I picked this book up in an airport in 1997 because I'm not a good flyer and needed something to distract me. I liked the cover art and the brief synopsis on the back. Fifteen years later...Robert Jordan is my absolute FAVORITE author. The Wheel of Time series is not an easy read. Jordan is hyper-descriptive to the point of madness sometimes, but because of the way he writes you really feel like you are THERE and the characters (and there are a LOT of them) are rich and full and you get a strong picture of who they are. There are few books/authors that measure up to this type of Epic story telling...if you have read these books and enjoyed them, Patrick Rothfuss is a fantastic writer who reads almost like poetry. If you are a true reader...pick up these books...it's a long commitment, but well worth the story!!!
The first novel in Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®.
The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
When The Two Rivers is attacked by Trollocs—a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts–five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined, with new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.
Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time® has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. The last six books in series were all instant #1 New York Times bestsellers, and The Eye of the World was named one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.
The series
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time is a story that takes place both in our past and our future. In his fantasy world, the Dark One, the embodiment of pure evil, is breaking free from his prison. The overall plot is about a man who learns that he is the reincarnation of the world’s messiah and is once again destined to save the world from the Dark One – but possibly destroy it in the process. This saga is not only his story, but the story of an entire world’s struggle to deal with war and change, destruction and hope.
#1 · 1990The Eye of the World 
#2 · 1990The Great Hunt 
#3 · 1991The Dragon Reborn 
#4 · 1992The Shadow Rising 
#5 · 1993The Fires of Heaven 
#6 · 1994Lord of Chaos 
#7 · 1996A Crown of Swords 
#8 · 1998The Path of Daggers 
#9 · 2000Winter's Heart 
#10 · 2003Crossroads of Twilight 
#11 · 2005Knife of Dreams 
#12 · 2009The Gathering Storm 
#13 · 2010Towers of Midnight 
#14 · 2013A Memory of Light 
#15 · 2004New Spring: The Novel 
1997The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time 
2015The Wheel of Time Companion 
2022Origins of The Wheel of Time What did you think of this book?
Share your experience with other Risingshadow readers.
Reader reviews
2 reviewsWhat Risingshadow readers think about this book
The first six books in this series were published when I was in high school and I read them all eagerly. In college I had less time for personal reading and put the series aside, intending to pick it up again when I had more free time, but I never did. I recently watched the first season of the tv series, which was neither especially good nor especially bad, but it did make me want to pick up the books again. The show didn't quite gel with my (admittedly decades old) memories of the first novel, so I thought it best to start from the beginning. It's weird picking up a book that enthralled me at 14 and thinking "it can't be as good I believed it was then", and then finding out it is actually better. For such a long novel it moves at a rather windswept pace, relentless once the heroes are chased from Emond's Field and out into a wider world they have little understanding of. And even at that pace it is incredibly detailed and precise; it really feels like you've spent a lot of time getting to know the characters inside and out, despite the constant peril the find themselves thrown in. It is a young persons' novel that nonetheless feels grown up and world-weary, which, I suppose, describes all the best young persons' novels, before they were dumbed down and marketed as "YA". I'm very happy I revisited this and am looking forward to 49-year-old me reading this series through to the end.
