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fahadamer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
queenoferebor's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. It's a cult classic and a staple in the fantasy genrey, so of course I found myself compelled to pick it up when the hype around the TV show found me. Alas, I didn't like it that much.
There are some redeeming qualities to the book, but I generally found it to be weirdly paced, with uninteresting (or downright dislikeable) characters, and few original ideas. While I knew it was put up there in the pantheon of fantasy stories alongside Tolkien, I didn't expect it draw so much from The Lord of the Rings: from the remote town where war never seems to arrive, the protagonist and cadre of friends, to a fellowship that embarks on a journey chased by black riders and ends up splitting along the way. We have a magic wielder that leads the protagonist through their journey; we have a Smeagol-like situation with a magial object and we even have an Aragorn son of Arathorn, heir to a lost kingdom. Even the map and main locations are similar. We even have a version of the Sackville-Baggins!
All of this would not have really troubled me were not for the characters. I've read my fair share of fantasy and it's natural to use archetypes and similar magic systems, but when your characters are actively making the reader not want to read your story...oof. Rand could be as well called Bland, because there is not a single redeeming quality for his lack of personality. There is nothing special about him except the fact that he's tall and a ginger. Well, so were the Weasley twins, so? Mat is the Peregrin Took of the group, always causing trouble. And Perrin is just your generic sulking boi.
I wish I coudl say something nicer about the women but... I also didn't like them. Moiraine needs to work on her communication skills if she wants so lead people; Egwene is an even less likeable version of book 1 Hermione, if you know what I mean, and Nynaeve... well, let's just say that always being angry does not mean that you're a strong woman or have a strong personality, it just means that you're always angry.
I'll be trying the next books in due time, but quite honestly, you could read the first one and leave it there. It's a self contained story and I don't really see what kind of arc needs like 14 books to be resolved. Especially, when each book is 700-800 pages.
There are some redeeming qualities to the book, but I generally found it to be weirdly paced, with uninteresting (or downright dislikeable) characters, and few original ideas. While I knew it was put up there in the pantheon of fantasy stories alongside Tolkien, I didn't expect it draw so much from The Lord of the Rings: from the remote town where war never seems to arrive, the protagonist and cadre of friends, to a fellowship that embarks on a journey chased by black riders and ends up splitting along the way. We have a magic wielder that leads the protagonist through their journey; we have a Smeagol-like situation with a magial object and we even have an Aragorn son of Arathorn, heir to a lost kingdom. Even the map and main locations are similar. We even have a version of the Sackville-Baggins!
All of this would not have really troubled me were not for the characters. I've read my fair share of fantasy and it's natural to use archetypes and similar magic systems, but when your characters are actively making the reader not want to read your story...oof. Rand could be as well called Bland, because there is not a single redeeming quality for his lack of personality. There is nothing special about him except the fact that he's tall and a ginger. Well, so were the Weasley twins, so? Mat is the Peregrin Took of the group, always causing trouble. And Perrin is just your generic sulking boi.
I wish I coudl say something nicer about the women but... I also didn't like them. Moiraine needs to work on her communication skills if she wants so lead people; Egwene is an even less likeable version of book 1 Hermione, if you know what I mean, and Nynaeve... well, let's just say that always being angry does not mean that you're a strong woman or have a strong personality, it just means that you're always angry.
I'll be trying the next books in due time, but quite honestly, you could read the first one and leave it there. It's a self contained story and I don't really see what kind of arc needs like 14 books to be resolved. Especially, when each book is 700-800 pages.
stevetw's review against another edition
It is an excellent book to begin an excellent series. It is a very familiar plotline of the boy from a small town destined for great things, but I like this trope. It promises much more after it's all been written, and I love the descriptive style. I love medieval fantasy, and this provides it in spades. I also like that, unlike older fantasy, women are front and center as the Aes Sedai, and are the only people who can use magic. Of course, it does appear that the ultimate hero is a man here, but this is still light years ahead of other fantasy tropes, and this is 30 years ago! This contrasts nicely with older fantasy with barely any female characters and those that were there are rarely fully developed.
I also like the different creatures in this world. While it is clear that Tolkien influenced Jordan, he also created a new set of creatures, such as Trollocs and Myrddraal, instead of rehashing Tolkien's creatures. This, along with what they've changed regarding gender roles, means that there is enough difference in this world that it is not just another Tolkien story, but great writing on its own.
