Reluctantly using experiences from his previous life, Rand deftly handles the manipulative nobles of the city of Tear, securing his position there.  He then moves on to the Aiel waste, in an attempt to gain the support of the reclusive warrior nation.

Perrin and Mat play much more important roles in this book, and I even found myself enjoying reading their parts more than I did the parts about Rand.  While this isn't to say the character of Rand is becoming dull, it's just that there isn't a whole lot of action going on with Rand in this book.

The only problem I have with this book is that it seems to have the slowest "in-between action" parts of any of the first four books.  It becomes a little dull at times, but the battles with Perrin are extremely fun to read, and Mat's character has suddenly become very interesting.

A common complaint against the Wheel of Time books is the absurd number of characters and side plots that never seem to get resolved, and this is probably one of the worst offenders of the series that I've read.  It simply becomes an effort to keep everything straight in your mind, and the fact that few things ever seem to be truly resolved gave the entire thing a somewhat bitter aftertaste.

Faults aside, it's still an excellent book and a worthwhile read-- you could do a lot worse in picking a book to read, and for fans of the series, this book introduces a lot of the plotlines that are sure to carry out through the remainder of the series.

Rating 6.5/10 stars

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