Rating: 
Summary: Quick and rushed....
Review: This was a book I was very much looking forward to. I heard a lot about it and couldn't wait to get a complete book on my faviorite fantasy series. I was mostly excited about the pictures which I imagined as being grand as they are in Tolkiens Illustrated books. I was greatly, and I mean GREATLY DISSAPOINTED by the unimaginative quality of the drawings. Main characters were given extremely small "face" drawings. They also all looked the same!! In fact every drawing in the book was cheaply drawn and disapointing. I hope Jordan would give the same richness to these books as he does to his novels....by the way, what's up with the billion year wait between books?
Rating: 
Summary: Find something far more wothy of your hard earned money!
Review: During the interview with Child Carridin, Pedron Niall refrences a sketch of the battle between Rand and B'Alzamon as "... crude, but still bearing a resemblance ...". That is a kind as I am willing to be regarding the imagry of this work. As to content, what content. If you have read the seven books of this series, there is only one piece of information that could be considered new. Nothing else in this volume is even minorly substantive to any part of the series. There is not a single worthwile corrolary. Mr "Jordan" and associates, including publisher, should issue some explanation, and refund, to anyone who has purchased this book. It might also be helpful if TOR would hire a staff of editors who have an understanding of the American and English languages, syntax, spellings, and usages inherant to each.(Someone please apply, your help is desperately needed). It is unfathomable to read this book, and then compare it to the superlative series with the contemplation of both having issued from the same author.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a very good read for the die-hard WoT fan.
Review: Reading the reviews displayed here, I have seen a lot of critiscism for this Guide. I'm not sure why, as I found it to meet up with my expectations. The artwork I ignored completely; simply because I think all artwork about books is dissapointing. What I didn't ignore was the content! This is not a book about the events taking place in the Wheel of Time, it's a history book about the world of the Wheel of Time. It's a book that could have been written about the world, in the world. It features biographies on the Chosen/Forsaken, the history of the Age of Legends, and explanation of their society, explanations of the Aiel, the Seanchen and others. This is not part of the Wheel of Time, it stands aside from it. Personnaly I found it to be a captivating read, and a MUST BUY. It reveals nothing about what is going to happen in the series, and only fills in other gaps. Don't be put off this book because of its artwork; if so, why did you EVER pick up the Eye of the World?
Rating:
Summary: Why would you want to buy it?
Review: I don't understand why anyone who considers themselves a fan of Jordan's work would want to buy such a book as this. I consider one of the greatest aspects of Jordan's writing to be his ability to give such detail, but write with a certain mystery that gives his story a depth that is nearly impossible to find in other authors' works. I believe one of the most central elements to the success of The Wheel of Time is the amount of mystery that keeps us turning the pages and biting our nails for the next book. I am sadly dissapointed with Robert Jordan and Tor Publishing for taking this route in the series. Indeed, the book isn't even part of The Wheel of Time, and instead of adding to the depth of the series, I believe it detracts heavily from it. I will not comment on the quality of the work, for it is quite apparent from reading the majority of the reviews in this section. It's the principle of reading this "cheat book" to the series that I'm writing about. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. Tolkien (the founder of the Fantasy genre, but by no means the greatest of its writers) never released an "insight into Middle Earth" type of book until the Lord of the Rings was complete. Let the series explain itself before you go and spoil it with this smut. Explore the world for yourself and delve into the book to find out its secrets. That is how to get the most out of any work. I'll stop turning this into a lecture and finish by restating my dissapointment in Robert Jordan and his publisher. I met him at a book signing, and he would talk your ear off; that is about anything except when the next book would come out. I wish that he would stop copping out with a pathetic attempt to stem our growing impatience, confusion and frustration, and just sit down and write the story. It will answer any questions we may have, and the answers will be all the more sweeter because we discovered them ourselves. It will be necessary for Jordan to redeem himself with book eight, and after two and a half years of writing, I will be sorely dissapointed if he does not. Jordan seems to be getting nervous that we are growing impatient, and he is mistaken if he thinks that he can "tide us over" with anything more than The Wheel of Time itself.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmmmm
Review: I had a couple of problems with this book. 1) The artwork was horrendous. Was that Lan or a large foreheaded neanderthal man? 2) Content. And something happened.....and the Dark One was imprisoned. Come on now, who really wrote this book? I had no problems with the many color maps( Shara, Seanchan, etc.) but those city maps...Gosh, didn't they look familiar! Just for the record, I think the only authenticity was in the DKS art section. I was hoping to see a few short stories within this volume. Something along the line of a partial telling of the Great Hunt of the Horn, or even the Karaetheon cycle. Ooops! There I go expecting quality from a brilliant writer. R.J. dogged us with this one. Someone at TOR must really think WOT fans are stupid. If you must have this book wait until it hits the clearance shelves at 75% off.
