Rating: 
Summary: A Fair Book; It Accomplishes Its Purpose
Review: I think what frustrates people the most in a book like this is that they do not see the purpose of it. In this light, shining steadily through several "loud" reviews seen here, the book is annoyingly repetitive, and there isn't a great deal of action. I can sympathize with this. I must agree, there were parts of this that made me want to scream - like just what happened to Perrin? After so much of his adventures protecting the Two Rivers in The Path of Daggers, he barely appears here; only one small segment where he learns his wife is missing (and then it cuts to her - and we learn even less. A setting is created, but never gone into). I think that he should have been either included in the jumps between Rand/Min, Elayne/Aviendha, and Mat, or just left out completely.However, I said it before: this book fufills its purpose. It is not the final battle - there will be a fight for Tar Valon, or the Last Battle, or whatever action scene you want, but it won't be until the last book! That's what normally happens in a good series; the conclusion packs the punch! I think that the anticipation of many has been rising because of the Path of Daggers, where there was a great deal of fighting. Looking at it from Robert Jordan's point of view, though, most of the powerful Forsaken are dead. Some have been reincarnated, but others were erased by balefire. Most of the ones left are the scheming ones, unwilling to come out into the open. Most of the powerful are licking their wounds. Rand is dealing with the real possibility of his insanity, and has to lie low for a while. The book covers him doing that, Mat trying to get out of Ebou Dar while recovering from his wounds, and Elayne dealing with trying to claim the Queenship of Andor. It is the calm before the storm. I wish that I could give this in half-star ratings; a score of three and a half would better suit my impression of it. But things like Perrin's lack of presense - at all - and the vaccum of other characters, like Egwene, forces a four to be impossible.
Rating:
Summary: Jordan Blabs On - Volume II
Review: I feel like such a sucker for buying this book, but after investing my time and energy into all the previous novels, most of which I enjoyed, I had to take the plunge. This book is a repeat of the previous novel...ALL TALK and NO ACTION. Once again, Jordan goes off into mind numbing detail about minor characters, which for those of us that have only read his books once, we can't even remember who they are! Yeah, I love character development as much as the next guy, but Jordan, throw us a bone with a little more action and drama, for goodness sake! Is Jordan ever going to bring closure to this series, or will it continue turning in it's own infinite wheel of time?
Rating: 
Summary: This is the world I live in...
Review: Usually I don't kill off badguys every day and extra-huge massacers happen even more scarcely. Usually I spend my days chatting with my friends (or enemies) and sometimes pulling those lines that hang behind the scenes. Usually this is what you all do most of the time, especially if it is winter's heart and the weather is too cold to be outside your house for hours. But some of you don't seem to understand that Jordan has created a fantastically real fantasy world for us and that the characters that inhabit this realm are flesh-and-blood persons not just some words in black-and-white. And that's why Rand spends his time during this volume trying to act as small as he can (despite some chapters when this is impossible), and why Mat tryes to live his life as best as he can considering the fact that Tylin is a major pain in his buttocks - literally - (although Mr. Jordan manages to turn everything upside down as it always happens with young Mr. Cauthon), and why Elayne spends her time prepareing Caemlyn for her soon-to-come reign (and we don't know as of yet what kind of impact her plans have on al'Thor and the world at large.) The thing is that this book has everything we read in the previous ones, but this time it is made more complex and much harder to grasp wholly. That is simply the way of world(s) changing epics, but Jordan is the first one to put it down correctly and we should praise him for it instead of trying to trample his work lower than grass for it not being blunt enough. I enjoyed the book and when you look at it from the right angle then you surely will too. P.S. The book ends as grandiosly as every other in the series and as an addon Jordan has payed more attention to details and describing than in previous book, which is certainly a plus.
