Rating: 
Summary: Winters Heart- reenergizer to a great series
Review: Winters Heart had just what the series needed, the beginning of the long trip down to the end of the road. Some questions answered along the way. And most of all some direct action taken against the bad guy(s). I dont want to give anything away but the book is great As most Jordan readers know, he kind of got things dragging a bit with the last few books, but Winters Heart definately gets things moving again and with the events at the end of the book things should really get moving in the next book.
Rating: 
Summary: big plot still inching forward like a glacier
Review: This book seems to move a few strands of the plot forward a bit. In that regard, it does move more briskly than the previous two books. But to put it in perspective, over the course of nearly 700 pages, it advances the timeline of the story by about three or four weeks. This series is certainly addictive. So is nicotine.
Rating: 
Summary: There are no endings to the Wheel of Time...
Review: It is hard to come away from reading this latest book in the WoT series and not give credit to the critics who charge that Mr. Jordan is only for the money at this point. In 600+ pages, no effort is made to progress the plot that has become very stale over the last few books. This latest book doesn't even have a complete sub-plot, rather it closes some sub-plots from previous books and starts new ones.I have come to expect more from Mr. Jordan and whether he only now cares for the money, has run out of ideas, or has taken to writing only while on weekend long benders the result is the same; a poor ending to a great start. I will buy the next book(s) just to finish it out, but they will be from the used book store and not pre-ordered at full price. At least then I will get my money's worth.
Rating: 
Summary: Meandering and Self-Indulgent
Review: I'm not sure why I was disappointed by this book - I should have seen the pattern developing for a while now. Why should I have even hoped that Jordan would begin wrapping up the loose ends and trying to resolve this series? He's shown no signs of forward movement in any of the last 3 books, and this is no exception. I'm not going to go into too much detail, lest that spoil anyone's "enjoyment" (if such a thing is possible). I'll just say that Egwene and her war on the White Tower are completely ignored, Perrin makes only a token appearance that accomplishes nothing except to burn a couple of hundred pages, Mat still hasn't made it out of Ebou Dar, and Elayne and Aviendha go nowhere and don't do much in Caemlyn. At the end of the book (aside from one event in the last chapter that drops out of the blue and is never adequately explained [how did he work out a problem that had stumped the world's best minds for ages?]) we're no further along than we were when we began. Jordan's contempt for his "fans" is clear. He has no intention of wrapping this up in 10 or even 12 books. He's found a cash cow that he intends to milk for at least 15, if people are stupid enough to go along. Personally, I don't intend to be reading these books when he finally gives up and finishes 10 years from now. It's a pity, because there was a good six-book series buried in here somewhere.
Rating:
Summary: What the hell?
Review: Is Jordan now going to have 12 books in the series? Only two things really get resolved in the whole book. When I was reading this it felt like it was something that was rushed, almost like it was written by someone else. I am disapointed in this book. The rest of the series is wonderful, but this book seems to be the sequel that is terrible by itself, but you have to read it to finish the series. Lately the books in the WoT series have been getting much shorter, and I am wondering if Jordan will end up writing more than eleven books by the time this series raps up.
Rating:
Summary: Smoke and Mirrors in Winter's Heart
Review: I sincerely hope that the next book is the last, and that this one is only meant to be a bridge to let all the action play itself out to a satisfactory conclusion. I have been waiting a long while for this sequel, and I was most disappointed. There is very little of anything resembling action in these pages. I am a loyal RJ fan, and have bought each book the second it became available, but this is the first time I was able to actually put one down for a couple of days. NOTHING HAPPENED UNTIL THE VERY LAST FOUR PAGES OR SO! It was an excercise in annoyance. Mat's storyline was just beginning to get interesting when it ended. Perrin didn't actually do anything. Elayne, Min and Aviendah certainly had potential, but that was all they had. Rand only really needed to be in the last four pages. All and all, it was quite a let down. Buy it, put it on the shelf, and wait for the reviews on the next book before you bother to open it. I know I will.
