Knife of Dreams, by Robert Jordan

[maribou]

Jordan's latest has that penultimate novel feeling, but given that the last few books have opened 2 subplots for every 1 they finished up, at least, I'm actually grateful for it. Yes! Several major subplots get resolved in this one. I was shocked. Quite an improvement over the last two or three installments of the series, though I still think it peaked around number 5.
The prologue was pretty sloppily written but the rest of the book, while workmanlike, had moments of grace. My one major complaint is that he has set up so many situations where characters who have close relationships to each other also have empathic bonds, and seem to always communicate one thing through the bond and another thing verbally. Nothing wrong with that on principle, but it gets bloody tiresome after a while. "X glared at Y, but the bond carried warmth and amusement." "Y smirked at X, but the bond carried sadness and concern." Bleah. But I was very happy with the arcs of many of the major characters and find myself looking forward to the series' conclusion. Which hasn't been the case since book 8 or so.
(207/200)

Comments

[bsquad.livejournal.com]

1,291 pairs of arms crossed under breasts and counting. ;)

[maribou]

Exactly, man.

[beaq.livejournal.com]

This and similar are why I haven't been able to force myself to finish more than three of his books. People spend an awful lot of time fiddling around, moving their limbs, and thinking uninteresting thoughts in exactly the same ways, over and over and over and over and over. The brilliant moments aren't quite worth the tedium, for me.

Hm. Reading Jordan is a good analogy for life.

[maribou]

I'm not sure I would've kept up with them had I started with the first book. But no, I started with the fifth one (my favorite) and I got Unreasonably Attached to certain characters and/or worldbuilding bits, and now I'm rather stuck. Which may also be somewhat analogous to life.

[adularia.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the ever-present "I'll get you next time, Gadget Rand"...

Er. I only finished three and a half of them myself. Seems a lot of people bail on the fourth book.