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The Eye of the World by: Robert Jordan (review)

Book review

By Nathan CharlesPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Cons:

1. Loooooooooong. And I don't just mean on the size of the book. You can see how long the book is going to be by how thick it is, but there were moments in The Eye of the World where I was praying for something to happen that would keep me interested to keep going forward. Trust me, length of books are not a problem, I read the Stormlight Archive by: Brandon Sanderson. But length, for me, has EVERYTHING to do with keeping me interested. Keeping me wanting to read more or continue. This book lost me a few times. A few too many times in that it took me a year to finish this book. Truth be told, I've tried reading this book twice and listened to the audiobook once. I had to read it twice because the first time, I stopped halfway through and to much time had passed before I picked it up again, so I decided to start over. This second time, I read about three quarters of it and then spent nearly 9 months before I picked it up again -- and FINALLY finished it.

2. The entire story wraps up in basically two chapters. I agree that in order for epic endings to be "epic" you need to have build up. But there were too many spaces of zero plot movement for the ending to really pack a punch for me. Or perhaps it's because I took so long in between reads that perhaps I lost all the hype when I picked it back up.

3. The concept of the wolfbrother wasn't explored too much. I'm sure it will be expanded upon as the series goes on, but I was sad that we didn't get a little bit more information. Or see the wolfbrother abilities in a true battle. At least he has cool yellow eyes!

4. I realize that the Wheel of Time is an "older" fantasy book, but I'm bored of the medieval or renaissance era fantasy stories. I'm also sad by how boring the journey trope was in this story. I know this is unpopular opinion, but it reminds me of the Lord of the Rings. I just hate endless journeys where it just doesn't seem like things move the plot forward. Like the characters didn't learn their abilities and grow in those abilities -- we hardly even met new monsters or cultures. But I can tell you what type of ale or wine each town specializes in...!

Pros:

1. I know that elemental magic is over-done in the fantasy genre, but I LOVE elemental magic.

2. The ending was VERY satisfying. It had one of those horror movie endings where there is this ominous feeling that it's not really over. I liked that. Plus, the final "battle" was pretty cool, though I feel like I didn't know enough about the magic system to truly grasp what I was seeing happen.

3. Girls Rule the World! In this universe there is something called the One Power. This power works differently for women than it does for men. Also, the men's side is "tainted" with darkness. Men ruin everything (our current world is proof). But anyway, I think it's awesome that women are literally responsible for this great power, the knowledge of it, and responsible for making sure no men ruin the world with their version of the power.

4. I LOVE stories about people who bond or commune with animals. The concept of the wolfbrother is awesome! Literally this concept alone was enough for me to string myself along to read more.

FINAL SCORE: 3/5

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About the Creator

Nathan Charles

Enjoy writing sci fi, fantasy, lgbtq fiction, poetry, and memoirs!

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