Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan
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Book Reviews of Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time)
Book Review: Moving in the right direction!
Summary: 4 Stars
I would say that Knife of Dreams is one of the better books written since book 5 of the WOT. This book was a major improvement over the previous installment, Crossroads of Twilight, and saw several plot lines move forward to conclusion. There are some pretty memorable scenes in this book and overall it was a very good read.
Book Review: Move it along, guys....
Summary: 3 Stars
And finally things start to come together.
Not completely - the five story tracks I talked about before are still five tracks, and haven't re-integrated yet. But there has at least been some resolution to some of the storylines, good progress made in others, and you can begin to see how things might eventually end up.
Let's look at the most satisfying story resolution first - Perrin hunting for his wife, Faile.
In case your memory hasn't held out too well, Faile has been a captive of the Shaido Aiel since the end of Path of Daggers, which feels like oh so long ago. Since then, she's been a captive - what the Aiel call gai'shain - and forced to work harder than she had ever has before. Traditionally, gai'shain are Aiel captured in battle, and represent a very important part of their philosophy of ji'e'toh - honor and obligation. An Aiel captured by his enemy will serve for a year and a day, and would never contemplate trying to run away, shirk his duties or harm his captors. It's just how things are done. The gai'shain, while captive, occupy a curious position of honor in Aiel society.
But non-Aiel are not supposed to be taken gai'shain. Sevanna and her Shaido are perverting the traditions of the Aiel, taking wetlanders captive and treating them as little better than slaves. Faile and her followers (two of whom happen to be queens), are in danger every day, and she doesn't know which is more dangerous - trying to escape or waiting for Perrin to rescue her.
She finally gets both. With the help of some more honorable Aiel - the Mera'din - she has a chance to get out. But Galina Casban, an Aes Sedai of the Black Ajah and a very angry gai'shain, would rather see them dead.
For his part, Perrin makes a deal with the devil, as far as he's concerned. While the men he's leading are certainly very capable, there's no way they could attack thousands of Aiel without it becoming a slaughterhouse. So he turns to the only military force in the land that has even a chance of success - the Seanchan. They're invaders, they're occupiers, and given the chance they would overrun Perrin and his army. But they both see the danger in allowing these Shaido to stay where they are. So a bargain is struck, and Perrin devises a way to attack the Shaido and win his wife back.
Meanwhile, Mat is still traveling with Tuon, the daughter of the Seanchan Empress, and fearful for her life. It seems there are those who want to kill her - something that she has grown up with, to be honest. And they're willing to go to any lengths to do so. Fortunately, Mat is willing to do whatever he has to in order to keep her safe - she is going to be his wife, after all....
Let's talk about the Seanchan for a moment, actually. Back in The Great Hunt, they were introduced as being as close to villains as it was possible to get and not be working for The Dark One. They invaded the city of Falme, started capturing women who could channel, and overwhelmed the local military there. They are a highly stratified society, with a complex system of honorific behavior that was unlike anything we had seen yet in the books. We were led to think of them as unabashedly bad.
They turned out not to be, though. They saw their invasion as a homecoming, recovering the land of their ancestors from people who had forgotten the rule of the great Artur Hawkwing. Their forefathers fought against women who could channel, almost to the bitter end, until the a'dam was developed. With it, these dangerous women could be controlled. Yes, they are considered very nearly non-human (at one point, a character equates having sex with a damane with bestiality), but from the experience of the Seanchan, that is the only way these very powerful and very dangerous women could be kept from destroying their civilization.
The Seanchan are powerful and confident, but they're not evil. The more we see them in these volumes, the more obvious that becomes. Perrin and Mat do more together to not only show us the human side of the Seanchan but to also convince the Seanchan themselves that they need to adapt to these new lands. They will never be removed from the Westlands (especially since the Forsaken Semirhage single-handedly destroyed their empire), but we are finally getting the impression that they'll be willing to work with the natives, rather than just rule them.
In other parts, there are some wonderful just desserts, where we finally get to see people we have despised for so long get their comeuppance. Galina Casban is may favorite - I'm sure you'll understand when you get there. There's heartbreak and triumph, and more than a few moments where you just want to stop and re-read what just happened. We also get to see some very good character work, from Egwene's war of words to win over the Aes Sedai of the White Tower to Elayne's battle to keep her throne - and stop the Black Ajah from pulling her down. We get a real sense of growth from these characters that will serve them well in the books to come.
Reading this book, you finally get the sense that things are starting to come together. The dead are starting to walk, reality is unraveling, and no one is sure what the next day will bring. The Last Battle is coming, and everyone needs to be on board if they're going to keep civilization intact.
