Wera's Reviews > Knife of Dreams
Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)
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3.5 stars
**This is a spoiler-filled review**
Finally we're back to form. The Slog affected me a lot. It is very much real. Books 9 and 10 sucked the love i developed for the series in books 1-6. Those original 6 books each have a clear story that they want to tell: book 1 is a love letter to traditional fantasy in a somewhat meta way where it takes us to the "Mount Doom" of this series in one book and then things are thrown on their head as we see this is not just another LOTR remake, book 2 is a take on a mystery heist novel paired with an invasion of a really distinct force that forces our main characters to confront their moral codes, book 3 is about Rand (even though he barely features in it) and him having to realise that he needs forces to defeat the Shadow and not just be a one man show, book 4 has us exploring foreign lands of the Aiel, book 5 is our first real taste of what full on warfare is going to be like, book 6 is about the politicing and finishes with one of the best high stakes battles I've read.
If I had to subdivide the series so far I'd divide them into arcs of books 1-3, 4-7, 8-11, (and I assume) 12-14. I think that the 8-11 arc should've been like 2 books. The first book being a combo of 8 and 9, the second a combo of 10 and 11. There is no reason we needed 4 for this (yes yes world building I get it, I'm coming to this perspective as a casual fan). We could've condensed the boring stuff and made things so much more exciting by shuffling around the perspectives and condensing story lines (Perrin+Faile I'm looking at you).
All this being said, because Knife of Dreams concludes all the storylines that have started in book 8 and have been going on for the past 4 books (aka far too long), and it does so very well. Jordan goes out with a bang. I wish I could have enjoyed this more than I did, though. I think I was just so so tired of these storylines that instead of getting wrapped up in the epic action, my main emotions was "yay finally we are moving on". Perhaps this is exacerbated by the fact that getting through the Slog has taken me almost 2 years, so real-time-wise I've spent a long time being in the Slog and I was just super sick of it. It still felt amazing to see a lot of those things prophecized way back getting fulfilled.
When I finished this book I tried to think of it through the lens of a reader who didn't know there were more books coming. Even though Jordan didn't get the opportunity to write Tarmon Gaidon, I'm glad he got to wrap up so many storylines. Mat has become my favorite male character. Love him. Seeing him and his band reconnect and them sing Jack'o'the'Shadows brought a tear to my eye. I loved Egwene's parts as she slowly sowes seeds of doubt in the White Tower. I would've liked Rand's story more if I hadn't been spoiled for him losing a hand... But seeing a Foresaken not be useless was a nice change. Elayne's story had a nice conclusion though I'm still interested in what will happen with the reunion of her and her mother. And the prologue with Galad killing Eamon Valda was epic.
Overall, I truly truly enjoyed this book. Finally! I'm so happy I can say that again about a Wheel of Time book. And when I tell you I am SO excited for things to come??? The Moiraine rescue sequence is going to be EPIC I can already tell. Egwene's parts I'm loving already. Rand vs Logain vs Mazrim Taim is setting itself up to be super exciting (also I thinkn Taim is Ishamael??? Maybe?). And of course the return of Lanfear! Here's to hoping we're in for a homerun.
