The Eye of the World is a 1990 fantasy novel by Robert Jordan. It is about a group of young adults who must travel all the way across the map to save their world from destruction by The Dark One. Does that plot sound familiar? It should because it all started with J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and that plot has been slightly changed and reworked as the basis for many other novel series since the 1950s. Even though this book takes plenty of inspiration from Tolkien's saga, it is still different enough to warrant a read and a discussion.

More Than Just A Tolkien Knock-Off

Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series is huge! It encompasses 15 long novels as well as several short stories, and was written across 23 years by two authors. I love to read speculative fiction, and had long heard about how great this series was, but I had resisted reading it. Why? I'm not sure - maybe because I generally prefer science fiction over fantasy. Or maybe because I didn't want to read yet another homage to Tolkien. However, everybody I know that has read these books has absolutely loved them! I figured that must count for something, right? Anyway, I finally took the plunge and jumped into the first novel and guess what? I loved it too! Go figure. Now I'll have to read the remaining books - but if they are anything like this first one then that should be an easy task.

What's It About?

The Eye of the World starts in a far flung farming town, where three young men and two young women are just enjoying their lives. However, just before a big holiday the town is invaded by hordes of evil monsters that most people thought were not even real. Luckily a wandering sorceress and her beefy bodyguard figure out what is happening and shepherd the five young, beautiful and obnoxious people out of town. This is just the beginning as they are predictably pursued by the evil minions as they flee across the land and go from town to town all while trying to figure out exactly why they are being chased. Ultimately, thanks to some arcane knowledge and privacy-invading nightmares, they realize that the age-old Dark One thinks one of them is his reborn enemy. This all means that they must go to the ends of the earth, literally, to do battle and try and save the world.

I was truly surprised by how much I liked this book! If you are a fan of fantasy stories, or just good books in general, then I highly recommend that you give this one a try.  And I'm not the only one who really likes it either - a few years ago this book series was ranked #62 on PBS's Great American Read list.

My Rating:

• Story:  - Yes, the story is Tolkien-esque, but it is still a blast to read! I really enjoyed the characters, the dialogue, the fantasy elements, and all the adventures that happened to our little rag-a-muffin group of protagonists. The story comes to a satisfying conclusion and yet leaves open the possibility of further adventures.
• Writing:  - Gosh darn but Robert Jordan is a great writer! Anyone who can take a cliché fantasy story and make it both mesmerizing and exciting get kudos from me. This book was a page-turner, and I often stayed up later than usual just to read "one more chapter".

Where to find The Eye of the World:

• This book has been around for a long time, so try your local bookstore or library for a nice, non-electronic copy.
• You can get both physical and electronic versions of this book at Amazon.com.^†

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