Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Eye of the World: Book One of The Wheel of Time

Top positive review

Changed my life. Truly.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 26, 2017

(WARNING THE FOLLOWING IS LONG)

Got a book to pass the time while I wait for power to return to Puerto Rico.

This is the first book I ever read for pleasure. (No, i don't mean this is literally the first time I've read for pleasure.) I've read the entire 14 book series and 1 encyclopedia. I've read this book three times, going on fourth. The first in the series. It's like The Hobbit but much more adult and dark. I think the writing is better too. (I'm not really a Tolkien fan too much. Good story. Bad writing. #shotsfired)

Funny story: I never intended to read this book. I wanted money from my great grandma Deeder (Great Deeder we called her). For a toy or something, I forget. But she didn't want to give it to me. So me binge a sly kid I thought, "ok, an educational gift the: a book." And I'd return it later for the cash and buy whatever I wanted.

So I went into Barnes and Noble and picked a book up totally at random, checking only that the price was about the amount of cash I had wanted. She paid for the book. I went home and it sat on a shelf for months.

Later on, I got really sick and stayed home from school. I decided to read it because I had nothing else to do and was on the toilet a lot. When I picked it up, the cover was literally was covered in thick dust. Disgusting. I cleaned it up and started reading.

...and reading. And four hours later I stopped. I remember it was four hours because I was shocked that it was 5PM and dinner and I was a little hungry. I couldn't put it down. I loved it.

And the lessons it taught me and it's new ways of thinking molded who I became as a person. "Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain," became my motto for how to soldier and lead. And so many others. I loved the characters. I literally cried for them in moments of pain or death. Even minor characters are people you know. And I laughed out loud at jokes. Got excited in moments of lust or chase. Even felt genuine fear.

Robert Jordan (James Oliver Rigney, Jr.) was an amazing man too. A taste for the fine old things. Pipes. Hats. Chess. History. He was also a military school guy (like me) at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). And part of the reason I went to military college (NMMI) myself and why I excelled in JROTC in high school. Even into my Regular Army career as Combat Medic (68W) and how I approached medicine and bedside manner (thanks Yellow Ajah and the Band of the Red Hand). Not just his example, but the examples of his characters that inspired me to lead and to be uncompromising in my self discipline, especially honor.

Tragically Jordan died before he finished the books and the last three (or four) were written by his chosen successor Brandon Sanderson (who I had never heard of). And in fact Sanderson was surprised that Jordan wanted him to be his ghost writer. What a huge responsibility to finish the story that fans had been reading literally for more than a decade. I eagerly awaited each new book and when I first started reading there were only four or five, I think.
I convinced my brother to read it too and he also became addicted. We would talk about the different theories and ask questions. It was exciting!

Sanderson did an incredible job. I could not even tell that the writer's voice had changed. He used very detailed notes and talks with Jordan's wife, Harriet (for whom the first book is dedicated). Fans are waiting for the movies to be made. But that's been passed around for years to different studios and directors. It can't be done cheaply or wrong (like the Wizard's First Rule tv series for instance that sucked but the books were amazing by Terry Goodkind). Better no film than a bad one.

Anyway, I got it again to pass the time. It's fun to revisit it from a more adult mindset and with the full knowledge of the 14 novel series. Things I overlooked or seemed unimportant now jump off the page. That sly devil, I think. He knew all along! And there are still unsolved mysteries that are debatable and interesting fan theories and even beautiful fan art.

I could not more strongly recommend this book and the entire Wheel of Time series. I'm not being hysterical when I say it made me who I am. I feel like Jordan and his characters were some of my most important mentors. I perhaps never would have learned to love reading without this book.

Any other Jordan fans out there? Tell me about your story.

1,238 people found this helpful

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Melissa Mitchell

Classic fantasy at its finest

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 27, 2021

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝟯.𝟱/𝟱⭐️

[A note about the book itself: Gorgeous copy. Great quality. Lovely color maps on the inner cover and back cover inner. This is a lovely 30th anniversary edition, however, it’s a little large. So I read it in ebook format since I didn’t want to hold up the book. But nice as a collector item.]

