225 Book Reviews
Book Reviews in 225 Words
Just the naked and unashamed truth
(Genesis 2.25).
Book One: The Wheel of Time
Robert Jordan
Tor Fantasy
657 pages
In 1996, I began a 14 year journey that is as fresh as ever. It began with a tattered paperback copy. It morphed into an deep appreciation which continues today.
I’ve read this book more than five times. This review is as much a reflection of that as it is for the fact that this book opens up a series that is over 13 books long. As such, this review is merely “a beginning.” The Eye of the World is a Tolkien-esque introduction to a world that surpasses most fantasy writers. He rivals Tolkien in story-telling and surpasses him in writing.
This book, nodding to its traditional fantasy roots, is a coming of age story of three village boys who have been destined for greater things that tending sheep, apprenticing as a blacksmith, or skirting from prank to prank. For one of these young men, he is the Dragon Reborn—the prophesied one who is the world’s last chance against the Dark One. Jordan is a master world-builder. He crafts compelling characters and exotic cultures that the reader longs to journey to again and again.
4 out of 5 stars.
