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A review by beaconatnight
The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan
4.0
Rand al'Thor publicly proclaimed himself to be the true Dragon Reborn when he fought the Dark One floating in the air. Rumor travels fast, and all authorities are aware of what the world is coming to. His dreams show him where he has to go next to fulfill his destiny. In the city of Tear an age-old fortress holds the legendary sword of Callandor.
The male half of the True Source was tainted and the prospect of impending madness weighs heavily on our hero-to-be. From the very beginning Rand decides to go on his quest alone. The novel's plot structure strictly reflects his ta'veren nature. While the character effectively leaves the stage until the very last chapter, the Wheel weaves the Pattern around him. That is to say, his presence sets the fate for all of our main protagonists.
In true high-fantasy tradition, fate is subjectively realized in the form of quests. With Rand's prior travel companions – Perrin, Morraine, her Warde Land, and Ogier Loial – their goal is set as soon as they notice his absence: they have to catch up to him and assist him in dangerous times. Naturally, they'll learn some important things along the way, yet for the most part Tear is where they are going.
Similar to the second half of the predecessor, the story strongly focuses on our three future Aes Sedai. Well, the three girls – Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne – did leave their post in secret and the women in Tar Valon are not happy about that. In fact, they already strongly suspected Black Ajah in their midst, so they won't even return with important news (there goes their chance for glory). Yet, the Amyrlin Seat suspects they are the only ones she can trust – and assigns them with the task to hunt down the thirteen dark women. Certainly no mean feat considering they are barely Accepted at this point.
Finally, there is Mat. We last saw him in Falme, when the poor guy surprisingly blew the Horn of Valere to summon an army of the dead to help against the invading Seanchan. The cursed dagger fully wore him down, though. Only the Aes Sedai may save him now, and indeed this happens after he arrived with the three girls and Verin Sedai. Elayne, the Daughter-Heir of Andor, has use for him, handing him a letter to deliver to her mother, Queen Morgase in Caemlyn. At least it offers him a way out.
Strangely, by and far Mat's journey was the subplot I enjoyed the most. Real critics might read this and complain that his task was a filler if ever there was one, and they would be right. Still, when playing RPG video games I always find myself getting lost in cozy side quests, far from the stressful dangers of the main events. And he's a happy-go-lucky character in the most literal sense, rendered the more delightful when he is rejoined by everyone's favorite gleeman.
The opening act too is one to be best enjoyed with a warm cup of tea. Winter may not yet be fully gone and there are some worries on Perrin's mind – not the least with his worsening wolf dreams –, but there was something about the waiting in their camp in nature that I thought was a refreshing opening after what felt like a very rushed climax at the end of the last book. Perrin's arc is going exactly where you would expect it to go, to fear of animalistic madness and dangerously faceless women. But I think the fact that we stay on his POV for numerous chapters well grounded the opening act.
Talking of the beginning, what I do find puzzling in retrospect is the Prologue. It mentions a couple of things to refresh your memory (appreciated!), but given the fact that the Children of the Light won't play much of a role, it makes you wonder whether some mix-up occurred and this was intended as introduction to a different book. It's all very ominous and all, but not the dangers that will be of any importance.
Instead, throughout I felt that there was no real urgency to the tasks at hand. Naturally, our heroes face some challenges along the way, but to me there was no real impression of immediate threats foreboding. The fact that we won't directly follow Rand only adds to the overall sense that we won't make much headway here.
I think it's only with their arrival in Illian that the events take up pace, with ominous danger immediately in the damp air. From Moraine's changing habitus we may infer that this will be more important than it seems, superficially. As reader I was like, what is going on, there were only some knifed dudes (albeit the soul-less Grey Men), nothing too be too concerned about? At last some intriguing mystery, nonetheless. And some connection to Perrin's dreams.
Dreams. Maybe I really shouldn't read Wheel of Time, as whenever there are dream sequences in fiction I struggle to feel invested. Here too I shared Egwene's complaint that it was difficult to see how what they showed was of any genuine important. But at least the lore draws some connections to the parallel worlds of which we shared some first-hand experiences in the previous novel.
At that juncture there was some cool world building, too. We learn some things about Illian – it's a city of sickening heat, with as many canals as there are streets, with many big ships in the harbor, yet its panorama is also defined by colorful rooftops – and we return to the city of Caemlyn. The young women as well as Perrin come across the Aiel with their strange customs and rites. Not the rich tapestry of culture that Wheel of Time is often praised for, but it added to the immersion.
Above I've said that the story strongly focuses on Nynaeve, Egwene, Elayne. Unfortunately, for me their little episodes were overall among the less interesting. Initially I thought their little detective subplot might be cool, but there is hardly any real investigation at all. Quite literally chasing shadows for most of the time. There was one moment I enjoyed a lot, though, their encounter with Tear's Wisdom (or Wise One). Did I mention I enjoyed the more mundane moments? Did I yet mention Perrin forging everyday tools? That moment was sweet, too.
At the end the narrative takes a real sword & sorcery turn. It's fitting considering that Robert Jordan used to write Conan adventures. Rand's encounters with the dark forces within the Stone of Tear cannot really compete with the famous barbarian's best treasure hunts, but I think I enjoyed the action more than I did with the climaxes of the two predecessors. At no point will you believe that Rand is actually facing Ba'alzamon, and at even fewer points will you care for Perrin's attempts to save the Falcon, but the chapters are still a fun and quick read. Not the least because of Mat, again the true hero of the story.
