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A review by beaconatnight
Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan
4.0
"Let the Lord of Chaos rule."
The Dark One experienced a series of setbacks. In the past couple of books, our heroes were able to overcome many of the Forsaken. Rand was able to bring nations behind him, so that even public rulers like Sammael are on the defense. Firmly in power, Rand dares to grant amnesty to male channelers. He hired no other than former false Dragon Mazrim Taim to train his army of soldiers capable to wield the One Power, his Asha'man, as they'll come to be known.
So, our evil lord is understandably pissed. But we already know that his prison isn't holding up too well and he is re-gaining some of his power. He lets his presence know by making the whole world burn up. More secretly he brings some other Forsaken into the world. And by know you should know, in the world of Wheel of Time this means – that he will leave the stage and the revived will only creep about the end of a chapter or two. We do understand, though, there are things still to come!
This kind of setup is growing on me. For some reason Jordan loves to remind his readers how dire the situation really is, perhaps to overshadow all victories that are about to unfold in the course of the next one thousand odd pages. In fact, Lord of Chaos might be the book of empowerment on our heroes side.
The most fateful character growth is undoubtedly Egwene's. After she has learned Travel by entering the World of Dreams in flesh, she is summoned to Salidar to speak before the rebel Aes Sedai. It turns out, they decided that Egwene will be the next Amyrlin. Meanwhile, Nynaeve discovered how to Heal women of stilling as well as men of gentling, respectively.
In this way she is able to reconnect the former Amyrlin Seat, Siuan Sanche, to the True Source. It's without consequence, though, as it still leaves her much weaker than before. I thought the development was emotionally very twisted and you can only imagine how disruptive it must have felt to her. I would have liked if it had been explored further, though. Also, the healing of the other former false Dragon, Logain, is so far not much addressed, either.
Moreover, it's puzzling to me why these core moments pass by so quickly. I feel like Jordan doesn't fully answer the questions that motivate these plot points. Why Egwene? How exactly does Nynaeve discover the long-lost art of Healing a stilling? I've read people complain about how important episodes in the series come about rushed, and as with certain episodes in the previous book, there are clear examples here.
Maybe the series is really more about its pulpy charm, and there is much of this here. For instance, there is this incredibly ridiculous quarrel between Perrin and Faile, because Berelain is sexually approaching the guy. It's really stupid, especially since it doesn't even pretend to add anything to the plot. Rand is also reunited with Min, whom he relentlessly friend-zones. What also happend: Over-the-top love pulls Egwene in Gawyn's dreams. At this point it's really clear what to expect from the romance bits, and I kind of enjoy the stupidity of it all.
We learn some new things about Rand. Not only is he of Aiel ancestry, in a distant sense he is even related to Elayne. Apparently he is the son of some other Daughter-Heir of Andor who disappeared some twenty-five years ago? Not sure about the details, but that's probably because she ended up with the Aiel for whatever reason. We learn a few things about the houses and lords, but I applaud Jordan for resisting the temptation of prolonged info-dumping.
In this context it felt a bit odd that Elayne and her mother remain fully passive for the entirety of the book's plot. Believing that Morgase is dead – she is de facto imprisoned by the Children of Light – Rand is determined to make his friend the new ruler of Andor. Somehow Elayne doesn't act on this, not sure if she even knows about Rand's stance. I suspect she will be the focus of the next novel, similar to how this one focused on Egwene and Nynaeve.
Noteworthy are also some cool additions to the magic system. We learn that bonding warders can be used as a weapon and against the other person's will. There is a bit of an unusual edge to it, because of how much it plays fast and loose with the mechanics. Nynaeve is still suffering from the blockade that prevents her from channeling freely, and it's fun to see in what ways her teachers try to overcome the limitations. I think it's also the first time that there is talk of Talents (with capital "T"), like being able to reliably make out ta'veren.
By far the most important development is the fact that Lewis Therin Telamon now speaks to Rand in his mind. Clearly this is to suggest that he is slowly getting mad. What is interesting, though, the voice in his head already is mad. It's all very comical, like Venom's voice in Eddie Brock's head. I thought it was very good fun and certainly made Rand more interesting to me.
The plot at the end of the last book led towards confrontation between Rand and Sammael. Surprisingly, nothing of this sort happens here. The Forsaken even offers truce, even if Rand doesn't accept. I guess this wouldn't be a fourteen-part series if things moved that quickly. Instead, the real villain is the White Tower. Or not even that, some more or less random representatives of the White Tower.
To be honest, Rand demonstrated some unhinged stupidity when he fell for their trick of bringing "servants" with them. It all happens during their second audience, suddenly it's the baneful number of thirteen and the Dragon Reborn is captured! Seriously, who would have thought. It's another instance of where the visuals – the way you would imagine the scene to play out – being much more important than any brilliant writing to make it happen.
It all leads to the Battle of Dumai's Wells. For me this was certain the highlight and most memorable sequence of the entire book. It again conjures up grandiose images, with Perrin off horse and slashing through enemy lines with his axe, assisted by reckless wolves. The giant Loial himself axe in hand. A small army of Asha'man arrives by way of a gateway, to my mind somewhat reminiscent of Avengers: Endgame. Their response is significantly more brutal though, as they literally make their Shaido enemy explode. This and the fact that Rand has been tortured makes this probably the darkest entry in the series so far.
At this point I won't expect any smart plot twists, nuanced reveals, or finely woven developments. You really have to remember, The Wheel of Time is all about fun. And on this front Lord of Chaos very well delivers.
