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Winter's Heart

Winter's Heart

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: And the Wheel turns, but the End is approaching
Review: I was introduced to Robert Jordan by an article in a newspaper which said that fantasy literature was FINALLY coming to the polar regions of Norway. I went on, and bought "The Eye of the World"... It was a revelation to me. I devoured the book, and the next six, too. The world-building is, indeed, comparable to Tolkien's work. You get the feeling that this is one of the very few fantasy worlds that could have been real. The first and the fourth book are the best because they both introduce the reader to different parts of Jordan's world (even though the Aiel are suspiciously similar to the Fremen from the Dune Trilogy). It started to draw out a bit in book five, but "Lord of Chaos", when Rand's madness started to manifest itself was great... Seven and Eight were nearly downright BORING,(and I almost stopped reading, thinking that Terry Goodkind was better at describing humans. Well, he is, actually...) and Winter's Heart seemed to follow in the same tracks, and until the last 50 pages, it looked like it was going to end, without the storyline advancing at all towards Tarmon Gai'Don... bad. But then, with one of most spectacular endings in my reading life I was once again hooked on The Wheel of Time. And the end is in sight, finally. I guess it will be about two or three books in the end. And by the way, I'll be VERY disappointed if Rand survives the Last Battle. Mat is the best character in the books. Moiraine will return. If she doesn't, I will read only Salvatore from now on...

P.S Anyone got an idea of how Rand gets so many girls??? Is anybody willing to help me? HELP!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Curtain is Closing for me..............for now
Review: Robert Jordan has created a wonderfully vibrant and extremely detailed world. That is where my praise for this book ends. After finishing "Winter's Heart", I sat back and began to wonder why I started reading this series in the first place. Nine books and ten years later, I came to realize that I was falling down a very steep hill. To confirm my suspicions, I re-read the entire series from start to "Winter's Heart". This task took me the better part of two months. Just as I expected, I truly enjoyed the beginning of this series, but as I started to re-read "The Fires of Heaven" my interest waned. However, I am an extremely patient person, so I endeavored to persevere, and managed to finish the (current) entire work.

The length was not the problem; it was that I simply stopped caring about what happened to the characters. I also found the male/female character interaction juvenile at first, but after nine books it became downright annoying (it actually reminded me of how I acted towards the opposite sex when I was in grade school).

Overall, I would still recommend the series. I truly hope Jordan exits his current "Money" mode of writing and returns to the style and flair that made the early books of "The Wheel of Time" enjoyable.

"Winter's Heart" will be the last Robert Jordan book I buy until the series is finished. When "The Wheel of Time" is completed, (hopefully I'll live that long), I'll buy the ones I've missed and finish the journey I started in 1990.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Comparisons with LOR are a disservice to Tolkien.
Review: It is unfortunate that there are so many comparisons of this drivel to LOR (Lord of the Rings). I recently re-read LOR and found much of Tolkien's work to be heartbreakingly sublime.

Many of Mr. Jordan's characters remind one of adolescents having a bad day. The plot moves at such a glacial pace that one begins to wonder if Mr. Jordan is writing for an annuity and could care less about his "legions" of fans.

One has to wonder if Mr. Jordan's editors at TOR are fully aware of how many fans they are alienating by allowing Mr. Jordan to ramble on as he does. It has taken nine extremely long novels to tell a story that could have been a knock-out trilogy. A reader of fantasy would think that the characters would have evolved sufficiently in nine novels to have changed them completely. Unfortunately, they have not. Rand al'Thor has gone from being a sheepherd to being a man who cannot make a decision. Matrim Cauthon (who did not even appear in the last book), who is by far the most interesting character, often gets short shrift and does not appear to have a real purpose in the story. Finally, Perin Aybara has become a lord of his homeland but has no stomach for it. Mr. Jordan tells his readers the stories of many other characters, none of whom are central to the plot. He sacrifices telling us the story that really matters, the story of these three young men, and instead tells his readers about events and characters that are either secondary or tertiary in their importance to his plot.

His depiction of women is nothing short of insulting. They are collectively treated as conniving, backstabbing wretches who merely need to be put in their place in order to be useful to men. His fascination with the female body is also blatantly apparent. His many references to revealing female clothing and female body parts would not be noticeable if they were balanced with an equal amount of references to the male form.

One hopes the editors at TOR will put their collective feet down and make the man finish this overdone bore of a tale before all his fans abandon him.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The pace has been picked up
Review: Robert Jordan¡¯s Mammoth series is intriguing, infuriating, and totally amazing. He creates this world that is so alive and real that you can see it, but he gets caught up in too many everyday things. I enjoy the series so much, but I want more to happen. It took Nynaeve 7 books to break her block. Still, he has continued quality in his writing style and his vision is consistent.

