Winter's Heart - Review

Winter’s Heart (Book 9) is a nice improvement from the previous book, The Path of Daggers. The storylines are more interesting, the pacing is better, and there’s some unexpected twists and big moments that have a major impact on the series going forward. A good amount of lingering questions from previous books are also answered, and it ties up some loose plot threads regarding the Seanchan storylines of previous books as well. This will be a non-spoiler review and it will be covered in 5 sections: Characters, Plot, Setting/World-Building, Pacing, and my final thoughts along with a rating.

Image: Logain Ablar.


[Characters]:

The main focus of this book is on Rand, Mat, and Elayne. Rand is becoming more stoic and emotionless and he’s now adopting certain skills of Lews Therin, possibly slowly turning into Lews Therin himself. Rand continues to be one of the most interesting protagonists I’ve read in the Fantasy genre. Mat finally shows up after being completely left out of the previous book, and he’s fantastic. He deals with a lot of obstacles such as Queen Tylin, the Seanchan, Tuon etc. but he also continues to instinctively help people, especially people who he doesn’t really like and usually tries to avoid. Mat might be my favorite character now, since Lan barely gets any page time and Perrin still hasn’t had a very significant arc since The Shadow Rising (Book 4). Ever since Faile showed up in this series, it really hurt Perrin's character development. He went from uniting the Two Rivers and becoming the “Lord of the Two Rivers” to now just being Faile’s husband and being a prize in the weird game Faile and Berelain are playing. Robert Jordan can surely come up with a better arc than this weird cat-and-mouse game with Faile and Berelain that’s been going on for too long.

Elayne is much better as a character now compared to previous books where I started to hate her. She doesn’t seem that snobby anymore now that she’s in her natural position of ruling and in an environment of accustomed royalty. Putting Elayne (Daughter-Heir of a Queen) with a group of farmers and villagers (Rand, Mat, Egwene, etc.) brings out her tendencies of being haughty and snobbish but when she’s back in her normal environment and compared to other rulers or nobility in this series, she’s the nicest and least condescending person by a landslide. I also liked that she doesn’t ask Rand or any outsiders for help, she wants to earn the Lion Throne herself.

The problem with a series this big and a cast of characters this massive is that some of the better secondary characters like Lan, Thom, Loial, Elyas, and Birgitte get put to the side. There’s so many throwaway nobles and Aes Sedai characters that I just don’t care about, but they’re taking up a lot of the page time. It’s not only a problem in this book, but for the series as a whole. I’m mentioning it now because I’m 9 books in and there still isn’t much of a presence or impactful role from my favorite secondary characters, especially Lan, Thom, and Elyas.

Favorite Characters – Mat, Perrin, Rand, & Aviendha.



Image: The Choedan Kal on Tremalking.


[Plot]:

The 3 main storylines are also with Rand, Mat, and Elayne. Rand wants to get his revenge against the Asha’man deserters, while also on a secret mission afterwards near the end of the book. Mat is trying to find a way out of Ebou Dar with the emergence of the Seanchan, and trying to rescue a lot of people along the way. Elayne prepares to defend her claim on the Lion Throne while also dealing with rival factions. Rand’s storyline continues to be the best in each book. I really enjoyed his later chapters in Far Madding and there were so many big moments throughout his storyline. I liked Mat’s storyline as well, especially the Seanchan sub-plots with Tuon and Bayle Domon/Egeanin that converged perfectly with Mat’s storyline. Aside from some slow moments, I generally liked Elayne’s storyline, especially with the political intrigue and mysteries.

I was disappointed with The Path of Daggers ending but Robert Jordan really made up for that with this book’s ending. The final act of Mat’s storyline gave me the suspenseful feel of a heist, which is what I really enjoyed about the ending of The Great Hunt (Book 2). Rand’s final act in Far Madding was fantastic with surprise appearances and sequences that made me anxious to turn the next page. The last chapter of this book was incredible. I don’t want to spoil it since it comes out of nowhere but it really was amazing. The structure was perfect with all the multiple little POV changes of the different characters appearing and the constant suspense of not knowing certain characters fates or what’s going to happen next, all while Robert Jordan was casually dropping some shocking character reveals. In my opinion, it’s one of the best chapters I’ve read in the series and also one of the most pivotal moments in the series so far.

Image: Rand using a Ter’angreal.


[Setting/World-Building]:

The main settings of this book are in Caemlyn (the capital city of Andor), Ebou Dar (the capital city of Altara), and Far Madding (an independent island-city on the Plains of Maredo). Far Madding in particular is one of the locations that haven’t been visited in the series until now. We learn a little of its history and traditions, such as no men being allowed to enter Far Madding with a weapon unless it is peace-bonded (a wire to wrap around the weapon in a net) so it cannot be drawn. It’s such an interesting new location, with there being a group of Ter’angreal underneath the dome of the Hall of the Counsels (which is located in the heart of the city), and it resembles a Stedding, so no one inside the city can channel using the One Power.

In terms of world-building, there’s some new wrinkles with the magic system such as masking the bond to your Warder so they can’t sense your location/direction anymore. This book also fleshes out the Seanchan more by having POV chapters from a Sul’dam, a Captain of the Green, and the Daughter of the Nine Moons herself. More Seanchan terms are introduced such as Soe’feia (Truth Speakers/Speakers), and the distinctions between High Blood and lesser Blood are explained. We get a little more information on the War of Power, the lineage of past Andoran Queens, and the Aiel ceremony of adopting a first-sister is shown in-depth.

[Pacing]:

The pacing is much better compared to the previous book. The main storylines were all equally distributed and it never dragged too long before switching to another character's perspective. The only slow moments I could really think of were some of Elayne’s chapters and a few of Mat’s earlier chapters, but the rest of the book flowed pretty well, especially the final act.

[Final Thoughts & Rating]:

Winter’s Heart brings the series back on track after the slow and uneventful 8th book. The deeper exploration into the Seanchan and the phenomenal final act is what makes this book stand out. I’m 75% through “The Slog” now and I have my guard up for the next book since I’ve heard a lot of negative things about it, but I’m still excited to push through and get some answers from all the questions and loose threads that Books 7-9 have set up so far.

Rating: 7.5/10

My Book Rankings: https://jaytargaryen.blogspot.com/p/b...


*My Rating System*

5 Stars (9-10): Amazing
4 Stars (7-9): Really Good to Great
3 Stars (5-7): Average to Good
2 Stars (3-5): Bad to Mediocre
1 Star (1-3): Terrible 

 

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