The Eye of the World: Book One of The Wheel of Time

I am writing this review on the first of this series because as you consider beginning a multibook series you'll be wondering if the commitment is worth it. After having listened to all of the books now available on Audible (10 or 11 and the story is still not over) I am telling you to GO FOR IT. It took a several chapters to get my bearings with the material, but after that I was hooked in a terribly engrossing world of fantasy that I would never have thought would interest me. Some other reviewers have panned the narrators, and maybe with the first book they hadn't yet found their bearing either, but throughout the series they are outstanding in my opinion. I couldn't get enough of this story. I'm thankful that I came to it late, when there were already more than 10 books to enjoy. I admit that I have expected the author to wrap up this saga before now, but in reality I am thankful that he kept the characters and their world alive. I recommend this series with no reservations.

The Eye of the World kicks off Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series and it is a step that should not be taken lightly. This first book is excellent and will likely have you listening to the next book in the journey before you know it. This is a long series (13+ books) and each book so far is between 23-41 hours of listening in unabridged format.

Some things you should know before you start:

1) Robert Jordan did not live long enough to finish the story, but he did pass along his vision for the conclusion to Brandon Sanderson who is writing the final books. Brandon Sanderson is an awesome Fantasy writer so the conclusion of the series is in good hands.

2) Robert Jordan can tend to be wordy at times and some of the books along the way feel a little bloated, but each one does advance the story.

3) The narration is done by 2 excellent narrators: Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. Each chapter will be read by one or the other depending on the chapter's main character. If the main character is female then Kate will read the entire chapter including the male voices. Michael will handle the chapter's where the main character is male and he will do the female voices. This means that you must get accustomed to 2 voices for each character. This put me off at first but I quickly became accustomed to it and now I really enjoy the format.

4) After a few books the narrators change the way they pronounce certain character names and this can throw you off until you realize that it is just a pronunciation change and not a different character. Just be prepared for it.

I am glad I started this long journey and I feel that audio is one of the best ways to experience Jordan's work. I had read The Eye of the World years ago but it didn't inspire me to keep going forward in the series, where the audiobook left me wanting more!

There is very little in the way of accolades that I could add to what has already been written about this book except to second the praise for it. When choosing a book, I do consider how many people have taken the time to rate and review a book, as well as what the reviews have to say. Therefore, the value of this book to me requires that I say something to encourage others to take it as a selection. This was my first Robert Jordan book. It's about 30 hours long and I finished it in two and a half days. I could not put it down. It is a masterpiece in almost every aspect of the word and I do not know how the narration could possibly have been improved. I was blown away.

If you read several of the listener ratings you will find that half love it and half hate it. This is not anything like LotR. This is bigger in every respect. The world is bigger, the characters are deeper and thjere are many, many, more of them. If you take on this series you need to be ready to focus. If you listen half heartedly you will be lost very quickly. I understand some of the points of the bad reviews. This series is detailed. You will always know what everyone is wearing and what every room looks like and some people will find it tiresome. I however really get a sense of being in the story and that is why I read/listen. If your thing is a movie type book, a few hours and everything is rapped up, then you are looking for something else. There are many great stand alone books on this site alone but if you are looking for a neck deep fantasy with as much intrigue as can be put on paper then look no further. Personally this and the Sword of Truth are my favorites. Be warned though that the author recently died and the 12th book (A Memory of Light) is now being written by Brandon Sanderson of Mistborn. The final installment is about 60% through the rough draft phase. I usually dont get books until the series is done because i cant stand waiting a year to see how it ends but just the fact that the last book is on its way has prompted me into a second go round on this series so I know exactly what is going on. WHether you get this one or not happy listening.

If you haven't read this one you should. That being said, Robert Jordan's work is highly polarizing. You either love his books or hate them. The books are all very long. His works read similar to historical fiction in that he can get deep, some say bogged down, in minute details of his world. That being said this is one of the most popular epic fantasy books of all time.

