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Robert Jordan is an incredible science fiction writer, and I am still very grateful for having been turned on to him. Nevertheless, I cannot remember being quite as disappointed in a book's conclusion as I was with the way Jordan wrapped up The Path of Daggers. This book, the eighth in his still-growing Wheel of Time series, is a worthy addition to his ongoing tale, and it goes a long way towards rectifying the stale mood left by its predecessor, A Crown of Swords. That being said, while I enjoyed the book as a whole, the conclusion arrives quickly and without warning, and it departs just as quickly, leaving the reader utterly dumbfounded.

When we last saw our heroes, Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, had just finished battling another of the dreaded Forsaken. Believing that he has defeated Sammael at Shadar Logoth, Rand turns his attentions to the invading Sanchaen and the men of the Black Tower. For madness is starting to show in his fearsome allies, and Rand begins to wonder if it is merely a portent of a danger yet to come. As he finds that he trusts fewer and fewer people, Rand must deal with a growing sickness inside of him and some unseen threats around him.

Outside Ebou Dar, fleeing a suddenly war-torn city, Nynaeve and Elayne lead a band of Aes Sedai, Sea Folk, and wilders through a gateway, hoping to return Elayne to her rightful place as the ruler of Andor. Along the way, a strange new force is unleashed, one whose aftereffects will linger long after the two young Aes Sedai leave the city by the sea. Marching through Murandy, Egwene al'Vere is about to deliver some surprising news to the opposing factions of Aes Sedai in her little army, and she just may be ready to move on the White Tower in Tar Valon.

The Path of Daggers focuses on some new elements in Jordan's mythical world, yet too many of these new scenarios are introduced and quickly abandoned. Jordan is either a man of tremendous long-range vision, or he is a writer uncertain where his story's next turn will take him. I will give Jordan the benefit of the doubt, but that does not make it any easier to endure such frustrating, and at the same time tantalizing, turns of events. The disappearance of Mat Cauthon does not help, nor does Rand's continually faltering confidence. Jordan has a lot of explaining to do in his next novel, but I will certainly be willing to let him try.

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(Reviewed 1/30/00.)