by Robert Jordan
audiobook: 30 hours
*** About the Book ***
In this first book of the Wheel of Time series, three farm boys and two young women are ripped away from the quiet life of their village when creatures out of myth attack in the night. They are guided by an ageless woman with mysterious powers and her quiet protector. The group ventures out into the world with one goal in mind: to evade the evil forces that continue to track them. They encounter new friends and new enemies on their journey and learn some unsettling facts about themselves as well.
The series is based on a cyclical notion of time and the idea that everything has happened before and will happen again.
Of course, it is really hard to summarize epic fantasy so just go with, ok?
*** Why I (re)Read it ***
I've read this book at least twice and listened to the audio version at least three times. A while back I gave away a copy of this book in a contest. Nicole won it and was excited to read it. When she asked me to be a guest on her blog talk radio show she said I had to pick a book to discuss with her. This seemed to be the perfect thing, and she agreed. So I had to revisit it to prepare for our discussion.
*** My Thoughts ***
As difficult as it is to summarize an epic fantasy novel, it is far more challenging to share my thoughts about a book that is so familiar to me. I love this book and have loved it for so long that I really don't know what to say about it.
Ok, I'll give it a shot ...
- The characters in this book are wonderful. They are kind, cruel, smart, stupid, tormented, conflicted, loving ... in short, they are REAL.
- There is Adventure! And who doesn't like Adventure?!
- This is a new world but it isn't all that different from our own (albeit in an older time period) so I can imagine things quite clearly.
- Jordan is a master of description; he's been compared to Tolkien in case that helps you get an idea of his writing style.
- The plot is exciting and unpredictable - no guessing the ending ahead of time with this book/series.
- There are things you learn as side notes in this book that become important plot points later in the series. In fact, I seem to find more and more of these every time I revisit this book.
*** Your Thoughts ***
I posted some discussion questions for this book yesterday in preparation for my interview tonight on That's How I Blog! - be sure to check them out if you haven't already. I'm thrilled by the response I got when I encouraged people to read this book for the show. If you did read it, THANK YOU for trusting my opinion and I hope I didn't let you down.
Here are some other reviews you might like to check out:
- It's All About Books - read it for the show
- One Day At A Time - I dared her to read and she ended up liking it
- My Two Blessings - was surprised that she hadn't read this before
- and I KNOW that more of you have read this book so please link to you review in the comments!













