A review by alexandrian_arxhives
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Listen, I definitely know that this series is intimidating because of the whole “oh my gosh, there are literally 14 books and each one is like over 500 pages, Ahhh”.  But hey, Lord of the Rings is also slightly intimidating and there are only 3 books. I think it comes down to how much the story captures your interest and attention as well as the time you can set aside to read the 3 (or 14) books and other factors. I am listening to The Hobbit audiobook (which is fantastic and I have almost finished it) but then again, there is a difference between The Hobbit being literally a Middle Grade and Lord of the Rings being adult fantasy (with a more descriptive and…dense, for lack of better word, writing style that takes quite a bit to get into. From personal experience).

Either way, let’s get onto the review for the book and leave Tolkien and the World of Middle-Earth for another post :)

First off, a lot of plot points are probably very reminiscent of LOTR and The Hobbit. We follow ordinary characters (farmers and shepherds specifically) named Rand, Matt and Perrin (a.k.a my fave so far)  who live in a very detached place called The Two Rivers (very reminiscent of The Shire) and inevitably get attacked after a celebration (Bel Tine for EoTW and Bilbo’s birthday party for LOTR). There are other aspects (keep in mind that the LOTR aspects I am taking from the generally known plot as well as from the movies. Horrible I know but I will read LOTR one day, hopefully) that I will not get into because I don’t want to put out spoilers but I highly recommend trying out Eye of the World if Fellowship of the Ring seems intimidating. 

Continuing on…

Second off, the world-building. One thing that is so, so great about this book is the glossary! Honestly, all big fantasy books need glossaries, especially if they use made-up words. Seriously. I would be reading, see a word and be confused then go to the glossary at the back and bam! word has been found and I could continue with the story. The good thing is that the glossary does not spoil any part of the book which is always nice. I do, however, have to hold myself back from searching characters up on Google in fear of spoilers because I truly do want to continue reading the series knowing the littlest amount of information possible. I really like how much importance women are given and how they are the powerful beings rather than men which isn’t something I really expected since so many powerful, magical characters are often men (an example being Gandalf. I do realize Galadriel is incredibly powerful as well but she is outnumbered by the likes of Elrond, Saruman and Gandalf.)

Third off, the characters! My favourite, as I have finished the first book is definitely Perrin. I am also a huge fan of Rand (as most farmer girls are apparently because I do live…around farms and honestly, if I were to say what the Amazon show did right, I would say it was the casting of Rand al’Thor that they did right. But then again, I can’t form much of an opinion because I did only watch like the first 20 min of the show. MOVING on). I am genuinely feeling quite neutral about Nynaeve and Egwene. At first I didn’t really like Nynaeve but liked Egwene but now I just feel more neutral about them both. I can see that they’re definitely good characters and there is definitely room for more character development! I am really excited to get to the second book (not to mention the other 12 after…what a fun adventure THAT is going to be)

Well, this was a really fun read, much to my pleasant surprise and of course, my first 5 star of the year!