Winter’s Heart is one of those books where you have to trust that Jordan is actually taking you somewhere.
There are stretches where it feels like half the cast is waiting around while somebody else gets to move the story forward, and I can understand why this part of the series frustrates people. There are a lot of separate storylines, a lot of internal worrying, and plenty of moments where I wanted things to move a little faster.
But Mat being back immediately helped for me.
He brings a completely different energy to the series. He still complains about getting dragged into everybody else’s problems, still insists he wants an uncomplicated life, and still somehow ends up responsible for people he absolutely did not plan on being responsible for.
That’s Mat.
He notices more than he lets on, cares more than he admits, and usually ends up doing the decent thing while complaining about it the entire time. I missed that in The Path of Daggers.
Rand is in a very different place. By now he’s carrying so much pressure and distrust that almost everything feels like another problem he has to solve himself.
That’s why I liked seeing him work with Nynaeve.
Nynaeve has known him since before anybody thought of him as the Dragon Reborn, and she’s never been especially impressed by titles or the way people act around him. She’ll argue with Rand when she thinks he’s wrong, but she’ll also stand beside him when it actually matters.
Their relationship feels different from most of Rand’s alliances because there’s history there. She isn’t following him because he’s powerful or because some prophecy says she should.
She knows him.
The romance in this series is still hit or miss for me. Some relationships work, some feel like Jordan decided two people belonged together and then expected me to catch up, and there’s a lot of time spent inside characters’ heads worrying about who loves who.
Sometimes I just wanted everybody to say what they meant and move the hell on.
But the ending of Winter’s Heart is a completely different story.
Without getting into every detail, Rand and Nynaeve attempt something absolutely massive, and it finally gives the book a sense of purpose beyond moving characters into position for later.
It’s one of those moments where you realize just how big the One Power can actually get in this world.
I liked that Jordan was willing to let his characters attempt something that sounded almost impossible instead of just giving them another battle to win.
The road getting there is uneven, and I wouldn’t call this one of the strongest books in the series overall.
But when Winter’s Heart finally shows you what it has been building toward, the payoff is big enough that I’m glad I stuck with it.
Who I’d recommend it to: Anyone already committed to The Wheel of Time, especially Mat fans who missed him in the previous book.
Caution: This one takes its time, some of the romance drags for me, and several storylines feel like setup until pretty late in the book.
Discussion question: Did the ending make the slower parts of Winter’s Heart worth it for you, or was the journey there still too much of a drag?
— Cory Lane