I thought the book was good, in the just post book glow I'd probably rate it just ahead of KOD - although I think KOD was better written, the fact there was no Elayne and the Throne of a Thousand Baths storyline pushed it past. Which for me puts it TSR, LOC, TGH, TEoTW, TGS. 5th from 12 isn't too bad. Definitely on the whole well done.

However, that doesn't mean there were bits I didn't disagree with how it was done. I didn't mind so much the POV changes, but I would have preferred larger groupings of chapters for Rand's and Egwene's storylines. Mat and Perrin's chapters were bit parts so I didn't have a problem with it not having 3 or 4 chapters for them in one spot and that's it. It was never going to have a heap of Mat and Perrin unless the book had an extra 200 pages.

However still with the need to have the Rand and Egwene storylines kept largely in sync. (as you couldn't have the tower attack happening, then have Rand meeting with Tuon to justify it afterwards for instance), there was a constraint, but I think it could have been done a bit better.

Mat's first chapter was probably the worst of the book. Those of us males married could relate somewhat to him trying to prove to his friends he's still 'one of the guys', but it was over the top. However I think that improved as it went on - certainly I laughed out loud about at the whole 'you don't have a great aunt!' bit.

The other one I didn't like, although it was a continued theme from earlier books, but seemed more extreme in this one, is 'Egwene is so much smarter then everyone else .... because everyone else turns out to be acting like 13 year old girls'. And the convenient 'one on each side will fall/captured/be manifestly incapable'. One almost comic tyrant Amyrlin captured - tick, one keeper black - tick, one mistress of novices left clearly incompetent - tick, Sitters incapable of solving anything without her advice - tick. Some realism were both sides had equally good holders of key positions (Amyrlin, Keeper, Mistress of Novices) and one decided to stand down for the good of the tower, would have made the whole Tower storyline not seem so deus ex machina.

Probably the only character - after Mat's first rant and chapter - that really felt out of kilter was Aviendha. However this one I think Sanderson can be cut some slack. Unlike the other POV's with lots of screen time, there wasn't a lot of Avi POV's in the past to base it upon.

What's probably most encouraging though, is as I read through the book, it seemed to feel more 'WOT'. The first handful of chapters felt 'wooden', but the flow improved. Which bodes well for ToM and AMoL.