The ninth book in the Wheel of Time series. Where The Path of Daggers was a disappointment to many readers and definitely not my favourite, thing look a little better in Winter's Heart. I liked this book a lot. It is a bit faster paced and for a miracle it actually contains a storyline that begins and ends in the same book. With Rand's story line as the backbone of the book it works a lot better as a novel than The Path of Daggers did. And Mat is back, what more could a Wheel of Time reader ask for?

A quit recap of what everybody is up to. As usual I will assume you have read The Path of Daggers. If not, there will be spoilers beyond this point.

The book opens with Perrin fining out his wife has been taken by the Shaido Aiel. Their timing couldn't be worse since he was about to turn back east to bring the Prophet to Rand. Instead he ends up chasing the Aiel with his mixed army of Aeil, Mayeners, Cairhienin, Two Rivers' men, Ghealdinin and the Prophet's men. An unstable mixed and what is worse, vastly outnumbered by the Aiel. Faile in the mean time, finds out the Shaido have peculiar ways of dealing with their prisoners.

Elayne in the mean time is trying to gain the throne of Andor. In ordinary times the ascension of the Daughter-Heir would have been a formality but Rhavin's visit to Caemlyn has done a lot of damage (see The Fires of Heaven). Opposition promises to be fierce. She is also distracted by the process of becoming First-Sister to Aviendha in a ceremony that involves nudity and slapping, this book really is off to a good start. To make matters even more complicated the group of channellers she brought with her from Ebou Dar is still in the palace and Rand, whom she hasn't seen since leaving the Stone of Tear in The Shadow Rising, decides to drop in for a visit.

Mat is still recovering from his injuries sustained during the Seanchan invasion of Ebou Dar at the end of A Crown of Swords. The Seanchan have taken firm control of Ebou Dar despite the beating they received from Rand in the hills east of the city. Mat very much wants to leave but there are complications. Tylin for one, who seems to have adopted the Seanchan ways. He has responsibilities to his people too and even more people needing an exit from Ebou Dar show up when her runs into some old acquaintances. It is time for Mat to cast the dice and when they stop tumbling he runs into the Daughter of the Nine Moons.

Rand is very busy in this book. After the attempt on his life that ruined his apartment in the Sun Palace at the end of The Path or Daggers Rand decides the Asha'man responsible must be killed. Taking only Min he travels to Caemlyn to pick up Lan and Nynaeve and finally face all three women he loves, before setting off for Far Madding. This city is in the possession of a ter'angreal that makes it impossible to channel there for both men and women. A very dangerous place for Rand to be. He hopes to lure his would be Asha'man assassins there to finish them off before implementing his plans to cleanse the male half of the True Source. Cadsuane is in hot pursuit as soon as she finds out where he went.

Egwene is largely absent from this book, preparing to take her army to Tar Valon by gateway. She makes a brief appearance in Elayne's dreams though.

I won't say this book is the best in the series but I do think it is slightly unappreciated. Perhaps because it is hemmed in by two of the least popular books in the series. I pretty much like this book from the very beginning. I even like the cover. Darrell K. Sweet's covers are the reason for much controversy among Wheel of Time fans. Personally I don't like most of them. He seems to like using too bright colours and the characters are usually in awkward poses. I have no idea what kind of creature inhabits the cover of The Great Hunt for instance, but it certainly isn't an Ogier as Jordan describes them. The cover of Winter's Heart is something of an exception though. I depicts Perrin, Annoura, Balwer and Gaul in pursuit of the Shaido. One of the better ones he has produced.

The story itself picks up a little speed again after slowing down significantly in A Crown of Swords and The Path of Daggers. It is not as fast as some of the earlier books but it still moves along at a pleasant pace. Winter's Heart isn't overly long either. It is only slightly longer than book 8, the shortest in the series. Jordan gets things done in this book. Rand story line especially manages to give to book the structure that A Path of Daggers lacked. He also resolves a number of things that had been dragging for several books. He even provides a true climax to the books, even if that final scene does leave is us with a number of riddles.

Winter's Heart is not without it's flaws though. Perrin's story line drags. He's been riding though Prophet and Aiel ravaged lands since A Crown of Swords now and will continue to do so for another two books at least. Berelain making Perrin uncomfortable is only entertaining for so long. Perrin's story line is the one that makes the least progress in this book but there are several others that don't progress a lot.

The tensions between the various groups of channellers reach improbably heigts as well. Suspicion is understandable for groups who have jealously guarded their secrets for ages but since everybody seems to believe the Final Battle is indeed approaching one would expect a bit more willingness to cooperate. Winter's Heart is not particularly heavy on the braid-tugging and icy stares thankfully, but it is grating in some places none the less.

Some readers will find the absence of Egwene a disappointment I suppose. I think Jordan was right to leave her out though. In The Path of Daggers she clearly indicates that she plans to remain for a month at her current location before moving her army to Tar Valon. I don't think anybody would enjoyed chapters on her struggles with the hall and the logistics of a military campaign.

All in all Winter's Heart is a more coherent book than Jordan's previous entry in the Wheel of Time series. I enjoyed reading it when it was published a few years back and this reread confirmed my first impression. This book is a satisfying read for the Wheel of Time fan. It is unfortunate that Jordan doesn't manage to keep the momentum going in Crossroads of Twilight.

Other Reviews of works by Robert Jordan

The Path of Daggers - May 31, 2008

A Crown of Swords - May 10, 2008

Lord of Chaos - Apr 13, 2008

New Spring: the Novel - Sep 25, 2007

The Fires of Heaven - Sep 14, 2005

Shadow Rising - Jul 19, 2005

The Dragon Reborn - Jun 7, 2005

The Great Hunt - May 12, 2005

The Eye Of The World - Apr 1, 2005