Rating: 
Summary: NOTHING IS DERIVATIVE
Review: Okay people, not everything is DERIVATIVE of TOLKIEN. Fantasy is by its very nature made up of elves, noble men, wizards, dwarves, orcs, etc... Simply having these characters in the story doesnt make it derivative.
Second, there is a basic formula to fantasy novels. This can be seen as far back as ancient greek myth (which is where the inspiration for LOTR came from). It goes like this..."Farm Boy sees/hears of trouble, rescues girl/town, becomes hero." That is the backbone of our beloved fantasy novels.
Because of all these things RJ and all other fantasy novels, while following a similar story line have all taken a "road less travled" and in doing so, they have opened our minds and imaginations to their "version" of the story as they see it! READ THIS BOOK AND ENJOY ITS TALENTED AUTHORSHIP, Dont focus so much on its "derivativeness".
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but BEWARE!!
Review: There's no doubt that this a great and engrossing book. The plot draws you in right from the start, and Jordan does a great job of crafting a deep and rich world. Though perhaps a little too much like Tolkein's middle-earth in many respects, it certainly stands on it's own and fantasy fans will definitely find this a must read. BUT, the rest of the series is a different story. Up through about book 5, the series is top notch. And then it slowly begins to stretch and stretch as though the author is trying to pump out more books and make a few more bucks. The real problem is that it's almost impossible to stop reading them and not find out what happens, so the reader ends up buying some really ... books (6-9). It's just too long. So don't buy this book unless you're willing to shell out the cash for some mediocre books in the future; hopefully book 10 will actually bring things to a close and pick up the pace or something; I could actually see myself giving up on this series the way things are currently moving.
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Summary: I still love you RJ but....
Review: Sigh..its a little like looking back on your first love. It seemed mind blowing at the time, but then you realize how profane and not profound it really was. Well, thus it is with RJ and myself. Eye of the World was the first book in the first major fantasy series I ever read and like alot of folks I was just blown away by the majesty, the epic mythology and the drama of the story. Now dont get me wrong, I still love Randland(the pet name for the world that RJ creates) however, Im a bit wiser now and I realize that RJ is frightfully derivative. Point blank, if you love or liked Tolkein and loved or liked Dune , chances are you will do the same with Eye of the World- reason being because so many umm..'elements' from both novels are umm..'present' in this one. Case in point: The premise: youth from an idyllic, backwater, bfa pastoral town have holliday/festival/ party whatever interupted by the presence of evil(a Fade- a rider/swordsman in all black with poisonous sword[see Nazgul] and accompanying Trollocs[see orcs])...and must leave said town in the company of myserious strangers. Ahem...can you say FOTR? Rand( the main character) is Frodo(or better yet Paul Atredes) but maybe less naive( not hard to do with a Tolkein character, or in the case of Paul, more naive)...Perrin, Rand's friend is nothing but Samwise Gamgee but smarter and with more of a backbone..also Mat is like pippin and merric combined..the troublemakers. Moraine(one of the strangers the boys leave the town with) is like a female Gandolf and her friend/protector Lan screams of Aragon. Lan is a 'warder' i.e. Ranger, and also the exiled prince of a broken land as we learn later in the book. Get the picture so far? I recently watched the movie FOTR, and mind you, I at the time hadn't read any Tolkein..but as I was sitting there I was amazed at how scenes from the movie were like passages from Eye of the World. Sigh, one illusion shattered. Now, to RJ's credit...he didnt just go out and duplicate Middle Earth. The world he creates is just as rich, detailed, multi- layered and complex as anything you will ever read. And the backstory and history and even languages are there as well...again credit Tolkein, but RJ does well in his own right. RJ is also very meticulous in his descriptive prose, but has no illusions of being a court bard unlike Tolkein , so it is a less ponderous read. Also strong ever present female characters litter the landscape with RJ..though, as is the case in many ultra-polarized 'good vs evil' narratives, the characterization of many characters can become hackneyed and wooden as they become mere props in the story. The best part of Jordan is the action and battle sequences..there is alot of them and they will literally have your heart in your throat..even though, realistically speaking, you know none of the characters will die(this is high fantasy after all) still, the author puts them in peril and makes you feel it. However, its a shame that an author with RJ's talent and imagination is so comfortable to be derivative of other great novels. Many elements from Dune are present as well and become more apparent as the series goes on. Case in point-the Aiel, a desert tribe who have a prophecy of 'the one' who will lead them to greatness(i.e.the fremen)...The Bene Gesserat women with power who pull the strings of many a great power(see Aes Sedai with RJ). Then again RJ, like many authors have-even Tolkien, borrows from our own world fables, mythologies, religious fables ,and festivals as well so..hey ,I suppose in his book all is ripe for the picking. All in all for what it is and what it sets out to be this book and the series(well most of it anyway) are very very good..and if you dont beleive me, ask Terry Goodkind who stole alot from RJ. However, as good as it is, its a shame its not as original as I thought it once was.-A.N.
