Rand al'Thor has finally proclaimed himself as the Dragon Reborn! Throughout the lands, people are flocking to his banner and his support is swelling as Ba'alzamon seizes the aristocratic peerage and increases his control of peoples' minds. But Rand's destiny is too much for him and, while plagued by dreams of a shining, crystal sword, he decides to flee before more people die in his name.
Led by Moiraine, Loial and the rest of Rand’s trusted friends set off in pursuit of him before he is killed or worse - captured by Ba'alzamon and forced to bend to his will. Even as they track Rand, the Amyrlyn Seat sends Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne on an adventure of their own, tasking them to identify and hunt down the Aes Sedai traitors who serve the Dark Lord himself at heart – those that call themselves the Black Ajah . . .
The Good
As I had hoped, The Dragon Reborn is more complicated than The Great Hunt and resumes telling the story from multiple points of view. Although Rand slips as a PoV character for much of the book (somewhat disappointingly), many of the characters Robert Jordan neglected in his second book are really coming into their own. Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne have a particularly good storyline, while Perrin and Mat both have their own, individual story-arks. Jordan also introduces a few new characters in the book, one of which looks to be extremely interesting as (and if) she is developed in later books.
Jordan has really upped the sense of scale in this book and has begun to weave political intrigue into the storyline. He is showing how Ba'alzamon’s plans to conquer the world are moving forward and, at every turn, our heroes are beginning to realise how insurmountable their task is. This gives them a real sense of desperation that I thought was extremely clever and makes the whole story more believable as I could really imagination that Ba'alzamon has been making his plans for three thousand years from his prison of Shayol Ghul!
I know I've mentioned this in earlier reviews, but Jordan's characterisation was superb once again. Each of his characters really reads as an individual and has their own distinct voice, thought processes and reasons behind their actions. This allowed me to relate them to a degree that few other authors have managed and Jordan really seems to have understood that characters make a story truly great, not just the plot!
The Bad
Hmmm, 'the bad' . . . Honestly speaking, I don't think there was anything majorly wrong with The Dragon Reborn! Overall, it was an exciting, well thought-out and masterfully executed book! That being said, Jordan's language did get a little repetitive in places and his tendency to repeat words a few times in as many sentences still persists, which does weaken his writing slightly.
My Thoughts
The Dragon Reborn was absolutely fantastic and I blitzed through it in less than a week! It's exciting, builds the story up for grandeur later in the series and reaffirms exactly why The Wheel of Time is so acclaimed! Like its predecessors, the book is well deserving of its place on my ‘Shelf of Fame’ and is a must read for anyone who wants to read high fantasy at its best!
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