The Eye of the World

I have long had it in my mind to come back to this series and reading it through. With the news that The Wheel of Time is slated to be adapted for television, I decided it was a good time to read it before seeing any episodes.

I enjoyed this book. Several times I had to fight off voices of comparisons to Tolkien's work or other criticisms that would take away from the enjoyment of the story. That is a danger of listening or reading too many opinions, I suppose.

The story held my attention and I didn't find myself having to make myself stay with the book over the 750 pages. It has plenty of detail and action interspersed throughout the book, appealing to my desire to keep going yet wanting to be immersed in the world.

I think I have come to an age where magic does not have the emotional pull it did when I was younger. This is something I continue to notice in revisiting fantasy and Star Wars stories. I find that stories that speak a truth of some sort to me now have more pull for me. When I was younger, I think I believed my faith in God was a sort of magic that I could pull on if I believed enough. In my mind, I could see someone wielding magic as being like a person with great faith in God. Now I have come to see that perspective as an explanation for someone who truly wants to wield God's power themselves. Or at least coming dangerously close to it. I think this core belief is the sword that severs some of the power magic once held in my mind.

I look forward to reading the next book, but with all the books vying for my attention, I have a hard time moving straight to The Great Hunt.