The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1)

English language

Published Jan. 21, 2006

ISBN:: 978-1-85723-076-5

(2 reviews)

The Eye of the World is a high 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 15 January 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 2 January 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 …

The Eye of the World is a high 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 15 January 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 2 January 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.After the release of The Wheel of Time television series, The Eye of the World made the January 2022 The New York Times Best Seller list in the mass market category and was number one on the audio fiction list.

13 editions

Landrin201 reviewed The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time, #1)

Long-time super fan review (no spoilers)

3 stars

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!

fitx0

rated it

Jan. 11, 2012