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Summary: YOU WON'T GET ANY SLEEP
Review: I BOUGHT THE BOOK AFTER WORK WHEN BOTH MY MANAGER AND A.M. TOLD ME IT WAS GREAT. I ATE, THEN STARTED THE BOOK AT 9:00PM AND DID NOT PUT IT DOWN UNTIL I FINISHED AT 3:00AM. (MIND YOU, THIS BOOK IS ALMOST TWO INCHES THICK!) IT SUCKS YOU IN. YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE STORY, THE BOOK IS SO VIVID. THE CHARACTERS ARE SO REAL. ANYONE WHO LIKES THIS GENRE (FANTASY-ADVENTURE) SHOULD READ THIS.
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Summary: One of the best fantasy ever writen.
Review: Tokien is the King of fantasy, but Jorden is most definitely the crowned prince. A suspence that keeps you hooked to the end and keeps you dying for more.
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Summary: Typical fantasy fare
Review: The Eye of the World, the first book in Robert Jordan's far-too-long fantasy series, will present no surprises to long-time fantasy readers. The Dark Lord character is there, the innocent youths ar swept away from their village, the endless army of sub-human bad guys is there, the journey through distant lands, the prophesy, the youth gaining power, the learned elder, blah blah blah.Not too say this book is bad. Indeed, it's actually a pleasnt read, and ends up being *just right* for that fantasy fix - just ignore the fact that the series goes on. Unlike the rest of the books, this books actually wraps itself up at the end. Everything after book 2 ends up being a long, boring fashion show...really. Read this as an independant story, enjoy, and then run away (fast) when you see other Wheel of Time books.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: Blacks0, thank you very much. I've been aggravated by some reader's reviews, and I've said the same thing (if not as well as you did) many times. I agree whole-heartily with you, except for the whole not liking Tolkien, but you don't have to. Anyway this series is excellent and I reccomend it to everyone out there. I also reccomend Guy Gavriel Kay, Terry Goodkind and George R.R. Martin.
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Summary: Standard epic hogwash
Review: I picked up this book on the merits of many, many recommendations. After comments from fanatics like "You HAVE to read Jordan if you read fantasy" I decided reluctantly to try to trudge through the so-called epic (though epic implies some sort of heroic story and all in Eye was heroic bombast) . Jordan reminds me of precisely why I tend to avoid epic fantasy. I read half way through Eye of the World expecting the plot to pick up soon. I trudged through the entire book still expecting something exciting to happen. Nothing did. The characters are incredibly generic, and since I don't care much for Tolkien either, I didn't particularly like the heated over ideas. Some parts of Eye were oddly familiar... All in all, if you like mind-numbing details, superfluous language and every other cliche in the genre, read Eye of the World. Check Diana Wynne Jones' _Tough Guide to Fantasyland_ to appreciate just how cliched Eye is. If you're in need of a door-stop, this book will work quite well. Otherwise, I can't see why anyone would want to buy Eye of the World. Way overrated.
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Summary: Best of the Best
Review: This book is the best in a series of fantastic books. The story picks up at the beginning and never slows down. If you like a good story, you should read this. Jordan has created a masterpiece with this book. READ THIS SERIES!
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Summary: Very good read
Review: This is a very good book. Jordan has created a vast fantasy world which you can immerse yourself in. The characters are developed very well, they are extremely real. Jordan has written a winner, a must read for all fantasy enthusiasts.
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Summary: Incredible beginning of a LOOOOOONG road!
Review: Okay. First let me say that I agree 100% with the comments of Blacks0 below. That being said, I think that 'Eye of the World' is among the 10 best single books that I have ever read. By the way, I read Shakespeare and Melville, too. So I am not a 'weekend reader', as such. The thing that I like most about EotW is that it doesn't bog down at all, and some of the situations rival those that Indiana Jones gets himself into (and out of). Some parts are truly hair-raising. This particular tome has the unenviable task of laying the foundations for the entire series to come and does so with a flair and imagination that is unequalled in anything I have read thus far. If you don't want to start a 'Doorstopper' fantasy series, you CAN get away with just reading this, the first book. It is pretty self contained and has a satisfying conclusion. So much so, that when I read it originally, I thought that it was a single novel tale. It's that good. Of course, it functions on a number of levels, but it's just that dumb 'fun' factor that appealed to me. CAVEAT EMPTOR!!! Warning, this series gets VERY bogged down in the 7th and 8th installments so be aware of this if you intend to read it in its entirety. Read the reviews of 'Crown of Swords' and 'Path of Daggars' for more on this. That being said, the rest of the series sparkles with both detail and characterizations (wow! Is that word really that long?) that will endear you to the the Age of Legends forever. "The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass..."
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Summary: Tokein vs. Jordan, Tolkein vs. Homer, who cares??!!
Review: I would like to clarify one thing -- if you get down to the fundamentals, there is only one story, and it is told many different ways -- ordinary guy has to stop the Shadow, gets cool powers, does cool things, etc. Read up on your Joseph Campbell (Hero with a Thousand Faces, etc.) if you don't believe me. Go on. This is Amazon.com, it shouldn't be too difficult. The thing that matters most in a writer is how well he tells the story and how detailed and intersting the story is. Jordan has succeeded fantastically in both of these, and he continues to do so in his later novels, though you must be patient with him in some places, even as you must with (gasp!) Tolkein (no, I just insulted THE GOD of fantasy...oh wait, no i didn't). It's all a matter of taste. I, for example, loathed Tolkein; The Hobbit was okay, but it just got worse from there. You might as well say that Tolkein copied Homer. Or that Homer copied some other (now-forgotten) writer, storyteller, etc. All "hero" stories are permutations of the same thing. Read Joseph Campbell, he's right. And he's another good author, too. Eye of the World is wonderful. Read it. Read the next book. Don't stop until Jordan drops dead or finishes. P.S.: to those of you who are fanatics with different writers and will take a bullet from them: it's OKAY if someone else has a DIFFERENT OPINION
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Summary: Just can't put it down
Review: Not having really like the fantasy genre too much, I was a little slow to pick up the book after a friend recomended it to me. But after I started reading it, I just had to keep going. At points I wanted to go to sleep, but I couldn't until I finished the chapters. Within 3 weeks, I read all the way through "Path of Daggers." I can't wait to see th next book in the series.
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