Dark Books - Page 3

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1)

Stephen King

Amazon Price: $10.37 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Plume Amazon Marketplace: 89 new & used starting at $3.18

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( K ) -> King, Stephen -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( K ) -> King, Stephen -> Paperback
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 535 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Rare Stephen King Misfire 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

While reviewing the first book, "The Gunslinger", of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, I am trying to not let the brilliance of the subsequent editions cloud my judgment on this one. I am a "late" fan of King (still working my way through all his novels), and I finally decided to begin the journey to the Dark Tower. However, after reading this first installment, it took an editor's note from King himself to get me excited about continuing with Roland on his quest.

The main problem I had with this book is that absolutely no context is given for Roland's world on his travels as the book opens. Roland is wandering through a land that looks like our own but definitely is not, contains mutant monsters, and for some reason a "Man In Black" that Roland is compelled to follow.

As I continued reading, those mysteries were only beginning to be touched on as the novel came to a close. Thus, I spent way too much time trying to figure out just what the heck was going on (a task that is nearly impossible without reading the next few installments anyway) and less time just enjoying the adventure.

At the conclusion of my reading, I wondered exactly how Stephen King was going to make an interesting story out of this. Little did I know that King is actually utilizing a form of background storytelling, where the events in this book are not fully explained for two, three, or even four books down the line. I did not care for this type of narrative, as it creates way too much confusion and too little of the mystery that King likely was gunning for.

So, if you are looking to start your own quest for the Dark Tower, you still need to read this book, but keep firmly in your mind that the series absolutely explodes in the next few books, which is far different from the glacial-like pace of this first try.

Editorial Review:

Filled with ominous landscapes and macabre menace, Stephen King's latest mass market novel features The Gunslinger, a haunting figure in combat with The Man in Black in an epic battle of good versus evil. A spellbinding tale that is both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike.

Blue Moon (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter)

Laurell K. Hamilton

List Price: $14.45 By: Orbit Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $4.78

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 262 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

You wouldn't be such a great writer without your talent 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Having spent the last book almost exclusively on vampires, after the visit from the council, this book moves more to the lycanthrope side, which was nice. I enjoy the three main influences on Anita, her human life, the vampires, and the wereanimals; it's good to see the interplay between them. I'll bet the next book focuses on the human aspects more than either of the supernaturals.

I liked that this one left St. Louis, though honestly, I thought the reason Anita was drawn to Tennessee was a little bit lame. I mean, Richard's in trouble, she has to go help; I had no problem with that, especially since the reason Richard needs her help made perfect sense with his character -- the truth will set you free, yeah right; he already knew the cops were corrupt, the big dumb knight-in-shining-armor -- and I liked that the Master of the City told Anita no, and wouldn't back down from that, and tried to fight her off when she came and came pretty close to succeeding before she kicked his butt. I liked the vampire politics and such here; it seemed real, that Colin would be so afraid of people who managed to cow the Council, and who would, logically, be looking to expand into a territory they thought they could take over -- and why not his, since Richard has been spending so much time there getting in good with the local werewolves who resent Colin's control, anyway. I liked Richard's family, especially their relationship with their mother -- she was a great character -- and I liked the way Anita handled it all.

My problem was with the conservationist aspect. As much as I love nature and believe that it should be preserved and kept safe from human depredations, I am not willing to take up arms and fight people who are more careless and cold-hearted than necessarily evil, in my eyes. I mean, poachers are one thing, but the bad guys here were not after the trolls that Richard wanted to protect, and while I thought Niley should definitely be kept away from the land and richly deserved what he got in the end, I just don't agree with fighting quite that hard for it. So I thought Richard shouldn't have gone to the lengths he did, nor forced Anita and company to the lengths they had to go to, just to protect trolls from someone who, while evil, wasn't really a threat to them. Basically I thought Niley should have shown up as evil earlier than he did, because there wasn't enough motivation for everyone to stay in town and fight Colin until we discover who nasty Niley was -- and then, when we found out the truth about Niley's treasure hunt, it all got pointless again. So I didn't like that.

But thank God, Richard and Anita had sex. I prefer Jean-Claude as a character and as a boyfriend for Anita, because Richard is way too goddamned petty and arrogant, but I'm so very glad we got past that sexual tension crap. I know, I know, it won't ever go away, especially not since Richard insists on banging other women who then feel the need to come after Anita to fight her for Richard's love -- and if one more goddamned supercreature tells Anita she wouldn't be so tough without her guns, I'm gonna start screaming -- but at least Anita and Richard should be able to cool their ardor, I hope. Maybe they can move towards some kind of resolution now.

