Title: The Eye the World
Author: Robert Jordan
Series: Wheel of Time #1
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The Overview: The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
I would like to start out by saying: don’t let my conservative rating scare you off from this series. At least 75% of customers I talk to about fantasy rank this series in their top 3, if not their #1. I am definitely the minority here, as the book didn’t even make my top 20.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a classic that deserves its place as one of the all-time fantasy greats, it just happened to have some elements that I personally didn’t care for. As the beginning of an epic quest not unlike that of Tolkien, I found it a bit long-winded. Not boring, mind you, as there were several highly developed and exciting characters (who were frankly the biggest reasons why I’m tempted to read the second book). The magic system and overall measure of time were also highly original and interesting, even though we didn’t get to learn much about them.
No, what the book lacked is that sense of excitement I usually feel while reading a great fantasy novel. I believe this is due to poor pacing decisions rather than any issues with the plot. It was just too slow-moving with too many senseless encounters. There also wasn’t much of an arc, lacking the sort of emotional highs and lows that usually go along with good storytelling. I definitely would’ve appreciated more time spent on the climax of the book rather than endless chapters of the characters meeting one fat innkeeper after another. I guess I just missed that emotional payoff – I suppose I’ll have to evaluate the series as a whole for that kind of reaction.
Overall, I respect this author a great deal, as I believe he has done wonders for the fantasy genre by inspiring new authors every day. There are just too many out there that I enjoyed more.
Other books I liked better (in a particular order):
- “Magician Apprentice” by Raymond E. Feist
- “Wizard’s First Rule” by Terry Goodkind
- “Assassin’s Apprentice” by Robin Hobb
- “Pawn of Prophecy” by David Eddings
- “The Sword of Shannara” by Terry Brooks
The Obsessive Bookseller 
I liked book 1, and I liked all the subsequent books. I love the series. It somehow became for me more than the sum of its parts.
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That’s what I keep hearing. Perhaps I should keep reading…
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It does drag around book 6-11 though… fyi!
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Lol, this is the only series that can get away with dragging for 5 books. Thanks for the warning :)
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I just finished reading this book and I completely agree. I loved the magic system and some of the characters as well. I agree that it wasn’t boring, but it took me forever to get into it and not want to put it down. There is just tons of information about the world Jordan is building and its history that it becomes a little overwhelming.
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I am glad I’m not the only one – it just didn’t blow me away like some of the other awesome fantasies. I will say that I’ve never heard someone rave about the first book specifically, but they all seem to love the series as a whole to the point where I can’t get them to talk about anything else, lol. Are you planning to read the second one anytime soon?
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I don’t think so. I probably will read it, but I have some other books I would rather read first.
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I hear that! Hopefully one of us will get to it before too long, lol. :)
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Jordan’s books are very detail dense. He seems to have had this incredible vision in his head and didn’t want anything left to the reader’s imagination. An epic series to be sure, but a tough read at times. Even diehard fans were always waiting for him to wrap up one of the longest storylines in history. I’ve read through book 11 and maybe will return to complete the series someday.
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For what it’s worth, I’ve heard Sanderson does a brilliant job – keeping everything that fans loved about Jordan’s works while vastly improving on all the things they didn’t. I will probably read all of these eventually, but only after I finish exploring all the authors I love a bit more…
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