The Eye of the World

How it reads

The Eye of the World is fantasy (epic fantasy, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in an invented world, in no single period, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are power and politics, friendship and coming of age. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It opens a series. It ends on a cliffhanger, so have the next book ready. At 800 pages it's a real commitment. It's a mega-bestseller — the book everyone seems to have read.