Hey book lovers! I am so excited today! The Wheel of Time Series is one of my FAVOURITE series ever, of all time, and I haven’t even read them all yet. PLEASE NO SPOILERS in the comments 🙂 I read the first ten books, then graduated from University, moved to Ontario, met my husband, had a couple of kids, and completely forgot about reading anything for years. When the adaptation of the series was announced I decided to re-read the entire series, and finally finish it! So, to kick things off – I’m here with a book review for The Eye of the World.

The Wheel of Time series has 4,410,036 words. In comparison, Harry Potter has about 1 million.

My husband bought me the first four books as gifts this year, and the new covers published in 2020 are absolutely stunning. I can’t wait to watch the TV series. I don’t know the release date yet, but I do know there will be a panel discussion at the online Comic-Con, which will take place on the official YouTube channel starting at 2PM ET on July 23rd.”This year’s lineup features a mix of female-led fantasy, blockbuster anime, teen slasher and crime. First up is The Wheel of Time, a series adaptation of the bestselling novels by Robert Jordan about a clan of female magicians starring Rosamund Pike.”

This video talks about the adaptation so far. It looks like the first season will be based on the first two books, The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt. Check out this video for more: https://youtu.be/Wz9VS5nUacw

About The Book 📚

Title: The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time #1)

Author: Robert Jordan

Publication Date: August 2020 (first published 1990)

Publisher: Tor Books

Suggested Reader Age: Adult

Genre: Epic Fantasy

About The Author

“Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O’Neal and Jackson O’Reilly.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with “V” and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.

He described himself as a “High Church” Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week. He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan’s editor) in a house built in 1797.

Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, “like his father and grandfather,” he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, “no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs.”

On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.

He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.

Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston.” https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6252.Robert_Jordan

My Review

“The Wheel of Time is a wheel with seven spokes, each spoke an Age. As the Wheel turns, the Ages come and go, each leaving memories that fade to legend, then to myth, and are forgotten by the time that Age comes again. The Pattern of an Age is slightly different each time an Age comes, and each time it is subject to greater change, but each time it is the same Age.”

The Eye of the World, glossary.

› Folks are arriving in Emmond’s Field for Bel Tine, the spring festival. The gleeman Thom arrives with tales of the outside world, Moiraine and Lan arrive claiming to just be passing through. Rand al’Thor, a farmer, has seen a dark figure in the woods a couple of times and feels as though something is watching him.

Rand is “taller than anyone else in the district” and as a child claimed he wanted to be King. His friend Egwene al’Vere (some say they’ve been destined to marry since they were children) is also a dreamer. For as long as she can remember, she’s wanted to leave the Two Rivers and see the world. As the youngest of four, she’s observant, resourceful, and apprentice to the “Wisdom” Nynaeve al’Meara. The Wisdom is chosen for her knowledge of healing, foretelling the weather and is considered equal to the Mayor.

When Rand was a boy his father would tell him and his friends, Perrin Aybara (a blacksmith’s apprentice) and Mat Cauthon (farmer), stories about the Dark One. Shai’tan is the true name of the Dark One. Just like most “Dark One” tropes, saying his true name will draw his attention. He is imprisoned at Shayol Ghul. Many, many years ago, the “War of the Shadow” happened after an attempt to free him. This led to the “Breaking of the World” and the “end of the Age of Legends”. Yes, it reminds us of The Lord of the Rings. Robert Jordan did say he was inspired by Tolkien, and so yes, there are some familiar tropes.

“The Wheel weaves as the wheel wills.”

Rand’s father is injured and dying after the village is attacked by trollocs – a creature who serves the Dark One. Moiraine and Lan try to help save as many as they can and they explain to Rand that she is Aes Sedai and Lan is her Warder.

Aes Sedai are the “wielders of the one Power. Since the Time of Madness, all surviving Aes Sedai are women. Widely distrusted and feared, even hated, they are blamed by many for the Breaking of the World, and are generally thought to meddle in the affairs of nations. At the same time, few rulers will be without an Aes Sedai adviser, even in lands where the existence of such a connection must be kept secret.” – from The Eye of the World glossary.

A Warder is a “warrior bonded to an Aes Sedai. The bonding is a thing of the One Power, and by it he gains such gifts as quick healing, the ability to go long periods without food, water or rest, and the ability to sense the taint of the Dark One at a distance…What the Aes Sedai gain from the bonding is a closely-held secret.” – from The Eye of the World glossary.

Moiraine tells Rand that the dark figure he’s been seeing is a Myrddraal, it and the trollocs were after Rand, Mat, and Perrin because the Dark One is hunting down all young men their age. She says they must travel to Tar Valon to have the protection of Aes Sedai and the Warders, and to have access to the information so they can figure out why the Dark One is after them. Rand and his friends aren’t excited to travel with an Aes Sedai, but they also don’t want to attract more danger to their village. And so, Moiraine, Lan, Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene and the gleeman Thom all set out to on a journey to Tar Valon. Their first goal is to reach Caemlyn, the capital city of Andor (the realm where Two Rivers is found). They will have to flee from the Myrddraal, trollocs, and the Children of the Light (a society united against the Dark One and who hate the Aes Sedai).


The Wheel of Time ®
New Spring: The Novel
#1 The Eye of the World
#2 The Great Hunt
#3 The Dragon Reborn
#4 The Shadow Rising
#5 The Fires of Heaven
#6 Lord of Chaos
#7 A Crown of Swords
#8 The Path of Daggers
#9 Winter’s Heart
#10 Crossroads of Twilight
#11 Knife of Dreams

By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
#12 The Gathering Storm
#13 Towers of Midnight
#14 A Memory of Light

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 10
My favourite characters are Loial the Ogier, Perrin, Nynaeve, and Lan.

“I will hate the man you choose because he isn’t me, and love him if he makes you smile.” – Lan

› Atmosphere: 10

› Writing Style: 10

› Plot: 8
Slow in parts, but lots of action and suspense.

› Intrigue: 10

› Logic: 10

› Enjoyment: 10

Average 9.7

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★★★

› Final Thoughts
• I’m so glad I re-read this. It still holds up as one of my favourite books and I’ll be diving into book two very soon! If you like High Fantasy and you haven’t read The Wheel of Time, I suggest you read the prologue for The Eye of the World. I have a feeling it will suck you in, leave you wanting more. The books have been around for a long time, so you should be able to find at least some of them at a used bookstore or the library.

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