I also like the different creatures in this world. While it is clear that Tolkien influenced Jordan, he also created a new set of creatures, such as Trollocs and Myrddraal, instead of rehashing Tolkien's creatures. This, along with what they've changed regarding gender roles, means that there is enough difference in this world that it is not just another Tolkien story, but great writing on its own.
tokugawaa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
literarydumpling's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
What are you supposed to do when you've been taken away from everything you know to fulfill some mission that you have no idea of in the hopes of defeating a Big Bad? Bonus points when they're clueless farm boys just trying their best.
Long and short of it, these people need therapy. And a long nap.
Long and short of it, these people need therapy. And a long nap.
nicholle91's review against another edition
5.0
Started off super slow, but once I got to page 130 I could not put the book down. Such a great story!! Already purchased #2 and #3 to get some more. If you like fantasies, you should read this!
mightyjor's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 stars
For 2024 I made a goal to read and finish the entire Wheel of Time series. I should probably have tried to read one of them before I committed to that, because...no. That's not happening in a year.
I do still intend to read the whole thing, but spread out over 3-4 years, allowing about 3-5 books a year. I might trim this down starting next year, but my big concern is Epic Fantasy burnout before Stormlight book 5 hits and I'd like to reread that series before December so I'm freshly caught up. Instead, I think I'll do about 4 books this year and see how I feel. A lot of people say the series really hits its stride by book 4 with that being a fan favorite, so it seems like a good place to set a break point for myself so I can come back to it with fondness rather than misery if I were to put it down after a book I hated, which I fully believe might happen during some of these later books if the rumors are true.
So what did I think of this one? You might think I hated it. I don't. I actually enjoyed quite a bit of it. My really insulting summary of it would be The Fellowship of the Ring, but twice as long with half as much happening. On the plus side, the prose itself is actually very easy to follow along with, unlike some other classics. The trade off is that it's not nearly as poetic as something like Tolkien, but few things are. I guess it's not that old, but it feels like it could have come out today and there's nothing overly distracting about the prose, at least in the first book. I've heard mockery about phrases that pop up over the series but I haven't seen them used yet.
The plot itself is extremely basic on the surface. It feels like a very 'this happened, then this happened, then this happened' sort of story. I never felt like the drama ramped up in any meaningful way or that our characters were in any real danger. It's saving grace is the ending reveal: not the final battle at the eye of the world, that was boring. I mean the moments when you think the heroes have won, then you realize that something isn't quite right and no one really knows what happened or what is going on. While it might have felt sloppy if I wasn't in the right mood for it, I was honestly expecting a hokey happy ending and was thrilled that there was actually something deeper going on. I would have liked to actually know where our heroes were going and why for most of the book, since it really just feels like they're running from trolocks , then from white cloaks, then from the fade, the from dark friends, and we don't really get a sense that theyre moving towards anything. I mean I know that they're trying to go to the eye of the world or something to stop the dark one...but what does that even mean? How? You're sending a couple farm boys to battle the ancient God of Evil? What's even the plan here? It just made most of the book feel like a boring chore to get through.
That said, I actually liked spending time with our characters. I think it was nice to finally read about these legends in one of the most popular fantasy series of all time, to see the famous moraine and rand on the page and learn about their personalities.
Speaking of which, let's talk about characters since I know they're a big part of the series and I'm curious how I'll feel when it's all over:
Moraine and Lan are easily my favorites of the bunch. I love every second we spend with them. The Lan/Nynyeve romance came out of freaking nowhere for me but it wasn't a huge part of the book so I'll ignore it. Moraine is by far the best though. All the fireballs and fire walls were a little corny, but I really enjoyed the subtler uses of her magic. Her talking about the interrogation of Padan Fain near the end was chilling. The way she puts her duty above everything and having to mother a bunch of idiot teenagers to try and save a world that's falling apart is brilliant.
Perrin, Matt and Rand I find equally interesting, though I felt most engaged by the Perrin chapters. It seems like he's actually taking whatever is going on seriously and knows he's got some crap to figure out or someone's getting hurt. Mat seems like he doesn't realize he's got crap to figure out, and Rand knows he's got crap to figure out and just wants to kind of ignore it. So yeah, Perrin is the clear winner of the bunch.
Egwaine and Nynyeve were insufferable. Every scene with them in it they were either bullying someone or bragging about themselves. Egwaine is younger so I can forgive it a bit more, and she is there for Rand in the end which I like, but Nynyeve. Ugh. It's going to take some work to win me back with her. She reminds me of the Trunchbull or something.
