Eye of the World is the actual first book. I'd suggest starting there. Also, just a heads up, it gets to be a bit of a slog around book seven, but the finish is really worth it.
this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2025
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While New Spring isn't a bad book I'd say just start with Eye of the World
Hear me and heed my warning!
The wheel of time series has an incredible slog in the middle books. But you’re invested at the time, so you power through.
The ending does a fine job of wrapping things up, but it takes way too long to get there.
Be cautious!
Thanks for the heads up, but I knew what I was getting myself into haha.
Sometimes I think I'm psychotic, as I've read the whole series 5 times now.
wtf
Publication order. Eye of the World.
Definitely EotW. I really enjoyed New Spring, but it's quite a good archetype of a prequel in a way a lot of other prequels aren't always. It does a good job of expanding on the characters you already know and love, providing further details about their motivations and histories. But it doesn't work quite as well as a stand-alone introductory story as does, say, The Magician's Nephew, or the Star Wars prequels.
By the way, feel free to join [email protected] if you're wanting more discussion as you go along in the series.
Oh I’ll for sure check it out after I finish. I have heard that this series is already pretty straightforward in a classical good vs evil - which is fine by me. But I don’t want any major spoilers.
Oh I should probably also add: I haven't finished the series myself. I'm on the penultimate book at the moment, just getting back into it after a fairly long break.
It's definitely straightforwardly good vs evil in the worldbuilding, but there's a lot more nuance in terms of actual characters.
One of the biggest themes throughout the series is (I don't consider this a spoiler, but I'll put it behind spoiler tags to allow you to make your own mind up):
Themes
Around who knows what and when. And how. And the problems that arise when people who ultimately are on the same side are operating with different information, including miscommunications.
The result is multiple factions working against each other and complex political machinations.
You should start with Eye of the World. For the current version of new spring I'd say you should probably read it after book 7 at least.
two cents: i read new spring first and don't have any regrets.
It’s not a bad book - it’s just made it harder to pick up WoT to start with I think.
I usually go into fantasy novels not knowing cultures or anything about the world, but these country names are just sliding out of my brain into a memory hole.
I was introduced to WoT late too but before the TV shows. I started with Eye of the World and followed it all from there.
As for the slog people are warning you about, it may help to get the audiobooks if they’re a challenge to get through. However, you’ve got a while to go before worrying about that.
Enjoy the read, they’ll keep you busy a while!
I am actually a crazy person and will listen to the audio books while I do chores/commute and read on my e-reader when actively reading. Thanks for the tip though!