O senhor do caos

The Wheel of Time #6

by Robert Jordan, Rafael Miranda Rodrigues (Translator), Mariana Serpa Vollmer (Translator)

Recuperando-se em meio às Sábias, Egwene deseja prosseguir por conta própria em seus estudos sobre o Mundo dos Sonhos, mas ainda precisa aprender uma dura lição sobre o código de honra Aiel. Em Salidar, a lealdade de Elayne e Nynaeve às dissidentes da Torre Branca as coloca em uma posição difícil: elas devem tentar proteger as Aes Sedai de si mesmas.

Mat e Perrin, por sua vez, precisam arriscar a própria vida para seguir Rand. Enquanto isso, o Dragão se divide entre governar Cairhien e Caemlyn, sem jamais encontrar refúgio das decisões difíceis e da voz de Lews Therin, que ameaça fazê-lo sucumbir à loucura.

Em O senhor do Caos, as intrincadas tramas continuam a se desenrolar e Jordan demonstra maestria em resolver os conflitos dos volumes anteriores criando novos suspenses. A ordem e as antigas instituições desmoronam para abrir caminho para o senhor do caos no novo volume de A Roda do Tempo, uma das mais extraordinárias séries já escritas.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Audiobook, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic

1556 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.

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.

Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, "like his father and grandfather," he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, "no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs."

On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.

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.

Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston.

Reviews

[Kaora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guide: How to Female in Wheel of Time:

-Learn something new. Assume you then know everything and make sure everyone who also knows how to do it is aware that you know more. Establish dominance by making something up and insisting on it.


-When first seeing another female be sure to judge her neckline first, followed by face, clothing and finally where she comes from.
-If a woman flirts with your man, get angry at him for being present while that occurred.


-If your man attempts to keep you safe or gives you advice, go galavanting head first into trouble regardless.
-When the man comes to rescue him, chew him out for thinking you needed rescuing in the first place and/or not being there to save you in the first place.


-Find fault with anything a man says. They are wool headed and clearly can't form a coherent thought, so ensure they know it. If you cannot speak to him at that time sniff loudly so he is still aware of how idiotic he is.
-Use violence often to show that violence will not be tolerated.


-When in close quarters with a friend for long periods of time make snide comments to let her know how much you care.
-Berate the man you like until he realizes he is in love with you.
-Worry more about what your companions are wearing than about the dark lord escaping.
-If you are with another woman let your disdain be obvious if there are no men present. If men are present, be sure to take her side and team up against the men.



Seriously though, while I can't stand the women in this series, I still keep picking these up. I was a little disappointed in this one in that in 1000 pages very little happened that wasn't the above, and it ended on a cliffhanger.

Aggravating.

[Petrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

Lord of Chaos could potentially become the best book by Robert Jordan for me. Let the Lord of Chaos rule, and rule it did.

“Asha’man, kill!”

If you’ve read Lord of Chaos, you will know what those two iconic words signified. To say that I was worried before I dived into Lord of Chaos can be classified as an understatement. Just a brief summary, yes, The Fires of Heaven has rekindled the fire in me to continue reading The Wheel of Time after almost three years of hiatus from it. And I’m glad I continued, and now, persevere I shall. The book that made me quit The Wheel of Time for years was The Shadow Rising, a book often claimed by many of the fans of the series to be Jordan’s best work. Long story short, I believe my binge-reading of the series and out-of-control high expectations towards The Shadow Rising back then were hugely responsible for my downfall with the series in 2019. Why am I repeating myself on this? Well, Lord of Chaos is another one of the books in the series that has received a similar level of praise. Plus, with 389,000 words, it is also the second biggest book in the entire series, just 4,000 words shorter than The Shadow Rising. Fortunately, the result is the exact opposite of me reading The Shadow Rising. Lord of Chaos, despite some of its expected flaws, stands strong as the best book in the series (so far) for me. Even more than The Great Hunt and The Fires of Heaven. If The Fires of Heaven rekindled the fire in me with the series, Lord of Chaos burned it brighter.

“First things first; take care of what can be done now before worrying too long over what might never be.”

One step at a time indeed. One book at a time. One book every few months. That is my mindset as I go through The Wheel of Time, and for now, this marathon reading process has worked incredibly well for me with the series. Lord of Chaos begins with the biggest prologue of the series so far. At 70 pages long, the prologue could’ve worked as a short story or even a short novella. But I must say, I enjoyed reading the prologue. The story in Lord of Chaos revolves around Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggling to bind the nations of the world to his will. Rand is still trying his best to forge the alliances of Light necessary to fight the Shadow. The preparation for Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, continues. But as always, other powers seek to command the war against the Dark One. Not willing to let Rand in control, factions (especially Aes Sedai in this book) are racing to manipulate The Dragon Reborn to their respective side. In the meantime, as the realm of men falls into chaos and discord, the Dark One and his bloody servants polish their plan to assault The Dragon Reborn.

“Then forget honors and remember the Last Battle. Everything I do is aimed at Tarmon Gai’don. Everything I tell you to do will be aimed at it. You will aim at it!”
“Of course.” Taim spread his hands. “You are the Dragon Reborn. I don’t doubt that; I acknowledge it publicly. We march toward Tarmon Gai’don. Which the Prophecies say you will win. And the histories will say that Mazrim Taim stood at your right hand.”

It is very much necessary for me to begin by saying, especially for first-time readers of the book, do not expect battle scenes or war scenes entering into Lord of Chaos. You will be sorely disappointed if you do. Yes, there is the highly praised Battle of Dumai's Wells, but overall, Lord of Chaos, despite the coolness and the implication of the book title, doesn't feature a lot of battle scenes. Also, unlike the previous books, do not expect a battle against one of The Forsaken here. Let alone war scenes, I think the only battle scene in this book occurred in the final chapter, and it is not a battle against one of The Forsaken. However, this is not bad news. Jordan managed to make the novel better for it. I will elaborate more on this later as spoiler-free as possible. But first, before I talk about all the goods, let's talk about some of the expected flaws of the novel, which have existed since the previous books, in my opinion, and gotten relatively better here in comparison. They are the pacing—or verbosity—and the main female characters. Shockingly, I will be talking about the miscommunication trope being used here in a better light.

“A fool moans when fortune takes him down, and it takes a true fool to moan when fortune takes him up.

I have heard from plenty of readers who love the series that, for them, they've encountered the invasion of the infamous slog of the series in Lord of Chaos. And I cannot fault them for this. Robert Jordan has always been great at writing the beginning and the closing chapters of his books in the series, and that situation did not change here. After the massive prologue, I continue to enjoy reading almost every page of Lord of Chaos for the first quarter. And then, after that, the pacing ground to a halt until around the 65% mark of the book. By the way, I read Lord of Chaos and every book in The Wheel of Time using my Kindle, hence why I used percentage in my review. But yeah, it was challenging, and even boring occasionally, to go through the verbosity of details in dresses and clothing while the plot seemed to move as slowly as possible. However, I must say, compared to The Shadow Rising, or even The Fires of Heaven that I enjoyed very much, the pacing in Lord of Chaos was overall better. Hey, at least we don't have the boring-to-tears circus plotline here.

“Never make a plan without knowing as much as you can of the enemy. Never be afraid to change your plans when you receive new information. Never believe you know everything. And never wait to know everything.”

I will always maintain my words that The Wheel of Time (so far anyway, but I don't think this opinion will change) is a series that would've been improved if it received another round of editing and trimming. Although I do love intricacies in settings and locations, I, as a reader, do not care too much about reaching this level of detail in clothing and dresses. I feel like they delayed some of the greatness of the series. As a comparison, I feel like Sanderson's way of describing clothing in his books is on the right level of detail I usually love to read. But all of these boiled down to me saying that this pacing and detail, whether you like it or not, has existed in every book in the series so far. I expected them to be there, and by taking a few months' breaks after finishing each book in the series before I read the next installment, I feel like I could tolerate and sometimes appreciate them much better now. Plus, I loved reading the execution of the themes of courage, leadership, and duty in Lord of Chaos. Even if we have to drown in verbosity to get glimpses of them here and there.

“Duty is heavier than a mountain, death lighter than a feather.” Once you had that mountain firmly on your shoulders, there was no way to put it down.