-----------------------------------
Books in series :
#0 New Spring: ★★.75
#1 The Eye of the World: ★★★.5
#2 The Great Hunt: ★★★.75
#3 The Dragon Reborn: ★★★
#4 The Shadow Rising: ★★★★.25
#5 The Fires of Heaven: ★★★★
#6 Lord of Chaos: ★★★★.25
#7 A Crown of Swords: ★★★.75
#8 The Path of Daggers: ★★.25
#9 Winter's Heart: ★.25
#10 Crossroads of Twilight: ★.5
#11 Knife of Dreams: ★★★.5
#12 The Gathering Storm: ★★★★.5
#13 Towers of Midnight: ★★★
#14 A Memory of Light: ★★★.5
3.5 stars
**This is a spoiler-filled review**
Finally we're back to form. The Slog affected me a lot. It is very much real. Books 9 and 10 sucked the love i developed for the series in books 1-6. Those original 6 books each have a clear story that they want to tell: book 1 is a love letter to traditional fantasy in a somewhat meta way where it takes us to the "Mount Doom" of this series in one book and then things are thrown on their head as we see this is not just another LOTR remake, book 2 is a take on a mystery heist novel paired with an invasion of a really distinct force that forces our main characters to confront their moral codes, book 3 is about Rand (even though he barely features in it) and him having to realise that he needs forces to defeat the Shadow and not just be a one man show, book 4 has us exploring foreign lands of the Aiel, book 5 is our first real taste of what full on warfare is going to be like, book 6 is about the politicing and finishes with one of the best high stakes battles I've read.
If I had to subdivide the series so far I'd divide them into arcs of books 1-3, 4-7, 8-11, (and I assume) 12-14. I think that the 8-11 arc should've been like 2 books. The first book being a combo of 8 and 9, the second a combo of 10 and 11. There is no reason we needed 4 for this (yes yes world building I get it, I'm coming to this perspective as a casual fan). We could've condensed the boring stuff and made things so much more exciting by shuffling around the perspectives and condensing story lines (Perrin+Faile I'm looking at you).
All this being said, because Knife of Dreams concludes all the storylines that have started in book 8 and have been going on for the past 4 books (aka far too long), and it does so very well. Jordan goes out with a bang. I wish I could have enjoyed this more than I did, though. I think I was just so so tired of these storylines that instead of getting wrapped up in the epic action, my main emotions was "yay finally we are moving on". Perhaps this is exacerbated by the fact that getting through the Slog has taken me almost 2 years, so real-time-wise I've spent a long time being in the Slog and I was just super sick of it. It still felt amazing to see a lot of those things prophecized way back getting fulfilled.
When I finished this book I tried to think of it through the lens of a reader who didn't know there were more books coming. Even though Jordan didn't get the opportunity to write Tarmon Gaidon, I'm glad he got to wrap up so many storylines. Mat has become my favorite male character. Love him. Seeing him and his band reconnect and them sing Jack'o'the'Shadows brought a tear to my eye. I loved Egwene's parts as she slowly sowes seeds of doubt in the White Tower. I would've liked Rand's story more if I hadn't been spoiled for him losing a hand... But seeing a Foresaken not be useless was a nice change. Elayne's story had a nice conclusion though I'm still interested in what will happen with the reunion of her and her mother. And the prologue with Galad killing Eamon Valda was epic.
Overall, I truly truly enjoyed this book. Finally! I'm so happy I can say that again about a Wheel of Time book. And when I tell you I am SO excited for things to come??? The Moiraine rescue sequence is going to be EPIC I can already tell. Egwene's parts I'm loving already. Rand vs Logain vs Mazrim Taim is setting itself up to be super exciting (also I thinkn Taim is Ishamael??? Maybe?). And of course the return of Lanfear! Here's to hoping we're in for a homerun.
-----------------------------------
Books in series :
#0 New Spring: ★★.75
#1 The Eye of the World: ★★★.5
#2 The Great Hunt: ★★★.75
#3 The Dragon Reborn: ★★★
#4 The Shadow Rising: ★★★★.25
#5 The Fires of Heaven: ★★★★
#6 Lord of Chaos: ★★★★.25
#7 A Crown of Swords: ★★★.75
#8 The Path of Daggers: ★★.25
#9 Winter's Heart: ★.25
#10 Crossroads of Twilight: ★.5
#11 Knife of Dreams: ★★★.5
#12 The Gathering Storm: ★★★★.5
#13 Towers of Midnight: ★★★
#14 A Memory of Light: ★★★.5
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Reading Progress
May 28, 2023
– Shelved
October 10, 2023
–
Started Reading
October 19, 2023
–
Finished Reading