Knife of Dreams

I'm an avid reader of the fantasy genre. Not so much the Forgotten Realms D&D stuff. I mean epic fantasy. Robert Jordan. George R. R. Martin, Elizabeth Haydon. But especially Robert Jordan.

I've been reading his series since I was a sophomore in high school. The kid sitting behind me in English class loaned me his copy of "The Eye of the World" and I was hooked. Since then it's been a waiting game. The books have come out roughly 18 months to 2 years apart, and I just got book 11 the other day.

At first, I'd wait very impatiently for the book to come out and buy it on the first day available. I'd take a day off work and just sit there and read it all in one go. I also used to read the entire series again just before a new book was published. The story's so involved it's good to refresh your memory.

Then books 8, 9, and 10 came out. Ugh. Talk about plot disaster. I think a few weeks of time were all that was covered in 3 books! SSSLLLLOOOOWWWW. I even quit rereads before I got a new book.

So, for the first time, I did not show up at Barnes & Noble at opening to get Knife of Dreams, the 11th installment of the Wheel of Time. But once I got into it, I was pleasantly surprised. Would you believe there was *plot advancement*? AND, even better, some plot *resolution*

I'll be surprised if it only takes one more book, like RJ says, to finish the series. But he at least got a good start. There were some *great* moments, like Mat, the confirmed ladies man, getting married, and figuring out how to rescue Moiraine, the series' Merlin/Gandalf character. Everyone's thought she was dead since about book 6. Of course, in true RJ style, she wasn't actually *rescued* in this book.

All in all a good read. Nothing compared to the first three books, but good just the same. It gives me hope for the finale.