Community: Season 2

It's the second year at Greendale Community College for Jeff Winger and his study group, who are now taking an anthropology class together. Their mutual study time is again interrupted by a succession of unlikely adventures (ranging from Abed having a mental breakdown in which he envisages the world as a claymation film to a total paintball apocalypse) as they grow and learn together. Apart from Pierce, obviously, who becomes even more of an obnoxious bigot.

Season 2 of Community sees the show building on the moderate change in direction seen in late Season 1, when creator Dan Harmon started leaving behind more mundane storylines about relationships in favour of whackier adventures, often revolving around some kind of gimmick or high concept (albeit a well-executed one). Most of the episodes in Season 2 can be summed up by their concept: the bottle episode where everyone searches for Annie's missing pen; the claymation episode; the clip show which doesn't actually use any reused footage; the paintball war sequel two-parter; and the now-famous Dungeons and Dragons episode.

This move to a more concept-driven approach has both upsides and downsides. The show is definitely much more inherently funny in the second season, with both big ideas and small gags being delivered on a more consistently amusing basis. Unfortunately, this moves does come a little at the expense of serious characterisation. Annie and Abed both get some good scenes of emotional development, but other characters suffer: Britta is a lot less present this year and has less to do, whilst Shirley is all but missing in some episodes. Even our erstwhile main character Jeff seems much less the focal character and more just one of the band this time around. The issues with Jeff and Britta seem related to the fact that the will they/won't they dynamic of the first season has been resolved, but indicates there isn't as much to their characters as some of the others without that element. That said, Jeff gets a bit more to do towards the end of the season revolving around his (unasked-for) position as the group's leader and his conflicted feelings over that.

There's a larger secondary cast as well, with the introduction of the Dean's nemesis from a rival college and more recurring students in the anthropology class. Dr. Ian Duncan also has some great scenes as the teacher of the class (replacing ex-Golden Girl Betty White as Dr. Bauer, after a hilarious turn in the first episode of the season) and also a key role in the excellent claymation episode. The Dean is more bearable as well, mainly because he gets an (splendidly-lampshaded in the not-a-clip-show episode) amusing recurring gag. This larger cast makes the college feel busier and more like a real college, but also sometimes dilutes the focus on our core six characters.

Another challenge for the show is how it handles the character of Pierce, played by Chevy Chase. As established in Season 1 Pierce has racist and sexist views, but the show really seems reluctant to have him evolving away from them (since that would be unrealistic for a character of his age, whose views are more likely to be set in stone). At the same time, it's also unrealistic for the other characters to be so tolerant of someone who spends most of his time insulting them. This results in a story arc where Pierce turns into an outright villain whose antics put him at odds with the rest of the group. This is partially successful, giving us the 'Pierce's gifts' episode which is fairly decent, but otherwise sabotaged by the need not to go all-out with it lest it means Pierce not interacting with the rest of the characters at all. A simpler solution would have been to simply remove the character, but apparently the network considered him too key to the show to lose (and, in fact, choosing to remove even the showrunner over Chase between the third and fourth seasons). The entire issue is well-handled in the D&D episode, where Pierce is forced to play separately to the rest of the team (a familiar situation to most D&D groups where the characters become divided), but other episodes struggle to deal with it as well.

Overall, Community remains a funny, well-written and often extremely clever show in its second season (****½). It loses a little depth to the characters in favour of high concepts, but remains resolutely entertaining. The season is available now in the UK and USA.

Red State

Three young men find an online dating site where an older woman is propositioning guys for sex. But the advert is a trap, and they find themselves prisoners of a fundamentalist Christian cult who are trying to purge the world of what they see as amorality brought about by sexual permissiveness and tolerance. When their activities draw the attention of law enforcement officials, the stage is set for a violent confrontation.

Kevin Smith is best-known for his string of comedic movies based on pop culture and lowbrow humour: Clerks, Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and so on. He is also known for his interest in religion and theological debates, which, combined with humour, have formed the basis for arguably his most interesting movie to date, Dogma. Red State marks Smith's return to examining religion but this time around there are no laughs: the film is a straight-up drama.

After almost twenty years spent making comedies, it's good to see Smith trying out new ideas and breaking new ground for himself as a film-maker. It's such a shame then that Red State is a flat-out mess of a film. Many of the movie's weaknesses are also present in Smith's earlier films, but comedies tend to be much more forgiving of long run-on scenes and structural imperfections. Dramas, especially those with an undercurrent of psychological horror, are much less tolerant of such issues.

