The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

When The Two Rivers is attacked by Trollocs – a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts- five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined, with new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.

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How was it?

I don’t know how this book got on my list but the upcoming Amazon Prime Video adaptation hastened my reading of it. I’ve never read the Lord of the Rings or The Shannara Chronicles but I’ve seen the movies and TV shows. The Eye of the World very much falls into the same category as these stories, it’s an epic high fantasy with a dark twist to it.

The story’s influence is quite clear – it’s Tolkien – but I didn’t see Eye of the World as a rip-off. It’s more in the same vein with similar plot points and more women involved. The story does take a while to get going but once it does it’s interesting. However the déjà-vu, cliché aspects of the plot often make it seem slow because you’ve got a clear idea of where the story’s going – at the very least when it’s regarding the hero.

I also kind of got fed up with pretending we didn’t know who from the Two Rivers crew was the “chosen one.” So by the end when we’re supposed to be surprised by the reveal I rolled my eyes a bit.

Oddly enough, I enjoyed more some of what happened to the others in the group, in particular, who turned out to be a Wolf brother. But even with them, it was easy to figure out who would be a problem (i.e., who took the jeweled dagger).

Overall the story is interesting if a bit cliché. If you read a lot of fantasy, and summarize the main plot points, you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s also over detailed but it has enough charm to overlook some of that.

The book only made me curious to see how the screen adaptation turned out. The trailers look good and the casting seems on point.

The Eye of the World is available on The Book Depository, Amazon, Audible, and other book retailers near you.

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