Another thing I would like to talk about before I move on to the main highlights of the novel. I am not a stranger in voicing my dislike towards how the main female characters behave in the series, and no, I doubt this situation will change throughout the series. The topic of gender versus gender caused by SO MANY years of prejudice and dominance won’t vanish instantly. It is one of the dominant themes of the series. And I have mentioned plenty of times that I did not like Elayne, Aviendha, and definitely not Nynaeve. To be more precise, I have not yet, and I have no idea whether that will change in the later books. We will find out eventually. Although I understand why they behaved a certain way, I feel like the non-stop repetition of their behavior made them more annoying than they should. Honestly, the only female characters I have liked in the series so far were Min—as proven further in this book—and Moiraine. But admittedly, I did not find myself angered over the main female characters here. I know. It is surprising. I was frequently angered by how Elayne and Nynaeve behaved in The Fires of Heaven. But from my perspective, it was more balanced here. The only character I did not enjoy reading about here, and not in a good way, was Faile. What a failure of a character. How Perrin continuously obsessed over her is beyond my wool head.

“A wife isn’t a trooper to go running when you shout. In some ways, a woman is like a dove. You hold her half as hard as you think is necessary, or you might hurt her.”

Now let's talk about all the great things of Lord of Chaos. And I will begin by saying that I love how the miscommunication trope is utilized here. NOT completely. Never completely. It is still too much in many sections, but remember what I said earlier in the review that the story in Lord of Chaos did not get so good until we reached the 65% mark of the book? Yes, that has something to do with the game-changing development (even if it happened too abruptly) relating to the female characters. After we reached this point, I felt the plot and the character development in Lord of Chaos started moving forward compellingly. And guess what, the conflict surrounding the final 35% of the book mainly happened because of miscommunication and prejudice. I feel like it was executed magnificently. I was constantly holding my breath as I read through the pages of these chapters. The deadly tension in the atmosphere and conversations were undeniably palpable. And I will have to admit that the miscommunication, this time, was rightfully used to heighten the stake of the narrative. Of course, this kind of result is only possible due to (here are the main highlights of the novel for me) Rand al'Thor, Mazrim Taim, and the Asha'man.

“Never be hostile unless you must, Moiraine had said, but above all never be overly friendly. Never be eager”

Every scene with Rand al’Thor, Mazrim Taim, and the Asha’man was undoubtedly the best part of Lord of Chaos for me. Look, I do not know where Rand usually stands in the list of favorite characters according to the fans of The Wheel of Time. But for now, Rand and Mat are constantly battling for supremacy as my top favorite character in the series. His romances aside, which I do not think Jordan ever handled well anyway, Rand has undergone an immense character development from his first appearance in The Eye of the World. I also think Rand is a genuinely humane main character. His actions, his arrogance, and how he started to accept his role as The Dragon Reborn, everything just felt so believable. I still have a lot of books in the series to read, and I already feel that the result of his character arc will become one of the best in epic fantasy. It IS already one of the best after reading Lord of Chaos. The amount of responsibility and ordeals he has to juggle is utterly overwhelming. It is beyond human. Rand’s internal grapple with Lews Therin Thelamon was always immersive to me, and I am constantly amazed by Rand's perseverance to stay sane. How he remains sane facing the chaos and suffering he has to endure is inspiring. This is on top of so many individuals ceaselessly assuming bad things about him even when he always tries to do good for the world as best as he can as The Dragon Reborn.

“I am the Dragon Reborn. Denying won’t change it. Wishing won’t change it. I’m not the man you knew back in Emond’s Field."

Introducing Mazrim Taim and the Asha’man in this book is one of the best things Jordan has done for the series so far. Aes Sedai has an irreplaceable hatred toward male channelers, and Mazrim Taim is the exact opposite. I felt intimidated by Mazrim Taim’s presence, and the existence of the Asha’man provides intriguing complexity in the story and confrontations between males and females as it—for better or worse—will shift the political and power dynamics of the world. I say it’s about time; this is what the series needs. Conflicts will happen. Changes will be inevitable. Most likely with sacrifices and death. But Tarmon Gai’don will come eventually, and there is no way of facing it without cooperation between the males and females channelers. I can't wait to find out how all of these will develop.

“You need a name. In the Old Tongue, Aes Sedai means Servants of All, or something very close. The Old Tongue doesn’t translate easily… Another word in the Old Tongue is asha’man. It means guardian, or guardians. Or defender, and maybe a couple of other things; I told you, the Old Tongue is very flexible. Guardian seems to be best, though. Not just any defender or guardian, though. You could not call a man who defended an unjust cause asha’man, and never one that was evil. An asha’man was a man who defended truth and justice and right for everyone. A guardian who would not yield even when hope was gone.” The Light knew, hope would go when Tarmon Gai’don came, if not before. “That is what you are here to become. When you finish your training, you will be Asha’man.”

Lastly, I need to mention, once again, that the last 35% of Lord of Chaos was an easy 5 stars epic fantasy material, in my opinion. All the buildup, the accumulating rage I poured, and the devastating result of prejudice, self-assumption, and miscommunication exploded in the final chapter. As I said earlier, there were close to no battle scenes in Lord of Chaos. But the politicking, manipulation, and intensity sparked by wonderful momentum building between the characters were evident in the text. For years, there has been a LOT of hype and praise about The Battle of Dumai’s Wells. I approached this battle with a cautious expectation but also feelings of excitement, and you know what? The chapter successfully delivered an intensely memorable scene. It was immensely impactful and satisfying. I believe it is one of the best chapters of the entire series. It is a relatively short chapter for such an eventful climax sequence, and I wish it had been a bit longer. However, every sentence in the chapter, especially after all the momentum building and adding my vivid imagination, certainly enhanced the weight of the battle scene. In this one chapter alone, I spotted at least three REALLY iconic lines that will stand the test of time. One of them being…

“Kneel and swear to the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt.”

God. Even typing that passage makes me want to reread the last few chapters. Thousands of participants were involved. Lives were cleaved. Vengeance enacted. Armies converged, wolves howled, weapons brandished, lightning weaved, and a rolling ring of Earth and Fire ignited an explosion of blood and flesh. It was a day of carnage. It was a day of fire and blood.

Picture: Lord of Chaos by Gregory Manchess



Judging from the length of this review, I think you will have noticed that I loved Lord of Chaos despite some of its apparent flaws. Suffice to say that this is the best installment of the series so far. And personally speaking, Lord of Chaos, the sixth novel in The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, could potentially become the best book solely written by him for the series, not including the one that is written by Brandon Sanderson. We will find out, eventually, whether that becomes the case or not. I am saying this because I know where I'm at with the series. The upcoming four books in the series after this, from A Crown of Swords up to Crossroad of Twilight, are supposedly the infamous slog installments of the series. And I never heard any fans of The Wheel of Time consider any of the subsequent five books, including Knife of Dreams, as their personal favorites. I will make sure to lower my expectations going into them. Obviously, just like how I did not predict I would enjoy Lord of Chaos this much, I will be super happy to be proven wrong. Lord of Chaos went above and beyond my expectation, going as far for it to be included in my list of favorite books. If all goes according to plan, I will read A Crown of Swords in November or December.

Until then, let the Lord of Chaos rule. The wheel weaves as the wheel wills.

“We are always more afraid than we wish to be, but we can always be braver than we expect.”

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[Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my new youtube channel where I show my instant reactions to reading fantasy books seconds after I finish the book.

The most thrilling and action-packed installment to date makes for an absolutely wonderful fantasy book

I have been thoroughly enjoying my time reading this series, but it feels like things are really hitting a high mark in this series with this book. The plot developments feel incredibly interesting, and for the first time I found myself unable to put the book down for long stretches of time because I absolutely had to find out what happens next.

Without spoiling anything, the creation of the Black Tower feels like it has such huge potential - so for the ending to come and that all comes to a huge climactic moment, was deeply satisfying. It had the first time in the series that I was legitimately shell shocked, and had to put the book down to catch my breath before continuing. It's legitimately one of the best endings to any book I have ever read, which is a huge statement when it comes to the fantasy genre that is known for crazy endings.

I cannot wait to read the next one to read about the aftermath of this book, and watch all the pieces sort themselves out.

For anyone who gave up on this series before this book, you've done yourself a huge disservice!

[Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm)]

It's quite possible this book could be removed from the series altogether and none would be the wiser.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I could almost copy and paste my review for Fires of Heaven right here and it would be mostly suitable because Lord of Chaos is more of the same. This is another metropolitan-city-phonebook-sized novel with a potentially interesting story that is bogged down by its excruciatingly slow pace, regular insertions of backstory, constant descriptions of the garb of every major and minor character (garb which keeps getting smoothed, straightened, or otherwise adjusted), and too many mentions of expanses of bosoms, spankings, sitting on knees, sniffing, snorting, and braid yanking. (I swear, if I have to read "good stout Two-Rivers woolens" one more time...)

