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A review by willowbiblio
The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan
4.0
"He has forgotten how to laugh except in bitterness; there are no tears left in him. Unless he finds laughter and tears again, the world faces disaster."
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This novel felt sort of like a half-finished thought. As usual there were many concurrent plotlines but they weren't executed cleanly, unlike usual. Rand's battle against the Seanchan was murky at best. It was unfulfilling to have the problems with channeling mentioned so much without an explanation as to why. Additionally, the eventual outcome of Dashiva joining the Asha'man attempting to murder Rand seemed vastly out of character. So too did Rand's murder of Fedwin Morr. He didn't pose a threat so it seemed odd. Rand's ongoing tension with Cadsuane is getting old, particularly because his interactions with her don't reconcile with the character Jordan has created elsewhere.
Egwene's story was fine if a bit boring. Elayne's felt irrelevant to the larger narrative, apart from her retaking the Lion Throne of Andor at the end. I enjoyed the insight into Seanchan society/culture. The exclusion of Mat was a bad choice as he's one of the best characters of the series, if not the best.
Queen Morgase entering Perrin's service disguised as a maid was interesting, but now that Elayne has retaken the throne it would be dumb writing if she doesn't declare herself. Her, Faile, & co being taken by the Shaido seemed like a really lazy plot mechanic to spice up that storyline, which was already full especially now that the Prophet is involved.
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This novel felt sort of like a half-finished thought. As usual there were many concurrent plotlines but they weren't executed cleanly, unlike usual. Rand's battle against the Seanchan was murky at best. It was unfulfilling to have the problems with channeling mentioned so much without an explanation as to why. Additionally, the eventual outcome of Dashiva joining the Asha'man attempting to murder Rand seemed vastly out of character. So too did Rand's murder of Fedwin Morr. He didn't pose a threat so it seemed odd. Rand's ongoing tension with Cadsuane is getting old, particularly because his interactions with her don't reconcile with the character Jordan has created elsewhere.
Egwene's story was fine if a bit boring. Elayne's felt irrelevant to the larger narrative, apart from her retaking the Lion Throne of Andor at the end. I enjoyed the insight into Seanchan society/culture. The exclusion of Mat was a bad choice as he's one of the best characters of the series, if not the best.
Queen Morgase entering Perrin's service disguised as a maid was interesting, but now that Elayne has retaken the throne it would be dumb writing if she doesn't declare herself. Her, Faile, & co being taken by the Shaido seemed like a really lazy plot mechanic to spice up that storyline, which was already full especially now that the Prophet is involved.