Rating: Summary: Incredibly Good Review: I am an avid reader of fantasy and the eye of the world was one book i could not put down. it gripped at me from the beginning. the one and only problem i had with it was the fact that we are never told and can so never grasp the reason everyone fears the (female) aes sedai. after all, they did not do anything to bring on the breaking of the world.a great book that should be read by everyone who has read a fantasy novel before! 5 stars and definetely worth it!
Rating: Summary: The king is dead, long live to the king Review: If you start reading this book, then you know why I entitled the review as I did. During the first 100 pages you take Robert as a mere shadow of the dead king Tolkien, but then he rises from the ashes and starts to burn with an undiminishable flame. You read this book and you know that the fantasy will never be the same to you anymore. Rand and his compannions are the most interesting and developing characters I have ever read. They start off as some kids from a village in the middle of nowhere and end up as...but that's already in the 8th book. Then comes the detail of the world, that can't be compared to any other. The intrigues of the High and the bloody wars fought by the low. And believe me, you can't stop reading the series, before you're in the end. God, give Him the strength to finish his work. You have to read it, to understand me!
Rating: Summary: this book screams READ ME! Review: Yes, five stars, I wish I could give it more! First of all, if you live, breathe and die by The Lord of The Rings, then leave this alone, I personally am rather tired of seeing EVERY new author compared to those books. However, if you are open to a new and beautiful experience, read this book. The characters wrap you up and take you away with them. I was lucky to find my first copy of this book (I have read three copies to pieces and now own a fourth in paperback as well as the hardcover) under the desk in my sophmore year of high school, four years later it is still my favorite!
Rating: Summary: don't listen to the bad reviews. this is a classic. Review: this book is great. pay no attention to all of the bad one star reviews that criticize jordan's writing style. people complain about how jordan steals ideas like trollocs, ogier, and the one power. just because an author borrows and researches from known sources doesn't mean that he's copying to make a quick buck. all that matters is what he does with the information. name one fantasy author that doesn't borrow anything from earlier sources. even tolkien takes from greek mythology. witches, sorcery, magic, monsters. all of it has been done before. jordan lends something more to it, his own take. some of the characters are sometimes accused of being whiney and unrealistic. whatever. jordan knows how women and men think, act and feel about each other. this isn't just a book about good vs. evil, it's also about men vs. women. i read a review that complained about how some of the characters were introduced and then never mentioned again in this book. obviously jordan has plans for every character, but plots and subplots sometimes come across slowly and over time. be patient. jordan speaks of the pattern and the wheel weaves... . i believe that jordan treats the series as a tapestry itself, with every character flowing in and out of the pages, like pieces of thread in a pattern, some characters running into and interracting with other characters while others seldom or never touch each other. i have read all of the series (that have been released) and without giving too much away, i can say that jordan starts with a small group of main characters, splits them up, and sends them through this incredible world, having experiences that transform them into interesting and believable characters that you care about. each book has its own climax in their ends and each ending makes me thirst for the final book in the series, and with it the final meeting. the last battle. the final thread in jordan's tapestry. read the whole series now. i command you.
Rating: Summary: Just short of a classic. Review: Well, not quite a resounding classic, yet it still manages to be thoroughly entertaining. I must conceed that if the remainder of the series follows this example it will get somewhat tedious, however, in and of itself I found this book a great read. The characters were likeable, the plot involving and no, it was NOT too long, unless you have never read fantasy before. I'll definately be reading The Great Hunt.
Rating: Summary: Fabulous selection you are about to make! Review: I did so love this book. My current copy is so dog-eared and falling apart, yet I can't stop reading it. I love all of the characters, and how they develop, and the very intriguing plot lines that twist and turn ideas that simply course through the book. It is definately a book I would recommend for the patient reader with spare time on their hands (and I mean SPARE TIME - this book is thick!). The series itself is a pretty solid set, but I think (haven't read the last two books) that it sort of tapers off in quality, eventually. Do read this book, and enjoy every moment of it!