In Lord of Chaos some of the most interesting WOT characters are absent (e.g., Egeanin and Lan), some of the formerly interesting characters have become almost intolerable (e.g., Siuan and Aviendha), and some who should have grown up by now just won't (Nynaeve and Faile). At least we get to visit a new city -- Ebou Dar .... in which everyone looks and acts the same and all the women are looking for fights (with knives).

The only really entertaining parts of Lord of Chaos were Lews Therin's mumblings in Rand's head -- I thought this was clever and amusing:

"Where are all the dead?" Lews Therin whispered. "Why will they not be silent?"
Rand chuckled grimly. Surely that had to be a joke.

There is a climax at the end of the book that truly changes the course of the story (and I hope will serve to pick up the pace in the next novel), but it took entirely too long to get there and involved a sudden change in some of the characters' normal behavior. Rand's got a horde of Aiel maidens and wise ones around him everywhere he goes and then they suddenly decide to take a coffee break when a group of Aes Sedai come to visit? Huh? Well, I was puzzled, but at least there was finally some action, even if the events around it seemed contrived.

Robert Jordan is a smooth writer who's got an interesting story to tell (thus, three stars), but he dilutes its power by drawing it out. This book's plot should have been combined with the previous two books' plots and then 75% of the words should have been removed. (There was so much repetition that we probably wouldn't have missed anything!). Then, instead of three slow and repetitive novels, we'd have one great novel. Read more Robert Jordan book reviews at Fantasy literature.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a damn idiot! I accidentally put both audios of book 5 and 6 on hold at the library. This one came through before the 5th book! I was thinking I missed something! Oh well, I loved it anyway. This effing cancer shit has me all messed up!!! And I feel like shit on top of it and apparently don't know what I'm doing 😡

[Olivier Delaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

THIS IS MEANT AS A LIGHT, NOT-TOO-SERIOUS BUT HOPEFULLY FUNNY REVIEW, SO PLEASE TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT IS. AND NOW, ON TO THE SLAUGHTER!!!

Nyneave tugged her braid as hard as she could bear it. Any harder and she would surely rip her scalp off. “How am I supposed to review this book?” she muttered, holding a copy of Robert Jordan’s Lord of Chaos in her left hand. Her right was busy pulling at her braid. “The author’s first three books were really good––well, if one turns a blind eye on the fact that they are LOTR ripoffs, which, don’t get me wrong, is fine by me, just as long as the story is revisited in a captivating way and makes you turn the pages faster than it takes for my right hand to reach up and tug my braid; speaking of which…––but book 4 and 5 were pretty hard to slog through and I’m afraid the same can be said about book 6. The ending is pretty good, though. Quite unexpected, you might say. Ah, men!”

Elayne listened to her friend, the faintest ghost of the beginning of a smile slightly spiced up by the undeniable tinge of mockery embodied in the ever so feeble and elusive yet very much there glint in her left eye which, much like her right eye, was the color of the sea and the sky when it is not yet noon although the eleventh hour of the day is well nigh passed and gone. “My dear sweet good friend Nyneave, what troubles you so, pray tell your dear sweet good friend Elayne?”

Nyneave glared at Elayne, a pearly thread of saliva dangling from the left corner of her mouth whose full lips were the color of the sky when it is not yet dawn although dusk is long passed and gone. She had never been so angry in her life! Well, not since five minutes ago, anyway. “Are you deaf, woman? Woolheaded perhaps?” She gave her braid another tug, this time hard enough to make her scream in pain. It felt good, though. Indeed, it felt quite pleasurable. Like, pleasing. The opposite of unpleasant. Or that of disagreeable. You know, like, good. For the pain reminded her she was alive and had hair to tug at. And so she tugged at it one more time for good measure. “I just said out loud that I didn’t know what to make of book 6 in the Wheel of Time series. I warned you time and again not to listen to your iPod so often, woman. And what did her Highness do? You kept on listening to that woolheaded contraption of a thing and made yourself deaf. Ah, women!”

Elayne chose not to answer to that ill-founded accusation. She put both her bejeweled hands palm up on her lap, smoothing backhandedly the delicate fabric of her dress which was made of a multitude of silk and damask and cotton and acrylic and elastane cloth leaves, each perfectly and masterfully and skillfully sewn together and each having its own particular hue which very often reminded the onlooker––or for that matter the bearer, for dresses were meant to be worn in this part of Randland and not only admired and wrote about for thousands and thousands and thousands of pages––of the color of an autumn sky when summer is definitely passed and gone but winter is not yet there and bides its time dozing patiently at the corner of November and December, and said, “I think you should know by now that the author––the Gods rest his soul––only wrote books 6 through 11 of his series because his editor, who also happened to be his wife, had thrown in the towel well before the Breaking of the World. So he basically wrote whatever he wanted for as many pages as he wanted, not giving a rat’s ass about moving the plot along or shutting it up about what this and that Aes Sedai is wearing in this and that scene. Image how fun it must have been for him! Quite a treat, really. Not so much for us readers, though… So here’s what you should do, sweet beautiful Nyneave: don’t bother reading book 6 through 11––I know I won’t; just Google the plot summaries (ah, ah, ah, the plot! That’s a good one!) and then move on to book 12 The Gathering Storm by Brandon Sanderson. Here, you can even use my iPod. That way you’ll have your hands free to do as much braid pulling as you want while listening to the audiobook. Aren’t I a great friend, sweet beautiful gorgeous Nyneave?”

“Burn you, woman, burn you and your fancy gadgets to the hundred hells below!” In her rage, Nyneave went on tugging at her braid like a demented Quasimodo pulling at the bell rope of Notre-Dame on a wedding day. She tugged hard. Oh boy, did she. Really, really hard. A little too hard perhaps. For in the end she broke her cervical spine, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down.

[Sean Barrs · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am done!!!!

That's it. I'm out. I will not be reading anymore of this series because it is so annoyingly repetitive. The story has not moved forward for three books and the chapters and monologues all feel the same. The paragraphs feel the same, the sentences feel the same. It's almost like Robert Jordan is more interested in hitting a massive word count rather than writing a good story.

I was still curious to see how the series ended so I googled it and read the spoilers. A solid ending, if a little a-typical. I don't feel like I needed to read it to see it. This way is much better because I can actually go off now and read a good book. With this I found myself skimming huge sections and skipping chapters in their entirety because they were so boring. A book should not make you feel this way. I want to enjoy what I'm reading, not feel like it is a massive soul destroying chore that I don't want to partake in.

The Wheel of Time
1. Eye of the World- An unoriginal five stars
2. The Great Hunt- A reluctant three stars
3. The Dragon Reborn- A well-developed four stars
4. The Shadow Rising- A strong four stars
5. The Fires of Heaven- A slow two stars
6. Lords of Chaos- I am done!!!!

[Anna [Bran. San. Stan] · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the fuck was that? That was amazing! This book is seriously breaking my brain: Dumai’s Wells is as mind-blowing as I’ve been promised. But also: 47 points of view?? What did people do in the ‘90s without the benefits of the internet? Take excessive notes on all mentioned characters? (The way OCD me used to do back when, whenever a book featured a plethora of characters?) But having the patience to do that for 2,782 characters in the course of the series? (Yup, I looked that up.) Even googling seems quite an endeavor. (I appreciate Sanderson naming all non-essential characters "Doug" in Tress.) Still, just goes to show what an enormous endeavor WoT is – truly a life’s work.

It’s fitting then to note that WoT is seminal in many ways – much like LotR was in shaping elements in WoT. For one thing, we know that the “Game of Houses”, the political plotting of nobles to gain power, inspired George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones”; also, the endless summer brought on by the Dark One, actually called “the year without winter”, becomes “winter is coming.“

Similarly, I wonder if the notion of a conflict being repeated as part of the Wheel of Time – players reborn to fight the same wars – has influenced Sanderson and his idea of the Returns/Desolations? (Also, Tel’aran’rhiod reminded me of Shadesmar; Szeth’s sense of honor and obligation of the Aiel ji’e’toh.) I know I read somewhere he was a fan of WoT so it seems likely. How cool is it that he got to write the ending to a series he loved!




SPOILERS BELOW!
________________________







Anyway, to the plot itself. The first half was slow at times, apart from the what-the-fuckery of Alanna forcibly bonding Rand and the reveal that Tigraine is his birth mother. It also drove me mad that I couldn’t figure out what Rand’s plans concerning Mat and Sammael were – and we never really find out apart from the assembled army being a distraction. (Or maybe I missed it?)

On a side note, I dig Rand low-key founding universities and offhandedly giving an excellent, accurate description of academia (especially when a field has an inferiority complex).

