New Spring: A Wheel of Time Prequel (Now a major TV series) (The Wheel of… (edition 2010)

New Spring is a prequel novel to The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.

Plot:
Moiraine Damodred and her best friend Siuan Sanche are both studying to become Aes Sedai, though they still have a way to go. By chance they witness a prophecy that speaks of the Dragon Reborn that piques their curiosity to say the least. But they are sworn to secrecy. That doesn't mean, though, that they can't try to do some investigating of their own. Meanwhile Lan Mandragoran is a commander in the Aiel War, but unforseeable consequences take him into the middle of political intrigue where he really doesn't want to be.

I got my hands on a collection of all The Wheel of Time books, and that collection starts with this novel. Which is fair enough because it is set before the main story, but it still probably wasn't the best choice to start the series with it.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2021/12/28/new-spring-robert-jordan/ ( )

This book is so sadly mislabeled as a prequel. Yes, it does come before the WOT series, but a new reader can’t possibly understand why this particular story is so important without having read at least a few of the WOT books beforehand. For those who choose to start here the story is plodding and uneventful for most of the book until the action starts. For those in the know, the story is exciting from page one as it fills in the blanks only hinted at in the subsequent volumes and colors out the story beautifully.

This book goes back and picks up the history of Moiraine Damodred, Siuan Sanche, and Lan Mandragoran. While it explains Moiraine’s mission in the WOT it also allows us to see some history from the other side. The Aiel’s retreat for instance made for interesting reading as the history was told to Rand later on, but it takes on a whole new feel when seen through Lan’s eyes as it was happening. Another reason to avoid reading this first is the introduction of certain plot twists later in the series. Certain organizations, groups, and characters make for great thrill and suspense later in the series, but not if they are introduced before the adventure even begins.

Such a great book to be spoiled by its placement in the series.
( )

Fun to step back into the world of the Wheel of Time. This book focuses almost exclusively on Aes Sedai and the White Tower, which I always enjoy. ( )

Jórdana skrifar þessa bók sem inngang að seríunni "Wheel of Time" eftir að hafa hún hafði náð miklum vinsældum. Ágæt að miklu leyti en ber með sér að vera uppfyllingarefni í sögu og með persónur sem eru nú þegar fullskapaðar. Vantar því nokkuð upp á að halda sjálfstæðum söguþræði með tilhlýðilegri spennu. ( )

After reading the 14 books of the Wheel of Time series, you'd think I wouldn't be interested in reading a prequel to the series. And I wasn't. But I saw it as an audio book and decided to give it a try. It was written in 2004, when Jordan was having real problems moving the Wheel of Time series forward. It's not his best work, but if you've read the rest, you might as well read this. The end suggests to me that Jordan planned to write a sequel to it. ( )