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

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

List Price: $15.30
Your Price: $10.40
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Fantasy? Yes. Great Literature? Please!
Review: This book, like all the Robert Jordan series is a story, more fleshed out than an MTV springbreak segment, far more deeply detailed than our 7 second attention-span-limited culture can handle. The story lines are myriad, the milleu is complex and rich in history. The characters are deep enough, but in the end: This is a fantasy story, not Shakespeare. Don't rail because human myth is wrapped in it and that seems plagiaristic. It helps the story resonate realism within a fantastic setting.

Yes, it's loooooooonnnnnnngggggg and complicated. So are 7 course meals. If you want brevity, read short stories, Pierce Anthony or such. This is a good read, full of interesting twists and turns. I highly recommend the entire series.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the eye of the world
Review: fantastic book, keeps u involved the whole way thru, one of the best i have ever read. the series as a whole is incredible reading, i strongly recomemned it to anyone who enjoys adventure, fantasy and highly developed characters.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Eye Of the World
Review: I would defiantly give Robert Jordans Eye of the World a 5/5 stars. As you read, the book picks up speed as a snowball flying down the side of a mountain. The storyline develops more thouroughly than any other book I have ever read, defying even Tolkiens vain attempts at harnassing the world of Fantasy. This is a MUST READ for anyone who likes Fantasy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Long and complex, yet still fast and fun.
Review: I'll only add one comment to all the other excellent and useful reviews posted for this title. I am someone who usually isn't crazy about either the fantasy genre OR really long books. As "The Eye of the World" is clearly both a fantasy novel AND a long book, I was skeptical when a friend in the office began pushing me to read it. Well, I finally capitulated (gotta build those bridges with your colleagues!), and was happily surprised that the book was not the ordeal I dreaded. On the contrary, the story was fast-moving and laced with interesting characters, full of depth and complexity yet always adventurous and fun. As of this writing, I have moved on to the other titles in the series and am already halfway through the entire "Wheel of Time" saga after less than a year. Give "The Eye of the World" a shot. If a non-fantasy fan like me can get hooked, I think anyone can!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great start to a massive series
Review: Well, I almost stopped reading this book 100 or so pages into it. That would have been a mistake. It really picks up the pace after that, and the action is terrific, the characters are terrific and the world is amazing.

The only negative about the series is that there is no way you can just pick it up in the middle of the series. But, this is a great place to start!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than I expected...
Review: Being a rabid Tolkien fanatic, I am reluctant to read other fantasy without a good reason. However, two different people suggested that I read this series, and I decided to try it. I have to admit, it greatly exceeded my expectations. It's not as good as Tolkien, of course, but I liked it, and I am now enjoying the second book. I recommend "The Wheel of Time" to all fantasy fans.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The good and bad of Tolkien's genre is all here
Review: J.R.R. Tolkien did not invent the genre of epic fantasy, but it should go without saying that "The Lord of the Rings" is the standard by which all such works are judged. All the common ingredients of the genre can be found in "The Eye of the World"--naive rural folk thrust into a world of adventure and intrigue; innumerable characters who are (inevitably) more than they seem; powerful and magical forces of good and evil, and politically motivated people who confuse one with the other. Those who always love this sort of thing (as there are readers who love romances, or mysteries) may as well stop reading this review right now--this is exactly what you're expecting, and Jordan delivers "the goods."

If, however, like me, you tend to dabble in epic fantasy and don't read every trilogy (or octology--it should be noted that Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, of which this is the first volume, stands at eight books now and shows no signs of letting up), there are other considerations to make. First, are his characters interesting? Certainly, enough of the blurb-writers on the book jacket think highly of Jordan's characterizations, but anyone familiar with good mainstream fiction will recognize the stereotypes from which all of his characters are built. While not exactly cardboard cut-outs, neither are these living, breathing characters with which we as readers can empathize.

Second, is the plot engaging? This has to be Jordan's biggest failing. His narrative is entirely paint-by-numbers, which is to say that he moves linearly from one event to the next. He makes no choices as to what to show and what not to show--everything that happens is presented in equal measure. His few attempts at nonlinearity are clumsy and irritating. The events themselves rely on "deus ex machina" more often than I was able to count; Jordan paints his characters into hopeless situations over and over, then extricates them with miraculous rescues or fortuitous coincidences. In the context of the fantasy, he can perhaps fall back on "so the Wheel has weaved," or in the main characters' magical powers, hidden or not, but too often my disbelief couldn't be suspended and Jordan's plot points seemed like cop-outs.