“He had tried talking with others here, philosophers and historians, learned women and scholars, and it was like trying to pin down an Aes Sedai. They were certain of what they were certain of, and about the rest they drowned you in words that could mean anything. They either grew angry when pressed - they seemed to think he was doubting their knowledge, apparently a deep sin - or they increased the torrent of words till he did not know what half of them meant …“

My weird realization aside, about 50% in, shit’s happening. And I couldn’t put the book down. Among other things, Perrin is finally back (though Faile’s jealousy was hella stupid), as is Min. I gotta say, of all of Rand’s love interests, I like her best at this point. It is just so refreshing that her loyalty is not divided and she is firmly in camp Rand (as opposed to Aviendha and Elayne).

What I hated, though, is Rand being complacent and getting himself captured. As someone who hates reading about a protagonist being brought down, to the point that I have to force myself to continue reading, it was agonizing to see Rand being tortured. I get that it serves a greater purpose in the narrative and it made Dumai’s Wells possible, but let me complain about my pain for a sec: those 80ish pages felt like an eternity! I am grateful, though, that it wasn’t drawn out to the next book.

I love these books so much, I honestly feel bad for people who can’t get past their dislike of some aspects – because they are seriously missing out! Misogyny is often named as a point of criticism – though I can’t but feel that our modern/liberal values of gender equality don’t have to be superimposed on a fantasy world. Yes, Jordan is not perfect at writing female characters; their behavior at times being annoying and/or irrational. Yes, people (mostly women) are getting naked for weird reasons. Yes, corporal punishment is questionable. But within the framework of the setting I can get past it.

Instead of focusing on some aspects that could use revision, I’m happy I can revel in the joy Jordan‘s storytelling brings me, in the intricate world he shows us in his books; they are truly, as Sanderson puts it, “a treat for both the senses and the mind.“

Onward!

Side note 1: So apparently I’ve unknowingly been a Black Sister all my life for being in the habit of sticking my thumb between my first two fingers. *in Jake Peralta voice* Coolcoolcool.

Side note 2: I missed Lan.

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The lions sing and the hills take flight. The moon by day, and the sun by night. Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool. Let the Lord of Chaos rule."

There is no going back. The Wheel of Time is now officially one of my favourite series of all time. At times while reading I got this weird, amazing feeling that only two other works of fantasy have given me before. There was something this sixth book had that took me over the edge and far down the other side. Or more specifically, something this book did not have.

This series has in my eyes had two huge problems barring it from a place among the very best fantasy epics out there. First, that the plot development is so slow it sometimes feels like watching the grass grow. Second, that the protagonists are the most frustrating, stupid, stubborn, arrogant idiots you’ll ever find in any series. And thanks be to some miracle, that second issue seems to have evaporated into thin air. While reading this book I found myself loving Mat and Egwene, feeling positively indifferent towards most of the others, and actually starting to like even Rand himself.

And when you have an absodamnlutely amazing series and take away its single biggest problem, you’re left with… well, an absodamnlutely amazing series. Slow plot development or no, without the horrible characters that sometimes made me want to throw these books in the closest wall, I am truly able to appreciate the epic work of a man whom I would now describe as the best fantasy writer and world-builder since Tolkien himself.

This was not the best Wheel of Time book so far, but it deserves all the stars simply for turning me into an adoring fan. And sure… tons of political intrigue, Forsaken point-of-view chapters, a Whitecloak actually being bloody awesome, and a return to the eerily wonderful Shadar Logoth; it all did help.

Damn, I love this.

Wheel of Time reviews:
#1 The Eye of the World
#2 The Great Hunt
#3 The Dragon Reborn
#4 The Shadow Rising
#5 The Fires of Heaven
#6 Lord of Chaos
#7 A Crown of Swords
#8 The Path of Daggers
#9 Winter's Heart
#10 Crossroads of Twilight
#11 Knife of Dreams
#12 The Gathering Storm
#13 Towers of Midnight
#14 A Memory of Light

[David - proud Gleeman in Branwen's adventuring party · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've completed Book 6 of the epic Wheel of Time buddy read with my amazing friend Branwen!

While the awesome parts of this book made it all worth reading (particularly that exciting battle at the end) I must confess this was my least favorite novel in the series so far. Still, the Wheel of Time books just get better from here on out...right? Right?!
(Umm...why did all the Wheel of Time fans start snickering at me just now???)

FULL REVIEW TO COME
Wheel of Time ranking photo from favorite novel to least favorite:


Wow, that's a lot of pages read photo:


Just think, Branwen...only about 7,000 more pages to go in the series! ;)

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

NOTICE: this reread is in preparation for finally biting the bullet and reading book 14. That means I HAVE NOT read book 14 yet. Please be mindful of this in the comments, both for me and for others who may or may not have progressed past this point in the series. Thank you.

SO . . . I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, shit goes DOWN in this book.

There's the Morgase situation, which is one unfortunate event after another.

We've watched the Pattern rearrange itself for Rand, Mat, and Perrin. To their benefit. This almost seems like the opposite. And FYI, if you don't already know, I have NOT read WoT #14 yet (that's the purpose behind this reread), so if there is a reason, and you know it, you had better keep it to yourself. *brandishes fists*

Misinformation, coincidence, pessimism, logic, you name it, and somehow it's a contributing factor to the mess that is Morgase-on-the-run.

Also, you can't throw a rock without hitting a Forsaken. This is the installment where you learn what "Bal'azamon" meant when he went on and on about having power over the dead.

I'm torn between just accepting how realistically petty and squabbling these Big Bads are amongst themselves, and being . . . disgusted. You want reasons for why these powerful weilders-of-the-One-Power joined the Dark Side? Nine times out of ten it boils down to jealousy. If not jealousy, then resentment over some perceived slight. The notable exception is a Mad Scientist-type who was forbidden from continuing his bizarre genetic engineering experiments, but even that could be attributed back to resentment (for not adequately appreciating his "genius").

So yeah, there's a surplus of scheming and machinations happening.

And that is not limited to the Forsaken, no, it is NOT. The Aes Sedai on both sides are behaving abominably.

Salidar Aes Sedai: the "Little Tower" decides the best way to legitimize their claim is raise their own Amyrlin. And that's a good idea. It makes sense. BUT. Even with the Tower broken and Tarmon Gai'don on the horizon, they can't lay their own goals and ambitions down long enough to come to an agreement, so what do they do?

Twist Tower law into raising an Accepted that ALL factions believe they can manipulate to their own ends.

Despicable.

Tower Aes Sedai: a delegation of Sisters--including Reds--arrives in Cairhien under the guise of honoring the Dragon Reborn and negotiating some kind of mutually beneficial "arrangement" that ultimately hinges on Rand's agreement to go (and presumably stay) in Tar Valon. BUT. The second they arrive they begin preparations for his refusal, in which case the new plan is to transfer delegation leadership to a Red (whose sole purpose is to find men who can channel and destroy that ability), forcibly abduct Rand, beat him into submission on the way to Aes Sedai HQ, and bring someone he cares about along as well, for motivation purposes.

SERIOUSLY.

Oh, and Alanna--currently unaffiliated with either group of Aes Sedai--takes it upon herself to bond Rand as her Warder. And just in case you didn't pick up on it, "takes it upon herself" means SHE DID NOT ASK.

And while we're on the subject of Aes Sedai, poor judgement, and superiority complexes, let's talk about their hierarchy.

What's it based on?

Age? Experience? Education?

NOPE. It's based on STRENGTH in the Power. As in the arbitrary amount of the True Source a woman can safely handle.

True story.

As Egwene observes:

Sorilea would have been put out of the Tower without ever being tested for Accepted.

And Sorilea is by all accounts the most respected Wise One in the Aiel nation. SO. It's no surprise that after their dealings with the Salidar Aes Sedai (who are by far the lesser of evils), any intimidation they originally felt has been replaced by scorn.

Just as concerning is the "Black Tower," run by Mazrim Taim . . . All I'm going to say about him is that if you're suspicious . . . you should go with that.

As disheartening as ALL of that sounds, it's not all bad.

There's Olver, the nine-year-old Cairhien orphan adopted by the Band. His story is heart-breaking, but he is resilient. And with an army of indulgent "uncles" he's infinitely better off then he was among the refugees.

Sulin-in-livery is also pretty great. *snickers* As is Davram Bashere, and Loial's reaction to learning that his mother has--as he's always feared--come after him with a bride in tow.

So yeah, good stuff to help break-up all the awfulness, but overall, this is not a happy installment. Be prepared to watch Rand slip further and further behind his wall of stone.

How will the Wise Ones teach him to bend like a willow so he does not shatter? I do not know. But I'm going to find out.



