Picaresque
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This is not a stand alone book,but if you have been following the story from the beginning you care about the characters and in this book simply continue to delight in the increasing complexity of events and characters, and their wonderfully 'fantastic' progress through life.I am terribly disappointed that Robert Jordan died before he wrote the conclusive book. A world full of humorous, hateful, some unutterably tedious but many lovable and all these things together, believable people, seem to have stopped taking breath along with him.
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There's no pleasing some people
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What amazes me more each time I read a new review for these books is how dead set against the later 5 books some readers seem to be. Robert Jordan has never made a secret of the fact that he keeps many threads running simultaneously. One of his great skills is developing consequences of his character's actions. Too many writers describe world shattering events then carry on as if little has happened. Jordan's magic comes from the ripples in 'the pattern' created by his three main characters.
I want to see multiple threads and more importantly see them interract - Matt and Thom, Aviendha and Elayne, Rand and Cadsuane. The 'Lace of Ages' would be pretty damn boring if there were only 3 threads as suggested by some reviewers. The last four books have contained grand events described convincingly. If you don't like politics, if you don't like hidden agenda's and intrigue, if you don't like descriptions of fantastic cultures and spiraling madness then don't read Jordan. The first seven books set the stakes and the latter books deal with the game play. Too many people like the excitement of the first few moves in a game of stones then grow tired when the board loses it's 'neat and tidy' appearance.
I suggest those reviewers that complain endlessly about descriptions (and expect each chapter to end with one of the forsaken dead) put down these books and pick up a Harry Potter instead. (A great book but lacking the tremendous depth and intrigue of the Wheel of Time). It's like hearing people complain about a climb up Everest by saying it was too cold and the view was better from base camp!
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Truly as cold as the title
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There came a point, upon beginning book number 10 of this cumbersome series(don't worry, I wont give away any of the plot), that I had to stop and ask myself What happened in the last novel. Where was this character at the end of his or her last scene? I couldn't remember a single fact about the characters progression in book 9. Because, simply, there is none. Books 8 and 9 are so slow a snail would be hard pressed to set a slower pace.
The last battle is coming, there is evil abound, forsaken walk the earth, and yet this is not enough to peak the authors interest. Instead, we are treated to a detailed description of peoples clothing, and their deepest thoughts that run on and on and on until Tarmon Gai'don.
This is not the worst part, however. I started this series full of interest, yet with each passing book have felt like i have been through an ordeal upon turning the last page, because I have been treated to an ever expanding list of sub- characters who I really couldnt give a Cha'Fa'Faile'Si'Swai about. It takes half the book before you reach a character you actually care about, and when you do, it gives you just enough pleasure to make you read on to reach the next. Sometimes Rand or Egwene or the starting characters are abandoned entirely in favour of random Aes Sedai or the so-boring-i-could-kill-myself Shaido. I have abandoned reading these chapters entirely, because it's the only way I will preserve my sanity.
This book isn't the worst; there are points of interest, which make sure you're not driven completely insane as an Asha'man, yet compared to the earlier novels, its like the characters are stuck in quicksand.
Wait till book ten, however, and book 9 has the pace of a cheetah.
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Next please.....
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If you have read the preceding couple of books you will know what to expect: shawls are twitched, glares are hard/flat/augers, women will be unable to understand men and men will misunderstand woman and, of course, nothing much will happen in 678 pages. If you are a fan of large passages describing clothing and camp sites in the greatest of detail, you will love this book.
If however, you read the first 6 books in this series and loved the truly superb stories of believable characters in difficult situations who demanded your attention then this book is not only a waste of money but also a waste of time. A 20 page synopsis would provide you with as much as you need to understand what will happen next. Apart from the last chapter, which is one of the strongest chapters in terms of storyline advancement in all the books, this book is blatant padding.
I can’t help but get the feeling that the author planned to write 12 books irrespective on whether the story deserved it. So this book became a spacer.
After reading the first 6 books, I would have thrust one in your hand if you hadn’t read it before, absolutely sure that you were missing out. Now, I wouldn’t give it to anyone unless I wanted them to stop reading altogether.
Because of this, I recommend that you borrow this book instead of buying it, or only buy it if you want to complete the set.
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Book 9
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Having read up to and including book8, I've got disappointed with the series as a whole. I feel that whilst the series has some excellent characters and story lines it could and arguably perhaps should have been a trilogy rather than a set of 10. I have now got bored with it.
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