First impressions on "The Eye of the World" and my thoughts on Tolkien

Today I thought I´d try out audio books - why not since the excerpts are free! So, I decided to download The Eye of the World, which is the first book of The Wheel of Time  fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan. I didn´t have too high hopes going into the book as it was just as a pastime activity and I was not looking for a real long-lasting impression or reading experience. 

I am the biggest fan of Tolkien´s work - everything from his poems which leave you pondering upon the touched subjects for a long time, to his LotR novels, The Hobbit, Silmarillion and so on. Tolkien has enchanted me with his unusual ability to create new well thought-out dimensions and universes. Let us not forget that this grand old man made up a whole language and a detailed history of his own world - the Middle Earth. The style of his writing is truly amazing and impeccable - it catches your attention from the very first word and keeps you on the edge till the end. Still, he manages to have longe descriptive parts entwined with the action-packed portions of the book, which really does make his works masterpieces.

After this long and out of topic rant, let´s get back on the subject. I had previously read on Wikipedia that Robert Jordan had stated that he consciously intended the early chapters of The Eye of the World to evoke the Shire of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Starting the audio book with that prior knowledge certainly made me pay more attention to the similarities and parallels. There is a lot, which resembles Tolkien´s world. In the very first chapter of The Eye of the World (from here on out tEotW) the main character, Rand al´Thor encounters a mystical creature that carries an uncanny resemblance to Tolkien´s Nazgûl or ringwraiths - both are on pitch black horses and wear a black cape that reaches the ground, completely silent and carry the feeling of constant fear with them. As in The Fellowship of the Ring, the book starts with a festival, huge gathering which may of may not involve a wizard or a soothsayer and fireworks. Bilbo´s birthday celebration is hard to forget and for me it was difficult to view this book on it´s own when there are so many similar storylines.

A recurring motive in tEotW was the long winter that had been troubling the people of the Two Rivers district. It might just be me being a complete high fantasy buff, but this seems an awful lot like A Song of Ice and Fire by Martin. I´ll have to give it to Robert Jordan here though as Martin´s work was published several years after tEotW.

The writing style didn´t bother me. As I was listening to the book, it was pleasurable and quite easy to follow. I am not sure if I want to keep reading it after listening the excerpt but I guess we´ll see. Right now I am trying to conquer American literature of the 20th century. If you have any great suggestions, let me know!