TL;DR [No Spoilers]

I am reminded with this book, why in most cases, it is best to start a series following the release order instead of the chronological order of the books. Readers who are already familiar with the Wheel of Time, will definitely enjoy this book, since they’ll already be invested with the characters and would like to know more about them.

Book events [Spoilers]

This book follows two characters, Lan Mandragoran, the last heir to a dead nation that had fallen to the Blight, and Moiraine Damodred, an apprentice, on the verge to ‘graduate’ and become a Aes Sedai, an organization of ‘sisters’ who are capable of tapping into the ‘One Power’.

Upon ‘graduation’, Aes Sedai must choose an Ajah, a clan if you will. The Ajahs’ names, follow a color-based naming scheme (Blue, Red, Brown and more) and they have different ideals to uphold and secrets weaves of the One Power.

Moiraine and her friend Siuan Sanche, are put to work alongside all the sisters of the White Tower (the sisters’ center of command), to record the names and conditions of the babys being born, with the hopes of finding the one baby that is born under the right conditions to fit the prophecy of the dragon reborn, which foretells of a man, who will be able to channel from the One Power and stand and fight against The Dark One.

It is upon these travels that Moiraine and Lan meet, him distrusting anything that has to do with the Aes Sedai, and she, oblivious to the true nature of this man. The nature of this relationship

After being revealed that there’s a secret Ajah that works for The Dark One, the Black Ajah, which has infiltrated all the Ajahs and the White Tower, the book ends with Moiraine having ‘bonded’ Lan into her services and setting off to find the baby before the Black Ajah can get to him.

Thoughts

This is my first book by Robert Jordan, and I see the props the people give him for world-building are more than justified.

I didn’t feel like this was a page-turner, but that may be due to my unfamiliarity with the protagonists. I should have taken more to heart the description that this novel was a prequel. Now I guess, am ready to truly start The Wheel of Time series.