Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time): 11/12 (The Wheel of Time, 11)

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Tuon: I loved her, unlike a lot of the women in this series, Tuon actually feels like a product of her environment. I can see why people dislike her, but her values and beliefs make perfect sense. There’s one key factor that actually distinguishes her compared to the many female characters: not blindly following confirmation biases. There’s this one statement in Chapter 26 that articulates it well: Egwene's new sub-arc from inside the White Tower was great (although I would like to have seen more of it in this book). Truly tragic was the Ogier taking up arms (literally) and entering the fray. I knew it had to happen. I mean, what we're getting to is the FINAL battle. It's not named that for nothing. But while I don't love the Ogier as much as Tolkien's Ents, it sent a shiver down my spine with a sense of darkest foreboding.

So, this means that sweetness of victory and bitterness of defeat are likely common themes throughout the book.

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Mr. Jordan finally got his act together and started tying the loose ends which resulted in some great events that really propelled the story in the right direction. Robert Jordan's work has been a formative influence and an inspiration for a generation of fantasy writers.” —Brent Weeks, New York Times bestselling author of The Way of Shadows Let's just say that the Last Battle draws near as can be seen by buildings suddenly changing corridors and rooms amongst other things. Thus, it's time for the remaining factions to decide which side they are on. However, them being fueled and driven by self-interest is complicating matters.

As for Mat, I still love his narrative voice so much and since we’ve established I love competence, it’s no surprise he has become my favorite character. His campaigning against the Seanchan, after Tuon‘s abduction turns into a rescue mission, was so rewarding as we watch his military mind(s) at work. And speaking of rewarding: seeing both Tuon‘s and Mat‘s prophecy fulfilled with that hilarious marriage was up there with my favorite moments. And Much Much more…. A few characters get the come-uppances that they deserve and it is so gratifying. Even when I know there’s a Waygate actually in a city, I can’t find it by myself, and then there are all those cities that don’t exist anymore. I need you to find the rest for me, Loial, or Trollocs will be able to flood into every country at once, and no one will know they’re coming until they’re in the heart of Andor or Cairhien.” Knowing he cannot defeat the Dark One while at war with the Seanchan, Rand brokers for a truce with the Daughter of the Nine Moons. Unaware of Tuon’s actual location, the Dragon Reborn walks into a trap set by the Forsaken Semirhage, who possesses knowledge about his powers that will either shatter or steel his resolve in the forthcoming conflict.A brief sequence involving Nynaeve and Lan was terrific, building up great promise for future events. It is nearly dawn in Ebou Dar after a sleepless night. Suroth wonders if Tuon is alive or dead; she has been missing for seventeen days. She thinks she is dead because the escape of the Atha'an Miere damane and the death of Tylin occurred on the same night Tuon disappeared. Two of her own sul'dam, Renna and Seta, disappeared at the same time, and Egeanin Tamarath stole a pair of damane and also disappeared. Someone is trying to disrupt the Return. If Tuon is, indeed, dead, Suroth will have to apologize to the Empress. She decides that she will kill herself before reaching Seandar if it comes to that. Tuon's der'sul'dam left nine days ago with all her sul'dam and damane. Captain Musenge left at the same time with many of his men. They have been gone too long for a simple training exercise, so Suroth thinks they are searching for Tuon. She worries that someone may suspect she is Atha'an Shadar, a Darkfriend. I’m trying to figure out if I would still consider Min’s determination to come to the meeting with Tuon to be stupid if I didn’t already know how the meeting is going to turn out, i.e. badly. But, I think that probably yes, I would still think it was stupid—although I might have been persuaded, in Rand’s shoes, that the advantage her viewing abilities would give him outweighed the danger. Maybe. This re-read post contains spoilers for all currently published Wheel of Time novels, up to and including Book 13, Towers of Midnight . If you haven’t read, read at your own risk.

Robert Jordan's last entry in his epic Wheel of Time series was one of the best books in the whole series. It had none of the pacing issues that have troubled the previous three to four instalments. The result was we got a WoT book with all the normal good stuff plus a ton of major plot advancements. Right from the prologue this was a fun and engaging read! Darlin wants to know why they’d want him as king, and Bera replies that it’s preferable to swearing to the Dragon Reborn; Caraline adds that it also makes “Steward of Tear” a lesser title in their eyes. Darlin asks her if she would marry a king. Elayne‘s arc, who finally (!) becomes queen of Andor, mostly made me think about all the casualties. It’s truly a mystery to me how regular people, even soldiers, sacrifice their lives in a war that is ultimately about who sits on the throne, which is probably not that impactful on most of their lives – as the Seanchan occupation has proven. Fighting evil (Forsaken, shadowspawn, Darkfriends) seems a worthier cause. The Forsaken meet in Tel’aran’rhoid and Moridin instructs them not to kill Rand, but to find and kill Perrin and Mat. Semirhage has murdered the Seanchan empress and the entire royal family (excluding Tuon), plunging Seanchan forces on both sides of the Aryth Ocean into chaos.

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Some might.” Tuon let it rest there, though she usually enjoyed her private conversations with the woman. Mistress Anan argued against leashing marath’damane, as might be expected, and even against keeping da’covale of all things, yet they were discussions rather than arguments, and Tuon had made her concede a few points. She had hopes of bringing the woman around eventually. Not today, though. Sammael - Rand thinks he was killed by Mashadar when they fought in Shadar Logoth but there was no reason for the reader to believe he's dead. Confirmed in this book; not dead, and for all that Moridin and Shaidar Haran are supposed to have a tight leash on all of the Forsaken, he seems to be doing a lone wolf thing now. And it looks like Rand agrees on that score, judging from the bit I quoted up above. So, uh, there’s that. Just thought I should point it out. Good call, commenter! In Knife of Dreams, the eleventh novel in Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle, is upon Rand al'Thor—and now the Dragon Reborn must confront the Dark One as humanity's only hope.

And my goodness was I sitting on the edge of my seat when Rand was in the Empress' throne room, facing what he didn't know was a Forsaken and getting his hand burnt off! Knife of Dreams is an absolutely wonderful final book by Robert Jordan, after a series of some comparatively bland entries into this series. And while it is widely accepted in the Wheel of Time community that this book is much better than the last few, I was not quite prepared for how great this book truly was until I read it.Robert Jordan has created a fantasy world as tangible and credible as history. He has a fine eye for detail and a vivid sense of drama.” — Morgan Llewelyn This is probably one of the only times I wished I could be a merchant in WOT, so I could get on this like white on rice and make a million bazillion dollars. (Get in on the ground floor on the steamwagon thing, too, while I was at it.) Talk about an untapped market…. I feel like the craft of writing multi-volume epic fantasy has improved over the intervening years, so maybe that skillset simply wasn't available yet. Here's what I think about the lingering plotlines that were just as dreary in Knife of Dreams as they were in the prior several books: As the very fabric of reality wears thin, all portents indicate that Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle, is imminent - and Rand al'Thor must ready himself to confront the Dark One. But Rand must first negotiate a truce with the Seanchan armies, as their forces increasingly sap his strength.