Knife of Dreams FINISHED!

[GOLLUM]

Did you try the quiz?

Nope didn't give that a go...

 

[GOLLUM]

It is the best book since Lord of Chaos though, so thats got to be worth something.

In other words not as good IMO as the first few books in terms of pacing but better than the latter ones so it's a medium paced book comparitively speaking.

Yep Book 12 could see all loose threads tied up too quickly OR a need for a Book 13...

 

[Rosemary]

In other words not as good IMO as the first few books in terms of pacing but better than the latter ones so it's a medium paced book comparitively speaking.

Yep Book 12 could see all loose threads tied up too quickly OR a need for a Book 13...

Hmmmm I don't think I will check this thread until I have read the book

Although I wouldn't mind a Book 13

 

[Shoegaze99]

OR a need for a Book 13...

I'd wager that depends on how well this book sells. Brisk sales, and the story will take a wee bit longer to finish.

 

[GOLLUM]

I'd wager that depends on how well this book sells. Brisk sales, and the story will take a wee bit longer to finish.

I fear you could be right there..

 

[ScottSF]

Just came out in Paperback last week. I'm so glad to be back in that world. About a third of the way in and I am kind of restless to see what Rand does next but I'm into plenty of the other plot lines well enough to have me burning through the pages. It would be nice to see these other plot lines pull toward Rand. One thing I've always liked about the series was how different cultures dealt with women who could channel differently. This is the series that really created my appetite for Fantasy.

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

Just came out in Paperback last week. I'm so glad to be back in that world. About a third of the way in and I am kind of restless to see what Rand does next but I'm into plenty of the other plot lines well enough to have me burning through the pages. It would be nice to see these other plot lines pull toward Rand. One thing I've always liked about the series was how different cultures dealt with women who could channel differently. This is the series that really created my appetite for Fantasy.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through this now. It is certainly a marked improvement over the last 2 or 3 but, as Gollum said earlier, not as well paced and thrilling as his first couple. I think this has to be down to the fragmentation he introduced, having sub characters splinter away into seperate parts of the country.
To use Knife of Dreams as an example we have:
Mat travelling from Murandy to Illian/Caemlyn
Perrin still trying to free Faile.
Ewgene in the Tower
Elayne under siege in Andor
and Rand here, there & everywhere.

So that's 5 major plotlines/characters (and supporting cast in each location) which have to be covered. Not to mention the Sea Folk, Seachan, Children of the Light, Mazrim Taim and the Foresaken.
I have to give credit for RJ's efforts to make us understand the motivations, thoughts and relationship-building which he puts into even minor characters story arcs, but it all distracts from Tarmon Gai'don ultimately and I think the story could do with less from the minor "big" characters (Elayne is my personal favourite for obscurity) and more from the Foresaken. We only ever see them in flashes and never what they are planning, which is great for tension but hopeless for understaning their motivations, internal power struggles and plots.

Another minor point which occured to me as I was reading a section set in the White Tower. The smattering of the phrase "pillow-friend" which means homosexual in RJ's universe. There's no particular bias evidenced either way (why not is a whole other story - his cultures have shown some remarkable differences in opinions in certain behaviours but none in this matter which I find curious), but I wonder why it's in there at all. I don't mean that in that it shouldn't be there at all, just in the context that it's used.
For anyone who's read KoD, it must crop up at least 10 times in about 20 pages during one of the White Tower chapters and always refering to lesbian homosexuality. The main complaint I have against it's over-use in this section is that it has no point. It's not used in any meaningful way, it's just mentioned (again & again) in passing. It just annoyed me, I suppose. It was of no relevance and just seemed an attempt by the author to 'spice up' that part of the book with some suggested sexual content.

So I suppose my question is what's worse, not acknowledging it or putting it in your story in a half-hearted tacked on way which adds nothing to the piece?
I suppose you could add the same for RJ's treatment (or lack thereof) of racism in his novels. We have "culture clash", particularly with the Aiel, but that's it.
I'm not saying every story should have this, otherwise this 13 book epic would probably run to 20 the way RJ writes, but having it slapped on in a selective way makes it stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[Talysia]

After picking up a copy of Knife of Dreams (hardback) in a discount bookstore for £3, I'm now about halfway through reading it. It seems to be a bit better so far than some of the others I've read, but I just wish that some of the storylines would get to the point. Just my personal little gripe, but still.