My other reviews for this series:

The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1) by Robert Jordan
The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time, #2) by Robert Jordan
The Dragon Reborn (Wheel of Time, #3) by Robert Jordan
The Shadow Rising (Wheel of Time, #4) by Robert Jordan
The Fires of Heaven (Wheel of Time, #5) by Robert Jordan
A Crown of Swords (Wheel of Time, #7) by Robert Jordan
The Path of Daggers (Wheel of Time, #8) by Robert Jordan
Winter's Heart (Wheel of Time, #9) by Robert Jordan
Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time, #10) by Robert Jordan
New Spring (Wheel of Time, #0) by Robert Jordan

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new month a new Wheel of Time book with the fantasy fanatics of Buddies Books and Baubles.

This book is both engaging and infuriating. If I were to write 30 words or less that sum up my feelings about the series so far they would go something like this.

Never have I read a series that I like so much based mostly on worldbuilding, plot and cultures while disliking or struggling with most of the characters.

The continuing fight against The Dark One or Lord of Chaos and his chosen is really well done. I love all the details of the different cultures and the histories of how they were shaped that way. I think some of the reveals that are doled out here and there are masterfully in how they are planned and played out. The surprises that come in ever book again and again surprise me like they are supposed to and yet I can see the hints along the way. Overall the story and world building are great and yet the characters infuriate me 73.89% of the time.

Let’s just hit on the female characters first. There were a few that started off really good in the first few books and I thought they had a ton of potential but in this book I only like Min, Avienda and the Maidens the rest of the women spend their time hiding, making ridiculous statements, infighting and a plethora of other eyerolling actions that just make me cringe. Nynaeve who I adored in the first few books spent the majority of this one either pulling her braid, avoiding facing ANYTHING or just saying ridiculous things. *sadface* I loved her and now she is just a shadow of what she could have been. The same goes for Elayne, Egwene and Faile for that matter.

Rand has the worst friends ever. I think the only people truly on his side all the time are the Maidens. I get that they don’t understand and are not sure how to deal with a man who can channel but Perrin and Mat were his best friends growing up and knew him before he was The Dragon Reborn. You would at least think that they would throw a little trust his way. As is it almost seems like each is ready to bolt the first chance they get and neither seems to have much trust for him. Poor Rand he is really mostly alone.

But let’s get to my favorite moments in this one.

ღ Loial finding out his mother and Erith are searching for him. Since he needs a wife to take him into hand and get him settled.

ღ - Perrin finally meeting his in laws and finding they are just as hard and manipulative as his wife can be. They were funny though and it might have been my favorite happier moment this book

ღ - Min getting her shot at Rand. It is about time and I love the way she has decided to go about it.

ღ - Avienda and Elayne meeting up again after the Avienda spent some time with Rand….Man you would think that guy was Casanova instead of a woolhead that has no clue what to do with women.

ღ - The big battle at the end and why Perrin had to take the fight to them. It was intense the the buildup was supurb.

ღ - Egwene getting pulled into a very handsome mans dreams about her and *cough* getting her groove on *cough*

Honestly it is a good thing that the story is really good or else the stubbornness and obstinacy of characters would really deter from everything else. There is some set up for some things to go either really right (doubtfully) or horribly wrong (more likely) in the next book and I’m really looking forward to that.

I was a little sad that we didn’t get to see Lan in this book except for a moment. The Warder was one of the characters that I really loved in the beginning but he is getting less and less page time and I almost forgot about him completely except Nynaeve is also wondering what has become of him.

All and all these while long are pretty entertaining stories and I have really enjoyed taking on one book a month of this fantasy series.

[Choko · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** 5 ***

A buddy read with my Fantasy Addicts at BB&B! May the Wheel weave as the Wheel wills!!!

Amazing! More than amazing! Have I covered it all?... Yes, I have! I have run out of superlatives for this series and I do not care! The pacing of the story is very deceptively slow, but it builds on itself, fiber by fiber, and by the end of each book you find yourself holding your breath, barely able to take in air, because it is an energy outward transmutation of a million plot lines coming together and creating an explosion!!! And you would think there is nothing left to write about after this, but the series is barely getting to its middle... I am in Awe of Robert Jordan! How he weaves all those settings, cultures, characters, plot lines, and creates a world so real it is palpable, I can not even imagine! Little details, which seem negligible, characters you might have noticed mentioned in the first book showing up now or at times you least expect it, every pebble on the path to every following book is there with a purpose and you truly get the schizophrenic sense that you live in the Real World at the same time as you live in the world created by Robert Jordan... And despite the feeling of a split, you enjoy every moment of it and want more, and more, and more...

Now, don't get me wrong, Robert Jordan's world is not perfect, nor are the people and other creatures inhabiting it. We still follow mostly our five youths of The Two Rivers with the added from the first book constant companions, and they realy need to go to school on "How to communicate with the people I am closest to!", because they ALL SUCK AT COMMUNICATION!!! If they only stopped feeling sorry for themselves and start looking more on the big picture, things would be movie perfect. But, as most of us, they get stuck on the chicks or dudes they like-like, who is jealous of whom, power struggles, showing or not showing favors, love, guilt, shame, and fear... They feel real, flesh and blood, and are lovable, hated, or as annoying as anyone in our everyday life... The annoying thing does prevail at times, but it does give character to the books:):):)

As always, I will not get into the plots of the books, since it is both impossible and it would be so much more fun to find it on your own... I will say that it starts slow and ends with a sprint. I can not wait to see what happens in the next one, which I am about to start ASAP.

I wish you all Happy Reading and may reading expend your world and help you fly!!!

[JAIME LOUISE · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLY HELL. Some shit went down in this one!

Rand - FINALLY feels like he finished with his whining and getting on with stuff - his stuff being manwhoring. And, I LOVE IT.

Egwene - WHAT IN THE HOLY HELL?!

Loial - LOVE YOU

Elayne - I just like you less and less every book. Shut up. You have basically switched places with that other idiot, Egwene.

Aviendah - is growing on me. Still kind of a weirdo, but I like it.

Mat - I can't remember when I started liking you. Don't ever change

Perrin - Your wife sucks.

Faile - You suck.

Lan - WHERE ARE YOU, BOYFRIEND OF MY HEART?

Nynaeve - Is my spirit animal.

Min - Glad to see you are getting some good story time. But, stop with the crying. I'm pretty sure you are cooler than that.

All the good guy Aiel - You guys are the best.

All the 'tricky' people - fuck you.

[Eric Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took you long enough to stop your main characters from sucking, RJ. Truthfully this was 3.5 stars, but I gave 3 stars to all the other books (and somehow am still reading them), so I gave this one the benefit of the doubt (and 4 stars).

But this book was over 900 pages!

A few things RJ could have stopped repeating:

- The men/women dynamic
- How much the maidens think Rand is either their son, or brother
- How much Warders look like wolves
- How much Aiel look like wolves
- How complex names of actual wolves are
- Descriptions of Rand's coat
- How much Mat hates Aes Sedai
- How good Mat's luck is
- How much Mat/Rand/Perrin each think the other 2 are total pimps
- How annoying Perrin's wife is
- How much Aviendha wants to bang Rand, but also doesn't
- Much more

[Em Lost In Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a slooooow book and took almost 50-55% to actually get started. So you can imagine how frustrated I was while reading this at snail's pace, kept thinking when will things start happening. And even after all my grumbling, this was a necessary book because here we see characters coming out of their shells. I will keep this review short.

About the boys - Rand just keep improving his game of politics. getting stronger at making people obey and follow him. He is so much different from the boy that we first met in Eye of the World. The best thing I like about him is that he's accepted what he is and knows what he has to do. Future of the world depends on him. There is no softness about him, even though he feel sad whenever someone sacrifice his or her life for him but there is no time to be sappy and cry. And he is excelling at this with each book.

I was so happy that Perrin's back and I was thinking of all the ways in which he could help Rand but too bad that Perrin drowned himself in worry over his wife, Faile.

Mat was so much fun. He made this book bearable for first half with his jokes and what would he do if any of the girl disobeyed him. Of course, girls proved to be a tougher opponents than he was expecting.

About the girls - this book belongs to Egwene. So much power at her dispense and I am eager to see how she would use it or she would be just a puppet of other Aes Sedais.

Nynaeve and Elyane should be best friends as they are together since book 4. Sadly they are not. I am disappointed in Nynaeve in this book. What happened to the fierce girl that I love? She was so meek here.

Min and Aviendha, felt like secondary characters. I am not a fan of Aviendha, so am just happy that she was not here much. Min finally made her way back to Rand and it was good to see them together and Min always keep things interested with her prophecies.

