First Impressions:
I've never been a Wheel of Time fan. I read this book sometime back in high school, and was not really inspired by it. I started book 2, but never finished. It was too high fantasy for me, if you can believe it.
Since I remember so little of the book from when I read it in high school, and since reading Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson keeps me up at night, I decided to give this novel another try. So far, 20 pages in, I feel the same as I did back then. Although the prologue was intriguing, especially the part where Dragon turns himself into a volcano, the narrative itself is wordy and uninteresting.
After the prologue, we have Rand al'Thor riding with his father to the Bel Tine festival. There are some interesting elements that caught my attention: the 'traditional' elements, where the people of the town don't remember why things are done, but just that it's always been done, so why change? I am also interested in seeing the role of women in this world. This town has a Women's Circle, which the men are not allowed to interfere in. They elect a woman to be 'Wisdom', whose role seems to be predicting the future--how the weather will be, what kind of harvest they can expect that year, etc. So far, the reader has had only one interaction with a woman, Wit's wife, and she seems unpleasant. I usually enjoy stories with a more direct female role, someone who I can directly relate to, so I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy this novel as it is told (so far) from the perspective of an adolescent male.
Other than my thoughts on the traditional elements and the gender perspective, I haven't found a lot to pull me in. I'm not fond of the writing style. Robert Jordan spends a lot of time describing the surroundings. As a reader, I don't find it necessary to know exactly how much snow is under the trees. I can appreciate that winter is lasting much longer than it should, but how many times do I need this thrown in my face? I get it already, Jordan! The winter is lasting too long and no one is even sure they're going to get a good harvest. So far we've heard this from 3 or 4 characters, and from the descriptive narrative from Jordan himself (omniscient). I get the point. Stop beating the dead horse.
That said, this will certainly help me sleep better at night.
UPDATE
Dammit, it started getting good. Had to force myself to put the book down at 11:30 last night. This may not help me sleep after all. Robert Jordan is painting this idyllic setting of the inside of Tam and Rand's home--cozy fire, stew bubbling, the two men performing their tasks in harmony and without complaint--when suddenly, there is a pounding on the door, followed by the door being kicked down by a giant man with a snout, ram's horns, and hooves. I have to say, it caught me by surprise. Jordan had pulled me in with his slow descriptions, and the leisurely pace of the events. I was expecting to be bored for another few chapters based on this presumption. Then suddenly, Tam is hacking Trollocs down at the door, and Rand is running for the woods. In rapid succession, Rand reunites with Tam--who is now injured and feverish--in the woods behind their home, Rand then goes back to the house for supplies, kills another Trolloc, fashions a litter, and starts dragging his father toward Emond's Hill. Along the way, a troop of trollocs passes, lead by the mysterious horseman, and Tam is muttering feverishly, telling stories of war and finding a baby, blue in the cold, and taking it home because he and his wife cannot have children. That's the chapter I finished the night with. Dammit Jordan, why couldn't you have continued to disappoint me? Now there are two books I can't read during the week because I will never sleep.
UPDATE
It took me a long time to finish this book. It is a very large book, and parts of it are very interesting, while other parts are pretty mediocre. My boyfriend promises me that things get better by book three. Book 2 is in my queue, so we'll see how far I get this time around.
