THE EYE OF THE WORLD REVIEW // an unpopular opinion
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Here is my spoiler-free review of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. Let the wrath of the viewers begin!
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Awe what a bummer. Your opinions are completely valid my dear. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel bad for not continuing something you don’t enjoy. I have the opposite feelings about this book, but not all books are for everyone. It was interesting to hear a different perspective. 🤍
Yes I remember seeing your review and getting so excited to read it! I’m very bummed! ☹️ but there are sooo many other series out there I’m excited to gush over and get to as well! 😄
Thank god I’m not the only one. I basically feel the exact same way. Plus the conflict between female and male are just annoying to me.
Right? I thought I was crazy for not liking this book but a lot of people here have been validating that opinion for me so I don’t feel quite as bad now haha 😊
You're not alone. My attention wandered a fair bit too, and here's why.
Jordan's prose is kind of... DnD. Like, Rand will walk into a room and describe what he sees, down to the ornaments decorating the mantel above the gilt-edged, mahogany-panelled fireplace, in which a pile of logs blazed to the height of a man's chest, spilling flickering orange light across a carpet of the finest claret silk, atop which sat a table and six chairs, each carved decoratively in the shape of yadda yadda blaghrr.
Most writers these days would probably leave it at: 'The room was warm. Right now, that was all Rand cared about.'
Anyone want to disagree?
You nailed it. Couldn't agree more!
All the glowing reviews were starting to make me think I was just doing it wrong so I'm glad someone else shares some of my opinions
I'm glad I'm not alone either haha. :)
I agree wholeheartedly. I'll forgive that Jordan deliberately copycats LOTR in this book, but not much else. The writing is clean but lacks eloquence. The characters are largely stock, bland, and lack originality. They don't stir my emotions. I don't care about them, I don't adore the leads, don't hate the antagonists. I feel nothing about them, which is a scathing indictment of the book. If say, Mat or even Rand were killed off, would I care? No. Now compare that to dozens of the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire whose loss kept me up at night, stunned and chagrined.
I have started the second book merely because Covid quarantine affords me the chance to give it a shot. I hope that it will be an improvement, but I doubt it. TEOTW is boring, the characters are uninteresting, and the plot is pure thievery. I thought the magic system might at least prove intriguing , but even that falls flat.
I am so glad I’m not alone in not enjoying the characters! Oh my goodness, yes, totally agree about ASOIAF! Some of the best character work I’ve ever seen is in that series!
He isn't a copycat...he took inspiration in the beginning :)
For you: "The characters are largely stock, bland, and lack originality. They don't stir my emotions." And that's perfectly fine. You are allowed to dislike a book. But there are tens of millions of people out there who think WOT has some of the best characters in fantasy. But it's all down to taste. I've read ASOIAF and enjoyed it but I've never gone back for a reread like I do umpteen times for WOT. Just a matter of taste
Even though I did love the book, your opinions are valid and make perfect sense. The first book is VERY heavily LOTR. I will be reading the 2nd book in April so I will let you know how it changes. It took me about half of the book to REALLY get into it, but the ending is what I loved the most. I do like having a very clear picture of creatures and characters, so that may be why I like it. I honestly look up photos/fan art sometimes when I feel like there isn't enough character physicality.
That’s a great idea to look up fan art!! I may need to do that in the future since I have such a hard time visualizing things in my own head!
@@JessieMaeBooks it helps me SO much sometimes.
lolz I totally relate to everything you've said! except that I am going to move on with the series
If u happen to return to WoT... what I do with it is read REALLY FAST through the boring history lessons, counting on videos and friends to help me catch up with important stuff
question! Now that this book a show, will you consider rereading or continuing on with the series?
