Rating: 
Summary: Great piece of Fantasy, don't let the length scare you away!
Review: For the most part I am not much of an avid reader, yet upon recommendation from a friend I picked it up. As I began to read it I can't say that I was instantly enchanted with the characters and the universe that Jordan's novels are set in, and in fact, at about page 200 I just had put the book down. Yet, I picked the book up again a couple of weeks later with more determination to finish it ,and as I allowed myself to get into the actual story (and as is subsequently got more and more intense and involved), I found myself actually being interested by this book. I know many of the other reviewers have given you a synopsis of the book, so you can find that on your own. I have not started reading the second book. From what people are saying the rest of the series are going down hill, but hey you got nothing to lose. It is a good book. I cannot honestly tell you that it is a stand alone book (the ending doesn't resolve much), but still the story is entertaining and invigorating. DOn't let the length scare you off!
Rating: 
Summary: "Enjoyable Fantasy"
Review: Even though I'm not a big fantasy reader, I did enjoy "The Eye of the World." It's a pretty involved read, and Jordan does get very descriptive with his people, places and things. Still I thought he did a good job fleshing out the characters and evolving them as the story went along. Very imaginative with the magics and different races and beings used. None of the typical elves, trolls, dwarfs etc. like you'd get in other fantasy novels. Also no one just blindingly follows the forces of "The Light," some of whom behave no better than the evil forces they fight. Really liked when Jordan seperated the 3 farmboys, whose destiny it was to face The Dark One, from the rest of their party. Without their powerful warrior and female warrior/mystic to protect them, they had to rely on their own wits and skills to survive and rejoin their friends. Some pretty good scenes in this part involving one boy (Perrin) learning how to communicate with wolves and dealing with trouble from a group of warriors/religious fanatics called The Children of the Light. Not a whole lot of action, and what there was of it happened rather quick. The end was strange but I liked it.
Rating:
Summary: The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1)
Review: Sadly enough, I wasn't familiar with Robert Jordan's series, The Wheel of Time. And I say sadly in that I wasn't able to experience this series earlier. I'm a fan of the old Tolkien Lord of the Rings series and this book (series) is one of the few fantasy novels that has come close to the imagination and brilliance of the fantasy novel's forefather. (Tolkien) Let's be realistic - most of the fantasy titles out there are third grade trash and rip-offs of a "cult fan mentality." For instance, the numerous Star Trek and Star Wars novels that have low talent authors but people buy them because of the theme. This is a fantasy series that WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN! The author comes up with new and original concepts and you will be amazed by subtle insertions that predict the outcome of the book and series. The ONLY low point of the first book is that the beginning is a tad bit too slow. I'm on the third book as I write this and hope that the sequels do not let me down. So far, so good. :)
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Story, even the second time through
Review: Reading the series over the course of 7 years caused me to forget the origins of characters and events, so I recently started over. I fell in love with the story all over again. I made it half way through book six, but I can't wait to get back there again and continue on with the story. I own every book including the commentary book with all the "art work" (I don't think highly of it). I rarely read books twice, but this book worth it. I'm keeping it for possibly a third read in the future. I love the story, enjoy the characters, and loose myself in the world RJ portrays in every sitting when I read. I'm definately a RJ junkie!
Rating: 
Summary: dont bother starting the series
Review: I had heard a lot about how great the wheel of time series was, I noticed that most of the books sold very well, and saw that it was generally well reviewed, so I decided I would give it a shot. I must say that I honestly do not know what the fuss is all about. This book was average at best, with nothing that really set it apart from anything else out there in fantasy today. I just do not see any reason to invest the amount of time it will take to finish this series. Do not be fooled by the glorious reviews this book and the series in general has received. If you really want to read an original and worthwhile series then go start reading Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Beginning For A Great Series
Review: This Book had me hook from the prolouge. It is simply wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: not great literature - but still great storytelling
Review: This review refers to the whole series: Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series was my first attempt at reading "modern" fantasy writers. Up untill then I read only the classics: Tolkien, Zelazny, etc. I considered the more recent fantasy books to be aimed at children (the D&D-playing type of kids)and I shamefully admit that I judged those books only by their covers (literally): muscular men wielding big swords, curvy women wearing tight skirts, dragons flying and spitting fire, and so on. I was wrong, ofcourse. although I became hooked on this series only at the second part of book 1, I now consider my self an addict (I read the first 8 books in a row, even taking time off work to do it...). True, it's not great literature. you'll hardly find any great truth about the human condition or human relationships in this series. In that aspect, it can't compete with Tolkien's masterpiece or even with the writings of more recent authors, such as Robin Hobb. The use of language is also not very sophisticated, and Jordan's use of the same gestures and phrases to depict his charcters' looks or state of mind over and over again (he is obsessed with women's dresses, cleavages, hair, and even men's thighs) is quite annoying at times. But this is the wrong way to approach Jordan's books - they should be read like the adventure books we read when we were kids - a strong, gripping plot (with many, many sub-plots, masterfully combined, simultanious and overlapping - but sometimes too many to handle, as is apparent in books 7 and 8 of the series, which were a bit weaker, and opened up more questions than they gave answers), well-defined charcters you can identify with, romantic adolescent love (no matter how old the charcters are - they can be forty years old and still be adolescents) and a fast, action-packed pace which was the strongest element in the series up to books 7 and 8. Another element which elevates this series above the average in the fantasy field is the depth of the world created in it: complete with geograpy, history, myth, etc. the myths of that world are not just out there in the background of the story, as with other, inferior fantasy books (in such books, the so-called "myths" can be replaced by others without any effect on the plot of the book), but are an integral part of the ongoing story, and are crucial to the understanding of the story and to the creation of reader expectations about certain gaps in the information given and about what will happen next in the story. The depth of the world created in the series correlates with it's vastness - numerous well-defined and different cultures and nations, many, many charcters (a new one popping up in almost every chapter), and distant countries and continents yet to be explored - all masterfully handled by Jordan. In short: it's not great literature, but you won't be able to put the book down. I'm now waiting for books 9 to be translated into hebrew.
