KNIFE OF DREAMS (The Wheel of Time #11) by Robert Jordan ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The end is in sight, and the signs are coming fast.

I’m trying to think of how I really feel about this one, because it’s the second longest I’ve spent with any of the series so far (plus the detour of New Spring) and it’s also the freakin’ 11th out of 14. It all started to blur about two or three books ago, and trying to hold it all together is tough.

Here’s what I do know, though. You can feel the pull of the end in the prose and in the atmosphere. The tension buildup, always in the background even from book 1, is making itself very apparent here. FINALLY. So much so, that the talk of the Last Battle is almost too strong a recurring theme given how much of the book is still coming off as filler. But the ratio of excitement to boredom is noticeably better than the last three entries, hands down.

An important note going forward is the fact Brandon Sanderson takes over from here. And I think I’m ready for it. Not only because of the praise for his work on the final three (thank Christ we’re almost there), but because 11 books is enough to see through the patterns of predictable prose and frequent phrases. It’s been an incredibly admirable series thus far, but a new voice is probably perfectly timed.

Update 12/31/21:

If I could take anything back, it would be less annoyance at Jordan’s prose work. I mean c’mon, he wrote and designed this whole frickin’ thing. I do think Brandon’s three books were more enjoyable for me personally, but Jordan tee’d it up so Brandon could soar. And he wrote the final chapter on his own. If anything, I would just say I prefer Brandon’s writing, though who’s to say if I prefer his world-building or characters, etc. I’m just glad he completed the series the way he did.