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josaphat's review against another edition
4.0
Fun story. I enjoyed it, but I can see readers having the same "lots of walking" problem as LOTR. At points there are times when the book leaves you very confused as new terms and history are introduced: the characters behave in ways that are hard to understand because they know things that you don't. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it and am excited to jump into book 2.
sarazeen95's review against another edition
4.0
As bland as [b:New Spring|187065|New Spring (Wheel of Time, #0)|Robert Jordan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328959234s/187065.jpg|987752] was, I knew from the very first page of The Eye of the World that I was in for the treat of a lifetime. The prologue stunned me. I’d read about the terrifying mountain known as the Dragonmount, and to actually witness it’s creation…
When the prologue ended and the book truly began, I read the first paragraph and knew this was everything I’d hoped for and more:
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.
I could just feel the giddiness. This was what I’d been craving for a long time: a world and a story to sweep me away, snatch me off the real world so I can live and breathe a land that is endlessly full of possibilities.
Rand al’Thor, our protagonist, is literally the first character we’re introduced to (not counting that fateful wind). Jordan likes to take his time with introductions and world-buildings and it is sheer joy to explore the lands he takes you to. You have vivid characters, a terrifying antagonist, an overwhelmingly vast destiny and a reluctant farm-boy thrust into legend he didn’t even know existed.
The only problem I have with his otherwise-beautiful writing style is the excessive use of commas. I myself am guilty of this, but Jordan seems to have been suffering from the same thing I do. It’s only when I began reading this that I realized how jarring it can be to have a punctuation mark placed where it shouldn’t be. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for my own commas from now on.
It was a breath of air to meet Moiraine again, especially considering how isolated and (ahem) backward the quaint people of the Two Rivers is. We meet Rand (our titular hero), Mat and Perrin (his friends and companions, who become something of a legend themselves soon), Lan (my heart!), Egwene (Rand’s current love interest, but don’t worry: it fades soon), and the love of the love of my life, Nynaeve.
First thoughts about them:
• Rand: Oh. Okay. You’re the hero. Hi! Please become cooler so I can fall in love with you.
• Perrin: Hello. You seem nice. :)
• Mat: AHAHAHAHAHA! You’re hilarious. My favorite so far!
• Lan: *forgets Mat* *forgets world* *drools* Marry me? Please?
• Moiraine: Lady, you’re badass and I love it!
• Egwene: Firstly, you’re making me think of omelets. And secondly, not even the Aes Sedai is this bossy. Why does Rand love you, again?
• Nynaeve: Tough girl equals cool girl. Teach me, sensei.
Jordan does take his sweet time getting the story started, but once it does, it really gets going. In quick, breathless succession, you’re treated to a tiny town that the villagers are awed by, nearly killed in a cursed city (the damned dagger, I tell you!), separated and then just generally tossed into chaos. Important point: Rand meets and befriends Loial, an Ogier (read the book to find out what that is), an adorable muffin of a giant whom I love all the way to Shayol Ghul and back, in this case quite literally!
By the last quarter, the heroes themselves are fully aware of the scale of the story they’re in and that’s when the reader begins to feel their heart pumping. There’s a brutal fight, two terrifying antagonists are killed (but not really, but that’s for later), and you’re left breathless when Moiraine comes to realize that Rand might be the Dragon Reborn.
As the introduction to a truly epic tale, it’s hard to believe it can get any better than this. It’s a stunning beginning to an amazing story, and it truly lets you peek at the vastness of this world while still keeping you contained enough that you don’t float away into Rand’s Void. I’d give The Eye of the World a solid 4.5/5, and it’s more than well-deserved.
When the prologue ended and the book truly began, I read the first paragraph and knew this was everything I’d hoped for and more:
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.
I could just feel the giddiness. This was what I’d been craving for a long time: a world and a story to sweep me away, snatch me off the real world so I can live and breathe a land that is endlessly full of possibilities.
Rand al’Thor, our protagonist, is literally the first character we’re introduced to (not counting that fateful wind). Jordan likes to take his time with introductions and world-buildings and it is sheer joy to explore the lands he takes you to. You have vivid characters, a terrifying antagonist, an overwhelmingly vast destiny and a reluctant farm-boy thrust into legend he didn’t even know existed.
The only problem I have with his otherwise-beautiful writing style is the excessive use of commas. I myself am guilty of this, but Jordan seems to have been suffering from the same thing I do. It’s only when I began reading this that I realized how jarring it can be to have a punctuation mark placed where it shouldn’t be. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for my own commas from now on.
