people think of it as 1st trilogy, 3 standalones, 2nd trilogy, but i think all the books are connected enough that they count as one long series and the middle 3 books just have 3 unique main characters. if you don't read them all in order the 2nd trilogy will make little sense anyway.