Not The Beginning, But A Beginning

It is often the case, when one revisits a book, to find new insights into the world the writer envisions. I began reading the Wheel of Time series nearly two decades ago, at the suggestion of a family friend who happened to be a librarian. Up until this point, I had been reading the normal kid stuff -- C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, you know, the foundations of fantasy fiction -- where the world was just a stage for the actors. It wasn't until I began reading Robert Jordan that I realized that the creation of a world was a monumental task, and could inform you about the characters even if the characters themselves could not or would not. I should note that I had attempted to read the Silmarillion just prior to my introduction to Jordan's work, and can admit that Tolkien's creation story was a bit too much for my youthful attention span. The Eye of the World, however, fascinated me from the very start, and I've been hooked ever since.

My plan, during the duration of this blog, is to inform the reader (that's you) what the rereader (that's me) has to say about each and every chapter. It has been some time since I've read the whole series from start to finish, and I believe that you'll benefit as much from this as I will. As time goes on, I may mention other things that I'm reading, but those posts won't share the same depth as the ones concerning the Wheel of Time. There are a number of resources that would benefit someone who simply wishes to know what happened in each book (I especially like the chapter-by-chapter outlines at the Encyclopedia WoT, or the ever-popular Wikipedia), but knowing and reading are two very different things. I will try my best to avoid plot spoilers, or do something similar to this, wherein the background is made to match a block of text -- the key to reading it is simply to highlight it with your cursor.

I guess I'm doing this for a number of reasons: firstly, Brandon Sanderson is well on his way to realizing Robert Jordan's dream (I am a fan of Sanderson's way with his characters); secondly, I have often wondered exactly how much time I spent wandering Jordan's version of the Aiel Wastes (that is, the period of time when his health was failing, and his writing was as well, by popular opinion -- we shall see what mine is as we go along); lastly, Tor is re-releasing the books with new covers. Don't take it the wrong way, but I absolutely adore the new covers. They're simple, which is not to say plain; they're also subtle, which is not the same as boring; and it just feels like they've metamorphosed into mature book covers! There is absolutely nothing wrong with the old covers, but I have lived and breathed this series for most of my life, and the new cover art (and cover design) just seems right. Also, I should probably mention that the covers are the sole copyright of Tor Books, just in case they don't like the free publicity.

With that, reader, I hope you'll join me as I dive into The Eye of the World!

[New Spring is all well and good, but I'm striving for historical accuracy -- as in, my own personal reading history. I'll most likely throw in a post or two about New Spring as I come across it in my personal library, but I don't feel it's essential to read that prior to starting the Wheel of Time reread.]