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onaperduamedee · 1 year

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Notes on The Path of Daggers

Oh, Shienar leaders reunion! Does it mean we will at last get some Lan content? They don’t seem to be ready to support Rand though.

Verin is the very definition of a bad bitch. She perceives so much more than she lets on and I love that she clearly has her own agenda. Black Ajah? Spy? I have no idea what her deal is, but she seems to be on a level with Cadsuane and Moiraine when it comes to acting as a free agent.

Birgitte is smaller than Aviendha and Elayne? Lies! Lieeeeeeees!

"You can ask or demand anything of me, but never to let you die without trying to save you. The day you die, I die." I am in agony. The way this is both about Nynaeve and Moiraine, but in a different light, with the trust and love placed in Nynaeve and the acknowledgement of betrayal by Moiraine. Blood and ashes, this storyline is going to hurt.

Not liking Aviendha's thoughts on women and softness, all the more ridiculous that Birgitte is right here, with her love of dresses and feminity despite being very strong. I get this is Aviendha’s POV, but this is only the hundredth time we got such an angle and I am tired.

On one hand, I understand Nyn and Elayne not trusting the Aes Sedai with guarding the Black Ajah, because there has to be one or two BA sisters in their ranks. On the other, they don't have the best track records with decision-making and risk assessment, so I will be surprised if Ispan doesn't escape eventually, with casualties at that.

I am rooting for the Kin so hard. Please, let them be Aes Sedai and prove themselves, they are so cool. Like with the noblewomen and grandmothers being integrated into the Tower by Egwene later on, this storyline gives me so much joy.

Nynaeve ready to yell at the Aes Sedai despite them not doing anything for once is so funny. For all their flaws, Aes Sedai are no worse or better than other groups, especially with all the parallels to the Aiel. I’d say it was the most fun these chapters had been because the conflict between the four groups is getting repetitive.

I love Aviendha worrying about the gholam when we know for a fact Seanchan are invading at this very moment. She is a trouper though and I love her lion-heart.

Elayne and Aviendha giving strong "she is so smart and brave and beautiful" New Spring Siuan and Moiraine vibes. They legit have more chemistry together than either with Rand.

Yeah, still not a fan of Nyn and Elayne relying so much on their strength to intimidate or gain the upper hand on others. It's not something they picked up only from Aes Sedai either considering Verin's words at the beginning of The Dragon Reborn. It's just... You know the way people with power are terrified of weaker people enacting on them the same violence because they cannot conceive of a world without a power imbalance? Yeah that.

What I gather from all those new channelers being insanely powerful, even more than Nynaeve, is that as the Age comes to an end, more channelers in line with the Age of Legends will reveal themselves in different nations.

People with cloud dancing abilities and the Windmistresses are doing unaided what required ter'angreal in the AoL? Very interesting. As with the bonding weave, I love the nuance in picturing evolution as non-linear, with gains and losses, particularly in light of all the history and scientific advancement lost to time.

RJ's insistence that Aiel are tanned white people instead of the people of color they should have been will never stop being bizarre. I know they are fantasy Irish/Scottish people, but the fact they are uniformly described as tanned blond white Californians is throwing me off.

See, one of my issues with Elayne that is standing out this book is the way she often seems to me an Egwene stand-in: her arc about being Queen but having to prove it is too similar to Egwene’s at this point. They’re not the same obviously, but too closely related, especially considering how different the boys are from one another.

I am glad that Caire and the Sea folk took the helm with the Bowl of winds because otherwise, it would have been super White savioury of Elayne to lead. It will be such a bloody incredible scene on-screen, I cannot wait.

Alise in the long line of very competent working-class women without which whole institutions would crumble. Also described like an avalanche btw. Yes, I miss Moiraine.

The Seanchan attack and Elayne unraveling the gateway was so bloody epic. Elayne the mad scientist remains my favourite Elayne. I love the unease in the Seachan camp when they incorrectly conclude from this that their enemies have weapons of mass destruction (which they do, in the form of sa’-, ter’- and angreal, but this was an accident.)

Oh, Perrin is crossing paths with Morgase's party! I am digging this. This is going to be interesting, with Morgase hiding her identity and so many leaders traveling with Perrin, a rebel leader himself.

Here's the thing, if you send away Berelain and Anoura, gag Seonid and only use the Wise Ones as watchdogs, you're left with Perrin and Morgase and they just are not interesting enough by themselves to keep my attention.

Is Lini forcing Morgase to marry Tallanvor? Why are old women so creepy in these books?

I love Faile. I don't love that her presence prompts gender essentialism to worsen every time in Perrrin’s thoughts. I will never get used to it. I hate being yanked out of the story because of this.

Faile and her Cha Faile. Her being a shrewd politician and general, seeing the potential of eager and devoted young Cairhienins who are likely expert practitioners of Daes Dae’mar. She’s genuinely a good leader, like Berelain or Egwene, and I love her political acumen.

In an ideal Lubitschean Wot Universe, Faile and Perrin are married, Aram is Perrin’s boyfriend and Berelain is Faile’s girlfriend.

