After ecstatically speed-reading the first few books in the Wheel of Time series, I have found myself increasingly disappointed with the latest novels in Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy saga. Every new part of the series have been excessively drawn out and lacking much of the substance that made literature critics hail Jordan as the next Tolkien after the first novels. Now, after he’s passed away we will never know exactly what Robert Jordan had in mind for the concluding parts of the series, but part 12 of Wheel of Time is finished and scheduled for release by year’s end.
Anyway, to remind myself why The Wheel of Time used to be brilliant, I had to track back to the first novel , The Eye of the World, and reread it to recapture the introduction to The Wheel of Time world. The first novel in the series is without a doubt a great read from cover to cover, introducing the cast of a handful of instantly identifiable characters including of course the protagonist Rand al’Thor (who is mysteriously absent in the latest novels).
In this book, though, you really get to know and like Rand, as he’s still far from the Messiah character that he’ll eventually become. Instead, he’s entirely human and caught by a sudden attack of Trollocs that he has to evade with the help of a mysterious, magic-wielding Aes Sedai. Matt, Perrin and the others are also masterfully depicted and feel very human throughout The Eye of the World novel.
On the other hand, the best part about the first novel is the constant page-turner experience that so many recent fantasy novels fail to achieve. From page one, Jordan manages to catch and hold on to the reader right until the final chapter is over and done with, and you’re back at the book store looking for the next one in the series.
I still wouldn’t hesitate recommending The Wheel of Time series to new readers, but i would also recommend that they stay away from the latest novels in the series because they suck, plain and simple. Also, at this time it doesn’t feel all that important to endure these newer in-between books as there’s no way of knowing if we will ever see a conclusion to the series.
Get it from Amazon.com, Amazon UK
Tags: Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time