Rating: Summary: Superb! Review: The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan is right up there with The Great Hunt. The book mainly focuses on Rand Al'thor, now thought to be the Dragon Reborn (if not quite sure himself), desperately making his way to the nation Tear, where he will try to fulfill a Prophecy. Until Callandor (the sword prophecised to be wielded only by the Dragon Reborn; The Sword That is Not a Sword) is in his hands, he will deny his destiny as the Lews therin reborn.Mat Cauthon is on his way to the White Tower with Verin Sedai, Egwene, Nynaeve and the Daughter-Heir of Andor, Elayne where he will be healed of the darkness that was brought upon by the evil dagger that was found in ruined city of Shadar Logoth. Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne are in search for the darkly rumored Black Ajah that reside in The White Tower by order of the Amrylin Seat. Perrin, Loial, Moiraine and her Warder Lan, are in pursuit of Rand Al'thor. Perrin slowly starts to except his loss of humanity, and his fate as a wolf. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dragon Reborn is a very adventurous book, with unforegettable characters, an amazing working world, and complex story. This book is an absolute must buy!
Rating: Summary: Awesome read Review: This out of all Jordan's novels reads the quickest. I was impressed to say the least how good it was and how it kept my attention on every page. Definitly worth owning and reading over and over.
Rating: Summary: Slows Down and Falls into a Pattern of "Hurry Up and Wait" Review: Dragon Reborn is a major letdown after the rousing conclusion of the Great Hunt, which is the best of this series. Having read through to POD (and NO FURTHER), I have come back to find the source of Jordan's malaise, and I have found it. Its called: Dragon Reborn. In this book we catch our first glimpse of Jordan's oft-repeated problems with pacing. What happens in this book? Let's see . . . Rand has a major battle in the beginning of the book (although Jordan seems to simply chuck this battle into the book without any apparent rationale). The battle seems like an attempt to inject some action (this device is repeated in later books). Then, for NO REASON, Rand goes off on his own to the Stone of Tear. Why? Don't ask, its never clearly answered, except that Rand claims to have found some clues to the last battle in some ancient texts. Then . . . Rand disappears! Gone. Bye Bye. No more Rand until the end of the book. What happens next is the fantasy world's equivalent of the Road Trip. Everyone else takes off and tries to follow Rand. Along the way, we meet more people, each with their own agendas and missions. Of course, Jordan can't simply introduce meaningless characters so everyone is vitally important to the plot and will appear ad infinitum in the next books. In fact, his book is entirely exposition. Nothing is resolved until the last couple of pages, and we get another anti-climatic battle between Rand and the bad guys. And by resolution, I am speaking of something minor. (when Jordan has a resolution, it is usually contrived, as in Rand's convenient teleportation to fight a foresaken, or so minor as to not have tied up any lose ends) In the meantime, Jordan reveals his difficulty with pacing. Jordan is so intent on describing the mundane, that he slows his story to a dead halt in order to accomplish this. For example, Perrin and the group almost at the Stone of Tear when Jordan has Perrin stop off at a blacksmith's shop (why? its not a plot device, Perrin just does it). The chapter is then about the tug of war in Perrin about his decision to either fight for Rand (the sword) or lead a peaceful life (the anvil). A really subtle writer could accomplish this in a better fashion than to write a painfully long and clumsy chapter near the climax of the book. But even Jordan fans must admit that a man who routinely writes 800 page books is probably not the most subtle person. Jordan has shown in this book his tendency to drag things along for eons and then put a flurry of meaningless activity within a chapter. This is NOT good story telling. This is like reading the instructional manual for your VCR: descriptive, maybe even interesting, but NOT a page turner.
Rating: Summary: an excellent addision to an already fantastic series Review: Robert Jordan has done it again the third book in the wheel of time saga proves to be one of the best it not only advances the plot but introduces a new charactors. in his seris Robert Jordan has redifined the art of writing fantasy. Battle scense are incredable to read in his writing although you will want to jump right into this book make sure you have read the other two #1-eye of the world #2-the great hunt once you have started this seris you cant stop I await the brand new novel which will make (I think) the 9th book in the series
Rating: Summary: A Solid Continuation Review: Both a fine story and an apt continuation, The Dragon Reborn captures readers in much the same fashion as its predecessors. However, I'm still not entirely sold on the idea of certain plot devices which allow us to glimpse the future - 'the world of dreams', Min's visions and certain ter'angreal - because they give the impression that the character's choices will ultimately turn out 'alright' in the end (a sense of destiny). There's nothing really wrong with that, in fact it adds an epic quality to the situation, but it does tend to lessen the drama. Still, it's not enough to significantly detract from the quality of the characters and storyline, which have now become so unique and familiar that you genuinely care what happens to them. On to book 4...
Rating: Summary: Great fantasy Review: Like the first two of the series, in this third volume, Jordan's character development and his development of the fantasy characteristics of his world entice us with tidbits of power that the characters and ourselves can only wait to find out. Again, this is a VERY enjoyable volume, with the suggestion that if not, you read "The Eye of the World" and "The Great Hunt" before this one. If, somehow, after reading the first two volumes, you are not completely hooked by this one, then all I can say is: escape now while you can!
