“The seals that hold back night shall weaken, and in the heart of winter shall winter’s heart be born amid the wailing of lamentations and the gnashing of teeth, for winter’s heart shall ride a black horse, and the name of it is Death.”
-Robert Jordan, Winter’s Heart
Warning!
From here on will be spoilers for the Wheel of Time up to and including book 9.
“Stories have power. Gleemen’s tales, and bards’ epics, and rumors in the street alike. They stir passions, and change the way men see the world.”
-Robert Jordan, Winter’s Heart
Winter’s Heart is book 9 of the best selling series, the Wheel of Time. It is the second shortest book in the series, after Path of Daggers. Also similar to Path of Daggers, Winter’s Heart (often abbreviated WH) is a book that I would place in the middle of the “slog”.
However, I not only preferred Winter’s Heart to the previous installment; I actually found it to be a surprisingly strong entry.
Here’s why.
While there were certainly parts of the book that dragged (Elayne, Elayne, and Elayne. Maybe also Elayne), the rest of the book was surprisingly good. In fact, some of the best scenes in the series can be found in Winter’s Heart.
Oh, and that prologue man. Good stuff, that was. One of the best prologues of the series so far.
If you’ve read any of my Wheel of Time reviews, you would be aware of my fascination with . . . ritualistic(?) scenes. Aviendha and Elayne’s bonding as first sisters was one such scene that I thought was fantastic. That plus an inside view of Logain and Black Towery developments, and our Black Ajah hunters, well, hunting the Black Ajah, all made for one cracking prologue.
“Your body is only clothing. Your flesh will wither, but you are your heart and mind, and they do not change except to grow stronger.”
-Robert Jordan, Winter’s Heart
Controversial as it may sound to some, I’m actually a big fan of Faile, especially when we are in her PoV, so I enjoyed her chapters in Winter’s Heart. We see her just in the aftermath of being defeated and taken as gai’shain to the Shaido, together with Alliandre, Maighdin (Morgase), Bain and Chiad, and several members of Cha Faile.
On the flipside of the ‘Faile and the Shaido’ arc, we have Perrin. Perrin didn’t show up much in the book, but what we did get, I generally enjoyed. I actually like Berelain and her interactions with Perrin, although I felt quite annoyed at the . . . misunderstanding.
We see how much Perrin cares for his falcon, and his wolfy nature begins to arise through his single-minded focus as he begins this particular hunt. Also, similar to Rand (and Mat), I always love reading the reactions of those who surround or meet with such a powerful ta’veren as Perrin.
Hhmm. I don’t quite know what to make of Masema. A bit of a loose cannon, that one, if you catch my meaning. The real question is, when will he turn on Perrin?
“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”
-Robert Jordan, Winter’s Heart
Mat shines in Winter’s Heart. We didn’t get any PoV’s from him in book 8, a real shame, but his arc this book made up for it. One of the reasons why I love reading Mat’s chapters are that, even if nothing particularly interesting is going on, the guy’s inner voice is always hilarious to listen to. Add that to a book like Winter’s Heart, where he has his fair share of great moments, and you come away feeling like one lucky guy.
Excuse the pun.
Stand out moments include Mat’s run-in with the Gholam, and where Noal (I wonder who that guy is) comes in to help out of nowhere. Also, we see the start of Mat and Tuon’s relationship begin to develop. As the reader, knowing that Tuon is the Daughter of the Nine Moons and that her and Mat will eventually marry, and that Mat also knows this, makes for an . . . interesting dynamic.
The culminating sequence where Mat has 10 days to clear out of Ebou Dar and he’s running around, sorting stuff out, climaxing with Mat and Tuon fighting, him tying her up, learning her title, announcing her his wife, then kidnapping her was a terrific end to the ‘Mat in Ebou Dar’ storyline.
Special mention: Mat kissing Joline to protect her from the Seanchan was a classic example of why Mat is one of my favourite characters in the Wheel of Time. For all that he protests the opposite, he will protect even those he professes to hate, so long as it’s right. Hhmm. Why does that sound sort of familiar?
Ah, yes. Mat would make a fine . . . peculiar Windrunner.
We didn’t get any of Egwene in Winter’s Heart, instead we got more Elayne. Not exactly what I would call a fair trade. Elayne’s chapters are unfortunately what brings down my rating for Winter’s Heart. A whole lot of the daily running-of-the-kingdom-of-Andor, toxic Atha’an Miere, and prideful Kinswomen. In general just too many Wheel of Time women in one place.