Rating:
Summary: Thanks for the warning, guys.
Review: I am a rabid Wheel of Time fan. I've never been disappointed yet. The longer the book the better - but this stinks. The reviews here saved me mucho deniero. Forewarned, I visited a nearby bookstore and boy were you right! As for the art: *retching noises* Major characters are missing, like Min. I, and I think other fans, would have willingly paid $100 for beautiful art and interesting writing on the history of Rand-land. But the publishers loaded it with crap, for the discount price of $40.00.
Rating: 
Summary: not the best..but good
Review: I have been a die hard of Jordans for awhile.. and while some of the stuff within this book left things to be desired, a lot of the stuff was actually helpful in filling in gaps. I just recently read all the reviews and one person commented about Shara being blank.....well..it WAS . No information exhisted about Shara other then what was seen at the ports and the few people who snuck in. Remember that there was a time when Merchants were allowed accrossed the aiel waste to trade in Shara, so there should be SOME information. People should be happy it gave a little more information as it gives a hint to what is to come in the future books. (land of the Madmen..information about the Seanchan empire) I agree that the artwork did leave something to be desired, and that some of the sections were a little less informative then others, but overall. I was plesently pleased. I think a lower price would have been nice, but even with the higher price, it is a nice addition to my Robert Jordan collection and gives me something to read until "path" comes out late next year.
Rating:
Summary: This is the number one book for me: a 13year old boy from CA
Review: I feel that this book is excellent. While reading it you are brought into the world of Robert Jordan and Teresa Patterson. I get so locked into this thrilling fantasy that I find myself being pushed out of class after the bell rang or staying up 'till 12:00 each night reading it. I am on the fourth book and am scrounging up the money for the fifth book. I plan to read all the books to the Wheel of Time Series, and encouraging my dad to read them. GREAT!!!
Kyle Macmillan (tatwell@apr.com), Mountain Veiw, Caifornia
Rating:
Summary: Wow is this book bad!
Review: I can't believe how disastrous this book is! The art is awful and ugly and inaccurate. Has Hamilton ever looked at a human being before? People do not have ears on the jaws! They look like Minbarri! And in certain pictures like Verin the teenager and Gald the hideous, the eyes are so completely out of whack! And my gosh...is that supposed to the Sun Throne of Cairhein? It looks like a lazy-boy recliner and the rising sun on the back is _completely_ off center! And what's the deal with the _green_ stones in Tylin's marriage knife? Red means a son and white means a daughter so does green mean that Tylin's children were all hermaphrodites? And what's the deal with the White Tower? it looks like a nuclear reactor! And why does Berelain have pointed ears? And why do Moiraine and Lanfear have blue eyes? And the book completely destroys some of the characters! For example it turns Asmodean from this tragic compelling figure who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his music into a person who went around killing better artists! And what's with all the typos? e.g "modem" instead of "modern" (twice!) or "Sanschen" instead of "Seanchan." I could really rant a lot more, but my comments would be duplicative, and thanks to some of the reviews below I was forewarned (especially the one from NY) when I browsed through this book in the bookstore. I didn't buy it. And you are a clueless fan if you do.
Rating: 
Summary: WOT Guide: The Search for more Money
Review: The only reason I did not initially buy this book was because I lost my checkbook. This seems to be a blessing in disguise due to the reviews I have seen. Granted the book does provide interesting information and help sum information about a world that grows more complex with each book. Unfortunately I found the images to be rather disappointing. The art was ok, but I have seen and expected better from someone like Jordan. The information about the other lands looked interesting, but I found it ruined the intrigue of the series in many ways. For example, Shara was supposed to be this mystical land that no one has ever seen and is shrouded in mystery (China). Well, from what I scanned of the book, it gives a map, history, people, and government of the land. This practically spoils the entertainment and surprise when entering the land. I am not going to buy the book simply because it will make the remainder of the series more enjoyable. When Book 8 comes out, I'll reread the series to catch up.
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