I read The Eye of the World on and off again throughout 2005 and finished it in the summer. I then moved on to read the New Spring prequel which I finished early in the fall. Since then I have taken a break from the Wheel of Time series, but find myself back at it and almost finished with book two, The Great Hunt. Here is my combined review of New Spring and The Eye of the World.
New Spring
Serving as a prequel that was launched deep into the series this novel brought a lot to the experience I had in The Eye of the World. Fortunately I am not that far in the series so I was relatively unspoiled during New Spring.The book begins in a wonderful setting with Lan, my favorite character in the series so far. It covers the story of how Lan and Moiraine meet up for their fateful journey into Edmunds Field. I do not wish to spoil the series for those that have not read it because it is a gripping story that should be enjoyed by all fantasy readers.
Robert Jordan melds words in a way that sings softly as you turn from page to page. It is a gracious style that anyone can easily fall in love with. The book is not nearly as heavy a reading assignment as the rest of the series, but it lends so much to the story that it is a definate plus for those readers just breaking into The Wheel of Time series.
The story is complete for being its own book, but the world discovered only means more when you reach into the series. It serves as a resolution within itself, but lends and hints at something greater. This is what is to be discovered in the series.
The Eye of the World
Much of what I said about New Spring can be carried over to The Eye of the World. The distinction is that The Eye of the World is the begining of the adventure that New Spring brought you to.If you look at the book as a whole it is great, but if you break it down to individual chapters there is some dead spots where pages are filled with how a dress moves or how the wind shifted oh so slightly. I don't want to call these spots boring, but they lead me to do some skim reading to progress to the meat of the story.
And let me tell you the meat of the story is grand. The best description to fit the book would be that its the begining of what seems to an inevitable car crash. The characters slowly push along towards the instant that they are going to be struck.
Unfortunately that crash is somewhere in a later book. The book catches speed as it progresses. What starts out slow eventually turns into a landslide. What you find yourself at is an ending that was as unexpected as it was believable. Jordan goes the distance to immerse you in the world he has created.
Overall the experience was great, but less than what I may have expected coming from the lands of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Tolkien is no short order to meet and Jordan gets eerily close that I wonder what the rest of the series will bring.
The Eye of the World for all its plugging around in the early stages grips you and makes you want to know more. You want to follow these characters and you want to see the adventures in which they continue.
The main character, Rand al'Thor, draws other characters to him throughout the book. I sometimes felt as though I was the just another one of them as the wheel weaved me into the pattern.