As usual I loved the final battle and the slow pace of the book was forgotten/forgiven. So much happened in the last few chapters that I was constantly on the edge. The way things ended here I am so eager to start A Crown of Swords. Hoping against hope that it would be better than this book.

[Mayim de Vries · Rating 3 out of 5]

All you need to know about this novel is that the Prologue is 54 pages long and it renders Moraine’s sacrifice from the previous book pointless (I swear, I nearly stopped reading). Also, if you expect some Lord of Chaos to make an appearance - don’t. The title has no significance whatsoever aside from signalling that plot-wise chaos has the reign supreme.

I have a pretty strong feeling that the title has been given when the book had already been written, and Mr Jordan realised that there is no order and composition here, so all he can do is to try to use the title as a camouflage for all this nonsense on over 1300 pages by pretending it is absolutely intentional.

“Nothing had solidified but everything coalesced.”

Unfortunately, it is the weakest novel in the series. In this volume, it becomes clear that the series begins to break apart under its own weight. Above all, the pace of action is impaired because the Author is fond of all kinds of descriptions which means that my eyes instinctively skim over redundant paragraphs in search of the main thread. As long as the Author sticks to essential things and significant characters (and I don’t mean only the primary ones), it’s still an excellent thing.

Think about it: in “The Shadow Rising” every page was necessary, and so many things happened that I flew through 1,250 pages. Here, for 1,250 pages I struggled as almost nothing significant happens, which, given the size of the book, seems unbelievable. Some of the sub-plots are missing, while the action moves slowly and in strange directions. Many events smell like deus ex machina, and the very ending of the book is terribly strenuous and irritating, a far cry from the epic finale of “The Fires of Heaven.”

“Do what you must, and pay the price of you are wrong. Sometimes if you are right, too.”

The plot relentlessly albeit ever so slowly moves forward, the development of events is sluggish, if consistent, the real action (as opposed to describing, musing, and plotting) is measured out in droplets:

✑ Another group of the Forsaken makes an appearance - Mr Jordan masterfully shows what one reaps when siding with evil, and how evil corrupts and destroys everything it touches; instead of bringing the anticipated success, it turns the blessings into curses.
✑ Mazrim Taim is given some space to grow, the male counterparts of Aes Sedai become a fact (oh, good, good!).
✑ Egwene gets an (un)expected role (imagine my shock!), and when you exhort Nyaneve to get a grip, she merely gets a death grip on her braid.
✑ Somebody neutralise Faile please, what she does to Perrin is first lass cruelty (she cannot be that stupid to think he cares for other women).
✑ Mat (Mat!) is fast becoming my new favourite mainly through his vain attempts to not become a hero.
✑ Rand's ludicrous love life continues on with the third girl in the spotlight. The most exciting thing is him becoming slightly paranoid drama queen - mind you - not without reason he was practically raped and THEN kidnapped, after all and the revelation about his half-brother truly unsaddled me.

“Don’t trust! Never trust! Trust is death!”

In general, everyone is arming themselves, and the imminent feeling is that confrontations between different factions can happen at any moment (they don’t, though!). What makes it even more interesting is that while many characters in Mr Jordan’s series are positive protagonists, often because of idiosyncratic reasons, they are not on the same side of the barricade or have a different way of fighting evil. This causes confusion and conflicts between potential allies. But here everything truly does fold back into itself in endless circles, and it is one of the saving graces that keep me going.

“We are always more afraid than we wish to be, but we can always be braver than we expect.”

Also in the series:

1. The Eye of the World ★★★★☆
2. The Great Hunt ★★★★☆
3. The Dragon Reborn ★★★★☆
4. The Shadow Rising ★★★★☆
5. The Fires of Heaven ★★★★☆
7. A Crown of Swords ★★★☆☆
8. The Path of Daggers ★★★☆☆
9. Winter's Heart ★☆☆☆☆
10. Crossroads of Twilight ★★☆☆☆
11. Knife of Dreams ★★★★☆
12. The Gathering Storm ★★★★☆
13. Towers of Midnight ★★★☆☆
14. A Memory of Light ★★★☆☆

[Eon Windrunner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: Another Reread done.

2022: This time around I felt the book drag in so many places, only to be given a slight push every now and then to make me want to carry on. Lots of issues once again with how the Aes Sedai behave and also most of our female MC's. Non-communication frustrated me endlessly. Jordan's endless descriptions of fashion was tiring. And yet, I still had a great time reading this. Tempted to go 3.5 stars. Sigh.


2016: Lord of Chaos is one of the better books in this series so far, purely on the amount of ingredients. Sure, the story does not move much in any direction, (nothing much resolved) but there is quite a bit of stirring and simmering until the pressure builds up to a boiling point and BAM! The lid is blown at Dumai Wells!

Spoiler-filled notes:

- Aes Sedai make MANY VERY WRONG decisions and want ALL the respect (TIP: It has to be earned) *Glares at Alanna & White Tower
- Oh, that reminds me. Alanna! W!T!F!
- Back to the white tower Aes Sedai – I would not have minded if Rand KILLED THEM ALL.
- Nynaeve gets her skill on and Suian & Leane get their groove back! And Logaine too.
- Mazrim Taim. I don't trust him one bit.
- Some VERY interesting Forsaken chapters
- The battle of Dumai Wells aka - don’t f#%* with Asha’man
(♪ I fell in to a burning ♫ ring of fire ♪)
- Perrin is back!
- WOLVES! HUNDREDS OF WOLVES!


That cover art....



Seriously GR - these image limitations are frustrating.

Link to embiggen


Ooh, ooh! Apart from the Asha'man and Aiel - I only just now spotted Perrin (duh Eon there are wolves) and Loial!

[seak · Rating 5 out of 5]

To review this book, I have to start by telling a little story about my history with this series, and more specifically with this book.

It was in the great year of ought 7 (2007) when I was first reading Lord of Chaos, the sixth book of The Wheel of Time. It was also the same year that Harry Potter was finishing up and sadly when the author himself, Robert Jordan, died of a rare disease.

I decided, not only did I want to make sure there was an ending (sorry, I know that was insensitive of me), but I was really excited to catch up and finish the Harry Potter Series.

So, 4 years ago or so (since it's early 2012) I stopped reading Lord of Chaos just about 260 pages in. For me, for the last 4 years, Nynaeve, Elayne, and Moghedien were in Salidar for that entire time. Rand was still waiting for Elayne to come back and reclaim the Lion Throne in Caemlyn. Mat hanging with the Red Hand Band (they're touring in a town near you) and Perrin in the Two Rivers (which still felt like he was there forever when I picked up again). And I can't really say things change all that much by the end of Lord of Chaos either, but I'll get to that in the spoiler below.

When I picked it up again last year, it was great to be back. I didn't realize how much I missed this series. I started by rereading (well, listening on audio) books 1-5 and then jumping into this book this year.

I have to say, Lord of Chaos is where you can really see the slow-down take place. I love this series as much as the next guy, but there's a definite slow-down that happens, especially when you have a 70 page prologue.

Some spoiler-ish things I'd like to talk about follow, so you may want to have read the book first. Just a warning.

I'll start with the ending. As epic as it is with the battle of Dumai's Wells, with the Aiel meeting Aiel meeting Aes Sedai meeting with Aes Sedai meeting with Mayeners meeting with asha'man meeting with..okay I'll stop there. Okay, awesome battle, I loved it, but it was extremely short. It was really only the last 30 pages or so. But the main part is that it really didn't do a whole lot to move the story forward like I thought the ending of the book would do.

No Forsaken is killed like in all the others up to this point. Okay, it shows the power and threat that is the Asha'man as well as the Shaido who've been pretty worthless for a while now. Otherwise, it just resolves problems that were just introduced in this book and then adds more. Am I gonna have to make another Lost comparison?

Next, what's the deal with the bowl that controls weather (that's not yet found)? I figured the way to solve the problem with the rising heat being due to the Dark One's influence was to...mmmm...defeat the Dark One. We don't need another random track to go down.

End Spoiler Discussion

So, if you read the spoiler, I really did enjoy this installment in The Wheel of Time, promise. If you didn't read the spoiler, I really did enjoy this installment in The Wheel of Time. Not my favorite in the series, but I really enjoyed all the intricacies and additions to the incredible world Jordan created.

4.5/5 Stars

Ps. This is a cool video of the making of the new ebook cover. I don't recommend watching it until you've read the book though. It combines the artwork with passages from the audiobook read by Michael Kramer including some of the very last lines of the book.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another enjoyable instalment in the Wheel of Time series. It was an improvement on The Fires of Heaven, but did not reach the heights of The Shadow Rising( the best WoT book so far ).

