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Summary: The Eye of the World Book Review
Review: All of his life Rand al'Thor had been a farmer and a sheepherder, always believing that the stories of the Dark One and his minions were merely stories meant to frighten children to sleep. Then she arrived. An Aes Sedai. A sorceress. And after her came the Trollocs, horrific monsters bent on destruction and death... The Eye of the World, a fantasy novel that begins a series entitled The Wheel of Time, is thus begun. Rand, and two of his friends, Mat and Perrin, are taken from their quiet village by Moraine, an Aes Sedai, in order that their families might not be killed by subsequent Trolloc raids. Together they travel across a fantasy world created by Robert Jordan. The three young men soon find that real adventures are nothing like those of glory told in the gleemen's tales. With tremendously deep and intriguing characters, who all live in a world so realistic you feel as though you've been there yourself, The Eye of the World is an excellently written novel, with humor, action, adventure, fantasy, comedy, and even love. Though the length may scare away some perspective readers (782 pages), it goes by all too quickly, and I recommend it to anyone, especially those who enjoy fantasy, and I have added it to my list of personal favorites.
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Summary: Okay, maybe 3 1/2 stars...
Review: Robert Jordan does nothing new here with "The Eye of the World" as it applies to epic fantasy. I've just about given up with epic fantasy because so many authors are pale copycats of the great Tolkien. But, for some reason, I liked this book. No, it wasn't great. And I'm still bothered by one thing about epic fantasy: the destiny and fate elements -- and this book includes those. Why are characters willing slaves to destiny and fate, the enemies of freedom and individuality? "The Eye of the World" is no exception, many of the characters calmly accept destiny (or enslavement, as I call it) with a shrug of the shoulders and a sigh. Just once I would love to see a character say "no" to destiny/fate...But I liked the book anyway. It was because the character development was good and Jordan draws a good picture with his words. I admit, I had a difficult time starting the book but where I was slow to start, I finished the novel quickly. While Jordan is another pale copycat of Tolkien, he's a good pale copycat. And I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
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Summary: Action great, characters average
Review: Eye of the World has good action, but suffers from weak characterization. After reading the book the greatest differences I found between Rand, Mat, and Perrin are: their weapons, their appearance, and the fact that Mat jokes. The women have more varied personalities, but unlike the men, a clear description of how the women look is not evident. By Jordan's descriptions they are all "pretty", and Morraine is short and slim, you can thank the cover artist for that one. Lan and Morraine are very reserved, their is little mirth or humour in them, unlike Aragorn or Gandalf. The book is well paced in terms of action, but the interludes really reveal the lack of character complexity.
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Summary: Eye of the World
Review: I haven't read fantasy in years, but three separate friends had recommened this book to me. I gave it a go. Robert Jordan does not have the language and style of a Tolkien, but his characterization (of the male characters) is rounder than in most fantasy novels. I distinguish his male characters from the female because the three major female characters are in turns waspish and faint-hearted, which can grate after five-hundred pages. To Jordan's credit, he upholds the mystery and the action, and has well-tuned descriptive powers, keeping the reader interested and part of the action. I haven't read the sequels--yet--but intend to. His characters are ones whom you want to meet and re-visit.
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Summary: Great Start to a Great Series
Review: First I would like to say that this is the second time I'm reviewing this book because some how this review got lost when I did my member page at Amazon.com. This book is great I admit that it took me about 2 months to buy the book and another 3 to 4 months to read it, mainly because I was busy reading my Dagonlance books. The book is long but Robert Jordan takes the time to introduce the characters and details the world ( which I admit does drag on quite abit)and it does starts off slow but soon picks up speed and becames such a good story that you won't put it down untill the last page. All the characters Rand,Mat,Perrin,Egwene,Nynaeve,and Morraine(who I feel is a pain in the you know what) are interesting characters, it's not long before you get so involved in the story that you can't what to read the next book. This book is so good you will be up late reading it. I highly recommened this book.
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Summary: This is only the beginning
Review: This was the first book I ever read in the fantasy genre. I must have read the first 40 pages about 17 times. I never really payed attention, and found it confusing. However, around the 17th time or so, I actually paid attention.....and didn't put the book down for the next 6 hours. I finally had to stop reading so I could go to sleep....at 5:30am. What a great book. It's funny, suspense-filled, action-packed, wonderful book. I have recommended this book to many friends.
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Summary: Its starts out very well!
