Rating: 
Summary: An Ok History Book
Review: This is a nice, big illustrated coffee-table book that gives background on Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time fantasy series.
It's not that bad. However, since the series is ongoing, it doesn't focus on characters or plot details, so it aint much help in clearing up questions about the series. The most revealing thing you'll get is the occasional picture of a main character. Instead, the book heavily focuses on providing a history of the fantasy world depicted in the series. In this regard, the book breaks new ground by covering the events before and after the Breaking of the World, pictures of the Seanchan creatures, and hints of what other lands (Sea Folk islands, Shara, Isle of the Madmen) are like. There is also a rather nice section on the Forsaken and Shadow creatures.The major flaw of the book is that the history can get pretty boring at times. There's a lot of unnecessary repetition and political history. The book doesn't just focus on the political background of kingdoms such as Andor and Illian, but on the long-forgotten kingdoms that preceded them as well. This attempt to make the land more complex just falls flat. Mantheron, once hailed as a mythic empire, is shown just to be one of dozens of tiny blobs on a map. Even more annoying, while the maps show dozens of lost kingdoms, Malkier is missing in action. Malkier was supposed to have been claimed by the Blight. Yet every map in the book dating back to the Breaking of the World shows the Blight as unchanged. Unless it was a tiny dot the size of Mayene you would think a kingdom that was supposed to intrude up into the Blight would show up. All in all, despite its flaws, the book is ok. If you're a die-hard Wheel of Time then go for it. But if you're just a casual fan, or are looking for answers to plot details about the series, then don't bother with it. At most, you can pick it up and glance at the pretty pictures while killing time in a bookstore or library.
Rating: 
Summary: A great beginning for newbies...
Review: I waited in anticipation of this book for months, and when it finally came out I was disappointed. After all of the typos, blatantly unreliable artwork, and missing/useless information I decided to actually just try to enjoy the book for what it is... A compendium of all the information that has already been told to us in the first seven books, with a little extra, Artur Hawkwing, the Seanchan, and the Age of Legends, to keep us all drolling in ecstasy for the next book. For me, the book wasn't really that helpful because I'm in the midst of re-reading the series for my fifth time, but next time I try to force a friend to read one of RJ's books, I will give him/her this neat little book that SOMEHOW manages to sum up the world of the Wheel of Time in such a short span.
A lot of the pictures in the book are wrong. Whether it's a little or a lot, it doesn't really make a difference. If you really want to see what Moiraine, Lan, Rand, or Loial looks like, go to one of the MANY, MANY sites on the web devoted to artwork. If you have a question that's eating you up about the series, join the mailing list, or visit the newsgroup devoted to it. I've read other people's reviews of this book and most people seem disappointed. I am not. The seven full page spreads of the book covers are worth the money of the book alone. Remember this book isn't supposed to answer any questions regarding the future of the series, that is for book eight to deal with, this book is a celebration of the Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan, and all of the fans that are so addicted to WoT that they want anything WoT related. How many of the people who negatively reviewed this book heard about 'The Strike at Shayol Ghul', and ran to Tor's web site to read it? It wasn't 'Great', but it was part of the WoT and even if it wasn't as good as book 1, or 4, or 7, it didn't make a difference. It was one more piece of knowledge that was added to your collection. This is not THE best book ever, but it will be nice to re-read it during the lull between books 8 and 9, when I'm itching for a new RJ book
Rating: 
Summary: Wheel Of Time
Review: Artwork has nothing to do with the book. I create all the picturs in my mind anyway. If I want to buy a book for pictures I'll buy a comic book. This book however was great. In the large elaborate world of this series a guide is almost a necessity. I know it takes from some of the intrigue of the book. But there are so many characters that directly relate to the plot that I think some of the facts covered in this book will never see print in the series. I highly recommend this to all true fans. I have read the series almost as many times as there are book in the series. Maybe even more. I am unsure. But I still like the information presented here. Artwork is never as good as the pictures in my head anyway.
Rating:
Summary: WHY NOW?
