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Title: The Dragon Reborn
Series:
The Wheel of Time #3
Author: Robert Jordan
Rating:
4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages:
986
Words: 268K
From Tarvalon.net &
authored by Toral Delvar
Byar
returns from Falme and tells Niall his beliefs regarding what
occurred there, and of his hatred of Perrin. Niall tells Jaichim
Carridin not to try and stop Rand, as he hopes to make the people
turn to Children of the Light to protect them. Fain tells Niall
stories similar to Byar's. He persuades Niall that the Two Rivers is
full of Darkfriends, and that he should send men there. Carridin is
given new orders, from an unusual Myrddraal, to kill Rand.
Elayne,
Egwene and Nynaeve head back to Tar Valon with a severely ill Mat,
who, it seems, has mere hours to live. They are also joined by Hurin.
Nynaeve tries Healing Mat, but accomplishes nothing. On the way, they
are confronted by Whitecloaks, led by Dain Bornhald. The girls
disperse them using the Power, something which incurs Verin's anger.
Once
in the Tower, the three are severely reprimanded by Siuan, who sets
punishments for them all for running away, to keep the link between
them and the Black Ajah secret. She tells Elayne and Egwene that they
are to be raised to the ranks of the Accepted. She also sets Nynaeve
and Egwene Black Ajah hunting, knowing that she won't be blamed when
Elayne is brought in on it. They are given a note from the Amyrlin,
granting them permission to do almost anything. Verin tells Siuan
about Mat blowing the Horn, and Siuan tells her the two false Dragons
were defeated at the moment Rand proclaimed himself.
Nynaeve
brings Elayne in on the hunt at the first opportunity. Egwene and
Nynaeve are attacked by a Gray Man, who fires an arrow at them.
Nynaeve captures the man using the Power, but finds him dead. Sheriam
tells them to keep quiet about it; she is later revealed to have
found a second Gray Man in her bed. Elaida comes to question the
girls about Rand.
Mat
is healed of his link to the dagger by a circle of thirteen Aes Sedai
using a sa'angreal. During the Healing, he speaks in the Old Tongue
and gives battle orders after experiencing a sort of flashback to a
battle in the Trolloc Wars. He is visited by Lanfear, who tells him
he is destined for glory, and Siuan, who he tries to avoid making any
commitments to. He tries to leave, but is not allowed to do so. He
also sees Lanfear, masquerading as Else. She is abrupt with him. He
defeats both Gawyn and Galad in a friendly duel, using only his
quarterstaff.
Verin
gives Egwene a ter'angreal that is linked to the World of Dreams, and
does not require channeling, to help her discover if she is a
Dreamer. Egwene is raised; her test for the Accepted involves
abandoning Rand under various circumstances. She learns that anyone
who can channel can be turned to the Dark One by a circle of thirteen
Myrddraal and thirteen Aes Sedai. The ter'angreal she goes through
acts very unusually, and almost burns down, prompting Alanna to see
Sheriam to ask for punishment, as she noticed something but kept
quiet. Elayne's test was similarly hard for her.
The
girls are given clues to the whereabouts of members of the Black Ajah
who fled the Tower by Lanfear, who is posing as a novice. They
realize it is probably a trap, but tell Siuan they are going to head
for Tear to try and spring it.
Egwene
uses the dream ter'angreal. She first sees Rand, who attacks her. She
then sees a woman calling herself Silvie, in the Stone of Tear. The
woman seems to think she knows Egwene and tells her to say Ba'alzamon
is a fool. The woman sends her out of Tel’aran’rhiod to prevent
Be'lal from discovering her.
The
girls ask Mat if he will deliver a letter to Queen Morgase. Mat
tauntingly tells them he will do so, under the condition that they
get him off the island, which he considers impossible, as the Amyrlin
has told all the guards he is not to leave. They give him one of the
notes the Amyrlin gave them, allowing the bearer to do whatever they
wish.
The
girls travel downstream on a boat, which runs aground. They go ahead
on foot and encounter a group of Aiel, including Bain, Chiad and
Aviendha, who reveal one of their number is severely injured. Nynaeve
Heals her, and they set off again. They are then captured by
Darkfriends, who wish to hand them over to a Myrddraal. They are
freed by the Aiel, though they would have escaped on their own.
