Rating: 
Summary: Excellent story, well-rounded characters
Review: I've read all of Martha Wells' books, and was waiting for this book with high hopes. I was not disappointed.The story is basically a swords-and-sorcery fantasy, with a murder mystery or two thrown in for good measure; the main character is a priestess/magician who really does not like to lose her temper or use her powers, for reasons which become clear pretty quickly. Early in the book she acquires a side-kick, a sword-toting outcast, who starts following her around and protecting her, more or less against her will. But she definitely needs the help. Wells pulls off a "saving the universe as we know it" type yarn with a minimum of deus-ex-machina (always a danger in this kind of plot). The ending wraps up nearly everything, while practically screaming "Sequel!", but for once I didn't mind. Wells pays attention to the very smallest details in the story; bits of information about the world, the religions of the people, what they eat, and so forth. The reason for this, I believe, is that the book looks like it's the first in a series, and she has done an exceptional job designing the world that the characters in future stories will inhabit. If I'm wrong, well that still doesn't change the fact that I'm eagerly looking forward to her next book.
Rating:
Summary: Great World-Building, interesting protagonist
Review: In WHEEL OF THE INFINITE, Martha Wells has created a fascinating world and belief structure. Each year, the priests and 'voices' must create a microcosm of the world. The connection between the 'wheel' and the world is causal. If they are unable to recreate the world, chaos may result. Maskelle, voice of the Adversary, has lost faith in herself at the same time as the wheel is threatened by a powerful over-writing. Unless Maskelle can overcome her doubts, the world may be destroyed. Maskelle is an intriguing protagonist. Her doubts are understandable as she killed her husband in response to a false prophecy. For the most part, however, the other characters lack the dimensions shown by Maskelle. The motivation of Maskelle's love interest, in particular, is unclear. Still, Wells' writing moves the story along with a good mix of adventure, magic, and a world you'll want to return to. ....
Rating: 
Summary: Infinitely Intriguing
Review: Martha Wells's "Wheel of the Infinite" just might be the most sensual medieval fantasy ever written. There's nothing cute about it. Nearly all the characters are adults (well, there's a strange cursed puppet and a girl in her early teens turns up at the end, and there are those strange flying things . . . ), and they act adult. Set in a tropical climate during the rainy season you'll start feeling as wet and as sleepless (the protagonists don't manage a full night of sleep during the tale, and you probably won't until you finish it) as do Ms. Wells's characters.. The exiled and cursed Maskelle, "Voice of the Adversary," returns to the civil and religious capital, Duvalpore, in time for the 100-year rite, in which the wheel of the book's title is renewed. On her homeward-bound journey she acquires a swordsman, Rian, and a troupe of actors. Upon their return they are soon caught up in the usual intrigue among the civil and religious authorities and there's a murder mystery to be solved. Something bad is happening to that wheel. But what? Who? Why? Has somebody created a knockoff wheel somewhere close by? And just when it looks as if Maskelle's figured it out, you realize you're just past the middle of the book. But that's when things really start to get interesting, as it becomes increasingly clear that this world is very different from our own. Things are resolved neatly at the end, no sequel seems required (although you'll probably hope for one), and indeed in a brief interview with the author at the back none is immediately planned. Wells's smooth prose is as seductive as it is fluid (she's especially brilliant describing the landscape and architecture), and less is always more (in one scene you don't realize that teenaged girl has no clothes on until someone loans her a tunic) as the tale glides back and forth between Maskelle's and Rian's point of view. And unlike most medievaliana, the characters eschew the exaggerated forms of address and exaggerated figures of speech (Maskelle addresses her nominal superior, known as "The Celestial One" in vernacular terms) and there's plenty of bickering and wisecracking back and forth. This one's for the grownups.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner from Ms. Wells
Review: My first experience with Martha Well's work was Death of a Necromancer. I love her ability with character development and her wry sense of humor. Having read that book I quickly sought out her other titles and consumed them (City of Bones being my favorite). Wheel of the Infinite proved to be just as engaging as her previous works and more tightly written than Necromancer. Maskelle, Rian and Ristam are all very engaging, but even the less central characters are well developed and interesting. Add to that a fascinatingly new world view, with an intriguing religion, and Ms. Wells has succeeded in creating a truly engrossing tale.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner from Ms. Wells
Review: My first experience with Martha Well's work was Death of a Necromancer. I love her ability with character development and her wry sense of humor. Having read that book I quickly sought out her other titles and consumed them (City of Bones being my favorite). Wheel of the Infinite proved to be just as engaging as her previous works and more tightly written than Necromancer. Maskelle, Rian and Ristam are all very engaging, but even the less central characters are well developed and interesting. Add to that a fascinatingly new world view, with an intriguing religion, and Ms. Wells has succeeded in creating a truly engrossing tale.
