Rating: 
Summary: Finally the Ball is rolling
Review: The previous 2 books were enjoyable but accomplished little. At least finally folks got the ball rolling and doing things again. This books seems like it's a huge build up to whatever the next book will be when the crap REALLY hits the fan. All in all though, I loved the book. It wasn't repetative as previous books have been.
Rating: 
Summary: Does Jordan think he's writing for a daytime soap?
Review: Well, all I have to say is I'm clearly very disappointed with this latest offering. Although, some parts were interesting reading, most of it was just plain boring. Path of Daggers lacks action, focus, and most importantly, it lacks Matt...What in the world happened to Matt? Matt had been built up to be one of the, if not the most interesting character in the series, and he wasn't even in this book. Mr. Jordan has to realize his diehard fans may be very vocal and voice their praise even if he writes 1000 pages of rubbish, but his READERS are slowly finding it harder and harder to shell out the dollars for his endless soap opera.
Rating: 
Summary: wide margins, big type, who wrote this drivel? Not Jordan?
Review: I $trongly $u$pect either Jordan didn't even write thi$ pile of drivel, or Jordan'$ writing $tyle ha$ $everely degenerated. It'$ a$ if every fine thread of detail which ha$ been weaving thi$ $tory into a cohe$ive whole were abruptly $NAPPED and with it went my intere$t in thi$ $erie$. I have read thi$ entire $erie$ four time$, but I have had difficulty $taying intere$ted in thi$ book. I wi$h that thi$ were april 15, and that thi$ were $ome kind of cruel joke, and that the REAL robert Jordan and the REAL Path of Dollars would really be relea$ed next week. Thi$ book wreak$ of a marketing kit. 260,288 word$ (~app) of large type, wider margin$ and thick paper nudge thi$ $erie$ firmly into the niche of PULP fanta$y where it will only be remembered as a marketing le$$on. Welcome to the ninetie$. In a greedy effort to market to the greatest majority, Jordan has left his truest and most intelligent fans feeling insulted. I challenge anyone who disagrees to open this book to page 45, and FoH to page 31, lay them side by side, and compare. It's sad.
Rating: 
Summary: Time for a database
Review: This book is necessary for anyone who is following the series. That said, it doesn't work as a novel. One wants to suggest to the author that he work from an outline, and go back to such basics as the beginning, the middle, and the end, with a discernable plot. By this 8th book of the series, he has so many irons in his fire that no one of the themes is advanced very far toward a conclusion, and tracking what each of the characters has done in the past and is doing is now has become a very complex undertaking (even for a professional historian who does this sort of thing for a living). I suggest a relational database cross-referencing characters and events from one book to another.
Rating:
Summary: Most disapointing
Review: This has to be one of the most disapointing books I've read. I can't believe I've waited 2+ years for this! I wish I would've barrowed the book from a friend than wasted the money on it.
Rating:
Summary: Story line is dragging.
Review: Book #7 did not progress too far, but Mr. Jordan gathered quite a few strings and tied them off. I expected much more for #8. Still interesting, of course, but I closed the book feeling a bit disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Worst so far...
