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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Knife of Dreams was certainly much better than Crossroads of Twilight. Especially in the latter half of the story. As with most of my experience with WoT books, Jordan’s setup can feel like a slog at time but boy does he make the pay offs worth it. Elaine’s storyline did not interest me as much as I initially thought it would and I actually found myself engaged with one of my more least favorite characters, Mat. Mainly due to his blossoming romance with Tuane. (I hope I spelled that right. Audiobook version this time around lol) So yeah, a lot of great payoffs and this feels like the beginning of the end. I can see the conclusion of the 14th book on the horizon.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was by far the best WoT since probably the first three books for me. I have yet to dislike any of the books, but getting to this one after 7-10, I really felt a difference in caliber. Finally, every single plot line is actively moving somewhere (ironically except Rand’s really, though some crazy stuff does happen)!
I was most excited for Perrin in this book, as he finally gets to rescue Faile. I also enjoyed her POV’s more this book than in the previous ones, as she was making active choices and beginning to sow the seeds of her escape. Perrin also didn’t have to deal with (for the most part) all the stupid Berelain affair rumors and annoying people in this book that took up so much of his focus in previous entries. The forkroot plan was great, and it worked, and Perrin tearing through Shaido was so cathartic after 4 books of grumbling and trudging through the snow. I did find Aram’s betrayal a little irrelevant by his immediate death at the hands of Shaido arrows, so Perrin didn’t really have to deal with it, like at all, but I assume his death will have more implications when dealing with Masema in the next book. Otherwise, his death is kinda for nothing? Last thing for Perrin’s part, I love that Tam is there helping, but why is he there? Why hasn’t he asked about Rand? It feels odd to me that with him joining Perrin, who uses people who can Travel, he doesn’t try to find Rand? Still love his little moments though, and it made me nostalgic for his earlier scenes in the series.
Elayne I was pleasantly surprised by, as I was fully expecting the Andoran politics to feel drab and slow. It at no point dragged at all, even after Aviendha left (though I was disappointed as she deserves more POV time in my opinion). Elayne becoming a general towards the climax of her arc was great, and the preceding capture, and Birgitte’s POV chapter to free her, was one of the best chapters in the book. Getting into Birgitte’s head was a great choice, she’s awesome, and I want more of her POV during battles.
Rand in this book and in CoT has been more in the background it feels like. He certainly had more POV time here than in the previous book, but there wasn’t much going on until EVERYTHING happened. I’d been expecting some trap set by Suroth when he was said to be meeting with the Daughter of the Nine Moons at the end of CoT, but I wasn’t expecting Semirhage TO BLOW HIS HAND OFF. This chosen one really gets put through the wringer like no other main character I’ve ever read, the amount of injuries he can’t Deus ex Machina away is baffling to me. Also, the reveal to all the Aes Sedai about Lews Therin being in his head was great. Everyone can see his madness as clear as we, the audience, can, and I’m hopeful and excited for Rand to either overcome it or be destroyed and then reborn by it, or something.
Egwene only had a little time to shine here, but her chapter really sold me on her fitting as the Amyrlin more than any other book has. She is relentlessly stubborn, and it’s great watching the novices slowly begin to see her as the Amyrlin even while in the Tower under Elaida. That and slowly turning the full Aes Sedai too. I was impressed with her determination, and I love to see it, even if I wish she didn’t have to be sent to the Mistress of Novice’s as often as she does. As a whole, I don’t love that Robert Jordan decided that every culture in his books agree that the best way to discipline someone is to spank them. It’s always felt weird, but now after 12 books (including the prequel), it still feels weird, but now it also feels kinda stale. I wish there was something different. Aside from that, she killed it this book in her one chapter.
Lastly, MAT! His arc was my favorite this book by far. He’s getting the Band back together! I’m now not so opposed to Tuon. The Seanchan culture is still very iffy to me, with the slaving and what not, but I do enjoy Tuon and Mat’s relationship as we explore it more. That, and Mat working with the Band again was really great. I love seeing Mat be the begrudging genius general that he is, and seeing Talmanes and the Band embrace him back into the role was stellar. His fights were great, and he always has an underdog, just scraping by, Robin Hood kind of vibe to his battles with the Band that makes me smile. His acceptance to let Tuon go and her accepting him as her husband was great, and it sold me on Tuon. I’ve heard plenty of stuff about how great Talmanes is, but his last appearance as far as I can remember was back in book 6, so I’m excited for the next books to see how awesome of a character he is. So far I like him, but there’s not much standing him apart from any of the other Band members aside from Mat trusting him to lead them in his absence.