I hate the munin, which means it is a very good subplot because I'm supposed to hate them and what they do to Anita, and I liked all of the interplay with the lycanthropes, especially between Anita and the wereleopards. It made them more fully-fleshed characters, and I like that. I liked that Jason got to kick a little redneck butt, and I hope to see more of Shang-Da and Jamil; both strong characters, I think. An excellent book.

Editorial Review:

You never forget your ex-fiance. And when the call came at three in the morning, I thought for a moment it was him. It wasn't. It was his brother. And it wasn't good news. Apparently, the former love of my life had got himself thrown into jail for assaulting a woman. Since I make my living as a preternatural expert, I tend to believe almost anything's possible. But though he may be one of the monsters, Richard would never harm a woman. So here I am in the wilds of Tennessee, Anita to the rescue. I've got just a few days to spring Richard and find out who framed him - and why. There's a full moon coming, and if my werewolf love is still behind bars when it rises, he'll be facing a lot worse than an assault charge ...Look out for information on this and other titles on the Orbit website at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House

Neil Gaiman, Malcolm Jones III, Mike Dringenberg, Michael Zulli, Clive Barker

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Vertigo Amazon Marketplace: 75 new & used starting at $10.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Sandman
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> Fantasy
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 51 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

the natural progression 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Vol 2 is still early in the series and Gaiman is still feeling out the character and what all is possible in this series. It's really good, but I don't think it's quite at its zenith yet, to deserve the reputation it has, but I'm looking forward to the next volume to see how Gaiman and the Sandman grow.

Not only a great comic 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This 2nd Sandman volume was hands down one of the best things I've ever read.(I'm through Vol.4 so far) I know Vol. 3 won awards and was also a good read, but a Cereal convention for serial killers, a 70's Sandman etc. This volume was truly amazing. I had planned to buy, read and resell the series when I was done. This vol. changed my mind. I'll keep and reread them forever.

Editorial Review:

This volume of Neil Gaiman's THE SANDMAN book series features the first appearance of Death, the Sandman's older sister. As Clive Barker says in his Introduction, ". . . there is a wonderful willful quality to this mix . . .slapstick comedy, mystical musings, and the grimmest collection of serial killers this side of Death Row." Eighth printing. Graphic novel format. Mature readers.

Embrace the Night (Cassandra Palmer Series, Book 3)

Karen Chance

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Roc Amazon Marketplace: 60 new & used starting at $3.69

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Fantasy -> Contemporary

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Embrace the Night by Karen Chance 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Spoilers below:

I have to say, Cassie Palmer really DID embrace the night in this latest book by Karen Chance. She does a lot of interesting things in this book that she would not have been willing or capable of doing in the first two books.

The book starts off a couple weeks after the last book ends but the action starts immediately with no review of what has happened in previous books. This can make the series a little difficult to read if you are not reading them one after the other or if you pick up the wrong one first.

Cassie is still trying to fit into her role as the new Pythia, the seer for the entire magical community, but she seems to have much better luck finally adapting to the position in this novel. At several points near the end she uses her position to justify her actions to some characters that would have been on her do-not-cross list in the previous books and they step aside for her. It's gratifying to see her make some progress in that arena.

Since the storyline does deal so heavily with finding the Codex Merlini in both time and space the action can get a little garbled but the plot is not so complex that you get lost, just complex enough for you to really think about aspects of it. Cassie is seeking out the Codex in order to reverse the geis that was placed on her (once) and Mircea (twice) to bind them together. Since this threatens Cassie's independence she's willing to go through quite a few hoops to get it removed. An emergency 'out' was built into the geis (sex with the originator - in this case Mircea - or with one of his chosen stand-ins) but Cassie tried that in the last book with Tomas and it didn't exactly work.

Along for the ride is Pritkin who, as a war mage, is sworn to protect the Pythia. Pritkin is the source of most of the confusing aspects of this book as several interesting factoids about his past come to light. First off, Pritkin is half incubus and his father, King of the Demons, would really like to kill the Pythia and nearly seduces Cassie twice to get the job done. The thing is that he looks almost exactly like Pritkin but more stylish so Cassie confuses them at first.

