Rating: 
Summary: Good, but derived
Review: As of writing this I have not read much epic fantasy other than the Lord of the Rings. The EoTW is written well, not the best, but Jordan has a decent command of language skills. The basic plot is very similer to the Lord of the Rings, complete with black riders, orc like creatures, a magician type, a white-towered city far off, Mountains of Mist, a geography calling for lawsuits, etc. The characters and places are weakly named. Imagine a Fellowship of the Ring in which once the characters get to Bree, they then go on to another Bree, and then to another and another. That is what this is, but Jordan adds alot of character into the storyline, which keeps it interesting. Half of me wants to cringe in blasphemy and the other is very pleased with the results.
Rating: 
Summary: 10 books from great to awful
Review: The first few books of this series are immensely exciting. The new worlds and players are full of wonder, imagination, quirks, personalities, etc. The magic is amazing and the strangeness of many cultures is well written. The characters are great and the history of cultures and magic exceptionally well done. However, by the time you get to book 7 or 8, Robert Jordan has run out of gas. The story is monotonous. Its the same 100 pages shuffled and dealt out again over and over. All the creative skill is gone, he simply has nothing to say that he hasn't said repetitively. And the magic fizzles out too. He spends all his time in book 10 --yes the story doesn't even end in book 10 -- belaboring how Aes Sedai scheme and back bite, how the Wise ones are arrogant and strict, how the Aiel are a weird American Indian-like nomadic culture, and how the main characters are in love and want to wring each other's neck. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over andover and over and over 10 volumes is a long time to drag out any story. Jordan should have concluded this series back around book 5 or 6 at the latest. But here we are 10 years later in volume 10 going in monotonous circles. Jordan: Finish it. Write the last book. Get over it. Go learn from the truly great fantasy writers -- every book in a series has a conclusion in it and the possibility for a sequel. Otherwise, 3 books is the limit to a story. Wheel of TIme is now one long devious scheme to get us to buy pulp to get to an ending that never comes. Don't buy this book. If you must read it, borrow it from the library. Its even possible to completely skip book 10 and not miss a thing. Buying it serves no purpose since you will NEVER read it a second time. Too much pulp, not enough story.
Rating: 
Summary: An awesome book.
Review: This is a great book. If you have free time, and trust me you'll need it, then this is a must read. Its a captivating fantasy book that explains the beginning of the Wheel of Time series nicely.
Rating:
Summary: Not the Greatest Book Ever...
Review: ...but not the worst. After reading all the angsty and angry reviews of this book and series (the esp. nasty ones from people who've read most of the series really had me scratching my head), I decided to pick up just the 1st book and see for myself how good/bad it really was (and it was last minute decision, picked up while on vacation). IMHO, not too bad of a decision. I've read LOTR and The Hobbit several times over the years, plus I've read 2 of Eddings' series (The Belgariad and The Mallorean, both hilarious reads) as well as other fantasy series, so I'm no newbie to the fantasy genre. Yes, it's a bit overlong, and towards the end I kept saying to myself, "Get on with it!" However, there were many passages where reviewers got bored and I didn't: Rand and Mat going from town to town and finding Darkfriends in them (and they DID start trying to sneak into towns after awhile; Moiraine describing Manetheren to the Emonds Field people; Perrin understanding wolves (bias: I *love* anything to do with wolves); Perrin, Egwene, and Elyas coming into contact with the Traveling People; the meeting of the Green Man. You get the idea. Now the characters themselves. Mat annoyed me no end, although once he got that dagger, I felt he started to get interesting (in a dark way). Rand seemed bewildered by it all, making him too goofy; humorous characters are fine, but he was too bumbling until some passages near the end of the book. Perrin was interesting from the beginning, and I thought his dealings with the wolves was one of the most interesting parts of the book. Thom Merrilin had me chuckling, and I was sorry to see him disappear (hopefully he's not dead). Lan was almost too distant for me, and I found him even more annoying than Mat (and much more boring). The women are a mixed bag. I liked the way Moiraine used her powers and her stoic stance in the face of danger (at least that's what I got out of it). Nynaeve was too whiny and full of herself, and I have to agree with the one reviewer who wondered where the feelings for Lan came from: There weren't even any hints suggesting it! As for Egwene - what Rand sees in her is beyond me. She's petty, a tease, and stuck up, and I couldn't stand her. Maybe if there were more passages where we saw things from her p.o.v. I might have looked at her in a more positive light. As to another reviewer saying that Egwene "lusted" after Perrin - I just don't see where this happens. She flirts with a young Traveler while Perrin is beginning to wonder about his wolfish abilities, but I don't remember reading anything about Egwene going after Perrin. Maybe that reviewer hadn't read this book in awhile. So...all in all...a good read, and yes, I love detailed descriptions (although even I have to admit I skipped over some of it). Some of the characters were good, others were not, but overall, it's a decent story. I've already purchased the 2nd paperback, The Great Hunt. I don't think this is something I'll read too often (unlike Tolkien), but it makes for an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: a great start
Review: I dont understand all this talk about length. The length is necessary to compliment the plot. Read this book and you will get hooked immediately...trust me!! If your into vast detail and in depth character portrayal pick this up and the next 300 that come out. The one thing that always keeps you going is the prophecies, I always find myself waiting for the dragon to fulfill the prophecies and it is amazing how Rob brings it all together. It's all about Rob and taint.