It though Jordan did OK when it came to advancing the plot in this instalment. Not a ton happened, but it felt like a lot of stuff got set into motion. This meant a lot of focus on politics and scheming, but I've always been happy enough with such story arcs.

The characters proved a mixed bag:

Rand: I though the guy was the star of this instalment. I liked him a lot. He has really grown into the role of Dragon Reborn and does not baulk at the responsibilities or expectations. His dithering over his harem of women bounces between being amusing and annoying, but luckily was mostly amusing in this one.

Perrin: I was happy he was back in the mix. Well, I was to start with. What is it with Rand's friends turning into asses the moment they get near him? We finally met Faile's family. They were as disturbing and crazy as you might expect given how she turned out.

Mat: This was a good book for Mat. I still find him a bit whiny and annoying at times, but getting away from Rand and leading the Band of the Red Hand is helping him grow as a character.

Egwene: Her best book so far. Like Mat she is beginning to show real maturity and positive growth. Her story arc was a little unbelievable and sudden, but it should be fun to see where it goes.

Nynaeve: WTF has happened to the tough, brave, kick-ass Nynaeve of the first four books? She has totally morphed into a cringing, annoying, comedy character. And that is despite her still managing to do some pretty cool stuff! Jordan has totally ruined her character:(

Elayne: Still stuck at the hip to Nynaeve, but she at least has fared better.

Aviendha: She had a quiet book. At this stage she is little more than a romantic interest for Rand, and one that Jordan has on the back burner.

Min: She had another good outing. I liked that she finally got to spend some time with Rand.

The Aes Sedai: We got a whole batch of Aes Sedai POV's which I actually enjoyed. It definitely enhanced the story.

The Forsaken: They are crazy and evil, but always fun to follow. It was great to meet the likes of Demondred and Semirhage in this one. Plus the introduction of the villainous Shadar Haroth was cool.

All in all I found this to be an engaging and enjoyable read despite a few of the flaws I've just moaned about:)

Rating: 4 stars.

Audio Note: Another fantastic performance from Krammer and Reading.

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was the whole world really burning up?

Thank goodness for the Wheel of Time Wikia page. At this point in the series I can’t really differentiate too clearly between books; everything is just blurring together. I suppose it would help if I read the books back to back, but that is not a realistic option. I honestly need a break between instalments.

That said, I do believe I enjoyed this book more than The Fires of Heaven. It felt, to me, like a return to form, but all of this is pretty relative given my comment above.

This time the story is actually moved forward. In fact, there are some pretty significant events that take place; let’s just say the deck is being shuffled. As per usual there is a lot of conniving, backstabbing and all kinds of political shenanigans between several factions, each of which with their own shady agenda. The Wheel of Time saga is a fantastic story but it is stupendously ambitious and intimidating. And, let’s be honest, more than a little bloated. Jordan’s vision, however, is singular in its scope and execution, and that is what pulls it through time and again.

Where are all the dead?
Why will they not be silent?

As has been the trend so far, things are still getting darker and darker with each outing. It’s difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that this is only book six of fourteen. A lot has happened already and I’m not halfway yet.

No more running.
He would do what he had to do, but no more running.

Pros
1. The Dragon Reborn – this is the part of the story I enjoy the most. I love how everybody keeps underestimating Rand and his allies, and his sequences always have the most epic showdowns.
2. World building – say what you will about Robert Jordan but he know how to create a living, breathing, fully realised setting, complete with its own histories and legends, cultures and peoples, and whatever else you can think of.
3. Wolves!

Cons
1. Sexism, or whatever the hell this is – it seems to be a point of contention among readers, but it is detracting if (just about) every serious situation devolves into a pissing contest between men and women.
2. The sheer length of this book – if a book has a prologue of 72 pages it had better be paced pretty damned fast…

The wolves. Let’s not forget the wolves…

Ground covered with brown grass, seemingly empty, suddenly gave birth to a thousand wolves.

…which leads me to the Battle of Dumai’s Wells.

They will pay, [he] growled. I am the Lord of the Morning.

See, here’s the clincher. It’s true that you could argue that this book has about 900 pages of build-up…. BUT it culminates in what is probably one of the most spectacular and satisfying showdowns in all of fantasy fiction. The Battle of Dumai’s Wells features almost 50,000 participants and just about blew my socks off, especially given the fact that it's over so quickly.

"Kneel and swear to the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt."

So, in summary: this is a long hard read, but it is ultimately rewarding. I am going with 4 stars.

[Christie Skipper Ritchotte · Rating 1 out of 5]

On my future grave, I swear, the following is true.


Once upon a time there was a book series called The Wheel of Time, which, when piled each volume upon the other, could reach past an elephant's rheumy eye. Once upon a time, after searching for a good new fantasy series, I began tWoT with a healthy gleam in my eye. What a blithe fool. What a tWoT.

I turned pulped wood pages by thousands, read a very-many lot-of words, until one day an annoying pattern manifested. Though I pressed on, it had become impossible to ignore the characters' skimpy appeal. The volume of unmanicured words kept drowning out the righteous words. Meandering plotlines had doubled back on each other, and I found they spelled out a mystic code to rival Davinci's own: Nyah, nyah, nyah-nyah, nyah.

Dizzied and dismayed, I knew I had entered one of the circles of Hell, voluntarily; had been there months, perhaps even years. I peered woefully ahead to the four ponderous volumes (now seven) that waited with an infinite, mad patience, and realized my own hands had helped build this hell. I knew the only way to end the madness was to shot put Lord of Chaos across the room.

With a vast effort and aching, calloused hands, I pushed the book away. The volume slammed the wall, leaving a great gash that flared alight and gaped like a page burning from the inside out. The gash in the wall became glass; a window (open!), revealing the glorious world beyond.

I stumbled to the window, fell through the gap onto dewy, crisp grass. I walked into the reward of raucous birdsong and a biting wind that said, "You are alive." Alive! That day I left The Wheel of Time far behind me.


Last week, I found the stash of nine volumes in a dusty basement box. Years had passed, and still tWoT waited. Shakily, I taped the cardboard flaps, triple taped them. I placed a long-distance call to my younger brother, a fantasy novice, who had just finished reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time. "Have you been introduced to The Wheel of Time books?" I inquired. He hadn't been. Of course he hadn't. Whenever I start to feel guilty, I remind myself: I didn't like my brother much anyway.

[Rachel L · Rating 4 out of 5]

firmly 3.5 stars

A review in which I don’t actually review the book because I don’t want to give away spoilers.

What comes to mind the most when I think of this book is this quote from the musical episode of Buffy (because I am a nerdy socially awkward millennial):



Because the entire 1000+ pages of this book was basically filler. And I enjoyed it! Don’t get me wrong. But I now understand better why I quit reading the series with this book when I was a teenager, this book is a beast and despite setting up a lot of plot, not much happens.

A lot more focus on Rand in this book and some more of Perrin. Still some misogynistic things that made my head tilt while listening, but I have to remind myself this book was written over thirty years ago by well, a man. I still love the characters and am excited to see where this leads.

[Alex Nieves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full video review here: https://youtu.be/K-Ys4cyyL9g

You win again, Lews Goodreads. I actually finished Lord of Chaos this time, you crazy website. A very solid Wheel of Time entry and probably my second favorite since The Shadow Rising. So many great character moments in this book from our entire main cast. Huge events and accomplishments all over the place and one hell of an ending. Robert Jordan continued to display his expertise in concluding a book.

[Choko · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** 4.65 ***

"“One more dance along the razor's edge finished. Almost dead yesterday, maybe dead tomorrow, but alive, gloriously alive, today.”"

Brilliantly woven mostly political intrigue, with a ton of character building and an even deeper look into the factions involved in this fascinating world and its vast upcoming war. So many mistakes made by all involved and I felt like yelling at our heroes and shaking them into making some sense, but that is part of the experience, whenever you get so immersed into a story! I am loving absolutely every minute of this series and I believe Robert Jordan is a genius ❤️😎👍🙂!!!

"“Give me your trust, said the Aes Sedai.
On my shoulders I support the sky.
Trust me to know and to do what is best,
And I will take care of the rest.
But trust is the color of a dark seed growing.
Trust is the color of a heart's blood flowing.
Trust is the color of a soul's last breath.
Trust is the color of death.

Give me your trust said the queen on her throne,
for I must bear the burden alone.
Trust me to lead and to judge and to rule, and no man will think you a fool.
But trust is the sound of the grave-dog's bark.
Trust is the sound of betrayal in the dark.
Trust is the sound of a soul's last breath.
Trust is the sound of death.”

