[Review] The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Wow! Oh, wow! Oh, wow! This is some of the most superbly polished writing and storytelling that I've come across. I have no hesitation in saying that Jordan is literary master.

First, there wasn't a single part of the story that felt slow or drawn out (despite this being a mammoth book). Jordan maintains a perfect balance between descriptive detail and action, something that writers can seldom pull-off.

Great character development. Jordan took his time with the characters (there are quite a few), developing each one, giving them each their own unique personalities, quirks, and idiosyncrasies, as well as names that were all very distinct. There was never any confusion about who was who, or who was performing the actions in any given scene.

The world-building was lush and dynamic. There is politics and intrigue, creatures and magic. But at the same time the story is grounded around the common everyman, giving the story a humanistic and relatability quality that is sometimes lacking in high fantasy novels.

In the end, there wasn't a single thing in this book that I found lacking. My only regret is that I put off reading it for so long.

Note: I read this book with Whispersync and found the narration by Rosamund Pike fantastic. Highly recommended if you choose to go that route (or if you want a pure audio version).

5 stars