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A review by sarazeen95
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
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.