Customer Reviews

New Spring: The Novel (Wheel of Time - In The Beginning) Prequel

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(98)
3 star:		(60)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(98)

 

 

Those familiar with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series know that a great many readers have something of a love/hate relationship with it. On the one hand, the world in which the story takes place is meticulously constructed, diverse and highly immersive, a true joy to read about. Some of his characters are quite intriguing, and his numerous subplots were always enough to keep readers highly involved. On the other hand, his series has two huge defects. First, almost every single female character is cut from exactly the same mold; Jordan says he wanted to write "strong" women, but what he means is that they behave like arrogant, spoiled teenagers who see men as little more than beasts of burden. I've read a number of strong women in literature, and met a number of them in my life, and none acts the least bit like Jordan's harpies. The second problem is that in the later volumes of the series, "glacial" doesn't even begin to describe the pacing. At least glaciers make progress once in awhile.

New Spring, thankfully, rectifies the latter problem. It moves along at a fine pace, keeping the reader interested from beginning to end. It's a measure of the depth of Jordan's story that even those of us who have read through the whole Wheel of Time series numerous times can find plenty of interest in this latest volume. A number of long-standing questions are resolved to greater or lesser extent in this book:

- What history does Elaida have with Moiraine and Siuan?
- What is the nature of the test to become full Aes Sedai?
- What happened to the other Malkieri following the fall of their nation?
- Why does Siuan suspect that Cadsuane is Black Ajah?
- What was the "unpleasantness" following the Aiel War that Cadsuane has referred to?
- How did Moiraine meet Lan?
- What was Lan's life like before he met Moiraine?
- How was the Tower involved in the fall of Malkier?

As you probably know, New Spring first appeared in short story form quite some time ago, and sometime following its release, Jordan's publishers at Tor convinced him to expand it into a novel, since he had told them that there was a great deal of the story he had to leave out in order to fit it into the space he was given. Keep in mind that I have never read the compressed version of this book, so I cannot compare the two, and tell you what was added or expanded in the novel form. However, the book doesn't read like a very short story that's been lengthened to fit a higher page count, not at all.

The other thing of note is that a number of sections in this book are written with Lan as the point-of-view character, which is an interesting experience, since I don't think Jordan has ever used him as such in the standard Wheel of Time books. Lan's character is already much as it will be about eighteen years later, when the opening events of the series proper take place, but the look into his mind is still fun.

The other main characters, Moiraine and Siuan, do show a little difference from their older counterparts that we're used to. Moiraine in particular is interesting to read, as she really comes across as a younger version of herself: determined and capable of great focus, but yet to attain the dignity and composure we're used to seeing from her. Siuan is a bit of a different story -- she seems to change rather rapidly after becoming Aes Sedai -- but it's still interesting seeing her as a younger woman.

In summary, despite some of the low reviews it's received, this book is well worth the purchase for Wheel of Time fans who miss the much better pacing of the first several books of the series. I wouldn't strongly recommend reading it if you've never read Jordan before, as it's better to have the background information from his full-size novels first, but if you're set on doing so, you should be able to pick up enough to keep from getting lost. An excellent purchase.

As this series has gotten worse, I have switched to buying the softcover edition instead of the hardcover edition to save money and space- and therefore just read this.

For all of you who have been buying books every 2 years - and debating whether to keep doing so - buy this.

This was a FUN read - and reminded me of why I got hooked on this series in the first place. I had read a review complaining there was too much fluff (e.g., descriptions of Tar Valon) - nonsense. While the book was not deep it was a pleasure to follow. Reading this provides insight into the relationship between Lan and Moiraine. READ THIS!!

