Suffice it to say that there will be spoilers, especially one particular plot point in the last battle in the last book.
Knife of Dreams reads like Robert Jordan finally decided to get serious after Crossroads of Twilight. He got all his pieces where he wanted them on the board (again, finally) and it was time to start making moves. Perrin rescuing Faile from the Shaido Aiel? Let’s go. Confirming Elayne as the Queen of Andor? Do it. Egwene immediately making moves to undermine Elaida in the White Tower despite being a prisoner? Not wasting any time here. Mat marrying The Daughter of the Nine Moons? Rand battles a Forsaken? Galad somewhat inadvertently taking over the Whitecloaks? Lan riding to the borderlands for the Last Battle and Nynaeve sets him up with an army he doesn’t want? Loial gets married?!
There’s a lot going on in Knife of Dreams and it all actually feels important, which is all the more remarkable after Crossroads of Twilight, a novel in which almost nothing felt important.
I’ve long considered The Shadow Rising to be my favorite Wheel of Time novel but now that I’m so close to the end of my Wheel of Time reread I wonder if it’s not actually Knife of Dreams. The Shadow Rising has Rhuidian, which I can’t express just how thrilling it was the first (dozen?) times I read it - but Knife of Dreams just has so much movement.
Knife of Dreams also has the beginning of Egwene’s true rebellion against Elaida and the White Tower. Egwene in captivity is probably my favorite storyline in all of the series, and it’s one that continues in The Gathering Storm with even more strength. But it begins here. Egwene’s dignity in understanding her position as a captive but taking every moment to quietly sow seeds of dissent against Elaida and demonstrating how a real Amyrlin should comport herself is something special in this series.
I know how this all ends, and I’m still upset that Egwene never gets the change to be a transcendent Amyrlin following The Last Battle, but between how she begins to reunite the Tower and her later actions in the Last Battle - she is going to go down as an absolute legend.
Everything else in this novel is very good. Egwene is *great*.
Also, as with all things relating to Wheel of Time, I reject the internal chronology that from start to finish the entire series only spans two years. I think Egwene is only a captive in the White Tower for a couple of weeks, which doesn’t seem nearly long enough for her quiet resistance to build the allies and support it does. This is months in my head, which much better fits my head canon of the series being something like 5-6 years in duration rather than 2. Of course, months may be too long for how the Salidar rebellion / siege of the Tower lasted without Egwene but it’s not like everything ties together perfectly anyhow.
Knife of Dreams is the novel to look forward to if you’ve been sticking with the series but experiencing some frustration with pacing and disappointment - but if you’ve read through ten books and aren’t sure if book eleven is worth it than I’m not quite sure what to say is that Knife of Dreams begins a very strong ride to the end.
Joe Sherry - Senior Editor of Nerds of a Feather. Hugo and Ignyte Award Winner. Minnesotan.
