The Eye of the World : Book One of 'The Wheel of Time'

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Summary: jordan taught me how to read
Review: i used to hate books...until i discovered the wheel of time. i never thought a book could surpass a good movie, or any movie at all. it's like watching tv under a magnifying glass. i knew how each character felt, a movie couldn't do that.

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Summary: IT¿S THE GREATEST THING TO EVER HAVE BEEN GRACED BY MY EYES!
Review: The Eye of the World By Robert Jordan

Setting: The setting of the story is Randland. Named by fans after the main character, Rand al'Thor . It also takes place in the kingdom of Andor, inside Randland.

Characters: The list of main characters is as follows: Rand, Perrin. Mat Egwene, Nynaeve, Moraine Sedai, Lan, and Lolial.

Plot: This is the start of probably the greatest and most complex fantasy series ever. Right now I believe it is the 2nd most popular Fantasy series in the world. It has already been translated to fifteen other languages. This book was by far one of the best of the now going on nine books in the series. It all starts when two mysterious strangers appear in the small hamlet of Emond's Field. Shortly after a fist of Trollocs attacks the town, a ferocious mixture of man and beast that serves the Dark One. That's when everyone finds out the strangers' identities. It's an Aes Sedai and her Warder protector. She reveals a plan by the Shadow to take the lives of three young men. One of these young men is of great importance. So with no other choice left them, Rand, Perrin, and Mat must flee their home or face the chance of not only themselves but also their families being massacred. Later on they will come to realize the importance of themselves and the situation that the world is in that only they can stop. You see the Dark One is breaking free from his prison. He wishes to shatter the Wheel of Time itself. Only the three men from Emond's Field may stand against the tide of evil about to sweep over the world and destroy time itself. To accomplish their goals they must go through hordes of monsters, sorceresses, madness, betrayal, and most of all, the opposite sex. In a world were peoples only hope of salvation lies within three young men humankind shall weep for their salvation. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

Opinion: I think you know, by know how I feel about this novel. IT'S THE GREATEST THING TO EVER HAVE BEEN GRACED BY MY EYES!!! I think this book, along with the series its in, deserves every praise ever given it and a thousand fold more. Recommendation: I recommend this book to any with the time patience and imagination for BIG fantasy novels. Trust me on this, it's a classic waiting to happen.

Troy Brannan age14

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, In depth book
Review: The Eye of the World is a well thought out book, all things considered. Although certain people or places reminded me of Arthurian legends, most of his ideas were pretty original. He thought about each of his characters carefully. Although I didn't like his descriptions of the journey(directions) he described the land fairly well. All in All an excellent book.

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Summary: This series is the best I've ever read.
Review: I've really enjoyed reading this book and the seven that follow multiple times. I thought that Robert did a good job giving background to all the characters before he dove into the whole adventure. All the characters are well developed so that even though Rand is kind of the main character, Perrin, Mat, Egwene, Nynaeve, Elayne, etc. all have big roles in the story.

I particularly like how Robert has went so deep into the history and all the other little details of the series. Just a few days ago I was trying to explain about the book to a friend, and it seemed that whenever I said one thing, it led to another detail of the book so that I ended up sitting there talking about the book for over a half hour before I forced myself to stop. And I could've kept going for a lot longer.

I read one review where the person complained about the book being too long, but I think that's one of the reasons it's so great. Since it's so long, it has so much more depth than your average novel. And I have no problem reading those books over and over again, despite their length.

I definitely recommend this book(and series) to anyone that enjoys reading fantasy/sci-fi novels, and even those who don't.

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Summary: And my opnion is . . .
Review: Despite many negative reviews invariably attacking Robert Jordan's approach to character development, or more accurately, lack thereof, I consider these statements to be in error. Jordan's characters are certainly not static; the change is usually just so gradual that it is undetectable until after it is complete. The idea that the women all treat males like little boys, although a drastic exaggeration, is key to the society that Jordan portrays. Consider this, men with power are responsible for the cataclysmic breaking of the world, therefore, the women all have an inborn stereotype. Overcoming that issue, there are many additional bonuses in this series. Some have said the enormity of this volume was frustrating; it is a necessity in order for Jordan to give us his world in such detail (which is a good thing; doh!). The characters and world are real during reading the novel. It certainly isn't Tolkien, I would gladly read this over a 'classic.' Jordan's characters, unlike Tolkien's, are in their own world. Unlike any other fantasy series I've read, the characters herein don't know they're in a fantasy world! That's the magic of it. Their world is as real to them as ours is to us. Approaching this novel from the perspective of our reality is simply not sufficient. If you truly want to judge the stability of Jordan's devices, look no further than the pages of this excellent work. By the way, as a cautious conclusion, anyone who thinks anyone can change anyone's (redundancy intended :) opinion of this novel is making a mistake. People either love it, or they hate it. I happen to share the opinion of the former, but that means nothing. Read the book, then decide.