Rating:
Summary: Great!!!
Review: This book takes you to another world and makes it come totally alive. You grow to know the characters and feel comfortable with them. It is really hard to put it down!
Rating:
Summary: Robert Jordan, second greatest fantasy author!
Review: In my personal opinion, Robert Jordan is the second greatest fantasy writer. Tolkien, being the first. The Wheel of Time' series is fantastic, the characters become well developed and are very believable. These books have a nice, solid storyline and great plots all the way through. However, I think the Wheel of Time' series is one of those things, you will either love it, or you will hate it depending upon your tastes in fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: A Respectable Work
Review: Just recently, I read this book for the second time: i'd read it a few years ago, but had forgotten a number of the events, and also because it's a good book.
I will admit, though, that I dislike more of the characters than I should. Rand Al'Thor is probably the most stubborn and full of self-denial of all of the characters of all of the books and movies i've ever known. His friend Mat Cauthon is not very well developed in this first book: he's the guy who gets everyone in trouble and always has something smart-aleky to say. Perrin Aybara is an enjoyable character, though: he's down to earth, honest, and although he is fairly in denial about certain things, he's not quite as irritating as Rand. These three are the 'best friends', the core players. There is also Egwene, the opinionated feminist-type/love interest of Rand. There is Nynaeve, the bossy, persistant, obnoxious, bratty medicine girl. There is Moiraine, the cool, self-restrained, seemingly all-knowing magician. There is Lan, her cold, stony, reliable guardian. There is Thom Merrilin, the wise, well-traveled illusionist sort of guy. There are also numerous other characters, but these are the main ones, at least for this novel.
This is an incredibly lengthy book, full of adventurers and excitement that, however, don't really seem to advance the story very well, and rather feel like 'filler'. In fact, you'll sometimes wonder if the book will ever end. Despite all of this, there's never a shortage of things for the characters to get themselves into, or out of. There is plenty of rivalry between good and evil, there is fantasy, mystery, excitement, a little bit of romance, adventure, all sorts of things. You'll either find the people to be very likable, somewhat likable, or not likable whatsoever. You'll actually find yourself almost hating some of them. Perhaps this is one reason that it is so effective. Another reason is Jordan's skill in description and knowledge of war and humanity.
The only problem I REALLY have is that the book seems to read like young adult fiction, where it would probably be more enjoyable to have more adult characters, more romance, more intelligence, more....I don't know. Maybe i'm nit-picking too much. Just read it! It might take you several months of persistant reading, depending on how fast you are, but I can't really suggest a better book, despite all of my fusses.
Rating: 
Summary: The book is grand but the abridged audiotape is LAME.
Review: I was hesitant to buy this book on tape because it is abridged and read by someone other than the author. I decided to buy just the first tape and decide on buying more after listening to it. The abridgment is horrid. Important pieces, needed to help the story line flow along smoothly, are totally cut while insignificant parts remain. The reader, Mark Rolston, only made things worse. I realize that pronunciation is bound to be different, and I tried to deal with the seeming slaughter of names and places, but I could not make myself come around to his style of reading. Pronunciation aside, the reading made me ill. His false enthusiasm and halfhearted emotion was more than I could endure. I would not recommend this particular rendering of the book to anyone.
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Summary: Excellent beginning to a great series!
Review: I picked this book up after a few years of prodding be friends ... and boy am I glad I did! This book drew me into a very rich world with amazing characters that I can not forget (I can't tell you the times I have discussed favorite characters of this series) The plots and subplots are very complex, making you feel as if you are living in the world rather than reading a story about it. If you are a Goodkind or Martin fan, then definately consider picking up this book.
Rating:
Summary: A definate must-get.
Review: This book may not be as good as the others in the series, (which could earn about 6-8 stars), but this book is very good. I reccomend this book to ANYONE who can manage the vocabulary. For you who hate fiction, I suppose you can pass, but those who love fiction, adventure, settings from "long-ago" DON'T PASS ON THIS BOOK! My own copy is falling apart becuase my Dad reads it so much! I am only 13, and no matter what reading level you have, get this book!
Rating:
Summary: I've read it twice
Review: In fact, i've read all of the first eight books twice. They were even better the second time around. All of them, with the exception of the Eye of the World are 5 star books. Honestly, i am having a hard time remembering what happens in the eye of the world right now. But it's only a begining. Maybe a bit of a rocky start, i'll admit, and unfortunatly, you can't skip it. But you'll know, by the time you've read the first couple of pages in the Great Hunt (book 2), that it was worth it. and they only get better and better from there.
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