Why did I choose to read this book?

Well, I’m listening to the audio version of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, and so far, the narrator is doing pretty well. A while ago, I had this colleague I worked with occasionally. One day, while we were in the same area, I noticed he had a book he was really into. I asked him about it, and he said it was The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. He seemed like a reasonable guy, and I didn’t know anything about the book, so I looked it up. I found out it’s one of the most highly revered fantasy novels, right up there with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. It’s one of those top fantasy epics that set the tone for others in the genre.

This series, The Wheel of Time series, is massive—it spans maybe 11 books, and the author didn’t even finish it before he died. Brandon Sanderson used Jordan’s notes to complete the last few books. That’s how I first got introduced to it. Eventually, I joined Overdrive, found the audiobook, and downloaded it. I’ve started listening to this book maybe twice before, but this time I have a better grasp of what’s going on. I think I’ve just finished the introduction.

The Eye of the World

It starts off pretty well. There’s this guy—he seems to have a bit of amnesia—and he’s walking through what seems to be a regal palace. The place is strewn with dead bodies, although the building itself is mostly intact, with just a few bulging walls. He’s calmly calling out to a woman, who I assume is his wife. It’s a strange scene—he’s walking through all these dead bodies as if it means nothing to him, calling, “Hey, Elena, where are you?” It feels like he’s used to this kind of thing. It’s an interesting setup.

Then, another guy shows up. By the way, the first guy, Lews, is covered in soot as he walks through the place. The new guy starts talking to him, and it’s clear they know each other. Lews doesn’t recognize him at first because of his amnesia, but the second guy helps jog his memory. We find out they’ve been in a battle, one that started when Lews was 14 years old. The other guy says, “Where’s your memory? We’ve been doing this for thousands of years, thousands upon thousands of years of war.” Apparently, they’re part of a much bigger war—a battle between good and evil.

This battle has been going on for thousands of years and will continue until the end of time. I wonder if things reset in this world or if they just continue. We come to find out that Lews’ entire family has been killed. A lot of the bodies on the floor are his wife, servants, and friends. I’m wondering, does he have to relive the death of his family and friends every so often? Does his life restart? Or do they not necessarily die, but maybe this time he can save them, or something different happens? If you have to relive something like that, what does it do to your psyche, especially over thousands of years?

Even if you don’t relive the same life, you’d have to move on, get new family and friends. What would that look like? And Lews’ amnesia—is that intentional? Did someone give it to him? Did he do it to himself because he couldn’t bear to remember what happened? It was even mentioned that apparently, his entire family and friends were killed by him.

There’s a lot going on. It was a pretty interesting introduction, and I’m curious to see what happens next. Apparently, Lews has some kind of magical powers. Once he gets his memory back, the evil guy helps him remember, and Lews realizes the bodies on the floor are his family. He’s so overwhelmed with agony that he teleports somewhere else in the world. The evil guy says, “You can run, but you can’t hide.”

So, I think it’s a solid introduction. I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here.

Original draft written in February 2020.