sem break log: day 11

ten days, lazy hours at a time, late sleeping nights, several put-off tasks and what do i have to show for it? it's not that kind of fantasizing, for any green minds out there. well in fact, i'd have the eye of the world, book 1 of the wheel of time, by robert jordan.

i don't even remember where i've heard of this book, or the entire series, but i know i've been searching for the first book for the longest time. and when a copy finally resurfaced in powerbooks megamall, i wasted no time, and it's been a whirlwind adventure ever since. intertwined within a massive fantasy world were the lives of several unlikely characters, revolving around an epic yet compelling story touching on the topics of destiny and the role every life, every person has in the greater pattern of things. for the past week and a half, i've been eagerly following the travels of rand al'thor and company, sharing in their pain and ecstasies, watching them grow and develop into the heroes they were predestined to become.

i've always had a hyperactive imagination, to say the least. the brunt of this 'eagerness' was directed towards my interest, bordering on fascination, on the world of fantasy. this was usually expressed through my insatiable obsession with rpg's, but books also played a critical role. and here, jordan arrives at the perfect combination of story, characters, setting, and presentation that caters exactly to my tastes. the story may be a tad simplistic, since all fantasy works would involve the good-versus-evil theme, but the variations included and the inclusion of new story concepts and elements hold it high above others. the characters are all you would expect in a fantasy novel. it becomes classic, in a sense, since most of the stereotype character molds and classes in the genre were fitted to a t; the unexpected hero, the love interest, the primary villain, its subordinates and lackeys, the resistance, the lone warrior, the archer, the juggler, the healer. however, classic does not restrain the novel from having its own brand of character. the complex personalities and relationships formed in the novel give it an unparalleled depth and richness. the world they live in follows the same trend as the characters: predictable yet entrancing at the same time. the grand cities, the quaint villages, the spanning fields, the desolate wastelands; the detailed environments simply added to the majesty of the novel.

lastly, but undoubtedly the most important of all, the presentation jordan makes use of throughout the novel comes off me just right. let me make an unsolicited comparison: lord of the rings. tolkien comes up with a great blend of story, characters, places, and events which makes the trilogy the masterpiece that it is. however, something in his presentation, in the narration of the story comes across as a bit lofty and dragging. i have some issues about the story crawling along for the sake of some high-falluting description or monologue. the wheel of time, in my opinion, solves this problem nicely. it goes along on its own pace, slowing down and speeding up as needed. i actually spent this morning rushing through the last 100 pages, revelatory and action-packed as they were. its as if the content of the novel directs the reader as at what rate to read the story. and yet, jordan doesn't sacrifice complexity for digestibility. descriptions are still present, yet they are mixed just right as to allow the continuous flow of the story, rather than stopping at a certain paragraph just to fully ingest a picture.

far as i can say, based on my limited repertoire of read fantasy novels, the wheel of time definitely ranks above all others. there's just something in it; it was as if i was actually playing an rpg rather than reading it. everything about it reaches over to the gaming aspect of fantasy which i can fully visualize, yet it remains a book at heart with its complexity and depth and use of imagination.

i just can't wait for book 2, the great hunt.