The story isn't anything new, in fact it is the same old boy on the run from the bad guy finds himself and his power that every other book uses. He also borrows a lot from Dune, the Annals of the Black Company, Thomas Covenant and more. The difference is in the details. The world is so intricate and well designed you feel like you could go there. The heroes are likeable and the villians are really easy to hate. in short, you get sucked in and really start to care about the characters.

This series is really long, 14 books long and each is the size of a dictionary .In fact the author died before the series was completed and Brandon Sanderson wrote the last 3 books using Robert Jordans notes. I started reading this series when I first started college and it just finished last year (I'm 43 now). The good news is that the series was originally written as a trilogy which expanded due to popularity. You could theoretically stop at 3 and have pretty good closure. Then again if you made it to the third book you are probably hooked. If you didn't like it you probably didn't make it that far anyway. If you do decide to continue with series be aware that the books hit a patch around the middle (3 books) that weren't that great. You have to get through these to continue on with the series.

The narraration is done by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer. They do an awesome job considering the unbelievable number of characters in this series (read so many I would have to go read up to remember who some folks were when the next book came out). The series sticks with the same narrators throughout so the continuity helps alot. All in all, you should try this one if nothing else so you can say you read it.

I've been reading this series for years now and enjoyed it greatly, though I do hope it comes to an end soon. This production is very good especially as it is an Unabridged version which I believe the books need. The two voices are good and give a good range to the characters, the only quibble I have is minor, I wish the two readers had agreed on pronunciations before starting. This is not a big issue and did not spoil my enjoyment. I believe the producers will be making all the books available and I look found to collecting them all.

I am overjoyed to find audible choose to carry this Unabridged series. It is pretty much the only place anywhere you can find this extraordinary Unabridged audio series. The abridged version of this series is horrible; however this version is a true and rare audio gem. I have listened to literally a few hundred audio books in my life, most of which were either sci-fi/ fantasy and this series stands out as one of the best I?ve heard. It has exquisite readers both Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are among the best audio readers I've ever heard. As anyone who has heard audio can probably relate to, the quality of the reader is vital to the experience of the book and these are simple two of the best in the business. They capture the characters perfectly and draw you in like few other readers can. Another great and fairly unique thing this audio reading does is when the books comes from the perspective of a female character Kate gives you the female voice to match, where as if you are in the head of a male character Michael reads to give you that male feel. This makes a big difference in the whole experience, how much the reading brings the character to life and draws you into their world. Speaking of which, Robert Jordan's WOT world is one of the most vivid, complex and original world I have experienced in fantasy. The world's complexity continues to grow throughout the huge epic series. It makes you want to know what is going on in different lands almost as much as what is happening with different characters. In the first half of this series each book is better then the one before as the main characters, the world and the adventure expands. If you get a chance, please request that audible carry the rest of this Unabridged series. As of now they carry book one (The Eye of the World) and two (The Great Hunt). I guess that's about it. Enjoy, I hope you have as much fun with it as I did.

I really enjoyed this book. At first the narrarator was a little annoying, you could hear him breathing alot. But after an hour or two, he got much better...you could even tell the characters by the voices he gave them. I will listen to the entire series. I don't know why I waited so long to read Robert Jordan!

Can't wait to read the whole series! Excellent read - no graphic violence, no gore, no rape, no sex, etc... Refreshing.

Robert, Robert, Robert.

What have you done to me?

You 've kept me up countless nights, hanging onto every fantastic word, thinking about this incredible world you've created long after I finished reading and listening. You made me want more. And more. And you gave more of the same, and better.

What descriptive and well-thought out writing! What a rich and resplendent world you've created for us. A staggering storyline rich in history, politics, magic and mystery. Character development that captures us completely in the story, plots and journeys throughout this and the many novels to follow!

There are not enough words to describe the fantastic journey that awaits you in Jordan's Wheel of Time novels. They are long, descriptive novels that require more attentive listening that reward you for taking the time to really LISTEN.

If you like a deep rousing story that involves rich fantasy, political intrigue, dark forces with malevolent intent, secret societies, and MUCH MUCH MORE, than you might as well just crack open that wallet, and pull out your Audible credits.

You're going on an audiobook journey you'll never forget.