The Eye Of The World by Robert Jordan

Three young men are growing up happily in their small village.   Little do they know that their contentment will be short lived.  In one night, Trollocs descent on their village and it becomes apparent that The Dark One has sent them to bring the three to him. 

Luckily, the three (Rand Al-Thor, Mat and Perrin) have help at hand.  Moiraine, an Aes Sedai or magical lady and her protector, Lan, are close at hand to diagnose the issue and help the three escape.  Along with them go Egwene, a village girl who Rand is attracted to and Nynaeve, the Village Wisdom.  The band travels as quickly as possible but are followed by the minions of The Dark One at every turn.  Along the way, the group picks up Loial, an Ogre who is a giant who understands the life of trees.  They continue their mission until Rand finally is caught in a fight with The Dark One, a fight for the survival of the world.

This is book one in the epic Wheel Of Time series.  As is common with many first novels in a series, much time is spent world building and setting up the characters and their traits.  I've been promising my son for years that I'd read this series as it is his favorite and the first book was worth the read.  This book is recommended for epic fantasy readers.