Rating: 
Summary: I liked it, but...
Review: I was told by many random people on the net that this series was a good read, so I picked it up. I enjoyed it a lot and found it better than Tolkien. (To be honest, Tolkien's The Hobbit was enough to keep me away from the rest.) The only problem I have with Jordan is over-descriptiveness. Eye of the World was great, but some of his latter books, in my opinion, seem to rattle on and on about the same things, even expanding into further books. But overall, if you like fantasy and authors like Raymond Feist and David Eddings, you should love this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good reading- if you can bear it
Review: I'm quite a fan of sword-and-sorcery fantasy. I certainly don't read it all the time but I have read a number of the genre's classics (Tolkien, Le Guin etc) and enjoy the occasional dip into some of the more recent stuff such as David Gemmel, Joe Dever, David Eddings and Forgotton Realms. Impressed by the sheer volume of good reviews for the Wheel of Time series, I decided to read book one, The Eye of the World. I never finished it.In a way, I'm sorry to have to give the book so low a score. Jordan's world-building and mythology are definitely above-average. He conveys very well the sense of a world which has already witnessed millennia of history before the events of the story occur and gives us tantalisng glimpses of the former civilisations that have risen, fallen and become mere legend by the time the characters in the book pass through the areas they occupied. Jordan is certainly not orginal; but then I don't expect to find orginality in this sort of fiction. These days, what most readers judge books of this genre by is how well the author makes use of the standard fantasy elements. And Jordan's efforts in this regard are quite adequate. What rendered the book unreadable was page after page of some of the most execrable dialogue and characterisation I've ever had the misfortune to read. It's not that the characters are one dimensional- that we might excuse in a fantasy novel; It's that they are positively annoying. The protagonist is always "blinking" or "flushing"; one of his companions is always "smirking" ( does Jordan know that the word is negative in meaning?); characters are always "snorting" at what other people say; and the puerile female characters are always flouncing off or being histrionically exasperated with "men". It's truly awful stuff. You may wonder how, if it is so bad, it can elicit rapturous reviews in their hundreds and be a bestseller. My only explanation is that people who don't read much, or who only read fantasy, are simply not irritated by the prose.If you are in this category you will probably enjoy the series. If, however, like me, your staple fare is literature, I recommend you keep well clear of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Eye of the World
Review: Okay, I have been reading other reviews for the other books in the Wheel of Time series. So far, they are mostly contradictary. Most go along the lines of "Jordan is a good writer and talented but the plot is hard to understand" and "I don't know what the fuss is about." Okay, let me tell you what the fuss is about. Unlike the "talents" of Tolkien, Jordan manages to get you interested from the beginning and keep you interested. He has a wonderful sense of imagery and a beautiful hand at detials. Jordan gives his characters not only a personality of their own, but a perfect description. Most of those who read the book and get lost, probably missed something somewhere. I can tell you that if you are having trouble understanding what is going on, instead of struggling through it, go back and re-read a few of the chapters rather than giving up. All in all, I have read the up to The Shadow Rising and I must say that Jordan hasn't lost his touch yet.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: A very engrossing storyline, with well-developed characters. He has set up a very believable world, and unlike some in the fantasy genre, has set up believable people as well. They don't have adventure for it's own sake, but react as an ordinary person would when put in extraordinary circumstances. The reader is pulled into Jordan's world, and, at those rare moments you have to put the book down because you are forced to by life, it is very easy to continue to believe that there are trollocs, myrandraal, and aes sedai. Jordan seems to do the difficult dance of having an absolute good and evil present, yet having humans that are a mixture of the two, with none completely good or evil. Few writers have been able to maintain this balance (Lewis, Tolkien, and being among them.) The reader knows that everything is not "relative" in Jordan's world- but it is an enjoyable search to understand what is the representation of true good and true evil as Jordan develops it. Evil is personified in shai'tan. I would hope that in future books Jordan develops the personification of good which is only obliquely referenced in the Creator in the first work. There are some mild flaws: Jordan could have used a better editor, as there are occasional instances when the grammar is off or a sentence seems to end in the middle of a. But this is rare and does not detract from the over-all enjoyment. The book starts out quite slow as well in the first five chapters, and I found it helpful to skim those more before excitement really started to happen. As I heard detailed descriptions of village life I was hoping that this would not be typical of the entire work. I was not dissapointed. Of course, considering that this is an 800 page book, 5 chapters is not as large a section as it would be in most books.