Rating: Summary: Repetitive, but pretty good otherwise. Review: The only reason I gave this book three stars was because, aside from some very major plot flaws, the story was pretty good. In some ways it was like reading "The Lord of the Rings" again, although "The Wheel of Time" series feels like it's written for pre-schoolers and not more mature readers like that of "The Lord of the Rings". So, off the record, I did enjoy the 10 hours that it took me to get through this book. However, it was a challenge in and of itself just to make it through the 700-page monster. First off, I personally feel that Jordan's success is due to Tolkien's works. Anyone with any ounce of talent in writing could write this story with no problem. Just what I said, Jordan is making fast money off of Tolkien's superb talents. The second is, why is everything so dang REPETITIVE! I mean, if I hear the phrases "Light!", "Light help us!", "Burn me!", "Blood and ashes!", or "Bloody!" Again, I think I'm going to die! Another point is why does Jordan think it necessary to make his main characters look like idiots? Whenever Rand, Mat, or Perrin go into an inn and a serving maid smiles and giggles at them (which happens at about EVERY place they stop), and one of those three says "Light! I wish Mat were here with me! He knows how to talk with girls so much better than I do!", I'm pitchin' this book into a blazing fire! I'm sorry, but the plot is filled with holes. Jordan introduces characters, and then immediately throws them out the window. Is he trying to fill up paper space by doing this? By the time the book is drawing to an end, I don't even think Jordan knew what he was talking about. I've heard that many people say "The Wheel of Time" series is better than "The Lord of the Rings" because it has female characters. This would be true, if Jordan didn't MAKE his female characters act like idiots. All of them treat the men like"lower beings". I guess Jordan wanted to make his "politically correct" statement in his fantasy as well as trying to make a fast buck. Basically, this story could have been told in half the pages with no problem. It's obvious that Jordan barrows from Tolkien, Herbert, and many other giants of the 20th century just so that he can make money fast. However, the series hasn't become a best seller for nothing, so do buy the book, site down, and TRY to enjoy it despite all of the flaws in it. I myself am off to buy "The Great Hunt", although that book will probably be just one long chase scene just like this book was. Better authors include: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Frank Herbert.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Review: Thsi book is a true masterpiece. And judging by others reviews on later books it just gets better as the series goes on. A definate recomendation to any looking for books similar to but better than the Dragonlance series.
Rating: Summary: An original, fantasy epic Review: This book was recommended to me by the manager of a brick and mortar store nearby. I have read a great deal of science fiction/fantasy, and after a while, it all starts to feel the same. You know what I mean: how many times can we revisit Tolkein-esque charcaters like elves, dwarves, and orcs? I was very pleased to discover an entirely new world. Robert Jordan has created a landscape of magnificent proportions. Accents, legends, superstitions, politics...His amazing attention to detail allowed me to become fully immersed in the story. Even more surprising is that the quality of his writing is maintained throughout the book's length of 782 pages. I couldn't put this novel down, with the result that I finished it well inside of a week. This is the first book of a series, and the reviews for some of the later books aren't as glowing. However, I feel that this book is a great read, and can stand on its own. It is not uncommon for series to degrade over time -- take a look at "Wishsong of Shannara"by Terry Brooks, "The One Tree" by Stephen R. Donaldson, or "The Sorceress of Darshiva" by David Eddings. All three of these books fail to live up to the quality of others in their respective series, but that doesn't mean you should avoid the series altogether. "Eye of the World" provides us with an epic that is also refreshingly new. Robert Jordan presents us with a world that is the most richly colorful since Tolkein. If you're a fan of fantasy, then don't miss reading this book.
Rating: Summary: Great First in a Series but Commitment is Required Review: I picked up Eye of the World without realizing it was the first of a very long and yet to be completed series. I don't regret it as the first novel is one of the best fantasies I have ever read. Some of the later novels are a bit slow going and there are so many characters and story lines that it is easy for someone with poor short term memory to lose track. After reading close to 9000 pages I feel committed to finishing the series, if Robert Jordan ever does. It would be nice if he wrote a little faster. The novels seem to be published well over a year apart, which doesn't help the memory problem.
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