The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan has been recommended to be more than once. I even bought a paperback copy of The Eye of the World, though at the time I purchased it I was simply adding it to the list of many that I wanted to eventually read. When I eventually picked up the book, I found it difficult to work my way through the pages. I was eventually able to finish it, but decided that the series just wasn’t for me.
When I heard that Brandon Sanderson was going to finish Jordan’s grand epic, a new sense of desire for the series flooded into me. Sanderson has quickly become one of my favorite authors, from the world he fashioned in Mistborn to the beginnings of his own grand epic The Stormlight Archives. But the initial interest quickly evaporated when I recalled how disinterested I was in The Eye of the World. I was sure Sanderson could pull me into these stories but I couldn’t skip the rest of The Wheel of Times series just to read the his work. So in the end rather than being excited about the news I grew rather disappointed by it.
Enter audio books, aka audible.com, Sanderson’s The Way of Kings and Jordna’s The Wheel of Time share the same narrators. Both of are very good at bringing the words to life. And I doubted that even they could emerse me into the story I have dismissed for so long.
However, at some point The Eye of the World must have gone on a good sale on audible, since it currently resides in my library. Ever doubtful I have once again decided to test the The Eye of the World, with the help of the two very skilled narrators. So far they have brought this book to life in a way that eluded me as I tried to read words so long ago. I have been listening to the story during my daily commute over the last couple of days and so far it has helped ease my drive.
This is the very reason why I love and recommend audible to anyone. A good narrator or in this particular case a good pair of narrators can bring light to a world made dark by your eyes.