Path of Daggers was slow and not enough action happened. We basically learn the battle that was fought, the high point of the last book, was fruitless. Winter¡¯s Heart does introduce Mat and the long awaited Daughter of the Nine Moons. It looks like the action concerning her will occur relatively quickly. Robert Jordan seemed to be fulfilling many long awaited events in this book, kind of as an apology for the last book. The ending as usual was a smash and a bang, AND leaving us wondering what will happen.

The most disappointing part of the book is Egwene¡¯s White Tower conflict not being addressed. She appears and he ends with them opening the gateway to Tar Valon.

Over all a Better book than Path of Daggers; it is as engaging as the rest of the series.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Jordan continues down hill
Review: Ho hum, boring. Jordan's first few books in this series were enthralling and I eagerly awaited the next one. Since book 4, he has consistently gone down hill, hitting a new bottom with this one. I would compare reading this with transcripts from the House or Senate. Keep it by your bedside when you need something to lull you to sleep.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Look at the series as a whole
Review: I'm giving 5 stars not necessarily to this particular book, but to the series as a whole, of which the past few books everyone hated are an important part.

I'll admit that the one big problem I have with this series is that there seems to be an ever-increasing amount of characters to keep track of, and I think it must be in the upper hundreds by now.

That being said, Ii can't believe all these so called 'fans' are giving up on such an amazing series. For the first books, the reviews were all calling for the series to end; and now they are getting their wish, they're complaining. I'm wondering how many of these reviews are from little kids who just want to see big explosions and battles a-la Arnold or Sylvester.

But this world he has created is so rich and powerful that it goes deeper than superficial things like battles. God forbid RJ takes this world into the dreaded realm of character development, betrayal, politics, religion, madness, love, racism, and power, just to name a few. Think of how much these characters have changed. Rand is 150% different, and now I find myself hating him at times as a character, and I love that! I like the hero who has flaws and becomes more like his enemy, than the one who can do everything and come out clean like Superman. It's more realistic. The same can be said for all the main characters, as well as the intricate sub-plots and twisty turns everyone is whining about. It just goes to show that those in power, and their adventures, never happen like people, least of all they, expect.

Bottom line: Read the series, and enjoy it, even the slow parts, as a whole; with the past few books being just parts of that whole. And if you can't keep up with all these intricate plot-lines and character development/disintegration, go watch Rambo.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Something finally happens!
Review: I've been reading Robert Jordan for too long. This series shouldn't have gotten to a ninth book; it's incredibly wordy, and too long. However, THE END IS IN SIGHT! Important stuff happens in this book, and major plot points are ended. This is something that didn't seem to be true of books seven and eight...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: As the pattern becomes intricate
Review: I cannot complain about Robert Jordan's writing. If he has any fallacies it is that he adds new characters and secondary story lines while keeping us fully versed in the ones he already has. His attention to detail in all branches of his world is very nice, but it means that he can't put everything in every book, and it also slows the story down a bit. If he were to resolve some issues, and (heaven forbid!) kill off some of the less important and more time consuming characters, his books would be much more interesting. But would we know as much about his world? Robert Jordan has done the impossible in my mind, he has matched JRR Tolkien in his creation of a believeable and exciting world. And for those who want to nitpick, go find yourself a perfect book, if you can, because everyone knows that the farther into a series a writer gets, the harder it is to write. Each new book that grabs the mind is tenfold the triumph of the one before. So keep writing Jordan, and those who complain can go to Shayul Ghul.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Winter's Heart
Review: Well, I had been awaiting the (hopefully) last book to this series, but am excited to see that it is not. Very well written, and I must say, it is VERY FRUSTRATING not being able to know what is going to happen right away!!!! Robert Jordan keeps you in suspense all the way up to the end, and I love it. I recommend reading the whole series (all 9 books), an then going back, and reading them again. Can't wait for book 10, 11, 12??? to be released!!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: For all of you who have been complaining.....
Review: Come on people, you complain about the pace of the book, but are you reading the book for the entire story?? These books last few books have been just as exciting to me as the first several that were filled with action. I do admit that the constant combat is thrilling; but the character HAVE matured considerably. They have become established in the political and social scheme of the world. Anyone that knows anyting about politics and the real world will tell you that war and action are rareties. These last few books have taken the focus away from the all out combat to the focus of the inner workings of the personal relationships and situations through out the world... For me the suspense just seems to build up constantly as I feel the pieces falling into place for that final scene. And those of you that still disagree with me... what about the final scene in this last book?? That had me screaming to read faster and faster, I couldn't get enough, and the only dissapointment I felt was when I had to close the book, and begin my wait for the next one.


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