The other major thing is Pritkin IS Merlin and wrote the Codex way back in the day. This leads to a long series of time-jumping, confusion about a map to the Codex which interestingly enough somehow involves stripping, a lot of distrust and some almost paradoxical episodes. Pritkin has tried to remove the geis from Cassie and Mircea but since it got doubled on one end the spell warped and the standard removal spell just won't cut it.

Cassie finally figures out how to remove the geis but it involves having sex with a Mircea from two time periods. Some parts of that were quite confusing (is it a threesome if there are three bodies and only two lives?) and the rest was interesting and dramatic enough to make up for the confusing bits. Cassie still has several problems on the horizon but there's quite a bit more light at the end of this book than at the others. At least the geis is gone and Cassie is finally starting to assert some sway over others so she's not constantly running but standing up to protect as well.

This was my favorite of the books so far and I can't wait until the fourth book comes out.

Editorial Review:

Recently named the world's chief clairvoyant, Cassandra Palmer still has a thorn in her side. As long as Cassie and a certain master vampire--the sizzling-hot Mircea--are magically bound to each other, her life will never be her own...

The spell that binds them can only be broken with an incantation found in the Codex Merlini, an ancient grimoire. The Codex's location has been lost in the present day, so Cassie will have to seek it out in the only place it can still be found--the past.

But Cassie soon realizes the Codex has been lost for a reason. The book is rumored to contain some seriously dangerous spells, and retrieving it may help Cassie to deal with Mircea, but it could also endanger the world...

Armageddon's Children (The Genesis of Shannara, Book 1)

Terry Brooks

Amazon Price: $26.95 List Price: $26.95 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: Del Rey Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $1.83

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Authors, A-Z -> ( B ) -> Brooks, Terry -> General
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Authors, A-Z -> ( B ) -> Brooks, Terry -> Hardcover
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Authors, A-Z -> ( B ) -> Brooks, Terry -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 113 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Terry Brooks is one of a handful of writers whose work defines modern fantasy fiction. His twenty-three international bestsellers have ranged from the beloved Shannara series to stories that tread a much darker path. Armageddon’s Children is a new creation–the perfect opportunity for readers unfamiliar with Brooks’s previous work to experience an author at the height of his considerable storytelling powers. It is a gripping chronicle of a once-familiar world now spun shockingly out of control, in which an extraordinary few struggle to salvage hope in the face of terrifying chaos.

Logan Tom is doomed to remember the past and determined to rescue the future. Far behind him lies a boyhood cut violently short by his family’s slaughter, when the forces of madness and hate swept our world after decadent excesses led to civilization’s downfall. Somewhere ahead of him rests the only chance to beat back the minions of evil that are systematically killing and enslaving the last remnants of humanity. Navigating the scarred and poisoned landscape that once was America and guided by a powerful talisman, Logan has sworn an oath to seek out a remarkable being born of magic, possessed of untold abilities, and destined to lead the final fight against darkness.

Across the country, Angel Perez, herself a survivor of the malevolent, death-dealing forces combing the land, has also been chosen for an uncanny mission in the name of her ruined world’s salvation. From the devastated streets of Los Angeles, she will journey to find a place–and a people–shrouded in mystery, celebrated in legend, and vital to the cause of humankind . . . even as a relentless foe follows close behind, bent on her extermination. While in the nearly forsaken city of Seattle, a makeshift family of refugees has carved out a tenuous existence among the street gangs, mutants, and marauders fighting to stay alive against mounting odds–and something unspeakable that has come from the shadows in search of prey.

In time, all their paths will cross. Their common purpose will draw them together. Their courage and convictions will be tested and their fates will be decided, as their singular crusade begins: to take back, or lose forever, the only world they have.

In Armageddon’s Children, Brooks brings his gifts as a mythmaker to the timeless theme of the unending, essential conflict between darkness and light–and carries his unique imaginative vision to a stunning new level. Prepare for a breathtaking tour de force. To those who are new to Terry Brooks, welcome. And to those who have read him for many years: prepare for a dramatic surprise.

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty (Erotic Adventures of Sleeping Beauty)

A. N. Roquelaure

List Price: $12.95 By: Plume Amazon Marketplace: 239 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Authors, A-Z -> ( R ) -> Rice, Anne -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Authors, A-Z -> ( R ) -> Rice, Anne -> Hardcover
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Authors, A-Z -> ( R ) -> Rice, Anne -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 258 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Spank me if I ever open this book again! 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is the most repetitious book I have ever not completed reading. It takes a classic love story and turns it into ridiculous tale of bondage and punishment over and over and over again. It would have liked it better if Sleeping Beauty would have ate a bushel of apples and went into a irreversible coma on about the 3rd page. Oh, did I mention that this book is repetitious?

