Chapter 44 (The Dark Along the Ways)

Finally we're once again getting some action, or at least it feels as if the book is finally moving way more towards its purpose. Less world building in this chapter and more impressions.

Chapter 43 (Decisions and Apparitions)

Starting a new chapter commentary is rough, inevitably I find some quote or bit of information from the previous chapter that I forgot to add...but then I have to decide if I want to mention it or not. If I mentioned everything I wrote down, all my observations, the entries would be far too long, and the review is already taking far more time than it should. So instead of going with the quote I missed from the last chapter, we will instead continue moving forward.

Chapter 40 (The Web Tightens)

Rand fell into the castle, knocking his head pretty hard, woke up and met a couple VERY IMPORTANT people, in fact, many very important people are introduced in this chapter. More than the slow, one or two characters who will pop up later that the reader has been introduced to so far. Definitely far more than I realized upon first read. However, I'm jumping ahead of myself.

Chapter 39 (Weaving of the Web)

Mat's slowly getting worse, but Rand doesn't realize yet the extent of Mat's illness.  It seemed obvious to me, the reader, so by extension, Rand should have realized the same conclusion I had come to. That stupid dagger was causing all the paranoia, the weakness, etc., the conclusion I came to was drawn from things Rand  himself had observed. But hey - I'm just the reader. And Rand was just an inexperienced kid in a big city for the first time. Of course he's going to go off and explore.

Chapter 38 (Rescue)

Is it me, or is it only the bad guys that happily take items; jewelry, clothes, weapons, etc. and then wear them around in front of the person and then later it comes back to bite them? Kind of like what Byar did to Perrin and Perrin's ax?

Chapter 37 (The Long Chase)

This chapter, I feel it was finally all coming back together. Two of our three groups were reuniting and I still have the strong impression that they'll find each other in Caemlyn. 

Chapter 36 (Web of the Pattern)

Oh, Loial! What a refreshing introduction! So simple and yet so deep. You humans are very excitable....I had heard all the stories, and read the books, of course, but I didn't realize." It's fun to have a character introduced that can point out different character traits or actions and bring those to the forefront of the story. 

Chapter 35 (Caemlyn)

For all that I was trying to get a post done, I still missed things I'd wanted to point out from Chapter 34. I did mention I loved Bunt's chatter, but in particular I loved the bits about the tree chopped down and the black veiled Aiel coming over the dragonwall. Oh, and a question - only semi rhetorical - in this chapter his skin is prickling (rather like it does when channeling is happening), I assumed it was because of the Fade, but has this happened before and does it happen again?
Lastly I also loved the quote from Thom while Rand is dreaming The Queen is wed to the land...but the Dragon, the Dragon is one with the land, and the land is one with the Dragon. Okay, with that out of the way we can enter Caemlyn. 

Chapter 34 (The Last Village)

More traveling and passing of time "Only three nights since Howal Gode and Four Kings, two since Paitr had surprised them in Market Sheran. Just a bare day since the nameless Darkfriend woman tried to kill them in the stable of The Queen's Man, but even that seemed a year ago, or a lifetime." But how many nights since they left two rivers? How many days since Shador Logoth? Is it is any surprise that the passage of time is so hard to follow in the Wheel of Time, especially in later books when they stop mentioning even this? 

Chapter 33 (The Dark Awaits)

The adventure continues....due to unforeseen family events I had to take a slight break from posting. Though I even brought my journal, the book and my laptop with me, I never cracked any of them. And then I went and got a cold as soon as I got home (probably picked up from the Northwest). Life however, goes on, and as I started with - the adventure continues...

Chapter 32 (Four Kings in Shadow)

The chapter title leads the reader to believe there's something not quite right either about the town, about to happen or maybe both. The reader gets some more descriptions about the world as Rand and Mat move through Four Kings, with no one meeting the boys' eyes and is left with a sense of, well, something bad's about to happen.

Chapter 31 (Play for Your Supper)

How time flowed in this and the following few chapters didn't seem to bother me on first read or upon this latest re-read. When asked to articulate the timing, I cannot, but it seemed to be intuitively understandable. At least before I thought about it too much. If you're wondering of what I speak, simply re-read the beginning of this chapter through mid chapter 33 paying close attention to scarves and you'll see what I mean.

Chapter 29 (Eyes Without Pity)

I'm not sure that anywhere else in the series do you find someone who handles Egwene as aptly as Elyas. Here's another quote from him that I love, "You expecting to make that mare crawl?" As Egwene hops down to try to join Elyas and Perrin scouting ahead.

Chapter 28 (Footprints in Air)

Was it the age difference, experience difference or just personalities? Probably a little of the first two and a lot of the second. But Nynaeve and Moraine are such opposites and I don't know about you, but I definitely prefer Moraine, at least here. 

Chapter 27 (Shelter From the Storm)

Back to Perrin and Egwene traveling leisurely with Elyas and accompanying the Tinkers. Here, I love the quote from Elyas when querried on why they're not moving faster "Don't be in such a bloody hurry to put yourself in Aes Sedai hands."

Chapter 26 (Whitebridge)

"Teach him how you will, a pig will never play the flute." Thom, on his attempt to teach Mat the flute.

Chapter 24 (Flight Down the Arinelle)

"He pressed, seeking freedom, knowing it was an illusion. Everything was an illusion..." Another chapter opening with a dream from Ba'alzamon..."How long do you think you can evade me, boy? How long do you think you can evade your fate? You are mine!"

Chapter 23 (Wolfbrother)

"They say he can."  Four words that say so much about what Robert Jordan has in store for Perrin Aybara and yet not even everything. 

Chapter 22 (A Path Chosen)

First post in 2012! A co-worker started the wotrr after I did, and now he's on book 8 (A Path of Daggers), makes me feel bad and motivated all at the same time, especially since A Memory of Light is already in edits.  

Chapter 21 (Listen to the Wind)

Life often gets in the way of what one would really like to be doing.