“The Eye of the World” is the first book in a long-running series with an extensive fantasy world-building and intricate magic system. The first novel follows a group of friends, Rand, Perrin and Egwene, and their fight to survive after their home suffers an attack by the undead antagonist army.
The main hero of the novel is Rand, and he is the one who wields the eye of the world at the end, to protect his friends and defeat the army of the undead. The series kicks off with Rand seeing a cloaked, mysterious figure, which makes him very afraid. He discovers that other boys his age in Two Rivers have seen the figure as well. Rand will soon discover that the things he only heard about in stories: Trollocs, the Dark One or Shai'tan and Aes Sedai (a group of warriors who are not spoken of kindly in the Two Rivers) are not just tales for goodnight.
The novel explores the themes of friendships, corruption and power. It is heavily inspired by its predecessor, The "Lord of the Rings", with all the fantasy tropes and clichés, but has its own twists and different commentaries on important themes explored.
