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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: 3 stars
Summary: About the middle....
Review: As with a lot of others, i fell in love with the series first few books. The last few have dragged on with a big event finishing out the book. The newest installment is better than the last few but not as good as the first few. Hopefully, things will continue to get better now.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Unending
Review: Mr. Jordan states that he "has been writing since 1977 and intends to continue until they nail shut his coffin". OK. We have been forewarned.

Winter's Heart is 656 pages of unending, purposeless chasing or "Travelling" all over their world. Subthemes like the kidnapping of Perrin's wife is left dangling after a few chapters of frantic racing about in blinding snow storms with no clue of resolution. Unfortunately the machinations of the Aes Sedai at Tar Valon are also left hanging with no further mention in the storyline after the first chapter or so. Then there is the paranoid harping of Egwene who sounds increasingly like an angry scold, followed by the jealous whining of Elaine who is dealing with trying to win both supporters and an army to gain her throne while trying to reconcile herself to the sexual competition of Min and Aviendha over Rand. Finally, she nails him in the bedroom. Despite the lunatic voices of Lews Therin in his head that boy should be one happy camper! Then there is the usual braid pulling and teeth grinding criticism by the irrascible Nynaeve, all of which adds little if anything to redeem this story. Apart from the final chapter when Rand cleanses the taint from saidin little of real significance happens in this 9th book of the series.

Mat has the most action this time around, and yet he too seems rather colorless (apart from his peacock apparel provided by the queen). He, is constantly whining and complaining when called upon to be a hero, and like the rest of the characters is little more than one dimensional at this point. Where is his stylish flare and devil may care attitude that was so engagingly ornery?

As much as I admire this southern gentleman's vast ability in story telling, the element of boredom appears to have encroached upon the original direction of his grand scheme and he seems to be stuck spinning his wheels in the sand and no one is going anywhere any time soon. Mr. Jordan states in his autobio that he was born in 1948 which leads the reader to believe that he has 30 or more years to write the rest of this story. This is a real strong hint that some of us may be old and toothless (smile!) by the time Rand finally breaks the world and this saga shudders to its end.

Apart from my personal desire for closure on this story, I hope that the author will listen to the readers' pleas and bring the W.O.T. back to dynamic life and reanimate the characters with likeable qualities so we may engage ourselves with them and the story once more.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best books ever.
Review: hey folks, if you stopped liking the books, STOP reading them. For me, I love the character development and the number of subplots. I really enjoy how each book is not a novel in and of itself, but instead they are almost like long chapters. Alot of people out there are whining and want RJ to wrap it up. NOT ME. By his pace I figure the series will reach 20 to 25 books, and maybe more. And I will be there for all them. His stories are rich and complex with numerous good and evil characters, usually working for a variety of different goals and with incomplete information. The only thing I ask of RJ is to make the books closer to 1000 pages.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Reality Check
Review: This book is just as good as any of the others. Anyone who liked Robert Jordan's other books will like/love this one as well. Everyone seems to be giving Jordan bad reviews, don't listen to a single one, there are a couple of reasons, first, this is a 7,000 page book serius. I would like to see anyone who wrote a review try to do that in say less then 15 years especially if you are going to create your own universe along with which this warrants some explanation. Second, this is a fantasy book, a person may see real elements of people in this book but, the reality of the situation is that the characters are all made up and have things about them which are imaginary whether that be in spirit or in power. If someone would truly like to enjoy a book or in this case nine books that will leave you thinking about the plot and pondering up at night then read this serius its incredibly imaginative. I will not give away any of the plot for those of you who have not read it yet but, Mat is back in the book which is great for us all. Just remember 7,000 pages, you cannot get a good thick story line reading in just 30 minutes a book is much deeper then, say a half an hour TV show. Give the guy a chance and cut him some slack, he has enough people pressuring him, READ THIS BOOK

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Still hanging
Review: I have just finished Jordan's 9th book. It was everthing I had expected it to be. Adventure, mystery, cheesy teenage love, and total frustration that I have to wait another two years for the tenth book to come out. While this book was better then some of the other later ones, it still was lacking in some subjects, namely Perrin. Once again, Jordan devotes only a few chapters to the most interesting one of the bunch (in my opinion). I am hoping that the tenth book will finish the series, so we can all get some closure. If you are keeping up with the series, read it. Otherwise wait until the final book comes out, and read the entire series without the two year breaks.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Still slowing down
Review: I loved the first few books of this series. There were so many things going on and the character development was great. As the main group of Rand, Mat, and Perrin split up, the various, intertwining plots were very well done. However, as the series went on, the focus seemed to shift from plot and great writing to put the reader in the events to detail so exhaustive that the plot seems to take a back seat.

I'm not sure how much I am enjoying each subsequent installment anymore. I think that the amount of plot in this book was less than a week. But it took 750 pages to tell it. Jordan's take on male/female iteraction was somewhat interesting in the beginning (although it was my least favorite focus of the series), but the view tha women always think they are right and that men are just bull-headed, while men are always completely clueless about women has gotten very old and it unfortunate that this is now what takes up the bulk of each book.

