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Hoo boy, folks this is going to be a long rambling mess, I did a lot of reading last week and additionally was unable to post as I usually do about the week prior, so bear with me if you can ...
Ramblin' Rand, or One Crazy Mutha
Rand is a guest start in his own book, he disappears early one, and makes a bee line for Tear, The Stone, and Callandor, all while teaching himself to use the Power and going (apparently) rather batshit crazy. I'm not really sure what to make of the crazy since we don't get a whole lot of it, and it seems to disappear almost completely in the next book. Maybe its the pattern forcing him to do what must be done, weaving a course correction to ensure that Rand is proclaimed the Dragon and set on the road to Tarmon Gaiden. What we get are little two and three page vignettes that break up the narrative every 50 or so pages between the other 3 foci of the story. In some ways its not enough, but in others its just the right amount.
See You in Anotha Life Wolf Brotha
Perrin keeps falling into the rabbit hole of Wolf-brotherhood. He starts visiting Tel'aran'rhiod and finds, much to his surprise, that Hopper is there, despite having died. It seems that wolves, like the Heroes of the Horn, hang out in the world of dreams between lives. Perrin oscillates between pushing his gifts away, and embracing them, often in the same scene. One gets the impression he'd keep all the physical enhancements if he could leave behind all the mental aspects.
Speaking of Dreams
Egwene gets the infamous Möbius ring from Verin and starts going into the dream world as well. What she sees there she doesn't understand, nor even control, but its clear that this is something that will become a focus for her in the coming story. We also see her and the others get captured while going to Tear, and lets just say that Egwene has a few issues about that after her time with the Seanchan. What she, Elayne, and Nyneave do to the Myrrdraal is a frightening display of how powerful a weapon the One Power can become.
Oh yeah, and Nyneave manages to "accidentally" discover balefire, which just goes to show you, do not piss off a channeler with the kind of power she has at her disposal.
Aiel and Falcons, new characters, new companions
Perrin rescues Gaul from a town where he had improbably been captured by a pair of Hunters for the Horn. He disappears just as quickly, but we get a chance to see that Perrin is by far the solid rock at the center of the Ta'verene trifoil. For his trouble he gets a girlfriend, whom he dislikes initially. Faile is a Hunter for the Horn, at least until she finds out that its been found (oops). The attraction between her and Perrin is almost immediate, as is their resistance to the same. Its amusing watching them spiral around each other on a collision course, especially Perrin, who is oblivious to the entire thing.
We also meet the threesome of Bain, Chiad, and Aviendha, (and Rhuarc) who are, like Gaul, looking for He Who Comes With the Dawn, a.k.a. The Dragon Reborn, a.k.a. Rand. We get to see for ourselves that the Aiel are indeed as dangerous as we've heard (and then some), as well as some insight into their culture (sister bonds, wise ones, maidens of the spear, etc). Many of the Aiel will come to be among my favorite characters of the series, and its clear that RJ really loved these people and their culture as he created it.
Speaking of Fan Favs ... Mat's Back
Healed of the tainted influence of Shadar Logoth, Mat quickly reestablishes his irascible nature and banishes the asshole-ish behavior he had for a book and a half before. He also establishes his nature as ta'veren and the luckiest man in Randland. By the time he leaves Tar Valon, headed for Camlyn with a letter from Elayne in hand, he's left a wake of broke gamblers behind him, and made the laws of probability into mere suggestions.
Hazy memory aside he also quickly demonstrates that just because Rand is a One Power using blademaster, and Perrin can fight with a berserker wolfen ferocity and strength, does not mean that he's a slouch in the combat department. With a quarterstaff he bests Galad and Gawyn well before he regains his full strength and stamina after being Healed. A handful of other combats show that martial prowess and extreme luck will make him a force to be reckoned with.
Forsaken and you; how to rule the world in 1 easy step...
The forsaken are loose. It's official now, and before the book ends we have clear indication that Sammael is IN CHARGE in Illian, and that somebody (Rhavin) has all but taken over in Andor. We also have strong hints that somebody else controls Tear (his name escapes me, but he doesn't escape Moiraine's balefire, ouch). Apparently phase one of the Dark One's plan to ruin the world was to destabilize nations, and set up an environ for war. Seems to be going rather well at the moment, actually. Score one for Ishmael.
And all the rest
The stables of the Dark are filling out (and will continue to do so for a little while longer), Grey Men make their first appearance. So bland that they are invisible. Soulless. Assassins. They seem to be in ample supply and provide the main thrust of the Dark's offense during the first 3/4 of the book.
Darkhounds too make a showing. Demon dogs who leave no tracks save on hard stone, they cannot be outrun, once on your trail you just have to turn and face them, or they will run you down in time.
