Some pretty big things actually happened in this installment (re: development of Rand's relationships, his goals for saidin, etc., but a lot of it was more about politickin' and another slow buildup to whatever is next. I liked it that Mat's story is finally moving along with the fulfillment of an important prophecy.

I was commenting to Hubby that the Forsaken are pretty crappy villains. They don't really do much except sit around and be evil. They finally got a chance to come out of their hidey-holes at the end of this one, but we didn't even get to see most of the fights occur "on stage." Meh.

It appears that maybe my prediction of Demandred's secret identity was wrong. We shall see.

Hoping we'll finally get to see Elaida's @$$ handed to her in the next book.

This one wasn't my favorite, but I'm in this for the long haul. ( )

7/10

Although not a fast-paced story by any stretch, this more compact volume in the series seemed to move along fairly well. Lots of different viewpoints and some plot lines actually progressed.

I really need a printed cast of characters, though, and one that cross-references the characters (mostly the Forsaken) who have multiple names. That was the most confusing part for me at the climax--trying to figure out who was who. ( )

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others (so far). A whole lot of hurry up and wait do nothing. ( )

Fantasy

Rereading. As remembered, some of this book is boring and slow, and some is exciting and interesting. So many of the relationships in this series are dysfunctional, it makes me wonder what Jordan's own marriage is like. He excels at worldbuilding, which I love, but even I get tired of all the description. Still, many plotlines moved forward, even if not fast enough for my taste. The ending finale is good. With all the ter'angreal around, it makes me wonder why the Forsaken don't have any. Is that the Dark One's doing, to keep them from challenging him? In any case, it leaves them vulnerable to the likes of Cadsuane. Despite all the things that are annoying about this series, I still really like it. ( )