The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

The Dragon Reborn is the third book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.  This is a series that is meant to be read in order, so if you haven't read the previous two books, stop reading this review and go start at the beginning.

After a great fight that took place in the sky, Rand Al'Thor has been declared the Dragon Reborn by some, although he has not yet fulfilled the prophecies.  Sheltered in a camp high in the mountains he dreams of a sword of light and tries to hold back the desire to channel the one power which will drive him to madness.  But after an attack on the camp, he disappears, and the others realize he is drawn to the sword of light and must follow after him.  Mat, escaping from Tar Valon to deliver a message, discovers that some women from his home village are in trouble and has to decide what odds he wants to take in rescuing them, and Perrin is traveling with an Aes Sedai, and attracting more attention than he would like.  Meanwhile, Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne have all been raised to the ranks of Accepted with the Aes Sedai, but have been set on a task to seek out darkfriends, which could cost them their lives.

Nynaeve and Egwene got on my nerves in this book.  They used to be stronger characters but they were whining idiots this time around.  Ok, maybe that's a little strong, but compared to the intelligent women they started out as, it just seemed to be a bit of a character change for them.  Rand we didn't see much of, even though the book is named after him, this story was more told from everyone else's perspective.  And he did seem quite a bit mad already.   Perrin is still my favorite.  He is strong, does what's right, and seems to be very patient.  Mat, he's fun to read about and probably has one of the most interesting plotlines.  But really, there are so many characters in this book that it is hard to keep track of them all.

This was more of a filler book than anything.  Not a lot actually  happens until the very end, it's more just developing story.  And that happens a lot in Jordan's books.  Not that it's a bad thing, but those expecting non-stop action might be a little disappointed.  But the characters are intriguing, the plotline sound, and Jordan has a great magic system in his universe so it's a pleasure to read about his world and the different cultures.  He might have been a tad too wordy in this one, but it drove the plot along and made you interested in the next book so no harm done. 

A great series if you're willing to invest a lot of time in it.  The books are all massive and there are plenty of them.  But they're entertaining and well worth the read in my opinion.

The Dragon Reborn
Copyright 1991
700 pages