MY REVIEW:
“𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬.” —Robert Jordan

When Trollocs attack their small village, three young men flee their home of Two Rivers to embark on an epic journey. They are led by a woman of great power and her fierce warrior guardian. It is clear that these young men will play an important role...but what? The Dark One knows this, sending his minions to hunt them. Their journey becomes a race against time, and if they don’t reach the Eye of the World before it is too late, the Dark One will destroy them all.

Wheel of Time is one of the most widely known epic fantasy series of all time. Amazon is making it into a show, too! Filming has almost wrapped up. It’s got a release of late 2021. Woot woot!!

This first installment felt so much like Lord of the Rings, but in a good way. It was packed with adventure, a host of characters, magic, incredible world building, and self discovery. While it did move slow at times, reading it always felt like slipping into a magical world. The perfect escape after a long day. And because of its size, I treated this as a slow read and only allowed myself 1-2 chapters per night. It took nearly two months to finish it. Given that it’s a super huge series, at 14 books, I have a feeling each book is going to be better than the last. While this one didn’t WOW me, I did enjoy it enough to continue the series. I’ve grown attached to the characters and I’m eager to see what the Pattern has in store for them.

This fantasy story was written back in the early 90s so it’s a little old fashioned. But I love the feminist feel it has, where women and not men wield the power as Aes Sedai. In terms of style, the writing felt more “macro” than “micro” in descriptions, characters, and events. I didn’t feel like we got into the depth of each character quite how stories today are written. This gave it more of a LOTR feel.

Speaking of LOTR...there were plenty of other noticeable parallels. Good vs Evil. Light vs. Dark. A band of friends racing against time on an epic adventure through the wilderness being led by a warrior and strong magic wielder. Trollocs as the hunters vs LOTR equivalent of Orcs. I’ve heard said that WoT is supposed to be a “darker version” of LOTR. This excites me.

The characters are all very different. We’ve got three farm boys from a small village: Rand, Mat, and Perrin. Two of the village women who accompany them on their adventure: Nynaeve and Egwene. A storyteller who comes along: Thom. Then we’ve got our two leaders of the pack: the Aes Sedai named Moiraine, and her bound Warder named Lan. As far as favorites are concerned, Lan is by far my favorite. He’s got an Aragorn feel to him. His character is mysterious. He’s every bit the warrior. I can easily see myself developing a book crush on him.

Now to the negatives. One thing left me a little salty. The plot tends to feel a little jumpy at times. During the middle of the book, a romance takes place off scene, and while there are subtle clues, we don’t see the confirmation of this until one of the final chapters in the book. It left me scratching my head. Wait, what?! I would have LOVED to see this romance more in the open, as romance is one of the things I look for most in my fantasy stories. But given this book is a bit old fashioned, I can’t say I’m surprised. Romance tends to take more of a front-center role in fantasies today, whereas it didn’t in older fantasy books.

Overall, if you are a lover of epic fantasy, adventure, and LOTR, then I think you’re going to really enjoy this book. And hopefully the series too.

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From the United States

MaxMattaFlores

Changed my life. Truly.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 26, 2017

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Matthew Stapley

A thoughtful book filled with memorable scenes

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 14, 2021

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The most common criticism of the Wheel of Time is that it's a Tolkien rip-off, and I'm always amazed when I read these criticisms that they're delivered as though the reviewer is clever for discovering the influence. Undoubtedly the first half of the Wheel of Time book 1 is not shy about following the plot line along with the plot elements put forth first by Tolkien (or - popularized in the fantasy genre by Tolkien more accurately). Almost to the point where you could question if Robert Jordan doesn't envision this as another third age in Tolkien's universe set a few hundred turnings down the wheel. The Two Rivers is a secluded part of the world with people who never leave that backs up to the 'Mountains of the Mist' (as opposed to the Misty Mountains'). There's a Dark One who is returning in strength, and Trollocs seem an awful lot like reskinned Orcs and Myrdraal are the next level black cloaked villains who even ride black horses.

However by 3/4s of the way through the book I have a hard time seeing how anyone could seriously be contending that what they're reading is a Lord of the Rings rip off, other than that they're proud of themselves for seeing the parallels early on and trying to hold onto that feeling by the time they can get to the end so that they can write a review that shows how they were correct to write it off from the beginning. Where parallels can still be made and levied as criticism by late book I end up wondering why this person is reading a fantasy series if they don't like fantasy, at least in most cases.

