I prefer New Spring after spending substantial time with the main series. Its appeal is not that it explains a secret necessary to understand book one. It lets us see familiar figures before their habits have hardened into the versions other characters encounter.
Moiraine and Siuan's friendship is the center of that pleasure. Ambition, affection, and shared risk make them feel younger without making them foolish. Lan's reserve also reads differently when the story takes time with the obligations behind it. Jordan can rely on our knowledge of the destination while concentrating on how a relationship begins.
The narrower focus is refreshing, although White Tower procedure still occupies considerable space. Read it for companionship and perspective, not for the largest possible plot advancement. Publication order places it after Crossroads of Twilight; waiting until then preserves the main series' gradual introduction to its world and institutions.
— Cory Lane