Nynaeve uses balefire against the Myrddraal. The leader of the Aiel,
Rhuarc, says they are going to Tear. The girls make their own way to
Tear where they stay with a local healer, Mother Guenna. She enlists
Juilin Sandar, a thief catcher, to help them find the Black Ajah,
though of course he isn't told they are Black Ajah. He is not careful
enough and Liandrin makes him reveal their location. The girls are
captured, and are severely beaten for refusing to give in.
Mat
leaves the Tower and wanders around Tar Valon gambling, winning every
throw of the dice. He is attacked by Darkfriends posing as thieves,
but gets away from them. He meets Thom, who is drunk, and persuades
him to go to Caemlyn with him. Thom agrees, since Caemlyn is
dangerous for him and he is looking for danger after his lover's
death. They are attacked by Darkfriends on the ship they board. After
getting off, they spend a night in a stable, where Mat rescues
Aludra, an Illuminator. Out of gratitude, she gives him some
fireworks. He messes with one to try to find out how it works, and
throws it in the fire. They are attacked by Darkfriends again on the
way to Caemlyn. Thom kills a woman, which displeases Mat.
They
go to Caemlyn, again staying at Basel Gill's inn. The guard on the
palace gate refuses to let Mat in, even threatening to have him
arrested as a Darkfriend when he reveals he has come from the Tower,
so he goes over the wall like Rand had done previously. He overhears
two men discussing a plan to kill Elayne. He is later taken before
Morgase and her lover, Gaebril, who was one of the men Mat overheard.
He meets Tallanvor, another member of the palace guard, who takes him
to the Queen. He gives her the letter, then sets off for Tear, to
help Elayne and Egwene.
Mat
arrives in Tear and comes across Lord Comar, who he had heard ordered
to kill Elayne by Rahvin. They fight and Comar is killed before Mat
can learn anything. He meets Mother Guenna, who tells him of the
girls' capture. Leaving a sick Thom behind, he heads off to try and
break into the Stone. He is accosted by Aiel, including Gaul and
Rhuarc, on the rooftops, but once he makes it clear he has no plans
to interfere with them, they agree to leave him alone. He meets
Juilin, who had been having second thoughts about what he did. They
agree to work together. Mat accidentally blows a hole in the wall
with fireworks while trying to create a diversion. He enters,
fighting Defenders of the Stone and nobles. On his way he and Juilin
fight High Lord Darlin, who says he intends to watch as the skin is
stripped from their bodies.
At
the camp of the Dragon Reborn, Rand has spent the winter arguing with
Moiraine. He accidentally damages the camp when he draws too much of
saidin and has to release it randomly. A Tuatha'an comes with news
for Moiraine. Perrin sees Lanfear and Ba'alzamon in the World of
Dreams. They both talk to him. He also witnesses an argument between
three of the Forsaken. Whilst he is asleep, he is warned by wolves
that Trollocs and Myrddraal are attacking. Rand is powerless to help,
but they defeat the Darkspawn anyway. Masema takes the aid of wolves
as a sign that he should go to proclaim the Dragon Reborn and recruit
for him. The Tuatha'an messenger is killed.
Rand
sets off on his own to Tear, without telling anyone. On the way, he
kills a group of people who come to join him at the camp fire. These
include a woman and a Gray Man. He also continues to be plagued by
dreams, and almost kills Egwene in one, when he mistakes her for a
dream creation.
Moiraine
realizes that Rand has gone to Tear to try and seize Callandor when
many of the people with them reveal having dreamed of glowing swords
and red stone columns. Moiraine, Lan, Perrin and Loial follow, the
Shienarans being injured. Chasing after Rand, they encounter villages
where strange things have been happening - mass weddings, insanity
and others - a sign of Rand's being ta'veren. Meanwhile, Min goes to
Tar Valon.
Perrin
comes across a man who could talk to wolves, but who has lost his
human side. He again enters Tel'aran'rhiod, where he meets Hopper, a
dead wolf. They learn of Masema stirring up trouble in Ghealdan. He
also meets two Hunters of the Horn, and a captured Aiel, Gaul. There
are children throwing stones at the caged man, who he later frees. He
tells Gaul he is off to Tear, and Gaul announces that is his
destination as well, though he will not go with them. They kill some
Whitecloaks, and are then forced to flee the village, along with a
young woman who decides to call herself Faile, who keeps staring at
Perrin. She is also a Hunter and believes they make a strange trail,
which Hunters should follow. Perrin again sees Ba'alzamon and Lanfear
in Tel'aran'rhiod, and tells Moiraine they are free. Rand sees him
and attacks him.
