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A review by vimcenzo
New Spring by Robert Jordan
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Thoroughly exhausting. I started this on Goodreads I think over a year ago, around Thanksgiving 2023, if I’m not mistaken, and it’s taken me this long to finish it.
This story is at its best following Moiraine, who's a very charming heroine. The Aes Sedai are weirdoes in a literal ivory tower, but Moiraine and Siuan's sweet friendship and verve to learn for the sake of overturning a prophecy is quite tense and always feels like it leads somewhere. The book is something like Harry Potter, but with the strict attention to detail required of reading something like Dune. (And the POV swaps of A Song of Ice and Fire.)
It's worth noting that, at some points, I genuinely, utterly had no idea what was going on. My understanding was thatMoiraine was conscripted into being the Aes Sedai spy in a royal court using her heritage from the same royal court, which would bring her into conflict with her and Siuan's agenda of finding the Dragon Reborn, given the job was a sedentary one. This seemed pretty fucking important--I assume trying to get a seat in a Royal Family isn't easily done or dismissable by "Oh well, Moiraine ran off. Guess we'll bring out one of our other spare heiresses." But the point I was utterly confused was when she seemed to be avoiding Aes Sedai who were lounging about in an inn, and she was trying to hide her identity, but they all catch her easily and instead seem to have other plans about displacing her and getting her a Warder for her protection. I was completely lost as to what their motivations were. At best the only explanation was that some Aes Sedai spend time away from the tower, but again, refer back to why it at least *seemed* like a big deal and a bigger knife to the Aes Sedai's back than other hypothetical transgressions. That’s not to mention they clearly recognize her by name.
By the way, those POV swaps are fucking murder, and I hope to Jesus we're going to focus more on Moiraine simply because she is the easiest to follow. I am completely lost on the vowel-packed letter salads of specific settings even with a map nearby, or who is what and fighting for what cause. I'm assuming repetition will hammer these things in, and I'm not completely stupid, I know the Aiel are bad. Rereading the Wikipedia summary afterwards to double check, it seems as though I was on the right track with comprehension, but boy, they really drop you into the deep end and force you to figure out the context. It was bad enough that I’m going to let myself have a break before tackling the next one. I care somewhat for Moiraine but boy the quality better bump itself up.
This story is at its best following Moiraine, who's a very charming heroine. The Aes Sedai are weirdoes in a literal ivory tower, but Moiraine and Siuan's sweet friendship and verve to learn for the sake of overturning a prophecy is quite tense and always feels like it leads somewhere. The book is something like Harry Potter, but with the strict attention to detail required of reading something like Dune. (And the POV swaps of A Song of Ice and Fire.)
It's worth noting that, at some points, I genuinely, utterly had no idea what was going on. My understanding was that
By the way, those POV swaps are fucking murder, and I hope to Jesus we're going to focus more on Moiraine simply because she is the easiest to follow. I am completely lost on the vowel-packed letter salads of specific settings even with a map nearby, or who is what and fighting for what cause. I'm assuming repetition will hammer these things in, and I'm not completely stupid, I know the Aiel are bad. Rereading the Wikipedia summary afterwards to double check, it seems as though I was on the right track with comprehension, but boy, they really drop you into the deep end and force you to figure out the context. It was bad enough that I’m going to let myself have a break before tackling the next one. I care somewhat for Moiraine but boy the quality better bump itself up.