I actually only watched the first couple of episodes of the show and then lost interest so I probably won’t reread or continue 😩
Fantastic review! way more interesting than the thousands of other reviews where people spit at you the same praising sentences about this book, makes me wonder if they really think those statements.. Your review is more detailed! I'm still intrigued by this series tho because I love a good worldbuilding like Tolkien did, the Way of Kings is not satisfying me at the moment ( 1/3 through)
This book bored me to tears. Then again I tend to love hardcore sword and sorcery and grimdark, so I might not have been the right audience 😅
That is an understandable reaction, RJ is very description heavy. But my suggestion would be to continue till at least book 4, ideally book 6, before giving up. I love LOTR and ASOIAF too, but the world building and storytelling in WOT blew my mind. Its the most interesting world IMO, but it takes time to come alive. In terms of characters, for eg, Mat is annoying in the first 2 books, but by the end (for me at least) he is the best fantasy character ever written. I'm now on my 3rd reread, and its still so interesting!
The first book is---hard to understand really. It is probably one of the weakest in the series. I think Jordan's problem is that he doesn't explain enough about the stuff that matters and says so much about stuff that doesn't. I had to watch youtube videos to really understand what was going on. It does get better (and weirdly worse), but Jordan will always be repetitive and ridiculous with his descriptions of clothing styles and the appearance of certain buildings. Jordan wanted his readers to full visualize the world, and I think if you can't do that--then this series is definitely not for you. I was glad I finished but it took me four years because some books were hard to push through (Looking at you Books 8-10!) and the series is so long and I wanted to read other things. It will be interesting to see what the WoT show does with this difficult LoTR inspired beginning.
The problem with his descriptions is, they're of buildings and objects that are generic. My favorite example is when he describes every part of a suit of armor hanging on the wall. Not only does this armor not play a role in the plot (at least in this book), there is nothing distinctive about it. His descriptions of various inns could have been replaced by "imagine a typical inn in a typical medieval setting. It was like that."
Book 1 Rands is indeed bland, that's like his entire job. The Pattern is going to mold him into the BogDamnHero who can Kill the Devil in the next 13 books. The other boys are very 19. Incidentally, one of my first clues that you really weren't into the series is that it took you until 9:03 to start talking about a woman. Jordan was quite feminist, and in 1990 there were very few female characters in fantasy who did anything, so he made a real effort to give half the interesting stories to women.
beginning
As for the angstyness, the story he's telling is a story of 17 year old girls and 19 year olds who have been chosen by fate to save the world. There will be much more angst than in Tolkien's work, because everyone in Tolkienland is a grown man (except the grown woman under cover). The mysterious ending is also part of this: 19-year-old Rand has no idea what's going on and he's Point-of-View character. Other endings are great (Jordan could write the hell out of an action scene) and much more comprehensible.
You can’t control what appeals to you personally. Your opinions and conclusions are every bit as valid as everyone else’s.
I personally love how Robert Jordan describes details, and I’m one of those slow readers who likes to visualize scenes and characters’ looks, clothes, etc.
I enjoyed your review, though!
Happy reading!
Aw, I'm sorry you didn't connect with the book! I actually just read Eye of the World for the first time and I loved it. Everybody has their own opinions and books they like or dislike, so don't feel bad for dropping the series, that's perfectly ok! Spend your time reading things that you love.
I’m so glad you loved it! I appreciate that 😄
Thank you for always being so organized and hardworking on your reviews. Ok! So tell me if I am right (I am reading between the lines of what you have said here): you had no reason to connect to the info and history because there was no warmth, charm, fun, or wit. These things are the basic human things that are needed to connect with someone, as well as them being smart and strong. WOT was smart and strong but.... where are the other things to make us care. Books and stories are like people. And we have to have a reason to care about all the details and the histories of their souls. That is nearly impossible to do if they seem SOULLESS.
These soul-things weren't in the characters: they weren't funny, or charming, or warming. They never said or did something that made you laugh or cry.
These soul-things weren't in the plot: nothing happened early on that made you feel something.
Finally, these soul-things weren't in the world building: The world and and its history had no immense beauty or terrible ugliness (in LOTR the description has a pay off--BEAUTY, PAIN, MAJESTY, GRANDEUR. The world itself has the spirit of a character!).
I imagine that these things are the reason that I could trudge through, then come to love, the descriptions in LOTR but not WOT--I had a human reason TO CARE! lol Again, is this the same for you?