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Summary: A lousy beginning
Review: Even though I've grown to love this series more than any fantasy books since Lord of the Rings, I find it a bit confusing that someone can seriously prefer Jordan over Tolkien. I suppose those opinions belong to people with no real litetary interests, people who only want to entertain themselves for a while, then move on the latest Jacqueline Briskin or something. Sad as it is, Jordan's saga has a lot of intelligence to it, especially this concerns the characters, their development and the world in all its complexity - but will most of his readers ever realize that? No, they won't. They just love nice little battles with Darkfriends and Trollocs.

After I read the first volume, I was ready to give up. The book was full of cliches, and the relationships of men and women were handled in a quite irritating way. But the second book was far better, the third even more, and so on... till I realised I was hooked and any struggling would be in vain.

Perhaps the problem is that the first volume makes many mature readers give up with its Eddings-like sheer stupidity. It's a pity, for in the end the world Jordan has created is a miracle, maybe a 1/10 of Middle-Earth whereas most fantasy settings can't even reach 1/100.

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Summary: Tolkien who???
Review: Tolkien wanna-be???? I think not!!! Several people sit here and state that Jordan wants to be, and copies the writing of Tolkien. Do not believe it. It is an untruth. Robert Jordan far surpasses Tolkien in every aspect, including plot development. Jordan is able to create another world which is as believable as the one you are sitting in right now. He creates characters you actually feeling yourself hate, or admire. It is so hard to put down the book and the series that I have finished off all eight books within 6 months. Read it again and again, and for you fools who forget what you read, read the series again!!!!!!

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Summary: Could have been good if Hemmingway had written it
Review: The Eye of the World is an entertaining epic fantasy that has 1 major flaw. It is a story that could have been well written in about half the length, and it draws the reader into one of the most ridiculously long and overly drawn out series in all literature.

The positive points are that protagonists characters are well developed. Rand, Mat, and Perrin come across as realistic, unstereotyped young men on the brink of adulthood. Their reactions to being dragged into this adventure is extremely believable.

The storyline is interesting, and it did hold my interest for the entire novel. The way the story tied in with the myths and ancient history of Jordan's fantasy world is also well done.

But the women characters irritated me. The misunderstanding between the sexes, as well as the constant arguing bothered me. It seemed as though men and women never got along in the entire story. I couldn't see any reason to marry anyone in the society developed by Jordan, and I certainly couldn't find anything attractive about these women that seemed to only enjoy arguing with the men. Maybe I live in a strange, naive, and idealistic world, but I've always been able to get along with people from both sexes, and I've found the differences between men and women can be a positive thing.

I also found it frustrating the way Morraine (dang I hope I spelled it right) was rude and close mouthed to Rand, Mat, and Perrin, who she dragged away from their home, leading them on a journey to who knows where (from the three boy's POV). I also found it unrealistic in the way the village at Three Rivers were belligerent and unthankful after Morraine and Lan saved the entive village from destruction.

The biggest problem with the story, though is that it is TOO LONG. And as the series drags out, the characters lose their initial interest. I remember one book (I think it was the fourth) that nothing happened in the entire 1000 pages. It was then I gave up on the series. Sorry, Robert, but you just ran out of steam. You took too long to tell the story and lost my interest. It's too bad. It could have been a great series. But it's not.

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Summary: Jordan has written a masterpiece!
Review: This book is the beggining of probably the greatest fantasy series that has or will ever be written. I find myself lost within the world that Jordan has created. All other thoughts vanish during my reading and the story continues to dominate my thoughts for hours after placing the book down. The complexity of the character development in this novel takes my breath away each time I pick up the book. The peculiar detail that piqued my interest is that he placed strong women in power positions and made them the most influential characters in the story. This is usually not seen in writing of males. It just accentuates the mastery of Jordan's storytelling. Excuse my redundacy but it is a great story and I truly recommend this novel to anyone who needs to escape from daily stresses for awhile and wants to sit back and enjoy a good read.

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE EVER READ
Review: The charecter developement is excellent. The charecters are three dimensional and the entire story setting, characters, and events are captivating and alive. Definately a hard book to put down.