Rating: 
Summary: 5 Stars for Eye of the World. As for Wheel of Time.....
Review: I Promise: I'm going to be spoiler free.This is the first book in the Wheel of Time (WOT) series. All of the tenants of excellent fantasy are there. Jordan is a great writer who builds an incredible world with a compelling history. His characters are incredible; some are excellent studies in military leadership and political power--two different things, of course. Eye of the World is a great book, but be warned: as of this writing Jordan hasn't finished WOT. As a book, Eye of the World ALMOST stands alone, but none of the rest of the books in the series do. Each has some kind of cliffhanger ending. My guess is the end of this series isn't going to happen until 2006 (I believe there are going to be 12 books, but I don't think there's an official word). Is it going to be worth it? I don't think so. WOT has gotten very complicated and is becoming turgid. Sometime around Book 6, the action began to crawl. Book 8 (the last one I read) was almost 700 pages and took place over three days! I've read the first five books twice now beacuse it is too difficult to wait a year between reading books. (And he's coming out with them once every other year at this point). My advice: Wait until Jordan's finished them all. It's best to read them one after another. By then we'll know if it was worth the wait. You've been warned! My grade for the series:
1. Wheel of Time: A-
2. Great Hunt: A
3. Dragon Reborn: A+
4. Shadow Rising: A+
5. Fires of Heaven: A
6. Lord of Chaos: B
7. Crown of Swords: C+
8. Path of Daggars: C
9. Winter's Heart (haven't read, waiting for Jordon to finish)
Rating: 
Summary: Strong beginning for a lengthy series
Review: A naive village boy named Rand flees pursuit by the minions of Darkness in the company of a powerful sorceress, her guardian, and an assortment of fellow villagers, unaware of the reasons for the pursuit and of his true significance in the world. The world that author Robert Jordan has created for them to travel through is richly detailed, perhaps to a fault. For all the book's great length, surprisingly little actually occurs over the course of the story as page after page are given over to explanations of the world's history and the details of daily life. Still, I'm not complaining. The stage he has set is worthy of a great epic; although all of the familiar trapping of heroic fantasy are present, rarely are they realized so fully. The individual characters are well-drawn; their innocence, bewilderment, and growing fear as they realize the scope of the forces arrayed against them are excellently portrayed. I also enjoyed the way that men and women each have their own kinds of magic. One quibble: a story of this type really benefits from detailed maps of the world in which it takes place. I found the map in this book too scanty and hope that this is rectified in later books of the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Carbon Copy? Oh yeah...
Review: Jordan's The Eye of the World seems too much like a *not too well copied* carbon copy of the pioneer of epic fantasy, The Lord of the Rings.
Hello?? Is there something wrong with the photocopying machine?
Okay. It -was- an enjoyable book, apart from the fact that there are so many things in the story that are somewhat parallel to The Lord of the Rings. Number One:
LOTR- The Ringwraiths. Black, cloaked, very very creepy figures on horses that scare the wits out of Frodo and Co.
Eye- The Myrddraal. Black, cloaked, somewhat creepy figures that scare the wits out of Rand and Co.(not that they have any) Number Two:
The Wizards - Old-looking men who posses magical powers and youthful energy. Two very prominent ones- Saruman the White (and bad later on) and Gandalf the Grey.
The Aes Sedai - Young-looking women who might (and most of the time) be older than they look. They too, posess magical powers in which they draw from the True Source. One prominent one- Moiraine. I'm not saying that Jordan is practicing the art of copying. It's just a BIT too similar. Most fantasy writers HAVE to have someone of wisdom to guide their somewhat bumbling group of questers. And they also sometimes need a freaky, shocking enemy on the tail of the travellers. And speaking of travellers, their quests almost always involve travelling. And Rands- oops, sorry- young nobodies who discover their worth in magic or talent. Because Jordan sticks to the formula a bit too much, it sometimes changes our impression of the Lord of the Rings and others. And his portrayal of the bitchy female characters draws a un-realistic picture of females in this land. Make them more gentle- at least some of them. Not all of them HAVE to fight!! And don't forget the appearance of wolf-man (Perrin). It's time to warp the formula a bit- don't always stick to it.
Rating:
Summary: Tons of fun!
Review: After reading many of the previously written reviews for this book/series, I have come to the conclusion that most people are WAY too negative. Let's lighten up a little here folks: This series is fun. I found myself laughing at the reviews because many readers' complaints are valid: Robert Jordan DOES take way too long developing his plot. Most of it certainly is borrowed mythology. But there is a reason people re-use those same ideas: They're wonderful. Is Robert Jordan the BEST writer ever to tackle this format? No. Your mind won't be blown away by his originality and perhaps he makes us work too hard for too little, but I gladly gave him the leeway because I love the story. Tolkien was ten times the writer, true, but what are we comparing to here? Not everyone can be Tolkien. Besides - Tolkien stole all that same stuff from the same mythologies Jordan did. Do these - critics - actually think Tolkien invented Goblins and Dwarves and Wizards?!? At least Jordan creates NEW goblins and wizards. Sure Jordan needs a smack for calling the ultimate bad guy "The Dark Lord" but he's not all powerful. He's a man who wrote a fun story. There is an intriguing conceptual framework for the series and Jordan weaves some terrific concepts into his "Pattern." He goes into great detail with the story, and I thought that made it better. Some of the characters are shallow or otherwise flawed... I found that refreshing. It's actually a lot like reality. Most real people ARE weak in many ways, often to a fault, like some of those in this story. True, you begin to see the plot lines ahead of time and Jordan's foreshadowing is often too obvious, but it's still fun and I found a number of great surprises. That's the bottom line: This is a FUN series. I found myself enjoying these people. Sometimes I wanted to smack them for being idiots, but that's just as powerful as loving them, is it not? If you're a picky, critical type who wants your fantasy fiction served up in a few neat and tidy volumes, written by a Super Author on a par with Tolkien, then these books are not for you. They are probably longer than they need to be and they have faults. If you're just looking for a good vacation for your mind, one you can get lost in for a nice long ride, then you've found it. Few have created so vast a world. Jordan gives us a new take on many old ideas along with a number of new ones. He is not Tolkien. He's Robert Jordan. I love these books. Their flaws are nothing to me compared to the fun they've brought me. Be your own judge. And please -- Lighten up and enjoy the ride.
