Rating: 
Summary: Helped me understand a lot of what happened later
Review: I thought that this was interesting for helping the reader get the whole story of Moiraine/Suian/Lan that has been hinted at in bits and pieces. Some of the stuff was a bit repetitious/unoriginal but it was a good read and a nice addition to the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Why do i keep buying these books
Review: Thats what i have been asking myself since path of daggers. Please end this series soon Please stop with the torment
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent! Well worth the Adventure
Review: First, I should state that I love the Wheel of Time series, but, amazingly, had not read the novella "New Spring". Hence, while having a general knowledge of New Spring's, this was a first pass for me. And, with it, I found an amazingly fun read. It helps that it concentrates its focus on Moiraine (my favorite Aes Sedai from the Wheel of Time series) and Lan. Besides being of a quicker pace-- and of a size more akin to standard fiction then Fantasy fiction-- then some recent WoT primary novels, it sheds valuable insight into several key facets of Wheel of Time (minor spoilers, don't read):
* a certain, fundamental Aes Sedai ritual
* The role of the Black Ajah (make sure you track who is Black Ajah)
* Some insight into the relationship/mindset of Moiraine, Siuan and Lan All in all, a great book, serving as either a good introduction to Wheel of Time, or an excellent back story to help (in my mind) ultimately tie-up some sure to be loose-ends at the end of the main Wheel of Time story.
Rating: 
Summary: solid fill-in-the-gaps book but not up to par
Review: With New Spring, Jordan offers himself up to two major criticisms up front. One is for releasing a prequel when you haven't finished the first series yet and the other is for trying to grab a quick book by just padding out an already published first story. With regard to the first, I think it's pretty silly to complain about an author's choice of subject--perhaps he became inspired with something in terms of the back story and is excited to write it, perhaps he needs to flesh out the backstory before continuing with the original series, maybe he just has writer's block and is using this as a tool to work through it. Whatever his reasons, fans have no claim as to what an author writes, frustrating as that choice may be.
As for the second criticism, I haven't read the original short, so I can't speak as to how much this is "padded" and how much is really new, but since it's the first book of a projected three-book prequel, it seems the criticism once again isn't valid. Perhaps he could have made this one longer and made it a two book series, maybe he was caught by deadline, but he's obviously going well beyond the original if he's going to end up with over a thousand pages. And since many people new to Jordan might begin with this storyline, why not give them a standalone book since it's likely they haven't read the original.
So does the book stand up when considered by itself and not as a quick buck or a slap at the faithful? Yes, though in workaday rather than exciting fashion.
If you haven't read any Jordan, this isn't a bad place to start as it is a much stripped down, easier read with a lot of good information. If you are in the midst of the original series, it serves the purpose of filling in some gaps and expanding a bit on the characters, but in book one at least there is nothing essential or particularly compelling.
The book follows Moraine and Siuan (among many other familiar Aes Sedai) through their later training, their acceptance into the sisterhood, and their race against the Black Ajah to find the Dragon Reborn (it begins with the prophecy of his birth). A parallel story which eventually, unsurprisingly to fans, converges with Moraine's is that of Lan, the king of the lost city as he works his way back home from the Aiel War.
While fans obviously get a lot more information on Moraine, Siuan, and Lan, I can't say that it really deepens their characterizations much (with the single strong exception of one of the closing scenes involving Moraine). We have seen them through so many pages now in so many situations that it would be difficult to give us much more insight (as opposed to just more background information). And because we know them so well, or have heard much of this in some fashion if only in hints and bits, it doesn't read as compellingly as the other books, always a danger in writing prequels involving many of the same characters. For instance, how much anxiety can we really feel for Moraine as she faces a Black Ajah when we know she appears on the scene in book one of the original series relatively no worse for wear. The same for the other characters for whom we have no fear of death.
The characterizations themselves sometimes slide a bit into caricature or repetition. The bottom-pinching references in particular come a bit too frequently and trivialize the characters somewhat, especially if one knows them in later form.
The story itself is a bit slim for three hundred plus pages in terms of action or character development. In the other books, Jordan's richness of detail combines with a lot of action to give us thousand-plus page books. Nearly the same level of detail in a book a third the normal length means not a lot really happens. It is a less complex read as it focuses only on two storylines which eventually come together. Less complex means it's more tight, but also not as rich or stimulating. And some of the detail on specific Aes Sedai rituals or Cairhen royalty I could have done without. When Moraine is facing the trial of a 100 weaves, I began to have panic attacks that Jordan would actually go through all one hundred, weave by weave by weave. He didn't, but you know he was tempted. This same level of detail may seem a matter of course in a much longer book, but here it stands out and bogs down the book a bit.
All in all, Spring serves as a good, quick overview (almost like an outline relative to Jordan's other works) to the backstories of several major characters. With much of the exposition and necessary "meeting up" of characters out of the way, there is more room for the typical richness and characterization of the original Dragon books--I hope he attains it. Recommended but not with a lot of excitement.
Rating:
Summary: Eh. Fun Read. Exposes Jordan's Flaws as a Writer. Short.