Rating:
Summary: Its just the begining
Review: I am a huge WoT fan.This book was great. I would suggest reading the series. In my oppion probly the best fantasy series of all time. A great adventure. I enjoyed every page. But hard to get through some times but still a good book.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthwhile Endeavor
Review: Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time is a great series and worth your time to read because it works on so many levels. You can either take it on face value, and enjoy the story of a distant and alien land where the forces of good and evil struggle in an eternal war for power. Magic and war abound, prophesies are fulfilled, and monsters rise up from the dark. Or, you can read deeper into the underlying currents and come to understand and appreciate the seriousness of this work. Although many complain of the length of this series, one must remember that a work of this magnitude isn't called epic because of its brevity. I read all nine books stright through starting in the summer, and I am severely disappointed to have to wait until sometime next year to read the next one. Its the sheer length and detail of the world that is its strongest asset. So, if you're looking to enjoy a new world that will be on your mind for a long time, start reading it. It doesn't cause so much contraversey and conversation because its a crummy book.
Rating:
Summary: The Wheel of Time is the best series I have ever read
Review: When I first started reading The Eye of the World, I thought it was just going to be your typical fantasy book. As I got deeper into the book I was genuinely surprised at how complex and well written the story was. And the ending was exciting. When I got done reading this book all I wanted to do was read the next one. I have now read The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn, and I have just started reading The Shadow Rising. Don't worry I'm not going to reveal anything about these other books. I hate it when people write reviews that spoil the book. But I will say that after this book, it only gets better! The Eye the world is the best place to start though, since it is the first book in the series. The Eye of the World tells about a group of friends that is uprooted from their sheltered life in a small farming villiage by a couple of strange visitors. they then have adventures that they could only dream of before. This is a great book! And The Wheel of Time is the Best series I have read so far. you should definetly read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Decent Fantasy with Minor Flaws
Review: In Robert Jordan's novel, The Eye of the World, the reader is introduced to interesting ideas such magical women called Aes Sedai, who are widely feared and shunned, prophecies about a man called the Dragon Reborn who could end the world, and concepts which branch off of other author's ideas and enlarge them. The story tells about three village boys who are chosen by Aes Sedai and fate to fight the Dark One, a malevolent presence, and the interaction between them, their friends, and their protectors. The characters, especially Moiraine, an Aes Sedai, Lan, her protector, Loial, an Ogier, and Nynaeve, a woman from the boys' village are dynamically written. The boys themselves, called Rand, Mat, and Perrin, tend to get on your nerves, especially Mat and his interminable whining. The novel brings in ideas from our culture including a deity, called the Light, religious fanatics, and prejudice. These ideas are symbolized in groups and characters of the novel. Ultimately, the novel starts out slow, but after the first hundred pages, then becomes quick and fast. While Mr. Jordan doesn't spend as much time with the most interesting characters, he ties the fantasy together well. Though some ideas are complex, The Eye of the World is a very fine story.
Rating:
Summary: Great piece of Fantasy, don't let the length scare you away!
Review: For the most part I am not much of an avid reader, yet upon recommendation from a friend I picked it up. As I began to read it I can't say that I was instantly enchanted with the characters and the universe that Jordan's novels are set in, and in fact, at about page 200 I just had put the book down. Yet, I picked the book up again a couple of weeks later with more determination to finish it ,and as I allowed myself to get into the actual story (and as is subsequently got more and more intense and involved), I found myself actually being interested by this book. I know many of the other reviewers have given you a synopsis of the book, so you can find that on your own. I have not started reading the second book. From what people are saying the rest of the series are going down hill, but hey you got nothing to lose. It is a good book. I cannot honestly tell you that it is a stand alone book (the ending doesn't resolve much), but still the story is entertaining and invigorating. DOn't let the length scare you off!
Rating: 
Summary: "Enjoyable Fantasy"
Review: Even though I'm not a big fantasy reader, I did enjoy "The Eye of the World." It's a pretty involved read, and Jordan does get very descriptive with his people, places and things. Still I thought he did a good job fleshing out the characters and evolving them as the story went along. Very imaginative with the magics and different races and beings used. None of the typical elves, trolls, dwarfs etc. like you'd get in other fantasy novels. Also no one just blindingly follows the forces of "The Light," some of whom behave no better than the evil forces they fight. Really liked when Jordan seperated the 3 farmboys, whose destiny it was to face The Dark One, from the rest of their party. Without their powerful warrior and female warrior/mystic to protect them, they had to rely on their own wits and skills to survive and rejoin their friends. Some pretty good scenes in this part involving one boy (Perrin) learning how to communicate with wolves and dealing with trouble from a group of warriors/religious fanatics called The Children of the Light. Not a whole lot of action, and what there was of it happened rather quick. The end was strange but I liked it.
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