The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (3 of 12)

Just a quick warning before I start. This review will contain spoilers from the previous books! So if you do not want to know until you have read it I suggest you put off reading this for a little bit.

Rand al'Thor has proclaimed himself the Dragon Reborn having won a great victory with the help of the heroes of legends, called by the Horn of Valere, over both the Seanchan and the Dark One. Now he must prove to both himself and the world that he is what he claims to be by fulfilling the Prophecies of the Dragon. Once again the question of whether the Dark One is dead, having been killed for a second time, haunts his every step. Perrin Aybara is following close behind trying to come to terms with his connection to the Wolf and facing up to the viewings of Min Farshaw. Meanwhile Mat Cauthon, sounder of the Horn of Valere, is taken to Tar Valon to be healed of his reliance on the dagger acquired in Shadar Logoth. Can he avoid being used by the Aes Sedai in their schemes, and is the way out of Tar Valon more dangerous than staying? Nynaeve al'Meara, Egwene al'Vere and Elayne Trakand are sent on a hunt for Darkfriends of the Black Ajah, an Ajah that the Aes Sedai have denied the existence of for thousands of years. With Tear the apparent destination for all, will Callandor, The Sword That Is Not A Sword, prove the difference for the forces of the Light!

The Dragon Reborn is another fast -paced, never-stand-still, action-packed story-line from start to finish. The book is interesting in that it is the first book to only feature Rand al'Thor in a couple of chapters, with the story line mainly coming from the point of view of his friends, although he heavily influences events. With three main plots to follow, all with different character aiming at different causes, the book still advances like the last one with all of the main characters converging on the same city, Tear. With Rand al'Thor not featured much we focus more in the personalities and struggles of Perrin Aybara and Mat Cauthon, introducing them more as their own characters rather than having them behind Rand. There are a couple more characters introduced in Faile and Juilin Sandar, that come into the main story-line in a big way.

Another good adventure for the reader. With the plot set Robert Jordan sets the circumstances that the rest of the books will follow through to its conclusion. With everything set for the fourth book we are left wondering if the character will finally stand still for a bit or move on again straight away.

9 out of 10!

Ashley