Totally awesome!!!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

this story is really fun it gives you different perception of what's lust and true love means.... anne rice is so good!!!!! i hope everyone will like it.

Interesting.. 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

Well unlike some of the reviews that I have read for this series, I find that Anne Rice's depiction of Sleeping Beauty to be interesting. The entire series (which I have read all 3 books thank you) is set to go beyond what we would percieve as torture. It tests the bounries of what a human body and mind can handle. If you can not be open minding to that then I suggestive not to read this series then. It is not ment to be set to what others think is okay (kinky wise)...as for the spanking..well hellooo! Spanking is one of the lowest form of digration!..

Editorial Review:

Rice writing as A. N. Roquelaure.

In the traditional folk tale "Sleeping Beauty," the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. Anne Rice's retelling of the Beauty story probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire.

Dream Country (The Sandman, Vol. 3)

Neil Gaiman, Malcolm Jones III, Charles Vess, Steve Erickson

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Vertigo Amazon Marketplace: 77 new & used starting at $6.70

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Characters -> Sandman
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> Fantasy
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. What's remarkable here (considering the publisher and the time that this was originally published) is that the main character of the book--the Sandman, King of Dreams--serves only as a minor character in each of these otherwise unrelated stories. (Actually, he's not even in the last story.) This signaled a couple of important things in the development of what is considered one of the great comics of the second half of the century. First, it marked a distinct move away from the horror genre and into a more fantasy-rich, classical mythology-laden environment. And secondly, it solidly cemented Neil Gaiman as a storyteller. One of the stories here, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," took home the World Fantasy Award for best short story--the first time a comic was given that honor. But for my money, another story in Dream Country has it beat hands down. "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" has such hope, beauty, and good old-fashionedchills that rereading it becomes a welcome pleasure. --Jim Pascoe

The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 2)

Laurell K. Hamilton

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Jove Amazon Marketplace: 86 new & used starting at $3.13

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Vampires

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 150 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

So not for me... 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is my second Anita Blake book that I have read (after "Guilty pleasures") and I am not impressed with it.
Anita Blake is a self-righteous, supposedly cool, totally unlikeable person. Her attitude is aggravating to say the least. She doesn't know when to shut her mouth, pisses the wrong people off at the wrong time and still comes out of every confrontation unharmed.

The descriptions of the murder scenes in the book are gross. To describe the scene once is necessary, but to describe the same stuff again and again is redundant. I'm getting the picture after the first time.

The books are called "vampire hunter novels", yet so far Anita hasn't hunted any vampires. Not that I think that vampires need to be hunted per se, but a bit of vampire interaction would be nice. In the first book the "vampire hunter" actually worked FOR the vampires and in the second one there were hardly any vampires.
Jean-Claude was only put in as a minor supporting actor. The whole book deals with zombies of all kinds - a topic that doesn't do it for me at all.

*SPOILERS*
What annoyed me most was:

- that Anita found out that raising a dead animator has very bad consequences and that that zombie can't be controlled by the one who raised it. Nevertheless she doesn't hesitate to - or even think about
it - raise a whole graveyard, meaning loads and loads of zombies she doesn't know anything about. What if there are former animators among them?

- that at first Anita wants to bring down Dominga Salvador with legal means and only in case those would fail she would let John Burke deal with her. That resolution didn't last for long, because as soon as she realizes that Dominga got out on bail (something which is pretty much inside the legal system, even though she obviously reached that by bribery) she decided it's time to have her killed by the numeours zombies she just raised. Nice double standard.

Guess this book wasn't for me.

Editorial Review:

Now available in hardcover for the first time, The Laughing Corpse takes readers back to a time when Anita's life was a bit less complicated. As the best Animator in the business-she's as good at raising the dead as she is at slaying the undead-she crosses paths with a creature from beyond the grave, a super-powerful zombie who is tearing a swath of murder through the city. And she discovers that there are some secrets better left buried-and some people better left dead.

Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, Book 1)

Kim Harrison

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Eos Amazon Marketplace: 103 new & used starting at $2.69

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 239 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Silly 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This books start out interesting enough, but what a let down a few chapters in. Don't bother.

