The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time #1) * * * * *
I finally started The Wheel of Time after the TV adaptation was cancelled. I had always meant to read it, in a vague someday sort of way, but fourteen enormous books is an intimidating commitment. Still, I was in the mood for high fantasy, and I was genuinely annoyed about the show. I liked it. I did not need it to be faithful in every detail; I am perfectly fine with adaptations changing things. Books and television work differently, especially when the source material is this sprawling. I tend to think of adaptations as alternate versions of the same story. The visuals were beautiful, the atmosphere worked, and yes, I am going to miss it. Screw Amazon . I listened to The Eye of the World as an audiobook, which turned out to be a serious undertaking. It runs over thirty hours, and it took me more than a month to finish. This is not a fast book. The plot is enormous, but the pace is glacial. Things happen, then the characters walk. Then they walk some more. Something interrupts them....