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A review by thefussyreader
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
4.0
The Fussy Reader
Yes. I succumbed to trailer hype and started reading this book. I had fully intended to read the first two, at least, before the Prime series came out. But then that trailer dropped and I've never been so hyped for an adaptation I've never read before.
Characters
My prediction going in was that Lan would be my favourite. Simply from what I'd heard through fandom, Lan was supposedly a badass, and I do love me a badass.
My prediction was pretty accurate, Lan was definitely a favourite throughout the whole book. Expert tracker and general master of the sword, Lan felt like the Aragorn of this 'fellowship.'
Moiraine is obviously Gandalf. The strong and mysterious magical type who likes to show up unannounced to rural villages at times of celebration. If only she had some fireworks...but I guess lightning will do, lol.
Rand is the Frodo of the group. He's the main guy, pretty decent and morally straight, not easily influenced. He has a strong will to fight back against the Dark One.
I had something of a journey with Mat's character. I started out loving him and his playful, troublesome nature. By halfway through I found him insufferable, and his 'troublesome nature', once charming, became a hindrance. But once pulled in check by Moiraine, I liked him again. Definitely the Pippin of the group.
Perrin, Egwene, and Nynaeve didn't feel to me to fit into any Tolkien character archetypes, thankfully. They felt like very fresh characters, each with their own unfolding arcs. These three have a lot of potential to be something great and powerful in the future and I'm excited to see what's in store for them.
Plot
A very decent story told in a, mostly, engaging way. There were definitely times where my attention slipped, but in over 800 pages, it would be impossible not to. I stand by my belief that no book needs to be over 800 pages cause it's usually a sign of over-writing and under-editing. Wheel of Time is no exception. It could have been made more concise by condensing some of the wordier blocks of exposition, or perhaps shortening some of those pesky dream sequences, or even removing a few pointless characters.
But am I mad? Not really. I still enjoyed this a great deal, even though almost every plot beat is highly derivative of Lord of the Rings.
Am I even mad about that?
Again, not really. I enjoyed this book a lot and really grew attached to the characters and their unfolding journey.
This book, though very long, is a damn good time and I often found myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading. There was a comfortable feeling about it all, almost familiar. Perhaps that's because it was so similar to Lord of the Rings, but as I said, not even mad. I just couldn't wait to get back to it.
Setting
Incredibly vast. As this was a quest fantasy, a journey across the land, we get to visit so many varied places, run-down rural villages, ruinous cities, seats of power. It was like a travel log. I'm not normally a fan of quest fantasy, but I actually loved how thoroughly the world was utilised. Too often books include a map and yet the vast world depicted is barely explored, with characters stuck in one corner of it the entire time. Wheel of Time certainly doesn't suffer from world neglect.
I found the Blight absolutely fascinating and loved every second the group travelled through that place.
Writing Style
Honestly so much better than I expected. As this book is older than I am, I was definitely expecting to see the book's age in its Writing. To my surprise, the writing wasn't dated at all. Being so heavily inspired by Lord of the Rings, I expected the dialogue to feel a little archaic and stilted, but it read surprisingly modern for a book over thirty years old.
I also fully expected lame female characters with zero agency, because let's be real, it really hasn't been until the last decade or so that we've seen female characters in fantasy as anything more than a love interest. So I was very pleasantly surprised to see so many female characters with strength, courage, and dare I say it, personality! They all had story arcs and growth, and all have such huge potential.
It must have been so refreshing at the time for female readers to pick this up and discover a cast of women who actually do more than swoon or wait for a man to save them.
I really believe this book was ahead of its time in terms of characterisation.
Final Impression
I can see this becoming a comfort read series for me. The world and characters already feel so familiar. I know that every time I pick up one of these books, it's going to feel like going home. I'm already dreading the sense of loss I'll feel once I've finished all fourteen.
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Yes. I succumbed to trailer hype and started reading this book. I had fully intended to read the first two, at least, before the Prime series came out. But then that trailer dropped and I've never been so hyped for an adaptation I've never read before.
Characters
My prediction going in was that Lan would be my favourite. Simply from what I'd heard through fandom, Lan was supposedly a badass, and I do love me a badass.
My prediction was pretty accurate, Lan was definitely a favourite throughout the whole book. Expert tracker and general master of the sword, Lan felt like the Aragorn of this 'fellowship.'
Moiraine is obviously Gandalf. The strong and mysterious magical type who likes to show up unannounced to rural villages at times of celebration. If only she had some fireworks...but I guess lightning will do, lol.
Rand is the Frodo of the group. He's the main guy, pretty decent and morally straight, not easily influenced. He has a strong will to fight back against the Dark One.
I had something of a journey with Mat's character. I started out loving him and his playful, troublesome nature. By halfway through I found him insufferable, and his 'troublesome nature', once charming, became a hindrance. But once pulled in check by Moiraine, I liked him again. Definitely the Pippin of the group.
Perrin, Egwene, and Nynaeve didn't feel to me to fit into any Tolkien character archetypes, thankfully. They felt like very fresh characters, each with their own unfolding arcs. These three have a lot of potential to be something great and powerful in the future and I'm excited to see what's in store for them.
Plot
A very decent story told in a, mostly, engaging way. There were definitely times where my attention slipped, but in over 800 pages, it would be impossible not to. I stand by my belief that no book needs to be over 800 pages cause it's usually a sign of over-writing and under-editing. Wheel of Time is no exception. It could have been made more concise by condensing some of the wordier blocks of exposition, or perhaps shortening some of those pesky dream sequences, or even removing a few pointless characters.
But am I mad? Not really. I still enjoyed this a great deal, even though almost every plot beat is highly derivative of Lord of the Rings.
Am I even mad about that?
Again, not really. I enjoyed this book a lot and really grew attached to the characters and their unfolding journey.
This book, though very long, is a damn good time and I often found myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading. There was a comfortable feeling about it all, almost familiar. Perhaps that's because it was so similar to Lord of the Rings, but as I said, not even mad. I just couldn't wait to get back to it.
Setting
Incredibly vast. As this was a quest fantasy, a journey across the land, we get to visit so many varied places, run-down rural villages, ruinous cities, seats of power. It was like a travel log. I'm not normally a fan of quest fantasy, but I actually loved how thoroughly the world was utilised. Too often books include a map and yet the vast world depicted is barely explored, with characters stuck in one corner of it the entire time. Wheel of Time certainly doesn't suffer from world neglect.
I found the Blight absolutely fascinating and loved every second the group travelled through that place.
Writing Style
Honestly so much better than I expected. As this book is older than I am, I was definitely expecting to see the book's age in its Writing. To my surprise, the writing wasn't dated at all. Being so heavily inspired by Lord of the Rings, I expected the dialogue to feel a little archaic and stilted, but it read surprisingly modern for a book over thirty years old.
I also fully expected lame female characters with zero agency, because let's be real, it really hasn't been until the last decade or so that we've seen female characters in fantasy as anything more than a love interest. So I was very pleasantly surprised to see so many female characters with strength, courage, and dare I say it, personality! They all had story arcs and growth, and all have such huge potential.
It must have been so refreshing at the time for female readers to pick this up and discover a cast of women who actually do more than swoon or wait for a man to save them.
I really believe this book was ahead of its time in terms of characterisation.
Final Impression
I can see this becoming a comfort read series for me. The world and characters already feel so familiar. I know that every time I pick up one of these books, it's going to feel like going home. I'm already dreading the sense of loss I'll feel once I've finished all fourteen.