Rating:
Summary: Expect the Unexpected!
Review: Set in a mythical land that has some similarities to ancient India, Wheel of the Infinite deals with the endings and beginnings of cycles.
Maskelle is returning to her native Duvalpore in the company of a troupe of actors. The second highest religious figure in the Celestrial Empire, she had fled Duvalpore years before after a failed coup against the throne inspired by a false vision. Now,at the request of her superior and friend she is returning at a time of great signficance. It is the time of the year rite and also a hundred year rite. On this occasion the world is literally remade from a map of sand laid down on a circular wheel by the priests. Since her false vision Maskelle has been cut off from the Ancestors, and specifically from the Adversary, the power she represented. Now unchancy things are happening, not just in Duvalpore. Her journey home has been dogged with misfortune. When she uses her power it is like lighting a beacon to attract the darker elements of magic. As she comes closer to the city she encounters unnatural creatures. In Duvalpore itself there is more than one mystery waiting for a solution. Maskalle is an interesting protagonist. Quick tempered, generous, honorable. I also liked the fact that she was in her mid 40's and learning to live with her past mistakes. Rian is not your average barbarian sword swinger. Betrayed by his first overlady, nearly killed by his second lord, he is attracted to both the power Maskalle wields as well as her sense of honor. There's also an endearing moment of lack of confidence when he wonders how his appearance stacks up agains Maskalle's previous lovers. Wells has a talent for combining action adventure with political intrigue. The back story is slowly revealed piece by piece as Maskelle moves closer to a confrontation with an unknown enemy whose goal is far more than the destruction of Duvalpore. Expect the unexpected in this story!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: The setting and characters of this book really seemed to come alive. The temples, the rain, mud, the personalities are all vivid and striking. I don't know when I last read a book with a main character as interesting or engaging as the one in this book. The story has creative twists, dry humor, and overall a consistent level of cleverness rarely seen on the fantasy or other fiction shelves. The deft use of language alone makes this book worth reading. The author even includes a thread of romance in this book without being mawkish and sappy. In short, she writes realistically and clearly, without fluff, and yet without being too spare or dull. The drama and intrigue of the book occurs at a both a earthy, character-versus-character level, as well as at a more grand level where the entire world or cosmos is threatened. I found the more earthy elements to be the strength of the novel, while the cosmic struggle was less clear, sparsely described and far less interesting. I've also read City of Bones and the Necromancer novel by this author. This book is as good as or better than Death of the Necromancer (I cannot recommend City of Bones). Martha Wells is on my very short list of authors to check on regularly.
Rating:
Summary: A rich, fast-moving, beautifully-detailed fantasy novel
Review: This book immediately caught me, and I haven't been able to do much else until I finished it. Wheel of the Infinite is set in a world you could imagine as like Cambodia six hundred years ago, with a capital city like Ankor Wat, both an imperial and a religious capital. The temples and palaces of the city form an enormous diagram of magical power, symbolizing the true form of the world. As in other Martha Wells novels, though, magic is entirely real, and the correspondence between the layout of the city and temple rituals and the world flows in both directions--you can change the world by changing the symbols. The heroine Maskelle is an enormously powerful priestess, second in power in the religious hierarchy, whose major blunder in interpreting a prophetic dream ten years before the novel's action caused her disgrace and exile. Now the chief religious feels deeply disturbed about an upcoming, critical, ritual performed every hundred years, and has called her back to the capital. The character Maskelle is a fighter, sarcastic and with an awesome temper. She propels the action through a fast and very enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: An engrossing world building tale with a mystery & romance
Review: Wells has come up with another complete alternative reality world, a la Patricia Wrede. I found the characters witty and captivating and the relationship between Maskelle and Rien, believable and romantic.
Rating:
Summary: Rebuilding the world.
Review: Wells is one of the freshest and most talented fantasy writers working today, and I enjoyed _Wheel of the Infinite_ immensely. The City is loosely based on Angor Wat and you'll catch whispers of Asian and Southeast Asian mythology throughout the book. Maskelle is a refreshing character in the fantasy genre-- an assertive older woman who's come into power and knows her own mind. The other characters are equally well-fleshed out with many deft and light touches that keep the tone from getting too dark. I wasn't completely willing to buy the ending-- a little bit too much Deus ex Machina, and that weakened the book for me a bit. But still, it was a more than servicable read and a commendable stand-alone fantasy novel.
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