“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.”
– Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time
Among Wheel of Time fans, I often hear the question, “When should I read New Spring?”
My answer is either after Fires of Heaven (Book 5) or Crossroads of Twilight (Book 10). I won’t elaborate for the first due to potential spoilers if you haven’t got that far. (If you know you know)
The reason for the second is that you have made it through the first two-thirds of the series, so you will know the fates of three of the major characters in New Spring, making the story more rewarding. Also, for all you nitpicker’s out there (myself included), Jordan chronologically published New Spring between books 10 and 11, making it a great place to read if that’s your preference.
Why not before book 1, you may ask?
Well, I guess because it doesn’t explain who most of the characters are and how things work. Oh, and it reveals certain story elements that would normally remain unknown until a bit later in the series. To be concise, it would be . . . rather confusing.
Warning! From here on there will be SPOILERS for New Spring.
“Change what you can if it needs changing, but learn to live with what you can’t change.”
-Robert Jordan, New Spring
I was super excited to read this book. Lan Mandragoran and Moiraine Damodred (the main PoV’s New Spring focuses on) are two of my all time favourite Wheel of Time characters and I couldn’t wait to see them in action again. The only downside was that it was barely 300 pages.
*To all the non-Wheel of Time readers (although why you’d be reading this blog if you’re not a Wheel of Time reader, I have no idea), 300 pages is less than half an average WoT book.
New Spring takes place 20 years before the Eye of the World; at the end of the Aiel war. It’s set in Tar Valon and the Borderlands, primarily the region of Kandor. I especially enjoyed our character’s exploits in Chachin, Capital of Kandor. Also, the White Tower is always fascinating to read.
We see Moiraine Damodred and Siuan Sanche raised to Aes Sedai. The whole scene of Moiraine taking the test to be raised to the shawl and the chapter’s following were some of my favourites in the book, including her and Siuan’s induction into the Blue Ajah.
I know it sounds kinda weird, but I love the way Jordan writes . . . ritualistic scenes? I don’t know if that’s the appropriate term. Basically anything that involves ter’angreal and alternate dimensions. If you’ve read a decent amount of the Wheel of Time, I think you know what I mean; similar scenes include the ‘Columns’ scene and a certain character’s Testing to become Accepted.
Another thing I loved in New Spring was the friendship development between Siuan and Moiraine, something we don’t get to see much of during the series proper. We witness the Foretelling of the birth of the Dragon Reborn, and how Moiraine and Siuan begin their search for him.
“There were questions one asked, and questions one did not. That was strong custom. And friendship.”
-Robert Jordan, New Spring
Lan is one of my absolute FAVOURITE characters from the Wheel of Time, so pretty much everything I read featuring him was perfect. Moments I especially enjoyed containing him include his fight in the Deeps (Canluum), and learning more about his history and the fall of Malkier. It was super satisfying to see how he ended up bonding with Moiraine as her Warder at the end of the book.
Also, dumping an Aes Sedai in a lake? You have my sword, Aan’allein. And my bow . . . And my axe . . . (Sorry, I’ll stop)
In fact, the final culmination of events in New Spring is one of my favourites in the whole series. Jordan didn’t hold back, and I highly appreciated (again, not sure if that’s the appropriate term) the surprise and horror I felt during the battle with Merean at the Aesdaishar palace.
”He was better. But he thought I was finished, with only one arm. He didn’t understand. You surrender after you die.”
-Robert Jordan, New Spring
Also as a quick sidenote, Chachin has to be one of my favourite cities in the Wheel of Time, and the Aesdaishar palace one of my favourite palaces.
Or maybe just the Borderlands in general, I guess.
Overall, I highly enjoyed New Spring and I would absolutely recommend it for all fans of the Wheel of Time. It’s not an absolutely necessary read, but it gives another layer of depth to many non-negotiable fan favourite characters.
It’s got decent pacing (at least compared to Crossroads of Twilight, which was my previous read) and if you’ve finished the series and are hungry for more (or you miss Jordan’s . . . descriptive writing), I couldn’t think of a more perfect book.
Still not sure?
Here’s one of The Fantasy Nobility’s opinions…
“I had nothing but a good time with it.”
Mike