Robert Jordan – The Eye of the World: The Graphic Novel, Vols. 1 & 2

92 & 93. The Eye of the World: The Graphic Novel, Volumes 1 & 2 by Robert Jordan, graphic novel adaptation by Chuck Dixon, artwork by Chase Conley & Andie Tong (2011, 2012)
The Wheel of Time Graphic Novels, Volumes 1 & 2

Read my review of book:
Prequel. New Spring

Length: 240 & 176 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Graphic Novel

Started / Finished: 19 August 2012

Where did they come from? The library.
Why do I have them? I’m a big ol’ WoT-geek.

Summary: In the sleepy village of Emond’s Field, things are shaping up to be the most exciting Bel Tine festival ever: there are strangers in town, a peddler, a gleeman, and a beautiful lady and her companion. But that night, there are more than just travelers; the town is attacked by nightmare creatures out of legend. They are targeting three young men – Rand, Mat, and Perrin – who are convinced that they must flee the Two Rivers to save themselves. They leave with the mysterious lady Moirraine, who is an Aes Sedai, one of the feared women who can wield the magic of the One Power. But can she protect them from the Dark One himself, who stalks their very dreams?

Volume One covers the events of Bel Tine and the travelers fleeing Emond’s Field. Volume Two sees them across Taren Ferry, and covers the events at Baerlon.

Review: I have a powerful fondness for The Eye of the World, maybe even more so than my fondness for the Wheel of Time as a whole. This book is what got me in to epic fantasy in the first place, and there are some parts of it that are just so clear and iconic in my mind that I can’t imagine them any other way. This works both for and against the graphic adaptation. On the one hand, it’s faithful to the storyline, dialogue, and feeling of the original, enough so to evoke my nostalgia and make me kindly disposed to the adaptated version. On the other hand, things in the adaptation are obviously never fully fleshed out, and reading the graphic novels just made me want to re-read the original in text form. The art work was not great, but also not terrible. Some things were handled well visually (Lan’s Warder cloak; the trollocs, the hellish landscape of Rand’s dreams); some things didn’t come across as well in picture as they did in prose (the Myrdraal’s cloak that doesn’t move in the wind); and sometimes the art just felt woefully off base (oh, poor Perrin).

I will also cop to being overly amused at some of the artwork for a totally different reason: this was not the first time I’d seen some of it, and I couldn’t get the results of Brandon Sanderson’s photoshop contest out of my head… so there was some giggling at inappropriate times. Hey, I ain’t perfect. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: I have a hard time imagining anyone who isn’t already a WoT fan picking these up, or understanding what the hell’s going on if they did. They’re a fun way to revisit the world for fans, and I can see how they’d be more accessible than a stack of 14 chunkster books, but it’s still not something I’d give to a newbie.

Vol. 1: This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon
Vol. 2: This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Other Reviews: Have you reviewed these books? Leave a comment with the link and I’ll add it in.

First Lines: This far below Emond’s Field, halfway to the Waterwood, trees lined the banks of the Winespring Water. / On the hard-packed dirt of the North Road the horses stretched out, manes and tails streaming back in the moonlight as they raced northward, hooves pounding a steady rhythm.

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