It should be noted, also, that this was the last book written by Robert Jordan before his death in 2007 from cardiac amyloidosis. His passing was a great bow to his fans, and I want to extend my thanks here and now (as I will again later, I'm sure) to his widow for making sure that the world he created didn't die with him.
"If we die, we will die as who we are."
- Banner-General Kaerde, Knife of Dreams
Are you kidding me? HE'S DEAD!!!!
Summary: 3 Stars I just finished KNIFE OF DREAMS and came here to see if everyone thought it was as ponderous as I did. Then I read a review that said the Jordan family has chosen an author to conclude the series. I thought, "Wow, Robert is refusing to conclude the series so his family is going behind his back and hiring someone who will. Even they're sick of it!"
But then I read a couple more and discovered Robert had died. My condolences. Sincerely, to his family and friends. Sorry that I missed his passing...just never heard about it and honestly, I wasn't in a hurry to read number 11 after being 'book raped' by the previous 4 or 5.
Kinda felt a little foolish slapping my money down on the Barnes and Noble counter, still bruised and bleeding from number 10, and saying, "Gimme number 11. No way he's gonna do that to me again!" Well, I'm dripping blood and teeth on my keyboard as I write this, so...I guess he did.
I came here to this review section with the intent of telling Mr Robert Jordan just what I thought of his treatment of me...and then I find out he's dead. Like some crazy abused spouse all I can think of now are the good things about him and all those good times we had many years ago when we first met. Robby was different back then. He was fun and daring and never once did I look up and yell at my bedroom ceiling, "For the love of God, MOVE ON!", like I did every 15 pages of number 11 (52 times total). I'm gonna miss you Robby. I truly am.
Like everyone else I have questions that will never be answered by you. Questions like: Why did you name a 761 page book KNIFE OF DREAMS when that knife played absolutely no role in the book whatsoever and was barely even mentioned in it (unless it was in one of those pages I flipped by while I was yelling something at the ceiling)? And questions like: Was that circus caravan a metaphor for the Wheel Of Time series? 'Cause I remember Matt complaining that it wasn't moving and then it did move for a little bit...just like KNIFE OF DREAMS? Again, why the knife? Did I miss something? Why not call it STEAMWAGON because it was in there longer than the stinking knife! Lastly, Suroth. Remind me are we supposed to be glad she's getting hers or are we angry about it. I can't remember...oh wait a second. Is Suroth a metaphor for us, the readers? And that's us getting our clothes torn off and head pulled back while you have your big ol' boot on our rear end? Ah...good times...good times. Rest in peace Robby.
Book Review: knife of dreams
Summary: 3 Stars
Its a typical Robert Jordan.
He has come to spending an exorbinant amount of ink describing in minutia, every new character that enters a page, regardless of their insignifcance to the story. The characters just tumble out of his pen with unlimited speed, There are now uncountable aes sedea, wards, kinfolk, seanchan, generals and nobles. There are now five venues that are in transition or are just stumbling from one day or site to the next without any seeming impact on the end game. Even when action takes place it is over in a page and the next pages are filled with the emotions, expressions or thoughts of all the innumerable bystanders. Getting to the end climax does not seem to be Jordan's aim.
If I hadn't invested time on 10 books waiting for an outcome I would not have continued with this book. If you are a scanner you can enjoy the book and move through the numerous and repeatative descriptions of chairs, tables, tea pots, dresses, tents, streets, dice in the mind, etc. But at last we are now enticed by the expectation of the LAST book in the series which is now being written. So trudge through this and then be ready for the up coming climax.
Book Review: Finally, the plot moves forward
Summary: 3 Stars
It seems a literal eternity when we started this journey with the late Robert Jordan, but with the Knife of Dreams we at long last arrive at the cusp of the Last Battle. You get the sense of the chess board being arranged and the various factions, heroes and villans are jockeying for position.
It is clear that there's a way to go. Jordan gets things moving along, but his prose is as arduous as usual, and some of the plot is plodding as always. The best thing about this book, though, is that things do start to get interesting again. You can feel the nearness of the end. The plot lines are starting to converge.
Jordan will not be finishing his epic, but we have three volumes to come under the stewardship of Brandon Sanderson. Jordan has long said the ending was already in place when this series started. I look forward to getting there, and a fresh voice may just do the trick.
I can recommend this book for those of you, like me, that want to see this through to the end. The excitement does pick up again, and you finally can see the end is coming.