In fiction you look to like the characters or to believe the characters. You look the like the world, or believe the world. You want to keep asking questions and to sometimes already be able to find the answers, because the author has already put the answers in the text, or you are able to believe that such answers exist. If your mind is pre-disposed to be captured by the fantastic, your mind enjoys the task of making other-worldly elements real, you may end up enjoying less grounded novels like this one.

This is why I would recommend WoT, and the EotW to anyone that enjoys the fantasy genre in general, because it is a thoughtful book. The character interactions and the plot proceed out of the mind of someone who is considering the questions that might arise. What the personalities of the people in the story are, what the motivations are, what their capabilities are, what the world they're living in is like, and once something is established what affect that has on everything around it. I suppose you might call this tightly constructed. To me this is what obliterates shallow comparisons to Tolkien, because I don't understand how something can be so well thought out, but yet so derivative as to not be worth reading.

It's hardly perfect, fans will try to defend some inconsistencies in Book 1 that don't mesh so well with the other books, particularly 3 onwards, but really there's nothing to defend, particularly with the climax for which I think the answers present in tEotW are not the same as those in the later series. Jordan's presentation of women (which includes them in contrast to men) is admirable in the fundamentals but sometimes goes to far with what he's told himself about how such and such acts as a woman. Such things are more present in later books though. Here Moiraine is almost too perfect (but my favorite character in book 1 for it), Egwene is a girl out for adventure and committed to her own life (a career-oriented woman you might say), and Nynaeve is the one that stands out and we have to question whether she's crossing the line from character into un-realistic. I think she stays in the former. Either way, Robert Jordan takes on the task of portraying women as women, which many male writers avoid altogether, either by avoiding including them almost entirely (Tolkien - the first woman I can think of is Goldberry, Tom Bombadil's wife, who is essentially a housewife...despite being, in my opinion, the Valar Yavanna, with Tom being Aule), or by making them Mary-Sues, or by relegating them to the love interest that follows the hero around making him feel judged constantly until he can live up to his potential which also results in the two formalizing their relationship.

I would say pick up this book, but it may not be for everyone. You have to be someone who is satisfied that a sheepherder and a farmer going from being unable to take care of themselves outside of the structure they grew up in, in any way, to being able to play the flute and juggle at an inn for their meals and board is a large amount of character development.

22 people found this helpful

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lisa ortiz

excellent writing, stunning characters and scenery - an all around winner

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 22, 2010

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i apologize in advance for the length of my review, but given the length of the book, it is warranted. and besides that, this reading was for a challenge, so i think i took on a much more scholarly approach to the write up.

i picked this book up without having ever heard of it, which i guess makes me a bad bookish person. next to J.R.R. Tolkien, these are apparently THE books to read if you are a fan of fantasy, which, to my defense, i am generally not. i have read The Lord of the Ri...more i apologize in advance for the length of my review, but given the length of the book, it is warranted. and besides that, this reading was for a challenge, so i think i took on a much more scholarly approach to the write up.

i picked this book up without having ever heard of it, which i guess makes me a bad bookish person. next to J.R.R. Tolkien, these are apparently THE books to read if you are a fan of fantasy, which, to my defense, i am generally not. i have read The Lord of the Rings trilogy (good stuff) and the first two books of the Eragon series (not so good), but that's about it. so, i guess my point is, i'm not well versed in this genre and probably never will be. regardless, i eagerly joined into a 2010 challenge hosted by Book Love Affair to read the entire series at the rate of one book per month. given that the books are pretty epic in size and in scope, it is a challenge in every sense of the word. but, if The Eye of the World is any indication of what is to come, i'm sure that i won't be disappointed.

the storyline is very Tolkien-esque, about a quaint farming town which is disrupted by something unknown, but very Dark. this brings together the cast and leads them on a cross country journey to, you guessed it, The Eye of the World.

the writing style is exquisitely clean and straight forward, with no frills, and it suits the story just right. jordan is able to elaborately and adequately describe a situation, scene, or person without becoming overzealous with his words. he is clearly a master of the written word and it is a real pleasure to read. in this aspect of the writing, i dare say that i prefer jordan to tolkien. every scene just has a zest to it that leaves you breathless.

