Without spoiling anything, I thought the beginning 1/3 of this book was fantastic, and the drama that surrounded these characters interacting with the Seanchan invasion is incredibly tense and exciting. This book is the shortest one yet, and as such the pacing is wonderfully done throughout the whole book. Mat is a trendy character in the entire series with a roguish personality. Mat is a warrior because he controls a large army. Update this section! Unlike the servants, rich silk tapestries snagged at her eye, and the gilded stand-lamps and ceiling lamps lining the corridors. Paper-thin porcelain in reds and yellows and greens and blues stood in wall niches and tall openwork cabinets alongside ornaments of gold and silver, ivory and crystal, scores upon scores of bowls and vases and caskets and statuettes. Only the most beautiful truly caught her gaze; whatever wetlanders thought, beauty held more worth than gold. There was much beauty here. She would not have minded taking her share of the fifth from this place.

He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis. Robert Jordan had earlier done the same for Perrin Aybara, who had been absent from Book 5, The Fires of Heaven. I think part of the problem people had with this was when they were reading these books as they were coming out. Yes, this book is slower than the previous ones - and if you had to wait years before reading the next one it would be a bit frustrating. But reading these after they have all come out fixed this problem and it allows Robert Jordan to really take a deeper dive into the characters and slow things down without sacrificing reader attention span. For Rand there are some good developments or reveals. Hopefully he won't go traipsing off without Min or the Maidens again. But chances are he is a woolheaded fool and will make that same mistake again. Perrin Aybara moves into Ghealdan in an attempt to stop Masema Dagar, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the Dragon. At the end of the book, Faile Bashere is kidnapped by the Shaido Aiel.He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week. He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797. This was a bit surprising. The eighth volume and the second infamous slog novel of The Wheel of Time, Path of Daggers, was not as bad as A Crown of Swords.

So . . . I debated long and hard about how to rate THE PATH OF DAGGERS, book 8 in Robert Jordan's WHEEL OF TIME . . . I think by now it's pretty obvious that I love this series, but . . . Most of the time, the characters are either travelling or thinking and plotting. As usual, in the end, the author prepared a bomb to push the action forward. The last chapter is significantly titled “Beginnings” Faile’s kidnapped by the Shaido, which means that there will be a combo of redundant plots clogging each other, oh joy… Rand and six thousand men prepare to Travel. Rand is nearly shot by Eagan Padros, but the would-be assassin is killed by Asha’man fireballs before he can reveal his motives. Assid Bakuun, a Seanchan commander, receives a report of an army six times their size ten miles away. He feels confident because of the damane with his army.In The Path of Daggers , the eighth novel in Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, Rand al'Thor engages in battle wearing the Crown of Swords and wielding Callandor against a force unprepared for the wrath of the Dragon Reborn. There is one particular theme of this book that really changed the series for me. I didn't like book 8 any more than most people the first time I read it, but I have since come to actually like the much-maligned Aes Sedai, and the reason starts here. So far they've proven arrogant, often incompetent, and rarely live up to their reputation. When Egwene proposes a major change in their philosophy, I think most readers would agree with her. However, it is at this point that you really begin to respect the Aes Sedai compared to the various other groups of channelers. They have been humbled at every turn, but they are the ones who've held the world together for 3,000 years, and that's no coincidence. Not only does their fate begin to change here, it's become increasingly clear that their largest problems aren't actually their fault.

Most significantly, it's with this book that some of the repetitive phrases and descriptions really stand out. The smoothing of dresses and folding of arms is almost ludicrous. Once again, I am left at the end of this novel with enough unresolved story lines that continuing is unquestionable. Despite the feeling that reading it was like wading through molasses! On to book 9 next year!

Customer reviews

If you have come here, you know what the Wheel of Time is and you know what demands. You know that there are more protagonists than ants in the anthill, that the main plot drags on mercilessly, and that the author does not always strive for fireworks in the final scenes. Furthermore, you know how many more volumes are waiting ahead and you know how far along you are. And I will tell you honestly: this volume does not bring the action closer to the grand finale in any meaningful way. The plot unmercifully loiters, and instead of making advances in the tales we have, new characters appear every now and then, and probably only Robert Jordan is able to grasp the maze of names, places and stories that he created. The eighth novel in the Wheel of Time series – one of the most influential and popular fantasy epics ever published.

So what actually happened in this book? Not much. Much more in the second half than in the first, certainly. We've got: Elayne raised a hand sharply. Command replaced mere certainty. "Cease, Merilille. You have the Bowl of the Winds to watch. That is enough for anyone. It will be enough for you." There are two types of shenanigans, as far as I'm concerned: the good kind that mean FUN, and the Aes Sedai kind that mean NEGATIVE FUN. As for the plot, the overall structure felt a bit like that of a TV show. Bringing closure to the Bowl of the Winds plot, Path of Daggers sees one loose end from the previous book finally resolved in the first five chapters – so the book begins with the first “episode" of the new season. To be honest, I feel like Crown of Swords should have seen the weather plot resolved; it would have made for an even better ending. Maybe that could have made some room for Mat?

What's gotten into you, Aviendha?" Nynaeve demanded, prodding her shoulder with a stiff finger. "Do you intend to stand there blushing all day? We are in a hurry." This was essentially Interlude: the Book. No plot development, no character development, no setting development, no... development. At all. And you don't need to tell me it gets worse. I know. I was extremely worried going into this book, as it's considered by many to be where the plot really starts to hit a low point in terms of plot progression. So I put off reading this and really went in with low expectations. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was one of my favorite Wheel of Time books, and a wonderful addition to this series. This book has all the advantages and disadvantages of the earlier instalments in the Wheel of Time series, of course, there are more of the former, but personally, I felt a little less excited than in the previous volumes. Hope it gets better in the next one keeps me going.