After all, WH and CoT had a lot less stuff happening, and a hundred times more descriptions of wardrobes, clothing, bosoms and so on.

NS had a real storyline to it. People were probably disappointed the book dropped far fewer hints than they had expected. Heck, there were probably some who were dreaming of seeing Asmodean's killer revealed 20 years before the crime took place!

What I like about NS is its simplicity: one story arc in a relatively short book. Lots of information about the daily lives of Aes Sedai. On top of that, it made me appreciate Moiraine and Lan a lot more. Especially the humor thrown in, which made Lan much more bearable.

Finally, the end is great. The moment where Merean drops Diryk from the balcony, and the emotional union of Lan and Moiraine afterwards is one of the strongest scenes in the whole series. It shows Jordans mimimalist style adapts really well to emotional scenes without falling into the trap of overdramatization.