You are spot on there! Such a great point and couldn’t agree more! Thank you for such a well thought out comment!
same feelings. I didn't like anybody in the book except maybe moiraine. rand mat and perrin could've been eaten by trollocs and I wouldn't feel a thing. I would even like it thinking finally something interesting happened
I was having a really hard time getting into this series, and tbh I DNF'ed it. The thing about history lesson worldbuilding is that sure, it would provide some deeper lore analysis for those who are already liking the series, but for those who are trying to get into it is such a big time downer
Yeah the history lessons for me just didn’t work, but I do know a lot of fantasy fans love that stuff! Personal preference for sure 🤷🏻♀️
Honestly I thought I would not like this book because of all the reasons you talk about here. Somehow while reading the eye of the world, I had so much fun. I think there is a weird phenomenon with this book. On paper I should not like this, but I find myself enjoying the history stories. Even reading through gleeman practice (trying not to spoil anything here) I found to be stressfully entertaining. Honesty is also awesome. Thanks.
I’m so glad you had fun with it!!! I wish I had gotten into it!
Is it adult fantasy? I felt differently
I am on book 4 of this series and I will say that the first book is the weakest for me so far. The characters don’t have enough depth and there is a ton of world building at the expense of plot. It’s a slow burn for sure, in terms of characters and plot.
Thanx for your honest opinion, every opinion is subjective, but you've argumented it thoroughly and I enjoyed your opinion, and popularity is overrated if you lose honesty. I've read all the series, it took me a year approximately, I wanted to drop it a lot of times, don't sure why I didn't, maybe being stubborn (I don't like not to finish books), maybe some optimism that it will get better.
Well, you've listed all the flows, endless descriptions that look like fillers that don't add nothing, bland and flat heroes, that can be described with one, maximum two qualities/words, endless journeys to endless places, when all of a sudden comes swift catarsis, that feels like author got tired of this book or filled his limit of pages! Some books are better than others, last three (written finally by Sanderson) are less discriptive and more action packed, but I can't get rid of the feeling that it could be decent 3-4 books with all story, without losing much info. Don't feel bad about your opinion, it happened to me a lot of times, when book was praised by others/majority/bestseller and didn't worked for me!
It’s really interesting to hear your opinion since you’ve read the whole series! It makes me feel a better about not continuing on with it since it sounds like it’s just not my cup of tea from your description of it! I love Sanderson’s writing style and since he finished the series, I thought that Jordan’s style would be similar but they definitely have very different styles of storytelling! Thanks for the comment and the perspective! 😊
@@JessieMaeBooks You're welcome, highly enjoyed your videos! Subsequent books of the series are more of the same for me, so I think who liked the first one will love the series and vise versa! Be well!
I have almost finished the first book and I hate it. Here are the problems I see:
1) A group of inept teens leaving their town for the first time is boring. Tolkien makes it work with his hobbits because they actually do things. Rand and his friends are just wandering about like idiots.
2) The plot is not interesting. The dark lord wants Rand and his friends? Is that it?
3) Technically Jordan is excellent at viewpoints and descriptions but he just doesn't know when to stop. He enjoys descriptions so much that the resulting story has no urgency and a very slow pace.
4) I am so tired of his descriptions of character's facial expressions. Enough man! Get on with the story stop telling me about Perrin's grin or Mat's frown. Just tell the story without everyone's face getting in the way!
5) The dreams are so boring to read and they go on for far too long.
The result is that I feel I am reading a very childish book. It feels like it's been written for 12 year olds rather than adults. Game of Thrones on the other hand is magnificent. Martin really knows how to develop characters, build his world, provide exposition and interesting descriptions without compromising the pace of the story.
I thought the book was woefully derivative and plodding. As early as chapter 9, which opened with a five page dream sequence, I knew the book needed some serious editing. He could've told the same story in half the word count. But even then, there's nothing original about the story. I think it's a very overrated book.
I’m glad I’m not alone in my feelings haha 😊
I got the first three books in a box set for christmas, as of now Ive only read the first one as well and really didnt enjoy it either, the main characters were really bland and the lore felt so irrelevant, because most of it didnt impact the story in any way. Im reading A song of Ice and Fire at the moment, and the amount of stuff that happens in its first book is incredible, while WoT feels like one long walk, and the ending felt incredibly sudden and unsatisfying to me.
