Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: This book is just more of the same pointless filler I have come to expect from RJ. It really is sad. I was a HUGE fan of the WoT after the first 6-7 books, but Jordan just lost it. I had a great deal of hope for this new book, but unfortunatly it didn't deliver. You could read 4 chapters from this book and come away with all the interesting and entertaining plot information. Dont waste your time or money.
Rating: 
Summary: Prequel doesnt take the place of the real thing
Review: I love his books - even the slower ones - because they advanced the characters - even if it was with a lot of slowwww detail (that many others dont like). That being said, I was happy when a RJ book came out, thinking that it was the next installation - when I got to the bookstore, boy was I mad - I want the continuation of the main story, not a prequel. But the read of the prequel is enjoyable. I started this series when I was like 20 - you do the math - I want the story to go on, and I want some of the characters that he has left hanging to go on - Please RJ go on with the characters - we're hanging.
Rating: 
Summary: People behind a screen
Review: You're all a bunch of Humbugs! Either that or Bum hugs.... No one cares what you think or if you liked the book or not, so sod-off like a bunch of surely cows that you are. I think all your minds have been boggled by the enormous expanse of WOT. I wish you were all blasted by balefire back to the point where you turned in your worthless reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Jordan goes back in time to get back on track!
Review: This book is clean, simple and restores my faith in the series! Sure, we all want to move on the remaining books, but I sense Jordan needed a breather--a fleshed out story about characters no longer at the center of the current books. The cynical fans talk about $$$$$, but Jordan is back on track. If you are starting out, stick with Eye of the World. You can come back when this comes out in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not great
Review: Unlike a number of other reviewers I see nothing wrong with Jordan writing this book, however, like most reader I have been increasingly disappointed with the last couple of WOT books (#10, Crossroads of Twilight being the worst). This book is definetely better then #10, but in my opinion it still has way too much flowery detail and not enough plot, i.e. it not on par with the first 4-5 books of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but...
Review: By far this is the best/most entertaining of Jordan's WoT books in recent memory. I've been with the series from day one, and New Spring brings life back into the series. This is certainly a story I wanted to know, how Moiraine and Lan became Aes Sedai and Warder. I'm just not sure I wanted to have this story told now. Finish one series before beginning another. Would Star Wars Episode IV - VI have been as great as it is if Episode I were tossed somewhere in between? Remember how Deep Space Nine and Voyager tarnished the Star Trek aura while running simultaneously? Bottom line, this is a great book for those of us in the series; it's not something for someone new to the WoT. Stay focused, Robert Jordan!
Rating:
Summary: Above average
Review: Well, after reading that pile of ... known as Crossroads of Twilight, I had very low expectations for this prequel. The reason I bought it: I had a B&N gift card given to me to burn. I would never thought to waste my own money on this. Lo and behold, this wasn't half bad, especially the last 100 pages. Much is explained about Moiraine's and Lan's motivation for their quest in the WOT. Both grew during the novel, rather than being static and stagnant characters (unlike EVERYONE in the WOT, books 6-10). Siuan's background, too, is developed. There are some annoying things:
1. Too many of the important Aes Sedai in the WOT seem to be Accepted and Novices at the same time as Moiraine and Siuan. When such a premium is placed on age, how could so many relatively young (Moiraine is 40-50 during the WOT, as are many others) Aes Sedai be in such important positions? 2. RJ is still obsessed with description, especially women's clothes. Is he a cross-dresser? What's the deal here? Bottom line: don't waste your money on the hardcover, wait for the paperback if you are interested. It's worth a read if you're a WOT fan. One last observation: did anyone notice how the series started to tank when he made Moiraine disappear (who will obviously be rescued from the clutches of the Aelfinn by Thom-it's clear she ain't dead)? I don't think it was an accident. She was the glue that held this all together and one of the few characters that stayed interesting until she was gone. She came to terms with her fate and what she could do with Rand (or Bland Rand as people have taken to calling him). It is sad: Jordan could have had a magnificient and memorable series if he had aimed at ending WOT in 6-8 books. Instead, we've got a greedy jerk of an author who's out to screw fans. It makes it all the more remarkable that he was able to write a semi-interesting book. Then again, he was working with two of his best characters, starting from scratch.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: I don't really understand the people who hate this book. First, if you have read none of the other WoT books you probably wouldn't hate this book, though I would recommend reading the main plot books first and saving this for when you go crazy trying to beat your way through books 8-10 (most people seem to include 7 in this also, but I liked it as well as the others. Of course I liked Crossroads too, but I can definitely see why people would have problems with it.) For those who have read the other books, there is a good bit of totally new material beyond the original short story--contrary to popular opinion of reviewers here--and that material is very enlightening in aspects of Aes Sedai not previously dealt with (especially the testing for the shawl.) Overall the pacing is better. Reason: RJ was burned out from writing the same thing for twenty years. Assuming your still interested in more than the Last Battle being lost to make certain no one is having a tea party to talk about, you won't be overly dissapointed in the actual story content, and all that description gets a little more dilute fewer main characters. I'm not certain that concludes, but I think it shows my assessment of the book, though my own wordiness may leave some questions in your mind.
Rating:
Summary: Most reviewers are blithering idiots
Review: This is a welcome addition to the Jordan fans. I cannot understand the blithering idiots praising JRR Tolkein for finishing when from beginning to end, Hobbit to Return of the Kings took THIRTY YEARS. If you want to restrict it to Lord of the Rings, then it only took 13 years. Grow up you children who have never had an original thought, much less written an original line in your lives. I want to encourage Jordan to finish his series. All I have done is put it all on hold (while buying the books) until he (or his ghost writer) finish the series. As to this book, I feel it adds to the WoT series and I for one am sure he has worked out his denouement for WoT and needed to lay the foundation for it with this multiple book prequel (if you believe all of the rumor mills about what Jordan has "said" in some discussion group). Happy reading.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: I read many of the reviews prior to purchasing and reading this book and I am glad I bought it. It cleared up questions I had about Suian, Moriaine and Lan that was only hinted at or only a brief explanation given in the WOT series about how they met, etc. I would have liked to see more information on Tam and the story of Rand's birth mother.
The stories in New Spring were not as exciting as the first 3 WOT books were but they give good background information on the 3 very important characters. This book is still a good read and recommend it to any serious WOT fan.
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