Customer Reviews

The Wheel of Time, Boxed Set I, Books 1-3: The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The first three books of the Wheel of Time saga are exceptional modern fantasy. There is a lot of originality, lots of action, and a powerful sense of both doom and mystery.

If you're looking at buying these books, you've undoubtedly come across the criticism of the series length and the quality of the later books. And its true, the series does falter rather badly beginning around book 6 or 7, and there is a steady deterioration from there. The sense of mystery and doom dissipate, the action and plot advancement cease and the characters all devolve into indistinguishable buffoons.

HOWEVER, the first half of the series, and in particular these first 3 books, really are great, and highly recommended. I'd say just keep reading the series until you feel you found the point where it doesn't work for you anymore, then skip to the end once Book 12 comes out.

I have read Tolkien,Heinlen, Herbert,Donaldson, Eddings and a great many others. This series by Jordan is by far the best and worst I've ever read. The characters are so well developed that you can imagine what they are thinking even when it's not printed. The world so clearly rendered, that you see, smell, hear, and feel it rather than read about it. Yet unlike other books, there are no filler pages. Everything in the story, from the first scene to the last, is important and will come back to haunt you. I absolutely love this series. I have and will read it again and again. The thing that makes it the worst is the eternity between books. Until this series is complete, and my guess is ten or eleven books, every other book I read will only be a place holder.

I love reading, especially science fiction and fantasy . I have read nearly every fantasy novel to be released by a major publisher, and I can say without hesitation that Robert Jordan's Wheel of time is far and away the most captivating series I've ever read. I've read the entire series several times, and enjoy it and understand it more with each read. This is the only book I've ever read more than once . If you've never read the series, be warned, after the first hundred pages, you will NOT be able to put it down, and every minute you're away from it, it will be on your mind. It's as addictive as any drug there is . After I finish a Jordan book, everything else is paled in comparison . I reccomend this series to anyone who is litterate . I rate The Wheel Of Time a "10", the next best book out would probably be rated a 8.5.

I love when good authors can really take you to another place. I found the imagery a wonderful get away from a sometimes depressing world. It took me a little while to get into the character,s but the places you go in this book are worth the trip into Jordan's imagination.
Great read, good time

I am new to Robert Jordan's work but after 2 weeks I am already fully emersed in the third book Dragon Reborn. The heroes and villans in this story are never who they seem or are more than they seem. Enjoy this series. It's great!

Ill start by saying I would give the three books individually 4 stars each, all together 3 stars is my opinion which I will explain.

As of now I am part way through book 4 and have given up reading the series, this is mainly due to frustration at some of the main characters. I was hoping for more growth in them by the end of these 3 books but all I get is..

- Rand still curses his powers, rejects his obvious destiny and thinks everything slightly unusual is him going mad.
- Perrins moral whineing, avoiding wolves and hating his axe.
- Nynaeve being a grump and has some illogical vendetta against Morraine comparing her to the black AhJah
- Morraine consistantly keeps secrets from them all for no good reason besides making them hate her.

Regarding secrets there also seems to be a bond of silence between all of them to keep imporatant details from each other, I constantly find myself steamed when vital story events are kept to themselves.

There are pros though, I found the world rich and well described, the story interesting but slowly paced and I liked the magic and history.

I have had my eye on the series for some time but have always balked when I read it has a lot of filler in later books, if that is the case I am glad I never got to that point as even in the first 3 books there is a lot of descriptions and whole chapters lost to repetetive dreams with the dark lord. I cant imagine it getting much more filler then there already is.

The depth at which Robert Jordan describes his world leaves the reader in awe. The second book in his epic fantasy series, the Wheel of Time, the Great Hunt is little more than astounding. The characters are extremely well developed, and the very world is so clearly defined.

I've been a long-time fan of the Wheel of Time series, having fallen in love since I laid hands on the first book of this series, the Eye of the World, to the point that I have come to administer a website based upon the series( [...] ), and become a member of several others, including [...] and [...]. This is a series that never stops tugging at your imagination. I highly recommend it.

As others have written I think these are the best three books of the series. I read the first book near when it first came out and then the others near to when they were published. I haven't gone back and re-read the series and so much is packed into the books that I can't remember all the connections and twists that relate to the newer books, but can still remember what happened in these first books. So if you are looking for something lite to read, is interesting and keeps your attention, and will take time to finish this is the series for you. The one thing I've found frustrating with the series (especially in the later books as the plot grows) is the characters never seem to communicate what is going on inside and so seem just ready to meet misfortune before... you get the point and maybe why the books are interesting to read. Will they defeat the 'Dark One' in the last book or will the world break as the 'wheel of time' turns?

... but the quality of the books [stink] (that's the only reason I didn't give this product 5 stars). Page after page of these paperbacks fell out, with the first reading. All in all I lost the first 30 or so pages of each book. The publisher needs to up their QC standards. The stories, however, are wonderful. I've read all of Jordan's works over and over, and each time I find something new in this complex, always fascinating series. However, if you want a book that will last, buy the hardcover.

This is a terrific series! The characters are as colorful and memorable as Dickens at his best. These characters are thrown into a richly drawn world with an extremely intricate plot and the epic struggle of good versus evil found in Tolkien. This provides for highly addictive and enjoyable entertainment.