Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

Knife of Dreams (Book Eleven of The Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan. New York: Tor, 2005. ISBN: 0-312-87307-7

For a little background on the Wheel of Time series, see my previous entry from August of 2004. You won't want to read this book, unless you've been following the entire series, but if you have, you'll probably want to read it. Jordan remains a darn good story teller, and this is a great fantasy story that carries you along, just so long as Jordan lets us follow his major characters, and doesn't get too distracted by side issues and sub-sub-sub plots.

As long as we're reading about Elayne, defending her right to sit on the Lion Throne of Caemlyn, or Egwene recaptured by the Tower, or Mat trying to woo Tuon, the Seanchan princess, or Perrin attempting to rescue Faile, we're happy as clams, and glad to be along for the ride, to badly mix my metaphors. But at the end of this eleventh volume, we honestly don't feel even one whit closer to the final confrontation, the Last Battle, Tarmon Gai'don. Can Jordan really fulfill his avowed intent to finish the cycle with only twelve volumes? You can't tell it from this book. There could just as easily be ten more as one.

Recommended for those following the series.