Thursday, March 25, 2010

Landscape (Fantasy) genre book review

The Eye of the World (book 1 of the Wheel of Time Series)
 by Robert Jordan

Synopsis:
- A journey begins for Rand al'Thor and his friends when his town is attacked by dark beasts.  Rand's is a world with magic and ultimate evil threatening their future.  Rand and his friends are on a path to fighting this evil, but with 12 or 13 books left in the series, they have a ways to go.

How is this a fantasy book:
- Detailed setting, this series has its own world and mythology, similar to a Lord of the Rings deal.
- Magic, magic, magic. Different than Harry Potter though, in this series they weave magic.  Maybe a good series to read for those interested in basket-weaving (joke).  But characters do obtain the ability to use this magic.
- Good vs. Evil is a large part of the story.  On top of that, good and evil are very clearly defined, there is no room for misinterpretation.  Because of this characters are usually either good or bad, no gray area.
- Large mood range, can be humorous and also very serious.  Characters can make you laugh or make you very angry (they say stupid things often).
- Sow start as the world/mythology/characters are set up and started.
- Medieval type setting so jargon is based in a similar style.

Read-a-likes:
- The Final Empire (Mistborn series) by Brandon Sanderson
- Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth series) by Terry Goodkind
- A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire series) by George R. R. Martin
- The rest of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
- Dungeons & Dragons/Dragonlance series's by Various Authors

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