Wheel of Time Book 1: The Eye of the World Review

Books are inherently cool. Not to knock oral tradition or anything, but books sort of take the blue ribbon in the carrying-on-stories-and-knowledge department. I've been an avid reader since I was a young kid. I devoured books growing up (much like I devoured food. Mmm... food). In high school specifically, I spent most of my time in class ignoring whatever was going on and instead reading the already massive Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. At that point, the series already had nine books out there with a tenth on the way and no signs of stopping. However, Jordan paused to write a prequel, New Spring, and the time between books grew and grew. I went to college, and between the rigors of classwork and actually having an active social life, reading sort of dropped away. When the eleventh book in the series came out, I discussed it with Brian - my stalwart fellow reader - but quickly forgot it.

Then Robert Jordan passed away, God rest his soul. Hope of having the series finished flitted away...until Brandon Sanderson, a self-professed fan of the books and author in his own right, was called in by Jordan's widow to finish the series. My senior year of college, the twelfth book of a finally confirmed fourteen book series was released. Suddenly, I had to play catch-up.

So as I read, I figured I'd review the books and offer my own comments as I go along. At this point, I've re-read Books 1-6, and have started Book 7. My reviews will likely be fairly short until I get closer to my current novel. For now though, here's The Eye of the World.

THE EYE OF THE WORLD REVIEW

The Wheel of Time takes place in a fantastical world close in form to our own Medieval period. The land is divided into feudal states, each with their own fleshed out cultures and politics. Naturally, this being fantasy, magic exists in a very big way. At first it is only necessary to understand that a few thousand years ago, heroes led by a man known as the Dragon sealed the Dark One and his strongest followers away in the far north. This had a recoil effect, however, that caused all male magic users (called channelers) to go insane; in their insanity, these men caused massive devastation – even shifting the very land itself. Corruption from the Dark One’s prison has leaked out over time and created The Blight, a wasteland full of horrors constantly ravaging the northern kingdoms. Since “The Breaking,” female channelers have created a matriarchal magic enclave at the center of the kingdoms –both  respected and feared. Prophecies tell of a powerful male channeler who will be marked as the Dragon Reborn – the savior who will defeat the Dark One at the Last Battle, Tarmon Gai’don.

The book begins with a few well-honed fantasy cliches. Moiraine, a female channeler – Aes Sedai – and her protector Lan show up in the Two Rivers, a farm village so remote it belongs to a nation only in name, and encounters three intriguing farmboys (Rand, Perrin and Mat) and two young women (Elayne and Nynaeve) with the ability to channel. Their homes are stalked by Myrdraal (Jordan’s version of Dark Riders) and come under attack by Trollocs, half-men half-beasts and Jordan’s version of orcs. Convinced that they were the targets of the attack, the group agrees to leave with Moiraine to protect their homes and families and discover why they’ve been targeted. The book continues from there as a very strong fantasy on-the-road story and eventually winds up in the Blight for a climactic encounter with the enemy to save the titular Eye of the World. So ends my plot introduction.

The initial book in a series always has to contend with the massive amount of set-up necessary to entirely form a world out of nothing. Robert Jordan managed to make this world-building endlessly fascinating, adding layer upon layer to it over the course of the series. Though The Eye of the World only gives us what we need to understand the story of this novel, it lays a very strong foundation and plenty of hints for what’s to come.

Characterization is particularly strong, and reading this again six or seven years after my first time really made me realize just how focused the narrative is without the deluge of secondary and tertiary characters Jordan adds later on. Everyone is very well introduced and each of the main characters gets their own character arc. I didn’t even mention in my plot introduction above two secondary characters who get a lot of love: Thom Merrilin and Padan Fain. Thom is a sort of traveling bard, an older man with quick wits, faster reflexes, and a mysterious past. Padan Fain is Gollum. No, really, he is Jordan’s Gollum. Granted, there are several key differences, but it’s clear that is Jordan’s inspiration for the character. That said, Fain is very much his own character and a very strong one at that.

For those of you frightened by high fantasy or my many Lord of the Rings references, do not fear. The fantasy concepts are very easy to understand this early on, and they don’t really become that much more complex as the series goes along. Jordan has a gift for explaining the limits of the One Power – the source of magic – and the rules of the Aes Sedai without merely resorting to big boring exposition dumps.

Unlike later books in the series The Eye of the World is very much an adventure novel. Our heroes go on the road and gradually discover themselves while facing down a “great evil.” Given that this is the first book in the series, the climax still manages a pretty satisfying big punch while enticing you to immediately grab for the next book and tear in. Jordan creates some very interesting characters you like to hang out with (for now anyway), and the world of the Wheel of Time is so deep and so very alive that it’s just a joy to get to play around in for however long you’re there.

JOSH'S SPOILERY COMMENTS

What follows are my spoilery thoughts  on The Eye of the World. Only read if you’ve already read or don’t mind getting a little spoiled on the twists in Book 1. I will try to avoid spoilers in future novels beyond vague references, but you’ve been warned. 

I’ll keep this pretty short for now, since it’s been almost a year since I finished my re-read of this book. I remember loving this book as a kid in high school, and I have to say my opinion has not much changed. Sure, it’s fairly traditional fantasy this early on, but something about Jordan’s style and ambition really drew me in. I’m a sucker for heavily serialized fiction, be it TV or novels, and this is the Queen Mother of heavy serialization.

It didn’t strike me until this re-read that the Eye of the World is really just a MacGuffin. It compels the heroes to action, and creates a climactic battle where Rand gets to be badass and we get our official introduction to the Forsaken, but beyond that and the statements that it’s super-duper-freakin-important, the Eye does nothing. Does this bother me? Not really. If that’s what Jordan needed to get things rolling, by all means MacGuffin away.

I also never realized before how much I really really disliked Mat in these early books. For those who’ve already read these books, you know Mat’s often cited as being one of the best and most likeable characters in the series, but honestly while he’s being all corrupted by the ruby-hilted dagger from Shadar Logoth he is an annoying whiny bitch. Perrin, however, is a constant source of sanity and good nature. Boy, do I appreciate that. Rand has not reached his own whiny pinnacle yet, and he remains both relatable – in a way – and likeable. The girls are significantly less developed in this book, but even they come away with more YAY points than Mat. Also, Moiraine and Lan are badass.  The end.

And I can’t remember, but I believe I really thought Thom died here in this book on my first read-through. I really should have remembered the law of fiction: no body, no dead.

Also, wow, I really thought Balthamel and Aginor were going to be super short-lived and was pretty disappointed how quickly two of the mighty Forsaken were handed their pink slips. How wrong I was. The cameo of the Green Man really left me wanting more, and until going back to look over this book for the review, I almost forgot he existed at all. He's mentioned again in a later book, obviously, so Jordan didn't forget him, but all the same... I miss him. Brave big tree man.

And oh, Ba'alzamon. Your true identity and history is so weird, you crazy, crazy man.

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Final word on The Eye of the World. This isn’t my favorite book in the series, but that’s no real count against it. It’s an excellent start, and despite the early clichés, it really captures the imagination and creates a fantastic world for the rest of the series. It works both as a stand-alone and as a sign of things to come.

For that I give it (****) out of 5.

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