There is still hope though. The last 20-30 pages were magnificent. The ending of this book is the type of writing that got me hooked in the first place and is what will take me to the end of the series. Maybe the next installment will go back the the great writing the series started with. Instead of leaving more loose ends at the end of each book, it's time for the series to come to its climax.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Downward Spiral Continues
Review: This book brings the Wheel of Time Series to its lowest point since Lord of Chaos. The plot is stuck in a quagmire, the characters are still saying the same lines and using the same mannerisms (I swear, if Nyneave tugs on her braid one more time, or starts to and then stops, I'm going to tug a page right out of the book) they've been using since book one, and the novel is in terrible need of good editing. I don't say that just because it's long. Heck, I like long books. But the pacing and the arrangement of the chapters seems to have been done haphazard for this volume. In fact, after beginning the book with Perrin and Faile's problems, after about halfway through the book, Jordan never goes back to those problem. The reader is left wondering what is going on with them, and even worse, at least I had lost interest in them by the end of the book. The chapters are also arranged so that the reader gets large doses of one character's situation before moving to a long sequence on another character. This is very disconcerting, especially after reading the George R. R. Martin's tightly knit novels.

Worse than all this, Jordan doesn't seem to know where the heart of his story lies. In my opinion, Rand is the most interesting character in the most interesting situations, yet the author devotes very little page time to him in comparison to other characters. One good thing did come out of this book, and that's the new aspect of Rand being too much like a stone (i.e. no longer really human) by the time Tarmon Gaidon comes around. I enjoyed that twist.

To sum it up, I'm giving serious thought to not reading any more of this series. Problem is, I've invested so much time and so many pages that I can't help wondering how the whole thing will end.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Better than the Path of Boredom
Review: While far short of his excellent work in the first five books, Winter's Heart is certainly better than the miserable 8th book of the series. It is much like Lord of Chaos and Crown of Swords; tedious in some parts and spectacular in others. Its worth the read, but won't keep you awake waiting for book 10.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This book and this series are both disturbing
Review: This book was not good - in fact...the last 6 books were not good. Readers, critics, lovers and observers are now thrown into two distinct groups - which is not a good thing for Robert "Moneybags" Jordan or his bloated series. (Guess which group I will be in?).

The first group has been burned by the man, his series, his cliches, his laboring writing style, his ability to get paid by the word, etc. This group has decided that they will not be used and abused anymore, and will not support this series anymore. Like a victim of domestic violence, there are only so many times you can convince yourself that Jordan will change, and will still produce what you fell in love with, but in the end, you muster up the courage to walk away forever. People from this group have resolved themselves to the fact that the series is "spoiled" (and not in a good way) and no matter what happens from here on out, the end does not justify the means. No matter how brilliant the rest of the 1-1,000 books in the series are, they have weighed the pain and abuse taken versus the chance that the series will right itself and return to being a good series - and have chosen to walk away.

The second group feels the same way in a lot of respects, but they pride themselves on their loyalty and their devotion, and are either too embarrassed to get out, or all too happy to have their backs against the wall to make a last stand versus the ungodly (those who criticize the series). Remember, these are the people that recommended the series to you and me, who swore it was the best series since the Lord of the Rings - do you think they will then admit it is as spoiled as week old fish? Those in the second group are brainwashed to savor a morsel found in 500 pages - they would read each novel and ask for more, regardless of length, repetitiveness, blandness, or lack of story/character growth, pace or movement. These are the people that claim everyone else is too stupid or too impatient or too cursory to truly understand the depth of the writing and the world. They have pushed their way through the deserts of bad storytelling, and the farther they go, the more voices they hear trying to bring down their "god" and his world ... they can do nothing else, but close their ears and pretend it is not so...pretend the series is as great as it started out as, pretend Jordan is a literary genius that will make it all better. This group will die before they are convinced otherwise.

Because there are these distinct groups, it is evidence that the world of WOT is having serious problems - we can all admit that, whether you threw up on the series or whether you love the series...no one can look themselves in the mirror and say there is nothing wrong with his writing, his development, or his storyline...it is all falling apart, and people are getting excited. It is one thing to go on and on developing new plotlines and new characters, exploring every aspect of your world, and quite another to write thousands of pages that could be summed up in 150 pages. Jordan has dropped the ball, going from a great series, to a good series, to a laughable series. There is no doubt he is milking the series for all its worth. The very fact that their was a special edition Winter's Heart on sale for hundreds of dollars before it was even out yet, the fact that he sold the prologue to this novel, even though most all authors release it to the public to peak interest and reward their audience for waiting so long, and that there is no end in site, points to the fact that Jordan is in it for the money first and foremost, and secondly, right now...he is probably interested in figuring out a way to try to salvage a bloated, scatterbrained series that went from epic to laughable...no matter how much money a man has, he is still judged on his work, and right now, Robert Jordan is earning very little in the way of respect, admiration and love...something his moneybags can't buy.

For those of you who have left the series, left Jordan - do me a favor...I know you are burned and upset, but please give George R. R. Martin a try - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords. Check out the reviews on Amazon if you like. In 25 years of reading fantasy, I have found none so good as George R. R. Martin - everywhere Jordan fails, Martin succeeds...I promise you. For those of you who love the WOT series, check our Martin and see what you think...you don't have to leave Jordan, and even if you like Martin it doesn't mean you are less of a Robert Jordan fan...just give the series a read and join our one group...the group that loves A Song of Ice and Fire.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I Agree
Review: I Have to agree with North Olmstead, Ohio, the series has gone down hill since book 7, i am really tired of reading about all the pretty dresses the ladies are wearing. Get on with story of Rand and finish it off, it's time to start something new. BTW, George RR Martin has passed you by Mr Jordan, he is a great storyteller. Bring it on George, i'll have plenty of cash now that i'm not buying WOT anymore.


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