The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time)

click here for more details, find new or used items

Robert Jordan

Our price £5.01 (£7.99)

New from £1.98

Used from £0.01

Pages: 832 (Paperback)

ISBN: 1857230760

Pub: Orbit

Pub date: 1992-07-15

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 10400

Editorial Review:

The Eye of the World and its sequels in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series show the extent to which one can go with a traditional fantasy framework, with added gusto. Stock elements are abound: a reluctant hero--in fact five humble village folk--plucked from wholesome obscurity to fight dark powers; an eternal evil enemy who can be defeated but not destroyed, until the end of the world, which is fast approaching; a mysterious sisterhood with vast powers and who love to manipulate thrones and kingdoms from the shadows (think of the Bene Gesserit of the Dune series); a ferocious battle-hardened warrior race (echoes of the Fremen of Dune, or the Haruchai of the Thomas Covenant novels).
Jordan didn't become a bestselling author merely by mixing up traditional ingredients; a master storyteller, he ingeniously gives unusual twists to these conventional fantasy elements. He also excels in the descriptive and narrative skills needed to create a detailed and coherent imaginary world. The many lands he portrays are vast in scope and contain amazingly varied countries and peoples, while retaining the inner coherence needed to make them satisfying places for a fantasy fan to roam around in. However, Jordan's writing never attains the subtlety or sophistication of, say, George RR Martin and there are some annoying stylistic tics: he seems unable to introduce a female character without commenting on her neckline and thereafter has them forever smoothing their dresses.

To his publisher's credit, Jordan's books are fortunate among fantasy novels in not having covers that look like an explosion of a teenager's bedroom. The absence of such lurid artwork is, perhaps, part of their appeal. --David Pickering

Reader Reviews:

Good first book (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is the first of the Wheel of Time series and is a great first book. All the main characters are introduced (even if they appear in a couple of pages) and though some times the first book in a series is slow this is not the case for this book.

Robert Jordan keeps you entertained throughout the entire book and keeps the reader entertained throughout.

Personally I find Rand and Mat the best characters and they are both in this book for long periods of time (unlike the laster books in the series).

The plot isn't too complex and I highly reccomend the Wheel of Time series to everyone.

Seems harsh to give it only 3 stars but... (1/1 people found this helpful)

I've got mixed opinions about this book.

It's well written, got good characters, good plot / story and has obviously been well thought out. I enjoyed reading the majority of it and would recommend it to any fan of the genre. It's one of the better books i've read of this type for a while. In fact when I was getting near to the end of the book I was worried i'd finish it and want more so went out and bought the second book in the series (which I haven't read yet).
One of the things I like most is that when you read it, you feel like there's a real history behind the story. You can imagine other books telling of events before this as there are many references to times past and legends of old. You always get a taste of what was that leaves you wanting more.

So why only the 3 stars?

Well for a start it has taken a bit too much from Lord of the Rings. Many books of this type will have something similar to ogres, orcs, trolls, elves, wizards, etc, which I actually usually like. But this takes it further than that. The completely out of the way village where our heroes start out from, the "wizard" (for lack of a better word) who visits, the fact that they suddenly have to leave, the dark riders chasing said farmers, the dark one employing all manner of beasts as spies to track them, the race to reach the ferry to cross the river to mention a few.

Secondly there are several times when you end up skimming pages. Whilst its nice to have a good description of the surroundings, it does at times seem to go on a bit too much to the point of breaking up the story. This is probably more of a personal thing as i'm sure some readers will like it, but for me it did seem to bring the book down a bit.

Thirdly the action / fight scenes are not the best i've read. Don't get me wrong on this, the idea behind them, the setting and the build up is always great and if you can fill in the blanks you'll be loving it. But they always seem to be over too quickly or seem to jump ahead of themselves. There is just something missing.

Despite all this I still would have given this book 4 maybe even 5 stars, but then comes the ending.

Don't worry, I won't ruin it for anyone by saying what happens. It's just that after such a long but enjoyable build up, after everything that gets thrown in, all the twists and turns, it just seems like the writer got fed up of writing, abandoned the imaginative thought and crammed everything into 2 pages. After enjoying so much of the book, i'm now not sure if i want to read the second.

To be honest it is a good book. Just don't be suprised if your left wanting more for all the wrong reasons by the end of it.

Wheel of time (0/0 people found this helpful)

I have now read all books so far in this series, having first read this one back in 1992.

Good book. Not a bad series. Lost its way a little after book 3. Waffling for the sake of more money I suspect. In my opinion books 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 could have been condensed into a few paragraphs. Then maybe the author could have finished this series before he died. A touch cold, but true.

A lesson learnt for me - do NOT buy a book in a series until you know it is finished.

Sprinter girl (0/0 people found this helpful)

I thought that this book was great! It took some time to get into, but once I'd passed the first chapter I was completely ingrossed and took this book everywhere with me till i finished it...I thought the characters were interesting and the story, though the ending was predictable, was well written and left me craving for more :)

amazing! (0/0 people found this helpful)

this is a brilliant book if you enjoy fantasy! Has depth that rivals series such as "A song of ice and fire"! I really really recomend it! I'm hooked!

Similar Products

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)

The Farseer 1.Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy)

Wizard's First Rule: Book 1: The Sword Of Truth Series: Wizard's First Rule Bk.1 (The sword of truth)

A Clash of Kings (Song of Ice and Fire)

Magician (Riftwar saga)