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The Dragon Reborn (1997-2000 reads; 2010 re-read) Larry Send a noteboard - 22/04/2010 08:49:23 AM
So I just finished re-reading the third The Wheel of Time book, The Dragon Reborn, for the first time in ten years. One of the interesting things about this re-reading project of mine is discovering how I have changed as a fiction reader and, to a lesser extent, as a critic over the course of the past decade or so. As I remarked in my reviews of The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt, some of the elements that used to irritate me greatly were not as noticeable this time around, while other plot and characterization issues that I had dismissed during my first few reads of the series seemed to be more visible during this current re-read.

One thing that I focused on as soon as I began this re-read was the notion that this massive twelve-volume series (and counting) could be divided into distinct narrative arcs. In particular, I was curious to see if the first three volumes might differ in their plot structures and presentation from succeeding volumes. To an extent, there is indeed an interesting interplay between these three early novels that I have not seen during my current re-reading of the fourth volume.

The Dragon Reborn opens several weeks, if not months, after the Battle of Toman Head that concluded The Great Hunt. Rand al'Thor, who has now successfully fought off the EVIL Ba'alzamon, the presumed Dark One in this Manichean-style cosmos, twice in the previous two volumes, is still struggling to deal with the revelations of the past year. Born gifted/cursed with awesome power that is tainted for males, Rand constantly frets in the early chapters about his "destiny" as the reincarnated Dragon Reborn and the belief that the apocalyptic Last Battle was drawing nigh. Although Jordan continues to lapse into lengthy descriptive passages that fail to let the characters illustrate their conflicts through their actions, I found myself being more drawn into Rand's plight that I ever remembered being when I last read this book a decade ago. Seeing him struggle to fight for control of his double-edged magical powers through his actions and failures more than through his internal monologues was a refreshing change.

But although the book's title would lead the unwary reader to believe that the book will feature the Dragon Reborn prominently, Rand appears only in flitting scenes for three-quarters of the novel. Yet this was a wise decision by the author, as this allowed Jordan to explore the effects that Rand's appearance at Toman Head had on the world around. Sometimes, instead of just rattling off paragraph after paragraph detailing what the central protagonist is to accomplish via mysterious prophecies, it might be best to let the überpowerful character take on the aspect of the looming 800 lb. gorilla in the room rather than dominating all of the proceedings. Jordan's decision to switch the narrative focus away from Rand and toward those following him after his flight/quest to the city/state of Tear allows for a greater understanding of the events that are transpiring as a result of the destiny-bending powers of Rand and his two childhood friends.

The basic structure of this novel is that of a classical epic fantasy quest narrative, except there are four main strains of quest being interwoven here. Besides Rand's quest to discover for himself if he is truly the Dragon Reborn (to be proven by seizing the Arthurian-like Sword That Isn't a Sword, contained within the Stone of Tear), there are the quests of Rand's companions to track him down in time to protect him, the one involving the three young female trainees trying to sniff out the traitors in their midst, the conflicted desire of the previously-infected Mat to escape from Aes Sedai manipulation and to help his friends, and that of the fiercesome badass ninja-warriors, the Aiel, to track down their prophesied leader/destroyer. Unlike in The Great Hunt, where I felt the disparate narrative strands were not integrated well, here there is much more balance between these quests. Those of Rand and the Aiel are kept brief and fleeting, as befitting the characters of their quests. The ones involving Moraine/Perrin, Mat, and the three trainees receive more space, but none of these receive more than perhaps three chapters at a time, creating the sense that the action is moving swiftly and decidedly toward a resolution.

It is in this novel that the quest narrative structure that had dominated to date begins to shift. More is seen of the setting's environs and particularly the increasingly bad situations that the common people experience. Jordan is often (and rightly) criticized for taking too much of a "theme park" approach to his setting. The characters move from locale to locale, see a few of the local monuments, interact with maybe a couple of locals, fight off a group of baddies and then they move on. But here, and this is especially true in Mat's later scenes, more detail is given to the "outside" world. Short passages such as the one involving the refugees at a local port and their desperate cries for food and other supplies is touching, as this is one of the few times that I recall in the series (perhaps I'll remember more as I re-read the other volumes) where the human suffering is shown rather than told in passing by a character. The turbulence brought by Rand's emergence and by the nefarious counterstrokes of the EVIL opposition are shown to good effect here.

