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Title: Knife of Dreams
Series:
The Wheel of Time #11
Author: Robert Jordan
Rating:
4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages:
823
Words: 323.5K
From Tarvalon.net &
authored by Toral Delvar
Galad
believes that Eamon Valda has murdered Morgase and, supported by
Trom, Byar and Dain Bornhald, challenges him to Trial by Combat .
Although Valda is a blademaster and fights well, Galad dupes him into
becoming too confident and kills him. Galad is told that this makes
him the new Lord Captain Commander and he decides to take the
Whitecloaks out of Altara to ally with anyone who will fight the
Seanchan and the Last Battle. Even Aes Sedai or Asha'man if need be.
Rodel Ituralde attacks camps in Tarabon, as part of his plan to beat
the Seanchan out of Arad Doman. Suroth learns of this and sends the
majority of the raken in Altara and Amadicia after him. She learns
that Semirhage has killed the Imperial family and plots to kill Tuon
so that she can be Empress. Moridin calls a meeting of the Forsaken
and instructs them to find the Seals on the Dark One's prison and to
kill Mat and Perrin if they can be found. Harine attends a meeting of
Wavemistresses, with the new Mistress of the Ships, Zaida. They learn
that the Amayar have committed mass suicide because of their belief
that the Time of Illusion is coming to an end. Logain arrives to tell
them they are required to use all of their ships to take food to Arad
Doman as part of the Bargain.
Perrin
meets with the Seanchan and learns that the Prophecies of the Dragon
mention the Wolf King carrying a hammer. He tells them he wants to
feed the Shaido forkroot tea to stop the women channeling. They agree
to his plan and requisition some forkroot, using a letter from
Suroth, stolen from Masema. Tam arrives with more men from the Two
Rivers. Once the forkroot has been added to the water supply, he
attacks with Two Rivers archers and they break the Shaido with the
help of the Aes Sedai and other Seanchan he has being dealing with.
Faile
learns that one of the other gai'shain has stolen the Shaido Oath Rod
and is given it. Rolan tells her that the Mera'din are considering
returning to the Waste and will free her if they do. He warns her to
be careful and she hides the Oath Rod in town. She takes Galina to a
burned out house. Galina takes the rod out with her and is able to
cause the house to collapse, trapping Faile and her companions. Rolan
rescues Faile and is taking her to safety when Perrin arrives and
kills him. Aram is killed attacking Perrin, having been corrupted by
Masema, who escapes with a small number of his followers. Sevanna is
captured by the Seanchan, as are over two hundred Wise Ones. Galina
is caught again by Therava and told never to try and escape again.
Therava leads a group of Shaido back to the Aiel Waste to rebuild the
Shaido clan.
Rand
sees an image of Moridin in his head and concludes that he is aware
of him. He talks with Logain and is told that more than half of the
Black Tower is in Arad Doman and Illian. Rhuarc is trying to bring
order to Bandar Eban. Loial gets married to Erith and learns that the
Ogier are discussing opening the Book of Translation so they can
leave the world, ready to return when the Wheel turns again. Trollocs
attack and are killed, but it is close, with Logain and his Aes Sedai
perhaps making the difference. Rand tells Loial that he needs him to
find the Waygates that were in cities in order to seal them, but
Haman volunteers instead. Verin leaves. Nynaeve sends Lan to Saldaea,
from where he rides to Shienar with anyone who will join him. Nynaeve
persuades some Malkieri to do so and has pigeons sent ahead to
encourage others. Rand goes to Tear and learns that the rebels have
agreed to terms as long as Darlin is named king. Rand reluctantly
agrees. They go to meet the Daughter of the Nine Moons and discover
it is Semirhage in disguise when her illusion flickers. She attacks
and Rand loses a hand but she is captured. She reveals that Rand is
hearing Lews Therin's voice and claims it is a madness, even more so
for being real and that even Graendal could rarely save someone who
heard a real voice.
Egwene
is told that she will not be punished, just placed back in novice
white. Beonin returns to the Tower and teaches Elaida and Tarna
Traveling but is forbidden from teaching anyone else. Elaida is
displeased with her for not holding the rebels back as much as she
was instructed to. Egwene is defiant in the Tower, maintaining that
she is the Amyrlin Seat. At first she is taught by Accepted, but
after embarrassing too many of them, her lessons are switched to
private lessons with Aes Sedai. She is sent for punishment several
times a day for not using their titles and for trying to put ideas in
their heads. The other novices and Accepted come to believe her and
she begins to influence the Aes Sedai into seeing what a disaster
Elaida is. She speaks with Mattin Stepaneos and makes him realize
that Elaida has hid the truth about Rand from him. She encounters
Beonin and instructs her to warn all the rebel spies that they were
betrayed. After nine days, Elaida decides to have Egwene wait on her.
Elayne
defends the wall in Caemlyn against sorties from Arymilla. She learns
that many of the men thrown out of the White Lions by Gaebril because
of loyalty to Morgase are supporting her. Reanne tells her that one
of the sul'dam has admitted being able to channel and is now asking
to be made damane. They learn that Aviendha has a Talent for
identifying what ter'angreal do, but she is taken away by Wise Ones
to continue her apprenticeship before she can finish aiding Elayne.
