Plot:
The story is hardly original and is practically one big chase. Trollocs and Myrddraal hunt the protagonists to capture Rand, Perrin, and Mat. At one point the group are separated; Rand, Mat, and Thom travel to Whitebridge while Mat battles the influence of Shadar Logoth; Egwene and Perrin meet Elyas Machera and are captured by the Children of the Light. Initially the story doesn’t really seem all that interesting and even with the Myrddraal attack if really isn’t original. However, the antagonists’ pursuit of the group does provide some intense and exciting twists. The climax is epic although somewhat lackluster although the buildup of Rand being the Dragon Reborn is obvious. Despite the simple premise the story continuously dives deeper and deeper and more complex as it progresses.
The characters are interesting, each rich with personality.
The main protagonists consist of Rand al’Thor, Perrin Albara, and Matrim “Mat”
Cauthon. These three come a long way since their departure from the Two Rivers.
Each does learn things about themselves, face their fears, and becomes
stronger. Perrin learns that he has this connection with wolves, Mat is nearly
overtaken by a curse in Shadar Logoth, and Rand learns that he is the chosen
one. Unfortunately, I must admit that these three are the most likable
characters and nearly everyone else in the group, aside from Thom the Gleeman,
are straight up assholes. They are either too serious or know-it-alls.
The women characters are douchebags who are way too harsh,
whether they’re right or wrong, do or say something stupid, they take every
opportunity they can to emasculate the men. Moiraine is an Aes Sedai tasked
with protection of the three. She is a big douchebag at first and seems like
one of the characters that think they have the answer to everything. Her cool,
calm demeanor is balanced by her Warder’s Al’Lan Mandragoran even more stoic
personality. Sometimes Lan can be frustrating because of his blind loyalty to
Moiraine and how he acquiesces to everything she says and does.
Ba’alzamon was a cool bad guy although a little cliche. And lastly,
three characters that appear in the final climax but don’t necessarily seem
like they “fit” into the story are the Green Man and the two antagonists, the
Forsaken Aginor and Balthamel, who just kind of show up at the end.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Production:
One of the most pronounced features that makes this novel so rich is the high level of detail. Jordan’s attention to detail is as good as it is bad. It does feel long-winded at times and a lot of the characters introduced don’t feel relevant (at least not immediately). The dialogue is pretty well written, even more so that the characters have their own unique style which reflects their personalities. It’s one of the better aspects of the story. One of my favorite lines is “Blood and bloody ashes” and “Burn you”.
A lot of attention to detail when it comes to the world
building. There are some moments where the content detracts from the main story
but because of the structure those are far and few between. Sometimes it can
become hard to keep track of what’s important because so much is going on. But
thumbs up to Jordan for a great focus of the characters and an interesting
world. Love the fact that the world isn’t split into black and white and that
most characters’ motivations are in the shades of grey.
Rating: 3 out of 5
The Verdict:
In the end, The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time Book 1) is a great read though it has its share of problems. Most of its problems are centered around overly descriptive writing, a lot of unlikable characters, and some choppy. However, the story is interesting, and the world rich with content, as well as good characters, detailed writing style, and good dialogue. The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time Book 1) gets 3 out of 5.
Comments
Post a Comment