TITLE: The Dragon Reborn
SERIES: The Wheel of Time, book 3
AUTHOR: Robert Jordan
FORMAT: Epub via Google Play Books
PAGES/LOCATIONS: 737 pages
GOODREADS’ AVG. RATING: 4.20 out of 5 stars; 125,222 ratings
SYNOPSIS PROVIDED:
The Dragon Reborn–the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the savior who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him–is on the run from his destiny.
Able to touch the One Power, but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how–for no man has done it in three thousand years–Rand al’Thor knows only that he must face the Dark One. But how?
Winter has stopped the war-almost-yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he?
Perrin Aybara is in pursuit with Moiraine Sedai, her Warder Lan, and the Loial the Ogier. Bedeviled by dreams, Perrin is grappling with another deadly problem–how is he to escape the loss of his own humanity?
Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve are approaching Tar Valon, where Mat will be healed–if he lives until they arrive. But who will tell the Amyrlin their news–that the Black Ajah, long thought only a hideous rumor, is all too real? They cannot know that in Tar Valon far worse awaits…
Ahead, for all of them, in the Heart of the Stone, lies the next great test of the Dragon reborn….
DATES READ: January 28th to February 3rd, 2015
MY REVIEW:
I am left feeling a little bit underwhelmed in regards to this book, I didn’t dislike the book but I am not ranting and raving about it either. It was interesting getting different perspectives of the events as they unfolded from Perrin, Mat, and Egwene – all three of them were following somewhat different paths with the same ultimate goal of reaching Rand in Tear. For the majority of the previous two books, we spend a lot of time following Rand but I didn’t feel as if I was missing anything by not following his point of view in this novel. I honestly felt that the small glimpses we had of what was happening to and around him were enough of an insight into what exactly was happening as he made his way towards Tear. I feel as if I am watching Rand devolve and it is incredibly frightening, knowing just how much power he holds and what his ascension as The Dragon Reborn means for the world around him makes it that much scarier. One of my favorite parts of the series so far has been how the antagonists always intend to use Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve in their plots, but end up vastly underestimating them allowing for these three Accepted to save themselves. I love that about these three, they don’t need someone to save them and they are perfectly able to save themselves. They are strong characters who remain flawed, they are still susceptible to tricks and treachery at the hand of their enemies but are unwilling to just give up. They are by far my favorite characters.
One of the big moments in this book is supposed to be the revelation that there are members of the Forsaken loose in the world. This isn’t too great of a reveal or surprise given that Rand and his group battle Aginor and Balthamel at the Eye of the World, in the book of the same name, resulting in the death of both of them. During The Great Hunt, Rand meets the woman Selene who is described in a manner which would lead one to believe that she is too perfect. It was that which irked me and led me to distrusting her, follow that up with a woman of her general description appearing to Min nursing Rand who then mentions that she is Lanfear, and the reveal of Lanfear and other Forsaken being loose has a much smaller impact. Then Loial helps Moiraine make the connection that Ishmael is the one who has been appearing in the dreams of the ta’veren under the guise of Ba’alzamon. He was defeated by Rand during the assault on The Stone of Tear – hopefully this will mean that the dreams will be over for our three ta’veren. The Forsaken Be’lal was also present in Tear under the guise of one of its High Lords and was defeated by Moiraine with magic/power that was supposedly forgotten to the Aes Sedai of present time. Don’t get me wrong, it is a big deal that these servants of evil are loose but at the same time it is something that the reader has already begun to suspect is occurring in the world. I am interested in how the Forsaken will continue to come into play through the rest of the series, there are a total of 13 of them and so far 4 of them have been killed with at least 1 still on the loose. As I said, I am interested to see how the events of this novel are going to come into play.
TL;DR REVIEW: 4.00 out of 5 stars. As I said, I am feeling slightly underwhelmed by this book only because I felt that the points of interest which were supposed to be big reveals didn’t give me that feeling of shock or surprise afterwards. I still really enjoyed the book itself, the development of the characters, and the progression of the story. I am looking forward to continuing the series with The Shadow Rising.
Reviews of a Self Proclaimed Bibliophile 
I still haven’t read Wheel of Time. My sister liked this series though she stopped after book seven. I love a good antagonist too! Hopefully it picks up again in the next book.
I have had a better time reading The Shadow Rising, so it definitely picked back up. I would definitely suggest giving it a chance. I’ve been told it gets really grim and dark and serious in the middle, then lightens up a tad once Sanderson took over. I am having fun with it which is what matters =)