Cover image for The eye of the worldThe Eye of the World: Wheel of Time Book 1 by Robert Jordan (audio-book)

Reviewed by: Sarah Baker, Circulation

Genre: Fantasy

Suggested Age: Teens, Adults

What is the book about?: Rand, Mat and Perrin are being hunted by the Dark One.  Trollocs and fades attack in their village on Winternight, and the mysterious Lady Moiraine and her companion Lan save them.  Now they travel to Tar Valon, the home of the Aes Sedai, where they might be safe from The Dark One and his servants.  But it is a long journey, and every day new dangers rear their heads.  Will they make it to safety?

My Review: After the announcement in April that the Wheel of Time would be getting a Game of Thrones-style TV series, I decided to try re-reading this fantasy epic.  I tried several years ago, and gave up after book 5.  But this time, it was much easier to get into the story.  The beginning of this book is a bit of a slog – the prologue is incredibly confusing (and seemingly unrelated to everything that follows), and the main story doesn’t really get moving until about chapter 5.  Once the events of Winternight take place, the story begins to move along at a good pace.  There is a lot of plot to follow, and a lot of characters to remember.  Our “main cast” has 8 people, and their travels introduce us to many more, as well as many different factions that use many different names.  

At 25 discs, this audiobook is no small undertaking, but it somehow made it easier for me to follow along than trying to read.  The two readers, Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, really bring the emotions and action to life, giving each character a distinct voice.  It also helped to hear the names of people and places instead of trying to figure out what they are supposed to sound like.  When you’re dealing with multiple languages, not to mention the old languages, having someone else say it really helps!  It also cut down on the visual confusion that fantasy language can sometimes cause.  All in all, I would recommend the audio version of this series.  

Rating: 4/5

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About FDL Reads

FDL ReadsWelcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.  Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available.  If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently.  We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!