This problem can best be summed up by the movie's first half-hour. In the first fifteen minutes we are introduced to our three main characters, about whom we virtually learn nothing at all. Aside from their physical appearances, they are interchangeable and do nothing to attract our sympathy or interest. These scenes also establish the presence of a fundamentalist nutjob community in the town, that the town's sheriff has some personal problems and that these three guys are obsessed with sex. The following fifteen minutes form one, incredibly long and tedious scene in which the film's antagonist rants on against the evils plaguing America. Because of this John Goodman, the movie's biggest name, doesn't even show up until halfway through the picture.

The initial half of the film plays around with the ideas of psychological horror, such as the idea of the three prisoners being tortured or forced to watch the execution of other captives. But Smith doesn't have the patience for this and it isn't long before he ditches the idea in favour of a massive Waco-style shoot-out. Any attempt to engage seriously with the issues raised by the film are thrown out the window the second the shotguns and machine guns start being handed out and it isn't long before we are in the middle of what feels like the longest siege scene in American film history. Because of the failure to set up the action scenes in more depth, they also feel rather trite and manipulative, with Smith borrowing the visual imagery of religious cults and sieges such as Waco without actually engaging with them in any substantive way.

The movie does shine a few times: Goodman is great as normal and gets the best characterisation in the movie. Michael Parks is also excellent as the antagonist preacher leading the cult, even selling some of the worst-written scenes and dialogue in the movie. Kerry Bishe isn't given a lot to work with as the preacher's morally-divided daughter, but gives a solid performance as well. Pretty much everyone else in the film is forgettable. The script has potential, but is overwritten with dialogue scenes that go on for far too long after their point is made

Smith does attempt to introduce some moral complexity to the film by shining a light on the dubious activities of the American government in dealing with terrorism, but again in such a ham-fisted way that it comes off as both crushingly obvious and an excuse for more shoot-outs and deaths. And the less said about the ludicrous ending, the better.

Red State (**) shows Kevin Smith trying something new in his career, which is laudable, and also has a few good performances and ideas in it. However, it is also not very well-written, its structure and pacing is shot to hell and the serious issues it attempts to raise come across as paper-thin excuses for scenes of violent carnage. The film teeters on the edge of exploiting real, serious and tragic news stories for cheap thrills, which I am certain was not the director's intention. The film is available now on DVD (UK, USA).

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

Gold has been discovered in the hills and mountains of the Far Country, that untamed frontier beyond the Old Empire and far to the west of the Union. Prospectors, mercenaries and those eager to find a new life flock to those lands, only to find the greed and violence of their pasts following them, even those of honourable intentions. Shy South and her adopted father are searching for missing kinfolk, kidnapped for purposes unknown. Their pursuit across the Far Country leads them into an alliance with a fellowship of the plains, a caravan hoping for a better life in the distant mining town of Crease. But, with rebels gathering in the mountains and Nicomo Cosca and his Company of the Gracious Hand also on a sworn mission to root them out for His Majesty's Inquisition, this is a journey where nothing will turn out as hoped.

Red Country is Joe Abercrombie's sixth novel and his third semi-stand-alone set in the same world as The First Law sequence. As with its two immediate predecessors, Best Served Cold and The Heroes, Red Country can be read by itself, but regular readers will pick up on a lot of nods and winks to previous novels, from cameo character appearances to the ongoing development of a 'cold war' between two opposing factions.

The book moves between several major POV characters. Shy is our main protagonist, but shares a lot of the page-time with Temple, a lawyer in Cosca's army whose moral centre is gradually crumbling in the face of so much pain and violence. Other characters also flitter in and out of the story, with Abercrombie re-using the 'POV handover' trick from The Heroes to great effect several times, where the perspective shifts between several characters in succession to help clearly tell the story of a battle or confrontation. As usual with Abercrombie, the characters' personalities and motivations are convincingly laid out and developed, and there are some nice pay-offs for returning characters (Cosca, in particular, gets some fairly thorough character development here). One slight flaw is that the storyline following one of the kidnapped children never seems to really develop, and feels like it either needed several more chapters dedicated to it or the whole thing dropped and the reader (like Shy) made to discern for themselves what happened off-page.

