Rating: 
Summary: Middling
Review: This book really didn't live up to the expectations created by the unfortunately long wait loyal fans endured. Still, this really wasn't all that bad. The pace at least accelerates from the previous few, with some plot lines even moving somewhere (Perrin being excepted, and being the most notably neglected main character of late, even if Mat wasn't even in the last book). Still, it definately leaves more loose ends than it ties, causing a great sense of "so what?" and not the extremely satisfied and eager energy present from the early books.
Rating: 
Summary: A Little slow, but still good reading
Review: As always, this book is no quick read. It is long and involved, with the slowly evolving plot turns we have grown used to in Jordan's writing. However, contrary to what many reveiws may tell you, it is not SO slow as to become boring. Unlike the lasy book, Jordan has stuck in enough exciting battles, stunning relizations, and tricky plot twists to keep the pace from faltering to much. I think this is a good read even for someone who is not a hardcore fan, and certainly for those who have read most of the series. Just beware the couple of long chapters about the Seanchan.yaawwnn.
Rating: 
Summary: when will it end?
Review: I hate to beat a dead horse but Jordan needs to finish this series soon! I know some will say that creating a tapestry this large requires many books but please, more than 9?! Unlike some Jordan fans, I do not have time to re-read previous books just to remember who someone is...and I don't mean the obvious main characters. Some of the names are so similar that I don't remember if the character is a Darkfriend, a Wavemistress, or a Aes Sedai. This is extremely frustrating. Get this book at a library or skim it as I did to catch the major events.
Rating:
Summary: hmmm...
Review: Well, I understand where everyone is coming from with this whole thing about the series being to slow. Each book contains ~800 pages, and there are nine books and going, but I still think it's worth it. Slow, yes, but that makes it interesting. I think Jordan could definately speed it up, but all in all the series is the best in print. There are enough plots, sub-plots, and major and minor characters to get almost confusing. This, however, is what makes the series so good. Admit it, every Jordan fan was first drawn in by the deep, and realistic like story lines and characters. No offense, but I just don't understand people who "bite the hand that feeds them." Anyway, just thought that I'd like to put up what I was thinking
Rating: 
Summary: 2nd Best of the Series
Review: Don't believe the griping of some of the readers crying for an end to the series. This book advances almost all of the major plotlines, and most of the minor as well. Jordan's series has always had a concentration on how the events affect the chararacters. That is why the characters and events affect the readers. This book is a perfect match of new events and the effects on the characters that we love. This volume is also FULL of suprises. Wondering who Demondred is? Read the book? How about Orangar? It's in there! Ready for fulfillments of Prophesy, and events you thought were books away....Read on!
Rating:
Summary: Robert Jordan is still Robert Jordan
Review: After reading the first three of four books from the Wheel of Time series, one can't help but wonder at how Robert Jordan masters the art of storytelling, and surely can't wait to read the next ones. Yet, as the story goes on, many readers will be discouraged by the ever-increasing lenght of the series, its slower pace, without mentioning the not-so-positive comments from unsatisfied fans growing more and more impatient. However, what one has to realize is that Jordan's is one complex story, and it surely wouldn't be proper to finished it the good old "deus ex machina" way. Yes, I too find that having to wait two years between installments is sort of frustrating, and I too agree that the story moves at a somewhat slower pace. But on the other hand, I surely savour the high level of complexity of the story, the depth of the different parties and politics involved, the mysterious threads not yet uncovered, and it would be simply impossible or very unsatisfying for Jordan to quicly wrap up the whole story in an action packed, get-all-the-answer-at-once bundle. Just compare the WOT series with the Sword of Truth, and there you go. Even though SOT is very entertaining, it is now at its sixth book of more or less telling the same story, with few important development. Even though the settings are never quite the same, the essence of the story is always very similar. At least, with Jordan, the story always bring something new that paves the way for the new installment, and especially with this ninth book, you get a feeling that the end approaches. So now, about the story. I was quite happy with the new developments this installment offered, and quite a few loose threads were finally coming back and woven to the story. The pace also started to pick up after a very slow Path of Daggers, and how ever happy was I to find Mat in the story. One important piece missing was the development of Egwene andthe rebel Aes Sedai but were are getting use to some characters not being part of a whole episode. For a change, there is quite a major ending which makes me see that Tarmon Gaidon is ever-approaching. So please be it that Book 10 gets to us faster and beware impatient readers, Jordan will not just magically write a crappy fast ending that you would simply not enjoy no matter what you think. Jordan will live up to our expectations, and write nothing less than we expect of him: a detailed, logical next episode coming closer to the finish line.