They
travel through Illian, where they discover Sammael is in control of
the country. They are attacked by Gray Men in an inn before Sammael
sends Darkhounds after them; Moiraine kills the hounds with balefire.
They then head on to Tear, where they learn Berelain has given in to
Tear's demands. Perrin finds himself growing uncomfortable around
Faile. She springs a trap meant for Moiraine, and is caught in
Tel'aran'rhiod, the World of Dreams. Perrin's wolf abilities allow
him to enter this world, and he does so, in order to free her.
Moiraine and Lan head for the Stone to help Rand.
Egwene
enters Tel'aran'rhiod, where she meets two of the Black Ajah. She
stills one and shields the other, leaving them trapped in
Tel’aran’rhiod. Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve, however, remain
shielded in the real world. Mat opens the cell and frees them. They
knock out the Black Ajah sister and the shield disappears.
Rand
enters the Heart of the Stone, where Be’lal tells him to take
Callandor. They fight, with Be'lal forcing him toward it. Moiraine
enters and kills Be'lal, again using balefire. Rand is attacked by
Ba'alzamon, who almost kills him before he takes Callandor, chasing
Ba'alzamon and killing him. This time, he leaves a body, which many
people take for the Dark One until Moiraine points out how absurd
that idea is. The Defenders of the Stone, who had been fighting Aiel,
fall to their feet to proclaim Rand the Dragon Reborn. Berelain
brings Rand a message from Lanfear.
The final 25% of this book was pure gold. Stuff was happening at a
breakneck pace, it felt like everyone was running for their lives and
the story was awesome. The problem was it meant you had to go through
the first 75% and man, it was tough.
Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne are all together and my goodness, with
“friends” like that, who needs enemies? They spend as much time
and energy catfighting with each other as they do actually anything
else it seems.Nynaeve is still stuck on getting revenge on Moraine
for “something” (this is at least my 4th time reading
this book and I still don't understand completely why Nynaeve hates
Moraine so much) and while her feelings for Lan are supposed to be a
part of that, well, she shows more emotion and thinks more about
Moraine than she does Lan. Egwene and Elayne, while not quite as bad,
aren't much better and I just felt exhausted every time I finished
reading one of their sections.
Matt's sections, while giving huge amounts of setup, also come across
as him being nothing but a jerk and a pigheaded jackass. Meanwhile
Perrin is so obsessed with ignoring his wolf powers that all of his
energy is spent on that. If he had spent half the energy on even
trying to learn about it as he did in fighting it, he would have been
WAY ahead of the game. Plus, the whole golden eyes thing. Everyone
who looks at Perrin is shocked at his golden eyes. I can see women
paying that much attention, but the men? I couldn't tell you the
color of eyes for almost everyone I meet. I can't tell you the eye
color of my pastor, much less some stranger I met once on the
streets. It's just ludicrous that this gets as much page time as it
does.
These characters are just plain unlikeable! I have to be honest, I'm
not sure that I'll be reading this series ever again once I'm done
with this read through. The bad guys are more likeable for goodness
sake!!!! I don't understand why Jordan wrote them this way. It
doesn't advance, or impede, the story really. It just frustrates me
as a reader.
Now, with all of that, this was still a great story. In fact, I'd go
so far as to say this was an excellent story. So many cool things
happen. Plus, the switching between characters was well done. At each
chapter I felt like Jordan had given me enough for that group so I
was satisfied to read some about another character group. That is a
real balancing act and certain authors (like a jackass whose name
rhymes with Gohn Jwynne) would have done well to learn something from
this.
Reading back over what I've just written makes me realize how
negative I'm being. While I was reading the book I enjoyed it, even
while being frustrated by the characters, but as soon as I stopped to
think about it, the negative really came to the forefront. I'm not
sure if says more about me or about the story. Either way, I'm still
recommending this series, just not as enthusiastically as in the
previous 2 books.
★★★★☆