The novel has been billed as 'Joe Abercrombie's Western' and there is certainly a degree of that in the book's influences. Brief nods to The Searchers, Unforgiven and the mighty Deadwood can be discerned, though unexpectedly the most constant cultural reference is the original Star Wars movie: one brief line of dialogue by Obi-Wan Kenobi inspires an entire subplot in the novel. However, there are significant deviations from the Western motif. The West in this case is the long-abandoned northern provinces of the Old Empire, festooned with ruins from ancient times, rather than a totally virgin and untamed land (apart from the natives, of course). The area is also (relatively) close to the Old Empire, the Union and the North, making it much more of a cultural melting-pot and having it effect (and be effected by) events in more established lands than you might expect. Finally, there's no six-shooters, with everyone falling back on the old stand-bys of swords and bows. More or less.

The tone of the book is bloody and cynical, with Abercrombie's trademark line in black humour preventing things from getting too depressing. However, the cynicism feels a little harder-edged and a bit blacker than in his previous books, the humour perhaps a tad less prevalent. It's still a page-turning, well-written book with points to make about human nature, but at times the tone feels wearier than his previous books. However, this also ties in with a feeling of tragedy underpinning the book, one that results in a grimly satisfying pay-off at the end (and one element of the novel that is completely lifted - if appropriately - from a Western).

Red Country (****½) is Joe Abercrombie doing what he does best, writing a story of violence, mayhem and vengeance and the effect it has on all-too-human characters. As with his previous stand-alones, the book works as both a satisfying novel in its own right and also moves a lot of political and religious pieces into position to be (presumably) used to good effect in his next work, a full-on trilogy. Some may find the cynicism a tad overwhelming at times and at least one of the subplots doesn't quite work as well as it could have, but this is a strong effort from one of the better writers in the genre. The novel will be available on 18 October in the UK and 13 November in the USA.

Red Eagle fail (again) to make a WHEEL OF TIME game

More than two years ago, it was reported that Red Eagle had signed a deal with Obsidian Entertainment to make a Wheel of Time computer roleplaying game for release on PC and console platforms. Chris Avellone, the well-respected creator of Planescape: Torment and a key writer on games like Fallout 2, New Vegas, Alpha Protocol, Icewind Dale and the forthcoming Wasteland 2 and Project: Eternity, was reported to be working on the initial ideas for the game. Fans and even gamers who had never heard of Wheel of Time were intrigued.

Then nothing. Obsidian moved onto several projects. There was excitement when they reported they were working on a major franchise tie-in game, but this turned out to be a South Park title (due out in spring 2013). More recent reports emerged explaining what had happened: Red Eagle's responsibility had been to find a publisher to fund development of the game. Despite signing a distribution agreement with Electronic Arts in 2009, they were unable to procure funding for the game itself. The last (unofficial) word from the Obsidian camp was that they are not working on the game now, and do not expect to be working on it any time soon.

Then, in a move so low-key that barely any Wheel of Time fan sites even mentioned it, Red Eagle announced they were partnering with Jet Set Games to make at least two WoT games for mobile devices such as phones and tablets. Since almost no-one gives a toss about mobile gaming, the lack of any interest whatsoever was unsurprising. Red Eagle then made the curious decision to put the first game, Banner of the Rising Sun, on Kickstarter, expecting Wheel of Time fans to flock to support the game. Unsurprisingly, they did not. After asking for $450,000 (for a mobile game, remember), Red Eagle had to withdraw the campaign after less than $3,000 was pledged (an unmitigated disaster, in Kickstarter terms).

There has been a sense that Red Eagle's expectations for their WoT projects have been 'unrealistic' (such as their continued, futile insistence on a film over a TV series adaptation), but this situation takes it to a whole new level. Mobile games should never cost $450,000 to produce, not unless it's a tie-in with a Mass Effect or Halo game or something (and even then that's a stretch). For their Kickstarter Obsidian asked for $1.1 million to make a massive, proper PC RPG taking tens of hours to complete and featuring hundreds of thousands of words of writing. Half that for a casual game to play whilst bored on the train is sheer lunacy. The fact alone that Red Eagle were also unable to raise funding for a proper game based on a series that has outsold (overall and - just - per-volume) A Song of Ice and Fire at a time when epic fantay is on fire is perplexing, but then following it up with a gambit that was never in a million years going to pay off is something that moves us into the realm of the truly baffling.