I think after The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt I needed a bit of a fantasy break. After The Dragon Reborn I feel quite the opposite – I cannot wait to dive right back in. I'll be very unhappy if The Shadow Rising won't be in the mail tomorrow!
Rating: 3.5/5
The male half of the True Source was tainted and the prospect of impending madness weighs heavily on our hero-to-be. From the very beginning Rand decides to go on his quest alone. The novel's plot structure strictly reflects his ta'veren nature. While the character effectively leaves the stage until the very last chapter, the Wheel weaves the Pattern around him. That is to say, his presence sets the fate for all of our main protagonists.
In true high-fantasy tradition, fate is subjectively realized in the form of quests. With Rand's prior travel companions – Perrin, Morraine, her Warde Land, and Ogier Loial – their goal is set as soon as they notice his absence: they have to catch up to him and assist him in dangerous times. Naturally, they'll learn some important things along the way, yet for the most part Tear is where they are going.
Similar to the second half of the predecessor, the story strongly focuses on our three future Aes Sedai. Well, the three girls – Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne – did leave their post in secret and the women in Tar Valon are not happy about that. In fact, they already strongly suspected Black Ajah in their midst, so they won't even return with important news (there goes their chance for glory). Yet, the Amyrlin Seat suspects they are the only ones she can trust – and assigns them with the task to hunt down the thirteen dark women. Certainly no mean feat considering they are barely Accepted at this point.
Finally, there is Mat. We last saw him in Falme, when the poor guy surprisingly blew the Horn of Valere to summon an army of the dead to help against the invading Seanchan. The cursed dagger fully wore him down, though. Only the Aes Sedai may save him now, and indeed this happens after he arrived with the three girls and Verin Sedai. Elayne, the Daughter-Heir of Andor, has use for him, handing him a letter to deliver to her mother, Queen Morgase in Caemlyn. At least it offers him a way out.
Strangely, by and far Mat's journey was the subplot I enjoyed the most. Real critics might read this and complain that his task was a filler if ever there was one, and they would be right. Still, when playing RPG video games I always find myself getting lost in cozy side quests, far from the stressful dangers of the main events. And he's a happy-go-lucky character in the most literal sense, rendered the more delightful when he is rejoined by everyone's favorite gleeman.
The opening act too is one to be best enjoyed with a warm cup of tea. Winter may not yet be fully gone and there are some worries on Perrin's mind – not the least with his worsening wolf dreams –, but there was something about the waiting in their camp in nature that I thought was a refreshing opening after what felt like a very rushed climax at the end of the last book. Perrin's arc is going exactly where you would expect it to go, to fear of animalistic madness and dangerously faceless women. But I think the fact that we stay on his POV for numerous chapters well grounded the opening act.
Talking of the beginning, what I do find puzzling in retrospect is the Prologue. It mentions a couple of things to refresh your memory (appreciated!), but given the fact that the Children of the Light won't play much of a role, it makes you wonder whether some mix-up occurred and this was intended as introduction to a different book. It's all very ominous and all, but not the dangers that will be of any importance.
Instead, throughout I felt that there was no real urgency to the tasks at hand. Naturally, our heroes face some challenges along the way, but to me there was no real impression of immediate threats foreboding. The fact that we won't directly follow Rand only adds to the overall sense that we won't make much headway here.
I think it's only with their arrival in Illian that the events take up pace, with ominous danger immediately in the damp air. From Moraine's changing habitus we may infer that this will be more important than it seems, superficially. As reader I was like, what is going on, there were only some knifed dudes (albeit the soul-less Grey Men), nothing too be too concerned about? At last some intriguing mystery, nonetheless. And some connection to Perrin's dreams.
Dreams. Maybe I really shouldn't read Wheel of Time, as whenever there are dream sequences in fiction I struggle to feel invested. Here too I shared Egwene's complaint that it was difficult to see how what they showed was of any genuine important. But at least the lore draws some connections to the parallel worlds of which we shared some first-hand experiences in the previous novel.
At that juncture there was some cool world building, too. We learn some things about Illian – it's a city of sickening heat, with as many canals as there are streets, with many big ships in the harbor, yet its panorama is also defined by colorful rooftops – and we return to the city of Caemlyn. The young women as well as Perrin come across the Aiel with their strange customs and rites. Not the rich tapestry of culture that Wheel of Time is often praised for, but it added to the immersion.
Above I've said that the story strongly focuses on Nynaeve, Egwene, Elayne. Unfortunately, for me their little episodes were overall among the less interesting. Initially I thought their little detective subplot might be cool, but there is hardly any real investigation at all. Quite literally chasing shadows for most of the time. There was one moment I enjoyed a lot, though, their encounter with Tear's Wisdom (or Wise One). Did I mention I enjoyed the more mundane moments? Did I yet mention Perrin forging everyday tools? That moment was sweet, too.
At the end the narrative takes a real sword & sorcery turn. It's fitting considering that Robert Jordan used to write Conan adventures. Rand's encounters with the dark forces within the Stone of Tear cannot really compete with the famous barbarian's best treasure hunts, but I think I enjoyed the action more than I did with the climaxes of the two predecessors. At no point will you believe that Rand is actually facing Ba'alzamon, and at even fewer points will you care for Perrin's attempts to save the Falcon, but the chapters are still a fun and quick read. Not the least because of Mat, again the true hero of the story.
I think after The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt I needed a bit of a fantasy break. After The Dragon Reborn I feel quite the opposite – I cannot wait to dive right back in. I'll be very unhappy if The Shadow Rising won't be in the mail tomorrow!
Rating: 3.5/5