Elayne has Mellar tracked and discovers that he visits two Black Aes
Sedai. They learn that Reanne and several other Kinswomen have been
murdered by saidar. She takes the Aes Sedai with her to arrest Falion
and Marillin, but they are outnumbered as four other Black sisters
are there. Asne uses a ter'angreal to disable her. They decide to
capture Elayne and kill the Aes Sedai apart from Careane as she is
one of them. Vandene kills Careane for killing Adeleas and she and
Sareitha are killed. They flee, taking Elayne with them. Birgitte
persuades the Windfinders to weave a gateway to outside the city
walls. They rescue Elayne outside of Caemlyn, capturing five of the
Black Aes Sedai and killing Asne. They are able to take men to hit
the back of Arymilla's attacking army, compressing them in the city
streets and forcing them to yield. Those who can transfer allegiance
to Elayne, do. The other six nobles (Abelle, Aemlyn, Arathelle,
Ellorien, Luan and Pelivar) visit and, after talking, Luan and Abelle
pledge to Elayne, giving her the support of enough Houses to be Queen
of Andor. After this, the rest apart from Ellorien do so also.
Mat
buys Tuon a horse and tries to find a way to escape. He asks Noal
about Jain Farstrider and is told unconvincingly that he was a
cousin. He encounters Joline slapping Bethamin and can feel the Power
being used and so stops her; she slaps him, so he puts her over his
lap and spanks her. He learns that Bethamin has channeled on her own.
Joline and Edesina agree to teach her. Later, Seta also channels and
they reluctantly agree to teach her as well. The Aes Sedai realize
that he has a ter'angreal that stops channeling. Setalle shows great
interest in it and he realizes that she used to be an Aes Sedai,
something that she confirms. He talks with Aludra and they discuss
canon-making. Leilwin/Egeanin and Domon marry. Tuon tells him that
she suspects the Horn of Valere has been blown, putting him off his
game plan. They meet a band of Tuatha'an heading for Seanchan lands
in the belief that there is safety. Teslyn and Joline start pestering
Tuon, telling her that she should stop the invasion. She places an
a'dam around their necks, but Mat frees them again and instructs them
to leave her alone. He learns from Moiraine’s letter to Thom that
she is alive and captured and can be rescued through the Tower of
Ghenjei, though it must be Mat, Thom and one more who try or the
attempt will fail and even then it is not certain. He agrees to try,
as does Noal. Olver is able to tell them how to get in, as Birgitte
had told him. He takes Tuon to a hell and gambles until one of the
other gamblers becomes suspicious, and so loses the next toss. On
leaving, he is attacked by a group of swordsmen and kills them with
his knives. He meets up with Talmanes, who has brought part of the
Band, leaving Estean in control of the rest. Tuon is surprised at the
affection his men have for him and that the discipline is not lax,
and begins to see him in a new light, realizing that she doesn't know
him as well as she thought. He plans a series of attacks to divert
the Seanchan and allow them to escape through passes in the
mountains. The plan is going reasonably well, with the Seanchan
commander believing Mat to have many more men than he has in truth,
when Furyk Karede finds him. Mat tells him that he can have Tuon if
he can get her safely back to Ebou Dar as he has realized that the
Seanchan are trying to kill her. She says that she trusts Karede, so
Mat agrees and she completes the marriage ceremony, as one part of
the Foretelling she received from Lidya was that the man she would
marry would carry her away and set her free. Karede leaves some of
his own men as a diversion and they are attacked by ten thousand
soldiers led by Elbar, all trying to kill Tuon, but the men are
defeated by Mat, using a new model of crossbow, the Power, and
fireworks. Tuon returns to Ebou Dar and strips Suroth of rank, naming
her da'covale.
The
rebel camp agrees not to free Egwene, on her orders. Romanda believes
that there must be a way to put out all the older novices but is
forced to reconsider when she learns of Sharina's talent for the new
Healing. Merise and Jahar arrive to offer to let the rebel Aes Sedai
bond forty-seven Asha'man, explaining the significance of the number
(fifty-one Aes Sedai bonded by Logain's men, minus four Asha'man that
have been bonded by Aes Sedai, equaling the number forty-seven to
balance the two) and that saidin is clean. He tells them the story of
a woman channeling saidin at Shadar Logoth and Romanda realizes it is
probably Halima as she has remembered the connection between Anaiya,
Kairen and Cabriana; she orders the arrest of Halima and Delana, but
they have already fled.
Tsutama,
the new head of the Red Ajah, tells Pevara to go ahead with the plan
for Reds to bond Asha'man. Javindhra seems to be pleased at the
chance to defy Elaida. Pevara meets with the other Sitters in the
Black Ajah hunt and learns that news of Elaida's disasters are
filtering back, but are being kept to Sitters and Heads. The Black
Ajah trail has gone cold as all known members have either been
controlled or are out of the Tower. Tarna and Pevara, along with four
other Reds, go to the Black Tower to ask to be allowed to bond
Asha'man. Taim agrees with the words "let the lord of chaos
rule".
Throughout
the world, ghosts and bubbles of evil become more common, food
continues to spoil and buildings change, with corridors and rooms
appearing, disappearing and moving as the Pattern weakens.
I don't have much to say overall. This was an exciting addition to
the series and if Jordan had been able to keep this tempo for the
previous books, it would have done a lot to allay the cries of
“nothing's happening”. Sadly, it does prove that Jordan CHOSE to
write the previous books as stultifyingly boring as he did, which
just makes me as a reader feel bad.
This was the last book that Jordan wrote. It was published in 2005
and he died in 2007. I remember getting the news from (the as yet to
be Mrs B) Miss Library and how devastated I was about it. I had been
waiting for the next book to be published so had not read this one
yet. When I heard that he'd died, I didn't get around to reading this
until 2012 when Brandon Sanderson wrapped things up with his trilogy.
This was a great example of how well Jordan could write, both in
terms of complex plot and exciting battles and confrontations. It's
too bad his editor didn't have enough guts to hold him to a higher
standard for the previous books.
★★★★☆
