**Reread in 2025- I absolutely love this book. The pacing and character moments are great. In many ways, this is the completion of the first arc of WoT, which might be why its so satisfying. Our characters all are growing and building on moments/traits they have been working towards*

Wow! Ok, so this book is everything I have wanted this series to be.

We are finally out of the "pre-story" of the series and really getting to the meat of things. The world and the characters are built up enough, that the plot can really gain momentum, and spend time on events within the story, rather then exposition explaining things.

Rather then ramble i'll try to hit my few highlights from this book:

-No pacing issues, first and foremost, it was refreshing to read a Wheel of Time book that doesn't have noticeable lag in the middle. The first two books I felt like the middle was a quagmire I had to drag myself thru, but this one had none of that. The climax still felt a little rushed, but was much better.

-The settings are better described, and feel unique. Perhaps this is more readily apparent because by this point we have seen a couple of locations, so we have more the compare and contrast back and forth

-Perrin and Mat, are featured heavily, and they have some amazing growth in this book. This is juxtaposed well with the mystery of what is happening to Rand. Egwene is the only female perspective we really get, but her storyline is also riveting.

Honestly,I can't wait to start book 4, with how strong of an entry book 3 was!