I guess I should be happy with the honesty. Personally, I think that any thematic grouping or trying to keep the climaxes near the end is outweighed by the clarity that is lost. Far worse is juggling the chapters to give the book a false sense of action by disjointedly going from chapter to chapter. It is not the be all and end all, though.

For the benefit of those who disagree, to me a linear time-line emphasizes the fact that the world is most important. (It is nice to know for instance that Verin's chat with Mat isn't occurring at the exact same time as Rand's chat with Fortuona.) It is significantly easier to see the world as a whole and in the big picture. It puts you in the world.

A chopped up storyline makes it clear that how the story is told is more important then the story itself. That, in my mind, is sad, but not the worst disaster that can happen. It won't destroy my enjoyment of the books.