I have read New Spring: The Novel, and have to say that although it was a hundred times better than Crossroads of Twilight, the latest installment in the series, it still is missing the magic that the first novels had. When the Wheel of Time series began, it was captivating. There was an exciting plot that never dragged along so slowly that it seemed to be standing still, as it does in the later books. It was full of mystery and thrill, and I could hardly force myself to put the books down. New Spring: The Novel, was a great read and provided a lot of interesting background to the series, but it certainly was not as fast-paced as the Wheel of Time or the Great Hunt, and not the type of book that kept me up late at night with my eyes glued to the pages. Robert Jordan still tends to go on in too much detail about clothing and furniture, such as "it was a simple room, with not too much gilding, but the mirrored stand lamps were brightly polished and silk tapestries hung on the walls." It seems that Robert Jordan has gotten into a rut and does not know or understand anymore how to write without so many excess details filling his books. But if you can ignore the lengthy un-needed descriptions, this is a book WoT fans will definitely want to read. I am lucky becasue I got into the series in late 2004, and I have had no waiting for any book to come out. For older fans of the series, I can imagine how frustrating it would be to wait for the end of the series only to discover that R.J. has decided to go back and write a prequel before moving on with the plot that everyone cares the most about.

Enough about what the book doesn't have. New Spring is very good. It takes us back to when Moiraine Damodred and Siuane Sanche are Accepted in the White Tower, training to become Aes Sedai. It is interesting to know that Suiane and Moiraine were "pillow friends" and that they used to play pranks on Elaida. They hear Gitara, the Keeper of the Chronicles at the Time, have a Foretelling about the Dragon Reborn taking his first breath, in what I consider to be the best scene of the book. Siuane and Moiraine start hunting for the baby, searching through the thousands of names collected of women whose children were born within ten days of Gitara's Foretelling.

Also Lan Mandragoran, the uncrowned king of the dead nation Malkier, fights battles against the Aiel. He meets Moiraine, who he knows at first as Lady Alys Sedai. Lan and two Malkieri escort Moiraine to a city, and many funny things happen between them, with Moiraine, Aes Sedai and of the high house of Damodred, flying into a pond, or Moiraine setting fleas and wasps on Lan and sending a column of water crashing down on his head. Lan also has his carniera, first love, to deal with. She wants him to claim the throne of Malkier and try to fight back the Blight to reclaim the lost land where the nation used to lie.

This book was good, not to long, and provided interesting if not direly needed background information. If you have not read any of the other Wheel of Time novels, DO NOT start with this one! There is no index explaining trollocs or the Blight or channeling, and you will be very confused. The one true complaint I have about this book is that reading about Moiraine and Siuane putting fish in the White Tower's fountain or putting itchpowder on Elaida's shift detracts from the mystery that surrounded Siuane and Moiraine, or at least Moiraine, before. During the Wheel of Time, Aes Seadia were legendary, almost not human, but they have slowly evolved, to me at least, into regualr women. Their serenity seems to hide the fact that they are childish at times and nearly bursting with emotion, and they always seem to hang on to serenity by their toenails- it could slip at any second.

My biggest disappointment with the book was that, as far as I could tell, the last 130 pages were just New Spring, the short story from Legends, reprinted with minor adjustments. This means that only a little over half of the book was really new material, which might damper the enjoyment of those who have already read the story in Legends.

But still, it's a good read, especially for those who haven't yet read the short story. The plot moves quickly and purposefully. The characters do not take any tedious baths on-screen, and while Siuan and Moiraine do visit a seamstress, there is a point to the scene, which is brief and entertaining. Reading this book made me feel that Jordan's problem in his later novels is that he isn't sure where he is going, so he STALLS, as this certainly seemed like a return to his old
style of writing, especially in its better moments.

There's only one chapter of Lan in the first half of the book, which might disappoint some people, but Moiraine's POV was quite interesting IMHO. The political games she plays with the Hall as a newly raised Aes Sedai are what Elayne's struggles for the throne of Andor could have been, if they weren't punctuated by pointless baths with Aviendha and her harem of nubian Sea Folk babes. Also, her test for the shawl was EXCELLENTLY done- there was far more to it then either the reader or Moiraine herself had been led to believe (i.e. she didn't just stand there forming weaves while sisters beat the tar out of her) and Jewish readers especially might appreciate Jordan's use of the star of David as a directional tool. A number of Aes Sedai and Accepted are mentioned in the first half but thankfully, most are people we have already met. Also, I would suggest that dedicated fans bone up on just who is Black Ajah in the Tower prior to going into this book. Its creepier that way.

