A lot of character interaction/detail, less action

books:


	• The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time, Book 8) Robert Jordan Tor Books, 1998 - 604 pages average customer review:based on 1707 reviews view larger image
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A lot of character interaction/detail, less action

The Path of Daggers starts where the previous book, A Crown of Swords concluded. Roughly a month to a month and a half passes throughout the 8th book.

In A Crown of Swords, Rand conquerors the city/nation of Illian and kills the Forsaken Sammael. He is then named King of Illian and presented the Laurel Crown (the "crown of swords") by one of the Lords of Illian, the head of the Council of Nine. Nynaeve & Elayne found the Bowl of the Winds and were on their way out of the city of Ebou Dar to use it to fix the weather, Egwene was still struggling to be Amyrlin Seat, Perrin was sent by Rand to find the Prophet of the Dragon (a soldier they had met in The Great Hunt, book 2, who had gone mad with his fanaticism toward Rand, preaching his coming), and Mat had left Nynaeve & Elayne and stayed in Ebou Dar only to come across the invading Seanchan Army and get caught in the cross-fire.

This book is slow moving, like the last book, the plot slows down a lot and not much in the way of action occurs in The Path of Daggers. There are a few scenes of action, and 2 brief fight/battle scenes, but overall the book wasn't filled with much action scenes.

Rand continues to try unite all the people of the world to fight in the Last Battle, and faces uphill battles within his own group of allies (the nations he conquerors) who don't fully trust him, a man that can channel. It also doesn't help that in addition to the mistrust those under him have toward him, and each other, the Forsaken are in the background pitting against him. As I read each book in the series, it becomes ever more complex and at finishing this book, I thought to myself, "How will Rand ever be successful?"

I expected the Forsaken to be against Rand, but there are also people in the world that are against him and simply either don't believe or don't want to accept he's supposed to save the world. You'd think people would put the world's interest before their own (ya know, the Dark One is going to break free and then there will be no pieces of the pie for anyone!). Rand has to continually fight these undercurrents around him to unite everyone, and he grows increasingly short-tempered and frustrated that people can't see what he sees, which is the Last Battle is coming and all the petty selfishness has to end.

Other obstacles facing Rand include the ever-present voice of Lews Therin inside his own head and his doubts of his sanity, a new fatal wound over-top an old one he received in a previous battle with one of the Forsaken. An old wound that never fully healed, and which may be the death of him in the end. Also, at the end of A Crown of Swords, during his battle with Sammael, he crossed paths with a strange man and this encounter with this strange man has caused Rand to have problems wielding saidin (blurry, double vision, and nausea). So, Rand has a lot on his plate and it only grows as time goes on. The brief fight scenes are in the Rand chapters of the book, but were very mild and short.

Nynaeve & Elayne finally use the Bowl of the Winds, with the aid of other Aes Sedai, and 2 other groups of women that can channel (The effects of using the Bowl you read about later in the book, the descriptions of storms and gusts of wind, with winter coming with a vengeance). The Kin of Ebou Dar (runaways and women put out of the White Tower that grouped together in Ebou Dar in secret) and the Windfinders of the Sea Folk (women who utilize the One Power over the weather to ensure good sailing). It is the latter group of women that Nynaeve & Elayne needed the most to help fix the weather, and it was amusing to see the interactions of the various women as they jostled for control over each other.

In Perrin's chapters, not much goes on, he was sent by Rand to get a hold of the man that calls himself the Prophet of the Dragon and reign him in (he's basically a crazy man and causing all sorts of trouble). So Perrin's perspective just details his thoughts on the matter and how he will go about confronting the Prophet.
There are no chapters from Mat's perspective, at the end of book 7, Mat had run afoul of the Seanchan Army invading Ebou Dar and a wall fell on him. For those that wonder why Mat is not in this book, there is an interview that Robert Jordan did back in 1996 (I think it was 1996) where Jordan explains the reason why Mat wasn't in this book was due to the fact, "Well, if you had a wall fall on top of you, you'd be in pain and agony. I didn't think reading about Mat's recuperation was all that interesting so he's not in The Path of Daggers."

Egwene finally gains the upper-hand, somewhat, against the 2 factions of Aes Sedai led under 2 Sitters for the Hall, and it was gratifying to see Egwene come more into her position as leader of the rebel Aes Sedai. I think it will be interesting when Egwene finally meets up with Elaida (the Amyrlin of the White Tower Aes Sedai), not to mention Egwene's eventual meeting with her childhood friend, now the Dragon Reborn, Rand. Anyways, Egwene's chapter ends with her finally leading her rebel Aes Sedai and her army toward Tar Valon and the battle between the two Aes Sedai groups. The brief paragraph describing this moment, Egwene finally in view of Tar Valon, was well-told even though it was so short. I could almost see the resolve and determination of Egwene as she rode toward her goal:

"It has begun," Egwene agreed. And the Light willing, soon Elaida would fall. She was supposed to wait until Bryne said sufficient of his soldiers were through, but she could not stop herself. Digging her heels into Daishar's flanks, she rode through into the falling snow, onto the plain where Dragonmount reared black and smoking into the white sky.