"The mare ran, and the other was more than happy to follow. Anywhere, so long as they could escape the fire from the sky that killed the night."

if you love character development, then this is a book that you will just eat up. the characters, despite being overwhelming in number, are genuine and well developed, and wow, can jordan develop a female protagonist?!? before i get to that, let me start with the men, though. jordan constructs strong men, but according to lore, men of this world were at fault for the original sin and therefore, unlike the most powerful women, are unable to touch the One True Source for power. from the strong-willed (i.e. stubborn) farming community women, to the magical Aes Sedai, the women bring a wonderful balance to the story in a way i've never seen. and, regardless of their sex/roles, all of the characters are masterfully woven into the story, making the reading a real delight.

in particular, i loved the character development of Perrin, and Rand to a lesser degree. Perrin's stint with the wolf-man and his self-discovery was probably my favorite segment of the book altogether. of the women, i'm particularly drawn to Moiraine, not just for her power, but for her often subdued character and immense strength of will. i can tell that Nynaeve will grow into a character that i'm going to really enjoy. Lan, in one of the most unexpected and revealing scenes in the book, says this of her:

"You are a remarkable woman, as beautiful as the sunrise, as fierce as a warrior. You are a lioness, Wisdom."

although there is some immaturity in the characters, specifically Mat and Egwene, i think that this will make for some excellent opportunities for character development and maturity in the subsequent books. i'm really looking forward to it.

even some of the less mentioned characters had me wrapped around their fingers, notably Tam, Rand's father (maybe) and Elayne, the would-be Queen, who i'm guessing makes a more prominent appearance in later books, though i could be wrong (just a hunch). the scene where Rand falls into the Royal Garden and meets Elayne is one of the most memorable, for me, though i can't really pinpoint why. i could go on and on about the characters, because there were so many and they were so great, but i'll leave it at that.

in addition to the richness that is presented in the characters, there is a deeply rooted philosophical framework to the entire world that jordan has built. "The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills" is frequently stated, formed to depict the intricate Pattern that has brought the characters together and the story to life. the Pattern of Ages and the lacing of the threads speak of fate and the ever changing intricacies of the World, something that we can all probably relate to on some level. the other philosophical theme that was present was that of the Flame and the Void, which Rand frequently returns to for self-preservation.

"Concentrate on a single flame and feed all your passions into it - fear, hate, anger - until your mind became empty. Become one with the void and you could do anything."

one thing that i absolutely loved about the book was the foreshadowing. jordan obviously knew what he was doing far in advance for, i'm guessing, the entire series. there are so many moments when something happens or someone says something that just screams important, but all i could do was tuck it away in a safe place in my brain to remember for later, which of course i couldn't keep up because it happened so often. i found myself flipping pages like a madwoman sometimes, searching for a phrase or a name that had been idly dropped hundreds of pages earlier that now fit into the puzzle. the most obvious of these was Min's predictions early in the groups travels. there were so many little things that i'm sure a re-read of these books would be well worth the effort (maybe a 2011 book challenge?).

despite the length (about 700 pages), i never found myself bored with the story, although it did take about 70-80 pages for the storyline to develop to any real plot changers. if you tried and gave up in the first 50 pages, try again! it is very much worth the wait and i would highly recommend it to anyone.

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Katie - Melting Pages Book Blog

New favorite?

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 21, 2019

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"The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time."

While this short description gives you an idea of what the series as a whole is about, I feel like if you haven’t heard about this series or know what it involves it may be a little too vague. So, as a little bit more information about the first book, we start in a little village where we meet our characters Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, and Nynaeve who are from the village, and Moiraine and Lan, who are outsiders. I know it sounds like a lot of characters, but trust me. The way that this flows from each perspective is so seamless and you can instantly tell which character you are reading from.