Review: Well I for one feel cheated. This whole book was poorly written and full of useless plot devices. Repeatedly the reader was enticed into believing something was big or mysterious or clever by trickery of word, when the act could not stand up on it's own. The writing was generally very "Jordanly" descriptive without actually saying anything.For example the whole Egwene call to War thing. PLEASE! Was all the secrecy necessary? No. Not at all. In fact, had we known about it beforehand I believe it would have been more powerful by far. Just a snippet of conversation between Siuan and Egwene would have been enough. We spent the entire book waiting for someone to recognize Morgase when she was amongst many people who had reason to recognize her or to at least voice suspicion and nothing. Just another suspense trick. Maybe someone will root her out in a couple of books, but maybe not. The whole thing about Saidin feeling strange around Ebou Dar. Never explained (although strongly hinted at). You think Rand would have been extremely curious to find out what in Ebou Dar could affect the power? Did he even ask an Aes Sedai to test saidar? No. Another useless question and plot device. The red rod ter'angreal. Was it necessary to taunt the reader with no-one telling Elayne what she had done? No. Just another device. And the jumping around. I never had that fully "satisfied" feel that goes with the rest of RJ's books. Everything jumped around so much, it was difficult to figure out even the vague clues we were presented with in this novel. Frankly, I started to feel as if I was reading something with the intellectual quality and cut of "Days of Our Lives" (an American soap opera for you non Yanks out there) The Asha' Man falling upon Rand. He didn't chase them down? This man who has only gotten more furious and single minded as time wears on, hopes he killed them and then went blindly on his way?!?!? I don't think so. Even Lews Therins mutterings and bitchings had become...stale. No fury, no feeling. And the characters are losing individuality. We kept getting really what seemed to be gratuitous thought patterns from them in this novel. Aviendha beating herself up for being "soft" and whatnot. The thought patterns we saw seemed to be more to remind us the characters were individuals than to relate to the situations at hand... And then they act completely out of line with how they have acted in the past. This book was FLAT! I'm really glad I didn't pay full price for it. I'm extremely disappointed. Two years of waiting for this trash. C'mon RJ. 3 years ago people were comparing you to Tolkien...this book was work worthy of Jackie Collins...
Rating:
Summary: I waited 2 years for this?!?!?
Review: This book was a severe disappointment. I don't feel like typing a whole bunch here so I'll just say that I just finished a 600 and some page book that absolutely nothing happened! I can't believe Jordan published this book. It could have been summarized in about 100 pages and then he could have actually have something interesting happen for another 500 pages. If this is the way the series is going to continue then I might stop reading it(yeah right). Oh well, maybe book nine...
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent
Review: Has anyone noticed that Jordan is writing less and taking far longer to deliver? The Path of Daggers barely breaks 600 pages, and there are less words on each page than previous efforts--LoC (book 6) and TSR (book 4), espicially. Worse, this book is inconsistent in pacing and description, and resembles ACoS (b. 7) in that the first half of the book plods along with lots of detail to the clothes and govermental rank and the facial expressions of the charicters. The pages just fly by wihtout a whole lot happening. Then the action takes off in the second half of the book in a way that is almost too abrupt. I wonder if Jordan took a long hiatus between the first half and the second....* That said, Path of Daggers is not a bad book, but neather does is approach the standard of books 1-4. Much of it is Jordan resolving certain power-struggles and derailing Rand's sanity. Unfortuantly, the tremendous detail assigned to clothing ect. leaves many charicters missing in action: Mat Cauthon, Thom, Galad and Gawyn, Loial, the Aiel Clan-Chiefs, certain Forsaken, that fellow with the memory-loss in Ebou Dar (book 7). Still, the ending (ironically titled 'beginings') leaves much promise for book 9, and 10, and 11, and 12. With the number of dangling plot strands, I don't think he could successfully accomplish this monster by book ten.
Rating:
Summary: A meandering path of loose plotlines
Review: An enjoyable but frustrating book that does little to advance the vast storyline the previous books have encompassed. The extent to which Robert Jordan has chosen to thin the plot to pad his wallet is growing increasingly apparent with each book. Mr. Jordan has wandered from his previous pattern of tying up one thread only to reveal additional complications that further intrigue. Now there is little resolution, only degeneration into a swamp of plotlines that drag on, drowning the reader as new and extranaeous scenes are added. So much seems to set up for the next novel, a criticism laid upon the brow of "Crown of Swords." Individually the parts are fun but the novel feels a collection of novellas bound together by slim threads, instead of them coming together to weave their normally rich tapestry. Gapping holes are also evident. One of the main characters Mat is no where to be seen despite the previous book leaving him in a precarious situation. And where is Loial? Further the book can be difficult to follow if you have not read the other books in the series very recently. Information is taken for granted that sends one scrambling for the older books to avoid confusion. When the novel does let go of its lethagic step, moments few in Path of Daggers, I was reminded of why I have stayed with the Wheel of Time series. The action is exciting and the reader is on the edge of his seat. Jordan can surprise when he chooses to. A quick pace and a narrower focus, like that of the previous novels, must be returned if the feel of the first few novels are the wheel of time are to be recaptured.
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