That said, as in most epic fantasies the world Jordan has created is far more of a living, breathing creature than any of his characters, and might be worth experiencing, at least for one book. Also intriguing is the unusually strong role played by women in Jordan's world. If you have a taste for epic fantasy, this book will remind you all too often of Tolkien, and the comparison does not favor Mr. Jordan. Still, this author has thought things through enough to maintain some interest.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Interesting world, boring characters
Review: I just started reading this series and have finished the first book. Well, I know everyone is fanatical and such about The Wheel of Time, but I just don't see what the big deal is. It's the same as any other fantasy book I've read. The world is really interesting and well thought out, but the characters are absolutely annoying. Not one of the three main characters takes initiative in anything. They sit around complaining about everyone else (not out loud, but in their head), and every decision they make is stupid. They show no emotion except "I don't trust the Aes Sedai" even though the Aes Sedai help them out endlessly, or "I am scared of the bad guys". These guys are supposed to save the world? And every time the characters talk, it is rarely about anything except to tell facts that move the story along. There are no casual conversations that develop the characters. I wonder how any of the other characters know anything about each other, since they hardly talk. The other thing I found funny was Lan. He is my favorite character in this book, along with Moiraine and Nynaeve, since they are the only ones who take initiative. What was funny about Lan was that he was supposed to show no emotion, but whenever he says something, he says it "as though he was very sad, but you couldn't tell because his face was as hard as a rock". That gets old. Just tell us he is sad, or angry, or whatever. I will continue reading the series though, as my friend promises it gets better, so I have already started The Great Hunt, and it does get a little better. Stuff actually happens in that. The Eye of the World is basically a big chase scene, and every bit of it is predictable and derivative. Read it if you have nothing else to do. Just don't expect a masterpiece, as everyone calls it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It hooked me!
Review: Being raised on Tolkien, I have always been quite suspicious of virtually all other fantasy. Jordan does not come up to the level of Tolkien, but his work is engaging, exciting, and well worth reading.

My first experience with this book (and subsequently the series) was the little 9 chapter "freebie" that many bookstores were giving away. I was hooked by the plot, checked the book out of the library, and was on my way. At present, I've read "The Eye of the World" three times, and never regretted the time spent.

If you like Tolkien, be forewarned. Jordan does not come close. But compared to most of the fantasy literature out there, his work is outstanding.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The best fantasy of all time? Please.
Review: Let's get one thing straight--this book is *bad*. As in, the opposite of "good", "classic", or "superior to Tolkien"; which are just a few of the adjectives that this series' fans are flinging around carelessly. This book is so dull, messy, and pointless that two hundred pages from the end, I realized that it would have been far more entertaining and enlightening to have exerted my energy on reading my algebra book cover to cover.

First of all, I have heard a lot of people complain about TEOTW's plot. I think this is unfair, because to do so implies that this book *has* a plot. A note to all of you fantasy writers out there: a vague, disjointed, *long* series of incidents that really don't lead up to anything does not a coherent plot make.

And speaking of characters, I couldn't stand a one of them. Rand, Perrin, and Mat are so indestinguishable that I had to remind myself who was who by remembering "Rand is the one who everybody thinks is smart but is really dumb, Perrin is the one who everybody thinks is dumb but is really smart, and Mat is the one who everybody thinks is dumb and is really dumb." Robert Jordan seems very proud of the fact that his female characters have a stronger role than those of Tolkien, but a "strong role" does not necessarily make them better or more interesting. Just think which you would rather read about--a few women who are complex, thoughtful, and well developed or a lot of women who only exist to act mysterious and remind the male characters of their masculinity. Thom and Nynevae(sp?) I actually found to be somewhat interesting, but Jordan seems intent on limiting their presence lest they manage to inject a shred of originality into the story.

Another thing that constantly irks me is Mr. Jordan's tendency to write some clever little remark like "He saw that the gleam in her eye wasn't just the reflection of the moon", and then use it *again*, which only serves to give the reader a feeling of deja vu and wreck whatever atmosphere the story has built up at this point.

I'll concede that Jordan does have his moments of inspiration (I still shudder every time I think of Shadar Logoth), but that's not enough to hang an 800 page story on.

If you're looking for someone superior to Jordan in depth, originality, and entertainment value I suggest you try J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, J. K. Rowling, Bill Hand, Brian Jacques, or Bob Bernhard, author of "Introductory Algebra for High School Students."


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