blakeandbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: War, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Torture, Addiction, Physical abuse, and Murder
Minor: Blood
kaziaroo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Torture, Vomit, and Child death
arcali's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Eye of the World is the first book of 14 or so novels in the Wheel of Time series. This series is a gargantuan beast that requires a serious time commitment, but if you like your chunky doorstoppers, this may well be the series for you.
Eye of the World is a mixed bag for me. Its pretty tropy, taking a lot of very clear inspiration from Tolkein in particular- fans of Lord of the Rings won't be able to miss them. I think this was actually deliberately done by Jordan. That said, I do know that the Wheel of Time series takes its own very distinct path as it goes on, so while it's perhaps a flaw for some people in the first book, it's not indicative of the series as a whole.
It's also pretty dense prose wise. It takes a lot of time with its descriptions and its worldbuilding. The world building is one of its strong points in my opinion though. Jordan clearly spent a huge amount of time developing the world, and it shows in all the little details.
The pacing is a bit slow, especially in the beginning, and there is a central portion that drags on a bit as well, but when Jordan hits his stride properly in an action scene, I always find myself turning the pages, gripped for more. Particularly with the way the book ends, I was tempted to jump straight into book 2 in order to continue on (but my existing TBR shortlist won out in the end)
Finally, I have mixed feelings about the way women are portrayed in the book. It's over 30 years old now, so somewhat a product of its time, and in some ways I think Jordan did try to push the envelope with this. His female characters are strong, in a world where only women can (safely) wield magical power - they have huge influence and ability, and this is something that you didn't really see much of at the time. On the other hand, the world itself has gender differences baked into it, and the characters themselves are all frustratingly prone to pertpetuating stereotypes and getting into a sort of 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus' mindset. I suspect that as the series goes on, they will have to learn to work together better, but it's something that I picked up on a lot more this time round than I did in my (much earlier) rereads.
Final thoughts: Eye of the World (and the rest of the WoT series) is a fantasy classic at this point, and I will definitely be reading the following books (I hope this time is the time when I finish the series!), but it is definitely not without its flaws.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence
bergha1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
High Fantasy, Chosen Ones, Lots of Travel/Fleeing Bad Guys
“I read the books, all the travelers’ accounts, and it began to burn in me that I had to see, not just read.” ~Loial
“And the more I read, the more I knew that I had to go Outside, go to the places we have been.” ~Loial
Graphic: Grief, War, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
mistert's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Vomit, Murder, and Death
iloponis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
criticisms include the main character being boring for the first 75% of the book, not enough of the women’s povs, and too many fucking characters and places for me to keep track of. kind of loved it tho
Graphic: Death and Murder
_mirambo_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: War and Sexism
diazona's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.25
Minor: Kidnapping, Vomit, Violence, and Death
ggcd1981's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Spoiler
Os amigos Rand, Perrin e Mat vivem uma existência pacifica na vila de Emond’s Field, apesar de que todos no vilarejo passam por problemas, pois a primavera não veio e com a extensão do inverno as colheitas e o pasto estão comprometidos. Essa paz é quebrada quando a vila é atacada por Trollocs liderados por um Myrddraal, ou Fade, e em seguida salva pela Aes Sedai Moiraine e seu Warder al’Lan. A Aes Sedai convence os três jovens de que um deles é possivelmente de interesse para The Dark One, inimigo aprisionado de todos naquele mundo, e para manter a vila segura eles devem acompanha-la para Tar Valon, o centro das Aes Sedai. Ao grupo se juntam Egwene que busca aventuras e se tornar ela própria uma Aes Sedai, Thom Merrilin um gleeman andarilho e, mais a frente na narrativa, a jovem Wisdom da vila Nynaeve al'Meara que busca trazer os jovens de Emond’s Field de volta para casa. O livro acompanha a grande jornada e obstáculos do grupo fugindo dos enviados do Dark One, o conflito interno dos três jovens de conviver com a realidade de que não poderão mais ter uma vida normal e eventualmente a ida do grupo até The Eye of the World, onde Rand em confronto com um dos Forsaken e depois com The Dark One canaliza o “um” poder. O livro termina com Moiraine afirmando para si mesma que o Dragão renasceu. O nível de intriga do enredo é excelente e com certeza despertou minha curiosidade para continuar a série pois há diversas respostas que preciso saber, por exemplo, o destino de Rand me interessa bastante, assim como o que diz respeito a sua origem verdadeira, quem são seus verdadeiros pais, qual a real história de sua família e em partícula a de Tam al’Thor, o homem que o criou como seu próprio filho. Também quero saber qual o objetivo de Moiraine e o quanto se pode confiar nela.Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Stalking, Blood, Grief, Death, and Mental illness
tiana_king's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Confinement, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Torture
Minor: War