On a seemingly normal day, Trollocs (strange, evil, human/animal hybrids) attack their village and our group is faced with the fact that the forces of the Dark One are not just scary stories told to keep children in line. Our naïve villagers then have the (first) shock of their lives when they discover that Moiraine is an Aes Sedai and Lan is her Warder. In this world, Aes Sedai are wielders of the One Power and are seen as the reason everything goes wrong in the world, and Warders are their warrior companions. Moiraine then whisks the three boys (Rand, Mat and Perrin) away from the village to protect the village from the Trollocs as she believes that they are after the three of them. What follows is an adventure of epic proportions.

I know from listening to many videos and podcasts surrounding this world that Robert Jordan has created that he meant for this first book to be heavily inspired by Lord of the Rings, and while reading that you can clearly see the influences. For me that wasn’t a bad thing as I ADORE Lord of the Rings, but keep that in mind going into this book. I think that Jordan still added in enough original ideas that makes this such a compelling read. Don’t hold it’s similarities to LOTR against it, because this book is SO MUCH MORE than that.

However, even though there are tons of similarities between the two series, I think the way that this book was done still made it stand out and made me eager to read more. The writing style is easy to grasp and even though these are some fairly long books, they go by so quickly.

I am a HUGE fan of details and descriptions, and this book has all of that. In that aspect, I think it is similar to Game of Thrones, but in a more exciting way. Both series gives incredible detail, foreshadowing and nuances, but while some of the descriptions in GOT can be a little dry, that isn’t what happens with The Eye of the World.

And a nice thing about the book is that there is a glossary in the back of the book to help keep all the names and descriptions straight, which is super helpful but doesn’t give away anything that you don’t already know from reading.

And if you start this book and the prologue seems confusing (which it definitely can, if you aren’t expecting it) just keep going and everything is explained and you realize just how important that prologue is, and how much more important it will become in later books.

Other than everything I’ve already mentioned, the one other thing that made me want to devour this book was the way that everything is revealed over the course of the entire book. You just want to keep reading to learn more about this amazing world that Robert Jordan has created, and for once, I don’t think 14 books in a series intimidates me because I just want to know everything about this series and these characters. Like, this puts my obsession with LOTR and GOT to shame. If you are one of those people who obsessively Googles everything about either of those series, you will want to do the same with this one.

There is a reason this book and series is almost always included in the top 5 of any fantasy series list, and has sold millions of copies. It really is that good.

So basically, if you like any combination of the following, this book is definitely for you:
•complex friendships and character development
•the “Chosen One” but you don’t know which character is the Chosen One
•complex magic systems that have a specific source, and some people are born with innate abilities to use this magic
•Background and details, details, details
•Diverse races and characters
•Bonding with animals
•Epic quests (think Bilbo Baggins going on an adventure out of his element)
•Vast world building
•Game of Thrones but MORE
•Lord of the Rings but MORE
•Anything by Brandon Sanderson (who is a huge fan and wrote the last three books in this series after Robert Jordan passed away)
•Fantasy
•Books
•Breathing

See more reviews at meltingpages.wordpress.com

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WireNut

Very Good And I'm Not That Into Fantasy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 23, 2022

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Some friends of mine are huge fans of this book series. I took my friends' word and decided to read the books, starting with The Eye Of The World (obviously). While my friends were perturbed with the Amazon show, I watched it and felt I had a point of reference for some of the scenery, wardrobe, and general looks of the characters. Yes, the show varies greatly from the book(s), but I felt that it was entertaining enough that I would continue to watch. And read. I am now on the 5th book in the series, after about 10 months of reading in my spare time. I will say the show takes elements, so far, from the first 5 books and kind of does a jumbled salad of a story line. Both the show and the books are enjoyable for me, but I prefer the books. I am kind of a newbie in the realm of fantasy books, (believe it or not The Lord Of The Rings turned me off to the genre), but the story lines, world building, and character development is what keeps me reading. The first book has a lot going on, the 2nd and 3rd are a bit slower, but there are some vital characters introduced that play some major roles in the 4th and 5th. Not one single character is the "flawless hero", everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, which really does mirror humanity and makes it more real to me. Some characters you will be drawn to, some you will hate, then learn to love, others you will be skeptical of, and hope they get slapped. But therein lies the beauty of good story telling. The detail Robert Jordan adds, from textures and stitching of fabrics, down to every morsel of food they eat, may be cumbersome for some folks; I find it helps pull me into this created mythical world. If you enjoy a good read with a bit of fantastical elements to it, this series is for you.