Rating: Summary: Slickly written but loosing focus Review: This book is slickly written but as I said the huge number of charecters is making the series unwieldly, cracks are already starting to show with the group splitting up. Sub Plots are already gaining momentum, which was expected considering the number of main charecters in the first two books. The series continues to pick up more charecters with each release without loosing any. None the less an enjoyable book in an enjoyable series which doesnt seem to come to an end in the near future
Rating: Summary: Not enough to keep me going Review: What a disappointment. When I first saw Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, I did not think I could go wrong. I was thrilled at the prospect of reading a mega-series that would keep me hooked for years. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm faded throughout the first two books and died with the third installment. I raised my brows in curiosity after "The Eye of the World," rubbed them in weariness after "The Great Hunt," and finally shut the lights off on the series upon finishing "The Dragon Reborn." To be fair, it was fascinating to follow a storyline with such an epic scope, and the ending was fairly exciting. Everything goes downhill from there. The characters all have such grim personalities that the book should come equipped with some Prozac. Speaking of characters, where's Rand? It would seem to me that a book in this series having the word "Dragon" in the title might feature the "dragon" as a main player. It would seem that I am sorely mistaken. Apparently Jordan decided to pull a fast one on his faithful readers. If you enjoyed this book and feel the need to keep going with the series, there can only be brighter skies ahead. However, if you are just starting "The Wheel of Time" and are having second thoughts about continuing, save your Andrew Jackson for a gallon of gasoline.
Rating: Summary: DERIVATIVE! Review: As much as I would like to praise this book, I can't. I was thrilled at the prospect of reading through this "mega-series," but all of my enthusiam died with its third installment. If you are a fan of the traditional common-person-that-is-chosen-to-save-the-world-with-a-magic-weapon esque fantasy, then this series is your dream come true. If you are someone like me, who enjoys a little bit of innovation in their reading, forget it. After reading part one ("Eye of The World") my eyebrow was raised. After part two ("The Great Hunt") I was rubbing my eyes. Finally, after slaving through the 700 page snoozefest that was "The Dragon Reborn," I decided to turn the lights off on "The Wheel of Time" series. My complaints are many. It is impossible to care for the characters--I could not care less if they all caught the plague and died. In fact, Robert Jordan would be doing his readers a huge favor by killing off his characters, as all of them have such grim personalities that I felt depressed each time that I closed the book for the night. Yes, the storyline does have some strong points (such as the predictable ending), but those don't even begin to make up for the sheer boredom that the rest of the plot exhibits. Robert Jordan is a rich enough man already. Don't give him your hard-earned money.
Rating: Summary: Slickly written and plotted like a soap opera Review: Robert Jordan's still-growing mega-series "The Wheel of Time" is a flatly derivative venture. Notwithstanding the basic concept (an epic fantasy of struggle against a supernatural Dark Lord in an imaginary world of swords and sorcerers), which so obviously is owed to Tolkien, it is not hard to identify passages or scenes in each of the first three books of this series that have been borrowed (or, if you prefer, "stolen") wholesale from movies, television series and other forms of popular culture. Robert Jordan has put a great deal of thought into fleshing out his imaginary lands, the people who inhabit them and the rules under which they act, but there should be no mistaking this author for something original; he has mixed inputs from a number of sources and has little to say that is truly his own. The salient question for someone thinking about reading this book, though, is does any of that matter? At this point, decades after Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" first saw print, it is unlikely that anyone who reads epic fantasy does so with the aim of discovering real originality; it is more likely that the reader is looking for a whiz-bang good time, a fast-paced page turner, a vehicle of pure escapist entertainment. It is on that level that all of "The Wheel of Time," including this volume (#3), is to be evaluated. In this light, Jordan both succeeds and fails. His story chugs along nicely. He brings his characters into confrontation with suitably serious dangers and brings them out satisfactorily (which is to say, no one of any import is going to die). His descriptions are competent, and (as I have written before of the earlier two volumes in this series) his imaginary world lives and breathes as well as, or better than, any of his characters, and this in large part is the point of epic fantasy. On the other hand, giving Rand al'Thor the status of the "Dragon Reborn," with all the prophetic/magical baggage that title implies, results in an anticlimactic ending (is there any doubt as to whether or not he'll be able to reach the magic sword to vanquish his enemy?) that seems earned about as much as a lottery win. The characters are so single-minded and resistant to change as to test the patience of any reader, and there is little time spent letting us get truly acquainted with them; plot is everything. The plot in this case is more complex than in "Eye of the World" or "Great Hunt," both of which were basically extended chases, but it still amounts to a series of events designed to pull each of the players (in four distinct groups) to the same city at the same time such that the last three chapters can unfold the way Jordan intends. If you're getting the impression that I hated this book, don't, because I did enjoy it; I could not have slogged through three 700-page books without enjoying them on some level. Robert Jordan is nearly to epic fantasy what Stephen King is to horror or Tom Clancy to techno-thrillers; what this means is that his books are the equivalent of a theme park thrill ride: a good time is had by all, and you want to get in line for more, but the thrills are brief and short-lived, and won't stay with you for long--only until the next installment of the series.
|