WoTPre: Part 4 (Chapters 20-End)

[Bill]

Part 4

Please keep all discussion and speculation to the events of Part 4 (Chapters 20-End).

No spoiler tags required. Though it would be highly appreciated if you Uncheck Add to my Update Feed to avoid accidentally spoiling this for your good read friends.

Please do not discuss events from later chapters/books. Referring back to events from a previous section/book is fine.

[Bill]

Finished but did this in audiobook and need to grab my kindle version and see where the split in the sections was.

I really liked the ending and the way that Lan and Moraine came to understand/trust each other. I wasn't expecting the black ajah to factor in this one so that was surprising. I can't imagine that Lan's ex will go quietly into the night after the outcome of this book. Wonder if she will show up in the rest of the series.

[Andreas]

(view spoiler)[Psssscht, don't mention the Black Ajah. (hide spoiler)]

The last part had a good piece of action, something that I missed a little bit in the previous 2/3. I couldn't quite believe that they talk about the black ajah in public, given that it is one of the top secrets of the white tower. Moiraine's naivety felt exaggerated.
Lan's willingness to be bound came to sudden for me. Previously he was all like "never work with Aes Sedai, they might bind you", then one long afternoon and a small talk and he acknowledged without really knowing how that would work out.

Lan's ex Edayn found her daughter Iselle killed, that is a valid reason to loose willingness to fight for the crown.
Concerning her future in the series: (view spoiler)[She doesn't reappear in the series anymore. (hide spoiler)]

I gave the novel 4 stars. 3 for quality, plus one for me as a fan of the series. I wouldn't recommend it to readers who don't know the series because of all the name dropping. I also don't know at what stage in reading I'd recommend it - certainly not after book one, because narration is uncertain and your view as a reader would change too much if read too early. But maybe a few books later in the series when you've got a better understanding about the setting in general. Best might be in publication order, i.e. after Crossroads of Twilight. Or like me after reading the whole thingy. When you want to re-read the whole series, it would be a good idea to start with New Spring.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

We waited and did it in publication order. I don't recall where I read it in the series. I think it might have been while I was waiting for Towers of Midnight to come out.

[Rob, Mayor of Ghost Town]

oops. wrong section.