On a side note, I bought 3 copies of this book, one for myself, one for a friend, and one for my niece for Christmas. I enjoyed it, so I figured I would pass it along to them as well.

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PraetorXyn

Buckle up for the humble beginning to an absolute masterpiece

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2023

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The Eye of the World reads largely as a Tolkien homage, but that doesn't preclude it from being extremely enjoyable, and very well done. In my memory, this book had a slow start, but every time I re-read it I'm gripped from start to finish.

I implore everyone to read this series, as it has some of the most wonderful character arcs you will ever find in fiction, but it is decidedly a large commitment. In my mind, it is very much worth it. Many people abandon this series somewhere in the middle, but I have yet to meet anyone who finished it who doesn't love it.

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workingmom

wonderful fantasy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 28, 2023

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Love the fantasy and characters / l had to reread it bc of the Prime Video series /l read it in college and had forgotten the depth and details of the storyline- first time readers should take notes and pay close attention to the details of the story

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Loved everything about it.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 19, 2023

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If you are a fan of sci-fi, you either have already read this or are about to. Contained in this book is the beginning of a mystery, the end of which is evidently after thousands upon thousands of pages. My only (potential) regret is not reading "A New Spring" before this, though perhaps that was optimal. Much more to say.

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Steven M. Brown

An amazing start to the fantasy series...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 17, 2021

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I've always wanted to read this series but have been putting it off for a very long time it feels. Part of it is I like to read books in one go. This book series is known to be very long at times for longer than average at least. But I enjoy such works and have wanted to have a block of time to truly enjoy it. Recently I begin truck driving again and decided that since I've already purchased The E books I might as well listen to it as well.

The audible version is voice by 2 great voice actors who I recognized from Brandon Sanderson's series The Way of Kings. He was introduced to them when he finished up the last 2 books of this Epic fantasy series because of the passing of Robert Jordan. One thing I am grateful for is that Robert Jordan Knew he was not going to be alive perhaps to finish the series so he planned it out in such a way that his vision of the story would be complete nonetheless.

The 1st book, like the entire series, is told from a third-person point of view. Here in book 1 the cast of characters is relatively small, but the story is expensive though out and exciting. I know later on in the series that many characters are introduced But you're given time with each book to get to know the characters and become familiar with them as the story grows. Or at least that is the feel of it here.

There are many plotlines in which you are never quite sure exactly what the full truth of the situation is. I cannot wait to see what book 2 has in store. For this, there is plenty of action exciting, and scary moments for the characters, as well as some bittersweet romance at times. It has humor and even some uncomfortable moments as you get to know characters and care for them And have to worry about whether or not they can make it or stay true to themselves.

The language is clean,with made up in world curse words or phrases that add instead of subtract. Overall I think young adults and above can easily read it as well as preteens But there are some scary moments that may be too much for children. Overall this series has been known by meaning and I've delayed for far too long to read it. At least with my job truck driving at the moment, I will be able to listen to it as the miles go by. With the tremendous voice acting, I cannot deny that there were times in which I felt chills As the story progressed.

(Edit, A few months have passed, and am I deep in the series. If it was not for the job i have i would have burned through it already. As is I am more than half through with a covid vacation ahead of me so plenty of time to read. I want to say that the series has remained strong to a point but does suffer from too many characters. In the early books, the author moves the focus away from some characters while majors changes happen to them and in them. When we next meet up with the character pov he does not feel like that same character at all. Truthfully what I mean to say is that this fantasy series if fun and interesting but it is not the typical hero's journeys story. We keep the same characters with some good additions and get to vast story that is caste throughout the land. In a Space opera, we see a story cast through worlds, in then it is a Epic Fantasy Opra set in one vast world with unique kingdoms, cities, and histories. There is a lot but it is worth for the diligent reader. )

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Jessica@RabidReads

BEST Fantasy Series EVAH.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 17, 2015

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It's hard for me to review this book, and only this book, objectively, b/c:

1. WoT is my favorite high fantasy series. Ever.
2. I've read the first eight books seven or eight times, maybe more (*whispers* I honestly don't know how many times I've read them). DON'T JUDGE.

