Knife of Dreams

Yet another part of my Great 2020 re-read includes finishing as much of the Wheel of Time series as I can. In that vein, I recently polished off Knife of Dreams as part of a general re-read of that series I have been pursuing for the last few years as well.

I began the Wheel of Time series almost two decades ago. My brother and I were, by chance, introduced to it by a family friend. She lent us her copy of The Eye of the World and my brother and I devoured that book, and eagerly began casting about for more. Fortunately for us, ten further books existed and we gleefully racked up late fees from our local library reading them. Eagerly flipping through large hardcover copies. Many people who saw us reading them expressed astonishment that we were. It was very uncommon for preteens to read, much less finish, 800+ page works of fantasy. It was fortunate for us though that someone did comment on that though. When I finished reading the 10th book in the series Crossroads of Twilight, it came as a shock to me that there was nothing further to read.

In an age well before limitless internet access, it was difficult to find out for someone not connected to a greater network of fantasy fans when it could be expected a new book would come out. As I mentioned before though, we were fortunate that an older fan recognized that we liked those books and she helpfully directed us to the latest book in the series, book 11, Knife of Dreams which came out in 2005.

From the Wheel of Time wiki

This book holds a special place in my heart as it was when my brother and I 'caught up' to the greater fandom of the series, it is the eleventh book, and it was the last book Robert Jordan completed. He would die in 2007 from cardiac amyloidosis, his magnum opus left unfinished.

That was of course, until the modern fantasy juggernaut Brandon Sanderson (of Mistborn fame) was selected to finish the series by Jordan's widow. Though this is a story in and of itself which is separate from my love of this book.

Knife of Dreams actually came at a pivotal time for this series as a whole. The 10th book had been reviewed, largely negatively, by even hardcore fans who found it plodding, and somewhat unenjoyable as a rehash of the events from the last book through other characters eyes that added little to the overall narrative. Jordan himself even admitted it was something of a mistake. There was very real fears the series would begin to suffer variously from Kudzu Plot or Four Lines All Waiting, which would drag the series out and onwards to its detriment. 

In that sense, Knife of Dreams was a breath of fresh air. It tied up longstanding story arcs, moved the plot in dramatic ways, and pushed character arcs in a way it felt to many readers hadn't been pushed since the 8th installment of the series. It genuinely breathed new energy into the series and opened up new avenues that could be explored while pushing the plot and characters closer to their inevitable gathering at Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle.

As this is the 11th book in the series, I'll be going into some MAJOR SPOILERS below the cut so if you haven't read the series do not start here, and instead pick up the first book at your local bookseller, library, or online. Before that though, definitely check out other reviews or watch this primer by fantasy and booktuber Daniel Green who does an excellent job at dissecting the series.

Before that though, as a semi-ending before I do some more plot analysis, I'd just like to reiterate why this series is important to me. I came to it late, all things considered, but it really did develop my love of epic fantasy. This book too was important because it set me on the course to keep reading, and eventually come to the satisfying conclusion of the series. I genuinely do love it and the characters it contains, and though it's some heavy reading, if you love fantasy, it's work taking a chance on. It really did help develop my love of reading in the genre.

Knife of Dreams was an excellent book to keep the series going, and proved that, to the end, Robert Jordan was an amazing writer.

Ok, with that out of the way, here's more plot specific, spoiler reasons I love this book.

Very specifically it ends three major plot points that were important to me when re-reading the series. The first one for me is finally answering the question of the Andoran Succession, which had been brewing ever since Morgase disappeared and Rand had promised to support Elayne Trakand's succession to the Lion Throne. This plot had been shaping up since the events of The Path of Daggers but had stalled considerably in Crossroads of Twilight. The book finally got around to addressing the Siege of Caemlyn and the outcome. I for one, was very happy to wrap that event up satisfactorily! 

Another story arc wrapped up here was one more set up by the events of Path of Daggers. That was the kidnapping of Faile and many of her party by the Shaido Aiel who had been scattered across the breadth of the Westlands by the machinations of the Forsaken. This was the high point of wrapping up that book, but like much else it had dragged through the subsequent books until now. The conflict between Faile attempting to escape with the captives of the Shaido and Perrin trying to come up with a plan to free her as he dealt with the overwhelming military edge the Shaido posses and trying to cobble together a disparate alliance between his own folk, the Kingdom of Ghealdan, the Prophet Masema and eventually the Seanchan made for some good politicking. The final culmination was a clever use of already established in world lore and resources, as well as a wonderful use of the tight action Jordan wrote so well. 

Perrin and Faile's reunion never fails to bring a tear to my eye.

Finally we get some of the best action with Mat and the Band of the Red Hand. Mat has been on the run since the Seanchan invaded Altara, and now he has the Daughter of the Nine Moons, his prophesied bride to be Tuon, in tow. They run from the advancing Seanchan colonizers, renegade schemers, and Darkfriends alike! It made for some harrowing events with the much beloved Valan Luca's travelling show, and finally reunited him with the military outfit he founded and led so wonderfully! 

The growing feeling between Mat and Tuon, and their efforts to get a sense of one another is something I have remembered since I first picked up this book. Their fumbling around, Mat's misunderstanding of Tuon and Tuon attempting to squeeze information from him unsuccessfully makes for a wonderful romantic comedy in my opinion. Then the final violent act to keep Tuon safe still sticks in my mind as one of the great battles of the series. It also finally shows off the work of Aludra and her dragons, in brief at least! It pays off, and how!

There are other events of course, Rand and Semirhage, Loial getting married, the Forsaken continually scheming, but from here, all roads lead to Tarmon Gai'don. I cannot wait to re-finish the series!