The Wheel of Time Reread: Book 9 - Winter’s Heart
*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
In my last post, I talked about the series entering The Slump, the section of The Wheel of Time where everything drags for a few books. But then, of course, Winter's Heart comes along and perks things right back up again.
Winter's Heart managed to regain the pace and direction The Path of Daggers lacked. But then I said before that the last book was simply putting characters in place for later events. But in this instalment, we start with a fascinating event and end on a literally world-changing one.
Bad characters in interesting action
As the series continues, I continue to hate Elayne. While other characters have grown and changed, Elayne remains a pillar of self-centred privilege. She continually expects the world to hand her everything she wants based on the attributes she was born with (Social position, beauty, and strength in the One Power).
But if there is one part of her I like, it's her relationship with Aviendha. There is just something about the concepts of adopted family and learning from different cultures that appeals to me. And the Aiel "rebirthing" ceremony is a fascinatingly literal display of this.
And it's a reminder of things the One Power can do that we tend not to think about.
Of course, that's more of an Aiel plotline than an Elayne one. And Elayne continues to suck.
Baddie vs Villain: Being the hero of their own story
There is a truism in fiction that a villain is only interesting if they are the hero of their own story. Someone out and out evil for no reason will never be truly engaging. But if you can show how they honestly believe their way is better or, even better, demonstrate how they might actually be correct, then you will have a "villain", rather than a "baddie".
Up until this book, the Seanchan have been out and out "baddies". They are invaders. They capture women who can channel and treat them as no better than animals. And the battle for power in their leadership causes constant challenges for our protagonists.
But in Winter's Heart, we are shown that the Seanchan are almost one of the better governments in the world. With their conquest of Ebou Dar, we see they have no desire to force their culture or society on anyone. People in power stay in power. People not in power are allowed to get on with their lives without change. Yes, they have a rigid social order, but it's demonstrated as one in which anyone can rise or fall, depending on their abilities.
As far as we can see, as long as you accept Seanchan rule and are not a woman who can channel, life under the Seanchan is pretty good. Other than the way they treat women who can channel, the way we see them now makes them at least no worse than any other political faction.
Once again, I'm simply left astonished at how well Jordan was able to create this living, breathing world where nothing was two-dimensional.
Gender dynamics: when Jordan gets it right
Faile and Perrin have always been my favourite characters in The Wheel of Time. There's just always been something about them that appeals to me. And in this re-read, I think I've figured out why.
Perrin and Faile are the only two characters in a relationship who don't blame everything on the other's gender. With every other couple, all the internal dialogues are along the lines of, "All women were like x", or "Unsupervised, every man will do y". But the closest these two come to that is thoughts about "husbands" or "wifes". And while this might be a small difference, it's a powerful one. It's not about their gender but about their relationship dynamic with each other.
With Perrin and Faile, I always feel they see each other as equals.
We see this in how they respond to Faile's kidnapping. Both of them are working to free her while assuming the other is doing the same thing. Faile is never a damsel to be rescued. Perrin wants to free her because it's what he wants, not what she needs. And Faile puts her own plans in place not because she thinks Perrin won't, but because why on earth wouldn't she try to escape rather than wait for rescue?
Gender dynamics: when Jordan gets it wrong (again)
Okay, I've talked about Jordan's issues with gender dynamics already, and I don't want to go on about it. But I noticed something new in Winter's Heart.
When introducing Tuon, it struck me how much Jordan highlighted her beauty. Now, this works for the character. Especially how it's highlighted that despite her being Mat's love interest, she's not close to Mat's type.
But as I thought about it, it hit me just how many of the female characters in The Wheel of Time are beautiful. While men seem to have a wide range, from grizzled and ugly (Uno) to insanely beautiful (Galad), women, at worst, will be "striking, rather than beautiful" or "beautiful in their youth, but now are merely handsome".
Again, it's not a deal-breaker. Especially compared to Jordan's other issues in this area. But it's something I'd never noticed before.
How to write world-changing events
But let's end with one of the biggest set pieces in the entire series. The Cleansing of Saidin.
This is definitely one of my top five moments in the series. What I love about it - other than what it signifies for the story, of course - is how much of a light touch Jordan gives it.
This is something you would have thought could have taken up multiple chapters. The event takes an entire day, with all of the Forsaken attempting to disrupt it over that time, while Rand and Nynaeve wield more of the power than anyone thinks physically possible. But Jordan once again shows his skill at scene-building equals his skill at world-building. We see all the characters involved, their attitudes to what is happening and how they react to it, without ever being overwhelmed. The readers are given just enough information to put together the entire story themselves, which is always what you want to aim for.
But now, we must face a dark future. Because for as much as Winter's Heart is a jump in quality for the series, I know what's coming next.
If you find someone who read The Wheel of Time as it was being published, there are two questions you can ask them to which I can guarantee all of them will give the answer.
Question one: What were you looking forward to most in The Crossroad of Twilight?
Answer: to see the aftermath of the Cleansing and how it impacts the world.
Question two: Which is the worst book in The Wheel of Time series?
Answer: The Crossroads of Twilight.
It's universally agreed that the next book in the series is the lowest point of The Slump. But it is as bad as I remember? Well, it's time to find out.