Things happen in this book! Egwene has been captured by the white tower, but is "content with her situation." It's a pretty good few chapters from her POV. I enjoyed watching her slowly trickle away at Eliada's command of the tower. Plus she can still run the rebellion camp from dreamworld. Not much of a setback at all. Some revelations: Beonin was working for Eliada all along. Moridin is Ishamael. Asha'man and Aes Sedai are bonding each other. What else? Aviendha is sent back with the wise ones. Loial is married. Rand loses his hand. False Tuon. Perrin finally reunites with Faile (ugh). Elayne is officially queen. Really enjoyed Tuon's POV. And watching Tuon and Mat finally get hitched. And she's now the Empress. And Mat is a prince. Also, realized that Tuon can channel. Battles, dead people walking, letters from Moiraine. So much is finally happening!

Book 11 ends the "slog" of the Wheel of Time series, but still falls short of redeeming the lackluster pace of the preceding volumes. I am honestly surprised at how exhausted I am at this series, and even after a book where things happen (and quite a lot happens in Knife of Dreams!), I still feel a sense of trepidation about continuing the series.

I loved the battle scenes in this book! The confrontations, including Rand's showdown with the Forsaken Semirhage, Perrin's clash with the Shaido, and the climactic battle involving Mat and the Seanchan are among the book's highlights. These chapters are strong and have an intensity that have been missing from much of the series' recent installments.

I also really, really enjoyed the Loial and Seafolk POV chapters. Robert Jordan is such a good writer, and his world building was so darn impressive.

In contrast to these battles is yet another "rebel hall" scene. We saw a lot of these in the slog, and they exemplify Jordan's tendency to bog down narrative with a bewildering array of named characters, painstakingly detailing the order of arrivals, seating arrangements, and endless descriptions of glances exchanged and what those glances might mean. I hold fast to my description of Jordan as a great writer, but he could also create narrative bloat.

I have strong thoughts about three characters that get a lot of time in this book: Faile, Egwene, and Elayne.

This book cements my changing feelings about Faile. I now really appreciate her. Early in the series she was a spoiled brat of a young girl who treated Perrin like a child and slapped him(!). In this book we see her instead as strong leader, with thoughtful consideration for her followers, a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity, and her final confrontation with Galina. I enjoyed reading her chapters. I wonder if there was any hint of this better portrayal in the earlier books. I don't recall it and frankly don't have the desire to go back and read this series again. Maybe Jordan completely changed her character?

Egwene is also a standout character in this book, brilliantly navigating her captivity within the White Tower to undermine Elaida's rule, while continuing to lead the rebel tower. Again we see a character who has can respond to tough situations, displays resilience to punishment and pain, and has the ability to turn every disadvantage into an opportunity to take another step forward for her cause. Her growth from the innkeeper's daughter to a force of personality solidifies her as my favorite character at this point in the series.

On the other hand, this book cements my feeling that Elayne is the worst character in the series. Elayne continues a long line of questionable and/or laughable actions, including a reckless decision to ride into danger, resulting in her capture by the Black sisters. This is typical for Elayne, who demonstrates a pattern of poor judgment and irresponsibility. This pattern is highlighted by a moment where she is ready to relinquish her claim to the throne in the face of a single moment of mild adversity. This scene was utterly baffling given that she was literally raised to inherit, and has spent the past books working solely towards that cause, and also undermines the considerable sacrifices made by her followers throughout her quest for the throne. Rather than evolving as the book goes on, Elayne appears more and more to be disconnected from the qualities of leadership and resilience that should be core to her character. What a comparison with Faile and Egwene, two characters who were not raised to be the heir of a major kingdom!