Review: Winter's Heart - Robert Jordan (9 of 14)

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.

In hiding from both his enemies and his allies, Rand al'Thor must now attempt the impossible and cleanse the taint from Saidin before the Asha'man can destroy the world in a second Breaking. Perrin Aybara sets out to rescue his wife Faile Bashere from the Shaido, but how far is he willing to go to see his wife returned to his side? Mat Cauthon is trapped in Ebou Dar by the Seanchan invasion but has no intention of staying longer than he has to. With his plans in full swing will the Daughter of the Nine Moons put a stop to them as soon as they begin? Meanwhile Elayne Trakand, having broken the Dark One's hold on the worlds weather, attempts to claim the Lion Throne of Andor but has her mother, Morgase, done too much damage to convince the other nobles that she is worthy to rule?

Winter's Heart is the ninth of fourteen books in Robert Jordan's fantasy series The Wheel of Time. The book is named for the increasing coldness of Rand's heart as well as a return to a deep and unforgiving winter after the Dark One freezing the seasons. The book immediately rose to the number one position on the New York Times Bestseller List and remained on the list for two months. The book was noted for being the first to release the prologue, Snow, on ebook two months before the book was released. We see a welcome return of Mat to the story line after being left out of the previous book, The Path of Daggers. We see a coldness developing in Rand that shows very strongly through the clever use of his bond to Min Farshaw. This gives us our first view into Rand from a view other than himself. With the return of Mat we see a return to some of the humour that may have been missing from the previous book in his absence.

After improving in the last book Winter's Heart brings us right back up to par. With all three main characters re-installed we return to the fast paced, dramatic and unpredictable story lines that we have come to expect. As with all of the best books in the series we see big climaxes to each plot in the final chapters of the book that leave you speechless and unable to wait to get started on book ten!

Ashley