However, this should not excuse several problems that I noted in this book. First, the prose continues to be pedestrian. Often, too much description is wasted on minor characters and not enough attention is given to the dialogues. In particular, the EVIL Forsaken and their servants sound more like caricatures of movie villains than anything resembling a well-rounded, complex character. The usual complaints I've heard over the years from other readers about the repetitive physical tics (sniffing, braid tugging, and the like) would apply nicely to a few scenes here. It is unfortunate that the author failed to develop other ways to express his characters' emotional states, as after a while, the repetitive complaints about how X "knows women better than I do" or "Men!" or any other similar expression tends to numb some readers (or at the very least, this reader), leading to several dull moments within what should be a rollercoaster-style narrative.

Although these complaints really are endemic to the series as a whole, they do not affect my enjoyment of The Dragon Reborn. In fact, I would have to say out of the three novels read so far, my opinion of this one improved the most. It still contains several annoying flaws, but these don't impede the narrative flow and plot developments as much as I fear future volumes might (again, based on faint memory). It wouldn't surprise me to learn if it was around this point that several readers became ardent fans of the series, as there are enough intriguing developments that begin to veer away from the traditional quest narrative as to make me curious about how I'll receive the next three, mammoth volumes. No waning in interest so far.
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie

Je suis méchant.
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Re-reading WoT Ten Years Later - 16/04/2010 06:07:40 AM 2852 Views
The Eye of the World (1997-2000, 2010 reads) - 16/04/2010 06:08:54 AM 1319 Views
Ah, jumping on Roberts' bandwagon... - 16/04/2010 09:17:08 AM 1062 Views
- 16/04/2010 03:32:41 PM 984 Views
Re: The Eye of the World (1997-2000, 2010 reads) - 16/04/2010 06:29:53 PM 1048 Views
I think you misrepresent me - 16/04/2010 11:15:34 PM 941 Views
Re: I think you misrepresent me - 17/04/2010 02:56:53 PM 964 Views
Re: I think you misrepresent me - 17/04/2010 09:45:25 PM 913 Views
Re: I think you misrepresent me - 17/04/2010 10:59:20 PM 1067 Views
MA in History? Is there a more useless degree? - 16/04/2010 09:56:36 PM 903 Views
PhD or MA in Classics - 16/04/2010 10:15:51 PM 854 Views
Yes, whatever degree you have/are studying for - 16/04/2010 11:12:55 PM 897 Views
MBA. Sorry - 17/04/2010 04:38:03 AM 919 Views
There's lots of jokes about MBAs, unfortunately - 17/04/2010 09:46:28 PM 915 Views
Interestingly, I disliked EotW because of its 'youth appeal' - 17/04/2010 12:33:55 AM 1021 Views
Funny how takes can change, huh? - 17/04/2010 12:55:05 AM 1015 Views
Funny, I started my own first-ever reread not long ago. - 17/04/2010 02:16:35 AM 989 Views
Must be something in the water, no? - 17/04/2010 02:28:23 AM 1011 Views
Gah! - 18/04/2010 12:30:17 PM 894 Views
I thought you meant it! - 18/04/2010 05:29:55 PM 1006 Views
Pfft! - 18/04/2010 08:11:36 PM 906 Views
I'm glad I didn't start with EotW - 19/04/2010 04:16:03 PM 873 Views
Seems Tor is now tweeting about this commentary - 19/04/2010 06:31:39 PM 1082 Views
Re: Re-reading WoT Ten Years Later - 16/04/2010 06:26:51 PM 1008 Views
It'll be interesting to see if I hit a "wall" - 16/04/2010 11:13:55 PM 919 Views