Review: The plot of the book actually progresses in a mere 334 pages far more than it does in the recent 800+ page tomes. Which means it was far more enjoyable than other recent efforts--let's be honest, Jordan's books aren't paradigms of style, so we're in it for the plot. Meanwhile, rumor has it there are going to be another two prequels... couldn't he have fit them all into one volume similar in size to the other books in the series? I'd recommend going library or paperback on this one. But do read it if you're a fan. Brevity aside, it's fun, even if his shortcomings as a writer are a bit more evident in this one. Jordan's chief descriptive device is the height of his characters. And seventy-five percent of the women in Jordan's world are "tall as any man." I guess this is supposed to be striking. He can't describe a woman without comparing her to pretty, and most of those that populate the story seem to be lookers. Cliche and heavy-handed description abounds (even in the author bio!). But as I've said, when all was said and done, I enjoyed reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and fills in a lot of details
Review: Filled in a lot details and questions brought up in the series especially the relationship regarding moiraine and lan. They brought up the aiel war in the beginning, although they never really got into it, so was a little disappointed in that, since I always wanted to hear about that and maybe even some stuff regarding hawkwing's time, but >_< thats just me... Finished the book in one weekend so I wish it was a little longer since it brought up almost as many more questions than answers.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a stop-gap, though enjoyable
Review: That does not make it bad. The main reason for my middle-of-the-road rating is that the book has a feeling of being ad hoc, a jury-rigged project, compared to the series itself. The books in the series flow with so much information, that it is easy to get lost in them. This book is much more straight-forward, much less loaded with detail. That is not a bad thing, but it is not what we have come to expect. Perhaps he has heard the cry of the masses and is trying to adjust to please his fan base. The book also reads somewhat like one of the later books of the Lord of the Rings, in that the first half of the book is about one group of characters and that the second is mostly about a different group. The only character common to both halves is Moiraine, with a smattering of Lan in the beginning being balanced by a slightly larger smattering of Suian in the end, both of these characters being very present during the other's virtual absence. This flip-flopping adds to the seemingly patched-togetherness of this book, but also the first section seems to make it seem that every or almost every Aes Sedai in the Wheel of Time is a contemporary of Moiraine, gaining the shawl at about the same time: Leane, Sheriam, Myrelle, a few others are included in this group. To me, that seems just a little too much like a graduating class from high-school, and seems to contradict the whole Aes-Sedai-are-dwindling concept that permeates the series. He does say that it was abnormal in the book, but I thought at least that Sheriam had been much older, perhaps a contemporary with Verin. The final factor is that this story builds off of New Spring the Short story in a very odd fashion: it uses that story as its conclusion. He builds on the beginning of it, not the end. He did add a few more details to the original short story, and made some alterations, but overall, they are virtually identical, the same thing only more-so in the new version. That was disappointing, to say the least, though intriguing that he tried it. This book seems designed to fulfill the role of being the WOT equivalent of the The Hobbit, a simple introduction to an extremely complex series. Someone who has not read the series might actually appreciate it more than I for that very reason. I recommend reading this book at least once.
CSH
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading
Review: Robert Jordan has received a lot of criticism for writing (or re-writing) this story. My first point is that this is a great read. I read his original version years ago when it was published as a short story, but that did not lessen the quality of this short novel. I couldn't even remember the original, so this was like reading it for the first time. Learning about Morraine and Siuan's time as Accepted, Lan's history and experience in the south, and previews of conflict with the Black Ajah, were all very interesting and intriguing. Jordan is an excellent writer who's words have a purpose. Some would argue he's too descriptive or long-winded, but I believe everything he writes adds texture and dimension like no other author does today. In short, you're not wasting money buying this book. Secondly, there are a lot of complaints about writing a prequel before finishing the series. With two years between books (roughly) it's nice to get something so quickly, if only to whet out appetites for #11. Also, I would argue that for a series which has gone through ten books (thus far) it is not inappropriate for Jordan to take one book (#10) and use it to gather up some plot details and put them in a place to relaunch the story. Yes, COT is slower, with less action moving the story forward, but it is no less well written. It too has a purpose. With a series this long, you have to have patience. No one is forcing you to read or buy these books, so stop complaining endlessly. I imagine the actual writing is infinitely more difficult than having to wait to read it. Jordan is still the best fantasy author today, with the richest, most vibrantly creative world since Tolkien. He can take as many years as he like to finish the series; the longer he's around the better!
Rating:
Summary: This book reminded me why I keep reading the series
Review: I've been frustrated with books 7 through 10 and this book illustrated why! He's got too many characters and everyone seems to act going against what they should be doing. This book gets you into the mindset of Lan and Moiraine, and they make intelligent decisions, with consequences for their actions. This was excellent and has reignited my interest in this series.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful read
Review: I really enjoyed reading New Spring. For any fans missing Moiraine, its a must have. We get to see her in a much different light and its a very important part of the whole Story. I couldnt put the book down. 3/4 of the book is all new and anyone can be completely sucked into the story. I would recomment this to any Jordan -WOT- fan. For those who think that it is a waste of time for Jordan to write this, Im sorry folks, Its your loss.
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