Review: I'm a BIG WoT fan--I own all the books--which is why I couldn't resist the urge to buy this book. The main reason why I got it is because I've always been fascinated about the lands of the Seanchan and Shara. Although the book doesn't tell you much about those lands, there are MAPS of the WHOLE WORLD. There are Age of Legends maps and present-day maps. As for the artwork, it is not that good. The only picture that does a good job of resembling a character is the one of Lanfear. Now keep in mind that everyone's idea of "beautiful" will differ. Also keep in mind that Lanfear has different shades of beauty. The reason why I like that picture is because it makes Lanfear look attractive--at least--BUT AT THE SAME TIME you can see her potential for evil. It's that dark look in her eyes. As for the book itself, you'd expect more from Robert Jordan. I've heard somewhere that his pile of NOTES is TWICE as large as the whole series. If that's the case, I wonder what he's leaving out. I like the 7 book covers enclosed in the middle--but you can't take them out without damaging a very expensive book. These book cover pictures don't have the lettering, just the picture, and they take up two pages apiece. I just wish that they would have been made into tear-out posters. Finally, I don't understand why Robert Jordan published this book when the series wasn't even done yet. Tolkien was smart enough not to do that. In short, when the series IS done, you can bet that Robert Jordan will have to crank out ANOTHER textbook with ALL the covers and everything else. All in all, I'd say that ONLY HARDCORE WoT fans should get this book, if not for the artwork then for the narrative. Or, better yet, wait for the FINAL (?) textbook-like Wheel of Time book to come out.
Rating:
Summary: Good!
Review: I don't know about you guys but I enjoyed it. Yeah, the pictures aren't Michael Whelan or Keith Parkinson quality but I think what they do lack, you make up in your imagination. I would rather see a sketch of a character I have fully imagined in my head versus seeing a complete rendition of a character that I have imagined to be something else comepletly. The sketch kind of makes you...Fill in the spaces. These pictures were obviously sketches, lol. Anyways, the rest of it is interesting and if you don't want to look up a bunch of info on the books in the books, look in here!
Rating:
Summary: The Essential Reminder to a *Long* Series
Review: For those who liked the Silmarillion best of all Tolkein's works- who really enjoy history and geography, even if it's fictional, this is an excellent work. Jordan provides the history, culture, philosophy, xenology, and geography to his world, with many extra bonuses that you won't find (yet) in any of the novels. For a series that has dragged on way too long, with some 7,000 pages, it is really hard to keep track of who is doing what, and who is who. This very encompassing work gives you the background you need to remember whenever that new Jordan novel comes out. And it is amazing to discover secret tidbits that you can't find anywhere else, like a large continent to the South of the main two, populated by madmen, where the anarchy and lasse faire attitudes towards the One Power rain supreme. You got to check out this book to find out more about this place, and many others.
Rating: 
Summary: Ultimately disappointing...
Review: Having read all of the Wheel of Time books (so far) I,like any other fan, love to imagine the world of the books in my head and I was very excited when I heard this book existed. Alas, it wasn't what I hoped it would be. Although it was imaginative and it clarified many of the points in the books in the end it just felt like the authors were writing this book with one hand tied behind their backs. They had no idea how the series was going to turn out so they had to write a very limited view of Randworld. In my opinion they should've waited until the end of the series to write this book. And yes, my god, they should've gotten a better artist. The drawings look like they were done by seven year olds. The faces are ugly, the bodies are out of proportion and the colors are dull and lifeless. Is it so hard to find good artists? Get Barlowe. Then we would have a guide worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Great WoT Background History
Review: This book gives great background history for Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time Series. It has lots of information that you won't find just reading the novels. This book is a must read for any true WoT fan!
Rating:
Summary: This may have been a good buy when it first came out . . .
Review: Widely reffered to on WoT (Wheel of Time) webpages, including "official" webpages, as the BBA (Book of Bad Art) this book (with the release of several more volumes of the WoT series) has become incredibly dated. It is nice to have some of this information in a readily indexed format, though. If you don't already have it, don't buy it unless you are a WoT fanatic, purchasing every WoT item that you can lay your hands on. Although, if you are a WoT fanatic, you probably already bought this book when it first came out, back when it was worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful.
Review: The information helped a good deal in giving a better view of the series and background on nations and cultures. Such as the Aiel. I would suggest this book for any WoT reader as a good reference guide, however, I thought the art could have been much better.
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