Rating: 
Summary: why oh why, why buy this stupid book?
Review: Like the rest, I won't give another red cent to this man until he wraps up the series. Honestly, I think he's written himself into a dead end, and is flailing trying to find direction. Book 10 went nowhere but tread water over and over. Oh yea, we get descriptions of Elayne's bath, and we get to read a 5 page description of who sits next to who at a meeting of the Aes Sedai. Now, still out of ideas, he takes an old short story, adds some extra text, and voila, he can steal more of our money. Sorry Jordan, I once thought you were brilliant. Now I think you are a hack. I won't buy another book in this series. I've got better things to do with my time. At one point in time I'd race out and buy each new edition with baited breath. Now I just roll my eyes when I walk into a book store and see you on display. And ya know what, when I do walk in these days, those displays are FULL, when before they would be nearly empty from everyone buying them. You could have gone down in history as creating a detailed lush world to rival Tolkein or other great fantasists, now you're just famous for verbal diarreah.
Rating: 
Summary: A (mostly) fresh story from Jordan's fantasy world!
Review: After finishing the book (and hardly being able to put it down), I hopped on Amazon to see what other fans had thought of the book. I was appalled to discover that Jordan's "fans" have chosen this nice little book to vent their dissatisfaction with his writing style. Those writing one-star reviews complaining about a prequel should either stop reading the series or just wait for him to finish while reading other great fantasy novels! Now that that is said, let me review Jordan's newest novel. At a little more than a third of the usual length, this book is a brisk and focused read. It is quite refreshing that he has returned to some of the tactics which I feel made his first four or five books so eminently readable. Character switching is judicious and insightful. The plot moves along nicely, with both great events and tragedies contributing to (maybe not as) many late-night reads. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel--much more than a few, though I have enjoyed them all. For those unable to find the value in this wonderful little book, stop complaining, stop buying his books, and read other authors instead. But don't contaminate the public's impression about a book that is very much worth reading for any fantasy fan!
Rating: 
Summary: At least it was better than book 10!
Review: I know that this book isn't what everyone was hoping for (finally a conclusion to this series, and a book where something actually HAPPENS), but at least it's better than book 10. I hadn't read Legends, so it was new to me, and I enjoyed this little book. I agree that RJ clearly has terrible writer's block, but maybe this will help put him back on track to finish the series. I certainly hope so, because I'm pretty sick of forking over my money to him.
Rating:
Summary: Boo...hiss!!
Review: Ok, we have now officially established that Robert Jordan is the aurthorial (sp?!) equivalent of Anna Nicole Smith, he will go after anything with a pulse if it'll make him a buck. #1). Writing a prequel when there are, what, 20 volumes in the WoT left? WTF?!
#2). Jeez Rob, where did you glean your portrayals of women? The only women I've met like the one he portrays are 40 year old divorcees from Long Island...*shudder*...
#3). How in the world can you justifiy writing a prequel without finishing the series?! It is obvious that from the WoT that this could have been a self-enclosed series of one novel but your greed has dragged it out to, what, 13 books? Disgusting. The first five novels were classic but you could tell by the end of the Fires of Heaven that his creativity had run its course. Instead of ingenuity and forshadowing you had a bunch of "fire and ice" in the veins and women crossing their arms, absolutely revolting. I've just re-read Tolkien and it is striking to see the difference between a classic and the monstrosity that Jordan is writing. Tolkien spent his life making a mythology and fighting to prevent its perversion by those he saw as leeches. Jordan, I'm sure, is in Vegas with a bunch of "dancers", his "epic" will echo down the ages until those of us that began reading the WoT 10 years ago finally, if ever, reach the ending of this piece of ___ and move on to reading non-fiction. You pain me Mr. Jordan, you began so well and have ended so very poorly.
Rating:
Summary: fyi
Review: Just for everyone's info the "reader from Washington" is actually Robert Jordan commenting on himself. Check through the reveiws and you'll be able to tell it's him.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: Hmm, a "prequel" even before he finished his current series. I hope the people reading this don't buy this book. I'm under the impression he doesn't know how to end his series. What a bunch of baloney!
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it, but again, why was it made?
