From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Apr 23 14:51:30 2001 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!news.tele.dk!204.71.34.15!news-out.cwix.com!newsfeed.cwix.com!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail Sender: wex@deepspace.media.mit.edu From: "Iliana" Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Robert Jordan's _Eye of the World_ Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Organization: Brown University Date: 20 Apr 2001 12:22:46 -0400 Message-ID: X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.7/Emacs 20.4 Lines: 61 NNTP-Posting-Host: deepspace.media.mit.edu X-Trace: 987783770 senator-bedfellow.mit.edu 1922 18.85.23.65 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2838 Eye of the World, Robert Jordan Copyright (c) 2001 J. Lee Traditionalists and postmodernists alike will enjoy the epic vastness and crafty intrigue of The Wheel of Time. Jordan combines the classic ultimate battle between good and evil with intricate political maneuvering and cynicism. His packed narrative moves from moments of light humor to adrenaline-pumping climaxes. These books are a good read for anyone who likes thick, weighty prose with a lot of drama and action. The Wheel of Time world is medieval, with nations and organizations trading loyalties and building alliances in the days before Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle, in which the evil forces of the Dark will make their last attempt to conquer or be vanquished forever. There are the Aes Sedai, women who have for three thousand years claimed to stand as a lone flame of hope against the Dark. Pitted against them in political intrigue are the Asha' man, men of equal power who may save the world or destroy it. There are the warrior Aiel from the deserts of the Waste, the hardy Borderlanders who fight to keep at bay the evils of the Blight, the mysterious and terrifying Seanchan whose armies invade from the sea. Prophecies say that the Dragon, the man who defeated the Dark One in his last attempt to destroy the world, will come again to fight the Last Battle. Amid the chaotic pieces that form the nations who will -- and must -- rise to defeat the Dark, the fate of the world rests upon one Rand al'Thor, shepherd from Emond's Field, a tiny village in a forgotten district called the Two Rivers. Jordan follows his narrative through the experiences of good and evil characters alike. If there is any moral to be found in the confusion of this vast world, it is that men and women are fallible and unreliable creatures. Loyalties shift as fluidly as the wind. Leaders and followers fumble in the dark to make their plans, and none are enlightened -- the Dragon Reborn and the Dark One's most faithful servants least of all. Readers in search of drama and political intrigue will find no lack of either in Jordan's writing. The author, an American residing in South Carolina, spins a world so vast it is overwhelming. While reviews are unfailingly positive and sales reflect this, a fan of the series comments, "One complaint I have is that every man is an island in the books. That's a rather cynical way of looking at the world, and I don't think it's true." But in Jordan's defense, he is a realist, and his writing mirrors a certain turn-of-the-millennium angst. Those who don't like to be left hanging should take heed: the series is yet unfinished, and Jordan churns out a new volume about once every two years. Jordan originally signed a three-book contract with the publisher, but the series has expanded and neither the author nor the publisher have given a final count for the books. %T The Eye of the World %A Jordan, Robert %I Tor %C New York %D 1990 %O paperback %G ISBN 0812511816 %P 814pp Opinions and quotations included in this review were contributed by the Robert Jordan reader community at http://www.whitetower.org.uk/ .