An interview with, er, me

The Fantastical Librarian blog has posted an interview with myself about blogging, reviewing and so forth. Some interesting questions there on why I started the blog and why it has such a silly name :-)

UK cover art for Richard Morgan's THE DARK DEFILES

An early look at the working cover art for Richard Morgan's The Dark Defiles, provisionally due in August 2013:

No, I haven't read the book: it's still being written. The quote is from my review of The Cold Commands and may not be present on the final version of the cover for The Dark Defiles.

Bringer of Light by Jaine Fenn

Jarek, Taro and Nual's attempts to expose and defeat the machinations of the alien Sidhe continue. In alliance with the Minister of Vellern, their latest mission takes them to Aleph, the refuge of the male Sidhe after the devastating war with the females. However, the trio's assumption that the enemy of their enemy is their friend is soon shown to be hopelessly naive. Meanwhile, on the primitive world of Serenein, other allies against the Sidhe find their attempts to keep their people safe may soon be tested...

Bringer of Light is the fourth novel in Jaine Fenn's Hidden Empire sequence, which currently stands at five books. The series so far as been varied in quality, with great ideas often battling against so-so prose and a mixed bag of characterisation (our protagonists are well-drawn, but everyone else is sketchier). The previous book ended with a left-field revelation about a threat to humanity that dwarfs the Sidhe in magnitude that was fairly horrific and executed with deft skill. Whilst that threat is not much expanded upon in Bringer of Light, the upturn in writing quality that delivered it does at least continue through this volume.

The story is bigger this time, with Fenn juggling multiple storylines featuring established characters (Jarek, Taro and Nual visiting Aleph, Urien and Kerin on Serenein) and some newcomers as well. Ifanna's storyline on Serenein is an interesting addition to the mix, less of an antagonist than a well-meaning person drawn into cross-purposes against Kerin's goals (and from Ifanna's POV, fully understandably). All of this results in a somewhat longer book than the previous ones in the series (though at 400 pages it's hardly Peter F. Hamilton territory) and Fenn does a good job of handling the larger scope.

The previous problems in the series do remain, if less prevalently. There's too much use of modern colloquialism in the language and dialogue, which doesn't really sell the idea of the story being set seven millennia hence. There's a certain casual lightness to the story that makes it feel slight, despite some of the ideas and concepts being presented being fairly dark and disturbing. However, these issues are reduced in stature. In particular, Ifanna's story has some fairly unexpected twists and a disturbing - and somewhat tragic - ending that is a step above what we've seen previously. There's also an excellent twist at the end of the book that leaves things in a very interesting place for the following volumes.

Bringer of Light (***½) is a stronger volume in the series than what has come before, continuing to show the author's talents and confidence growing. That said, the feeling remains that the series has yet to hit its full potential. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.

Black Mesa

When it comes to the genre of first-person shooters, there have been several gamechangers during its lifespan. The mass-popularisation of the genre through id's Doom was an early one. The success of 2001's Medal of Honour: Allied Assault inspiring dozens of 'realistic' shooters using real weapons and history was another. But towering over all of them is Half-Life. Released in 1998 it transformed the genre from mindless shooting to something based more around characters, personal narrative, puzzles and full immersion in the world it depicted.

More recent shooters have seemingly ignored the lessons laid down by Half-Life, becoming lost in a few short hours of tiresome, badly-acted cut-scenes and even more tiresome gimmicks like regenerating health and cover systems. Yet returning to Half-Life, or introducing it to new players, is almost impossible. What was a fantastic-looking game on release is now a painful collection of blocky models and low-res textures. What is needed is a full HD remake of the game which preserves the pacing, weapons and enemies but updates everything else.

Happily, Black Mesa is a (nearly) full HD remake of the game which preserves the pacing, weapons and enemies but updates everything else. Created over a period of eight years (!) - or two years longer than it took for Valve themselves to make Half-Life 2 - by gamers and fans working in their own time, Black Mesa is a carefully-crafted love letter to the franchise. The attention to detail in the game is tremendous, and it's quality easily exceeds that of many 'proper' Triple-A releases. Even the voice-acting (all re-recorded, as reusing the original game's audio files was legally dubious) eclipses that of many supposedly professional games.