Review: I believe that this book starts out very well. There is intrigue right at the beginning. Who is the mysterious woman? Why is there a sudden Trolloc attack? But then the story just tumbles down hill. I asked why there was a Trolloc attack on these boys' homes. People have said: "Its because they are Ta'varen!" Ta'varen means that these boys are people that great events will revolve around... yes... they are... AND? I feel like screaming at someone! Yes, these boys are Ta'varen, what effect does this have on the story of this book? So the wheel of time spins webs around what these boys do? BUT WHAT HAVE THESE BOYS DONE? The story is just not satisfying, I mean, why are these boys a target for the Dark one? They havn't done anything of importance. The worst part about this fact is that even at the end of the book we know almost nothing more about any of the characters than we did in the beginning. People tell me that it is obvious that Rand is the Dragon Reborn. All I know about the dragon reborn is that he is a man that will remove a sword from a fortress called The Stone of Tear. How can this be plainly obvious if that is all the information we have on the Dragon Reborn? People tell me that this is a SERIES and that the first book serves as a introduction. AN 800 PAGE INTRODUCTION? I don't think so. The bottom line is that there is no specific plot to this novel, there is no information given to the reader, it seems like we are supposed to figure everything out for ourselves, and Robert Jordan assumes that we have succeeded in figuring everything out. For example... when Rand is trying to get away from the Darkfriend and the lightning just happened to strike from outside... personally, from the way the scene was described, I thought that it was lightning that happened to strike. Now people are telling me that it was Rand accidentally using magic! There was nothing in the book (besides the fact that it was a remarkable coincidence that the lightning struck from outside) that suggested to me that Rand was channeling magic. A good author would have described a feeling that Rand felt, and would have told the reader that he was actually using magic, but instead, Jordan assumes that people will think a bolt of lightning striking the door happens to be magic... I'm sorry, I don't buy it, and I would recommend that you guys stay away from this book forever.
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Summary: The Eye of the World by Robert Jorden
Review: I only started reading the Wheel of Time series only a few weeks ago and let me tell you, this is the series to go for if you are into sci-fi! Robert Jorden's imagination of this epic world are unbelivable! From the beginning to the end the book get more and more exciting. He takes into perspective each character and shows them through the way they would see themselve if they were real people. Take Rand al'Thor for example. He realizes his destiny as the Dragon Reborn, but at the same time he dose not want to destroy the people he loves because he will go mad as a result of being able to touch Sadin(the male half of the True Source). You also have Egwene. She is destined to become as Aes Sedi, but she also has to deal with Nyeave(who happens to be the village Wisdom) who is her best friend, and over her love for Rand. One of the best things of the book was the way Robert Jorden told of the Chidren of the Light and of the Shadow. The Children are just so evil in their own way even though they claim to be in the "Light" for the "supposedly" good of the people. You also have the Evil of the book. The pure evil, which consist of Darkfriends, the Forsaken, Fades, Trollecs, Halfmen, and of course the Shadow, which in my opinion were told of very well in my opinion were told very well and will be told even better and better in the books to come. Once again this book is excellence and I can not wait for the Great Hunt. The second book in the Wheel of Time series
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Summary: Amazing
Review: I am amazed at some of the reviews this book has gotten. Drifting plot? Irrelevant asides? I do not agree. If you are a fan of epic series,you would understand that seemingly meaningless asides have relevance to the entire story. The author is telling about the life of a set of characters not just an episode in their life. A good epic series ties things together as the series evolves. You watch the characters grow. Most importantly the seemingly meaningless asides of the present book are the launching points for all the interesting character traits that will keep you hooked for the entirety of the series. Jordan has done very well with this genre. I am curious to find out what exactly is going on with Perrin...this old magic from even before the Breaking of the World. Will Egwene be as powerful as Morraine thinks she could be. Will Nynaeve ever come to accept herself as Aes Sedai? Can Rand ever come to grips with the power he wields(for those who missed it he was the one responsible for the seemingly meaningless miraculous thunderbolt). Will Mat ever be rid of the taint from the dagger that makes him paranoid but makes him sometimes see things much clearer than the others? What part do they all play in the remaking of the world? What is this song that the Travelling People seek?All these questions and more are raised by his first book. I think Mr. Jordan did a very good job of setting the stage for this series. Without all those asides, there would be no depth. Nothing new to find during reading.
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Summary: I'm Hooked!
Review: My obsession with fantacy, began when I was a teenager and read J.R.R. Tolkien's work. I have to admit, it was pretty intense reading at that time in my life, but I became hooked. I have read several other fantasy writers, but Robert Jordan has become my favorite. "The Eye of the World" has non-stop fantasy action throughout the entire book. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy. Be prepared for many sleepless nights as you try find out what will happen next. Hats off to you Mr. Jordan on a fine work!
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