There’s a whole long sequence of the girls sneaking out of Tar Valon, but there’s not much real suspense as there’s no way the whole last chapter would build this up only to have them fail here. Though it does let us see Else getting in trouble with one of her teachers. Liandrin is naturally not too happy at being surprised with two extra people, but is rather suspiciously quick to say it’s okay.
And without much space left in the book, it turns out they’re going to go through the Way to Toman Head, which is now suddenly free to use again. Yeah, she’s definitely Black. And once they’re inside…well, it seems that the Way doesn’t afford much variety of scenes, because it’s basically exactly the same as last time, described in detail as if this is Egwene’s first time inside. The one thing of interest is that Liandrin uses a parchment to guide them that she refuses to let anyone else see, and then they arrive without even another Black Wind chase.
This one is pretty dull just from the “been there, done that” factor. Min and Elayne’s first trip through the Way adds surprisingly little, while Liandrin is so aloof by default that she can’t contribute much either. The sneaking out of the city adds some interest, but it’s also undercut by our knowing from the start that they’re going to make it. I hope these people get up to something interesting now that they’ve arrived, because this just made me wish we could get back to Rand.
Comments