Loved it 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

As a fan of early Anita Blake, I was very happy when I stumbled across this series. It's finally nice to see a female character who can take care of herself, but doesn't have everything figured out. Or who feels the need to have sex with everything that moves... but that's another rant all together. Rachel, with her menagerie of friends, stands out as a very sympathetic character you cant help but like. While I liked the first book in the series, I've liked the others even more. Fans of early L K Hamiltion, Karen Chance, Christopher Golden, and Sherrilyn Kenyon will likely enjoy Rachel and her world.

Editorial Review:

All the creatures of the night gather in "the Hollows" of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party ... and to feed.

Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining -- and it’s Rachel Morgan's job to keep that world civilized.

A bounty hunter and witch with serious sex appeal and an attitude, she'll bring 'em back alive, dead ... or undead.

The Eye of the World: Book One of 'The Wheel of Time' (Wheel of Time)

Robert Jordan

Amazon Price: $37.77 List Price: $59.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Macmillan Audio Amazon Marketplace: 34 new & used starting at $25.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Authors, A-Z -> ( J ) -> Jordan, Robert -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1699 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The first epic fantasy that I grew up on 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

What led me to read "The Wheel of Time" by the late Robert Jordan was when my brother and I bought the "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" DVD. I didn't really like the movie when I saw it in theaters, but then it grew on me when I saw it a few more times on the television and computer screens. I was amazed by the Ringwraiths, the Tower of Isengard, the characters of Arwen and Aragorn, the Mines of Moria, and the beautiful scenery that's seen throughout the entire film (the entire trilogy, in fact). Back then, I wasn't an avid reader, but I have to thank Peter Jackson, and Robert Jordan, for making me a passionate reader that I am today.

I first read "The Eye of the World" back in 2002, and it was pretty complicated (as I said, I didn't read a lot of books before "Fellowship" came out on DVD). I read two chapters for only an average of three days each. But after I finished it, I like it. I knew that the book had lots of sequels, so I went on with "The Great Hunt" and "The Dragon Reborn" and so on.

Then, in December 2007, I reread "The Eye of the World" and I'm still amazed by the author's excessive detail and memorable characters. And I know it uses the typical fantasy formula (ordinary young man in a village leaves home to do some fantastical stuff), but it didn't really matter to me because of how I admired many of the characters so much.

The basic plot involves Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara. Trollocs (anthropomorphic creatures) and Myrddraal (trollock offspring) have attacked their village, and they discover that these beasts are here to kill the three young men. They manage to escape with a couple of companions: Moiraine, Lan, Egwene, Thom, and later on, Nynaeve. During their journey to Tar Valon, home of the Aes Sedai, Moiraine (an Aes Sedai herself) is convinced that Rand is the Dragon Reborn. The Dragon Reborn is the one who has been created to destroy the ultimate evil that seeks to destroy all the lands, from Shienar to Illian to Falme. Rand, of course, denies this, but . . . Well, you, the reader, must find out by reading "The Eye of the World" straight through.

What I love most about this series is the diverse range of characters that are found in the book. Lan, Bayle Domon, Nynaeve, Padan Fain, Min, and many others are given different personalities and motives. But, of course, not all characters will be likable. Nynaeve, in particular, is a pessimist and very annoying at times, but in other times, it was a good thing for her to help others. Ingtar's feelings were a bit forced (and they were forced even more in "The Great Hunt"), while a few folk of Emond's Field won't be a pleasure to read about.

The excessive detail found in this novel are near ideal. I'm not sure if Tolkien's trilogy has this much detail found in Jordan's entire series; I've only read "Return of the King" and bits and pieces of "Fellowship" and "Towers". There are so many things happening here: the journey to many locations like Caemlyn and Shadar Logoth are probably equal to the journey to many Middle Earth locations like Midgewater and Lothlorien. And it grabs my attention when I read "Eye". I couldn't really put the book down.

All in all, I'm sure that this isn't as good as Tolkien's classic trilogy, but I still admire the Wheel of Time series. It's one of my favorite fantasy epics, along with Robin Hobb's "The Farseer Trilogy" and, just recently, Scott Lynch's "Locke Lamora" series. And it's unfortunate that the author passed away back in September, but I, along with countless fans, will still cherish his work. Rest in peace, Mr. Jordan.

A-

Editorial Review:

The Wheel of Times turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, and Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.