Review: I've read Legends, and was actually quite disappointed that it was just a bigger version of it. Now, with that said, I really did like it, and would recommend it to anyone who hasn't read Legions or is curious about getting into the WoT saga. Now, why I only rate it 3 stars is, he's milking the damn series for money. This story would have been fine to read if he released it AFTER he was done with the main stories. I have a quote somewhere when he started the series saying it would last 5-6 books. Were on #10, it looks like it will go on another 4 or five, and while he still has TONS of plotholes in the story. The real question I have is why? And yeah, maybe everyone is being harsh on Jordan, but come one, everyone has been waiting for something HUGE to happen the last couple of books, and he gives us a PREQUEL? does that really add up in your head? No, it really shouldn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Better Pacing, But Wrong End of the Story
Review: First off, I wouldn't care if this series went twenty books and fifteen thousand pages, as long as the pacing was good and things were happening, but book six (which was still good) started slowing things down, and the brakes have been on ever since. The dust jacket of book ten talks about all the major things that are finally going to happen, and then none of them happen in the book. The first six books made me a huge fan, and established some incredible characters -- some of the best in fantasy -- but since then the characters have stopped developing in any meaningfull way, and nothing has happened. You could argue, I suppose, that book nine saw the power cleansed -- but so what? It's cleansing made no real difference in book ten -- heck, Rand (in the few pages he appeared in book ten) seamed even more reluctant to touch the power then he'd been when it had been tainted. For four or five books now we've been waiting for the battle of the two white towers. For four books or so we've been waiting for Rand to do something about the running of the black tower. For four books or so we've been waiting for Morgase to stop pretending she's a maid and reveal she's a Queen. For three books or so we've been waiting for Elayne to gain solid control of Andor (the struggle for control may be realistic -- but I don't care -- I find it boring. It's been going on too long.) We've been waiting forever for a resolution to Padan Fain. We've been waiting forever for Rand to really do something about the Seanchen. I've been waiting for four books now for Rand to stop sneaking into one ruling house after another, trying to ensure no one know he's there while he tells people he doesn't really trust how to run the day to day operations for him. There are too many minor politico's with their own motivations and two many plot threads that never get resolved. And what does Jordan do to make things better? He starts undoing the plot threads he tied up in the first books. He starts bringing Forsaken back to life. After each of the last four or five books I've heard people say "the next book has to be amazing. Think of all the things that Jordan has set up that have to happen in the next book." And then each and every time Jordan has found a way to hold those things off even longer. The Shaido are still running around. Faile is still a prisoner. The Prophet still hasn't reached Rand. We still don't know exactly who the returned Forsaken are. The white towers haven't fought, nor have they dealt with the black tower. Rand hasn't done anything about the Ahaman trying to kill him. Matt's still trying to get back from where ever it was he was, and he still hasn't dealt with the Gollum that's trying to kill him. Heck, the thing didn't even show up in book ten. And just as Egwene's white tower FINALLY, FINALLY reaches Tar Valon at the end of book ten, and a battle between the two towers seems like it can't be put off any longer, what does Jordan do? He has Egwene act VERY, VERY stupidly -- like a complete moron -- has her deceive her own people and slip away on her own (a move that makes very little sense) so that she can be captured by the other tower, ensuring that even in book eleven a battle between the two towers is unlikely. And through it all, Jordan refuses to write women as anything other then Bullies, Brats, or Witches, refuses to let any of the women grow into a more rounded character, and refuses to let any of them consider that they might not be the smartest person in the story. At the same time, he refuses to let any of his male characters do anything about the women's behaviour, and writes them all as long suffering saints who never run out of patience or self control -- even when the women around them deserve and would benefit from a good telling off. Even when any sane person, male or female, would have had enough and would have let their tongue fly. It's like he doesn't want his female characters to be likable. Some are worse then others, but all of them fit into the Bully, Brat, or Witch catagories. And then he extends a prequal that most of his fans already have instead of writing book eleven. Having heard his fans cry that they can't take how much he's slowed down the plot, how desperate they are to see some of the storylines he's established start to resolve, he instead takes the time to expand an already existing prequal. Having heard the people who have made him rich and succesfull, who have taken him and his writing to their hearts -- he completely ignores them and rewrites an already existing prequal instead. New Spring is written well, but it isn't what most of us want right now. We want the story to move forward without page upon page of skirt straigtening, braid tugging, haughty sniffing, and arm crossing. The Wheel of Time started off as one of the best series ever. Even if it does borrow a lot from Tolkien and Herbert, it established itself as something unique and good. But it feels like Jordan's lost his way. Like I said above, I don't care if he needs ten more books to finish things off, as long as the books are actually needed and things are happening. Nothing has happened in the last four books that couldn't have happened in one. They were all just an over long build up of issues he's already established with no seeming importance or resolution. I would be thrilled with ten more WOT books the quality of the first five or six. I don't know if I could stick with the series through even two or three more the quality of the last four.
Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing read for the WOT
Review: I must say, I think this book is a relief to Mr. Jordan. After so many novels with amazingly complex plotlines, he was beginning to drag, but with this book, it feels like he's taking a break from the Wheel while actually filling in backstory.
Let me clarify: the book has only two plotlines. Yup, two. And here he weaves them together very well, and the pace is excellent! I in all seriousness could not put the book down. Jordan is such an excellent author, one of the best I've ever read. I would give this book about 4 1/2 stars, since it is just not as ambitious as the longer main novels, and also since the first half of Moiraine's thread is heavily influenced by a certain other popular character in a school trianing in the use of magic.
The story is simplistic, but (as with all of Jordan's work) SUPERBLY written, and this keeps it interesting in scenes that other authors wouldn't be able to write.
Very much recommended.
Rating:
Summary: 300 pages of deja vu
Review: Okay, first of all this book was motivated purely by marketing. There is no new story here, no new characters, and nothing explained that couldn't be read in Legends. This book was created to hook new readers who may have been daunted by starting the mammoth 10+ book series from the beginning. The first 50 pages are nothing more than Jordan rehashing his stock epithets and "-isms", one right after another. I suppose this might help explain the Wheel of Time to the newbie Jordanite, but the writing suffers terribly from this attempt to cram all those cliches into something more digestable to the average reader. Case in point: Gitara's untimely demise evokes no believable (if any) response at all from the 3 women who witness it. The rest of the book is no better, considering that Jordan has already had 10 books to develop the lead characters in this one novelette. The great thing about short stories and small novels is that they aren't supposed to require a pedantic exposition. They should stand well enough on their own, and unfortunately, this one must hide behind its brand.
| 
