The Dragon Reborn
This book was super disjointed, jumping between several different stories and spending a long time with each one before moving on to the next. As such, I'm going to split this up by character so I don't miss anything
Perrin
The book starts with Perrin and, frankly, he becomes a very frustrating character in this installment. He spends a lot of time resisting his wolfish side, which I didn't understand at all for a hundred pages or so. He's worried that he'll lose his human side, and Jordan takes far too long to confirm that this is a legitimate worry. I still think he should just embrace it, and I'd like for him to take off and spend some time with Elyas. It's the most obvious solution to his problem, and it takes him entirely too long to realize it and not nearly enough time to just dismiss it.
Beyond that, I like the addition of Zarine/Faile to his story. She asks a lot of questions, which is always refreshing. Even if Moiraine refuses to answer any of them. Her romance with Perrin felt a little out of nowhere at the end, but all of the romances have so far. I just don't think it's one of Jordan's strengths.
Beyond that, I'm eager to meet the hawk, whoever she is. Though I'm starting to worry that Jordan is a little too fond of the one man/many woman relationship. We're already heading there with Rand and Elayne, Egwene, Min, and some fourth, unknown woman. I hate to think we're going there with Perrin, too.
Aes Sedai
The Aes Sedai are actively fostering an environment of secrets and distrust and it's getting annoying. Sure, it helps with the keeping things a mystery until they are plot relevant thing. And it plays into my unsteadiness of not know who the Black Ajah are. I basically trust the Amyrlin, Verin, and Moiraine. But I guess even that isn't certain.
The thing is, it all makes sense within the society for the Aes Sedai to have created this environment. They have cliques with different priorities who are in competition with each other, even when they're all ostensibly on the same side. They are used to not just obedience, but blind obedience. And, like the Ogier, they have a hard time distilling their wealth of knowledge to what is immediately relevent. But it's hardly fair of Moiraine to demand that Loial do this time and again and then refuse to do it herself.
Now that they're being confronted with smart, curious, independent people it's no wonder the Aes Sedai's traditional means of interacting with the world are falling short. Instead of obedience they're getting a lot of rebellion and distrust. And it's hard to feel any sympathy for them. They brought this on themselves. If they'd just talk to each other and treat people as people instead of pawns, so much frustration could be avoided.
Aes Sedai in Training
Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve, on the other hand, are basically perfect. They tell each other everything, regardless of the fact that their superiors are trying to separate them. They support each other and teach each other. And yeah, they have their differences. This mostly stems from Nynaeve, like the Aes Sedai, not being used to explaining herself and Egwene demanding more and more to be treated as an equal. But they love each other, and I have confidence that they'll work through this.
I really want Egwene and Elayne to forget Rand and just go off together. I was really excited when the Aiel women agreed with me about that. And while it would have been nice for Jordan to just come out and say that Bain and Chiad are in a relationship, I think the subtext is pretty clear. If only there wasn't the implication that they would also be willing to take a man to bed. Threesomes and polyamory are cool and all, but this came off as too much of a male fantasy of what lesbians actually are.
I'm excited to see these three characters continue to master their powers and get each other out of scrapes. I just hope no friendships get ruined in the process.
Mat
I was so excited to finally get some of Mat's point of view. He's a trickster with a heart of gold, which is one of my very favorite character types. But what I love most about him (and Nynaeve, for that matter), is that he acts. He doesn't get all wishy-washy and worry about how things will play out. He doesn't spend hundreds of pages whining. He takes the bull by the horns and gets shit done. Sure, he relies too much on his luck. He's impulsive. It's going to get him into trouble. But my worry about that inevitable day is preferable to my annoyance with Perrin. At least we get some cool fights and thrilling heroics in the meantime.
I'm also glad he hooked up with Thom for most of the story. And if Thom really does end his days with that Wise Woman, I'm going to be mad. More Thom, all the time. He's just got to stay an active player until the end.
Rand
Rand was barely in this book, which was something of a relief. He's a worrier, even moreso than Perrin, and that gets old. But it would have been nice to see some more of his attempts to master his power. The real problem here is that Jordan hasn't thought out his magic system very thoroughly. It's all a bit vague and hand-wavey, even the more detailed bits we get from Egwene. So when Rand is learning he has to be kept off page. Maybe I've been spoiled recently by Sanderson and Rothfuss, but I'd really like some more structure to the magic system in this book. How does it work, exactly? How does one grow stronger, beyond practice? There was a wasted opportunity here, the shows some of the underlying weaknesses of this series. At least there's enough politics and culture to keep me interested on that front.
I probably missed some stuff anyway, but whatever. I really enjoyed this book overall, and I've heard the next one is even better. I'm getting wary about that mid-series slump that I know is coming, though, We've passed the shortest book in the series, so things are only going to drag out more from here on out.