It is such a relief to hear someone agree 😂 yes!!! ASOIAF is so packed full of so much story and it truly felt like nothing happened in this book! Such a good point!
But well, I have book 2+3 as well, and the second one is apparently one of the best of the series, so maybe my opinion will change. It started off great, with a much more interesting villainous character than any of the first book being introduced in the prologue :)
Good to know 😉
This is one of those series where everyone keeps banging on about how great the magic system is,yet the story itself contains so many annoying tropes in it that I just want absolutely nothing to do with it,like for fucks sake there's a love quartet surrounding the main character and everything in there. I wish someone published a book that was basically nothing but the explanation of the magic system,because as someone who invites his own fantasy worlds for roleplaying games that could be really useful for me.
How are descriptions a bad thing?
I totally get your points. I started the series last year and I did not like the first book very much.
The charakters start very blant and they are developing very slowly! I remember how I hated Nyneave at first.
What I also don't like are the relationships between charakters espacially romances. I am not sure if any relationship has been formed in book one yet, but I hate every romance (but one)!
Nevertheless I am on book 9 now and I am glad that I pushed through. I really love most of the characters. The world and the history that is so confusing at the beginning has developed into one of the richest fantasy worlds I have seen. The series has still its problems and the discriptions and the slow progress are really painful sometimes and sometimes it feels even like hard work to read, but the reward is quite high and I haven't even finished the series.
This book was so bland, I have no idea how it became a successful series. The the character that I liked the most was the gleeman and he disappeared midway through the book. The ending was very anticlimactic in my opinion. This guy writes over a million words but can’t write a decent ending. The ending felt very ex-machina. I think he started very strong but went down hill from there very fast. Redding this felt like a chore.
aw pity you didn't enjoy it and your opinion is valid, it's just not for everyone. I have a friend who has the same issue with imagining something based on descriptions. Hopefully you'll like the tv show
Yes I’m really hoping I love the show! 😄
Depth comes after the first book. Mat is one of my favorite character in whole fantasy. Do not know how to say this in english but I often thought I would punch Rand, he is often difficult ;) As we say here, taste and colors are subjets that should not be discussed. I personnaly read full wot 3 times (yes, sure you can not believe it) but read lotr twice and never could finisih it, i found it soooo boring even though I was in total admiration of the work of Tolkien.
I loved Eye of the World! Great book and great series! :)
I’m so glad you loved it! I’m going to try it again on audio next time and see if that helps me connect to it better 😊
Valid disagreement, I do recommend listening to it on audio for those that have a similar reading taste.
That’s actually a great idea. I really wanna love this series so I may need to try reading it again and I think audio may be a great way to go! 👍🏻
Excellent review, very well thought out points you've made, very impressive, I was thinking about reading this book and now I know what to expect, may I know if you have A Game of thrones book review? I'd love to see it, I watched the show it's been long time but never read any book but thinking about reading the books now
Thank you so much! Unfortunately I read the whole ASOIAF series prior to starting my booktube channel so don’t have reviews for any of those books! If I ever reread them though (maybe once the next book is finally announced) I’ll do some reviews! I highly recommend those books though!
@@JessieMaeBooks Well then it could take years by the time George announce his next book, if at all it comes out :)
Anyway I really enjoyed WOT video though
Such a pity you didn't love this book. I am reading The Eye of the World and I do really like it. But I do understand where you are coming from. I had the same thing with The Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. I just posted a review about that and was very nervous aswell, because it is such a beloved series. But I didn't love it at all.
Yeah it’s so subjective! Because I know objectively Wheel of Time is a great series, but it’s interesting how we can all have such different experiences reading these books 🤷🏻♀️ I’m so glad you’re liking it though!! 😄
Ohh I had the same exact experience with Jonathan strange and Mr. Norrell. It was very wordy but I literally was falling sleep every time I was reading it Jajaja. Well is good that you know why you did not like it, you learned something about yourself as a reader. I will be reading WOT soon, good to know your experience.
Yes it was definitely an eye-opening experience haha and yeah I don’t think I’ll ever get around to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell because of that reason you mentioned! I don’t think it would be for me! 🤷🏻♀️
what is dnf'ing?
did not finish
I’m with you I didn’t like this book and won’t be continuing the series either.
