The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.
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, an 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.
When The Two Rivers is attacked by Trollocs-a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts- five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined, with new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.
The Eye of the World is the debut novel to the massive Wheel of Time series written by Robert Jordan. I don’t know what pushed me to start a 14 book series this year but I have done it and now there is no going back to normal😂. It’s one of the most popular fantasy series in the genre and I can see why people love it so much. The EotW was one of the strongest first books I have read this year. It wasn’t perfect but it had so many memorable moments that gets deeply rooted inside your head and doesn’t leave until you are forced to read the second book (which I did 🙈). I really loved that Jordan was so patient with us. He didn’t rush into anything and takes his sweet time in setting up the environment and the atmosphere in the book. His pacing at first, seemed slow but it always built into intense, action packed scenes that made me feel high and excited. His writing was beautiful and cozy. Jordan was very descriptive about every single part of the world and it never felt like an unnecessary info-dumping for me. It was a travelling story for the majority of the book and there were parts that felt a bit tedious but I was wasn’t much bothered by it because even those tedious parts always paid off with great moments in the end.
The characters in the book were really interesting as well. We primarily follow this book from Rand and Perrin’s perspectives. It has the classic ‘chosen one’ trope but we don’t know which one of the three boys is the chosen one until the end. It was a little predictable for me but I still loved their journey and their growth as a group and as individuals. I can’t say I have a favorite character in this book because there were so many of them and their development wasn’t as indepth as it is in the subsequent books but I ended up liking all of them anyway. The EotW is a more adventure and plot driven story but it definitely dives deeper into its characters later in the story. The Two River kids grow a lot over the course of the series and sometimes its hard to imagine that they started their journey from here. Rand, Mat, Perrin and Nynaeve have a special place in my heart now and will probably stay their for a long time. Okay I lied about my favorites🤭. I am just a little bit biased to Perrin but it’s only because I am 4 books deeper into the series and it has somewhat influenced my objective review for this book😂.
The magic system in this series was a bit vague in the first book. There was little information about how the magic worked, only that males and females can weild different powers and it’s catastrophic for a man to have such strong magical abilities inside them. The women who are able to channel the One power are called Aes sedai but they aren’t always received well by the people. It’s a part of the story that we slowly explore more later in the series. The one power is complex and mysterious with numerous rules and limitations. It’s not a huge part of the plot and doesn’t drive the story in book 1 but it does create a lot of problems for one of our main characters, Moiraine who is an Aes Sedai herself and her warder Lan. Speaking of Moiraine, I loved her character in this book. She is one of the most iconic characters in this series and I wish she had more povs. But it made sense why she doesn’t have a lot of her own point of views in the story. She was a character that was shrouded in layers of secrets and the twist and turns in the books wouldn’t have the same impact if we knew what was going on in her head most of the time. She was so badass in this book and her actions scenes were done incredibly well. I can’t wait to see her in the upcoming tv show. There was another character that appeared in the middle of the book and stole my heart within seconds of his presence🥺. I would take a bullet for that person if I could because he was so freaking adorable and gentle. He exuded so much positivity whenever he talked and you just know he would be the biggest cheerleader for our characters in the series. I am not exaggerating when I say that his presence was a balm to my soul😌. Someday, I will definitely write an appreciation post for all the characters I fell for in this series.
Anyways, I think that’s all I have to say about the Eye of the World so far. This review is two months late and some parts of the book have blurred in my head. I have been obsessed with this series in a way I have never been before. I haven’t read anything new in September except WoT and it has been a blast. It has pushed me though a very intense and busy month and I am so grateful for the audiobooks as well for enhancing the experience of the series for me. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are incredible narrators and I could listen to Michael’s voice all day because it’s so soothing to my ears😌. I might do a dedicated review of the first five books of the series in the future because there is a lot to say and I don’t think I can keep it spoiler free😂. Seriously, if you can’t read it then you should definitely listen to it. I guarantee that you will love the series if you are into ‘good vs evil’ trope in your fantasy books because that’s what the series is all about.
Rate – 8/10.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below and we can have a chat😁. Until then..