Rating:
Summary: A huge, complex story - but worth it if you have patience
Review: All you people out there who think this has been dragging on for too long, that the story is thinning out, and that Jordan just isn't up to it anymore: Perhaps you should for once remember that he has already spent 20 years of his life developing this story, that, rather miraculously, he still knows where he's going - and all that in spite of the more than dazzling complexity of the series. What's more, I really can't see that anyone here is a literary critic fit to give a fair account of what Jordan is doing wrong and where his story needs improving. Why can't they just say that that they can't follow or don't want to follow where Jordan's going? Fair enough. But please stop this self-congratulatory "Jordan could have been a great writer, but...". Notwithstanding all the problems I have with this series, the sometimes all too post-puberty-crazed women prominently among them, the merits of Jordan's work are just too great to be thrown aside just because of a few hundred pages of a stagnant storyline. If you haven't noticed, for Jordan, the characters and their development obviously are just as important as the storyline. This series has come closer than anything else I know to real life in the way of the characters' development. It is the best whodunit I can think of. Its complexity has me standing in awe of what Jordan must have been juggling in his head for the last 20 years. The subtle problems he raises at every other turn of the story are a rich bounty for all who keep their eyes open and do not like their food for thought pre-digested. All of this means an intellectual feast I wouldn't want to miss. This series, I am sure, has never been meant for easy reading although it can spellbind you to think it was. Personally, I am grateful for this experience. Others will certainly not like the way the whole thing is developing. Again, fair enough. But I hope this review will be more helpful for the not-yet-aficionados out there in that I at least tried to describe *why* I and so many people I know still love it.
Rating: 
Summary: Its getting better
Review: I do agree with some of the critism about the women caracters and slow progress sometimes in the writing BUT in my opinion Jordan takes a big step in the right direction with Winters heart. NOW things happen and the dices are rolling... I for one likes when an author slowly building a story and one of the strongest assets that Jordan has is the caracters, exept that even an afficionado like myself wants a bit of new wiews in terms of womens personality. I can hardly wait for the next one and in the meantime Ill read all the books all over again (for the fourth time)
Rating:
Summary: A great book with an even better ending...
Review: Stop the complaining! The same complaints seem to come after every book from the same people - but this leads me to wonder: If they don't like the books so much, why are they still reading? Yes, things are moving slower than the first books, but it's still very interesting and its obvious everything is leading up to a spectacular finish. The ending of this one rivals the ends of the first two books...and we get to see much more of Rand (finally!) My only complaint is that I do NOT want to have to wait two more years until the next book comes out - it's harder to remember all the characters when there's such a long lull. I guess I'll just have to reread the first eight again...
Rating:
Summary: Great book, Great series
Review: Well, overall I don't particularly love the characters, most of em anyway. I can't stand the women most of the time, they're stupid and pigheaded. What I like is the plot, it isn't full of holes, and it is gigantic, providing for long in-depth discussions. RJ isn't the best writer of them all, in fact I like Salvatore, Tolkien, Card, and Niven better, but he has a great story in a fantastic world. Plus he describes everything extremely well.
Rating:
Summary: Finally Jordan is on the path to redemption
Review: For all of those who say that too little happened in A Path of Dagger and A Crown Of Swords I agree with you. Jordan could have not written those two books and nothing would have changed. Yet in this book he does not give the reader a whole lot (certainly less than in the first five books), but there are some monumental changes that make this book worth reading if you wish to read the rest of the series. For those who truley loved the first five give this one a try and read it all the way to the end and you will find that the series is starting to pick up again.
Rating: 
Summary: I give up...
Review: This series started out fantastically, but having read Terry Goodkind(now that's a man that knows how to save a series!) and others, Jordan is a waste of my time. This is the first book I will have ever only partially read. I've read 200 pages or so and have agonized over those. See ya 'round Jordan.
Rating: 
Summary: Addiction
Review: Reading Robert Jordan is like being addicted to drugs. Before you read it, you know that you shouldn't do it. It won't be good for you. But you can't help yourself. You have to get that Rand Fix. Once you start, you can't stop. But when its over, you are left feeling a little worse than before. You realize that the reality does not match with the expectation. Robert Jordan needs to have something happen in his books. There are a number of storylines that are started and dropped. Why even start the book with Perrin and Faile? Their story disappears. What is the need to introduce "Seekers of Truth"? We all know that Terry Goodkind has taken liberties in the "Sword or Truth" series, but why does Jordan recipricate. Robert Jordan needs to get the story moving. We need to finish some stories and create new, and more interesting, plots surrounding Rand.
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