Scan barcode
A review by queenoferebor
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
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.