Aww... - 16/04/2010 07:58:27 PM 1009 Views
That's next month or June - 16/04/2010 11:12:02 PM 871 Views
Be sure to send me a noteboard then . - 17/04/2010 03:45:46 AM 893 Views
Oh, I'd post it at this site as well, perhaps - 17/04/2010 03:51:19 AM 847 Views
Yeah, but I only lurk in the OF when I'm interested in getting new books... - 17/04/2010 04:00:14 AM 859 Views
Ah - 17/04/2010 09:47:37 PM 864 Views
Malazan 9 is out? - 17/04/2010 09:58:23 PM 735 Views
Been out for several months - 17/04/2010 10:24:15 PM 835 Views
Can anybody please explain to me - 17/04/2010 08:45:18 PM 1052 Views
It's hard to explain - 17/04/2010 09:42:16 PM 1100 Views
was thinking the same thing *NM* - 18/04/2010 03:59:36 PM 595 Views
Re: Can anybody please explain to me - 19/04/2010 04:17:39 PM 748 Views
The more posts from this larry guy I read, the more I think......... - 18/04/2010 08:56:34 AM 1035 Views
Interesting metatextual analysis there - 18/04/2010 09:47:43 AM 1059 Views
Nice, but in the future... - 18/04/2010 04:04:07 PM 937 Views
I know... - 18/04/2010 08:11:18 PM 892 Views
If you don't like WoT....Don't read it - 19/04/2010 12:36:06 AM 850 Views
Aren't you being a bit presumptuous there? - 19/04/2010 12:53:00 AM 1273 Views
... - 19/04/2010 12:59:33 AM 1034 Views
Re: ... - 21/04/2010 03:41:08 AM 998 Views
Re: The more posts from this larry guy I read, the more I think......... - 18/04/2010 10:26:12 AM 1041 Views
I am disappoint - 19/04/2010 01:17:20 AM 1026 Views
- 19/04/2010 01:24:29 AM 897 Views
Who the hell are you? What the hell are you doing here? - 19/04/2010 06:48:56 PM 1028 Views
Oh crap, a troll! - 02/05/2010 08:53:36 PM 869 Views
The Great Hunt (1997-2000, 2010 reads) - 19/04/2010 09:22:40 AM 1013 Views
I guess I'm just weird. - 19/04/2010 06:44:59 PM 1104 Views
If anything, I suspect my reaction is the minority one - 19/04/2010 09:20:25 PM 1043 Views
It's interesting you thought this about The Great Hunt. - 19/04/2010 07:06:57 PM 846 Views
Yeah, I almost gave up this series after The Eye of the World too. *NM* - 19/04/2010 08:38:25 PM 533 Views
My actual introduction to the series was A Crown of Swords - 19/04/2010 09:26:19 PM 971 Views
By the way... - 19/04/2010 09:44:59 PM 775 Views
Ah, that. - 19/04/2010 09:53:02 PM 860 Views
My experience has been different: - 19/04/2010 09:04:27 PM 965 Views
That may indeed be the case - 19/04/2010 09:27:36 PM 1152 Views
The Dragon Reborn (1997-2000 reads; 2010 re-read) - 22/04/2010 08:49:23 AM 1115 Views
The Shadow Rising (1997-2000 initial reads; 2010 re-read) - 25/04/2010 06:41:08 AM 964 Views
The Fires of Heaven (1997-2000 initial reads; 2010 re-read) - 28/04/2010 08:47:14 AM 922 Views
Lord of Chaos (1997-2000 initial reads; 2010 re-read) - 30/04/2010 01:33:37 PM 1140 Views
A Crown of Swords (1997-2000 initial reads; 2010 re-read) - 02/05/2010 03:30:39 PM 986 Views
The Path of Daggers (1998-2000 reads; 2010 re-read) - 04/05/2010 03:20:12 PM 820 Views
Winter's Heart (2000 initial read; 2010 re-read) - 07/05/2010 01:35:13 PM 812 Views
Re: Winter's Heart (2000 initial read; 2010 re-read) - 08/05/2010 09:43:31 AM 924 Views
But I must - 08/05/2010 09:59:42 AM 743 Views
Re: But I must - 08/05/2010 02:57:03 PM 840 Views
I just think of bath porn - 08/05/2010 03:12:29 PM 1017 Views
Crossroads of Twilight (2006 initial read; 2010 re-read) - 10/05/2010 02:00:06 PM 919 Views
Knife of Dreams (2009 initial read; 2010 re-read) - 13/05/2010 03:27:53 PM 1065 Views
New Spring (1997 read (novella); 2010 read (novel)) - 14/05/2010 07:39:40 AM 995 Views

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