Rating: 
Summary: Give the book it's credit
Review: I've read a couple less than kind reviews of this book.. and I have to pipe in and say that it was nowhere near as bad as people have said. By the time I finished book 7, I was pretty tired of the same formula too. Path of Daggers, however, has one surprising development after another. I finished half the book on one Saturday sitting, and then read through the rest during the week before bed. It's a quick read, and lots of plots are wrapped up/reopened (ever wonder what happened to Lan?) The ending.. is very disappointing, and very obviously a setup for the next book. But that's fine with me, so long as there's plenty of Perrin and Faile in it!
Rating: 
Summary: I'm a fan for life.
Review: I won't defend or attack this or any book in the Wheel of Time. I'm just here to say this to any new reader. Jordan writes with a flare that sweeps me away. He takes norse mythology, the legend of king arthur, christianity, along with various other lore and combines them into a story that seems to rise from memory instead of its printed pages.If you need anymore convincing; just read the reviews on amazon. The bad as well as the good. It shows how powerful this series is that it is able to spark so many different opinions from so many different people in different walks of life. And make them feel the overpowering urge to voice those opinions. Heh. I'm an addict, so you don't have to listen to me. But if you care to...please...come...and share my needle.
Rating:
Summary: It seems like nobody is getting this series
Review: Reading the other reviews, it seems like there is one overwhelming complaint, "The series is never going to end." I say, good! I can't even say how many times I've read a series of books and wanted MORE! Robert Jordan is guaranteeing that his readers will never feel this anguish. The plots are so intricate and complex that the reader actually has to think about what they are reading. God forbid a reader should be expected to have to remember details and plot threads. I wonder if any of these readers have ever read truly long books, like The Count of Monte Cristo or The Brothers Karamzov. These are epic masterpieces like The Wheel of Time, and the key word is EPIC. To my knowledge, this will end up being the longest running series with the same general plot ever. Everything is convoluted, dragons are not dispatched by fools with pointy hats, and the line between good and evil is constantly blurred. I cannot recall ever reading a book where the characters are fleshed out to such extreme levels. Anyone who has read the preceding books will find themselves compelled to read this book, no matter how much they will whine about it not ending any time in the foreseeable future. I hope this series is still going strong twenty years from now.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's add another sub plot, shall we?
Review: Having just read books one through six within the span of a month or so, and after just finishing "A Crown of Swords", I eagerly anticipated Book 8 in the series. Ignoring the mediocrity of book 7, after reading countless reviews defending Mr Jordan, most of which were along the lines of "It's a transitional book, just wait till book 8!". Book 8 has come along and has managed to make all of book 7's problems even worse. The main problem that I really have is the pacing of the more recent stories. I've now lost track of how many thousands of sub plots Mr Jordan has open. He gives about 5 pages per sub plot, then leaves the reader hanging for a good fifty to a hundred pages before coming back to the original sub plot. The behemoth that is the "Wheel of Time" is slowing to a crawl with all the impossible to manage plotlines running through it. Ordinarily I would commend having this many different plots running through a story, as being "complex", but jeez. I can hardly remember half of the characters in the story anymore, and I have no idea anymore what is going on. According to some of the more fanatical fans, this book is simply leading up to the biggie, book 9. Er, that was what you said about book 8. And book 7 too, if I'm not mistaken. As much as I love the idea that the story is beginning to get a little more organized, that seems to be the exact opposite of what's happening. The book is already unmanagably complex, which led to quite a few omissions and cliffhangers. As many other reviewers have pointed out, Mat Cauthon didn't even make an appearance. Seeing as he's my favorite character... Speaking of characters, "Path of Daggers", along with most of the other books, completely forsakes character development. It was acceptable for them to be completely ignorant of the opposite sex back when they were mere farmboys. But, 7 books and countless pages later, you'd think they'd have learned something by now. And, not to worry, all the female characters are still feminists and chronic skirt-smoothers. Nobody has changed since book 1. Here's to "Winter's Heart", that it will be the hit that everyone's been predicting. But if we have another "transition" book... Just a side note, I gave this book 3 stars only as brownie points. Normally, any author evil enough to omit a PLOT in an 600+ page book would get an enthusiastic one star. But, as it's Robert Jordan, he gets one extra chance... But only one.
