The Eye of The World, by Robert Jordan

Before I start this review, let me give you a piece of advice: don't read the blurb on the back of this book. It didn't completely ruin my reading experience, but it does give a spoiler that does not actually occur until the very last page of the book. So! Here’s a blurb that does not include that spoiler....

“The Eye of The World” is the first book in the “Wheel of Time” series, which is an epic high fantasy series of 14 books – yes, fourteen books. We start in a small village in Two Rivers where Moraine meets 3 young men who are being hunted by evil agents of the Shadow. She must guide them through lands of myth and legend to Tar Valon, where they will be safe.

And that is all you really need to know - the rest is best left untold until you discover it in your reading.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. If you haven’t read fantasy before, this would not be a good one to start with. The world is very complex, and Jordan does not take the time to explain it. When the story starts, it's like you’re expected to know all the terminology and the history of this world already. Thankfully there’s a glossary at the back, which I used extensively to understand what’s being referred to. But it does get easier as the book goes on.

Something worth noting about the glossary: it doesn't tell you anything that the characters do not already know or will be explained to them. For instance, “The Eye of The World” is not in the glossary; whilst one of the characters knows what it is, the rest do not. The glossary doesn’t spoil anything: when it’s revealed, you find out with the rest of the characters.

I did find that about midway through I started to struggle. The entire book is told in the third person, mainly from Rand's perspective. Around the middle, however, there is a narrative change, and after seeing so much from Rand's perspective, I really found it difficult to adapt to that change. Eventually I did appreciate it and found it actually gave me a more rounded out experience of what was happening.

One of my biggest "complaints" about this book is its similarities to “The Lord of the Rings” series. There is a journey, there is a magical person guiding a group of seemingly hapless people, there are even species similar to Orcs and Nazgul. However - Tolkien was the father of epic fantasy series and it's inevitable that high fantasy books written after “The Lord of The Rings” will have been influenced by them.

So, the big question is: Will I continue with this series? The answer is yes. I found this to be a real page turner, and the writing very accessible. I loved the cast of characters and I want to know what will happen to them. Despite similarities with “The Lord of Rings”, this series still has enough original storyline to keep me excited and invested.

- Jenny (@budgetbooklover)

Paperback, £9.99. Find it in the Sci-fi & Fantasy section!