Author: Robert Jordan
Published: October 1994
Publisher: Tor Books
Series: The Wheel of Time #6
1011 pages (mass market paperback)
I give this book a 4, but I think it’s really more like a 3.7 or 3.8 … However, I’m not going to get into decimals, heh, so I rounded.
Continuing on with The Wheel of Time series, I finally finished reading book six! This one was quite long, hence the lack of updates around the blog while I was trying to get though this phonebook-sized novel …
So what happens in book six? Well, truth to be told, I cannot remember much that happened in the first 500 pages or so — it felt like nothing much was going on and it was difficult to get through. I just didn’t care about Rand’s problems, or Morgase, or even Mat in this book. And I usually love Mat! I think it’s because those characters’ parts of the stories are becoming increasingly political, which normally isn’t really my cup of tea. But the last half of the book was amazing to read, and I was so hooked. Especially all the Aes Sedai stuff. I love the concept of Aes Sedai in this story, it’s one of my favourite things about the series. There are a lot of very important plot points that happen in Lord Of Chaos, events that I am sure are going to play very large roles in future installments.
It’s very difficult to write synopsis for books in a series without spoiling what happens in previous books (so skip this paragraph if you’re worried). The White Tower, as established in the previous book, has split, which is not a good thing at all. The White Tower (or, Elaida, the Amyrlin who usurped Siuan) sends emissaries to Rand, the Dragon Reborn, at the same time as the Hall of the Tower (the Aes Sedai in Salidar). Rand is basically confronted with two schools of Aes Sedai, each wanting him to be on their side — but the truth is, the Aes Sedai need Rand more than Rand needs them. Not to mention the fact that Rand feels he can’t trust any Aes Sedai anymore. That’s the major plotline of this book, I believe. There are lots of other very important events though, such as Rand founding his school (the “Black Tower”, the students affectionately call it, haha, I love it!) and Egwene, Nynavae and Elayne and their becoming Aes Sedai. Egwene, in particular, has something tremendously exciting happen to her that I don’t want to spoil, but I was quite shocked when it happened!
The ending was really great too, it reminded me of the endings from books one and two, where something large and profound happens that forever changes the story world. Definitely makes me want to start book seven right away.
I get the impression that as the series goes on, each individual book becomes hit-or-miss for many readers. I totally understand; for me, this book was mainly a hit, though a belated one. Like I said before, the first half of this book was quite long and boring, and it really felt it could have been pared down considerably. It’s just that, nothing much happens in the first half. I can’t even remember what I read in the first half. The prologue alone used up 70 pages! I would not be surprised to hear that people just give up this book in the middle … which would be a real shame, because the last half is so not worth missing out on.
Also there is a lot of repetition in the series which I am sure readers (who are not die hard fans, and thus, less likely to overlook) may be sick of. I’m a little sick of it myself, but I guess since I am what you would call a fan of the series, I am more willing to forgive it. You know, the constant description of everyone‘s clothes (really?); certain phrases like ‘good Two Rivers woolens'; necklines on dresses and, if they are low, how their boobs are popping out; Rand, Mat and Perrin constantly thinking each other are expert on women; the women constantly thinking men are all ‘woolheaded'; the men constantly thinking women are all confusing; Nynavae and her damn braid-tugging … If you’ve read books in this series, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.
But like I said — I do like this series and I am determined to finish it. And as much as I complain about the occasional lack of plot or repetition, I’m fan enough of the series to ignore it. I do completely understand readers who cannot finish the book (or any other book in this series) because of said cons though. I do agree that this book felt stretched out. In fact, some of the previous books felt that way as well. However, there is something about the series that still has me hooked onto it. It simply hasn’t failed in delivering epic-ness yet. Granted, it’s not a continous or even distribution of epic-ness, but I am still loving this series, and this book’s last half was truly fun and amazing to read — so much that I think it makes up for the beginning half’s lack of story.
My Rating: 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment