The Eye of the World. Robert Jordan, 1990.

Robert Jordan. THE EYE OF THE WORLD. Tor (Tom Docherty) New York [1990] ISBN: 0312850093

Current Selling Prices
$350-$800 /£180-£400













FANTASY LITERATURE
Only 1500 copies of this hardbound issue were produced. First book of "The Wheel of Time" series. Fine copies in fine dust jackets seem to be somewhat prized. With recent books, and especially fantasy, condition is paramount. The venerable Blackwell's, heirs to book Deity Basil Blackwell, say:

...in one short decade, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time has become the bestselling American fantasy series of all time--comparable in depth and scope to J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary trilogy," The Lord of The Rings. ... In the THE EYE OF THE WORLD three young friends; Rand, Matt and Perrin are attacked by subhuman monsters, bestial Trollocs. With the help of Lady Moiraine, an Aes Sedai, a woman who can wield the One Power and her Warder, Lan--the young boys flee their homeland. But they are pursued relentlessly by the forces of the evil Dark One--and begin an adventure across an imaginative, fantastical world of strange wonders and deadly horror--where goodness stands on the brink of destruction--for the Wheel of Time is weaving a web in the pattern of ages, a web to entangle the world...

I came across this book in a very useful list compiled by an assiduous ebayer which was part of an endless thread "A Book that Looks Like Nothing" ( very long list try here.) Here is the accumulated wisdom of 'one short decade' on ebay, a sharp learning curve with a few no hopers and netblown books thrown in. A long queue await 'Eye' at ABE presumably looking for underpriced examples. Btw the Wikiman informs us that: ' Robert Jordan has stated that he consciously intended the early chapters of The Eye of the World to evoke the Shire of Middle-Earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.' Jordan is a US author and the US eds usually precede. His real name is James Oliver Rigney, a decorated Vietnam Vet and '... a history buff ... enjoys hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool and pipe collecting.' A word of warning - pipe collectors can become shocking bores when you get them on their subject.

VALUE? The cheapest copy available is $375, a signed one can be hand for $550, the word on the street is that Jordan isn't signing anymore -something you hear alot from autograph people. The UK from Orbit in 1990 seems to go for about the same. An ARC (Advance Reading Copy) is a BIN at ebay at $110 but you don't want those. There are no firsts on ebay which is a good sign. [ W/Q *** ]