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pascalibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Tl;Dr - It was good. If you like classic and modern fantasy, this is the perfect marriage of the two.
Plot: Pretty standard chosen one/dark lord/quest story. Not to say its bad. In fact, its easily the best iteration I have ever experienced through any form of media. While standard, it still works enough to keep you engaged, which is the bare minimum for a story, but compounded with the other elements of the book, I think it works very well. One part I really loved was how the journey in the book happened. From what Ive read, characters traveling long distances and hiding is never potrayed realistically or interestingly. They dont really live like kings, but they rarely seem like the arduous task actually affects them(barring a few characters from LOTR). In this, I really felt the danger. The characters really were being hunted at every turn in one way or another. When someone suggested they stop and rest for a while, I mentally admonished that person because I knew it would pose an incredible threat to do that. At some point, the characters get separated, and one group stands out. They were basically hitchhiking, begging, and scraping by the whole time. I loved this section, especially due to the danger added to the already precarious situation.
Characters: Generally well done. People say Robert Jordan doesnt write good female characters. I see where this point comes from, and I agree to some extent, but mostly I think its wrong. For one, his female characters are a huge evolution from LOTR, which this book takes heavy inspiration from. This isnt even just because the female characters actually exist in the story either. RJ does a good job portraying women as powerful figures, definitely moreso than the men. They play a vital role and the main characters, who are males, could not have gotten absolutely anywhere without them. They would likely have died in their hometown. They are feisty, but I think this makes sense in the world. While women in RJs world hold more power than they did in the past of our world, they still deal with men looking down and patronizing them, and their way of speaking and opinions about men reflect that subjugation. Nynaeve and Egwene go off on Rand, Mat, and Perrin frequently, but its usually deserved and often because RMP were disrespecting them, or cutting then down. This doesnt say anything for Moiraine, either. She is kind of devoid of personality on the surface, but I think thats mostly due to her role in the story. For one, she fills the wise wizard mentor trope, and thus cant speak too much or really act very human. She also must remain calm and stoic for the sake of the quest. The other characters in the group are mostly young and naive, so the extreme circunstances scare them, and she has to stay chill to be able to lead them. Rand al'Thor is well-exexuted, if a little standard and underwhelming. I liked Perrin in his POV chapters, but outside of those he barely even does anything. Mat never has a POV, and neither does Lan(as far as I remember), but both are interesting/cool enough. Thom is great. The villain is very standard so far, but Im positive that he will get better as the series progresses. The rest of the characters are all well done and likeable/interesting.
Prose: I have also heard Rober Jordans prose being critized, and unlike the other point, I fully disagree. People say he spends long times describing things, and he does, but not really any longer than any other fantasy author. Certainly not longer than Tolkien. Plus, for some people, that is a crucial element of worldbuilding and immersion. For me, my mind tends to paint a picture from the very basic setting and not the finer details, so it is mostly pointless for me to really read the descriptions. It wasbt hard to just skim-read a paragraph or two every once in a while. Most of the non-action/dialogue writing was focused on characterization which I did like a lot, so I didnt feel like landscape descriptions were bad. Otherwise, RJ is a fantastic write. His style is reminiscent of Tolkien, but is also modern enough where reading it isnt an absolute chore.
Maybe I didnt come off super positive here, but I really enjoyed it. I usually have an end-of-book push where I shotgun read the last sections, and this was true to a much greater extent than usual. I had nearly 400 pages to read and I did it all within a day. I could not put it down. Read this book. If you like fantasy, and you havent read this, Pick It Up!