But perhaps the most rewarding part of the first half of the novel was the insight it gave into Moiraine and Siuan's relationship. Jordan doesn't state flat-out that they are "pillow-friends", as they say in Randland, but it certainly seems that way. They do kiss, at one point, and one gets the impression that it's more than just a peck on the cheek, since the kiss itself is the climactic end of a scene between the two, though Jordan doesn't go into any real detail. Whether pillow-friends or not, it's clear that they care deeply for each other, and it's touching.

If you're a fan of Jordan definitely read this book, as the writing is much better than his past few efforts, and the story is a welcome diversion from the tangled and tedious plotlines that the main story in the Wheel of Time series has become. Still, you might want to borrow it instead of buying it, especially if you've already read the short story.

I found myself in two minds while reading New Spring. After waiting so long to reach the end of the series, it was annoying to find RJ has been working on a prequel instead!! At the same time, I liked reading about Moiraine and Siuan as Accepted and the testing for the shawl. Of course the final third of the book describing how Lan becomes Moiraine's warder is largely unchanged from the short story in Legends so that adds nothing new. There are flashes aplenty of the RJ we saw in the first 5 WOT books and I do wish he had spent more time on the Aiel war (yes, I know, the story has to start somewhere after all!) and perhaps some discussion between the Accepted on their preferred Ajah. I look forward to reading in the next two prequels of Siuan's ascent to the Amyrlin Seat and how the search for the Dragon shifts to the Two Rivers. Since the story clearly isn't moving forward very much, we may as well look back!!!

Otherwise, my WOT cribs still apply. The clichéd mannerisms appear in full force and the same pathetic excuse for a map appears again, leaving the reader trying hard to precisely locate the action (the position of the Hook? East of the Erinin and Tar Valon of course, but beyond that, keep guessing). But that is OK. Since RJ is on his own trip and unconcerned about his readers, I now read his books through the County Library and decline to buy them. He has every right to write the way he likes, and I have the choice to buy, or not.

First off, I wouldn't care if this series went twenty books and fifteen thousand pages, as long as the pacing was good and things were happening, but book six (which was still good) started slowing things down, and the brakes have been on ever since. The dust jacket of book ten talks about all the major things that are finally going to happen, and then none of them happen in the book.

The first six books made me a huge fan, and established some incredible characters -- some of the best in fantasy -- but since then the characters have stopped developing in any meaningfull way, and nothing has happened. You could argue, I suppose, that book nine saw the power cleansed -- but so what? It's cleansing made no real difference in book ten -- heck, Rand (in the few pages he appeared in book ten) seamed even more reluctant to touch the power then he'd been when it had been tainted.

For four or five books now we've been waiting for the battle of the two white towers. For four books or so we've been waiting for Rand to do something about the running of the black tower. For four books or so we've been waiting for Morgase to stop pretending she's a maid and reveal she's a Queen. For three books or so we've been waiting for Elayne to gain solid control of Andor (the struggle for control may be realistic -- but I don't care -- I find it boring. It's been going on too long.) We've been waiting forever for a resolution to Padan Fain. We've been waiting forever for Rand to really do something about the Seanchen. I've been waiting for four books now for Rand to stop sneaking into one ruling house after another, trying to ensure no one know he's there while he tells people he doesn't really trust how to run the day to day operations for him. There are too many minor politico's with their own motivations and two many plot threads that never get resolved. And what does Jordan do to make things better? He starts undoing the plot threads he tied up in the first books. He starts bringing Forsaken back to life.

After each of the last four or five books I've heard people say "the next book has to be amazing. Think of all the things that Jordan has set up that have to happen in the next book." And then each and every time Jordan has found a way to hold those things off even longer. The Shaido are still running around. Faile is still a prisoner. The Prophet still hasn't reached Rand. We still don't know exactly who the returned Forsaken are. The white towers haven't fought, nor have they dealt with the black tower. Rand hasn't done anything about the Ahaman trying to kill him. Matt's still trying to get back from where ever it was he was, and he still hasn't dealt with the Gollum that's trying to kill him. Heck, the thing didn't even show up in book ten.

