– Customer review on 15/04/2007

Seems there are two camps readers of the Wheel of Time series; those that think this is the greatest fantasy epic ever written and those that think the series is pure garbage (even though they still read 4-5 of the books). I seem to be one of the rare individuals who like the books yet still see the flaws in them. For this, the gushing fan-boys tend to rate my reviews not helpful.

Seriously, there are great elements to Jordans books but to think any of them are five star books is just fooling yourself. If you are one of those individuals who's about to click the "no - this wasn't helpful to me" button because the Wheel of Time books are some of the best books you've ever read, I urge you to read more books by better authors.

Here is what's good about the Wheel of Time: It's a huge epic fantasy of almost unparalleled scope. It's an immense sweeping saga of good versus evil that plays like soap operah in many aspects. It makes good use of fantasy cliche's such as ignorant farmers grow up to be heroes of the world and prophecies of a chosen one defeating evil. I like Wheel of Time because it is something I can get into. Robert Jordan gives you a world and characters you grow fond of without having it end after a few nights reading. Finally, Jordan's skill at writing alone keeps you turning pages. Nothing may happen, but at least it's enjoyable to read.

The bad: Way too many subplots and way too much development of irrelevent details. Many times, Jordans books seem to lose focus, and this one is no different. He tends to go off into lengthy tangents only to come to the heart of the story at the very end. The other thing (and I fault the editor for allowing this) is Jordan's use of "convenient" storytelling. I talked about this on my review of book two. It's annoying when the characters just seem to be able to do whatever they need to do whenver the script calls for it. When a character manifests some new power or ability, it should not be right when he/she needs it. That is a cheap way to tell stories, and any no-name writer would be reemed by their editor for trying to do so.

Fortunately, in The Dragon Reborn, the climactic ending doesn't make use of convenient storytelling (though other parts of the book do) and Jordan mostly succeeds in writing a book that is only a small part of the series yet works on it's own. Much of the book focuses on the three girls Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne and their learning to become Aes Sedai. This is all well and good, but aren't these supposed to be supporting characters? Jordan has still failed to really show a strong main character. Logic would tell you it was Rand, but he get's less screentime than anyone. Jordan's books would all be so much better if they were more focused. He spends too much time juggling way too many characters and all the events that happen with them. Of course, lovers of long fantasy epics don't seem to mind this, and since I am one, I enjoy the books.

In all, if you liked the first two books, you will like this one as well. It's better than book one yet not quite as good as book two.

– Customer review on 31/03/2006

Another magnificent and the best to date volume in the truly epic Wheel of Time series. I am totally fascinated by the incredibly intricate and detailed world created by Robert Jordan. The lead characters are engaging and charismatic and the plotline is compelling. Set against a marvellous backdrop of magic, political intrigue and great action, this book and series is totally engrossing. The ending is a wonderful and satisfying climax. I can't recommend this highly enough.