The Eye of the World

Executive Summary: This is the book that really kindled my love for epic fantasy. I was worried that after reading hundreds of fantasy novels, and getting tired of the chosen one trope this book might not hold up to my memory of it. I was happy to find that I had nothing to worry about as I enjoyed it just as much on a reread as I did the first time.Audiobook: One of my main reasons for doing a reread was the chance to do the audio version. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading were already among my favorite narrators. I got to meet them during the [b:A Memory of Light 7743175 A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time, #14) Robert Jordan https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1336055749s/7743175.jpg 10558806] tour a few years ago, before I really did audiobooks or had any idea of who they were. I regret not spending more time talking to them, or at least getting a picture with them. Most of this book is narrated by Mr. Kramer, as much of the book is told from Rand or Perrin's perspective. Ms. Reading only does the Nynaeve chapters, and there were very few of those. If I recall correctly from the later books, she'll be getting more to read later on in the series.Both were excellent as expected. You get voices and an engaging reading that made me wish I had listened to this series the first time I read it. It's definitely been a nice perk of this reread. You definitely can't go wrong with the audio for this series.Full ReviewRevisiting favorites is always a dangerous proposition, especially one like this that I considered a favorite despite only reading it once. Sometimes your memory of a thing doesn't hold up on a second inspection. So I was a bit nervous at the idea of rereading it.You might not know it from looking at my goodreads bookshelf, but I didn't read a lot of fantasy growing up. What little fantasy I read after was mostly Urban Fantasy. I only read Lord of the Rings just before the first movie came out. This was really my first taste of epic fantasy after LotR. I didn't pick it up until [a:Brandon Sanderson 38550 Brandon Sanderson https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1394044556p2/38550.jpg] was working on the final 3 books. I never had to deal with long waits between books, or deal with the uncertainty following Mr. Jordan's passing. A close friend had recommended me these books in college, but I just never got around to checking them out. I instantly fell in love.The world Mr. Jordan has created feels huge and well lived in. The passing of ages leaving superstition, rumors and outright misinformation about what really happened. The reader only gets glimpses of the past, and mostly they come from stories. Magic is believed to be a thing of evil, and those who wield it to be feared.Starting this book again was like catching up with old friends, only not quite as I remember them. My memories of them are how I left them after 13 long books, not the young and wide-eyed youths we meet here. I forgot how annoying I found Mat in this book. He's incredibly far from my favorite character. Nynaeve wasn't nearly as annoying as she later becomes. I loved meeting Thom, Lan and Moiraine for the first time again. I also discovered there was a lot more foreshadowing in this book than I realized.Part of my enjoyment could be the nostalgia I feel for this book and the series as a whole. Without it, I might never have discovered how much I love fantasy. I've always been a slow reader, but I was also a much less frequent reader too. It took me the better part of 3 years to read the whole series. I really love these early books, and the later ones. The character development and world building as the series are fantastic. You get so much from just this one book, and it's really only the tip of the iceberg. I'm stilling dreading the middle books a bit, but after listening to this book again, there is no way I couldn't at least continue on to [b:The Great Hunt 233649 The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time, #2) Robert Jordan https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437870280s/233649.jpg 1574475]. If nothing else, it will give me the chance to write some proper reviews for one of my favorite series.