The ninth installment in
Jordan's sprawling Wheel of Time saga is as bountifully pregnant with
plot threads as its predecessorsDand as bewilderingly esoteric for
readers who have yet to commit its previous episodes to memory. Rand
al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, seems no nearer to fulfilling his
destinyDto unite the embattled races of his domain against the Dark
OneDthan he was in The Path of Daggers. The warmongering Seanchan are
pouring into Ebou Dar, setting refugees in flight and complex schemes
in fidgety motion. Perrin Aybara is distracted from his mission to
shepherd the prophet Masema to Rand when he pursues the rebel Aiel who
have kidnaped his wife, Faile. The mystical sisterhood of the Aes Sedai
remain divided between Elaida, pretender to the title of the White
Tower, and Egwene al'Vere, ally to Elayne, Queen of Andor. Elayne,
Rand's lover, barely escapes poisoning, and Rand himself, still
smarting from the unhealed wound of an assassination attempt,
shapeshifts through a variety of disguises to pass unnoticed in hostile
territories.
THE WHEEL OF TIME:
Book One: The Eye of the World
Book Two: The Great Hunt ,
Book Three: The Dragon Reborn
Book Four: The Shadow Rising
Book Five: The Fires of Heaven
Book Six: Lord of Chaos .
Book Seven: A Crown of Swords
Book Eight: The Path of Daggers
Book Nine: Winter's Heart
Book Ten: Crossroads of Twilight
Book Eleven: Knife of Dreams