Glad I’m not alone! ☺️
I feel sad that you didn’t like it. However, I had the same situation with LotR. I hated the book until I saw the movie. Then I went back and read the book and loved it. I love Wheel of time though.
I’m hoping that’s what happens with me and Wheel of Time! Hopefully the TV show just makes something click! I’m also sad I didn’t like it. ☹️
I just finished the 4th book and so far, I’ve enjoyed all of them up til now. Some books are better paced than others.
I don’t really agree with the argument that Jordan goes overkill on descriptions. Yeah they’re there. And they’re meandering sometimes. But what else do you expect in a 14-book high fantasy series that builds a whole world of different cultures, politics, and characters?
I’m glad you enjoy them!
I am surprised you didn't enjoy it...but, it's okay. WOT isn't for every one. Though, I do agree that Jordan's writing style is hard to get used to :)
I’m very surprised as well! Still bummed about it 😣
It's completely understandable. This happened to me with the Witcher series... I was only able to finish the first 2 books of short stories, but I had to push through them at some points. I had played the games but the books just did not do it for me. I still watched the Netflix Series and I like the world and characters, but I just cannot experience it through the books it seems :(
The fact that WoT has similarities with LotR at the beginning actually enhanced the experience for me. I am so hyped for the series right now! I bet this was a hard video to upload but I truly appreciate the honesty and thought behind it. Cheers
Thank you so much for the kind comment!
I almost didn't continue with the series. Thought Eye of the world was a fun story, but it was The Great Hunt That sucked me in. No pressure, but if you can come around to reading The Great Hunt, it might be a better experience for you. Either way, thank you for your honest review! You are absolutely entitled to your opinion.
That is very good to know about The Great Hunt! I may decide to continue the books if I end up really enjoying the tv show 😄
Your review makes a lot of sense and was very well thought out. I, personally, am a very analytical person which is what I think you need to be to enjoy Robert Jordan's writing style. His writing is definitely not for everybody, a lot of it is definitely boring and way too drawn out, so don't feel bad about a DNF in this case. To sum it up, it's a great series for certain people. Do not feel like you have to read it. There are A LOT of books out there.
Thanks I appreciate it! Yeah it’s definitely not for everyone, but I can see why people would love it! ☺️
If you need a TV show to like a book then you simply don’t like the book...
Oh I agree, I definitely didn’t like this book on its own 😂
@@JessieMaeBooks I’m halfway through book 4 and I really don’t get the hype. As in, at all. How is this supposedly the best fantasy series since LOTR os beyond my understanding.
Haha you are making me feel much better about not trying to get through the rest of the series 😂
And here's the promised verbose response:
While I am a fan of the series, and have been for over 20 years, I will readily admit that I also have a few gripes about this book, as well as the series as a whole. I'll do my best to discuss them without going too much into detail, as to avoid spoiler territory, on the off chance you do decide to continue on, or even just pick it back up at a later date.
First, like you said, there's quite a bit of purple prose. Jordan does love his detailed descriptions, and while it does indeed give plenty of imagery to paint the landscape, Jordan will, at times, carry it much further than it needs to go.
Secondly, and partially due to the first point, there's quite a bit of setup for characters and concepts that I would find interesting to explore that do not receive the payoffs that they deserve. Yes, I have read the entirety of the series, and yes, I have read the companion books, which do include more background information regarding the world and its characters. Even so, there's a few elements of his story that leave me slightly unfulfilled.
Thirdly, there's what is commonly referred to as "the slog." While there is some debate as to when the slog itself starts, for me, it encompassed the period of time between early January 1999, which was when I finished the eighth book of the series, and October 2006, which was the paperback release of the eleventh book. Much has been said about the slog already, and, unlike Jordan, I do not feel the compulsion to revisit oft-described territory.
