The use of italics in W&T

I love this series. BS is a great author, and I will always respect him for finishing my favorite series, Wheel of Time. However-

I truly dislike his use of italics in his books, especially in W&T. It feels like he hit a new record for number of italicized words in this book. I understand his desire to add emphasis to the words and actions of a character but it was so often that it started to lose its significance. I started to see it as the crutch of an author who tells more than he shows. This book was great, but I cant help imagining what it would have been with the prose of Robert Jordan or Tolkien.