So...yeah, I've been reading The Wheel of Time

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Ermagherd! I have never been so happy to turn the last page of a book! Boy, oh boy, do I have a lot to say about The Eye of the World, so let's go!

Where do I even start? I guess why I picked this up in the first place is as good a place as any. Well, a good friend of mine recommended it to me AGES ago and I mentally placed it on my tbr. Then, when I used to work at a bookshop, I met a couple who were avid Wheel of Time fans and learning of my interest in the series they offered to give me the entire series! They had reread the books so many times and had just recently been debating what to do with the books. I was so excited and jumped at the chance. Free books, duh! Thus, now owning the books I HAD to read them, of course. Months passed before I actually got around to it, and I did start the Eye of the World multiple times but remembering it was a fifteen book series always made me blanch and throw the book aside. I have commitment issues.

What finally made me take the plunge to read the books though, ultimately, was because of my friend who loved them and I just wanted to know if they were as good as all that. Also, I love fantasy and really wanted to see how one executes a 15-book series. The fact that most reviews on here of the Wheel of Time are so negative that made me even more curious. This was apparently one of those series where one would either love it or hate it.

Starting the book was so difficult for me. I must have read the first chapter a dozen times. Months or weeks would pass before I remembered the book and then I would feel the need to reread it again. I hate rereading. I zone out so easily. But once I got past that, I was delighted to discover the story swept me up pretty quickly with it's quick pace of events. I expected, from a series of this magnitude, that the pace would be a lot more leisurely and considerable time would be spent in set up. I worried I'd have to plod through Rand's life in the Two Rivers for a lot longer and get to know more about his routine and the cast of characters in his village. But thankfully, the story got going mighty quick, and I sat up straighter in my chair for it, hungry for the adventure promised to me.

Also, I knew how intricate the world building in this story was going to be and what an enormous cast of characters I would encounter. Patience is not one of my virtues and I the hardest part of starting a fantasy book for me is giving myself time to get acquainted with the world and its rules. Once upon a time I used to be much more patient and delighted in the slow accumulation of this new knowledge, but now in this hectic age of instant gratification and dramatic distraction, I just wanted to skip to the part where I already understood the world and the magic and knew all the relationships between the characters. On top of that, I was always thinking of the all the other books I wanted to read next as well as wondering when on earth I would start book two in the series.

I listened to the audio book from about chapter five to chapter ten. I am not a veteran of the audio book experience, but recently have been trying to get into it. I listened to it while I did chores around the house--I have despaired of listening to audio books before bed because I always fall asleep and then forget where I left off. This helped me considerably, to get me through the last of the initial set up of the story. Also, the audio book is really well narrated. I love the voice of the guy who reads it--so deep! He really brought the story to life for me with the way he differentiated the different characters with different voices. I alternated between audio book and physical book for the first third of the book.

Overall, I found the Eye of the World to be very plot-driven, which I didn't mind. I guess I kind of expected that. A ton of STUFF happens to our three heroes throughout the book. My biggest complaint with plot driven books is that it doesn't allow me to really get as invested in the story, since I can't really connect with the characters as deeply as I would like. However, I felt I could give this series a bit of leeway in that regard. It is a 15-book monument after all. Anytime I came across anything disappointing, I reminded myself this was only the first book in an uber-long series.

I myself have a penchant for character-driven novels. I felt that I didn't really know Rand or any of the others by the time I finished reading this book. They were simply people I became acquainted with through knowing all this stuff that happened to them. Nevertheless, it was interesting stuff.

In any book with a lot of characters, it is difficult to get really into the psyche of one character. I felt that the switching between perspectives wasn't too jarring.

As for my favorite characters, I would have to say Lan and Moiraine. Another reason finishing this book took me so long was that I decided to stop reading it for a long time and read New Spring! I know, I know, New Spring is best read at around book 10 in the series when it originally came out, but I didn't care. When I found out it focused on Moiraine and Lan and their backstories, I jumped for it. Boy did I infinitely prefer New Spring to Eye of the World. First off, it was so much more focused, since it was mostly in Moiraine's point of view. I loved reading about her Aes Sedai training and watching her not be so cool, calm and composed all the time.

SPOILER ALERT: SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT A SPOILER!!!! I was so blindsided by the revelation, 700 or so pages in, that Nynaeve and Lan had a thing for each other. I had to put the book down and puzzle out how I missed any signs of attraction between them. I immediately talked with my WoT expert friend and found out it wasn't just me. There just was really nothing to indicate this sudden development AT ALL! I was very upset by this because I like to watch the way relationships are formed. Lan is one of my favorite characters, mostly because of how enigmatic he is made out to be, and I would have loved to watch him falling for Nynaeve. Instead, I experienced utter bafflement, wondering whether these two characters ever even talked to each other! Wait a second, I remembered a few scenes where Nynaeve seemed to be competing with Lan, maybe that was meant to be signs of attraction. I always took it to be an indication of her disgruntlement of being around Lan and Moraine. I guess disgruntlement can turn into love?

The characters of Rand, Matt, and Perrin were differentiated in only the most surface of ways. Rand is the bland main character that anyone can imagine herself into the shoes of. He's this ordinary guy who starts getting involved in lots of extraordinary things. Matt's the idiotic comic relief. Perrin is the quiet, thoughful one. I liked Perrin the best out of the three.

Now we get to my main contention with this book: the language. I was prepared for less than stellar writing from all the reviews I read, but wasn't entirely aghast at what I found. After reading this book, though, I must say I never want to see the word RICTUS or the phrase RICTUS SNARL ever again. The trollocs--and really anyone meant to be threatening--were all described with this expression on their faces. This next point isn't really a complaint, just a curious observation. I have never heard walking described this way:

" The land tended upward the way Rand went, but fear lent his legs strength and they ATE GROUND in long strides, tearing his way through flowering bushes and tangles of wildrose, scattering petals, not caring if thorns ripped his clothes or even his flesh."

I can't really say I've ever heard the phrase "ate ground" before, much less it used to describe walking. I thought it was interesting.

I think Jordan accomplished what he set out to do. Most people who decide to read this series have a pretty good grasp of what they are getting themselves into. This book really draws you in to the complex world of wonders it encompasses. Getting immersed in the strangeness of a new world is the whole point of reading fantasy, I think. It was definitely an interesting tour for me, this world of Jordan's and I can't wait to return for a closer look in the next book!




View all my reviews