The game opens as the original Half-Life did, with you standing on a tram as it makes its way into the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico. You play Gordon Freeman, a 27-year-old theoretical physicist and graduate of MIT. Freeman is a silent protagonist who never speaks, allowing the player to come up with his own personality and interpretation for the character. The iconic tram ride shows the similarities and differences between the original game and the remake. The areas you pass on the tram are more or less the same, but are now inhabited by more people with more activity going on. A mech clearing up a chemical spill have now been joined by two scared scientists trapped against a nearby wall. Other spaces, formerly bare, are now bustling with people moving equipment around. The reception area to the main lab has been transformed from a poky square room into a cavernous circular chamber filled with computer screens. A nearby canteen has changed from a small room with a table in it to a large public space filled with vending machines.

There are multiple models for scientist and soldier characters now (including the introduction of female characters), lending more realism to scenes where Gordon forms up a posse. Amusingly, Dr. Kleiner and Eli Vance (from Half-Life 2) show up as younger characters, in keeping with the canon. The developers have resisted the urge to thrown in other appearances from Half-Life 2 characters: Administrator Breen is referenced, but does not appear (as he did not appear in the original game), whilst Barney also does not appear: whilst multiple security guards in the original game had the 'Barney voice', the canon Barney is the one glimpsed briefly trying to open a door as Gordon passes by on his tram journey, and otherwise does not feature in the original Half-Life, only its expansion, Blue Shift.

The weapons load-out is the same as in the original game, and pleasingly you can carry a full arsenal around with you rather than having the current, tiresome restriction of two-guns-per-person (or whatever) shoehorned into the title. The variety and types of enemy is also the same. The integration of the Source Engine's physics system also gives rise to the closest thing the game has to a new weapon, the ability to pick up flares and throw them at enemies, setting them on fire.

As noted above, the game has been redesigned on a micro scale in many areas: few rooms or corridors avoid having had some tweaks to make them more interesting, from whiteboards filled with amusing jokes (or occasionally dirty cartoons) to a mug featuring the Chuckle Brothers (dubious UK comedians) sitting on a security guard's desk. The general layout of the game is the same as before, but a few areas have been opened up. Whilst still a linear shooter, some areas do feature multiple paths, requiring Gordon to scout out surrounding corridors and rooms for bonus weapons and ammo before finding what is the correct way to proceed. These changes, though minor, do hugely enhance the feeling of Black Mesa as a place where, under normal circumstances, people work together.

Something that did come as a surprise whilst playing the game was the fact that, by modern standards, Half-Life is only barely a shooter. The game can happily go half an hour at a time without having any combat, instead throwing puzzles and environmental challenges at the player that must be negotiated without a shot being fired. These range from having to open up valves to prime a rocket engine with fuel and coolant so it can be fired into a blast pit, killing a giant, triple-tentacled monster inside, to finding a way of powering up a computer system so you can use it to unlock a blast door.

Combat, when it does take place, is intense and also quite tough: the AI of both the alien invaders and the marines sent to deal with them and also wipe out any eyewitnesses is impressive, especially given fan consensus that the original Half-Life actually featured better AI than Half-Life 2. Whether the smart, tough enemies of Half-Life would survive the transition to Black Mesa was a key question for many fans, even a dealbreaker, and it's a relief to report that they have. Enemies are smart and canny, knowing when to take cover, flank you and use grenades to flush you into a killzone.

Unfortunately, the game's transition to Source means that the controls suffer a little. The original game sometimes used a feature called 'crouch-jumping' to allow you to reach tall ledges that would otherwise be out of reach. For some reason Black Mesa actually forces you to use crouch-jumping far more than the original game, almost for every single jump in the game. When you have to run fast and crouch-jump (requiring three simultaneous button pushes whilst using the mouse at the same time), it's almost impossible to execute the move. It turns out the development team set the jumping parameters too low, but it's very easy to go into the source files and modify it back to something sane. The game also has a lot of problems with ladders. In fact, the only FPS I've ever seen handle ladders well was the original Half-Life. Every other game, including Half-Life's own sequels and expansions (and now its remake), seems to love sticking you to ladders to the point of mouse-throwing rage when it results in you dying. Also, for some reason, the 'walk slowly' button does not work, which makes traversing the aforementioned blast pit (inhabited by an indestructible triple-tentacled blind monster that hunts by sound alone) absolutely horrendous, although it's completely unnecessary for any other part of the game.

