Rating: 
Summary: Pretty darn slow.
Review: The only problem that I can see is that there are two many plots going on at one time. Well maybe not to many, but he has had some minor plots carry on over the last few books. They need to be closed.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't let your frustration blind you
Review: I admit I was as dissapointed and the rest of you when I didn't get the earth shattering revelations and events that I had been waiting for in this book. That does not however take away from the fact that this is a really great book centered around the politics of the land and full of intrigue and character development. If you haven't already read this book, you won't reget it.And to the people who would critisize this book I would say reread the entire series and you will see that this is by no means a filler book.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm disappointed yet still eager for the next book.
Review: I read the book before reading a single review and am sad to say I agree with the general feelings about this book. We can't all be wrong Mr. Jordan. After reading it I was very disappointed. Seemed like nothing more than an 800 page set up for the next (and hopefully better) book. Sadly I would have gotten as much out of it to just read a brief synopsis of the plot and saved myself some money. And for God's sake do something about the cover art, not to mention the pitiful illustrations of "The World Of" book.
Rating:
Summary: The series continues to slow...
Review: I expected to be disappointed with this book, and was. The series gets progressively worse with each book, with nothing noteworthy happening in the eighth volume. Sometimes I think the only reason I continue to read them is because I already have so much time invested. Hardly anything of importance takes place in this book. Mat, one of the central characters from the series, despite being in a precarious situation at the end of volume seven isn't written of at all. The only good thing is there's much less rehashing of prior events than in past volumes. I come away feeling ripped off after a lousy book with a lousy beginning, middle, and end. The book makes me want to say "blah, blah, blah"! Jordan cheapens himself as the money continues to roll in.
Rating:
Summary: Bought it...read it...filed it...bummed about it.
Review: I look forward to all of Jordan's volumes in this series, but I must say that this is his "Search for Spock." Nothing much happens and what does happen is a yawner. Really wish I'd waited for the paperback and saved some bucks. I hope the next one is more in keeping with the pace and style we have learned to expect. Oh well...
Rating: 
Summary: How the mighty have fallen....
Review: I would have given zero stars if it had been an option. I am stunned at how terrible this book is. I was so angry after finishing it that I threw it across the room hard enough for the corner to put a large dent in my bedroom wall. If, like me, you are (or were, in my case) a longtime Wheel Of Time fan, do not buy this book. The author needs to learn that fan abuse of this magnitude is just not acceptable. What's so wrong with the book that I should have such an attitude, you ask? * The book obviously never passed through the hands of an editor. 95% of it is pure filler - extremely wordy descriptions of clothing, hair, political minutiae, geographical minutiae, endless conversations with every single word given, etc etc etc. Read the dust jacket and you'll literally know everything of interest that happens in the book. You'll know MORE, actually, because some things listed on the dust jacket never actually happen in the book!!! * The book is 600 or so pages. Short for Jordan but no big deal, you may think. Guess again - the size of the type the book was printed in has been raised! If you account for this, Path of Daggers is HALF the length of the previous novel, which was still shorter than the novels preceding it! Like a college student increasing the font size in his or her word processing program in a desperate attempt to make a term paper stretch to fit a minimum number of pages, Jordan is attempting to defraud us, the people who ultimately must judge the quality of his efforts. * The characters have become two-dimensional cardboard cutouts with the self-control, intelligence, and empathy of twelve year olds. In particular, Jordan's treatment of his female characters should earn him the undying wrath of feminist groups everywhere. A good chunk of the mindlessly boring dialogue consists of female pettiness and bickering. Min, previously the outstanding tough, smart, and yet feminine woman of the story, is reduced to Rand's sex toy. And all the women now seem to be caught up in abuse-based dominance relationships and power struggles with other women. The men are still easily manipulated by women (to the point of stupidity), of course. * A slew of new characters are introduced, most of whom are sufficiently minor that they should not have been. Especially in book eight of a series! It has become almost impossible to keep track of who's who in the series, and the appendix at the end is of very little help. * Very, very little genuinely new info about the storyline is given. Plot threads that have been dangling since book 5 are left unresolved. Mat does not appear AT ALL in the entire novel, nor does any of the "Daughter of Nine Moons" stuff get resolved. We still don't know any more about the land of snakes and foxes. Rand hasn't learned any new spells or anything new about magic in general, nor has anyone else (with one notable exception, thrown to the reader out of the blue like a scrap of meat to a starving dog). The battle for the White Tower has not even BEGUN by the end of the book. No more discussion of Loial, Ogiers or Steddings. No more info about the Dark One. Nothing new about the Age of Legends (except for another scrap), the Ways, Machin Shin, Shadar Logoth, trollocs, darkmen, Rhuidean, the Sea Folk, The Blight, or any of the characters' personalities. No new interpersonal relationships are developed nor are any existing ones changed. In fact, so little happens that there's really no point in reading the book at all. Yes folks, Path of Daggers really is THAT bad. Read the rest of the reviews if you don't want to take my word for it. Actually, you should read them anyway - many are quite funny and I got a lot more enjoyment out of reading them than I did out of reading Path of Daggers. Enough said.
Rating:
Summary: Fer Crying out Loud
Review: All things considered, if I wanted to make a book exactly the same. I'd take one of the great novels, rip out pages at random, and then chop it in half. His endearing charecters have lost their spark, and his emerging creations are more deformed than a straw through a meat grinder. I mean, for TDR, I was really hooked! This one I would rather put through the spokes of my bike, except that would be a waste of a perfectly good wheel. I pity the trees that were destroyed for this bunch of crap!
Rating:
Summary: Slow-moving and Difficult to Follow
Review: The Path of Daggers is a slow-moving extension to the Wheel of Time fantasy. The author continually introduces new characters, usually in multiples, and the result is confusion in the narrative form. The climactic action of the book takes place at the very end, as in most of Jordan's books. All-in-all, a very disappointing read.
Rating:
Summary: Not really as bad as some think
Review: When critics of Jordan look at this rating, they should understand that I am referring to the series, not this specific novel. PoD is really an okay book, it just seems bad when in comparison with Jordan's other WoT books. We have come to expect quite a bit from Jordan, so we condem what he comes up with. I would like to see some movement in the story, too. But I disagree with people who say that the characters are shallow. I think that Jordan just doesn't have time to go into all of them. But I think that the people who bash Jordan for leaving out Mat should grow up. He left out Perrin in earlier books, and this wasn't the response then. He leaves you hanging. This is common even in the first fantasy, like Tolkien. Jordan does, however, need to make the plot go somewhere. But when I look back on other WoT books, I find this one isn't so bad. I like how Jordan leaves us uncertain about characters like Verin. It gives a little mystery to it. But, Mr. Jordan, please develop the plot a little more, if for the sake of your profits on the book if nothing else!
Rating:
Summary: There is no end in sight.
Review: I like Robert Jordan's writing, but this is too much! What happened to the plot? In his last couple of books, almost nothing has happened! The first three books in the series were masterful, but now, I get the dreadful feeling that Jordan is merely trying to milk it at the expense of his series. A book needs to tell a story, on its own, and this book, like his last three, failed to do that. He needs to remember that these should be stand alone novels, each linked to one another, yet having a plot, a theme, a climax, and a conclusion all on their own. He, like David Eddings, seems to have lost his edge and his imagination. Only his characters and writing ability have kept me to this series, but to be honest, I am running out of patience. End it!
|
