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tieflingmom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Blood, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, Death, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Gaslighting, Classism, Child death, Genocide, Grief, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, War, and Gore
kiala's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, War, and Torture
Moderate: Kidnapping, Gore, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Animal cruelty, and Body horror
mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Writing: 3.75⭐️/5
This is a 1600-page first novel of a fourteen-book-plus-a-sequel series. Sometimes, the writing is nearly outstanding. At other times, it feels redundant and repetitive. It’s like a love-like-don’t-like smoothie of writing. Overall, it’s adequate, bordering on good. I applaud Jordan’s ability to work within Tolkien’s conventions, nearly calling him into the novel without actually doing that. As a Tolkien fan, I appreciate the nods to Lord of the Rings you can see here and there as well. These incredibly cute Easter Eggs were appreciated.
Characters: 4.5⭐️/5
I like the characters, and I like that – as far as this one goes – they do feel relatively different. I could feel the intention Jordan put into his characters, even minor ones, even near-NPC ones. I felt deeply that if he’d had the time or the desire, he could have written a whole tale on each of the people the crew meets along their journey with ease. Despite relying on a few sexist and/or misogynistic tropes to propel attributes of his female characters, Jordan also created compelling women. Moraine, Nynaeve, and Egwene are all wonderful to read about and have in this tale.
Plot: 4⭐️/5
Think Lord of the Rings, but not. We have a chosen group – an unlikely band of heroes – who embark on adventure after a party goes wrong, compelled to chase after the Dark One, a presence threatening the entire world. It’s a sweater made from LOTR material, but it fits differently. The complexity of the world is just as thought out as LOTR, branching into its own tale in the details. A few qualms I had with the plot: the predictability of the Chosen One made me hope Jordan was going to “pull one over on me” (he didn’t) and the final battle felt a bit odd in pacing. Also, the reliance on “the Pattern” or “the Wheel” felt far too convenient, almost pulling at the threads of our story and unravelling it into a bundle of “so what?” When everything is dictated by the Pattern, then what’s the point of the story?
All in all, I enjoyed reading it, and I am excited to start book two.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Fans of LOTR
- Fans of lengthy high-fantasy novels
- Fans of Sanderson, who don’t mind a bit more exposition in their worldbuilding
- Someone without commitment issues (fourteen books and a prequel require commitment)
Content Warnings?
- War, blood, injury, injury detail, gaslighting, gore, murder, sexism, misogyny, grief,
Post-Reading Rating: 4⭐️/5
Let’s start book two!
Final Rating: 4⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Violence, War, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Vomit, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Stalking, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
shamciar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Leaving my old review below. But I am removing my current rating due to DNFing the franchise due to (mostly) everything surrounding the Seanchan.
I really enjoyed the subversion of the call-to-adventure of the Hero's Journey. Great cast of characters. While some things felt either dragged on or extremely coincidental, I loved how things came together at the end of the book.
I really enjoyed the subversion of the call-to-adventure of the Hero's Journey. Great cast of characters. While some things felt either dragged on or extremely coincidental, I loved how things came together at the end of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexism
wogslandwriter's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is a classic for a reason. This was my second time reading it, after watching the new TV show and it holds up relatively well. It is very slow at the beginning and the focus Robert Jordan puts on the divide between men and women is extremely stilted and old fashioned. However, the exciting story, rich characters, and deep world building shines through it all. It would not be published in it's current form in modern day, but it is a good story for modern audiences all the same.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Gore, Death, Genocide, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Vomit
Minor: Cursing, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Excrement
It is a relatively violent fantasy book that does not stray away from the harsh details of a battle and death. However there is no sexual violence or even discussion of it. However, it is not Game of Thrones level gory and violent. I would rate it around a PG-13 for most people.therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
If you love epic fantasy like Lord of the Rings or The Sword of Shannara, you'll probably enjoy this book. It took about 400 pages for this book to start developing its own personality, or for the characters to stop being quite as flat. The girl never stopped being flat, though. Overall, not a bad book but it just didn't stand out to me.
📘The Gist 📘: Several young men and a young woman from a rural town follow the advice of a woman they're all inexplicably afraid of to leave their village after it is attacked by creatures of legend. They then travel for a long time trying to avoid notice.
📒Representation📒: three female main characters (but they're all pretty flat)
💕 For readers looking for 💕: A hero's journey fantasy, an 800+ page book, books like Lord of the Rings and Sword of Shannara
📘The Gist 📘: Several young men and a young woman from a rural town follow the advice of a woman they're all inexplicably afraid of to leave their village after it is attacked by creatures of legend. They then travel for a long time trying to avoid notice.
📒Representation📒: three female main characters (but they're all pretty flat)
💕 For readers looking for 💕: A hero's journey fantasy, an 800+ page book, books like Lord of the Rings and Sword of Shannara
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, Body horror, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Xenophobia, Physical abuse, and Confinement
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