Rating: 
Summary: Please don't say its an epic
Review: I've read all of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series lacking the last one, and I can say with some measure of conviction that there isn't a more pointless way to waste far too many days of your life than to attempt to dredge through the muck that Jordan calls a fantasy series. Several very stern editors and a basic starting outline that did not consist of "Kill one great enemy at the end of every book and have Rand conquer lands" might have saved this series somewhat. However, I highly doubt it. The series was doomed from the start with Jordan's dizzying lack of imagination, storytelling, and characterization. Call me old fashioned, but I like a story that suprises and grips me with characters so cunningly crafted that you feel as if you had known them for years. Jordan simply *cannot* characterize. He has taken all of his people from a well used rendition of stock characters, and clumsily attempted to flesh them out by giving them the token "Look this is how this person is different" traits and repeating the same mannerism for them to death. Clumsy, wooden people move through a story that a third grader could have plotted, and this series is hailed as the greatest fantasy of our time. Save your time, read something by Robin Hobb or another writer worth the paper they're printed on. And stop calling this series an epic; the fact that the writer has yet to understand how to edit or plot his works, or just plain shut up, does not embody his series with any great virtue. I read the series as a favor to a friend; don't make my same mistake and think that all the noise about this series means that its worthwhile. It's far from it.
Rating: 
Summary: Beginning of a highly engrossing series
Review: The Wheel of Time series is now up to nine books, and will go on for at least a few more. Many, if not all (I don't really know), of the books were/are bestsellers, including book eight, which many fans, including myself, felt was the worst in the series. So how does Robert Jordan keep a series so popular even at its lowest point?First: Plots. Many, many, many plots. Eye of the World starts out simply enough. Rand al'Thor's small farm community is attacked by creatures of shadow and abomination and is forced is flee with a handful of others, guided by a mystical woman and her intransigent guardian. Things expand rapidly from there on out as the reader learns more about the universe these characters inhabit. The forces of dark may be getting loose. Rand turns out to be much more than a simple farmboy. The world is not the simple place everyone thought it was. As the series progresses new characters appear and more and more subplots begin, revolving around the main idea: The prophesies say Lews Therin, the Dragon, will be reborn to fight the Dark Lord and reimprison him, as the Dragon did once before, thousands of years ago. Sometimes the subplots are related, many times they are not. The side stories will keep your mind busy throughout the series, regardless. Second: Intricate detail. Jordan has a narrative voice that paints one heck of a picture on every page. Even when Rand and Mat are seemingly doing nothing but walking down the road, the descriptions are full and interesting. Every chapter introduces more detail of this world and the people and forces inhabitting it. Third: New concepts. OK, maybe not all new, but Eye of the World is a solid starting point for the reader to become familiar with the laws and history of this world. And maybe Jordan does appear to borrow heavily at times from Tolkein's Ring Trilogy, or Herbert's Dune series (Bene Geserit=Aes Sedai, Muad'Dib=Dragon Reborn, Fremen=Aiel), or the legend of King Arthur (especially in the third book, Dragon Reborn) but he doesn't seem to make any apologies for that, and makes these adaptations his own. Any one out there written a book entirely free from past ideas? Didn't think so. Fourth: The little things. There is always something new happening. Always. Just when it seems like one problem is solved, two more pop up. By the end of The Eye of the World, every character has a new purpose far from just running away from monsters. This book is a solid beginning. By itself, The Eye of the World is a great read. As a part of a series, this book is simply amazing. Sure, it has its problems. Every one is the best at something, whether that be a sword fighter or Aes Sedai or thief, and every woman is has such a commanding presence that men back down in shock whenever the woman look at them, and the politics gets pretty involved later on, but you'll want to keep reading. Robert Jordan has found a niche and is settling in nicely.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Sucks
Review: i really don't see what the big deal about this book is. The characters are annoying and whinny. The only interesting character was Thom and Jordan found a way to make him disappear half way through the book. I'm a big fantasy fan and this is crap. i am only 600 pages in the book but that is all I can read. Nothing happens. I haven't even got a rush from the action which was poorly written. Jordan is an author that discribes everything in sight to the most minute detail. Which makes it the most slow paced fantasy book I've read. He plagerizes Tolkien through the whole book and never has one original concept. Anyone who likes this book hasn't read real fantasy like Goodkind or Brooks. Jordan if you read this please stop wasting inocent people's, like me, money on awful fluff.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent work
Review: I guess there is nothing to write about Robert Jordan that is not known to everybody. Strong feelings, well made characters and a story that will last for a lifetime!! Who doesn't want to live his life?? So go ahead, buy this book and then continue your life with the other books of this series. And remember : " The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills" P.S. I love Jordan for using some names,places and generally elements from the Arthurian saga. Apparently we have the same *good taste*.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Stuff
Review: I think that anyone who reads this book cover to cover will think that the ending is a little bit lacking but it is still a book i would read again and again. i was on the ege of my seat from the first atack to the end of the 8th book (haven't gotten the chance to read the 9th yeat) if you want you can read the first 100 pages of so and if you don't like it throw it away, however you wont be able to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: i enjoyed it, BUT
Review: i enjoyed it, but some of the people i recamended it to said it started so slow they couldn't get into it. I did n't think so, because once it starts it dosen't stop
Rating:
Summary: A Great Start.
