Chapter Five (Winternight)

At last- still not a lot happens, but we're moving the story forward. Another reader may have found Strangers, The Peddler or The Gleeman more entertaining, I simply found those chapters filled with many details I could easily overlook. After some foreshadowing and some, yes, important albeit, let's get on with the story, world building, the story begins to unfold. Now, I should also admit, my impatience might be tempered more were I able to read more than one chapter at a time. I devoured Towers of Midnight; read it in two days. I'm really loving taking my time with this book, but knowing what lies beyond - I kind of want to get there already. Impatient much?

The first paragraph in the chapter made me pause a bit - Tam and Rand must not live that far out of town if they made it back to the farm and "the sun stood half way down from its noon day high." But they'd already been to the village , unloaded the brandy, met Moraine, Padan Fain arrived and the Village Council had a meeting, met Thom and then Tam had a talk with the boys and then Tam and Rand went all the way back to the farm again, but it wasn't that late? Okay, so it's really nothing, but it did give me pause.


First mention of a Heron marked blade, and it's Tam's. Love that, and love Rand brandishing it around. Also love Rand's quick thinking when the Trolloc rushes in - he hurled the hot kettle at the Trolloc. Rand also shows creativity later on in the chapter by building the shafts with which he carries Tam back to the village.


Many people talk about remembering when the Trollocs were big and the scariest thing out there, however as I'm reading this now (and remembering my first time) I'm thinking that I'm still more scared of the Myrddraal. Tam took on quite a few Trollocs himself and Rand managed to kill one (that was ready for him) all by his lonesome. Scary in numbers, sure, but not alone, like the Myrddraal they were trying to bring Rand to meet.


Chapter ends with Rand feeling that the Wisdom will set everything right.  That once they reach the village, everything will be fine. I'm left with a feeling that in chapter 5, I'm solidly in the world, met (hopefully) the main characters of this book, and the story's finally beginning. Now, where are we going?