Not all of Elayne’s bits were a bit of a slog to get through though. Elayne being dosed with forkroot and ‘saved’ by Doilin Mellar and Elayne negotiating with the Borderlanders were both lilies in a field of thorns.
Speaking of lilies, the best moment of Elayne’s arc in Winter’s Heart has got to be the chapter, Lily in Winter, where she, Aviendha and Min bond Rand as their Warder. This was the first time, I believe, that Rand is physically in a room with all three of his lovers (that feels weird to say). The reactions of Nynaeve, Lan and Birgitte were hilarious. It was also a heartwarming and satisfying moment, one we’ve been anticipating for a while now.
Another hilarious moment was Birgitte, Aviendha and Min choosing to get drunk together. Well, the Warder bond can be . . . inconvenient at times.
“I think the woman was born in Far Madding in a thunderstorm. She probably told the thunder to be quiet. It probably did.”
-Robert Jordan, Winter’s Heart
Cadsuane had her fair share of chapters in Winter’s Heart. She brings Alanna and a bunch of other channelers to Far Madding in search of Rand. Cadsuane’s hometown, Far Madding, is one of my favourite cities in the Wheel of Time. Its layout, building styles, and its peculiar setting of being within a rudimentary Stedding-a place that restricts access to the One Power-made for a fascinating location.
The events in Far Madding were some of my favourite in Winter’s Heart, excluding the final scene at Shadar Logoth. Rand is on the prowl like a, well, like a Dragon, searching for rogue Asha’man. He fights Rochaid and Kisman, killing the former, the latter succumbing to Fain’s dagger later. That weasel shows up wherever you’d least expect. Also, the way the city restricts channeling makes for a cool dynamic, as Rand has to rely on his physical strengths instead, making his hunt feeling almost more primal and personal.
I also enjoyed Rand and Lan’s fight at the Asha’man’s hiding place, against Padan Fain and Toram Riatin (although Rand and Lan vs Slayer would’ve been better). Lan dispatches Riatin, while Fain flees with his tail between his legs. I honestly don’t know why, but any time Fain is on screen, I crack up. What a weirdo.
Nynaeve just keeps on getting better. Rand and Lan can both be a bit, how does she put it? Ah yes . . . rather wool-headed at times, but her concern and support of them both is always warming to read. Pretty much since A Crown of Swords, I’ve started to appreciate her more and more, and it doesn’t look like she’s going to stop. Although someone could do with cutting her braid, if you catch my meaning.
The final thing I want to mention related to Far Madding is where Rand is imprisoned in the cells. I appreciated the parallels to when he was trapped in ‘the box’, and the impact that had on him.
Also, Cadsuane threatening the Counsels into freeing Rand with her hummingbird-shaped well earned her some points. Maybe in time she’ll come to be a second rate Moiraine.
The climax at Shadar Logoth where Rand and Nynaeve cleanse the taint on Saidin through the use of the Choedan Khal, was tremendously done. The sheer EPICNESS of the scene; the imagery, the constant flicking back and forth, the Forsaken drawn like moths to a flame, and the Aes Sedai linked with Asha’man protecting Rand and Nyneave like . . . moths protecting the flame? Sorry, I’m running out of ideas.
It turns out Lanfear is still alive, now known as Cyndane! And Dashiva was actually Osan’gar, or in other words, one half of Balthamel?! A shame he died, I quite liked him. It was tragic that Eben died as well, the poor kid.
All in all, that climax was up there with the best of the best Wheel of Time endings, although maybe not as high as, say, book 2, book 3 or book 6’s.
“You can never know everything, and part of what you know is always wrong. Perhaps even the most important part. A portion of wisdom lies in knowing that. A portion of courage lies in going on anyway.”
-Robert Jordan, Winter’s Heart
Overall, I feel like Winter’s Heart is pretty underrated. Much of the first half of the book was slow going, and admittedly, tough to get through, but things really picked back up in the second half, with satisfying moments for Elayne, Mat and Rand’s arcs, and ending in an awesome climax.
Honestly, the ‘slog’ is much easier to get through than I thought it would be. However, I have heard some . . . worrisome things about Crossroads of Twilight, the next book, in terms of ‘slogginess’.
So, as is tradition, I say….
“Till Shade is gone, till water is gone, into the [‘slog’] with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to [Crossroads of Twilight, here I come!]”
The Satyr
Hungry for more gossip about Winter’s Heart at The Fantasy Tavern?
Here’s is one of The Fantasy Nobility’s Opinions…
I have heard some commenters say that this is the worst Wheel of Time book outside of Cross Roads of Twilight. I’m not going to say that they’re right. But I’m not going to say they’re wrong either.
Mike