The Wheel of Time Reread: Book 8 - The Path of Daggers
*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THIS AND OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES*
Find the full list of posts in my full re-read of the series HERE
The Path of Daggers isn't the worst entry in The Wheel of Time, but it lacks the drive and excitement of the ones we've had up to now. Instead, it feels like Jordan is getting the characters in place for what is coming next.
Coming to The Slump
Well, I knew it was coming. In my last entry in this series, I mentioned how we were coming up to The Slump. With books 1 to 7, the series rises in both quality and story, and each book had its own stand out moments. But with The Path of Daggers, we can see things beginning to slow down.
That doesn't mean the book is "bad", per se. It's definitely not the worst in the series. Rather, it feels like Jordan has fallen into a holding pattern. Rand is in Illian, working on his plans to prevent the Seanchan from disrupting his plans. Egwene continues to cement her grip on the Aes Sedai as they travel to Tar Valon. Nynaeve and Elayne have fixed the weather and are now on their way back to the others. All of them have goals, but none of these goals feels significant. And this means the book lacks the same drive the others contained.
The two types of “bad” storytelling
Before we continue, I want to take a quick moment to discuss my thoughts on bad stories. I believe when it comes to story-telling, there are two kinds of "bad".
There is the obvious kind of bad, where the storyteller is simply not very go. They create flat, lifeless characters and plots with no tension or conflict.
But there is also another, more interesting kind of bad. This is when a storyteller is actually very good but either makes a misjudgement or just misses what they were going for. This type of bad, of course, is the more frustrating. When you can just see how amazing the story could have been if only things had landed a little differently.
And it's this second category into which Jordan falls. He is a very good writer, and so when his books are less satisfying, it's possible to look at them and see what he could - or should - have done differently. And so, as we begin to move through The Slump, I'm going to address whether I believe these books could have worked.
(Look, I'm not saying I could have taught Robert Jordan anything about writing. But it's a fun thought exercise for a writer.)
Looking for improvements
So, could A Path of Daggers have been improved?
Yes, I think it could. Because, having completed my reread, I see the problem as there being no main plotline for the others to hang off. Each of the featured characters has their own thing going on, but they are all given equal footing. This is down to Jordan's writing style, where he will focus on one arc at a time, giving each character a block of chapters and only moving on once that arc is completed. But in this case, it leaves The Path of Daggers without a driving thrust.
This book should have focused on Rand. In my review for A Crown of Swords, I discussed how it began "Part Three" of the series; the development of "Hard Rand". He's now a King and a conqueror, leading one of the world's greatest political and military forces. And he is forcing himself to become the sort of person he thinks he needs to be to succeed. And when he does strike, he pushes too hard. And so, while he wins, his forces suffer just as much as those of his enemy.
This is what A Path of Daggers should have focused on. Because the climax to Rand's plotline is his first real loss. And it's his own fault. And what's wonderful about it is Rand takes the wrong lesson from it. Rather than realise he's on the wrong path, he's going to think he needs to double down.
This would have been a great spine to the story, letting the other characters position themselves in their side stories. But as it is, Rand's plotline is given no more precedence than any of the others, and so the book lacks the drive we are used to.
The Path of Daggers is not a bad entry in the series. It simply feels transitional. Rather than giving us a significant event to move the overall plot forward, we simply see the characters getting in place for next time. And on its own, this isn't necessarily a problem. Especially when we can now move straight on to the next entry, A Winter's Heart. But I can understand why this was where some people began to get frustrated when you had at least a year to wait for the next instalment.