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I remember the first time I had this book in my hands; the cover art looked as derivative and uninspired as every other fantasy title on the shelves, and it had the requisite quotes from other fantasy authors and book reviewers that always make me cringe. It was a present from my father to my brother, and he has never made a better gift-giving decision, because what made me discard my misgivings and plunge myself into the inviting depths of the Wheel of Time was the opening paragraph of the first chapter:

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Poetic and lyrical, that paragraph made one thing was absolutely clear in my mind: Robert Jordan was a writer, and a damn good one. He wasn't a hack, or a Tolkien wannabe, or a journeyman scribe in way over his head, but a writer who didn't just love fantasy, but understood it, understood the underlying themes and mythic powers that make up the greatest fantasy fiction. The Eye Of The World does an excellent job of setting up the foundation for all the complicated plotlines to follow, and readers who have already gone through the other books can pick up something on the second read that wasn't so obvious on the first read-through: Jordan already had the vast majority of the plot threads mapped out beforehand. We are introduced in the first two hundred pages to most of the important characters: Rand, Mat, Perrin, Moiraine, Lan, Egwene, Nynaeve, Thom, Min, and Padan Fain. By the end of the book, we'll have seen Logain from a distance; Elayne, Gawyn, and Galad from the perspective of a frightened Rand; Bayle Domon from the top of a mast. Can't forget Basel Gill and his inn, Loial and his books, Elaida and her forbidding demeanour, Morgase and her military advisor, Gareth Bryne, and so on, and so on... Jordan managed the incredible feat of working all these characters into the plot, which moves quickly enough, and is rarely confusing. There are some scenes that are written with the kind of cinematic touch that begs for a Hollywood treatment, and I'll lay a few on you now:

  • The Trolloc attack on the al'Thor farm
  • The escape from Shadar Logoth
  • The race to the stedding
  • The rescue of Perrin and Egwene from the Whitecloaks
  • Rand & Mat's escape from Four Kings

    Then there are scenes that resonate with character insight and fresh thinking, like Min's mysterious facade that she hides behind while talking to the boy she already knows she loves, and Egwene's bittersweet joy she feels while with the Tinkers, and Rand's naive wonder that charms an Ogier and the faithful reader. Jordan has been favourably compared to Stephen King, and I believe that is an essentially valid comparison, because both writers love their characters, and they love the endless details that go with them. Right from the start, Jordan's handling of Rand's character is sharp and nicely complete, and it's interesting to go back and read the first book just to see how much Rand has changed during the series. He also makes Moiraine a compelling and secretive figure with similarities to Tolkien's Gandalf, and in TEOTW, Jordan fools us into thinking that, like Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, Moiraine is the central magic-using figure in the fight against evil. I believe he does this more so that the reader will trust Moiraine sooner than they otherwise would, since if you took Moiraine's character at face value, you'd have to wonder what her agenda really was, especially when nearly every other character expresses their serious doubts about trusting Aes Sedai.

    Well, let's begin breaking down The Eye Of The World:

  • Plotting - When compared to the later books in the Wheel of Time series, TEOTW turns out to be fairly simple. The main plot thread, "The Good Guys Leave Their Homes To Find The Eye Of The World", splits into three after Shadar Logoth (Rand/Mat/Thom, Perrin/Egwene, Nynaeve/Moiraine/Lan), only to be joined back together in Caemlyn. Jordan handles the three threads fairly well, although his flashback technique with Rand and Mat on their way to Caemlyn was a little confusing. Until Shadar Logoth, the narrative followed Rand's point of view, and it was important for Jordan to start giving the reader some insights into other characters like Perrin and Nynaeve. In fact, the plot threads came together so neatly that I have to wonder if Jordan originally planned for TEOTW to be a stand-alone novel. Perhaps he did not expect to get the chance to write the rest of the books if TEOTW was not successful. It was a little strange how the journey developed to a certain point, and then once everybody was in Caemlyn, they took a shortcut to the Blight, and fifty pages later, the book was done. That seemed rather abrupt, but on the other hand, I don't see how else Jordan could have written it.

  • Characterization - Jordan's task in this first book was to give the reader at least one character they could identify with and root for. Instead, he gave us several, a remarkable achievement by any standard. By having three young men as potential heroes instead of just one, that gave Jordan room to move, playing with the possibilities of each character. Egwene was ill-defined at the start, but her time alone with Perrin gave her some needed focus; Lan was surprisingly talkative at the beginning (I think he has more lines in the first two hundred pages of TEOTW than in the rest of the series as a whole), but he was needed to explain some plot developments to the reader, so that's okay. Secondary characters like Elayne, Gawyn, Elyas Machera, and Tam al'Thor were all given enough detail to make the reader hungry for more, and as I've already said before, Moiraine's treatment was masterful.

  • Pacing - Like the wind that comes down from the mountains, picking up speed as it goes along, TEOTW's plotting starts off slow, and picks up speed once our heroes hit the road. There's a definite ebb and flow to the pacing, as with every good book - build up suspense, then release. The flight to Baerlon was quick and exciting, then the downtime in the large town so everybody can catch their breath. The chase in Shadar Logoth, then the more sedate aftermath. I found the pacing never lagged enough for me to notice, always picking up before things got boring.

  • Best Scene - Rand's accidental visit in Andor's Royal Palace. Jordan handles this scene with humour and suspense, and remembers to give this fish out of water enough dignity and presence to make the event memorable. Runner-up: Rand's battle with Aginor, and the voice that declaims "IT IS NOT HERE."

  • Best Quote - She pointed to the ruby-hilted dagger, careful not to let her finger touch it. The blade trembled as Mat strained to reach her with it. "This is from Shadar Logoth. There is not a pebble of that city that is not tainted and dangerous to bring outside the walls, and this is far more than a pebble. The evil that killed Shadar Logoth is in it, and in Mat, too, now. Suspicion and hatred so strong that even those closest are seen as enemies, rooted so deep in the bone that eventually the only thought left is to kill. By carrying the dagger beyond the walls of Shadar Logoth he freed it, this seed of it, from what bound it to that place. It will have waxed and waned in him, what he is in the heart of him fighting what the contagion of Mashadar sought to make him, but now the battle inside him is almost done, and he almost defeated. Soon, if it does not kill him first, he will spread that evil like a plague wherever he goes. Just as one scratch from that blade is enough to infect and destroy, so, soon, a few minutes with Mat will be just as deadly."

  • Most Screen Time - This refers to the character in the book that gets the most chapters from his or her point of view. (It's a lot quicker to say 'Most Screen Time') Obviously, this is Rand's book. We start and end with his POV, and even with the splitting of the plot threads, his thread with Mat is the one with the most prose dedicated to it. Of course, it doesn't take an observant reader long to figure out that Rand is probably the Dragon Reborn, and it's only fitting that he hogs the spotlight as much as he does.

  • Overall - The Eye of the World is a terrific read. Jordan rarely steps wrong, and it's an excellent book for new fans to get started with. We meet most of the central characters in the series in a nicely economical fashion, and the familiarity of the first third of the book helps to ease the reader into the story. The climax is fairly satisfying, and yet Jordan maintains enough of a mystery about the ending that you're left with little choice but to read the next volume in the series. 4.5 out of 5 angreals.

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