Rating: 
Summary: Warning! Warning! Warning!
Review: Ok, I'm giving this book only three stars despite the fact that, judged solely on its own merits, it probably deserves the 4 or 5 most people give it. Before you condemn me too harshly though, I'm doing it for a very good reason! Before you read all the glowing reviews and buy this book, be warned: This is the start of a very long, drawn-out series. Not long and drawn-out in the sense that it's an "epic" story that needs time and patience to tell, but more in the sense that the author has discovered he has a virtual cash machine in his keyboard, and he's milking it for every last penny it's worth. "But if they're good..." you think. Uh-huh. But they're not, you see. The first four or five books in the series are excellent; I'd be lying if I said otherwise. Can Robert Jordan write? You bet your bottom he can -- but only when he puts his mind to it. Starting with the abysmal "Path of Daggers," the series' progress has slowed to a sad crawl. In each successive book, less and less happens, and more paper is wasted describing clothing, repeating characters' annoying mannerisms, and introducing new characters who don't seem to do anything to advance the plot. Maybe he doesn't know how to finish it... but that doesn't stop him adding to the misery. How much of this do you think you can take? The 10th book is coming out soon; are you that patient? Will you really be able to stand seeing these cinderblock-sized lumps taking up more and more space on your bookshelf, nudging out more deserving titles? Will your wallet stand up to being burdened with a never-ending book series you're obliged to read because you've got too much invested to quit? What about when people come over, notice that massive row of "Wheel of Time" novels, and ask, "Oh. Robert Jordan fan, eh?" Will you be proud to turn them on to this series... or embarrassed? Give ya' a clue: Mine are boxed. Really. It's your call. Go on and start this series if you want to. But don't say nobody warned you...
Rating:
Summary: STOP THE SPOILERS
Review: These are supposed to be reviews. Not paragraphs to sum up and spoil the whole series. I have read reviews of people who give away key plot points that are not revealed for several books. Have some consideration.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid unless you want to read read read read....
Review: My advice is to avoid this book. By itself it is not that bad of a book. A classic Fantasy start to what should have been a good trilogy. Unfortunately it isn't a trilogy. The 10th book is coming out shortly and there is no end in site. The current page count is over eight thousand pages (8000+ pages) I guess this would be okay if Mr. Jordan had enough new ideas to fit into that many pages, but he doesn't. Each character goes though almost the same changes, just at different times. You begin to see the plot points ahead of time, but of course given the series is 8000 pages, and growing, you don't get to that plot point for 1000 pages or more. If you do start these books I would suggest using the web as a backup source because even if you have a world class memory you are going to get minor character's names confused and there are a few sites that are completely dedicated to helping readers keep track of everything. Trust me its not easy!!!
Rating:
Summary: Overly long with some bright spots.
Review: On a recent vacation I wanted a hefty fantasy novel along for those long poolside evenings. I picked this book up, having resisted the series for years... ... and I wasn't enchanted. The characters in this v-e-r-y long, endless, weighty, unbending doorstop of a book are very hard to like. The boys are nitwits and I resent being stuck in the heads of rather thick people who do very stupid things over-and-over. The female characters come off somewhat better--Jordan goes out of his way to show them as strong and smart, but I think he overdoes it. It would be far better to see equally interesting and "strong" (strong doesn't have to mean "perfect", you know) characters. Instead... ::sigh:: I was pining for Earthsea, or Zelazny's Amber series, or, for heaven's sake, a couple of Moorcock's Elric books long before I turned the last pages of this monster. The other reviews here do not inspire confidence that this series is worth it. Go read something else (IMHO)
Rating:
Summary: MY personal feelings?
Review: Hmmmm. OK. Let me keep to this to just a few words that won't make you scroll all the way to the bottom of the screen 'cause you get really tired of babble. I loved the books. All of them. Yes, in book 4 the women get kind of whiney. Some times you wanna' strangle them and other times you wanna' yell, "OOooh! Ooooh! You go girl!" You fall in love with the tall, dark Lan. You'll want to ravage Perrin. You want to hug Mat. You want to run with the Aiel. You want to sing with the Ogier. You'll want to decapitate a few trollocs and myddral's. And you want to throw a few sparks with the Aes Sedai. As with many authors in a long series, there are down points eventually. But considering from book 4 to book 6, so far I've gotten that far, you must also consider that these people are dealing with the reality of the life; their confusion, their anxieties, their hopes, their fears. You feel what they feel. You are there. It's got it all and I thank Mr. Jordan for these books. But please hurry. I'm not very patient. lol
Rating:
Summary: Eye of the World
Review: I thought this was a complete rip off of Tolkein but not as well written. It took too long to pull the reader in and the build up in action was way too slow. It was way too wordy, and I'm used to reading Homer and Lovecraft, some of the "wordiest" guys around.
I don't know how many pages the first book is, but I stopped about halfway through and went to get my copy of the Lord of the Rings.
Don't waste your time reading this, go right to the source and read Tolkein instead!
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