In the sixth book of the Wheel of Time series, we still follow the same group of ragtag adventurers while they explore and try to find a better their world. It is set in a very typical deep fantasy setting, complete with magical beasts and intense world building. As the sixth book in the series, new plotlines and adventures come to light. While the nobles under his rule try to curry favor with Rand, he starts to discover more about his past, namely his birth parents. Meanwhile the Dark One continues his ruinous plans, resurrecting more to create his dark servants. What will Rand discover about his past, and will it affect his work both as a leader, or as a savior?
As the sixth book in the series, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t care much by this point. Plot-wise, the entire book could likely be removed from the series and replaced by an extra chapter in the last or next book. By this point I feel that most of the books in the 14 book series could be cut down significantly.
Also, I still don’t care for the protagonist Rand. I find him dull and seemingly impossible to kill. Though, I think that would be true of any character if you read six books straight about them. I know repeating characters is a reason many people like this series, but I wish they switched it up a bit more. Maybe even introducing new characters but keeping the old ones would spice it up a bit. They brought back my favorite guy Perrin, but very briefly and I wish we say more of him, or just less of Rand.
By this point my interest in this series was pretty much gone, and I actually took a break after reading this book before returning to the rest of the series. I will say the break helped, but I simply think books written in this time period that are this long simply aren’t for me. Maybe if I had taken a break before reading this one I would have liked it more, but alas. I do know plenty who enjoy this series, it's simply a matter of taste.