And just as Egwene's white tower FINALLY, FINALLY reaches Tar Valon at the end of book ten, and a battle between the two towers seems like it can't be put off any longer, what does Jordan do? He has Egwene act VERY, VERY stupidly -- like a complete moron -- has her deceive her own people and slip away on her own (a move that makes very little sense) so that she can be captured by the other tower, ensuring that even in book eleven a battle between the two towers is unlikely.

And through it all, Jordan refuses to write women as anything other then Bullies, Brats, or Witches, refuses to let any of the women grow into a more rounded character, and refuses to let any of them consider that they might not be the smartest person in the story. At the same time, he refuses to let any of his male characters do anything about the women's behaviour, and writes them all as long suffering saints who never run out of patience or self control -- even when the women around them deserve and would benefit from a good telling off. Even when any sane person, male or female, would have had enough and would have let their tongue fly. It's like he doesn't want his female characters to be likable. Some are worse then others, but all of them fit into the Bully, Brat, or Witch catagories.

And then he extends a prequal that most of his fans already have instead of writing book eleven. Having heard his fans cry that they can't take how much he's slowed down the plot, how desperate they are to see some of the storylines he's established start to resolve, he instead takes the time to expand an already existing prequal. Having heard the people who have made him rich and succesfull, who have taken him and his writing to their hearts -- he completely ignores them and rewrites an already existing prequal instead.

New Spring is written well, but it isn't what most of us want right now. We want the story to move forward without page upon page of skirt straigtening, braid tugging, haughty sniffing, and arm crossing.

The Wheel of Time started off as one of the best series ever. Even if it does borrow a lot from Tolkien and Herbert, it established itself as something unique and good. But it feels like Jordan's lost his way. Like I said above, I don't care if he needs ten more books to finish things off, as long as the books are actually needed and things are happening. Nothing has happened in the last four books that couldn't have happened in one. They were all just an over long build up of issues he's already established with no seeming importance or resolution.

I would be thrilled with ten more WOT books the quality of the first five or six. I don't know if I could stick with the series through even two or three more the quality of the last four.

Unlike a number of other reviewers I see nothing wrong with Jordan writing this book, however, like most reader I have been increasingly disappointed with the last couple of WOT books (#10, Crossroads of Twilight being the worst). This book is definetely better then #10, but in my opinion it still has way too much flowery detail and not enough plot, i.e. it not on par with the first 4-5 books of the series.

New Spring is actually pretty good. I guess my favorite part is that it wasn't approaching 1000 pages. Anything I can finish in a couple days is good and not too long. That I finished it in a couple days also tells me I found New Spring interesting and entertaining. New Spring encouraged me to reread the entire series, and I am currently bogged down in Path of Daggers. So, I would also say that New Spring must be much better written than the more recently released Jordan novels.

New Spring offers a glimpse at Moraine, Suian and Lan twenty years before we see them in the Eye of the World. I also enjoyed the glimpse of Elaida being Elaida back in the early days. Sometimes I feel that Jordan overdoes the details on the customs of different nations, but reading about Lan and Malkier's history was interesting. I recommend this book to anyone who read Path of Daggers because New Spring is much better.

As a book, it's typical of Jordan's writing. The same cliches exist, the same problems with his writing style, the lengthy and unnessecary prose, but other than that it's a good book.

It's not the NEXT in the series we are all waiting to finally read the end of, and it's not even the next book before the end, nor does it lay any new groundwork. All it does, is attempt to cash in further on the WOT series and milk more cash from the cow.

Note to Robert Jordan. The cow is almost dry. Your readers are becoming irritated with the story and are turning elsewhere for entertainment, notice declining sales figures and read between the lines. You have alienated your readers, get back on track, and they MAY return.

As an entire novel, this is better than his last novel; however I would have given that one zero stars if I could.

As an addition to his Legends short story, this is defiantly not worth the price. The back-end of this novel (the original New Spring) is fairly engaging; the additional pre-prequel is not.

The politics are boring, the description of every object to minutia is mind0numbing and the characters are the same cookie-cutter characters that fill Jordan's other novels. I think I would have rather had the unemotional Aes Sedai where I could imagine their inner-thoughts then find out that they share the exact same emotional maturity as all of Jordan's other unimaginative female characters.

Do not buy this novel. Buy Legends instead and enjoy the quick-read of the original New Spring along with some other excellent short stories.