eye of the world robert jordan review

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"These veteran narrators keep the plot moving and the narration fresh" (AudioFile Magazine)

This program is read by Audie Award-winning narrators Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, and includes a bonus interview with the author.

Now an original series starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine!

The first novel in Robert Jordan's #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time.

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Moiraine Damodred arrives in Emond’s Field on a quest to find the one prophesized to stand against The Dark One, a malicious entity sowing the seeds of chaos and destruction. When a vicious band of half-men, half beasts invade the village seeking their master’s enemy, Moiraine persuades Rand al’Thor and his friends to leave their home and enter a larger unimaginable world filled with dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters.

The Wheel of Time
New Spring: The Novel
#1 The Eye of the World
#2 The Great Hunt
#3 The Dragon Reborn
#4 The Shadow Rising
#5 The Fires of Heaven
#6 Lord of Chaos
#7 A Crown of Swords
#8 The Path of Daggers
#9 Winter's Heart
#10 Crossroads of Twilight
#11 Knife of Dreams

By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
#12 The Gathering Storm
#13 Towers of Midnight
#14 A Memory of Light

By Robert Jordan and Teresa Patterson
The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

By Robert Jordan, Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons
The Wheel of Time Companion

By Robert Jordan and Amy Romanczuk
Patterns of the Wheel: Coloring Art Based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

Reviewer: Katie - Melting Pages Book Blog
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: New favorite?
Review: "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•BreathingSee more reviews at meltingpages.wordpress.com

Reviewer: lisa ortiz
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: excellent writing, stunning characters and scenery - an all around winner
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Beranga
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: La edición es magnífica, buen papel, tamaño de letra e ilustraciones.

Reviewer: Sublime Dissonance
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The Wheel of Time was highly recommended to me, and after reading The Eye of the World I can finally see why. I must confess that even with its excellent writing style and world-building, the story did not manage to thoroughly hook me before the halfway mark, and nothing else but its slow pacing is to blame for that. Nevertheless, looking retrospectively, I am quite relieved to have felt that way as every seed that was sowed and the multitude of stories told, many regarded as legends, all expertly solidify to an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and relief.Sometimes I could barely distinguish reality from fiction, while immersed in this epic tale. The scattered fragments of worldbuilding and characterization finally coalesce, in the latter half, into a world so real and complex that might just exist somewhere out in the universe, and characters that might as well exist besides you, leading their way into a journey I could not help but feel part of. I haven't experienced this, to this extent, in any other books. That I can safely say.The conclusion is bittersweet and surprised me with the lack of dramatic cliffhangers. That will not fool me, though, as the subtleties sprinkled throughout the book strained the notion that every decision and interaction can provoke irreversible and drastic changes in the Pattern. Needless to say that I will keep reading this amazing story, and can not wait to peer into what the Wheel has weaved around the Two Rivers' folk.

Reviewer: Ashwini A.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Ok, so I finally read the first book in this humungous series and I loved it enough that I am going to continue on with it. I think the first book is really giving us the glimpse into what Robert Jordan just started to show us of his world. It is not perhaps the most original and you can really see where he picked up Tolkien’s materials and decided to play with the themes and characters, he saw fit. It’s not a bad thing, truly. I am going to try and not compare Tolkien’s works (specifically Lord of the Rings) and that of Jordan’s because that’s not what this post is supposed to be anyway.The book starts in Two Rivers, a long-forgotten village that nobody of any consequence really cares about, the people of Two Rivers live as the day comes. However, the year this book starts with, there have been some odd things happening. Wolves have been spreading terror and certain people have seen a man in black clothing on a horse. Rand and his father are finally going back to the village after having had one of the worst winters in many years, while they are reaching the village, Rand sees a stranger on a horse that seems to be staring at him with intent and hate. Then, we are introduced to most of the villagers and their quirks. It’s quite enjoyable, if a bit detailed. The character introduced in this part of the book are complex and with lives of their own and you can see that they are each quite individual and that’s what made me continue with the book.We start the story when a lot of new and strange things are starting to happen in their corner of the world and it’s not a good change, either. As Rand meets up with his friends, he realises that the same stranger might have been seen by his friends too, there was a war of sorts happening outside of the Two Rivers and that, there was a new Dragon and this time, he seemed to be the real deal. On top of that, there were newcomers in the village, a gleeman called Thom and a lady called Morraine who seemed to have come with Lan. They are all the villagers are talking about.The story truly picks up pace as Rand and Tam come back to the house and are attacked by Trollocs of all things. Creatures that have not been seen in a long, long time. Tam is injured and Rand has to bring his father safely back to the village in order to heal him. From there, things are put in motion and they do not stop till the end of the time. Even the end feels like it would continue on in the next book, in the best way possible, of course. “You cannot escape so easily, Dragon. It is not done between us. It will not be done until the end of time.”I feel like Jordan’s world feels real enough and gray enough that I fell in love with it. The geography and the cities/villages made a difference in how people were in their daily life and while Rand and others are journeying through the land, we can see those things. I really loved that aspect of the book. The world is, clearly, expansive and rich with its history and culture and from the remote villages to the bustling cities, everything had a character that defined the place, the people and the lives. I loved that but I can also admit that all those details probably slowed down the pace of the general plot of the book. I am not complaining, yet. World building is clearly one of the aces up Robert Jordan’s sleeves because how else could he write so many books in the same world without it feeling a bit stale at some point.As far as magic is concerned, it’s subtle at times and not a lot of it is explained. It is very much present and there’s no denying that, even the village folks are aware of Aes Sedai and their magic but it’s also the Wisdom of the village, the common man’s magic that is very practical in its use. I liked that it was magic but it was also just accepted like a normal thing instead of the awe and fear that Aes Sedai created where they went. The magic system is clearly layered because there’s also animal magic that we could see during Perrin’s journey. Basically, the first book is just like an introduction to the world and its magic and it feels like that. It feels massive but we only get glimpses of it.As for the characters, they are certainly different enough from each other to give them a distinct air and apart from Morraine and Lan, the people of Two Rivers were explored quite a lot, I think. I like that all the boys and the girls got their own parts and each had a feel of being their own, if you know what I mean? I am sure we will see more of Morraine and Lan in later novels. I am also seeing some clear pairing up happening but I am hoping that they are not correct guesses? Let’s see how that pans out.Overall, I think it’s a great book! It was engaging, had some pacing issues but overall, it just works for someone like me. Also, it’s Wheel of Time. People sort of know what they are getting into when they start the journey. There’re clear warnings about some books in the series, of course, this is only the first book and everything feels awesome for me, it might not feel the same way to others. For me though, it felt like a start of a new adventure.

Reviewer: Reviewer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Molto bello e molto classico. L'edizione di Tor Books è migliore di quella italiana e non costa un occhio. In attesa della serie tv Amazon, è stata una bella scoperta. Ci si affeziona subito ai personaggi e il mondo costruito è vastissimo. Per gli appassionati di fantasy, una lettura imprescindibile

Reviewer: Julia D
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I was so immersed, I couldn't put it down. This is so well-written and it felt like I was actually travelling with them.