Plot: Pretty standard chosen one/dark lord/quest story. Not to say its bad. In fact, its easily the best iteration I have ever experienced through any form of media. While standard, it still works enough to keep you engaged, which is the bare minimum for a story, but compounded with the other elements of the book, I think it works very well. One part I really loved was how the journey in the book happened. From what Ive read, characters traveling long distances and hiding is never potrayed realistically or interestingly. They dont really live like kings, but they rarely seem like the arduous task actually affects them(barring a few characters from LOTR). In this, I really felt the danger. The characters really were being hunted at every turn in one way or another. When someone suggested they stop and rest for a while, I mentally admonished that person because I knew it would pose an incredible threat to do that. At some point, the characters get separated, and one group stands out. They were basically hitchhiking, begging, and scraping by the whole time. I loved this section, especially due to the danger added to the already precarious situation.
Characters: Generally well done. People say Robert Jordan doesnt write good female characters. I see where this point comes from, and I agree to some extent, but mostly I think its wrong. For one, his female characters are a huge evolution from LOTR, which this book takes heavy inspiration from. This isnt even just because the female characters actually exist in the story either. RJ does a good job portraying women as powerful figures, definitely moreso than the men. They play a vital role and the main characters, who are males, could not have gotten absolutely anywhere without them. They would likely have died in their hometown. They are feisty, but I think this makes sense in the world. While women in RJs world hold more power than they did in the past of our world, they still deal with men looking down and patronizing them, and their way of speaking and opinions about men reflect that subjugation. Nynaeve and Egwene go off on Rand, Mat, and Perrin frequently, but its usually deserved and often because RMP were disrespecting them, or cutting then down. This doesnt say anything for Moiraine, either. She is kind of devoid of personality on the surface, but I think thats mostly due to her role in the story. For one, she fills the wise wizard mentor trope, and thus cant speak too much or really act very human. She also must remain calm and stoic for the sake of the quest. The other characters in the group are mostly young and naive, so the extreme circunstances scare them, and she has to stay chill to be able to lead them. Rand al'Thor is well-exexuted, if a little standard and underwhelming. I liked Perrin in his POV chapters, but outside of those he barely even does anything. Mat never has a POV, and neither does Lan(as far as I remember), but both are interesting/cool enough. Thom is great. The villain is very standard so far, but Im positive that he will get better as the series progresses. The rest of the characters are all well done and likeable/interesting.
Prose: I have also heard Rober Jordans prose being critized, and unlike the other point, I fully disagree. People say he spends long times describing things, and he does, but not really any longer than any other fantasy author. Certainly not longer than Tolkien. Plus, for some people, that is a crucial element of worldbuilding and immersion. For me, my mind tends to paint a picture from the very basic setting and not the finer details, so it is mostly pointless for me to really read the descriptions. It wasbt hard to just skim-read a paragraph or two every once in a while. Most of the non-action/dialogue writing was focused on characterization which I did like a lot, so I didnt feel like landscape descriptions were bad. Otherwise, RJ is a fantastic write. His style is reminiscent of Tolkien, but is also modern enough where reading it isnt an absolute chore.
Maybe I didnt come off super positive here, but I really enjoyed it. I usually have an end-of-book push where I shotgun read the last sections, and this was true to a much greater extent than usual. I had nearly 400 pages to read and I did it all within a day. I could not put it down. Read this book. If you like fantasy, and you havent read this, Pick It Up!
sutlifa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
hollipops's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
angeliki7's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
edori's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
farbrorevert's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
hollyn_middle's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
li_veiros's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed reading this book: the worldbuilding is cool and the characters are nice and all, but I kept wondering whether the author accomplished every single similarity by heart or did he have Tolkien's work on the side? My personal favorites are a) magic camouflage cloak; b) group of 9 people that go on an adventure, eventually getting separated into smaller groups and somehow the old paternal dude dies (but not really); c) this place under a "Shadow" where nature is corrupted, it's really hot, it smells bad and scary things live there. Sounds familiar. I could go on, but I think the fact that I noticed there was actually a kingdom called Andor on the map when I flipped the first pages, considering I kept reading anyway, means that there are enough positive aspects in this book for it to be worth my time.
johnbyers1500's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Walking wasa Legoe bay