The Eye of the World
The first novel in Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®.
The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. 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.
Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time® has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. The last six books in series were all instant #1 New York Times bestsellers, and The Eye of the World was named one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.
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Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan, the legendary author behind The Wheel of Time series, crafted one of the most intricate and expansive fantasy universes ever to grace the genre. Born James Oliver Rigney Jr. in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1948, his early life seemed far removed from the epic world-building and mysticism that would later define his literary career. His love for storytelling, however, began early, nurtured by his voracious reading habits and an interest in history and mythology.
The Wheel of Time
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time is a story that takes place both in our past and our future. In his fantasy world, the Dark One, the embodiment of pure evil, is breaking free from his prison. The overall plot is about a man who learns that he is the reincarnation of the world’s messiah and is once again destined to save the world from the Dark One – but possibly destroy it in the process. This saga is not only his story, but the story of an entire world’s struggle to deal with war and change, destruction and hope.
The Wheel of Time consists of fifteen primary books, and includes three additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads and considered as a complete series. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Reviews and Comments
I picked this book up in an airport in 1997 because I'm not a good flyer and needed something to distract me. I liked the cover art and the brief synopsis on the back. Fifteen years later...Robert Jordan is my absolute FAVORITE author. The Wheel of Time series is not an easy read. Jordan is hyper-descriptive to the point of madness sometimes, but because of the way he writes you really feel like you are THERE and the characters (and there are a LOT of them) are rich and full and you get a strong picture of who they are. There are few books/authors that measure up to this type of Epic story telling...if you have read these books and enjoyed them, Patrick Rothfuss is a fantastic writer who reads almost like poetry. If you are a true reader...pick up these books...it's a long commitment, but well worth the story!!!
The first six books in this series were published when I was in high school and I read them all eagerly. In college I had less time for personal reading and put the series aside, intending to pick it up again when I had more free time, but I never did. I recently watched the first season of the tv series, which was neither especially good nor especially bad, but it did make me want to pick up the books again. The show didn't quite gel with my (admittedly decades old) memories of the first novel, so I thought it best to start from the beginning. It's weird picking up a book that enthralled me at 14 and thinking "it can't be as good I believed it was then", and then finding out it is actually better. For such a long novel it moves at a rather windswept pace, relentless once the heroes are chased from Emond's Field and out into a wider world they have little understanding of. And even at that pace it is incredibly detailed and precise; it really feels like you've spent a lot of time getting to know the characters inside and out, despite the constant peril the find themselves thrown in. It is a young persons' novel that nonetheless feels grown up and world-weary, which, I suppose, describes all the best young persons' novels, before they were dumbed down and marketed as "YA". I'm very happy I revisited this and am looking forward to 49-year-old me reading this series through to the end.