Review: The Eye at the End of the World is a good blend of the traditional elements of a fantasy combined with the some new twists. The result is an extremely interesting book which is very enjoyable. For the traditional, like most fantasy books, the hero is from a small country town, far from the center of power. He does not want, or seek power, but events overtake him and he is forced to first flee, and then fight against "dark forces." The hero, there are actually several heroes and heroines, but the center person is a boy called Rand. All Rand wants to do is live in peace, as a sheepherder, with his father. The twists, and there are many, make this book much more interesting and believable. Rand, first of all, had to live in a small town. If he had lived in the big cities, he would have been found and, most likely, killed. That is because, in this world, men with magic go crazy. And Rand, unlike most heros, may have a natural ability to do magic. For me, however, the real magic of this book was the writing. Rand is a young man. He gets very excited when he meets a "witch", he is very scared when a trolloc, a monster, comes after him, and he is overwhelmingly concerned when his father is sick. All of these are the natural expected emotions. The way it is written, makes is interesting. Many times a hero will start out a young boy and end up some type of superstar warrior knight. Rand is always a young man. He shows some growth, but he is young when this book starts, and he is still young, more mature, but still young when the book ends. And Rand, is only one of the many interesting people in this novel. Everyone of them are well developed and interesting. In other words, in this book, people matter. The writer has remembered that when we care about the people we care about what happens to them. From the start, you will care about these people and you will enjoy this book. A very good job.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Superb
Review: This book turned me on to fantasy. After reading The Eye of the Dragon, by King, I thought fantasy would be boring. Jordan uses lots of pages telling you what the characters think, and lets you relate to them. Like in real life, you don't know the character inside and out at the very begining, it takes time to get to know them. The religeous influence, and the uniformity of believing in Light, Shadow, the Creator, and the Dark One, pulls you into the story, and lets you know EXACTLY where the character comes from. My only warning, if you read this book, you have to read the other 8.
Rating:
Summary: Up there with Tolkien
Review: I read this book after reading the first two of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels. I was quite enamored with Goodkind's books (despite their violence and oppressively dark mood) and thought he must be the best fantasy author today, but I was flabbergasted at the improvement in literary quality going into Jordan's book. Robert Jordan's characterizations and realistically detailed world, the beauty and grandness of it, put him up there with Tolkien and other immortal authors. One word of caution - keep a dictionary handy to look up the words associated with things medieval, as well as a few big words here and there, and you'll capture the lush descriptions instead of going blank and losing out on the full story. And plan on staying up late at night, unable to put the book down! ;o)
Rating:
Summary: slow but intriguing beginning
Review: I have been reading Robert Jordan for years now, since I bought a dirt-cheap copy of "The Shadow Rising" in an airport. In some ways, I regret not being able to come to "The Eye of the World" with no expectations and foreknowledge, but I am also grateful, because I knew there was a purpose behind the slow points, and I appreciated the detailed background. The Wheel of Time series deals with an epic struggle to save the world; without understanding the world, why would anyone care about saving it? "The Eye of the World" is indeed slow, especially at the beginning. However, it creates a world whose distances and kingdoms feel real, and lays background for the characters' later actions. Also, in this book, Jordan has not yet descended into the rather stereotypical, two-dimensional portraits of Elaine and Nynaeve that mar the later series. I loved the way the young people from Emond's Field were drawn into events they slowly discovered to be earthshaking. I began knowing little about the world (it is a testament to Jordan at his best that I was often absorbed enough to forget what I knew from "The Shadow Rising") and learned about its beauties and troubles with Rand and his friends as they traveled, searching for each other and for the Eye. This is one of the better introductions to a world that I have read, and would be worth reading simply to appreciate Jordan's milieu. On the basis of this book, I loved Nynaeve. She was a character to leaven the others: older and more resourceful than Rand, Perrin, Mat, and Egwene, but less inscrutable and powerful than Moiraine and Lan. There is a scene late in the book, where Rand overhears a conversation between Lan and Nynaeve, that broke my heart. I admit I hated Jordan when, by "The Shadow Rising," Nynaeve mysteriously became a youthened cardboard cutout with no relation to her previous self beyond her name, her relationship with Lan, and her inability to access her powers. "The Eye of the World" and "The Great Hunt" show that Jordan can portray reasonable female characters, and originally made some effort to do so. It is a great pity that he later abandoned his characterizations for an irritating reliance on the old, tired "war between the sexes." Despite its slow pace and somewhat meandering plot, "The Eye of the World" is necessary to fully appreciate Jordan's world and epic vision. Its characterizations also provide a welcome antidote to some of his later failings.
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