The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1)

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Summary: One of the best fantasy books I have ever hoped to read.
Review: This is an involving, complicated book that seems to take your mind to an entirely different and fascinating world. For a short time you become someone else, with someone else's probelms that almost makes your life much easier, and yet much more complicated. It takes a unique look at equality between the sexes in a way I have not seen before. There, women are equal to men, with no conflict with it being so. It shows a fight between good and evil to save the world, and you're never quite sure whether or not good prevails. As the first book in the series "The Wheel of Time", it is but one part of the whole captivating story, which is currently (May 1997) not done yet. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read one of the best fantasy books since "The Hobbit", by J. R. R. Tolkien

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Summary: Good book--but don't read till series is done
Review: This book is reminisent of Stephen Donaldson's series about White Gold: It starts out very strong (this book is excellent), but the time lag between books in the series being released is so long it is easy to get lost between books. The yarn is being spun too long --- I have stopped buying the books and will read them only in the library as there is no hurry--and the last one I just skimmed, it didn't grab me at all. I am not sure I will even read the next one, which I expect will NOT end the series (I have given up hoping for that) but will only explore more of this world. There are so many different fully created spots in this world that it doesn't seem possible to weave them (in a balanced way) back into the single cord which is necessitated by the epic nature of the adventure.(The end of all things). If Mr. Jordan succeeds in this, then the epic will be a must read. My recommendation: Don't read any of them till the whole thing is done

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Summary: A Splendidly Frustrating Epic
Review: I first read "The Eye of the World" some years ago and found myself thrown into a world full of 'goodness and evil'. Since I have been reading fantasy novels for many years I did not find this to be anything exceptional. What I did find refreshing, however, was that the characters in the story were fully three dimensional. The central goodly characters are not without fault (Nynaeve being a perfectly wonderful example of a 'real woman'). Even the 'evil' characters have a depth to their personalities that so many other writers fail to give their creations. As a whole the book draws the reader into a world that is alien to our own in such a way as to make you totally comfortable and at ease with your surroundings and the strange peoples that populate it. What is more, the main characters are drawn in such a way that they become so familiar that it is easy to miss the fact that they age and change within the unravelling of the story - it is only when you reach the end of the book that you realise, with a touch of sadness, that events have irrevocably changed characters that have become friends to you. "The Eye of the World" is exceptionally well written and beautifully detailed, full of pace and action which made it difficult for me to put down any of the seven or eight times that I've read it. It is a wonderful example of fantasy writing. As this is a review on "The Eye of the World" it is hardly fair to include comments about the other books in the series. However, since there are now a further six books in the "Wheel of Time" series, it is difficult not to bear them in mind when writing about the first. Consequently, that is the source of any frustration I feel; I am so impatient to find out what happens next in the story that my jaws ache from grinding my teeth! Other fans might well question, then, why I only gave the book a 9 as a rating. Well in truth, any story can be improved upon, so I don't really think that a straight 10 is obtainable, but this one goes really close!

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Summary: A Great Book for A Great Series!
Review: The Eye of the World is truly an extraordinary book! This is truly one of Robert Jordan's masterworks. Although slightly confusing at first, you are thrust right into the action, and it just gets better from then on! There is a very in-depth plot structure, but it is very easy to understand. I wish that I could write a book as great as this. Jordan even includes a well thought out index, with more than 100 entries, just in case you get lost. I'd recommend this book to strangers on the street

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Summary: It's just great.
Review: This book is great. Once you read it, you will be forced to find out that the rest of the series is great, too, because once you finish this book you will rush out and buy the next one, and so on unil you've finished all the books in the series that are currently out. And you'll show up at the bookstore the day the next book comes out, drooling, waiting to devour the next installment. Despite all the criticisms people say about the series, everyone buys the new books in the series as soon as they come out

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Summary: The Benchmark by which ALL will be judged...Tolkein Included
Review: One need only read the works of Eddings et.al. to realize they are but "Mary Had A Little Lamb" compared to Mozart. A symphony for the senses, a challenge for the intellect, a history lesson for the history buff--for those who hunger for a superior storyteller with a dramatic flair for adventure, an intimate knowledge of good and evil, and a epic style of Brobdignagian proportions LOOK NO FARTHER. This is the new standard for the genre

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Summary: Captivating Debut
Review: The Dragon, a man who saved the world and broke it, a man feared and adored by everybody for his accomplishments, and he is reborn out of the past into a world one thousand years after his death. The Dark One's hand is extending over the world, keeping winter in season when spring should be well in bloom. Rand al'Thor is the unproclaimed Dragon Reborn, a man who does not know who or what he is, and he must save the world. Reborn out of the past he must travel to the ends of the earth, with Darkfriends on his heels, to find the Eye of the World, a pool of the One Power, pure as can be and free of the taint of Saidin, the male half of the One Power. Containing more Power than any man can hold at one time, hiding secrets of a time long past that is now totally forgotten to this world, it was put in place by the original Dragon. It's only use: to proclaim the Dragon Reborn to the people of the world. To the Aiel, he is He Who Comes With the Dawn; to the Sea Folk, the Coramoor; and to the world, The Dragon Reborn. And he must save the world again. And he does. As the first book of the series, I liked this book very much so. It captured my heart from the start and is an excellent debut novel to the "Wheel of Time" series. Robert Jordan captivates his readers by expanding the reality of the book. And, although a lot of things could not possibly happen in the real world, he makes them seem like the world has always and will forever be this way

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Summary: The starting point of one of the best series ever
Review: In the Eye of the World Robert Jordan sets the groundwork for a series that just gets better and better. I had always been more of a space adventure reader until one of my friends insisted that I read this book. I was spellbound by Jordans depiction of this world. He lends such vivid detail to each page that it actually seems like you are there experencing everything with the characters. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down until I had finished it. And this was just the beginning. With each subsiquent book Jordans character development and story depth get better and better. Jordan succedes in creating a world unparalled by most other authors. A definate must read

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Summary: THIS BOOK IS GREAT! A MUST READ!
Review: All you have to do is see how many reviews were done on this book to see that it is a well loved, well crafted story that brings up many major points: (A) How frustrating the never-ending battle of the sexes really is. (B) Many people have the arrogance to think that things will work out just the way they want it, with no bumps in the road along the way. (C) How different cultures and peoples think and react to eachother. DON'T LISTEN to people who say that it is so long winded that it isn't worth the read, beacause it is definitely the kind of series that you will not want to put down until there are no more books left to read

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Summary: Good yarn.
Review: Jordan spins a good tale, if not a bit wordy. I like wordy, sometimes. Simple text. You will find you may never need a dictionary. A good time-killer, but not to thought provoking. Sort of _Dune_ in fantasy. In short, good reading for a fantasy tale