In conclusion, I've found that most of us who did enjoy the series as a whole are still receptive to criticism, possibly even having similar criticisms ourselves. I've seen others comment about attempting to try the series through different media, such as the audiobooks or the upcoming TV series. And I'll even say what some fans may not suggest: If you gained no enjoyment out of it, rather than push onward, find something else you find enjoyable and focus on that instead. Possibly come back to the series if you honestly feel as if you're willing to give it another try. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, and I do thank you for your willingness to stand up and state your criticisms of a much beloved book.
moridin812 thank you very much for the thought-out response and very fair comment! It’s wonderful that you’re a fan while still being able to understand the other side of the conversation and you can respect the series while also recognizing fault with it as well! There are so many fantasy series I want to get to so like you recommend, I’m definitely going to venture away from this series for now and explore others that may be more to my taste, but I won’t rule out coming back to this series eventually if my tastes ever evolve 😊
I like this reply. As a fellow Wheelie, I could not put it better. Don't feel obliged to read something just because it's popular. More on to something that you like - life is too short.
No need to apologize for not liking some thing. There are probably books that u like, that i might not lol. Nothing wrong with that xD
The thing i loved the most about the wheel of time are the character arcs. Through 14 books, they go through some huge changes :)
There is a reason that this book has spawned a subculture that borders on a religion - of which I am a part - and that's because many millions of people love it. I love this series so much that I find so many books so underwhelming for not being able to measure up.
That said, many people will not like it and that is OK. I am glad that you acknowledge that this is all subjective, we all like what we like. And for those who are reading it and not feeling it, I think you are doing yourself a disservice when you could be reading what you enjoy reading.
Thank you for such a respectful comment! 😄 Yes, totally agree that there is definitely a reason such a large and passionate fandom exists out there for this series! I think that’s awesome!
This honestly surprises me that you didn’t like it. Took me a while to get into but after I was completely hooked.
I was shocked!!! I was expecting to love it! 😔
I'm about 4 months late, but I do like to respond to a lot of WoT videos, so here goes and hoping you'll still read it.
Imagine me "like"-ing a negative _Wheel of Time_ video.... Yet, most of your points were well-argued _[I'll get to the one that was maybe slightly less so, and why it's still quite understandable why it was so]_ and far more importantly, you recognized that most of it was purely subjective to you, which is a hard thing to realize and admit. That is only praiseworthy, even if I don't personally agree with your impressions of the book.
When it comes to not being a visual reader and Jordan's writing style: absolutely fair enough. I *_am_* a very visual reader myself, and the amazingly detailed, almost cinematic descriptions are one of the things I appreciate most about the series as a whole. Name me a place in the world of _The Wheel of Time_ , and I will instantly have a picture in my head of what that place looks like. Which is to say: this continues throughout the entirety of the series. And if you're not a visual person, I'm not sure if an audiobook would be of much help to be honest.
So, personally, I would indeed recommend watching the show when it finally comes out, and seeing if you connect with the world then. There certainly isn't anything wrong with you if you don't connect with it at all, but why deprive yourself of the chance you will connect with it if you know that the textual form might be a big contributor of why you're not connecting with it now (or didn't in March)?
I alluded to it before, but it bears repeating: I am actually really glad you filmed this Review, and it's mostly *_because_* you were so frank about most of this being so subjective. That is really admirable, and plus it's something some people need to hear. Both those of us who enjoy the book/series and those who don't, to be honest.
As for Characters: partly fair enough, partly more information needed. I did say I was going to come back to where I thought a little additional justification might not have been a bad thing, right? Well, this is the one, yet at the same time it's obvious why you didn't give more detail than you did: you didn't want to give Spoilers. Which is admirable. Still, I think that if my opinion on something is rather different from the majority, I'd throw the "No Spoilers" rule to the wind -- giving a very big "HERE BE SPOILERS" warning beforehand, obviously -- for the sake of communicating my points as clearly as possible. This is a sort of a "I totally get why you did it, but I still kinda wish that you didn't" sort of deal, then. If that makes sense?
At any rate: Rand al'Thor being bland and boring in the early books is basically the most universal opinion anyone has on this entire series. He gets somewhat of a character in Books 4 and 5 and a bit of 6, but mostly I see Rand as more of a concept than a Character, and one of the things that is most awe-inspiring about Robert Jordan's achievement is that never in all of Fantasy -- possibly in all of Literature -- has that concept been executed in more painful yet beautiful and mind-blowing yet soul-shattering detail than in _The Wheel of Time_ . But again, it's probably best to wait for the show to find out about all that.