Rating:
Summary: Tolkien meets Taoism.
Review: "The Eye of the World" is the introductory volume of the mammoth and immensely popular "Wheel of Time" series. It lays the foundation to the series by introducing us to three young men who are central characters in the great and cosmic conflict against evil, describing their difficult and dangerous journey to the Eye of the World, constantly facing the perils and powers of magical abilities wielded by friends and foes. The series bears the unmistakable imprint of two main influences. 1. The worldview of Tolkien. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" was the ground-breaking fantasy that firmly established the future direction of this genre. His originality and imagination pioneered the structures of the fantasy playing field within which Jordan works. Although Jordan's characterization, description, and use of language rarely equals that of Tolkien, many of his concepts and ideas (notably "The Dark Lord" and his "black riders") will be recognizable, and this epic fantasy with its cosmic conflict is superior to most other modern efforts in the genre. Like Tolkien, Jordan's characterization and conflict parallels much found in the Christian Bible. Underneath the trappings of fantasy, "The Wheel of Time" is actually a very religious book. Aside from the central struggle between good and evil, there are many unmistakable Biblical parallels and allusions, such as the idea of the tree of life, and the multitude of prayers to "Light". One only has to substitute the constant references to "Light" with "God" and the point is already made. In contrast to the Creator and the "Light", is the Dark One, "Shai'tan". Is it a coincidence that this sounds like the Biblical "Satan"? "Shai'tan" shares many other titles with his Biblical namesake, notably the "Father of Lies" and "Lord of the Grave." And just as the fallen Satan and his angels of the Bible were destined by God to be bound in "Sheol" or realm of the grave, so Shai'tan and his followers ("the Forsaken") are bound in "Shayol Ghol." Jordan closely mirrors the eschatology of the Biblical Revelation, where Satan is set free from his prison, leading to a final cosmic battle between good and evil that ends the world. There is even a Messianic Christ figure - "the Light in the flesh" (p.779 ) - upon whom the hopes of the world rest, and like Jesus, Rand is tempted by Shai'tan to receive great power by kneeling before him. Jordan plainly borrows from Tolkien, and from the source that inspired Tolkien's cosmic conflict - the Bible. But this is not to say that Jordan is not original. Quite the opposite: he is far from a Tolkien carbon copy! Within the contours of a Tolkien-style genre of fantasy, he has created his own medieval type world, with his own conflicts and cast of characters. "The Eye of the World" has captured the hearts and imaginations of readers by its own strengths, not merely strengths borrowed from Tolkien. Although he rarely matches the epic grandeur and heroic tone of Tolkien's classic, Jordan in fact even surpasses Tolkien in suspense and action. 2. The worldview of Taoism. Yet Jordan does not slavishly follow Tolkien's Christian worldview, but significantly departs from it by strongly incorporating elements of New Age Eastern thinking, particularly Taoist religion and philosophy. In contrast to Tolkien and the Bible, where history is portrayed as linear, progressing towards a final goal, the history portrayed in "The Wheel of Time" is circular, repetitive, and without end. Jordan describes history as a "Wheel of Time" (a symbol for eternity) which turns, and ultimately repeats itself. Not surprisingly, this history features reincarnation. At the heart of the wheel of history is the "True Source" of power, consisting of equal male and female halves (saidin and saidar). This is clearly the Taoist yin-yang (Taiji) concept dressed in new clothing. Jordan's universe is actually very pagan in character, because the characters do not find success and salvation by reaching to God, but to the magical powers of this "True Source." Jordan's fantastic universe is governed not by the Creator, but by the "Wheel of Time", which leaves little room for the exercise of free will, since history is destined to repeat itself, and events are largely determined by the previous revolution of the "Wheel of Time". The Creator makes the wheel, but then it is the "Pattern" which weaves - "Everything is part of the pattern. We cannot pick or choose." (p.143). "It will be as the wheel weaves." (p.422). It is the Deistic, deterministic, circular universe of Taoism. But don't let the underlying philosophy behind the universe of the "Wheel of Time" scare you. I found it stimulating, particularly the notion that all of history and even my individual life is part of a grand pattern, woven by the hand of an unseen Creator. But "The Eye of the World" is not primarily a book about philosophy, but an exciting story. Although I do not share much of the thinking behind the implicit world-view of the "Wheel of Time," this did not prevent me from enjoying the book as an engrossing story. Jordan has created a series that lacks Tolkien's grandeur, but is more readable. Admittedly, the first hundred pages are somewhat difficult to read, because you are introduced to a new world, with new characters, creatures, and conflicts. But once this world becomes familiar, you will find it completely captivating. The action and suspense rarely lets up, and you will find it hard to put this book down. One could argue that the ending is somewhat rushed, but on the whole, these hundreds of pages are sure to keep you constantly surprised and satisfied. "The Eye of the World" absolutely deserves its place as one of the best contributions to contemporary fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: A good start
Review: This is a very well written book. It shows a lot of promise for a good series to come.
Rating: 
Summary: A Complete Waste of Time...
Review: Don't you people ever read anything of importance? This airplane literature stuff is a complete waste of your time, money, and mind.
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