Rating:
Summary: Pieces finally starting to fit into place
Review: Winter's Heart revisits themes left dangling from earlier books. Characters who made an appearance in Book 2, like Rand's Uncle Luc, show up again, if only incidentally. At least we know Jordan hadn't forgotten them or discarded what seemed like promising themes at the time. I think many of us have become used to fast paced action, thanks mostly to movies, rather than the old style books which were long winded because there was no TV or big screen to entertain. By definition, The Wheel of Time is very complex and minor details in one book develop into significant ones in later books. It's true that the many descriptions of fashion in Winter's Heart kind of annoy me, but instead of seeing it as filler, I prefer to think that Jordan wants us to see what's going on in our mind's eye. For those who like action, however, Mat is back and, unlike Perrin in this book, plays a significant part in this book. Rand is also involved in some good action sequences. There is one other thing I think we need to keep in mind. The last battle involves many pieces coming together. When we first learned of Mat's impending marriage to the Daughter of the Nine Moons, who finally appears in this book, I think we all assumed this marriage would have something to do with aligning this vast horde of flying channelling warriors for the last battle. But in a realistic sense, this sort of thing takes time. Mat fist needs to get to a location where he can meet the Daughter of the Nine Moons. The Return has to happen and she has to be there. Mat then needs to encounter this Daughter of the Nine Moons and all of this in the context of Rand's movements. In many fantasy novels, the action is so fast paced that the necessary pieces come together in an unrealistic manner. What we see in the Wheel of Time is a logical progression toward the final climatic battle. Pieces and characters interacting to get to where Jordan needs them to be. If you think about it, how many books would you have to read to get a really detailed picture of World War II, a war which took seven years? Jordan's plots and overall tapestry is so complex (do you remember all the characters from book to book?) that it takes time to realistically get the pieces in the right place. This is not a stock standard 350 page fantasy novel in which the end of the world is threatened in the first 20 pages, and the threat averted on page 350. This is a slow paced description of fateful events. If you realize what this series is trying to achieve, I think some of the lower ratings would rise, if only a little. Winter's Heart does move the plot along nicely. More pieces are now in place for events to move more quickly, and I would imagine that after the events of this book, the Dark Lord will have to step things up a bit. It may have taken two or three books to move people and plot to the right places, but after Winter's Heart, they are pretty much there now. I found the book most enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Calm calm
Review: I have been reading Wot for quite a while now and eagerly awaited this latest installment. I loved this book, and unlike some, I like the fact that Mr. Jordan actually writes out his sub-sub-plots for us to enjoy. I think the main problem people have is the nature of our instant gratification society. Yes, you have a long wait between books, yes there is a lot of side plots that don't have too much to do with the main thrust of the stories. That's ok. A well fleshed out story requires such things. he could have said- Rand was born, did stuff, fought in the last battle... would that be a "good read"? I don't personally think so. So to all the people freaking outover the length and number of books, be calm. Just imagine all the other little boring, plotless books you could have read instead.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD, BUT NOT HIS BEST
Review: I'm a big Wheel of Time fan. I got book 9 the very day it came out, the very hour. It took me over a month to finish reading it--considerably longer than the first 4 books in the series. The storyline is not near as urgent or interesting as the first few books, but I wouldn't necessarily say that it's enough to put you to sleep. I'd rather be reading about Aes Sedai than about boring sorcerers fighting dragons. There are also several other points that I'd like to make that might be of some help to those who are wondering why the series is seemingly dragging on. First of all, starting with book 5, we noticed that RJ started to take a major character out of the storyline so that he could develop another one. That's actually a pretty brilliant idea, since it FORCES YOU to read book 7 to find out what happened to the character in book 5. OBVIOUSLY, IF ROBERT JORDAN TOLD YOU THE FATES OF ALL THE CHARACTERS IN ONE BOOK, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR A SEQUEL. Unlike some fantasy series where the writer has the last battle in the first book and then comes up with a lame excuse for a sequel, saying that "oh, there's ANOTHER ultimate evil in the world, Robert Jordan promises a LAST BATTLE. There will be no book 14, The Revenge of the Dark One. Finally, although book 9 may have been lacking in many areas, I CAN GUARANTEE YOU that book 10 is going to be AWESOME. We all know what happened at the end of book 8, and what's waiting for us at the start of book 10. . .
Rating: 
Summary: a bad example for aspiring writers
Review: among the millions of people who read jordan, i am sure that a not insignificant number dream of being writers themselves one day. i have something to say to those people: do NOT do what jordan does. please. don't show the contempt for your readers that jordan does. don't drag a series on and on and on and on and on simply because you don't have any idea about how to wrap it up, but you like getting money in the meantime. i know it will be difficult: you will have many, many people saying how everything you write is the greatest thing ever, and every time you use 10,000 words instead of 100, many people (they will consider themselves your "true" fans) will point out that this is just an example of how rich and detailed your writing is -- instead of correctly observing that you need an editor. don't allow this sycophancy to make you believe that you are the greatest fantasy writer ever to walk to the planet, no matter how sorely tempted you might be. don't allow your writing to degrade to the point that a reader would be hard-pressed to tell your work from that of a word-processing robot which resorts to a set of stock-phrases and stock-behaviorisms for all characters depending on their gender and background because it doesn't understand how humans, especially males and females who are attracted to each other, actually behave. i borrowed this book from a friend, and i have never been happier to have avoided spending money. i mean, the reviews that advise you to read the dust jacket and the last 50 pages are dead-on. you get more depth of culture and characters in any decent rpg game for a computer or a console than you do in the tragedy this series has become. of course, robert jordan and/or his friends probably look at the negative reviews here and think one thing: say what you want, but "we're in the money! we're in the money!" it's nice to have unconditional love, isn't it? especially when that love takes the form of cold, hard cash.
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