[Mike's Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Video Review Here: https://youtu.be/yBDoxKljZ6s

This was the end of my first arc of running through Wheel of Time books. I planned on taking a break prior to "The Slog" to avoid possible burnout. But this one ends in a way that made this a tough decision. This is a trend I've had with all of Jordan's books up until this point; they'll be feeling long and you'll start to feel weary, then that final act kicks in and POW! You immediately want to read the next one. I look forward to continuing the journey in the near future.

[Constantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: Excellent

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Lord of Chaos is full of chaos! At times the book was slow but when it moved it really moved! I absolutely loved it. So much is happening here. The book is over 1000 pages with both prologue and epilogue. The previous books had no epilogues. Not sure if the subsequent books will continue to have both. But man the prologue of Lord of Chaos is around 74 pages! Making it the longest prologue I have ever read! In this part of the series, there are some shocking events that happen. I will try to make this review in a different format and try to summarize some of the main events into bullet points:

- More forsakens are introduced like Demandred, Graendal, Semirhage, and Mesaana. We get to read some of their POVs too which is good.
- After the break of the White Tower, Two groups of Aes Sedai are sent to meet The Dragon Reborn. One represents the White Tower and the others are the rebels. Both parties fail how to deal properly with Rand. The politics related to that is awesome. Two opposing parties trying to win or make undue influence to gain power.
- Rand starts hearing Lewis Therin’s voice in his head and is able to interact with it. I feel this was a truly great addition to the story. It made Rand’s point of view more interesting. I feel it will open many doors for future events.
- Nynaeve will be able to heal stilled Aes Sedai and gentled men. She heals Siuan, Leane, and Logain. Something that nobody could do before.
- The rebels appoint a new Amyrlin seat and it was a shock to me who they chose!
- Rand recruits Mazrim Taim to train all the men who are able to channel and calls them the Asha’men. According to Mazrim Taim, the men call the school the Black Tower but I suspect there is more to it!

“Never make a plan without knowing as much as you can of the enemy. Never be afraid to change your plans when you receive new information. Never believe you know everything. And never wait to know everything.”


Of course, these are not everything but some of the important events that were very crucial in moving the plot. Perrin, Faile, Loial, and Verin who were completely absent in the previous book make an important return here and have an important role in the final battle. What really made Lord of Chaos such a great book other than the usual elements and main events is the final battle. Boy, that battle was truly epic. My mind was blown and my eyes were popping out of my head. Robert Jordan is the master of his craft. He knows how to play with your emotions and how to create grand scenes that you will never forget. The whole events that led to the Battle of Dumai’s Wells, the battle itself, and the end result all were GRAND!

“If the world is ending, a woman will want time to fix her hair. If the world’s ending, a woman will take time to tell a man something he’s done wrong.”


This is the sixth book in the series and I am already very invested in the story, world, characters, events, and everything related. The Year 2020 has not been a good year for me and many other people but thanks to the Wheel of Time series for giving me such a wonderful escape whenever I needed it. Highly recommended.

[Nimrod Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was stuck around the 50% mark for so long, but I finally finished this tome, and it was definitely an enjoyable ride!
The pacing was a bit more even in comparison to The Fires of Heaven, my overall enjoyment was about the same.
The Shadow Rising is still the best book in the series so far.


Rand was, as always, great. His chapters are consistently the best. Whenever Rand is the POV character I know that things are going to happen

Egwene - I just love this gal, she's awesome! Her role changes in this book seemingly out of the blue, but it does make sense..

Nynaeve - ok, but sometimes annoying. I must admit that I really liked her in the first books but she's turning into an annoying character.

Elayne - She's ok, she starts to grow on me.

Perrin - I really like him, but unfortunately, we barely see him throughout most of the book. However, when he does appear, he really shines!

Mat was great with the Band but somewhat annoying with others (at least until Thom talked some sense into him).

Min is great when she shows up, as always. I'm glad to have her back!

Aes Sedai - I'm beginning to form my opinion in regard to their faction/s. Until this book, I was more in favor of them, but we learn more about their ways in this book and how devious they can be.

The Forsaken - When they show up I know things are going to get interesting. It doesn't happen often, but when they do appear they're always up to some conspiracy :)

As for the ending - throughout most of the book I had thought that the book would end with a different battle, but due to some events we get a different ending than I had expected.

4.25/5

[Michael Mayer III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Jordan once again crafts a gem of a tale in what has become his best stretch of writing in The Wheel of Time. Lord of Chaos builds upon the delightful conclusion to The Fires of Heaven and expounds on even more lore and world building than ever before. We learn more about Aes Sedai and their customs, how they determine hierarchy, and so on. We learn more about the One Power than we ever have before thanks to the constant experimentation of Elayne and Nynaeve, along with some help. We also learn a lot more about the Forsaken and how they operate. Their POV chapters that are peppered throughout Lord of Chaos are among the most exciting, chilling, and revealing of the whole book. I see you Demandred. I know who you are. All of it blends together in a wonderful masterstroke of thrilling writing that culminates into another phenomenal conclusion.

One of the biggest boosts that Lord of Chaos gives is a lot of reunions of sorts. Most of the characters we've grown to love from The Eye of the World have been on separate missions, sometimes even at opposite ends of the map. I've never realized until reading The Wheel of Time how much I look forward and anticipate characters meeting again after having their own adventures, so to speak. I look forward to the conversation, the excitement, and the shock that each character experiences. Of course, it isn't always as glorious as I'd like since the primary antagonist of this series is Communication with a capital C, or the lack thereof. Still, seeing old friends meet up just gives a warm vibe that I enjoy. A lot of threads (of the wheel, ha!) start coming together and I'm sure Loial would say it's all because of Ta'veran. Whatever it is, I enjoyed it.

Rand's chapters are my favorite because you truly see how he moves his friends around like pieces on a chess board. He's got so many things going on, I'm surprised the madness hasn't taken him yet. I particularly loved his interactions with the Aes Sedai, who are so accustomed to being feared and respected. Of course, you can see slowly through these books how his increase in power has led to a great arrogance. I can't blame the dude though considering all he can do. Sometimes his choices can be infuriating, but I like him as a character a lot more in the last two books than I did in the first four. I think I've come to realize I just don't care for the 'reluctant hero' trope and much prefer characters who are competent and driven to excel.

Nynaeve and Elayne have shown a good amount of character growth, as has Egwene, and I enjoyed their storylines much more as a result. I mean, Nynaeve is still annoying, she is just a little bit less so. I'm encouraged by her progress over the last two books and look forward to seeing more. I also can't wait for her to find out what has happened to her boy. The biggest surprise was in Egwene's arc, even though we all could see it coming, and I like the idea that perhaps the Aes Sedai have underestimated these Two Rivers girls. Can't say the same for Faille, though. She grows more annoying every book.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Sir Matrim Cauthon. His character arc keeps getting better and better and I think he's firmly sealed as my favorite character. It's probably because he goes against the grain (erm... pattern) more than anybody else, bucking and kicking the whole way. His story is the one I'm most intrigued to find out more about and I think he has a gigantic part to play in how all of this shakes out. Seeing as his and the girls arc was cut off at the end, I’m curious to see how it will end in the next book.

As for that conclusion, I'll admit I started getting worried as chapter by chapter and page by page went by with seemingly little movement toward a major impending scene. As the pages remaining dwindled, it almost seemed like Robert Jordan wasn't going to resolve a critical story arc and I was ready to be upset. I mean, I can only take so many long winded descriptions of Perrin's days eatting up the remaining pages before I would've thrown my Kindle. Fortunately, everything came together in a flurry of tense scenes and glorious action that wasn't 90% off page like in the previous book. Much like The Fires of Heaven, the final few chapters increased my love for this book immensely. Unlike it's predecessor, however, Lord of Chaos didn't need it to push it to a 10 out of 10 5 star book. It was already there thanks to the perfect pacing and wealth of mysteries answered and new questions raised. And that epilogue… man… literally every page was a new POV game changer for the series most reminiscent of Brandon Sanderson’s Sanderlanche that I love. Bring on A Crown of Swords!

The Wheel of Time
The Eye of the World - 8/10
The Great Hunt - 9.5/10
The Dragon Reborn - 8.5/10
The Shadow Rising - 10/10
The Fires of Heaven - 10/10
Lord of Chaos - 10/10
A Crown of Swords - 9.5/10
The Path of Daggers - 10/10
Winter's Heart - 10/10
Crossroads of Twilight - 7/10
Knife of Dreams - 10/10
The Gathering Storm - 10/10
Towers of Midnight - 10/10
A Memory of Light - 10/10