Rating:
Summary: Jordan's series getting drawn out and out of hand
Review: Unlike some of the other negative reviewers, I thoroughly enjoyed books 1-hmm... about 5 or so. I enjoyed parts of 6,7,8,9, but I agree with Jordan's detractors wholeheartedly: the books could benefit from tighter plot lines and less childish characters. I consider myself an intelligent person, but I have an unbelievably difficult time keeping straight the myriad of names and plot lines. That's probably why I'll always love books 1-3, because as the series continued so many plot lines were introduced and so many new characters, that my mind just started swimming. I've been reduced to enjoying the few parcels that Jordan doles out from time to time, like Rand's rescue in book 6... I can't even remember one from book 8. Path of Daggers was unbelievably frustrating and inconclusive. Winter's Heart does tie up a few things, but almost unbelievably at book 9 starts introducing a couple of new twists that remain untied. Another complaint about this and other books in the series is that the big conclusions at the end always seem to be rushed, and lacking (a big switch) in detail. It's as if he runs out of steam and is hurrying to meet a deadline or something. If he wants to put great detail in things, I wouldn't mind if more was put into the truly engrossing parts of the story. I wouldn't mind learning more about how Rand figured out anything about saidin being cleansed, and I would certainly like to know more about Lews Therin in his mind than some cackles of mad laughter. I hate how there are so many untied ends, how I feel like I'll never learn anything at all about some of the interesting things (like the world beyond the doorway ter'angreal, the Age of Legends, etc...) oh well. I'll continue to read, but the magic just seems gone for me. If you want a great series, try George Martin. To me the characters aren't as compelling or interesting as Rand, Mat, Perrin and company were in the first novels, but at least I feel like I have a handle on what's going on and that things are continually moving.
Rating:
Summary: Winter's Heart
Review: The book is ok. SOMETHING finally happens. But Mr. Jordan's seemingly endless colthing discriptions may do him well in getting a job at Vogue but after nine books it's getting a bit old. Have you all noticed that the tpye is getting larger and the space between the lines seems to be expanding? Good tactics - less writing means more money faster. If you want more book for your bucks read George R.R. Martin. His is a tale you can sink your teeth into.
Rating:
Summary: Winters Heart
Review: The first 6 books are my favourite books, but the series has gone rapidly down hill. 7 and 8 were ok just very slow paced. But this book takes the biscuit. Nothing happens until the last 30 pages (out of 650) I kid you not. I will probably give Jordan one last chance ( being hooked on the series) but this book sucks bad due to the entire lack of action or plot.
Rating:
Summary: Kind of like "Phantom Menace" in a way....
Review: After so long, long-time readers of Jordan's WOT series all have images of how the series should go, end, etc. I'm no different, but I'm making my comments with the belief that Jordan knows what he's doing and that he can write 600+ pg. books a lot better than I can! So, that said, here go my comments on Winter's Heart. If you haven't read the book and you want to remain completely spoiler-free, read no further. I won't spoil everything, but.... I agree that all of the original main characters should be in every book and that all of the secondary characters (most Aes Sedai, all Shaido, all but two Wise Ones, you get the picture) should die quick deaths, including all of the Forsaken who died once before! On the other hand, just about every noteworthy character is at least seen in Winter's Heart (only Loial, Gawyn, Galad, and Siuan, that I remember, are missing). And some stories are seen in the 1st 100 pgs. only to disappear (Logain, White Tower). But important things happen to most of the main characters. We also learn who Osan'gar is, who probably killed Asmodean, we finally see Mat's prophecied love, and the final chapter is a long-awaited event, too! That's one problem I think people have -- everything's been prophecied! Rand going nuts, Mat meeting Moons, Rand loving 3 women. But it's gratifying to me to see them come true. Some scenes are done very well -- the final chapter and most of Mat's saga. I would have included more of Rand/Elayne, Robert Jordan seems to have an aversion to their romance (refer to them in Tear), as opposed to his with Aviendha and Min. They are my favorite couple, however, since I've accepted that Rand & Egwene will never hook up. "Phantom Menace" again. That's the one thing that grates. All in all, pretty darn good. I read somewhere that RJ has everything noted out, so he's got a plan. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
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