Keeping Rand at a distance is a smart structural decision. Instead of living inside every moment of his uncertainty, we watch the pressure his existence creates for others. His absence gives the story a restless quality: everyone is moving toward something, and nobody has the whole picture.
Mat finally becomes much more than the friend associated with a dangerous mistake. His irreverence has room to breathe, and the gap between what he says he wants and what he actually does becomes a source of both humor and affection. Perrin's quieter resistance offers a useful contrast. He is frightened by what his abilities mean, but his instinct to notice and protect others keeps pulling him outward.
The parallel journeys can feel mechanically arranged as they close on the same destination. I am more interested in the personalities developing along those roads than in the tidiness of the convergence. This volume makes a convincing case that The Wheel of Time has enough life beyond its central figure to sustain a much larger story.
— Cory Lane