Rating: 
Summary: Consistency IS a Virtue
Review: The Winter's Heart continues as the author began, long on discription and character development. In the process, he is tapping into our millenial doubts; the same which have caused the Left Behind series to be so popular. All the bad guys, the Forsaken, bear names given to Satan or other demons in ancient Isreal. The good guys struggle both within themselves and without to understand the Creator's purpose in allowing evil. The mythological underpinnings are varied. From the ancient Norse, Celtic, and possibly Native American, through the Arthurian tradition, and finally to the modern myth-makers of sci-fi/fantasy Herbert, Asimov, and Tolkien, Jordan begs, borrows, and steals with a fine hand. He has also created something very new, an odessy as symbolically revealing of our time as Homer's was of his. The hero is right for our age. This is not a drive-by series.I will admit to being frustrated by the author's pace. It has become a barrier to enjoyment. I do hope Tor takes notice of all the negative reviews, but I also applaud the author for continuing as he began and not slapping together an ending that leaves the tapestry full of holes.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't need to finish this series! I know how it will end!
Review: After reading the ending of this book, I can basically predict how it will all end: Sometime in the far future, when this series finally stops making money, Rand will suddenly know how to seal up the Dark One's Prison! He will gather the Asha'men, Egwene's Aes Sedai, some Sea Folk Windfinders, and about 50 different ter'angreal. The Asha'men will send an oscillating weave of Spirit, Earth, and Fire into 25 of the ter'angreal, while the Aes Sedai will send a direct current of Spirit, Water, and Air into the others. The Windfinders will stand by and make sarcastic remarks (a necessary part of the secret formula). After 20 pages, this process will succeed in creating a new prison AROUND the Dark One's old prison, sealing Him in completely, bringing the series to a nice, happy conclusion! I apologize for the sarcasm, but this is the feeling I got from reading this book. I can't go into too many details without giving away the ending, but let me say this: the book's ending reminded me of the Technobabble solutions that are very prevalent on Star Trek (esp. Voyager). You have a huge, massive problem, and it can be solved by realigning the transporter coils and inverting the warp field. This book solves a certain large problem in Randland with a "One-Power-babble" solution that feels forced, contrived, and completely unsatisfying. And I have a gut-feeling that the central problem of tWoT will be "patched up" in a similar manner. As for the rest of the book, well, it is slightly better than Book #8, which is truly damning it with faint praise. However, since I basically know how things will probably end in the series, I have no interest in reading further. To quote Dennis Miller, "I am outta here!"
Rating: 
Summary: Subplots are dsitracting from this series!
Review: My wife got me hooked on "The Wheel of Time" series - I thought for years they were just more of her romantic novels. Then I started reading them. I was astonished by the first several books, finding a world to rival Tolkien's! Characters to care about and root for! Descriptions of places and events to surpass others I had read. But now I have become concerned that I am reading "the never ending story"! Particularly after "Winter's Heart", I am concerned I shall loss patience and never know what became of our heroes as I've lost track of the subplots - actually resorting to a synopsis I found on the web to try to figure out what was going on! The last 50 pages were tremendous but it took perseverence to get there. Other authors that I enjoy, such as McCaffery, Modesitt and Goodkind, want to tell a story while Jordan seems more intent on confusing me with a myriad of subplots, similar names, and repetion.
Rating: 
Summary: Loyal Robert Jordan Reader
Review: OK, I just want to know why the person who wrote Amazon's synopsis of this book did so without reading the book! of course, if you are a Wheel of Time reader like me, you already know that Rand and Min are not fleeing Cadsuane. They are "fleeing," as much as either of them really can flee, the people who just tried to kill Rand. Duh. This is a good one, though. Some of the answers you've been waiting for are starting to arrive. You'll see the end drawing near in this book. We'll all miss the characters, I think, but isn't it good to know that soon there will be a resolution? This one rates up there with the first three. READ IT. you'll be glad you did. AND IF YOU HAVEN'T YET STARTED THE SERIES, NUMBER ONE IS CALLED THE WHEEL OF TIME. Get your browser moving, and order the first two or three books, because once you start, you'll be hooked! Have fun. I have.
Rating: 
Summary: Agh
Review: I think that becouse of constant pressure and breack neck pace of writing , jordan run out of steam. It happens to the best of them, stephen king and anne rice are the best examples. What he needs is to kick back take a few deep breaths and lay the series off for 5 years or so. Let the ideas tricle back. While RJ does tie up major plot lines and has some progress, most of the book (99.9%) is still cannon fodder. HE needs to focus and have a story line for a chance. The only reason why i m still reading is becouse of my reading style. I have read his book in three days by skipping all the irrelevant plot details. Skimming until i got to the juicy parts. I reconmend any other reader to to the same and if RJ is reading this, take a breack man youve done enouth.
Rating:
Summary: Speaking of "spoiled..."
