Just ignore the Shaido parts. The rest is a decent read, even if "very little if anything happens" (oh, the horror!). Certainly better than EOTW or TGS or TDR.
TEOTW starts us on the journey, plenty of action, world building, interesting characters met for the first time.
TGS - monumental stuff up about how it and TOM are structured around plot lines instead of chronologically, and not by RJ, but still a lot more action, character development and interesting things then COT.
TDR - Rand becomes the TDR to the world at large, takes Callandor, Mat starts turning from annoying git into the best character in the series.
EOTW and (particularly) TGS were just poorly written, and EOTW was frankly nonsensical toward the end. TDR had a few high points – not many; its number of very good chapters is matched by COT – but was overly action-driven, schizophrenically paced, and limited in scope.
I am not at all a fan of the first three books, though, so I suspect you and I are not going to agree.
I don't get how anyone can rate COT above any other WOT time book. Even TPOD was action and character driven overload compared to COT.
Keep in mind that I did say to ignore the Shaido stuff, which constitutes nearly a third of the book. I'm no more a fan of that than anyone else. But the rest? The rest is good stuff. It has action – not 'blowing things up', but still crucial decisions and development – and quite a bit of characterization.How I'd rank the books overall, just as an addendum:
1) TSR
2) TFOH, LOC, KOD
5) ACOS, TPOD*, TOM
8 ) TGH, WH*, COT*
11) TDR, TGS
13) EOTW, Shaido plot excised from *d books
Provisional calendar for Towers of Midnight: https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0ApFWTyzG9G_UdHZCUjQzVGNLeUJyMkUycXkzQlExSFE&output=html
Do not, I repeat, do not re-read this book
- 18/12/2010 10:23:48 AM
1512 Views
I coulda told ya that. It took me two months of torture to get through that thing the 2nd time! 
*NM*
- 18/12/2010 11:08:18 AM
315 Views
*NM*
- 18/12/2010 11:08:18 AM
315 Views
It's not actually that bad if you're not an angry, resentful, bitter person.
- 18/12/2010 11:54:54 AM
764 Views
Re: It's not actually that bad if you're not an angry, resentful, bitter person.
- 18/12/2010 12:11:53 PM
702 Views
The Aes Sedai are still bound by the Three Oaths even as damane *NM*
- 18/12/2010 01:31:43 PM
315 Views
Re: The Aes Sedai are still bound by the Three Oaths even as damane
- 18/12/2010 01:39:26 PM
624 Views
the S.C. think that all channelers are dangerous and need to be collared to keep them in line. *NM*
- 18/12/2010 11:25:31 PM
280 Views
I never found it to be that bad.
- 18/12/2010 12:23:55 PM
669 Views
Better then EOTW, TGS or TDR?!?!
- 19/12/2010 01:55:06 AM
845 Views
Re: Better then EOTW, TGS or TDR?!?!
- 19/12/2010 05:57:57 AM
652 Views
Its a great book. You'd know if you stopped sniffing trolloc behind. *NM*
- 18/12/2010 04:39:27 PM
391 Views
Re: Do not, I repeat, do not re-read this book
- 18/12/2010 08:18:56 PM
647 Views
When dot pointing the books mentally COT I have Ituralde starts his campaign, Egwene kidnapped *NM*
- 19/12/2010 02:01:30 AM
291 Views
I don't even remember what happened in that book. At all. And I reread it 3 times! I was that bored. *NM*
- 18/12/2010 11:28:28 PM
272 Views