Since discussing the epic series The Wheel of Time last issue, it seemed only natural to review the first book in that series this month, considering one of the more striking features of the series is the way it handles magic.

First, some background, for the few of you who do not know about this series (and the even fewer of you who didn't read the above-linked article which also mentioned the background a bit). The Eye of the World is the first book in The Wheel of Time, arguably the epic-est of Epic Fantasy series, at least of modern times. The series is mostly known now for being weighed down with long delays, way too many characters, interwoven plots that are so interwoven as to be much more convoluted than intriguing, and the death of the author, Robert Jordan, before the series was finished (it is being finished by stand-in author Brandon Sanderson -- more on that later). But at the beginning was The Eye of the World, which is actually a rather good book and excellent beginning to the series.

The plot is somewhat standard and cliché (though how many fantasy series aren't, if you really sit down and think about it?! No really, you should sit down and think about it -- right now. You should expect your Geek Speak-branded blue book in the mail in which to provide your essay on the subject.), in that we have a great evil once thought vanquished beginning to rise again, and some young people from a backwater village in the middle of nowhere end up being key players in the race to stop the bad guy(s) from destroying and/or taking over the world (if not just like many other fantasy series, it's certainly the general plot of almost every Japanese-style RPG of the past 30 years).

More specifically, Moiraine, Aes Sedai (wielder of the One Power), and her warder (bodyguard/uber-swordsman) Lan travel to Edmond's Field in the backwater area of the Two Rivers looking for someone in particular -- a young man of a specific age. But instead of one person, she finds three -- Rand, Mat, and Perrin. All three are *ta'veren, people around whom the Pattern of existence weaves itself around. Moiraine isn't the only one searching, however, and the village is attacked by minions of the Dark One, up until then only thought of as stories by the villagers. Joining the three boys in flight are Egwene, the mayor's daughter who has the ability to learn to wield the One Power herself, and Nynaeve, the Wisdom of the village (not much older than the others) who, despite her insistence to the contrary, has managed to wield the One Power without training, and who doesn't trust Moiraine at all and just wants to bring the young people back home.

Much hijinks ensue, with the band split apart and the different groups having their own little adventures, and yet more characters introduced (such as Thom Merrilin, a bard who seems to more than he lets on; Loial, an Ogier and student of history; Elayne, the daughter-heir to the throne of Andor… I could go on) all before everything comes together with a rather well done climax that sets up the rest of the series.

Really, there are quite a few characters here, and whole heck of a lot of different plot threads, but nothing to the extent that is seen in later books, and they're all handled rather well, all things considered. Rarely is the reader confused as to what's going on, and it is all rather exciting.

Though it must be said that Robert Jordan is verbose in his writing. Very verbose. I mean, we here at Geek Speak are not known for our brevity (and, in fact, pride ourselves on the lack thereof), but we don't hold a candle to the writing of Robert Jordan. If you haven't read any of his books before, just be warned about his verbosity, and you have my permission to skim the book instead of carefully reading each and every word (it's what we all do).

So the aforementioned magic system at play in the series centers around the One Power, which comes from the True Source (Jordan also likes lots o' capital letters, in order to Really Emphasize What He Means). The Source is split into two parts, saidar, wielded only by women, and saidin, wielded only by men. Multi-thousands of years previously, the world was "broken", during which time the male half of the Source was tainted by evil from the Dark One, which leads to the inevitable madness of any man who channels saidin. (Oooh, could one of the three boys that Moiraine finds actually channel? Spoiler alert: Yes.) As the series progresses, we get more details, on how men and women actually channel, how to split the One Power into five elements (air, water, earth, fire, and spirit), how it can be used for everything from healing, to traveling, to the creation of objects (though the majority of the knowledge about such was lost during the Breaking). Overall, it's an intriguing magic system that has a lot of thought put into it, a lot of flexibility, but remains (for the most part) consistent in what it can and can't do. One of the better parts to the series as a whole is the characters learning these details themselves.

The theme of Men vs. Women found in that magic system is one that pervades the series in other ways, too. Most of the cultures encountered have obvious roles for men and women (in Edmond's Field, the men form the town council, but the women have the Women's Circle. The kingdom of Andor only has queens. Warders of Aes Sedai are always men, etc.). Jordan tries to keep things relatively even between the two sexes, despite the defined roles, and in my opinion, he is rather effective at doing so. And some of the fun in the series is the men vs. women interactions, or the misunderstandings thereof. It's a minor thing, but I'm always amused at how whenever any of the three main boys -- Rand, Mat and Perrin -- encounter a situation with a woman that they don't understand, their reactions are always "the other two seem to know how to talk to women. I wish I was like that".

I can't mention the above without also mentioning one thing, though (otherwise a certain Geek Speaker would kick my ass). Robert Jordan is obsessed with breasts. I have no problem with this, being the red-blooded American male that I am. But once it was pointed out to me, it's hard to miss. It seems like no female character can cross her arms without it described that said arms are crossed "beneath her breasts", as if it makes a huge difference to the reader that we know that little detail. Jordan's obsession, though, increases as the series progresses. I did a little research, and in this first book, The Eye of the World, has 22 total uses of the word in all forms, one of which the specific mention of "folded arms beneath her breasts". The fifth book in the series, The Fires of Heaven, has 42 uses, eighteen of which refer to arms beneath said breasts or of pendants nestled between them. Robert Jordan's final book, the 11th in the series, "Knife of Dreams"? 84 uses. Make of that what you will, but I'd call it a trend.

So as I said, after eleven books in the series, Robert Jordan died. Supposedly there was only going to be one more, but he wasn't able to finish it before succumbing to illness. His widow (and editor) chose relatively new (and personal favorite) author Brandon Sanderson to take Jordan's notes and finish the series (Jordan was known for extensively detailed notes). Doing so ended up with three more books rather than one, but it is true that the series is honest-to-God, coming to an end. The final book (Book 14), A Memory of Light, should be released early next year. (For the inevitable question that I'm sure will be raised... the uses of "breast" in Sanderson's first book, The Gathering Storm? 26, the vast majority of which coming from the more or less unexceptionable "breastplate").

But back to the first book, The Eye of the World. Despite all the issues faced with the series as it continued, this is actually quite a good book. Verbose, yes. Many characters, yes. But it's all handled very well, and it's a good adventure. It's just a good read. And going back to it after several years reminds me quite clearly why I (and many others) got hooked on the series to begin with. So my recommendation is that if you've never read the book or the series, give this first book a try. I think you'll like it. And if you had given up on the Wheel of Time years ago, say somewhere between Books 7 and 9 (when most fans seemed to give up), I think you should go back to Book 1 and give it a try again. I think you'll also be reminded why you liked it in the first place. And with the final book actually coming out, you can reread the series! By the time you're done rereading everything, the last book should just about be available, and you can actually get some closure.

And if you do read and/or re-read the series, perhaps you can tell me once and for all how in the hell you are supposed to pronounce the name "Nynaeve".

   -- K. Burtt