I can also totally understand how especially Perrin can come off as overtly angsty, and perhaps Mat as well. For Perrin that never really goes away, and a certain other male Main Character who will otherwise remain nameless only gets metric fucktons of angst from the very next book onwards until pretty much the end of the series. Now, I happen to *_like_* angst in my fictional Characters. But if you don't, and again that is totally fair, based on those descriptions, I honestly think you might enjoy the female Characters a lot more if you ever continue on with the series, in whatever form that might take (probably television though if I hear you correctly). The women in this series are mostly badasses with not much angst to go around.
I can understand History Lessons that don't fit in well with the plot might grate with you. However, the 2 big History Lessons I can think of fit in really rather smoothly with in-world current events when they were related, I thought personally.
First, we have Moiraine's regaling of the history of Manetheren to the Two Rivers folk (who are also sometimes referred to by the fandom as "Duopotamians" -- "duo" = two; "potamo" = river). The express reason she told that story was to impress upon the Duopotamians how objectively awesome they are as a people (due to that history), and that the way they were treating her was really below their station. Yes, there was also some foreshadowing in there, but that is neither here nor there.
The second I can recall is the history of Aridhol, now known as Shadar Logoth. As Mat, Rand and Perrin had just before the point where that history was told met Mordeth, the very person responsible for the fall of Aridhol, I would again say that history was quite relevant.
But maybe there were other instances that I am forgetting? If so, and if you are still reading this, I would love to be reminded of them. It is also, of course, possible that Jordan's writing style threw you off so much that you didn't key into how these things tied into the story. But, uhmm..... that's what I'm for, amiright?
In conclusion: completely fair to not continue with the books if that is your experience with them. Go watch the show instead and hope along with all of us who are fans of the books that it will be really really good.
I appreciate your comment! Yeah I mean at the end of the day, every review is subjective and mine especially for Eye of the World is because the biggest thing I think back to is writing style. I think writing style is what led to the other points that I didn’t like in this book. I appreciate that you recognize the characters take a while to develop and I completely agree, I bet if I stuck with this series, I would love the development of them and find it brilliant as well! It’s totally personal taste, which is why I wanted to make sure to reiterate that point in this review because for every negative I talk about, someone who loves this series will find a positive and that’s what makes reading and books so wonderful is that we can have these discussions and difference in opinion! I’m glad you love this series! I hope to love the show! 😄
@@JessieMaeBooks
Would you mind revealing in this thread who were the Characters you thought were overtly angsty? Was it just Perrin? Possibly Mat? Or some of the others as well?
And what did you think of Nynaeve and Egwene?
Ahsim Nreiziev Mat, Nynaeve, and Egwene were the ones I was referring to as angsty in this novel and I wasn’t a huge fan of their characters, but again, I think a big part of it is they probably have amazing character arcs throughout the series that I’m probably missing out on big time haha 😄
@@JessieMaeBooks
Hmmm..... Maybe I just really, really don't get what it is that people perceive as "angsty behaviour", then. Which would make sense, because I've never had a problem with angstyness in Fictional Characters.
Perrin seemed to be the most angsty to me, with his constant, incessant thought-train of the having of Awesome Wolf Powers _(tm)_ being the worst thing to ever happen to anyone.
Mat.... Mat became paranoid, which I guess you could say might be a form of angst, but really it's mind-poison being mind-poison-y. Seriously, folks, paranoia is *_not_* a sign of a healthy Mental State.
Nynaeve I could *_maybe_* see when it comes to her fretting over being a Channeller. But other than that, TEotW Nynaeve was all-in as far as I can tell. I mean, she had wards to save for the Light's sake!
And Egwene, especially TEotW Egwene, might be a contender for the least angsty Character in literature -- at least, according to what I *_thought_* the word "angsty" meant. Egwene (especially TEotW Egwene) basically thinks that just about everything that's happening are the best things to ever happen to any of the Emond's Field Five, and especially that they are the best things to ever happen to Egwene.
I often think of Egwene as a mix between Belle from _Beauty and the Beast_ and Hermione Granger. Always believing she is on the path to Greater Things, and wanting all knowledge in the world, preferably *_now_* thank you very much.
