StandingWater Creations

Well, it?s taken me about four days longer than I?d hoped for, or planned, but I finished ?Knife of Dreams? by Robert Jordan. I have to say, I like the book. I like Robert Jordan?s writing style and will, pretty much, read almost anything he?s written; but the last few books have seemed too short, and too? slow, to really carry his story forward. As I say this, I understand that Robert Jordan is trying to share a story that is multi-arced and multi-hued enough to require the length, though maybe not the style of detail. Hopefully some or all of that makes sense? maybe.

Regardless, ?Knife of Dreams? is the eleventh book in the ?Wheel of Time? series by Robert Jordan. The series follows Rand Al?Thor, Matrim Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara as they prepare themselves, and the world, for the ?Last Battle?. Basically, the entire series is about good versus evil and the grey?s that fall in between. Just because someone is a bad person, or makes bad choices, doesn?t mean they are evil; whereas, just because someone appears to be good and nice and wholesome doesn?t mean they aren?t evil.

This book, however, picks up the storyline where it left off as Rand (the principle protagonist in the story) is trying to steel himself for the loss of life, his impending death, and leaving the three women he loves to live, and make lives, for themselves with him gone. In reading of the Prophecies of the Dragon (Rand A?Thor is the Dragon) he feels that his life is forfeit in the last battle, and in reading some of the snips and pieces that Jordan drops from the Prophies of the Dragon, it would appear, to the casual reader, that Rand Al?Thor is destined to die before the book is through.

However, this book follows, more closely, Mat than it does Rand as he courts and eventually has finished his marriage to the Daughter of the Nine Moons. Proved that he still kicks serious rear during a battle, and made me think that Mat is probably one of the most entertaining, and interesting, characters in the entire series.

Unfortunately, at this point, you can?t just pick up book eleven and find yourself immersed in a story. If you want to read ?Knife of Dreams? then you have to go back about twenty (plus) years and begin with ?The Eye of the World? and then slowly (or however fast you read) make your way through all eleven books. According to the author this is the next to last book in the series before he begins a new series of books (not related to the Wheel of Time); however, he takes from two to two and a half years before he published a book; which means, we have a long wait before he?s done writing the next book, finishing the series, and ending the story he?s spent a couple of decades writing.

In the end, I didn?t really get where the title, ?Knife of Dreams? came from. Normally, Jordan will reference the title somewhere in the text of the book. The title comes from the action that is happening and the outcome of that action to the characters in the book. However, this time I came across no direct reference to ?Knife of Dreams? and could really only justify the title due to the notion, throughout the book, that life is a dream state, and death is the knife that ends that dream state. I am probably way off, but it seems that Jordan has often written about the reactions men (and women) have on the loss of life and how it affects them. In this case, death would seem to be the reason for the title of this book. As I said, though, I couldn?t find a reference to it anywhere.

I?d read the book again, and am considering re-reading the series. Over the next two years. I felt that this was a return, though not total, to the style of writing that got me hooked on the series and was also true to Jordan?s current style of writing. The book was excellent.

Number seven may write a review in the near future.