Rating:
Summary: My thoughts on The Eye of the World, almost a decade later..
Review: It has been almost 10 years since I started reading the Wheel of Time Series and it still remains in my head as one of the most interesting and compelling stories I have ever read. The secret to Robert Jordan's success and longevity is his ability to take elements from Eastern and Western mythologies and integrate them into a believable tale of complicated character relationships. For those of you who do not know, Jordan was a former Dungeons and Dragons player, and this is demonstrated in his ability to create believable fantasy. He owes a great debt to authors such as Tolkien and Chaucer, but has created a series truly orignal in its scope. He is able to bring the genre into modernity, with his exploration of overzealous religious followers, the relationships between men and women, and the hundreds of characters who clash with each other, despite being on the same side. Problems with series length aside, the Wheel of Time is quite an accomplishment.
Rating:
Summary: So bad it's almost good
Review: The Wheel of Time series is a huge franchise, with an illustrated companion book and even a computer game based on its story. "Nine gazillion readers can't be wrong!" said I. "Why not give it a shot?" This was a huge mistake. The Eye of the World is a horribly uninteresting book, though not for a lack of words. Anything resembling a plot point occurs very rarely and when it does, it's doesn't evoke any emotion other than surprise. This is because the author fails to make you care about any of the charicatures involved in the action. You'll read hundreds and hundreds of pages for anything of note to occur. In the end, you're left feeling that something interesting might, in fact, occur, but not in this book. This tome could have been condensed into a pamphlet, which would have made for much more enjoyable reading. The only possible audience for this book is the reader who enjoys a very, very thorough description of people walking and riding horses for a very, very long time. Either that or people who feel that the character development in Spider-Man comics is too complicated. However, the book is not entirely without merit. Some of the author's descriptions, dialog and characters are so trite and ill-conceived that I actually read them aloud to friends. None has failed to turn red laughing. Particularly glaring here is the description of the gypsy-like people who the author says "look like they were dancing, even when standing perfectly still." Oh, that's deliciously fanciful! In fact, I might even go so far as to say that a compilation of the more scintillatingly maudlin passages would make for a fantastic book. I would buy it. Until such a book is made, however, I would advise you to steer clear of this one ...
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: A friend of mine told me to buy this book by Robert Jordan, and I absolutely loved it. The action flows non-stop throughout this book. My heart was pounding almost the whole time. I actually cried in some parts! Amazing! Go buy it. You'll be so happy you did!
Rating:
Summary: Best Book Ever!!
Review: Robert Jordan masterfully tells this story. Every pages leaves you yearning for more. And unlike Tolkien the women have very strong and important roles. The ending perfectly closes the story and demands you to read the next. The perfect book for any fantisy lover or even someone mildly interested in that type of book.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME
Review: This book doesn't compare to George Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. While Jordan endlessly discusses dozens of topics that have nothing to do with moving his storyline along, you, the reader are stuck hopelessly waiting for something interesting to happen. To think that there are a dozen or so more books in the series makes me cringe. Pick up a copy of Martin's series, and you will one day thank me for it. Martin's focus on character development and story puts The Wheel of Time to shame.
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