It was a breath of air to meet Moiraine again, especially considering how isolated and (ahem) backward the quaint people of the Two Rivers is. We meet Rand (our titular hero), Mat and Perrin (his friends and companions, who become something of a legend themselves soon), Lan (my heart!), Egwene (Rand’s current love interest, but don’t worry: it fades soon), and the love of the love of my life, Nynaeve.
First thoughts about them:
• Rand: Oh. Okay. You’re the hero. Hi! Please become cooler so I can fall in love with you.
• Perrin: Hello. You seem nice. :)
• Mat: AHAHAHAHAHA! You’re hilarious. My favorite so far!
• Lan: *forgets Mat* *forgets world* *drools* Marry me? Please?
• Moiraine: Lady, you’re badass and I love it!
• Egwene: Firstly, you’re making me think of omelets. And secondly, not even the Aes Sedai is this bossy. Why does Rand love you, again?
• Nynaeve: Tough girl equals cool girl. Teach me, sensei.
Jordan does take his sweet time getting the story started, but once it does, it really gets going. In quick, breathless succession, you’re treated to a tiny town that the villagers are awed by, nearly killed in a cursed city (the damned dagger, I tell you!), separated and then just generally tossed into chaos. Important point: Rand meets and befriends Loial, an Ogier (read the book to find out what that is), an adorable muffin of a giant whom I love all the way to Shayol Ghul and back, in this case quite literally!
By the last quarter, the heroes themselves are fully aware of the scale of the story they’re in and that’s when the reader begins to feel their heart pumping. There’s a brutal fight, two terrifying antagonists are killed (but not really, but that’s for later), and you’re left breathless when Moiraine comes to realize that Rand might be the Dragon Reborn.
As the introduction to a truly epic tale, it’s hard to believe it can get any better than this. It’s a stunning beginning to an amazing story, and it truly lets you peek at the vastness of this world while still keeping you contained enough that you don’t float away into Rand’s Void. I’d give The Eye of the World a solid 4.5/5, and it’s more than well-deserved.
trinalouwho's review against another edition
5.0
Well written and griping, great character development couldn't put it down
lubaci's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wanderingarab's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
krichardson's review against another edition
2.0
This book makes me understand people who say they don't like fantasy as an entire genre. There was nothing new or interesting that happened in this book. The magic system is boring, the bad guy is just the devil, the societies are unimaginative, and it's heavily laden with morals that sound like they came straight from a Catholic mass down to the often repeated traditional gender roles. I will leave the door open to the possibility that nothing in here feels new because it was the first to do it, but that doesn't change the fact that at this point in time, there's nothing in here that we haven't seen over and over again.
A book like this should be saved by the characters, but there was no one in here that had even a hint of a personality. No one even gets to make decisions because fate does it all for them. Towards the end it is revealed that two characters were ~in love~ when I swear they had barely spoken. I would say that Jordan is bad at writing women (because he is, they were all the same character) but he's not any better at writing men so I will let him off for that.
At the end of the day, I just think this is not a well-written book. The last big issue I will bring up is that there's a lot of telling instead of showing. We will get "big reveals" that the characters tell us "change everything they ever knew" but since it's the first time the reader is hearing anything about it, it fails to elicit any emotion at all from the reader (or maybe just me).
In summary: I found this to be an incredibly boring book.
A book like this should be saved by the characters, but there was no one in here that had even a hint of a personality. No one even gets to make decisions because fate does it all for them. Towards the end it is revealed that two characters were ~in love~ when I swear they had barely spoken. I would say that Jordan is bad at writing women (because he is, they were all the same character) but he's not any better at writing men so I will let him off for that.
At the end of the day, I just think this is not a well-written book. The last big issue I will bring up is that there's a lot of telling instead of showing. We will get "big reveals" that the characters tell us "change everything they ever knew" but since it's the first time the reader is hearing anything about it, it fails to elicit any emotion at all from the reader (or maybe just me).
In summary: I found this to be an incredibly boring book.
isitreallyjessie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
karanarberes's review against another edition
3.5
i think i struggled with reading this book after already seeing the tv show. there were parts that were definitely different (uh the whole ending) but it was also just soooo slow in the middle. also i just did not like rand's pov like i constantly wanted more from the other characters. things like lan & nyneave's relationship were so underdeveloped and not knowing what was going on with perrin killed me. with all the talk of changes from the tv show, i liked the book ending more. i think rand saving the army in terrin's gap was big, like that have main character saving the world energy. i'm excited to get more into the magic system and i'm praying to GOD that the pov split is a little more even in the next book.
kylotren's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75