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Title: New Spring (Jordan, Robert, Wheel of Time.) by Robert Jordan, Kate Reading, Michael Kramer ISBN: 1-55927-952-4 Publisher: Audio Renaissance Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 6 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.04 (209 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Bored....
Comment: When I first picked up the Eye of the World, I didn't know what to expect. I was captivated by Jordan's smooth writing style that keeps you turning pages. As I progressed into the series into books 6-7 I felt Jordan needed to wrap it up soon, he was getting long winded and the story wasn't going anywhere. So I figured I would just wait until the end of the series to pick it up again. But Jordan wants to milk a cow that is out of milk. From the reviews I have read on amazon.com I am not the only one thinking Jordan should finish the series in 1, 2, 3 books at the most. I think the reason it sometimes takes him 2-3 years to write a book is that he is out of ideas. So he writes a short(by his standards) prequel to hold the reader of. He now numbers 2 or 3 prequels but the end is still no where in site. Do yourself a favor, save your money, wait until the entire series is finished, then buy the entire series.
Rating: 4
Summary: Considerably better than Crossroads of Twilight
Comment: Those familiar with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series know that a great many readers have something of a love/hate relationship with it. On the one hand, the world in which the story takes place is meticulously constructed, diverse and highly immersive, a true joy to read about. Some of his characters are quite intriguing, and his numerous subplots were always enough to keep readers highly involved. On the other hand, his series has two huge defects. First, almost every single female character is cut from exactly the same mold; Jordan says he wanted to write "strong" women, but what he means is that they behave like arrogant, spoiled teenagers who see men as little more than beasts of burden. I've read a number of strong women in literature, and met a number of them in my life, and none acts the least bit like Jordan's harpies. The second problem is that in the later volumes of the series, "glacial" doesn't even begin to describe the pacing. At least glaciers make progress once in awhile.
New Spring, thankfully, rectifies the latter problem. It moves along at a fine pace, keeping the reader interested from beginning to end. It's a measure of the depth of Jordan's story that even those of us who have read through the whole Wheel of Time series numerous times can find plenty of interest in this latest volume. A number of long-standing questions are resolved to greater or lesser extent in this book:
- What history does Elaida have with Moiraine and Siuan?
- What is the nature of the test to become full Aes Sedai?
- What happened to the other Malkieri following the fall of their nation?
- Why does Siuan suspect that Cadsuane is Black Ajah?
- What was the "unpleasantness" following the Aiel War that Cadsuane has referred to?
- How did Moiraine meet Lan?
- What was Lan's life like before he met Moiraine?
- How was the Tower involved in the fall of Malkier?
As you probably know, New Spring first appeared in short story form quite some time ago, and sometime following its release, Jordan's publishers at Tor convinced him to expand it into a novel, since he had told them that there was a great deal of the story he had to leave out in order to fit it into the space he was given. Keep in mind that I have never read the compressed version of this book, so I cannot compare the two, and tell you what was added or expanded in the novel form. However, the book doesn't read like a very short story that's been lengthened to fit a higher page count, not at all.
The other thing of note is that a number of sections in this book are written with Lan as the point-of-view character, which is an interesting experience, since I don't think Jordan has ever used him as such in the standard Wheel of Time books. Lan's character is already much as it will be about eighteen years later, when the opening events of the series proper take place, but the look into his mind is still fun.
The other main characters, Moiraine and Siuan, do show a little difference from their older counterparts that we're used to. Moiraine in particular is interesting to read, as she really comes across as a younger version of herself: determined and capable of great focus, but yet to attain the dignity and composure we're used to seeing from her. Siuan is a bit of a different story -- she seems to change rather rapidly after becoming Aes Sedai -- but it's still interesting seeing her as a younger woman.
In summary, despite some of the low reviews it's received, this book is well worth the purchase for Wheel of Time fans who miss the much better pacing of the first several books of the series. I wouldn't strongly recommend reading it if you've never read Jordan before, as it's better to have the background information from his full-size novels first, but if you're set on doing so, you should be able to pick up enough to keep from getting lost. An excellent purchase.
Rating: 4
Summary: Only one complaint
Comment: I will never think that Robert Jordan is a skilled writer; his use of cliché is horrifying, the redundancy of his characters is annoying and the way he constantly makes comments like: "in the stories, heros never..." drives me crazy. His prose is terrible, but his ability draw you into the details of the story is amazing. This book is a perfect example; not much happens, but what does happen is fascinating, especially if you have read the other books. Moraine and Siuan become human, which is a nice change from the typically annoying Aes Sedi pride. There is a lot of history, and much less clutching of skirts (and absolutely no pulling of anyone's braid!). It was a fun quick read with a lot of details that readers of the WoT series will appreciate. My one complaint is that now, instead of waiting for one new book in a series, I will be waiting for two.
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Title: Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time, Book 10) by Robert Jordan ISBN: 0812571339 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 25 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time (Wheel of Time (Hardcover)) by Robert Jordan, Teresa Patterson, Todd Cameron Hamilton ISBN: 0312862199 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4) by George R. R. Martin ISBN: 0553801503 Publisher: Spectra Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2005 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Jarka Ruus (High Druid of Shannara, Book 1) by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345435737 Publisher: Del Rey Books Pub. Date: 26 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1) by Robert Jordan ISBN: 0812511816 Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates Pub. Date: 01 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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