But, again, what I *_thought_* you may have meant by "angsty" probably wasn't what you really meant by "angsty". It's probably quite a bit of an ask, but could you maybe give some examples for Mat, Nynaeve and Egwene (between 1-3 each, say) that really stood out to you as particularly "angsty"? That way, maybe I can figure out what it is that you are talking about, because the word itself clearly doesn't register its actual meaning with me the way that it should.
Thank you!!! I am trying to read this book right now and it is flawed to say the least.
Haha glad I’m not alone with my thoughts and feelings here 😄
I was the same exact way, I’m a huge fan of fantasy especially LOTR and ASOIAF, but this book just didn’t do it for me. I DNF’d the book around page 200, so I have to try again at some point.
I am on book 6 right now. I started and stopped eye of the world few times but once I sat through it, I really enjoyed it.
@@syedhassaniftikhar6560 Yeah I think I need to push through, I’ll restart and finish it one day
@@michaelbuckley2513 You're going to love Book 4!
A more detailed response is forthcoming. However, you're not the only one who has mentioned "Bland al'Thor", aka "Rand the Bland".
Author comparisons: Tolkien is to be expected, because, as you stated, Jordan is very influenced by Tolkien, and it especially shines in this book. Tolkien is also one of the big names that even people unfamiliar with the Genre as a whole recognize, and it does provide a very accessible point of reference.
Your mention of Sanderson did bring about a chuckle, as I'm sure you've at least seen the covers for books twelve through fourteen. I will say that while I do believe that history has its place, Jordan originally conceived of this series as a trilogy, and he wasn't sure if he'd get a chance to toss the world building out there in a companion book or not. Even so, yes, Sanderson tends to handle it in a more enjoyable manner. Especially later in the series.
And yes, the big, long-winded response is still forthcoming. I'm just offering initial reactions as I listen.
Also. You're not an idiot. You're human, with your own tastes, your own opinions. While I find the final rating a little harsh, your case for doing so is quite understandable.
I am greatful a relieved to find someone who feels the same way as I do about WoT.
We should start a support group for people who hated the book lol!
The way I was finally able to make this work for me was to read the book while listening to the audiobook. That way a pace is set for me so I don't lose focus, I can focus on the words while listening to the audio, and I get to enjoy the performance. I would honestly ask you to try that. It does feel quite enjoyable.
Yeah that may be the way I have to go when I try it again in the future! 😄
@@JessieMaeBooks For me it was kind of overwhelming at times but when I was able to fully embrace the story I really loved it. It's just, until you learn all of the rules in the world, and the names and countries it can feel like a lot. But I would also say, you dont need to know it all.
Hi just always be honest about ur review... 😊📖 this book series it’s not everyone.. happy reading to u!! 😊📖
Its a bad book, dont be ashamed to have that opinion
😂😂 I appreciate that. Yeah it’s not so much ashamed as just disappointed because I went in with high expectations!
@@JessieMaeBooks The same happened to me. Everyone I talked to loved it, and recomended me to pick it up. But then I read it and... ouch
Thanks for reading it. Sorry it wasn’t your thing.
And thank you for the respectful comment! I can definitely see why it’s so beloved with how vast and epic the world feels!
I have this one on my TBR ....
You may love it!! Truly! Everyone seems to love it and I’m definitely in the minority!
I didn’t like it either and won’t continue with the series.
Oh I’m so glad I’m not the only one!! I only see rave reviews for it so felt so alone in my opinion haha
I believe you have Aphantasia, which may affect your visuals when it comes to book passages :)
Narscilla oh maybe! I didn’t know there was a condition for not being able to visualize!
Can’t say I agree. One of my favorite fantasy books of all time, though not the greatest. I think it is a generational thing. This was the epitome of High Fantasy at the time.
I AM LATE THIS VIDEO JUST GOT RECOMENDED TO MONAND CALLING ARGUABLY GREATEST FANTASY PROTAGONIST BLAND IS WEIRD TO PUT IT POLITLY
I am sorry but some of the reasons you mentioned are exactly the reasons why someone prefers this genre lol