All in all, what a stellar book for the series. I’m sad that this was Jordan’s last solo book in his Magnum Opus, but I’m very glad his last entry was so strong. Now, I’m excited to see what Brandon Sanderson does to honor Jordan’s legacy!
I was most excited for Perrin in this book, as he finally gets to rescue Faile. I also enjoyed her POV’s more this book than in the previous ones, as she was making active choices and beginning to sow the seeds of her escape. Perrin also didn’t have to deal with (for the most part) all the stupid Berelain affair rumors and annoying people in this book that took up so much of his focus in previous entries. The forkroot plan was great, and it worked, and Perrin tearing through Shaido was so cathartic after 4 books of grumbling and trudging through the snow. I did find Aram’s betrayal a little irrelevant by his immediate death at the hands of Shaido arrows, so Perrin didn’t really have to deal with it, like at all, but I assume his death will have more implications when dealing with Masema in the next book. Otherwise, his death is kinda for nothing? Last thing for Perrin’s part, I love that Tam is there helping, but why is he there? Why hasn’t he asked about Rand? It feels odd to me that with him joining Perrin, who uses people who can Travel, he doesn’t try to find Rand? Still love his little moments though, and it made me nostalgic for his earlier scenes in the series.
Elayne I was pleasantly surprised by, as I was fully expecting the Andoran politics to feel drab and slow. It at no point dragged at all, even after Aviendha left (though I was disappointed as she deserves more POV time in my opinion). Elayne becoming a general towards the climax of her arc was great, and the preceding capture, and Birgitte’s POV chapter to free her, was one of the best chapters in the book. Getting into Birgitte’s head was a great choice, she’s awesome, and I want more of her POV during battles.
Rand in this book and in CoT has been more in the background it feels like. He certainly had more POV time here than in the previous book, but there wasn’t much going on until EVERYTHING happened. I’d been expecting some trap set by Suroth when he was said to be meeting with the Daughter of the Nine Moons at the end of CoT, but I wasn’t expecting Semirhage TO BLOW HIS HAND OFF. This chosen one really gets put through the wringer like no other main character I’ve ever read, the amount of injuries he can’t Deus ex Machina away is baffling to me. Also, the reveal to all the Aes Sedai about Lews Therin being in his head was great. Everyone can see his madness as clear as we, the audience, can, and I’m hopeful and excited for Rand to either overcome it or be destroyed and then reborn by it, or something.
Egwene only had a little time to shine here, but her chapter really sold me on her fitting as the Amyrlin more than any other book has. She is relentlessly stubborn, and it’s great watching the novices slowly begin to see her as the Amyrlin even while in the Tower under Elaida. That and slowly turning the full Aes Sedai too. I was impressed with her determination, and I love to see it, even if I wish she didn’t have to be sent to the Mistress of Novice’s as often as she does. As a whole, I don’t love that Robert Jordan decided that every culture in his books agree that the best way to discipline someone is to spank them. It’s always felt weird, but now after 12 books (including the prequel), it still feels weird, but now it also feels kinda stale. I wish there was something different. Aside from that, she killed it this book in her one chapter.
Lastly, MAT! His arc was my favorite this book by far. He’s getting the Band back together! I’m now not so opposed to Tuon. The Seanchan culture is still very iffy to me, with the slaving and what not, but I do enjoy Tuon and Mat’s relationship as we explore it more. That, and Mat working with the Band again was really great. I love seeing Mat be the begrudging genius general that he is, and seeing Talmanes and the Band embrace him back into the role was stellar. His fights were great, and he always has an underdog, just scraping by, Robin Hood kind of vibe to his battles with the Band that makes me smile. His acceptance to let Tuon go and her accepting him as her husband was great, and it sold me on Tuon. I’ve heard plenty of stuff about how great Talmanes is, but his last appearance as far as I can remember was back in book 6, so I’m excited for the next books to see how awesome of a character he is. So far I like him, but there’s not much standing him apart from any of the other Band members aside from Mat trusting him to lead them in his absence.
All in all, what a stellar book for the series. I’m sad that this was Jordan’s last solo book in his Magnum Opus, but I’m very glad his last entry was so strong. Now, I’m excited to see what Brandon Sanderson does to honor Jordan’s legacy!
Por fin concluyen algunas de las tramas (Mat y la Hija de las Nueve Lunas, Elayne y el trono de Andor, Perrin y los Shaido...); otras se desarrollan como Egwene en la Torre Blanca y mientras Rand sigue estancado sin mucho argumento salvo algunos ataques aleotorios (2000D20 de trollocs 1D6 para ver que Renegado te ataca) frio y distante y todo eso. Que casi estas deseando que Cadsuane le de unas buena colleja, ¡hombre ya! Pero vamos que está bien, sobre todo si lo comparamos con el anterior.
