Swords, magic, quests and the epic battle of good versus evil. Oh yes, The Eye of the World makes no attempt to disguise the classic elements of epic fantasy.

“You get the adventure you’re always prating about, and already you’re talking about home.”

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The very first volume in the fourteen book series The Wheel of Time, The Eye of the World enthralled readers and created a fan base so powerful, they were able to nominate the entire series for the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Why is this on our bookshelf?

Fantasy has been a staple of my bookshelf since I was in early middle school. In high school, someone handed me the Eye of the World, but for some reason, I was never motivated to read much further than the first chapter.

Perhaps I was simply too attached to my epic fantasy series of choice, The Belgariad and The Mallorean  by David Eddings. Those also had the added bonus of being completed series.

Whatever the reason, when the entire-freaking-series was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, it brought it back into my world. I can’t say I think much of the nomination which feels like it exploits a loophole, but it did give me the great chance to start this famous fantasy series.

 

Rating (4 stars)

This is textbook epic fantasy: quest, magic, swords, good vs. evil. This is not really a bad thing, obviously people like epic fantasy (including me).

To be honest, I couldn’t read this without wondering what it was that made this series such a phenomenon. I mean, it was a good adventure story, and I enjoyed it, but I never did find anything that made it feel like a best-selling series.

Perhaps that only comes in later books. Regardless, I did enjoy it, and although I didn’t run out to read the next book, I’ll probably pick it up the next time I need a entertaining series that will last me a little while.