The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1) (Wheel of Time, 1)

After I finished listening to all 42+ hours of Patrick Rothfuss's second epic fantasy book, Wise Man's Fear, I was in the mood for another long fantasy listen, so this classic by Robert Jordan fit the bill, even though its 30+ hours is short by comparison!

I had listened to the first chapter a while back and had a hard time paying attention to the "big fantasy" stuff going on, but once the story settled onto the main band of misfit characters, I was hooked. I particularly enjoyed the way Jordan characterized the horses, as it's clear he (or someone he knew) understood horse personalities.

I know I now have many more long listens ahead of me, but I'll probably space them out by a few months each. This is definitely straight up classic fantasy, which is a nice change of pace from the urban fantasy I tend to read more often.

I love this book! Rand is a great, reluctant hero. He is relatable and real. Jordan is part of a handful of fantasy authors who have changed the genre for all those who follow, contributing to the realm of what I call "realistic fantasy." The mythic is not as prevalent as the real, which takes the story and draws it in tighter, gripping the reader even tighter. There are still clear comparisons with Tolkien, a female Gandalf-like character, etc., but allows the reader to see inside what Tolkien shrouded in legend. Highly recommended!

Slow to start, but once we got to the last 200 pages or so I could not put the book down. There’s no mistaking how Jordan visualized the world.

Way, way better than the TV series. Am looking forward to the next installment.

Amazing opening to the series that introduced every character amazingly. I actually read and listened to the audiobook and it was even better the second time around.