The Eye of the World is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, the first book of The Wheel of Time series. It was published by Tor Books and released on January 15, 1990. The unabridged audiobook is read by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. Upon first publication, The Eye of the World consisted of one prologue and 53 chapters, with an additional prologue authored upon re-release.
The book was a critical, and commercial success. Critics praised the tone, the themes, and the similarity to Lord of the Rings (although some criticized it for that).
On January 2, 2002, The Eye of the World was re-released as two separate books aimed at a young adult market, with larger text and a handful of illustrations. These were From the Two Rivers and To the Blight. The former included an additional prologue entitled "Ravens", focusing on Egwene al'Vere. The American Library …
The Eye of the World is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, the first book of The Wheel of Time series. It was published by Tor Books and released on January 15, 1990. The unabridged audiobook is read by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. Upon first publication, The Eye of the World consisted of one prologue and 53 chapters, with an additional prologue authored upon re-release.
The book was a critical, and commercial success. Critics praised the tone, the themes, and the similarity to Lord of the Rings (although some criticized it for that).
On January 2, 2002, The Eye of the World was re-released as two separate books aimed at a young adult market, with larger text and a handful of illustrations. These were From the Two Rivers and To the Blight. The former included an additional prologue entitled "Ravens", focusing on Egwene al'Vere. The American Library Association put The Eye of the World on its 2003 list of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults.
What a great book. I was a bit reserved after having watched the tv show and wasn’t sure if I should try the book series. I am glad that I did. Much better than the show—somehow I am more drawn into the world than I was when just watching the screen.
I will definitely continue with this series. The mixture of magic, fantasy and medieval-like lands is exactly what I like.
Really excited to see what the next book is about!
I absolutely adore the Wheel of Time. It's by far my favorite series.
But, book one has some problems. Originally, I've always heard, Jordan wasn't sure if he would get to write more than 3 books with his publisher, so he structured the first 2 very differently from the others. He also hadn't fully fleshed out the world yet, so there are some inconsistencies with how magic works in this book compared to the other books. Jordan described EOTW as his homage to the Lord of the Rings, and it very much shows- if you've read LOTR, you'll see a LOT of similarities here. That is not true of the other books after this one.
The best part about this book is the story, but it has some pacing issues IMO. Jordan improved enormously as a writer in book 2, and by book 3 he had really cemented the world, …
I absolutely adore the Wheel of Time. It's by far my favorite series.
But, book one has some problems. Originally, I've always heard, Jordan wasn't sure if he would get to write more than 3 books with his publisher, so he structured the first 2 very differently from the others. He also hadn't fully fleshed out the world yet, so there are some inconsistencies with how magic works in this book compared to the other books. Jordan described EOTW as his homage to the Lord of the Rings, and it very much shows- if you've read LOTR, you'll see a LOT of similarities here. That is not true of the other books after this one.
The best part about this book is the story, but it has some pacing issues IMO. Jordan improved enormously as a writer in book 2, and by book 3 he had really cemented the world, his style, and the characters. The start may be a bit rocky, but it gets so much better!
Jordan's Wheel of Time is a true classic of fantasy literature (and, no offense meant to any authors out there, it's also actually a finished series. ;) ). Eye of the World is the first book in the series, and it's a great read.
The pacing of introducing new facettes of the colorful world and it's (mostly) unique concepts is well done. No bigger lore-dumps, nothing terribly overwhelming, but enough regular reveals to continuously drawing the curtains back more and more (and even at the end of this book the reader hasn't seen nowhere near everything).
There is a certain level of coming-of-age to the story, but it's never overpowering the actual story. Sure, some characters might show behaviour, that's not terribly well explained (Nynaeve, looking at you), but for the biggest part, character motivations make sense (at least in hindsight).
So, if the idea of reading 14 jam-packed books …
Jordan's Wheel of Time is a true classic of fantasy literature (and, no offense meant to any authors out there, it's also actually a finished series. ;) ). Eye of the World is the first book in the series, and it's a great read.
The pacing of introducing new facettes of the colorful world and it's (mostly) unique concepts is well done. No bigger lore-dumps, nothing terribly overwhelming, but enough regular reveals to continuously drawing the curtains back more and more (and even at the end of this book the reader hasn't seen nowhere near everything).
There is a certain level of coming-of-age to the story, but it's never overpowering the actual story. Sure, some characters might show behaviour, that's not terribly well explained (Nynaeve, looking at you), but for the biggest part, character motivations make sense (at least in hindsight).
So, if the idea of reading 14 jam-packed books (600+ pages of small-ish print) filled with a vibrant, magical books, fantastic concepts and colorful characters, Eye of the World is your gateway into the world of The Wheel of Time.
Enjoy the ride.
