The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, and Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
I spent the last month reading this huge novel of epic fantasy. Even though the Wheel of Time series has been on my wishlist for the last almost 20 years, I don't know much about Robert Jordan or the background of this series. I plan to read the Tor.com series of articles (I've read the first few) and listen to the White Tower Pod podcast to gain more insight, but I decided to wait until after writing up my review.
My initial impression with The Eye of the World was it was extremely derivative of The Lord of the Rings. The first or second Tor article said Jordan did this on purpose to evoke the feeling of The Lord of the Rings. For me, it was beyond evoking a feeling. It was pretty much a rip off a LOTR, but I tried not to worry about it too much. The Wheel of Time series is HUGE. It can only be carried by LOTR so far. The amount of material taken from LOTR, however, did distract me heavily. I didn't start connecting with The Eye of the World until I was at least halfway through the book. (And it's 700 pages.)
I'm looking forward to becoming fully invested in the story. There were some great moments in The Eye of the World, but I don't think I'm there yet. I've already ordered book two, though, and I plan to continue with that one this month. I have a lot of hope for the series, and I'm happy to not only finally be reading it but happy to be reading it before the TV series is released, too. It was time!
I'm not recommending the series to anyone yet, but I'm anxious to see where the series goes. I'm also anxious to find out more about Robert Jordan and why he relied so heavily on existing fantasy tropes. If you have any spoiler free resources for The Wheel of Time series, please feel free to share!
⭐⭐⭐★★
