Review: The Eye of the World

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, but hesitate to give any book 5 of 5 stars, as I'm far too emotionless to really get that excited about anything... No emotional rollercoasters here. Just steady and onwards. That is, in a nutshell, how I felt about this book.

SPOILER-FREE

Beginning in the little community of Two Rivers, I found it easy to read about their lives, to get sucked into the day to day, the Wisdom and the Mayor and the many characters that make up the busy little town getting ready for their festival. The horses and farming, all relatable and enjoyable to read, however many chapters it took to describe it all. I didn't find it to be overly described as many others state. The description was welcome. I've never been to Two Rivers myself, and maybe because I love canning and gardening, and long to have some chickens one day, it was all very nice to read and dream about. Then came the initial incident, and if you haven't read the book yet, I'll say no more. I did have to go back and reread it to be sure of what had happened. I was in as much shock as the MC who was busy adjusting from his peaceful life to the hard road ahead.

Trying to decide whether to read this book? Hmm, well I would say go for it! What do you have to lose? It's only 260,565 words. Quite a hefty book, but think of the sense of accomplishment after reading the entire series! When I initially saw some reviews from some of my favourite YouTubers I decided not to read the series due to the more annoying things they mentioned including over describing and character traits that continuously popped up. But I couldn't shake it. The series called to me continuously, taunting me like I was dumb for letting someone else make up my mind, so I picked it up and I'm glad I did. None of their negatives bother me one bit.

It's a journey of the chosen one against a dark lord... nothing new here. Just because we don't call the villains on current day earth "dark lords" doesn't mean there aren't power hungry people pulling strings to control society and attempt to destroy our futures. It would be quite a stretch to write something that wasn't about a dark lord of some kind. And for our character not to be the chosen one... well prophecy is one thing I suppose, but really if our character isn't special why do I want to follow his/her story? I'd rather follow someone who is interesting and special. Special by force? That's as good as any. Someone who is proud to be special would most likely misuse their power and turn into the next Dark Lord... I guess there are 15 books and a companion. There's still potential for that plot line to show up. But I haven't read them so we will have to wait and see.

Other reviews say this book is so close to Tolkien, too close like a copy. It's been so long since I read Tolkien, and I try to judge each book for what it is, not a comparison to another, so I disregard these opinions. If you JUST read Tolkien, maybe read something else and then come back, but otherwise, enjoy the story for what it is. All stories are similar to something else. To think anyone can create something completely new is ridiculous. Anything can be a copy of something else if you're looking for it.

I enjoyed this book. As I said; steady and onwards. There are many events that might cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand if you're not as emotionless as me, but I felt one character's everlasting calmness kept me in the same state of mind. The horses trotting forwards, getting to the next destination, believing things will pan out. "The wheel weaves as the wheel wills..." What is will be, so don't get too excited. Just onwards.

One thing - Initially I was reading the E-Book on my phone and it started with an entire chapter following 9 year old Egwene around Two Rivers. Upon getting a hard copy (turns out I hate reading E-books) that chapter was missing. Not there and I don't know where it came from. It wasn't essential as I think back about it. But where is it from if not the beginning of this book?

Also, I wish I had known about the index in the back of the book when I started. It makes it much easier to look up a name of a character or location. Oh, and STAY OFFLINE! The internet is so full of spoilers and impossible to avoid. My first google search was a character's name from my missing chapter. Can't remember the name now, which is good so I don't remember who kills who - yep that's right. I asked google who this character was and they told me "oh this character, the one that kills ____ in book __" Yeah. Wow. Spoilers like crazy. So the index was useful in the end and I assume it'll be a good reference point for the next books if I forget people and places along the way.

From here on, I will discuss the book with what I consider to be spoilers, from personality traits to plot points. While some people might not consider personality traits that really don't affect the plot to be spoilers, I equate it to giving someone the punchline of a joke without telling the rest of the joke. Once you read it, it's not as good as if you had stumbled upon it yourself, letting the shock of the moment sink in and warm your heart or rip it apart. It's better left to discovery initially.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

First, my favourite bit about the characters is how Rand and Perrin think of each other when they are confronted with a female they don't know how to speak to. When Rand wishes Perrin were there because he's good with girls, I believed him. Then Perrin thought the exact thing about Rand and I had to laugh. Perspective is everything.

The romance between Egwene and Rand is hinted all along the way, and I believe it was in the missing chapter where we learn they are to be married when they are grown. But that all changes when Min tells him she is not for him. Meanwhile she's out dancing with Aram and Perrin is watching, jealous, we think because she is meant for Rand, but then later he says he loves her and would have killed her to save her from the ravens. It all feels very dark, so when he says he loves her, it comes across that he loves her as a friend he's known his whole life. But is it? The love between Nynaeve and Lan--I totally missed that one. It all happened so fast and then it was done. I will have to go back and see if it really was hinted at and I missed it or if it was as sudden as it felt. The subtleness of any romantic element was enjoyable and while none of them ever act on their feelings, we know there is potential for anything to happen. So intriguing. Must find out more in next books.

Another bit I missed was Rand healing Bela. I'll have to go back and find that part to see how I missed it. I did however, pick up on Rand using the One Power against the Darkfriend. That seemed obvious as he became sick after. When he blinded Mat temporarily, only to have him dream that Ba'alzamon took his eyes--is this foreshadowing? Is Mat going to be blind at some point for real? Don't tell me. I must find out for myself...

My favourite part of the journey was when Mat and Rand discover they can get room and board for entertaining. As a professional musician myself, who travels around North America playing, I was very connected to this. I imagined my life in a time like that, playing for food and a bed, to be sought after and welcomed into a town, as gleemen were few and far between. I live in a place where Friday/Saturday nights are my only chance to work. I pay taxes and a mortgage, have expenses for fuel, food, etc etc etc... Very few people in my line of work can do what I do without a "real job". But I figure to be the last of a dying breed is better than not at all. Thinking how they did it; the appreciation, the simplicity--maybe sleeping on the ground or in a barn isn't great, but I imagine seeing the world and being welcome everywhere. That is something I could have been apart of easily.

The other thing I'll say about descriptions--it's not that I skim over them, I do read them. But as quickly as a physical description is in one ear, it's out the other. Unless something about the character description is essential to the story and mentioned often, like Perrin's yellowing eyes, then I don't tend to remember it. Personality traits tend to be easy and character voice even easier. I hear the characters, but don't necessarily see them. If I do, I tend to assign a physical description based on what they sound like to me. Thom Merrilin, for example = Kenny Rogers. Any white haired dude in any book = Kenny Rogers. Loial, another one. I don't remember much about his physical description, except that he's incredibly tall and over 90 years old, which is young for his species. But he is soft-spoken, overly polite, and generally cheery. His voice to me was that of Korg from GOTG2 who was also a monster, but soft-spoken. I don't imagine Loial often, but I suppose when I do, he looks like Groot. Not correct at all, I know. I've since seen an artist's rendition of the character and I know I am not seeing it right. But what does that matter? It's in my head now, not the authors! That's the funny thing about books. You can write whatever you like, but once it's out there people are going to interpret it however they want, hence why movies based on books are always awful. No two people will interpret it the same.

Overall Moiraine kept me calm and steady, even when she wasn't there. I kept expecting to find out why none of them trust the Aes Sedai, but I never did. The storyline was excellent, with a good balance between the journey and action. It felt like we were moving forwards at all times, even if the journey had slowed and we were reading about their feelings along the way. The end was interesting and I felt the resolution wrapped up the action and started me thinking of the journey ahead. I have nothing negative to say about this book and look forward to reading the next. Steady and onwards.

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