Rating:
Summary: An Escape From Reality
Review: Reality bites. In today's competitive and fast-paced society, everyone experiences the desire to leave behind his or her troubles and responsibilities to just...get away from it all. Robert Jordan, like many great epic fantasy writers before him, has created a wondrous and magical world in a medieval setting for readers to submerge their consciousness into, away from the limits of the real world. The Path of Daggers is the eighth book of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, a series that colourfully portrays the never-ending struggle between the forces of good and evil. Rand al'Thor, who had been a mere boy and an unlikely hero when it all began, had claimed his birthright as the Dragon Reborn. The prophecies foretold that the Dragon Reborn must fight the Final Battle to save the world when Shai'tan, the deity of evil, finally breaks completely free of his prison to forever envelope the world in his shadow. Rand was born with the ability to channel the One Power, enabling him to manipulate the five elements of fire, earth, water, air, and spirit. He has harnessed and used this power to defend himself against the Dark One's minions and to attempt to rally the nations of the world under his banner to face the armies of the Dark One when the time comes. In The Path of Daggers, Rand faces the invasion of the continent by the Seanchan, a people from across the Aryth Ocean, which threatens alike the nations already under his rule and those that were not. Meanwhile, his friends seek to put an end to the destruction of towns and slaughter of innocent citizens under his name by the self-proclaimed "Prophet to the Dragon", and to deal with the opposition from the core of the Aes Sedai, a revered society of women who could channel the One Power. Men who channel are very rare. The Aes Sedai believe that Rand should be placed under their "care and guidance" until the Final Battle. Presented through narration in third person omniscient, the plot is intricately woven and unpredictable, making it exciting to see how the many different branches of the plot are gradually converging together. All the characters in the story are consistent and skillfully developed, each event showing the extent of a quality or flaw in a character, or part of a series of events throughout which a reasonable degree of change in a character is seen. Because the characters are so masterfully crafted, the emotions experienced by characters afflict great empathy. An understanding of those characters is also rewarded by the deep, subtle humour embedded throughout the narrative. Although the rules of reality may have "gone out to lunch" in Jordan's world - with the incarnations of evil, people born with mystical powers, and battles in the realm of dreams - the virtues, characteristics, and emotions of the people in that world are reflections of our own in the real world. As the characters in the book emulate the qualities and weaknesses of real people, readers can readily relate to and appreciate the realistic struggles within the characters taking place throughout the plot, and an emotional attachment to the characters is instilled upon them. The ability of the characters to face their struggles and bear the pain, and their perseverance in achieving their goals give readers encouragement and a sense of peace in terms of their own lives back in the real world. Jordan's attention to every detail in his fine descriptions of landscape, settings, characters, and action also brings his tale to vivid life. Figurative language, rhetoric, and diction are used to aid his descriptions and narrative throughout the story. A good example of metaphor and diction is displayed in a description of Rand's struggle for control when using his ability to channel the male half of the One Power, saidin: "Rand made himself feel saidin. He was always aware of the Power - anything else meant death or worse - yet he had become used to the struggle. He fought for life, but the fight had become as natural as life. The struggle was life. He made himself feel that battle, his life. Cold to make stone shatter to dust. Fire to make stone flash to vapor. Filth to make a rotten cesspit smell a garden in full flower. And...a pulsing, like something quivering in his fist." (p.468-469). He also adds every comprehensive and enlightening detail possible when constructing his world through the explanation of everything from a people's background and structure of society, to the nature of the One Power and the history behind the Dark One's prison. He even goes to create new words in fictional languages, and new terms and slang by modifying the contexts in which words are used in our world to suit the purposes of this world. All of these aspects contribute to making this fantasy world, and in turn, his characters and story, so enticingly convincing. This book is a great way to spend time away from the burdens of the present world, and eases the mind by sending its thoughts and awareness elsewhere totally different. However, to reap the richness of this book to its full, dazzling potential, considerable effort must be made in following through its loaded narrative, as well as those if its seven predecessors in the series. Nevertheless, Jordan has taken the qualities which make us human and placed them in an imaginary world; and by building around them the greatest epic adventure this world has ever see, he has put them to the test. The latest development in a riveting tale of knights, mystical powers, loyalty, passion, and great intrigue set in midst of a culminating struggle between good and evil, The Path of Daggers is an integral part of a series which is the masterpiece of its genre.
Rating: 
Summary: When will it ever end?
Review: You've got to be kidding me... another 600+ pages of characters doing nothing, endless plot twists and secondary characters, females thinking other females are showing just a bit too much cleavage for their tastes, blah, blah, blah. I don't plan on ever reading another Wheel of Time or Jordan book unless I get a STRONG recommendation from a trusted source. I really think Jordan is milking this, and I no longer care enough to play along.
Rating:
Summary: zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Review: Okay, this one put me to sleep and there's only a few weeks more to wait for #9. The cover is bad as usual, with this hobbit-like creature tramping through the snow. We are told it is Perrin, and at long last proof that Jordan's been putting us all on. Perrin is so often described as having shoulders so wide they make him appear shorter, but there's certainly no evidence in the pic of this little dude on the cover. Check it: Ogiers are 10' tall, but a foot in WOT is ten inches. So, that makes the average male Ogier 8'4" or so, and since we are CONSTANTLY told they stand at least half as tall again as the tallest male Aiel...this makes a tall Aiel 5'6" or thereabouts. Rand is therefore about 5'2" or 5'3", and Perrin and Mat well under five feet tall. Hobbits. Tall hobbits to be sure, but hobbits nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Others have been a little harsh.
Review: I love the wheel of time series and this is the weakest in the series. Not because it is badly written but because it is incomplete, the first few chapters should have been in a crown of swords and the book should at least have had a definate ending like the rest of the series, I felt I had read half a book. Despite those faults it is very good and a lot of important things happen. I hope a winters heart resolves a lot of the hanging threads this book leaves as there are so many. Is Rand coming down with the wasting sickness what will happen to Faile. Will Gawyn stand with or against Egwene. And most importantly where is Matt. Path of daggers is excellent its also very irritating, roll on november
Rating: 
Summary: Nodding off!
Review: When my brother brought the first Wheel of Time home way back, the entire bookworm family had a great time. The next few books were equally good. Somewhere along the line the WOT lost my mum, 2 sisters and slowly loosing the last two diehards. My brother now only reads WOT when someone else buys it. I used to re-read the entire series to date whenever a new title was released - about once a year. Re-reading Book 7 & 8 last took almost a month each - compared to an average 3 nites for a new book and a week for re-read.
Rating:
Summary: Hooked, but disappointed
Review: As always I have to read the next book. I have been disappointed with the last few books in the Wheel of Time series. The first 5 grabbed my attention and I couldn't put them down. I fell in love with the story. The last three have dragged on. The focus, excitement of the series is losing it's gusto. Still,if you start with book one and read through, you too will keep buying the next one. I hope Robert Jordan starts tying it all together though.
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