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Wheel of Time Reread #4
Wheel of Time Reread: Books 10-12
The Wheel of Time Reread on Tor.com is an extensive analysis of Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series, covering the material chapter by chapter. Join Leigh Butler as she summarizes the chapters and comments on the ongoing mysteries of the series, gender issues, politics, history, and the many Crowning Moments of Awesome.
Volume 4 of the collected Tor.com Wheel of Time Reread covers the prequel New Spring and books 10 through 12 of The Wheel of Time: Crossroads of Twilight, Knife of Dreams, and The Gathering Storm, the first Wheel of Time book co-authored by Brandon Sanderson.
Volume 4 of the collected Tor.com Wheel of Time Reread covers the prequel New Spring and books 10 through 12 of The Wheel of Time: Crossroads of Twilight, Knife of Dreams, and The Gathering Storm, the first Wheel of Time book co-authored by Brandon Sanderson.
1034 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2013
41 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 23, 2023
Be forewarned – this is not a novel, but a collection of essays written by Tor’s website staff writer, Leigh Butler, back in the late 2000’s on Robert Jordan’s epic “Wheel of Time” fantasy series.
Each essay captures a chapter or multiple chapters in each book starting from the beginning to the end of the series. The structure of each essay is first, a summary of the chapter, and second, an analytical commentary of the storylines, mysteries, character development, and major themes.
Her comments include discussions on history, politics, gender issues, and Shakespearian themes that the fans have been discussing for decades. Volume 4 covers books ten (“Crossroads of Twilight”), eleven (“Knife of Daggers”), and twelve (“The Gathering Storm”), as well as Jordan’s prequel novel “New Spring”, providing a great companion to your reading of the series, especially if it is a re-read
I am re-reading the Wheel of Time and decided to read this in conjunction with that. For example, I read book one - ”The Eye of the World” - and then read her summaries and analysis of the first book. Then I did the same with the each of the rest of the books and it has been a great joy. I absolutely appreciate Butler’s approach to discussing the series and love her insight into the characters and plotline developments. As the series increases in complexity in books five and six, her analysis was especially helpful in noting some things that I missed in my reading. I must also add that I thoroughly enjoy her personal sarcastic sense of humor and wit.
My only comment is (as others have already pointed out) that you will want to read this until you've finished the series or are doing a re-read. I don’t recommend doing it during your first time reading the series because Butler tends to drop hints and spoilers that refer to books later in the series. If you’ve already read the series once, these are generally minor, but if you are reading it for the first time, you will find out some things earlier than you want to and that could ruin your reading experience.
Otherwise, I am thoroughly enjoying this as it helps me catch some of the small things I miss along the way before they become big things. Thank you Leigh!
Each essay captures a chapter or multiple chapters in each book starting from the beginning to the end of the series. The structure of each essay is first, a summary of the chapter, and second, an analytical commentary of the storylines, mysteries, character development, and major themes.
Her comments include discussions on history, politics, gender issues, and Shakespearian themes that the fans have been discussing for decades. Volume 4 covers books ten (“Crossroads of Twilight”), eleven (“Knife of Daggers”), and twelve (“The Gathering Storm”), as well as Jordan’s prequel novel “New Spring”, providing a great companion to your reading of the series, especially if it is a re-read
I am re-reading the Wheel of Time and decided to read this in conjunction with that. For example, I read book one - ”The Eye of the World” - and then read her summaries and analysis of the first book. Then I did the same with the each of the rest of the books and it has been a great joy. I absolutely appreciate Butler’s approach to discussing the series and love her insight into the characters and plotline developments. As the series increases in complexity in books five and six, her analysis was especially helpful in noting some things that I missed in my reading. I must also add that I thoroughly enjoy her personal sarcastic sense of humor and wit.
My only comment is (as others have already pointed out) that you will want to read this until you've finished the series or are doing a re-read. I don’t recommend doing it during your first time reading the series because Butler tends to drop hints and spoilers that refer to books later in the series. If you’ve already read the series once, these are generally minor, but if you are reading it for the first time, you will find out some things earlier than you want to and that could ruin your reading experience.
Otherwise, I am thoroughly enjoying this as it helps me catch some of the small things I miss along the way before they become big things. Thank you Leigh!
March 16, 2017
These Reread books by Leigh Butler are biased commentaries not in depth analysis. If you can accept that you will find her insight humorous though she uses crude language and is decidedly feminist. Her insight and explanations helped me understand a lot I missed the first time I read the series. I found myself outright laughing at some of her commentary until tears were running down my face. I disagreed with her point of view, but only rarely. She helped me see some characters in a whole new light causing me to admire/love them whereas the first time around I disliked/hated them or visa versa. It is well worth the time to read these books in conjunction with it's corresponding WOT book. However read the WOT series one time through first and then go back through the two together later. I gave my self about 1 year between. If you are somewhat confused on some points the first time, don't fret. It happens! Their are so many characters (many with similar sounding names) and plot lines that it is almost impossible to keep it all straight. Leigh Butler's books really help you get it straightened out, mostly. Happy second time through.
November 12, 2013
Fun and informative but a lot of direct quotes.
April 26, 2019
Another great WOT summary book by Leigh Butler, but I enjoyed this one less than the previous three. This was particularly the case for the second half of the book (KOD and TGS), where the chapter commentaries include less analysis of twisty WOT plots and characters and far more headdesking and random links. This is the first of these summary books where I thought "geez, this would have been better to read on the blog" because so many chapters end with "I don't know, what do you all think, tell me in the comments!" And of course the comments aren't included or even linked here, much to my disappointment. You feel a bit cheated by the writer leaving the analysis to be done by others in the comments without providing a recap later.
That said, this affected the second half only and they're still fantastic summaries
That said, this affected the second half only and they're still fantastic summaries
February 21, 2017
Don't you judge me! You don't know me!
June 5, 2018
Leigh Butler's rereads are concise summaries of the gargantuan Wheel of Time books. In this case, concise is subjective, as her summaries will still take you some time to get through; that's to be expected with 800-1,000 page books, though.
After each chapter, she writes her opinions about the story line, character development, and plot twists. Be warned, there are some spoilers in her opinions. Most were obtuse enough and referencing events far enough into the future of the series that they didn't bother me. By the time I got to what she was revealing, I'd long since forgotten her remarks.
I highly recommend these rereads for either revisiting the series in a more manageable manner OR in lieu of books 6-11, which are looooooooooong on pages and short on plot movement.
After each chapter, she writes her opinions about the story line, character development, and plot twists. Be warned, there are some spoilers in her opinions. Most were obtuse enough and referencing events far enough into the future of the series that they didn't bother me. By the time I got to what she was revealing, I'd long since forgotten her remarks.
I highly recommend these rereads for either revisiting the series in a more manageable manner OR in lieu of books 6-11, which are looooooooooong on pages and short on plot movement.
November 26, 2016
More good stuff. On the upswing, too!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews