Thank all of you for saving me from wasting many useful hours of my life on more of Jordan's plodding work! I am glad I read the reviews before I went out and bought it... I am so sick of his characters, especially the annoying man-hating women. If you want to read a good fantasy book, drop Jordan and check out:Rhapsody: Child of Blood (by Elizabeth Haydon) or A Game of Thrones (by George R.R. Martin)You'll see from everyone's reviews on Amazon.com that these books are well worth your time!Do what I did - kick the Jordan habit! You'll respect yourself more if you never read another WOT book =)