Book · 1990
The Eye of the World
by Robert Jordan
Trollocs burn a village hunting for one of three farm boys, so an Aes Sedai spirits all three out before anyone learns which.
What does Reddit think of The Eye of the World?
Most of the displayed excerpts treat this as the opening volume of a fourteen-book commitment rather than judging the prose in isolation. r/Fantasy's top-voted excerpt is the news that Prime cancelled the show after two seasons, which explains why people are still relitigating the series in these threads. The next several excerpts argue with each other in the open: one (↑1776) pleads for readers to ignore strangers' opinions and decide for themselves, another (↑1214) lists it as long, flawed, and great in the same breath without resolving which wins. For a first-time reader, the useful signal in the sample is the recurring advice to use something shorter, like Eragon, as a warm-up before committing (↑936), alongside a parallel warning against handing this or Malazan to someone you're trying to convert to the genre (↑841). Nobody displayed here disputes the length.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · A fourteen-book length treated as the headline fact about book one
- · Fandom relitigating itself over a cancelled TV adaptation
- · Long, flawed, and great cited as compatible, not contradictory
- · A recommended warm-up act before attempting the real thing
Common praise
- + r/Fantasy's ↑1214 excerpt admits the flaws and still calls the good parts great, alongside the length rather than despite it.
- + One reader (↑1776) tells strangers to stop trying to talk each other out of loving it.
Common criticism
- − The ↑841 excerpt warns against using this to convert new fantasy readers, precisely because of its size.
- − The Prime cancellation news outscored every displayed comment about the writing itself, by a wide margin in upvotes (↑2176 versus low hundreds).
Who it's for
Commit to this only if you're planning on the other thirteen books too; nothing in the sample treats volume one as a satisfying stand-alone. If you tried Eragon first and want the more serious version of the same setup, r/Fantasy's own comparison (↑936) points you here next. Anyone burned by a friend's over-enthusiastic pitch should read the ↑841 warning first: even fans in this sample argue against using Wheel of Time as someone's on-ramp into fantasy. The show's cancellation shouldn't factor into the decision one way or the other, whatever r/Fantasy's most-upvoted reaction to it suggests.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
- r/Fantasy 18,635
- r/suggestmeabook 4,730
- r/booksuggestions 2,301
- r/printSF 383
- r/YAlit 157
- r/RomanceBooks 136
- r/TrueLit 41
- r/horrorlit 32
Which Reddit comments matter for The Eye of the World?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“>> EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video will not be renewing The Wheel of Time for a third season. The decision, which comes more than a month after the Season 2 finale was released April 17, followed lengthy deliberations, sources said Does nobody check their work for errors anymore
“Also chiming in to say don’t let Reddit ruin your enjoyment of things. I love the wheel of time. It holds a very special place in my heart. It’s not for everyone, and some people love it, some people have a love-hate relationship, some people hate it, others are indifferent. Why should strangers on …
“wait, someone said wheel of time writes women well? Thats a first.
“Wheel of Time is very long. Wheel of time has a lot of great aspects. Wheel of time has plenty of flaws. Guess whether I love it or hate it? Lots of people loved those great aspects, especially when they were fresh and Wheel of Time provided a large sheer quantity of them. Did I mention it'…
“The entire Sword of Truth series is generally regarded as one of the worst things in fantasy. It's full of misogyny and political soap boxing. Try The Wheel of Time for an epic fantasy that isn't going to go so completely off the deep end, Malazan if you're okay with a lot of brutality but an am…
“I spent ages researching this a few years ago and came up with the following: 1. *Varney the Vampire* (1845) by James Malcolm Rymer & Thomas Prest: 667,000 words 2. *Atlas Shrugged* (1954) by Ayn Rand: 645,000 (you may argue about whether it's SFF or not, but it's listed in *The Encyclopedia of Sci…
“Don't try to introduce your friends into the genre with huge series like *Malazan* or *The Wheel of Time* (as much as I love them). Similarly, don't get mad if someone chooses not to read a series after telling them that it doesn't really take off after several novels.
“It’s a very popular series that many people love and many people dislike/dnf. Personally I’ve taken asoiaf off of any of my lists, if Harriet can get the WoT finished after RJ literally dies I can’t in good conscience recommend a series that a living author has given up on finishing. The slog is …
“It’s always comforting to read. Like snuggling a warm blanket when it’s cold out “The Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legends fade to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the third ag…
“The Tower of Ghenjei in Eye of the World. It was seen, hinted at, mentioned, and then forgotten for 20 years.
“Well, *The Wheel of Time* is 14 books long, and Rand only resists for the first two books. I like the fact that there are many false Dragons in WoT, all those young guys who said “I’ve got this” but were wrong. The Andrew Wiggins of Dragons, if you will.
“That’s quite literally the plot of Wheel of Time. The chosen one is destined to save the world, or break it. The other thing he’s destined for sure, is to go mad. His personal struggle is so well done, I’ve never seen any story that worked the “chosen one trope” at such a great level. Pretty good se…
“Wheel of Time would be my top choice for the "Chosen One" trope. I don't think the series is perfect by any stretch, and it's my personal #1 series, but I do think it has the best portrayal of someone being the "Chosen One" and how it would (semi)-realistically affect their life and the lives of th…
“For me, there's only reason two picks The Wheel of Time is a sprawling epic that shows the Chosen One's journey from the very beginning to the triumphant end, complete with setbacks and moral issues on the way but ultimately fulfilling his prophesied purpose in the end Dune shows the opposite. Th…
“I can get behind people having trouble talking about their feelings or emotions, being afraid to ask out the person they love, or distrusting a relative stranger. I can't stand childhood friends who saved each other lives countless time hiding strategic information of the highest importance for a c…
Convinced? Pick up The Eye of the World
Readers also mention
All books like The Eye of the World →Books that share discussion threads with The Eye of the World — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring The Eye of the World
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
The Eye of the World — frequently asked
Is The Eye of the World worth starting in 2026?+
Depends on your appetite for a fourteen-book series, not just this one. r/Fantasy's top-voted excerpt (↑2176) is about Prime cancelling the TV adaptation, not the prose, and the closest thing to a verdict on the book itself (↑1214) calls it long, flawed, and great all at once. Nothing displayed argues it's a quick read or a one-and-done.
Is The Eye of the World good for someone new to fantasy?+
The sample argues against it. A ↑841 excerpt specifically warns against opening with Wheel of Time or Malazan when introducing a friend to the genre, and a separate comparison (↑936) recommends Eragon as the easier on-ramp first. Reddit's own advice here is to work up to this one.
Why do people still argue about The Eye of the World?+
Partly because the Wheel of Time TV show got cancelled after two seasons, per r/Fantasy's most-upvoted excerpt in the sample (↑2176), and partly because the book itself splits opinion the way ↑1214's 'long, flawed, and great' summary describes. The displayed data shows disagreement, not settled consensus.
Does The Eye of the World actually portray women well, like some Wheel of Time fans claim?+
The one displayed excerpt on this (↑1501) treats the claim as a punchline, not an endorsement: 'wait, someone said wheel of time writes women well? Thats a first.' That's a single reaction in the sample, not a verdict Reddit reached collectively.