Wednesday, August 24, 2005

I'm excited for the New Robert Jordan novel

I'm a sucker for an extremely positive review. I really am. It's been several years since Jordan released The Crossroads of Twilight, and while I enjoyed it because I like getting to step into that world, it was a let down after the incredibly strong ending of Winter's Heart. That book ended with something that blew me away, but Crossroads spent 3/4 of the book getting every secondary character up to that event. A little frustrating because we know what is happening even if every other character does not.

So, a couple of years later and my excitement for the series has been tempered through time and reflective disappointment. That's gone now and I'm really excited for the new book. Why? The review I linked above. A paragraph like this builds my interest:
I was surprised when the first plot thread was completed. I thought to myself, "Will I ever read about this person again? Could it actually be possible that I've read their entire story now?" I stopped thinking that to myself by the time Jordan wrapped up his 4th or 5th plot line. Then more story lines got wrapped up, at least to the extent where I don't need to hear about a certain character again without feeling cheated. All of the major plot lines advance. Some are completed. (Have fun with that statement on the message boards). Lots of smaller plot lines are resolved or brought near conclusion. I haven't done a full count, but a few days after the book's released I'm sure every website will have a tally going.

and these lines
This book contains more death and dying than any other WoT novel. Talk about a body count! Not to mention a lot of answers to questions we've been asking for a while.
. What this means for me is that the series is going somewhere. It's going to end and we can see Jordan taking us to the end. There is storyline progression, something that feels lacking in the past several books (except for the major event of Book 9).

Big stuff is happening in the Wheel of Time, and if Jordan can finish of this book and the next (and thus the series) with the bang we're being promised...the faith of many readers will be restored and the series will potentially be elevated as one of the great ones and the weaker middle books will be just that "Well, it slowed down a bit in books 6-8, and 10, but it closed out with a bang!". One can hope.

But...does Jordan answer the Ultimate Question?

Who killed Asmodean?

1 comment:

Amanda said...

YEAH!!!!!!!! Who DID kill Asmodean?!?!?! I wanna know!