The first time, I was nineteen. Ish. I read all of the available books, back-to-back, schoolwork be damned.

Then I read them again.

YES, really.

And I loved them even more the second time.

I thrive on detail, you see. And Robert Jordan was a master of details. I caught so many previously missed foreshadowings, clevernesses, nuances, etc. that had flown right over my head the first time.

It was spectacular.

Like when Thom, Mat, and Rand jumped aboard Bayle Domon's ship, and Thom spun a tale for the captain, explaining how they happened to come upon his ship with Trollocs (nasty man-beast things) on their heels:

"Now it just so happened that he had earlier learned the location of Aridhol from a map given him many years ago by a dying friend in Illian whose life he had once saved . . . "

B/c didn't know it at the time, but Domon is an . . . wait for it . . . Illianer. *tips hat*

The whole series is FULL of things like that.

Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara are three young men on the cusp of adulthood. They live in Emond's Field, where they have small village concerns and small village lives.

But when the previously mentioned Trollocs:

[image of Trollocs]

attack their village, it forces them to accept that such creatures of the Dark One are not mere stories made up to scare children. And when the two strangers who arrived just prior to the attack turn out to be an Aes Sedai (wielder of the One Power) and her Warder (warrior/protector), the manboys learn that a small village life is not in the cards for them (HA!) and are forced to leave their homes to protect their families from the Great Lord of the Dark's minions, who won't stop until all three are in their master's grasp.

Jordan does an excellent job of keeping you guessing: which manboy is the Dark One after and why? Is it really just the one, or is it all of them? If it is all of them, are they all equally important, or do the degrees vary? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!

B/c this is not a simple story.

And one thing we do know is that Rand, Perrin, and Mat are ta'veren, and as such they unwittingly pull others into their quest: a so-much-more-than-a-simple gleeman whose past regrets dictate his future actions, a young Ogier whose curiosity and wanderlust led him to leave his peaceful stedding home to see the things he's spent his life reading about, Rand's sweetheart who refuses to be left behind and longs to become an Aes Sedai herself, and the village Wisdom who feels compelled to both protect the young people from Aes Sedai machinations and also to break through the Warder's walls.

Among many others.

Each and every one of them vital in their own way.

Also vital are the multitudes of seemingly random observations and commentary that in reality are the foundations of awesomeness to come.

THESE BOOKS . . . layers and layers and still more layers. It's truly incredible.

And despite having read The Eye of the World so many times that I practically have it memorized, I have yet to grow immune to the very real and heartbreaking struggles that many of the characters face.

Whether it's Rand's terrible journey from his farm in the Westwood to Emond's Field, dragging his injured father to safety, Loial's treesong to preserve a small part of his Treebrother's sanctuary in the Blight, or Nynaeve's yearning for a man bound to a never-ending battle that he cannot win . . . I still feel it. *rubs fist over heart*

Deeply.

And if you are unaffected by Moiraine's tale of the long fallen Manetheren:

"But some did not flee. First in a trickle, then a river, then a flood, men went, not to safety, but to join the army fighting for their land. Shepherds with bows, and farmers with pitchforks, and woodsmen with axes. Women went, too, shouldering what weapons they could find and marching side by side with their men. No one made that journey who did not know they would never return. But it was their land. It had been their fathers', and it would be their children's, and they went to pay the price for it. Not a step of ground was given up until it was soaked with blood."

then you have only a black, shriveled thing in your chest cavity.

SO. As daunting as this series may be (and I will never deny that it is daunting) . . . if you are a lover of fantasy, and you haven't read Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, you are doing yourself a major disservice. The Eye of the World has the best prologue I've ever read IN MY LIFE, so I challenge you to read it. It's just a prologue. And if you don't feel the need to see what happens next, then hey . . . all you're out is the 15 minutes it took you to read it. ALSO, no one is holding a gun to your head. There's no law that says once you start, you can't stop until THE END. Take your time. Enjoy it. Or don't. Whatever. But my recommendation is that you do.

These are the books that spawned my love of reading fantastical things as a adult.

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