Rage in the Page: Gearing up for Tear

Friday, March 25, 2011

Title: The Dragon Reborn [find in a library]
Author: Robert Jordan
Series info: Book 3 in The Wheel of Time

Oh geez, what happened in this book? When each book in the series, in hardback, is 550-800 pages long it gets really hard to recall it all, or even remember what happened in the first 400 pages.

SPOILER ALERT, as per usual.

Thirteen Black Ajah, a group of Aes Sedai who follow the Dark One, leave the White Tower after killing several other Aes Sedai and stealing ter'angreal (artifacts that help them channel more power). Not coincidentally, it takes 13 Aes Sedai to remove a channeler's access to the True Source, so the fact that 13 left is worrisome at best.

The Amyrlin Seat, the head Aes Sedai, charges Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne with the task of tracking down any other Black Ajah that may have remained behind. As Accepted (one level up from Novice but not yet full Aes Sedai), no one will suspect them of this task. They find clues as to where the 13 have gone and decide to follow them to the city of Tear.

Elayne, daughter-heir to the throne of Andor, worries her mother, Morgase, will become even more enraged at the White Tower if she disappears yet again. So she requests that Mat take a message to her mother. Along the way, Mat picks up Thom, a gleeman (storyteller) who first appeared in book one. Upon his arrival at the palace, Mat overhears a plot to kill Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne. He soon finds himself feeling duty bound to save them and sets off toward Tear with Thom in tow.

Meanwhile, Rand has been having dreams of a sword that is not a sword called Callandor. The Dragon Reborn is the only one who can remove this sword from its location in the Stone of Tear. Rand grudgingly embraces his destiny and begins to make his way, alone, to the city of Tear.

Loial, Perrin, Moiraine, Lan, and a new recruit, Faile (a female hunter for the Horn of Valere who chose the name Faile because it means falcon. This is significant because a seer of sorts has told Perrin that there is a falcon in his future), are following Rand. To the city of Tear.

As the various groups travel, they discover that many of the Forsaken have taken positions of leadership in many cities, including Tear. The Forsaken are 13 Aes Sedai from the previous Age, when Lews Therin was the Dragon Reborn fighting the Dark One.

The travelers also encounter people of the Aiel race. The Aiel have not left their home in the Aiel Waste in many years. And they all seem to be traveling to one location: Tear.

What lies await in Tear? Will the Forsaken thwart the travelers? Will Rand claim Callandor?

Labels: fantasy, wheel of time