Perrin
The book starts with Perrin and, frankly, he becomes a very frustrating character in this installment. He spends a lot of time resisting his wolfish side, which I didn't understand at all for a hundred pages or so. He's worried that he'll lose his human side, and Jordan takes far too long to confirm that this is a legitimate worry. I still think he should just embrace it, and I'd like for him to take off and spend some time with Elyas. It's the most obvious solution to his problem, and it takes him entirely too long to realize it and not nearly enough time to just dismiss it.
Beyond that, I like the addition of Zarine/Faile to his story. She asks a lot of questions, which is always refreshing. Even if Moiraine refuses to answer any of them. Her romance with Perrin felt a little out of nowhere at the end, but all of the romances have so far. I just don't think it's one of Jordan's strengths.
Beyond that, I'm eager to meet the hawk, whoever she is. Though I'm starting to worry that Jordan is a little too fond of the one man/many woman relationship. We're already heading there with Rand and Elayne, Egwene, Min, and some fourth, unknown woman. I hate to think we're going there with Perrin, too.
Aes Sedai
The Aes Sedai are actively fostering an environment of secrets and distrust and it's getting annoying. Sure, it helps with the keeping things a mystery until they are plot relevant thing. And it plays into my unsteadiness of not know who the Black Ajah are. I basically trust the Amyrlin, Verin, and Moiraine. But I guess even that isn't certain.
The thing is, it all makes sense within the society for the Aes Sedai to have created this environment. They have cliques with different priorities who are in competition with each other, even when they're all ostensibly on the same side. They are used to not just obedience, but blind obedience. And, like the Ogier, they have a hard time distilling their wealth of knowledge to what is immediately relevent. But it's hardly fair of Moiraine to demand that Loial do this time and again and then refuse to do it herself.
Now that they're being confronted with smart, curious, independent people it's no wonder the Aes Sedai's traditional means of interacting with the world are falling short. Instead of obedience they're getting a lot of rebellion and distrust. And it's hard to feel any sympathy for them. They brought this on themselves. If they'd just talk to each other and treat people as people instead of pawns, so much frustration could be avoided.
Aes Sedai in Training
Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve, on the other hand, are basically perfect. They tell each other everything, regardless of the fact that their superiors are trying to separate them. They support each other and teach each other. And yeah, they have their differences. This mostly stems from Nynaeve, like the Aes Sedai, not being used to explaining herself and Egwene demanding more and more to be treated as an equal. But they love each other, and I have confidence that they'll work through this.
I really want Egwene and Elayne to forget Rand and just go off together. I was really excited when the Aiel women agreed with me about that. And while it would have been nice for Jordan to just come out and say that Bain and Chiad are in a relationship, I think the subtext is pretty clear. If only there wasn't the implication that they would also be willing to take a man to bed. Threesomes and polyamory are cool and all, but this came off as too much of a male fantasy of what lesbians actually are.
I'm excited to see these three characters continue to master their powers and get each other out of scrapes. I just hope no friendships get ruined in the process.
Mat
I was so excited to finally get some of Mat's point of view. He's a trickster with a heart of gold, which is one of my very favorite character types. But what I love most about him (and Nynaeve, for that matter), is that he acts. He doesn't get all wishy-washy and worry about how things will play out. He doesn't spend hundreds of pages whining. He takes the bull by the horns and gets shit done. Sure, he relies too much on his luck. He's impulsive. It's going to get him into trouble. But my worry about that inevitable day is preferable to my annoyance with Perrin. At least we get some cool fights and thrilling heroics in the meantime.
I'm also glad he hooked up with Thom for most of the story. And if Thom really does end his days with that Wise Woman, I'm going to be mad. More Thom, all the time. He's just got to stay an active player until the end.
Rand
Rand was barely in this book, which was something of a relief. He's a worrier, even moreso than Perrin, and that gets old. But it would have been nice to see some more of his attempts to master his power. The real problem here is that Jordan hasn't thought out his magic system very thoroughly. It's all a bit vague and hand-wavey, even the more detailed bits we get from Egwene. So when Rand is learning he has to be kept off page. Maybe I've been spoiled recently by Sanderson and Rothfuss, but I'd really like some more structure to the magic system in this book. How does it work, exactly? How does one grow stronger, beyond practice? There was a wasted opportunity here, the shows some of the underlying weaknesses of this series. At least there's enough politics and culture to keep me interested on that front.
I probably missed some stuff anyway, but whatever. I really enjoyed this book overall, and I've heard the next one is even better. I'm getting wary about that mid-series slump that I know is coming, though, We've passed the shortest book in the series, so things are only going to drag out more from here on out.
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