These problems seem fairly minor when you consider the overwhelming quality of the game. A few areas feel like they could have been truncated a little bit (the residue processing sequence in particular is a little dull) but overall, Black Mesa is a phenomenal achievement. The original game's superior level design, excellent weapons and impressive AI are now enhanced by modern graphics, a subtle-but-brilliant redesign of many areas to work better with physics and a new, moody soundtrack. The game does have a different ending to the original, however, concluding in the Lambda Complex as you prepare to teleport to Xen. The thorough, exacting redesign of the game means that Xen is not yet ready. However even this has its benefits, as the Xen levels are the most widely-hated part of the original game. Their absence makes Black Mesa a tighter, more focused (though, at over 10 hours, still very long by modern standards) experience, even if the bizarreness of the place (a refreshing antidote to 10 hours of grey walls) is missed a little.

Black Mesa (*****) is available now from the developers' website, completely legally and free of charge. The game will also be available from Steam in a few weeks.

Community: Season 1

Jeff Winger is a hotshot lawyer whose career has been brought to a screeching halt due to the slight problem of his qualifications being non-existent. He has to attend Greendale Community College for four years and pass a series of tests to regain his law credentials. An attempt to seduce a fellow student, Britta, by inviting her to a fictitious study group spirals out of control, resulting in the creation of a real study group. As the group goes through the school year, they learn and grow together. And also inadvertently create a copyright-infringing school anthem, give the college a guy in a gimp suit as its mascot and then almost destroy the place in a titanic paintball game that goes horrendously awry.

Community is entering its fourth season in the USA, but may be one of the best-kept secrets on television. Airing to mediocre ratings in the States and having almost no profile at all in the UK, it's nevertheless a funny, confident show which acts as both an obvious comedy and also something of a commentary on social dynamics and pop culture. The 'community' of the title is a reference to the central characters, who are all outcasts of one type of another, and their bonding together, and also to the wider college around them, personified through a recurring cast of tutors and other students.

Early episodes are mostly spent with the show trying to avoid cliches, with the character of Abed (Danny Pudi) always ready to compare an episode's storyline to something he saw on Friends or M*A*S*H*. This constant meta-commentary and attempts at ironic post-post-modernism are amusing but also slightly tiresome, with the show occasionally feeling a little smug with itself or else flailing at trying not to be caught between cliches. However, it's not long before the writers stop caring about that (at least quite so much) and instead concentrate on having fun. Community melds both the characters and the situations they encounter into compelling storylines that feel a lot longer than their modest 22 minutes-per-episode run times would suggest.

The actors are all excellent in their roles, particularly Joel McHale as Jeff, who has to make an inherently unlikable character likable without weakening the character, which he just about manages to do. The aforementioned Pudi is also great at portraying a character who initially appears to be the most predictable of the group but rapidly develops some interesting depths. Donald Glover takes the initially dull character of Troy and rapidly (by the end of episode two and its iconic Spanish rap number) turns him into a highlight of the show, thanks to some great comic timing. Yvette Nicole Brown's Shirley initially appears to be the 'mother' figure of the show, but some revelations about her personal life and gossipping tendencies turn that on its head. There's also a glorious cynicism about the character of Pearce (played by Chevy Chase, enjoying a career resurgence), a casually sexist and racist old man whose role in the group appears to primarily be making the other characters feel good about themselves. Alison Brie and Gillian Jacobs round off the primary cast as Annie and Britta, who initially both seem fairly straightforward characters before gaining more layers as the season progresses.

Slightly less successful are the supporting characters, most notably Ken Jeong as 'Senor' Chang whose character is rather broad (more effectively in some episodes than others) and Jim Rash as the Dean, who random weirdness (he has a sexual predilection for people in dalmatian costumes) is wearying. Still, both have their strong moments as the season progresses.

After the first few, slightly more pedestrian episodes, the season takes an upward turn in quality, culminating in the now-legendary paintball episode, Modern Warfare, when the show's ingredients combine together to create something hilarious, mildly emotional and completely demented, leaving the viewer eager to see what the writers and cast can do in the second year.

Season 1 of Community (****½) is well-written, sharply-acted and finely-observed, with more going on under the hood than you might expect from a situation comedy. The show is available now in the UK and USA.

Happy 10th birthday to FIREFLY

Today is (disturbingly, as I still think of it as a newish series) the tenth anniversary of the airing of the first episode of Firefly in the USA. Though not actually the first episode, since Fox TV in their infinite wisdom decided to delay showing the pilot until later in the run and instead aired the second episode, The Train Job, first.

