Quick-take: Please, make something meaningful happen.

Dan's Review

A kid, Rand, kills what is essentially a talking wild boar (called a Trolloc) that was attacking his farm. I just summarized the first 100 pages of this book. This book was a long, slow, slog. I actually looked up the plot thinking I was missing something. I decided I would read a summary until I hit the place I am currently at. I got about 4 sentences until new material emerged. No, I was not mistaken. Nothing worthwhile has happened yet.

Anyway, after sitting around talking about the attack for an evening, they decide to hit the road. This seems to be where the story picks up some. Or so I thought. There are a couple dream sequences and encounters where something "almost" happens. The kids escape and then somebody tells a long-winded story. I'm sure authors love the Story-within-a-story mechanic (made famous by Hamlet), but that only works if the main story has legs. I'm still waiting for something interesting to happen.

There is actually 1 interesting character in the party: an "Aes Sedai" named Moiraine. She has lots of deep knowledge and mystical powers that she gradually reveals during the journey. Nice. How about dropping Rand and making the focus on her?

Another complaint I have about this book are the difficult character names. I don't want to seem too American-centric, but when I read for entertainment, I do not wish to struggle with names like "Nynaeve al'Meara", "Tar Valon", "Shadar Logath". Thankfully, main character "Rand" and "Mat" is straightforward.

I know this a beloved series with lots of fans, but I just could not get in to it. I believe there is a decent story in there, but it needs some serious editing to streamline it. Score:2/5. I have no interest in the sequels.