“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come to pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past…”

A few months ago, I started reading Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time epic. The series is composed of thirteen books, twelve of which have been published, ranging from 700 to 1100 pages apiece, except for one which is a prequel of sorts and is shorter. The main books in the series might as well be one book; they run right into each other in one continuing story.

The Wheel of Time books are now one of my favorite series, and one I highly recommend. The books will definitely appeal to fans of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, though they are easier to read. Jordan’s writing isn’t as thick as Tolkien’s, but surpasses most adult-level books I would say. (And, no these are not in any way intended to be “children’s books,” not in writing, not in content.)

The world The Wheel of Time is set in is a cyclical world. As the quote above, the opening line of Chapter 1, suggests, history repeats itself. The world goes through various phases, and, given time, starts over. To top it all off, the Wheel is turned by a mystic force known as The True Source, or simply The Power. The force can be tapped into the mages of the world, known as Aes Sedai, and channeled to do a plethora of things. At the time of the world’s creation, the force of chaos, known as the Dark One, was imprisoned by the Creator. The Dark One slowly weakened his prison over the years, and wreaked havok. Eventually Lews Therin Telemon, an Aes Sedai known as The Dragon re-imprisoned the Dark One, and died in the process. But given the cyclical nature of the world, that age must come again… It was prophecied that the Dragon would be reborn, in time to fight the Dark One once again when the time came. This series follows the story of the Dragon Reborn.

In the small farming village of Emond’s Field, the villagers are readying for a festival. But it’s soon stopped by an attack of Trollocs, orc-like (for want of a better term) creatures that serve the Dark One, and were thought to be extinct after the bloody Trolloc Wars several hundred years previously. After the attack, Rand al’Thor, Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al’Vere, and Nynaeve al’Meara leave the village with a traveling Aes Sedai, having learned that the trollocs were probably searching for one of them. One of the three boys, Rand, Matt, or Perrin, may be the Dragon Reborn.

They set out on what could be called an adventure, to the villagers’ dismay when they realize how unpleasant adventures can be, and are pursued relentlessly by the Dark One’s followers. Many plot twists follow as they make their way further and further from Emond’s Field, and…well, I won’t spoil it for you.

Do yourself a favor and find yourself a copy of The Eye of the World. It’s the start of a very enjoyable series, and one marketted to adults to boot. I don’t think my partial synopsis does the book justice. You’ll have to read it yourself. And if you like it, move on to the next book, The Great Hunt; it elaborates upon the world and characters, and gets more interesting as the plot starts to unfold more.

Further Reading