The Dragon Reborn

No cover — Robert Jordan: The Dragon Reborn (Paperback, 2019, Tor Fantasy)

mass market paperback, 704 pages

Published Oct. 29, 2019 by Tor Fantasy.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-25149-7

(1 review)

The Dragon Reborn—the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the savior who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him—is on the run from his destiny.

Able to touch the One Power, but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how—for no man has done it in three thousand years—Rand al'Thor knows only that he must face the Dark One. But how?

Winter has stopped the war—almost—yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he?

Perrin Aybara is in pursuit with Moiraine Sedai, her Warder Lan, and Loial the Ogier. Bedeviled by dreams, Perrin is grappling with another deadly problem—how is he to escape the loss of his own humanity?

Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve are approaching Tar Valon, where Mat will be healed—if he lives until they arrive. But who will tell …

The Dragon Reborn—the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the savior who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him—is on the run from his destiny.

Able to touch the One Power, but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how—for no man has done it in three thousand years—Rand al'Thor knows only that he must face the Dark One. But how?

Winter has stopped the war—almost—yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he?

Perrin Aybara is in pursuit with Moiraine Sedai, her Warder Lan, and Loial the Ogier. Bedeviled by dreams, Perrin is grappling with another deadly problem—how is he to escape the loss of his own humanity?

Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve are approaching Tar Valon, where Mat will be healed—if he lives until they arrive. But who will tell the Amyrlin their news—that the Black Ajah, long thought only a hideous rumor, is all too real? They cannot know that in Tar Valon far worse awaits...

Ahead, for all of them, in the Heart of the Stone, lies the next great test of the Dragon reborn....

9 editions

Landrin201 reviewed The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time, #3)

Review from a long-time fan (spoilers for previous books but not for this one)

5 stars

This was actually my introduction to the series- and I personally recommend that new readers start here, too. My mother picked us up an audiobook for a road trip back in middle school and didn't realize it was the third book in the series.

This book is, I feel, the first time that Jordan's writing style for the rest of the series is really cemented in place. Books 1 and 2 have a different feel to me- I'm not really sure how best to describe it.

For example, in books 1 and 2 Mat only shows a mild interest in gambling, no more than anybody else- and in his first chapter in this book, his inner monologue talks like he is a seasoned gambling addict. Perrin had, in the previous book, accepted his Wolfbrother abilities- and in this one, he is suddenly back to rejecting them. I always have heard …

This was actually my introduction to the series- and I personally recommend that new readers start here, too. My mother picked us up an audiobook for a road trip back in middle school and didn't realize it was the third book in the series.

This book is, I feel, the first time that Jordan's writing style for the rest of the series is really cemented in place. Books 1 and 2 have a different feel to me- I'm not really sure how best to describe it.

For example, in books 1 and 2 Mat only shows a mild interest in gambling, no more than anybody else- and in his first chapter in this book, his inner monologue talks like he is a seasoned gambling addict. Perrin had, in the previous book, accepted his Wolfbrother abilities- and in this one, he is suddenly back to rejecting them. I always have heard that Jordan wasn't sure he was getting more than 3 books until after book 2 released, so in book 3 he re-structured his characters and the story to set up more long-term arcs- and I think that's a good explanation for why this book feels so different. It feels both like the climax of books 1 and 2, and the opening to the rest of the series.

I LOVE the structure of this book and the characters he chose to focus on. And Jordan's storytelling abilities really shine in this book; it's engaging all the way through, and IMO is a rock-solid story. It's not the best in the series, but it's certainly the best of the first 3 books, and I consistently say that it's in the top half.