The Cadre +

9 February 1999

Arts & entertainment i1

BY MELISSA DOUCETTE

The beginning of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series is one of the most promising fantasy series to be published in decades. The plot is written in the conven- tion of such epics as Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings , Edding’s The Belgariad, and Weis and Hickman’s widely popular Dragonlance series. Basi- cally, an apocalyptic con- frontation occurs between good and evil, and one man and/or group is responsible for saving the world.

However, it is in the depth of characterization where Jordan rises above his contemporaries. Each of his characters has a distinct per- sonality, complete with quirks and flaws that captures and compels the reader’s at- tention. Also, the women characters have particular presence, strength, and im-

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and 4:00 p.m.

Room 106, will be operating on Wednesdays between 4:00 and

The Path of Daggers

portance to a degree that | have rarely seen. The plot was originally smooth and easy to follow — a difficult task in a series that spans over 4000 pages, and once the story snags you, it is difficult to disengage from. Unfortu- nately, since the sixth book, the series has been in a steady decline, and The Path of Daggers is no exception. The action and plot are meander- ing to the level of pointless- ness, and crucial details are glossed over. The first five novels , at least, have a strong and definite focus, but Dag- gers is too diffused. It tries to explore too many storylines, and the novel’s coherence suffers as a result.

The formerly high level of characterization demonstrated in earlier nov- els is also lacking. The three main characters of the series are barely referred to, and one is absent entirely. As well, the women have mostly

Centre for Writing

The Centre for Writing, located in Robertson Library Building, Tuesdays between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m., |: 5:30 p.m.and Thursdays between 2:30} |

Students from the Faculty of Education will give free writing ad- vice. Bring your papers, problems and queries. They can help! For more information, contact Linda Meggs at meggs@upei.ca

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by Robert Jordan (Tor Fantasy)

become flat, irritating, and ° predictable, having lost much of the vivacity and original- ity that animated them. And Rand Al’Thor — the central character that the novel and its world hinges on — has un- dergone a complete charac- ter reversal in his efforts to reach the Last Battle. He has become unyielding and mer- ciless, although not without cause, and many of his en- dearing qualities have been lost along the way. Even though this change is alluded to by some of the other char- acters, by the eight novel it becomes more difficult to sustain a high sense of com- passion for him.

Finally, Daggers is re- ally a book for hardcore fans of the Wheel of Time series. 1; would, however, highly rec- ° ommend at least the first five ' books, starting with The Eye of the World. At around $35 a pop, wait for Daggers to , come out in softcover. ; :

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