Ramblin' Rand, or One Crazy Mutha
Rand is a guest start in his own book, he disappears early one, and makes a bee line for Tear, The Stone, and Callandor, all while teaching himself to use the Power and going (apparently) rather batshit crazy. I'm not really sure what to make of the crazy since we don't get a whole lot of it, and it seems to disappear almost completely in the next book. Maybe its the pattern forcing him to do what must be done, weaving a course correction to ensure that Rand is proclaimed the Dragon and set on the road to Tarmon Gaiden. What we get are little two and three page vignettes that break up the narrative every 50 or so pages between the other 3 foci of the story. In some ways its not enough, but in others its just the right amount.
See You in Anotha Life Wolf Brotha
Perrin keeps falling into the rabbit hole of Wolf-brotherhood. He starts visiting Tel'aran'rhiod and finds, much to his surprise, that Hopper is there, despite having died. It seems that wolves, like the Heroes of the Horn, hang out in the world of dreams between lives. Perrin oscillates between pushing his gifts away, and embracing them, often in the same scene. One gets the impression he'd keep all the physical enhancements if he could leave behind all the mental aspects.
Speaking of Dreams
Egwene gets the infamous Möbius ring from Verin and starts going into the dream world as well. What she sees there she doesn't understand, nor even control, but its clear that this is something that will become a focus for her in the coming story. We also see her and the others get captured while going to Tear, and lets just say that Egwene has a few issues about that after her time with the Seanchan. What she, Elayne, and Nyneave do to the Myrrdraal is a frightening display of how powerful a weapon the One Power can become.
Oh yeah, and Nyneave manages to "accidentally" discover balefire, which just goes to show you, do not piss off a channeler with the kind of power she has at her disposal.
Aiel and Falcons, new characters, new companions
Perrin rescues Gaul from a town where he had improbably been captured by a pair of Hunters for the Horn. He disappears just as quickly, but we get a chance to see that Perrin is by far the solid rock at the center of the Ta'verene trifoil. For his trouble he gets a girlfriend, whom he dislikes initially. Faile is a Hunter for the Horn, at least until she finds out that its been found (oops). The attraction between her and Perrin is almost immediate, as is their resistance to the same. Its amusing watching them spiral around each other on a collision course, especially Perrin, who is oblivious to the entire thing.
We also meet the threesome of Bain, Chiad, and Aviendha, (and Rhuarc) who are, like Gaul, looking for He Who Comes With the Dawn, a.k.a. The Dragon Reborn, a.k.a. Rand. We get to see for ourselves that the Aiel are indeed as dangerous as we've heard (and then some), as well as some insight into their culture (sister bonds, wise ones, maidens of the spear, etc). Many of the Aiel will come to be among my favorite characters of the series, and its clear that RJ really loved these people and their culture as he created it.
Speaking of Fan Favs ... Mat's Back
Healed of the tainted influence of Shadar Logoth, Mat quickly reestablishes his irascible nature and banishes the asshole-ish behavior he had for a book and a half before. He also establishes his nature as ta'veren and the luckiest man in Randland. By the time he leaves Tar Valon, headed for Camlyn with a letter from Elayne in hand, he's left a wake of broke gamblers behind him, and made the laws of probability into mere suggestions.
Hazy memory aside he also quickly demonstrates that just because Rand is a One Power using blademaster, and Perrin can fight with a berserker wolfen ferocity and strength, does not mean that he's a slouch in the combat department. With a quarterstaff he bests Galad and Gawyn well before he regains his full strength and stamina after being Healed. A handful of other combats show that martial prowess and extreme luck will make him a force to be reckoned with.
Forsaken and you; how to rule the world in 1 easy step...
The forsaken are loose. It's official now, and before the book ends we have clear indication that Sammael is IN CHARGE in Illian, and that somebody (Rhavin) has all but taken over in Andor. We also have strong hints that somebody else controls Tear (his name escapes me, but he doesn't escape Moiraine's balefire, ouch). Apparently phase one of the Dark One's plan to ruin the world was to destabilize nations, and set up an environ for war. Seems to be going rather well at the moment, actually. Score one for Ishmael.
And all the rest
The stables of the Dark are filling out (and will continue to do so for a little while longer), Grey Men make their first appearance. So bland that they are invisible. Soulless. Assassins. They seem to be in ample supply and provide the main thrust of the Dark's offense during the first 3/4 of the book.
Darkhounds too make a showing. Demon dogs who leave no tracks save on hard stone, they cannot be outrun, once on your trail you just have to turn and face them, or they will run you down in time.