Oh boy, Tallanvor and Morgase is almost as bad as Siuan and Gareth. Stop forcing women in a vulnerable mental state to hook up with guys they depend on for survival.

The Aiel and indentured servitude… There’s a whole discussion to have about making prisoners apprentices in this way, as opposed to willingly like Aviendha and Egwene. The Aes Sedai are not Aiel, this is not ji’e’toh.

About Alliandre: just another powerful woman pledging to a man, nothing to see here.

That said, the discussion between Alliandre, Faile, Berelain and Annoura? So good. RJ writes bloody entertaining negotiating scenes, truly.

Ah yes, the four horsemen of the fantasy apocalypse :

Elayne - nepotism

Perrin - feudalism

Aviendha - indentured servitude

Rand - imperialism

Between the Cha Faile, the Rebels outside Cairhien with Darlin and Caraline, Mat's army, there is a strong recurring theme of Tear and Cairhien coming together under the Dragon's banner and it makes Siuan's association with Moiraine all the more thematically relevant, just saying.

Okay, maybe I should pay more attention to Moridin if he is Nae'blis. Who the heck is he? Also Cyndane? I love this game of whack-a-Forsaken.

I don’t say this enough, but the Forsaken are incredibly amusing in a Grand Guignol way.

Despite the initial Manicheism, the granularity of evil and good in these books is really fascinating: there are a million individuals on each side and in between, pursuing their own goal, or a common one but in a vastly different way.

Also, I can't bemoan the stupidity and lack of organization of the antagonists, particularly the Forsaken, without recognizing that most of the heroes are pretty incompetent themselves: they all have their own agenda and interest, their personality gets in the way all the time, they absolutely suck at communication and negotiation, and their plans rarely work as it should. The ta'veren factor does a lot of work here. Don't get me wrong, it is generally fun to read, on both sides, but yeah, sheer luck and lots of foolishness.

Aielman standing in the streets staring at the pouring rain and Cairhienin noblewoman laughing with her hood down under the rain, I send you paper kisses because that was charming.

A bit disappointed we did not get the first encounter between Sorilea and Cadsuane, but I really enjoyed their conversation. At least Sorilea is realizing the Aiel are as much help as the AS and that Rand needs a different kind of support than what they are providing.

Rand chapter finally!

And unfortunately it's one of those "group A disagrees with group B with the support of group C although group C hates group A while group D glares at group A sneering at C for agreeing with them, and B silently mocks group D for being so careless" chapters. It’s a lot of mannerisms and opposing POVs. It doesn’t really add much to the story beyond colouring and at this point in the conflicts, we don’t really need more colouring.

Adored the conversation with the Asha'man afterward though. They’ve gained a lot of individuality now that they’re away from Taim, which has to be intentional. Getting really worried about Rand’s symptoms and the possibility they are indeed starting to lose their mind.

I wonder if like healing stilling, healing the weather required both male and female channelers, and in their haste, the circle only fixed the weather partially because that’s a LOT of snow after a scorching summer. All the trees are going to die out of shock.

I love Egwene so bloody much. And Siuan. And Leane. I love their machinations, their mutual support, their chemistry, their strength, their flaws, their ridiculousness, their humanity, their everything.

Siuan knowing the history of the Tower by heart fills me with so much love. I feel so emotional about the contrast between the contempt some sisters hold her in for breaking the Tower and the devotion Siuan still has for the Tower, the love she has for who she is, an Aes Sedai. They get deserved crap for their stupid hierarchies, their arcane rules, their inflexibility and isolation, but the White Tower was created with laudable goals at first: preserving humanity and knowledge. They are not soldiers, they were meant to be custodians; seeing someone like Siuan, who embodied the Tower and broke it and herself in trying to push it in another direction… UGH. It reminds me of loving a country, a community, and hating it so much, hating what it taught me, what it broke in trying to preserve itself, and believing that maybe it would be easier to destroy it entirely, and still there is some good here and it deserves, perhaps, to remain and be changed.

Yeah, I love Siuan so much. Egwene is right: Siuan is so incredibly strong.

Shit, Aran'gar killed Selame? Sheriam is spying? For who? Shit shit shit. The Salidar lot is in so much danger.

I knew Elayne and Nynaeve's bargain with the Sea Folk was pretty much BS. They promised the moon knowing it was near impossible for Egwene to fulfill the bargain. Knowing Egwene, she will rise to the challenge.

I would die if Egwene puzzling out Siuan is in love with Gareth became in the show Egwene understanding Siuan is not merely mourning a co-conspirator in Moiraine but also a lover.

Talmanes feeling Mat needs him from hundreds of miles? Oh that's gay

Whatever possesses RJ to constantly interrupt charming bonding scenes or intense plotting schemes with the most childish romantic nonsense? Women and men alike lose braincells at the most inconvenient moment. It’s killing the vibe each time.

Everything about the way Egwene prepared and navigated the negotiations with the Andorans, and then the Aes Sedai? Phenomenal. I was on the edge of my seat.

