New Spring
The Wheel of Time, book 0
by Robert Jordan
At the time of the Dragon Reborn’s birth, Moiraine is an Accepted preparing to become Aes Sedai and Lan is a soldier in battle. Their separate lives will soon bring them together and lead them to join in the search as a team.
Set years before the events in The Eye of the World, this prequel gives us some backstory for Moiraine, Siuan, and Lan, as well as a deeper look into the White Tower. I wouldn’t recommend this as a starting point for The Wheel of Time series, and it’s certainly not a necessary part of the story. However, it is a fun addition if you like those characters.
Moiraine was the center of the book, which was fine with me because I liked her character in the main series. The first half of the book highlights her friendship with Siuan during their time as Accepted. I personally don’t like how the girls in the series are portrayed while they’re Accepted, they always seem so immature and arrogant within the White Tower. The actual testing is interesting, and there’s a bit of day-in-the-life following that, which is also something I don’t mind.
I had expected Lan to have a bigger part in the story, he doesn’t really take the focus until we’ve passed the halfway point. That being said, we do learn a fair amount of his history and who he was before Moiraine came into his life. Once he’s back, however, the plot picks up and things get more interesting. There are some politics and the search is on for both the White Tower and the Black Ajah.
Overall, I’d recommend if you’ve read The Wheel of Time and want a little more backstory.
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LessthanThreeD 