This is definitely a book to put in the sub-Tolkien genre. A fantasy set in a medieval world three thousand years after some major apocalypse (interestingly, pre-apocalypse remnants often hint at a 20th century America vibe). Three yokels, plus two friends accidentally roped in to the story, are accompanied by a warrior and a wizard on a vaguely-defined quest to prevent the return of a great evil. So far, so Lord of the Rings.

The storytelling is not bad, although it does get a bit repetitive - travel to see somewhere new, get ambushed by bad things, escape by the skin of your teeth, travel on some more. Character development is very poor. We know little more about our heroes at the end than we do at the beginning. This is not helped by the length of the book and the fractured narrative. Characters drop out of the story for long periods and then come back, by which time we have lost our focus on them and their particular wants, needs, strengths and weaknesses.

Overall, I think the big failing here is that the author is trying to stuff too much of everything - world building, ancient folklore, magical powers, geography, philosophy, history, different creatures, different peoples and sentient species, languages - into the story that just does not fit, even at 750 pages.

I can understand how a lot of people really like this book (and the dozen or so volumes that follow it!) but it was not for me. ( )

I have just seen the trailer! I am beyond excited to see this epic series on the screen! It seriously looks incredible! ( )

Pretty good first book of this series but I did not continue it. Fantasy adventures. ( )

La vida de Rand Al’Thor y sus amigos en Campo de Emond ha resultado bastante monótona hasta que una joven misteriosa llega al pueblo. Moraine, una maga capaz de encauzar el Poder Único, anuncia el despertar de una terrible amenaza. Esa misma noche, el pueblo se ve atacado por espantosos trollocs sedientos de sangre, unas bestias semihumanas que hasta entonces se habían considerado una leyenda. Mientras Campo de Emond soporta la ofensiva, Moraine y su guardián ayudan a Rand y a sus amigos a escapar.

Cringing everytime the book reminds me about its gendered magical system ( )