I'm not gonna lie, going from blood-pumping Egwene chapters to mostly static Elayne and Rand chapters is underwhelming.

Still, there is an extremely uneasy and frantic energy to this particular fight around Ebou Dar. Perhaps it’s Rand’s extreme confidence in the Asha’man. Perhaps it’s the clear instability spreading through the male channelers. Perhaps it’s the grueling Guerilla approach to this battle. Perhaps it’s the oddness of the One Power in the mountains. I am really enjoying this tbh.

The Asha'man are much, much too eager to fight Aes Sedai and Taim has too great a hold on them. I don’t like that Rand’s distrust is caused mostly by LTT’s voice but he is right to suspect Taim’s influence on the Asha’man.

Are we ever going to find out what the deal is with the One Power for women and men near Ebou Dar? I love the concept of corrupted places where physics or magic doesn’t work as it should.

Liandrin?! In the hands of the Seanchan? What is going on?!?

Why is Lews Therin quoting that Prussian general? Is Prussia canon in the Wheel of Time univers?

THEY STOLE THE OATH ROAD And Pevara and Seaine discovered how to undo the Oaths? Oh, that is really interesting. REALLY interesting, particularly after Siuan’s discussion with Egwene.

Oh my god, if you order an Aes Sedai to lie under an oath, she can die choking?!?

OoooooooOooooooooOoooooh they are recruiting Salidar's spies to hunt the Black Ajah! This is so good. What an exciting development!

I got chills when the last Aes Sedai who discovered Seaine and Pevara refused to swear she was not a Darkfriend. I suspect it can’t be that easy though. Still really hyped for this storyline.

As I said, Asha’man = incel army. Of course, they would capture Aes Sedai and use compulsion to make them love them.

"Maybe Elayne had taught him." In a week while making out in Tear? Rather than Moiraine who spent months with him in the Waste cramming his head with 20 years' worth of experience as Blue Ajah? Or Bashere who has been working with him to handle no less than 4 different armies begrudgingly working together? Or the Aiel who are the fantasy Sparta culture? Come on, Min, I know you're trying very hard not to get jealous, but you're being foolish and as Rand’s primary advisor currently, you cannot afford to be foolish.

Cadsuane joking she expects the Asha'man to juggle made me cackle. She is the definition of the bigger bully.

Callandor requires men and women to work? Nice, I was hoping to get a sa’angreal like this soon. Seeing Rand navigate people he doesn’t trust while working with them is also particularly exciting.

Oh, they killed Adeleas... Vandene crying out loud for her sister after the others were sent away was actually heartbreaking. I do like that DF are still a serious threat; not a given with the number of actors now at play. Elayne and Nynaeve were faaaaar too trusting of the dozens of strangers they took up at the farm.

Rand and the Asha'man... Man, that was brutal. The madness was bound to catch up to them, but this, coming right after a near defeat, deaths caused by Rand and a betrayal, is absolutely harrowing. I love that we got Rand talking about consulting Nynaeve to cure the taint beforehand, giving them some hope, and then Rand invokes Nynaene to provide the only cure available for now to Fedwin. It’s so bleak, I love it.

Not liking one bit the idea that women like Nynaeve and Faile need to be dominated by their husbands to have a happy marriage. Not one bit.

We didn't get unnecessary female nudity in a while and now we get it for ALL our ladies. Amazing. At least, my gal Berelain escaped.

The finale was a little jarring in the sense that we needed to catch up with everybody suddenly and still got nothing on Mat and the Shienaran alliance, but before that I really enjoyed the bleakness on Rand’s side. Reminded me of New Spring. I do wish we spent more time on the aftermath of the attack Rand in the Sun Palace and the first mercy killing, but I suspect it will be explored next book.

Verdict: two books into the slog and I am cruising so far. My biggest complaint is the similarities in power struggles between Rand, Egwene and Elayne, the three big threads here: for several chapters, each is trying to handle groups at daggers drawn, with varied degrees of success. It’s obviously the unifying theme, but the story would have benefitted from a serious arc for Mat and Nynaeve for breathers, as both are generally entertaining wildcards. Nynaeve had practically NOTHING to do outside of her beef with Alise, which is frustrating because I’ve been unsatisfied with her arc for a few books now. Hopefully, she’ll get one with the research to clean saidin.

Yet, as much as I absolutely see the slackening in the narrative, with several chapters depicting characters riding and disagreeing and nothing else, I appreciate the depths added by Egwene’s moves, Rand losing his grip and the overcorrection of the weather. It’s not much, true, and this book will likely be merged with another for TV, but it certainly wasn’t as slow as certain parts of TEotW or LoC. I was deeply moved by certain parts (the Asha’man, Siuan and Egwene, Vandene and Adeleas), which makes this book automatically better than others in the series.

#the wheel of time #wot book spoilers #wot book review #wot book journey #the path of daggers #remblai #still having a good time honestly #I suspect the slog will start slogging next book #it's all that snow #Verin entering the characters top 10 in one chapter only woah #Wot review

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