Review: Among the myriad rants I've seen aimed at Heart and at WoT in general, one caught my eye, calling the characters "spoiled brats" or some such. It, as did many others, said that the characters also never learn. Personally, I think that this is fully in keeping with Jordan's project... Jordan, whether or not you agree with his process, is creating an entire WORLD; the complexity and sheer perversity of OUR world should more than equip readers to cope with a fully-realized fictional world. Furthermore, look around you at the people you know, even the people you like and respect. How many of them change their mannerisms significantly in a few years? How many of them truly LEARN from setbacks, instead of stubbornly trying to force ahead in their chosen way? Pride, whether consciously admitted or subconsciously hidden, plays a huge role in the "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" lack of real change in our world, and Jordan is doing nothing more than recreating this in the characters of his own world. In general, I was still mildly disappointed with Heart. I expected much more tying-together of storylines - rather, I HOPED for it. Nonetheless, it occurs to me that this, too, is much like real life; how much is truly brought to a quick, tidy, satisfactory solution? Be that as it may, I saw some very interesting progress and look forward to the next few books. Have some patience and insight, folks.
Rating:
Summary: Get a box of NO-DOZE -- you're going to need it
Review: I used to eagerly await new books in this series but now I've decided to walk away from it. This lastest installment is just boring. If your into political intrigue that has very little to do with plot then this is your cup of tea. However, I honestly believe that Mr. Jordan has gotten a sizable extension from his publisher and is now milking this series for as long as possible. Its a shame. It was a great series.
Rating:
Summary: Uses for Winter's Heart
Review: I have found the best uses for Winter's Heart to be as a door stop, to kill spiders, or to level a table whose leg has broken off unexpectedly. If you must read this boring, pointless book that serves only to increase Mr. Jordan's bank account at the expense of readers who expect a great deal more at this point in the series, you may rely on the fact that at least it has the guaranteed effect of putting you right to sleep in case you are suffering from insomnia. My advice to you is get it from the library rather than buying it, so you don't feel robbed after reading it. If you cared for Rand and the others before, this book will certainly end any compassion you had for them. I think Mr. Jordan could entertain his continuing fascination with female submission and "spanking" of various types by logging on to the internet and joining some chat rooms rather than wasting readers' time and money beating this subject to death (pun intended). **Yes, I got my copy from the library, I am glad to say. I would recommend reading Harry Potter instead. The characters and action are far more entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Much to think about
Review: With well over 300 reviews already this book has sparked a fair amount of praise and criticism. I found that there were a lot of things explained in this book that we had been wondering about before. I won't ruin anything for you (like others feel inclined to do). The pluses: We saw how Rand decides to deal with the taint on the source. We get back to Mat and he meets the daughter of the nine moons. We discover a lot more information about who, what, when, where, and why The minus: local politics and the Seanchan seemed to dominate a large portion of the book. I think that it would be great to head back in the direction of Trollocs, Myrrdhral, dark hounds, and Drakkhars. I have a good feeling that we are, but we have to be patient. Bottom line? If you've lasted this long, then you honestly care what happens to the plot and the characters. You won't be disappointed in what you find out, but just wishing that there was more there.
Rating:
Summary: Observations
Review: Alright, first off I must say that Robert Jordan's style in writing has changed considerably over the past few years. When the WoT series first began it was a brilliant success because of how in depth Jordan went into the plots and cultures, etc. With the 9th book it seems as though he has abandoned his original charter while writing. A few observations I have noticed his change of style. 1-3 This is the intro to the books it seems. His style is WONDERFUL. The depth he goes into the plots is almost like a drug. The view points of the characters change at least every chapter. He leaves you hanging at the end of each chapter so that you NEED to read more. There really isn't too much to say, but they are Great. I remember reading these at least a couple times over. That is how much I liked them. 4-6 These are when the characters and lands have been developed. The readers know more about the whole plot-line. Much of the original major concerns of the characters have been abandoned. Now new bigger concerns have arisen. Jordan keeps the end of chapter hang that he originally had. I really enjoyed these books, but they are a little different. 7-9(so far) These I believe are a complete useless lot of drivel! 1. Jordan begins to add HUGE plot lines that just seemingly come out of no where. 2. It is as if the characters are waiting for something to occur. They run around doing small things that in the end mean nothing (HOW BORING). 3 Jordan begins to LUMP point of views together. ONLY in the Prologue does the character point of view change within 40 pages. This can ESPECIALLY be seen in the 8th and 9th book. There are NO more chapters that leave you hanging cause by the time you are done reading the 200 or so pages you are sick of hearing the characters whine!! 4. This is pretty small but I also noticed that the FONT size changed in the 8th and 9th books (hardcover editions). So the books seem to be the same length, but I think that they are really about 100 pages shorter than their predecessors. Notice how the 7th book is pretty skinny compared to the 6th book. And then notice how the 8th and 9th books seem to have fattened up a little more. The font size is decieving because it makes it seem like MORE should be happening. So you feel cheated after reading the book. So I warn all of you out there about this book. Some progress was made near the end of the book. And I do love reading about the characters that I have learned to love over the years. But THIS BOOK is NOT the book you will want it to be after reading the first couple books in the series. I also found several gramatical mistakes that took a little away from the book. And, they were not accents by the people they were clear gramatical mistakes that made the sentence make no sense. And a few misspellings.The style has changed so much that no longer is this series an undisputed fantasy series. Go read George R. R. Martin his books are far more interesting than Jordans current books.
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