Rating: 3.5/5
The Dark One experienced a series of setbacks. In the past couple of books, our heroes were able to overcome many of the Forsaken. Rand was able to bring nations behind him, so that even public rulers like Sammael are on the defense. Firmly in power, Rand dares to grant amnesty to male channelers. He hired no other than former false Dragon Mazrim Taim to train his army of soldiers capable to wield the One Power, his Asha'man, as they'll come to be known.
So, our evil lord is understandably pissed. But we already know that his prison isn't holding up too well and he is re-gaining some of his power. He lets his presence know by making the whole world burn up. More secretly he brings some other Forsaken into the world. And by know you should know, in the world of Wheel of Time this means – that he will leave the stage and the revived will only creep about the end of a chapter or two. We do understand, though, there are things still to come!
This kind of setup is growing on me. For some reason Jordan loves to remind his readers how dire the situation really is, perhaps to overshadow all victories that are about to unfold in the course of the next one thousand odd pages. In fact, Lord of Chaos might be the book of empowerment on our heroes side.
The most fateful character growth is undoubtedly Egwene's. After she has learned Travel by entering the World of Dreams in flesh, she is summoned to Salidar to speak before the rebel Aes Sedai. It turns out, they decided that Egwene will be the next Amyrlin. Meanwhile, Nynaeve discovered how to Heal women of stilling as well as men of gentling, respectively.
In this way she is able to reconnect the former Amyrlin Seat, Siuan Sanche, to the True Source. It's without consequence, though, as it still leaves her much weaker than before. I thought the development was emotionally very twisted and you can only imagine how disruptive it must have felt to her. I would have liked if it had been explored further, though. Also, the healing of the other former false Dragon, Logain, is so far not much addressed, either.
Moreover, it's puzzling to me why these core moments pass by so quickly. I feel like Jordan doesn't fully answer the questions that motivate these plot points. Why Egwene? How exactly does Nynaeve discover the long-lost art of Healing a stilling? I've read people complain about how important episodes in the series come about rushed, and as with certain episodes in the previous book, there are clear examples here.
Maybe the series is really more about its pulpy charm, and there is much of this here. For instance, there is this incredibly ridiculous quarrel between Perrin and Faile, because Berelain is sexually approaching the guy. It's really stupid, especially since it doesn't even pretend to add anything to the plot. Rand is also reunited with Min, whom he relentlessly friend-zones. What also happend: Over-the-top love pulls Egwene in Gawyn's dreams. At this point it's really clear what to expect from the romance bits, and I kind of enjoy the stupidity of it all.
We learn some new things about Rand. Not only is he of Aiel ancestry, in a distant sense he is even related to Elayne. Apparently he is the son of some other Daughter-Heir of Andor who disappeared some twenty-five years ago? Not sure about the details, but that's probably because she ended up with the Aiel for whatever reason. We learn a few things about the houses and lords, but I applaud Jordan for resisting the temptation of prolonged info-dumping.
In this context it felt a bit odd that Elayne and her mother remain fully passive for the entirety of the book's plot. Believing that Morgase is dead – she is de facto imprisoned by the Children of Light – Rand is determined to make his friend the new ruler of Andor. Somehow Elayne doesn't act on this, not sure if she even knows about Rand's stance. I suspect she will be the focus of the next novel, similar to how this one focused on Egwene and Nynaeve.
Noteworthy are also some cool additions to the magic system. We learn that bonding warders can be used as a weapon and against the other person's will. There is a bit of an unusual edge to it, because of how much it plays fast and loose with the mechanics. Nynaeve is still suffering from the blockade that prevents her from channeling freely, and it's fun to see in what ways her teachers try to overcome the limitations. I think it's also the first time that there is talk of Talents (with capital "T"), like being able to reliably make out ta'veren.
By far the most important development is the fact that Lewis Therin Telamon now speaks to Rand in his mind. Clearly this is to suggest that he is slowly getting mad. What is interesting, though, the voice in his head already is mad. It's all very comical, like Venom's voice in Eddie Brock's head. I thought it was very good fun and certainly made Rand more interesting to me.
The plot at the end of the last book led towards confrontation between Rand and Sammael. Surprisingly, nothing of this sort happens here. The Forsaken even offers truce, even if Rand doesn't accept. I guess this wouldn't be a fourteen-part series if things moved that quickly. Instead, the real villain is the White Tower. Or not even that, some more or less random representatives of the White Tower.
To be honest, Rand demonstrated some unhinged stupidity when he fell for their trick of bringing "servants" with them. It all happens during their second audience, suddenly it's the baneful number of thirteen and the Dragon Reborn is captured! Seriously, who would have thought. It's another instance of where the visuals – the way you would imagine the scene to play out – being much more important than any brilliant writing to make it happen.
It all leads to the Battle of Dumai's Wells. For me this was certain the highlight and most memorable sequence of the entire book. It again conjures up grandiose images, with Perrin off horse and slashing through enemy lines with his axe, assisted by reckless wolves. The giant Loial himself axe in hand. A small army of Asha'man arrives by way of a gateway, to my mind somewhat reminiscent of Avengers: Endgame. Their response is significantly more brutal though, as they literally make their Shaido enemy explode. This and the fact that Rand has been tortured makes this probably the darkest entry in the series so far.
At this point I won't expect any smart plot twists, nuanced reveals, or finely woven developments. You really have to remember, The Wheel of Time is all about fun. And on this front Lord of Chaos very well delivers.
Rating: 3.5/5