I would say the biggest weak point of this book was the fact it did move so slow. It is a lot of talking, but you do learn a bit more about other characters, the secondary characters. If you have been reading all the books up to this point, it is a decent addition, but I wouldn't recommend anyone starting with this book as you'd only be confused. It's not the best book, but it does continue the story of Rand and his friends, and that's the only reason why I liked reading this book. I love reading about the Wheel of Time world and I really want to know how everything ends for the characters in this world. Despite that weakness, I enjoy reading the detailed descriptions of characters, Jordan wrote with detail, and for some that can get annoying or tiring but I personally like a lot of detail.

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Still a great series

Even though a lot of people are getting tired of Robert Jordan's series and feel it's just a money making waste of paper and ink (money making, perhaps- stretched a bit, maybe- but NOT a waste)I feel that the way he gives finite detail is a lost art in story telling. I am remanis of the "Left Behind" series which did indeed(and VERY unfortunatly)become a money making scheme for the authors. My understanding was that they signed a 13 book contract and then were stuck having to write them(If they didn't have 13 books planned out, why then did they agree to write 13 books?).By the 6th book, they were relying on dialoge to carry the bulk of the pages and it was pretty much useless drivel that filled the necessary space. And also the story itself became extremely unbelievable and tiring. Unlike Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" which is still detailed, and building on charactors- their lives and reaction to their circumstances- which I happen to feel is what makes a great book. The "Lord of the Rings" series was short by comparison, but detailed by three times as much, and that is a classic worth the read again and again. I do find it hard to keep up with some of the returning charactors as well as most of the seldom mentioned appears-here-and-there "Chosen" charactors, but it's still a fun read and I for one am usually disapointed when a book or series ends. Not that I would read a never-ending series, but I do miss the story when it's finished, so to have many books to read and a tale that never gets to be simple filler is a joy I seldom find. If you are looking for a series that goes a short time span and then ends, this is definatly NOT for you, but if like me, you enjoy the ongoing tale and suspense of "What will happen next?", then you will enjoy this series.
As for this novel in particular, I found it intreaging and only lacking in the fact that it jumped from Rand in the battle with the Seanchen to being with Min again. I thought at first that Min was day dreaming, but then when it continued on, I was dissapointed. First, because there was no explanation of Rand leaving the field of battle other than the power seeming to be "wrong" for some reason, and then because it left all that happened there unexplained. Granted thre was a minor explanation from one of the Aes Sedai concerning the "Sword that is not a sword", but that really didn't fill the gap completely. I find that things are slowely explained from novel to novel, but that particular blank is bugging me to no end. I hope the next chapter in the series has some explanations in it.
And I am also becoming a bit tired of Rand's progression into a rather nasty charactor by comparison to what he once was. Granted he is under a massive amount of pressure and fears going insane, but to be such a jerk all the time is getting rather tiresome. I hope Mr Jordan turns his charactor a bit in the coming novels and makes him more likable again. Other than that, a great series with great detail.

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ANOTHER GREAT BOOK IN A SERIES OF GREAT BOOKS!

Jordan's the wheel of time series is a great story that any fan of sci fi / fantasy will love, this is book 8 in a 12 book series I highly recommend reading this series!Sadly Mr. Jordan passed this last fall and the 12th book is being finished by another author selected by Jordan's family and is due out tentatively in late 2009 sso pace yourself if you want to keep continuity in reading!!!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

For millions of fans around the globe, the wait is over. Sequel to the international blockbuster bestseller A Crown of Swords, this epic volume continues one of history's greatest fictional journeys and the most extraordinary work of American fantasy ever published--The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and worldwide bestselling series--The Wheel of Time.The phenomenal tale that is mesmerizing a generation of readers now continues.The Seanchan invasion force is in possession of Ebou Dar. Nynaeve, Elayne, and Aviendha head for Caemlyn and Elayne's rightful throne, but on the way they discover an enemy much worse than the Seanchan.In Illian, Rand vows to throw the Seanchan back as he did once before. But signs of madness are appearing among the Asha'man.In Ghealdan, Perrin faces the intrigues of Whitecloaks, Seanchan invaders, the scattered Shaido Aiel, and the Prophet himself. Perrin's beloved wife, Faile, may pay with her life, and Perrin himself may have to destroy his soul to save her.Meanwhile the rebel Aes Sedai under their young Amyrlin, Egwene al'Vere, face an army that intends to keep them away from the White Tower. But Egwene is determined to unseat the usurper Elaida and reunite the Aes Sedai. She does not yet understand the price that others--and she herself--will pay.

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