I hear that the series really becomes it's own thing soon, so I'm really looking forward to that shift. I might read a few books in between and then pick up book 2 in a month or two.
For 2024 I made a goal to read and finish the entire Wheel of Time series. I should probably have tried to read one of them before I committed to that, because...no. That's not happening in a year.
I do still intend to read the whole thing, but spread out over 3-4 years, allowing about 3-5 books a year. I might trim this down starting next year, but my big concern is Epic Fantasy burnout before Stormlight book 5 hits and I'd like to reread that series before December so I'm freshly caught up. Instead, I think I'll do about 4 books this year and see how I feel. A lot of people say the series really hits its stride by book 4 with that being a fan favorite, so it seems like a good place to set a break point for myself so I can come back to it with fondness rather than misery if I were to put it down after a book I hated, which I fully believe might happen during some of these later books if the rumors are true.
So what did I think of this one? You might think I hated it. I don't. I actually enjoyed quite a bit of it. My really insulting summary of it would be The Fellowship of the Ring, but twice as long with half as much happening. On the plus side, the prose itself is actually very easy to follow along with, unlike some other classics. The trade off is that it's not nearly as poetic as something like Tolkien, but few things are. I guess it's not that old, but it feels like it could have come out today and there's nothing overly distracting about the prose, at least in the first book. I've heard mockery about phrases that pop up over the series but I haven't seen them used yet.
The plot itself is extremely basic on the surface. It feels like a very 'this happened, then this happened, then this happened' sort of story. I never felt like the drama ramped up in any meaningful way or that our characters were in any real danger. It's saving grace is the ending reveal: not the final battle at the eye of the world, that was boring. I mean the moments when you think the heroes have won, then you realize that something isn't quite right and no one really knows what happened or what is going on. While it might have felt sloppy if I wasn't in the right mood for it, I was honestly expecting a hokey happy ending and was thrilled that there was actually something deeper going on. I would have liked to actually know where our heroes were going and why for most of the book, since it really just feels like they're running from trolocks , then from white cloaks, then from the fade, the from dark friends, and we don't really get a sense that theyre moving towards anything. I mean I know that they're trying to go to the eye of the world or something to stop the dark one...but what does that even mean? How? You're sending a couple farm boys to battle the ancient God of Evil? What's even the plan here? It just made most of the book feel like a boring chore to get through.
That said, I actually liked spending time with our characters. I think it was nice to finally read about these legends in one of the most popular fantasy series of all time, to see the famous moraine and rand on the page and learn about their personalities.
Speaking of which, let's talk about characters since I know they're a big part of the series and I'm curious how I'll feel when it's all over:
Moraine and Lan are easily my favorites of the bunch. I love every second we spend with them. The Lan/Nynyeve romance came out of freaking nowhere for me but it wasn't a huge part of the book so I'll ignore it. Moraine is by far the best though. All the fireballs and fire walls were a little corny, but I really enjoyed the subtler uses of her magic. Her talking about the interrogation of Padan Fain near the end was chilling. The way she puts her duty above everything and having to mother a bunch of idiot teenagers to try and save a world that's falling apart is brilliant.
Perrin, Matt and Rand I find equally interesting, though I felt most engaged by the Perrin chapters. It seems like he's actually taking whatever is going on seriously and knows he's got some crap to figure out or someone's getting hurt. Mat seems like he doesn't realize he's got crap to figure out, and Rand knows he's got crap to figure out and just wants to kind of ignore it. So yeah, Perrin is the clear winner of the bunch.
Egwaine and Nynyeve were insufferable. Every scene with them in it they were either bullying someone or bragging about themselves. Egwaine is younger so I can forgive it a bit more, and she is there for Rand in the end which I like, but Nynyeve. Ugh. It's going to take some work to win me back with her. She reminds me of the Trunchbull or something.
I hear that the series really becomes it's own thing soon, so I'm really looking forward to that shift. I might read a few books in between and then pick up book 2 in a month or two.
pipsy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
selenajean's review against another edition
3.0
This was a weird book for me and is hard to rate and review. I really had to force myself to keep going for much of the book but at the same time it was compelling. When there was action and fast plot moving it was good but all in between stuff(lots of detailed journeying) was so tedious. I ended up wanting to know what happens BUT I'm not sure I could slog through 13 more books. I'm a bit disappointed after having so much hype and pushing by people who love this series. Maybe it was built up too much for me.