Jestli se předchozí díl dá považovat za ten vůbec nejslabší v sérii, pak Nůž snů může směle kandidovat na jeden z těch nejpovedenějších.
Už trochu otravně strnulé dějové linky Mata, Perrina či Elain se rozhýbou nebývalým způsobem a jsou tahouny celého dílu. Na Egwain a Randa sice logicky nezbyde už tolik prostoru, ale i v jejich dějových linkách se dějí zásadní věci. A pikantním kořením celého dílu budiž tolik vytoužené velké bitvy s magickými souboji.
U jedenáctého dílu je patrný Jordanův záměr pootočit kolo času co nejblíže velkému finále a nezbyde než se jen domnívat, jak by vše dopadlo, kdyby měl tu možnost svou monumentální sérii dokončit. Jenže Světlo tomu chtělo jinak a otěže převezme Brandon Sanderson. O správnosti této volby se hned dalším dílem samozřejmě rád přesvědčím.
Už trochu otravně strnulé dějové linky Mata, Perrina či Elain se rozhýbou nebývalým způsobem a jsou tahouny celého dílu. Na Egwain a Randa sice logicky nezbyde už tolik prostoru, ale i v jejich dějových linkách se dějí zásadní věci. A pikantním kořením celého dílu budiž tolik vytoužené velké bitvy s magickými souboji.
U jedenáctého dílu je patrný Jordanův záměr pootočit kolo času co nejblíže velkému finále a nezbyde než se jen domnívat, jak by vše dopadlo, kdyby měl tu možnost svou monumentální sérii dokončit. Jenže Světlo tomu chtělo jinak a otěže převezme Brandon Sanderson. O správnosti této volby se hned dalším dílem samozřejmě rád přesvědčím.
I found this one really exciting and un-put-down-able. There was some payoff on storylines that we’ve been following for some time now. Lots of action. I enjoyed it and have quickly started on the next novel!
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The story starts to pick up again, but Robert Jordan’s unwavering sole interest in the characters’ musings and irrelevant, pace destroying details fails to notice. The blandness of the writing removed all the drama and undermined the stakes for me.
Wow! What a fantastic book. It really felt like this book was wheel of time returning to it's roots and this book felt very similar to book 5 of Wheel of Time to me and up till now book 5 has been my favorite in the series so it's not surprising to say that this book is now a serious contender for being my favorite in the series. There wasn't as much political drama as in the last book but we still got a fair amount of it and I loved Elayne's storyline in this book. When she got captured by the Black Ajah I was screaming I was so angry at her but then the way it all worked out and led them to win the battle was epic. I'm very excited to finally have Elayne become queen hopefully soon though I will miss all of the political drama. I also loved Perrin and Fiael's storyline in this book. Falcon trying to escape was so exciting and I loved the part where her and Morgase got trapped by Galina. Then the battle where Perrin finally defeated the Shaido was so epic and the part where Aram tried to kill Perrin and ended up getting killed was so sad and so emotional. I really identified with Aram so I am devastated to see his journey end this way. He was an amazing character and I'm going to miss him so much. I think that seeing his journey again on a re-read is going to be really tough knowing where he ends up. I'm so happy for Perrin to finally have his wife back and I can't wait to see what he does next. Probably my favorite part of the entire book was when the Trollics attacked the mansion that Rand was in and Lewis Therin stole the power from Rand. I was on the edge of my seat and it was so crazy watching Lewis use the power in new ways and so exciting watching Rand essentially talk him off of the ledge and preventing what could have been another breaking of the world. The scene where Rand got tricked by the forsaken woman (Can't remember her name at the moment) was also crazy and exciting. I can't believe he actually lost his hand! Finally we had Matt's storyline which was such a blast. I loved watching him and Tuon slowly fall in love. They are easily my favorite couple in the Wheel of Time and when Tuon finally said that Matt is her husband I was literally screaming I was so excited! Matt's battle sequences in this book were also very exciting. I almost forgot about Egwene! I loved all of the Egwene content we got in this book! She is so savage with the Aes Sedai and is really cementing herself as one of my favorite characters in the series. I love watching her and Lianna slowly turn the tower against Elaida and I really can't wait to see that continue in the next book. Overall I think that I would probably say this is my favorite book in the series so far. It was just so good and so action packed with so many iconic moments. I loved every minuet of it.
Current Ranking of the Books I think:
11
5
2
10
4
7
3
8
6
1
9
Current Ranking of the Books I think:
11
5
2
10
4
7
3
8
6
1
9