"The Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan

For the past month, David has been reading aloud to me before we fall asleep. We really enjoyed reading the most recent Harry Potter book aloud together in July; so much so that we decided to take turns sharing our favorites books aloud together. Our one ground rule: we would read only those books that just one of us has already read.

Three weeks later, we just finished "The Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan, the first novel in the Wheel of Time series, a series that David has loved since he first encountered it in 1992. It took me several chapters to really get into the novel, but once we were halfway through it I was hooked! (Even so much that I had trouble falling asleep on occasion because I feared for the safety of its characters!) I loved guessing about what was going to happen next, arm wrestling David for information along the way, and his constant reassurance that, yes, they will all survive. He enjoyed sharing one of his favorite books and seeing me experience it for the first time.

The original plan for after finishing the book was that rather than jump to the next book in the series (which we have on CD and plan to listen to on long car trips), we would switch to one of my favorite novels that David hasn't read: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Together we have enjoyed the five hour BBC version and it's high time that David experience the authentic Jane Austen.

Of course, once we got to the end of "The Eye of the World," I had no interest in reading my favorite novel by my favorite author and instead wanted to read book two: "The Great Hunt." So, we started it on Monday. Go figure.

Learn more about Robert Jordan and the Wheel of Time.
Learn more about Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice.
Posted on: Sep 1, 2005 | filed under: Books | Comments (5) - about comments
Comments

I started Wheel of time way back when, but never finished it; the bulk of the series really outpaced its interest for me.

Posted by: Tim at September 2, 2005 10:06 PM

Ooh--Don't do it! Dispite the fact that the books are derivative to the point of being hackneyed, I, too, was hooked by the story. Aside from a few squinty moments, the first 5 or so books just breeze along. And then it all goes to shit. You're lucky to get a week's worth of story progression in 1000 pages in the last few books. All the characters have degenerated to just their annoying ticks, and if I have to read of Nynaeve tugging her fucking braid one more time, I'm going to rip it off myself. Frankly, I don't think Jordan has a clue where the plot is going, so he's just putzing along until inspiration hits again. Except inspiration hasn't hit in years and years now. Jumped the shark, big time.

I know you're probably already hooked, but I mean it when I say you'll do yourself a favor by quitting now while you're ahead.

George R.R. Martin's series is better, if you want an epic fantasy, though he's taken so long on the latest installment that I fear he's about to jump the shark, too. Or you could try the Tad Williams series that starts with "The Dragonbone Chair," which stuck to a reasonable 3 books (although one is really big), and stayed good all the way through. Or read the first three Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin, or the Amber books by Roger Zelazny.

Posted by: Nikki at September 3, 2005 08:50 PM

Thanks for the warning! Unfortunately, I think I am too hooked to stop at this point (just finished the second)… it does sound like I will get frustrated soon and, when I do get fed up, I betcha I will stop reading. I have little tolerance for annoyance while reading.

Thanks for the other suggestions! I’ve enjoyed authors such as J. K. Rowling, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula LeGuin, Philip Pullman, and Ray Bradbury… For the most part, however, the whole fantasy/science fiction genre feels new to me!

Posted by: Carrie at September 7, 2005 12:49 PM

Oh no, not you too! Saddly, I too was sucked in by RJ. I was a rabbid fan up untill the last 3 books. Like Tim said, they're for shit. I was literally yelling at the last book when I finished it. Why? becuase it's 800 pages, and NOTHING HAPPENS! I don't know how you can write that many words and still not actually DO anything. It's truely amazing.

Go read the Tad Williams books. He's amazing. I also like C.S. Friedman (The Cold Fire Trillogy, This Alien Shore, The Maddness Season). I even got Erika to read those and she really liked them.

Posted by: Andrew at September 8, 2005 04:59 PM

I forgot to mention it this afternoon, but another author you might like is Guy Gavriel Kay. I really liked his books, but it might be bacause I got to him when I was young and not jaded yet.

Posted by: miriam at September 18, 2005 09:39 PM