The series only ran for thirteen episodes, but has since become a cult phenomenon, selling millions of DVDs and Blu-Rays and spawning a spin-off film, Serenity.

Here's the 10th anniversary Comic-Con panel reuniting Joss Whedon, Tim Minear and many of the cast (not to mention 'The Hat') at San Diego this year:

BioWare confirm a new MASS EFFECT game and a new IP

The co-founders of BioWare, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, today announced that they are retiring from the company they set up almost twenty years ago. Whilst that in itself has sparked a storm of debate online about why they are leaving - some fans citing the arguably declining quality of their games since BioWare was taken over by Electronic Arts - even more interesting is a statement by Aaryn Flynn, the head of the company's Edmonton and Montreal studios.

Flynn, in a clearly calming-the-waters move, reveals that BioWare are currently actively developing three projects. One of these is the recently-confirmed Dragon Age III: Inquisition, which looks set to launch in late 2013.

Secondly, he confirms that the Mass Effect team is, as expected, working on the long-awaited Omega DLC, which will round off the trilogy's last remaining major unfinished storyline. However, he also unexpectedly confirmed that the team is also starting work on a new, full game set in that universe. Based on previous tidbits, it appears that this new game might be a prequel set centuries or even millennia before the existing trilogy. If true, this will fascinatingly open up the possibility of a game featuring no human characters at all (as the trilogy is itself set only thirty years after humans make contact with the Citadel races).

Finally, he also reveals that BioWare are developing a whole new IP and ficitional universe, based on all-new tech. I'd wager that this game is probably in the earliest stages of development and may be aimed at the next generation of consoles.

Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson

It is more than a quarter of a million years before the time of the Malazan Empire. In this ancient age, the Tiste race is divided between noble families and bickering militias, trying to find their place in the world following the devastating wars against the Forulkan and the Jheleck. When the Tiste ruler, Mother Dark, takes the obscure Draconus as lover and consort, the noble houses are incensed and the seeds are sowed for civil war and religious conflict.

Forge of Darkness is the first novel in The Kharkanas Trilogy, a prequel series to Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. This trilogy will chart the splintering of the Tiste race into the three sub-races seen in the main series book (the Andii, the Liosan and the Edur) and explain much of the ancient backstory to the series. Some characters from the main series - such as Anomander Rake, Silchas Ruin, Hood and Gothos - appear here as much younger, far less experienced figures. However, those hoping for I, Anomander Rake will likely feel disappointed. Rake is a central character in the events unfolding and appears a few times, but much of the action takes place around new, much less important characters. Also, while the story is set more than 300,000 years before Gardens of the Moon, this isn't the alpha-point of the entire Malazan universe. Tiste society is many thousands of years old when the story opens and Rake, Mother Dark, Ruin and Draconus are already important characters with significant histories in place.

Instead, the trilogy is much more concerned with clarification of events in the main series books and explaining why certain things are the way they are. Surprisingly, the series addresses questions that I think most fans thought would simply be left as, "That's how it is," such as the nature of the gods in the Malazan world (and the apparent realisation by Erikson that 'gods' was not the right word to use for them), why the different Tiste races have different appearances and why the Jaghut evolved the way they did. Some long-burning questions are indeed addressed, such as the reasons for and the nature of Hood's war on death, but for the most part Erikson is not really concerned with really addressing obvious mysteries (those left wondering what the hell the Azath Houses are will likely not be satisfied by this book, in which even the race they are named after is baffled by them).

Instead, the narrative unfolds on its own terms. As usual, Erikson has a large cast of POV characters including nobles, soldiers, priests and mages, many of them with slightly cumbersome names. However, Erikson strives to differentiate his characters more from one another then in previous novels. Forge of Darkness enjoys a shorter page-length than most of his prior books (clocking in at a third less the size of most of the Malazan novels) and is far more focused. The plot is a slow-burner, divided into several relatively straightforward narratives. This is Erikson at his most approachable, easing the reader into the situation and story rather than dropping them in the middle of chaos and expecting them to get on with it (such as in the first novel in the main series, Gardens of the Moon).

Of course, Erikson isn't going to give the reader an easy ride. Minor peasants continue to agonisingly philosophise over the nature of existence with surprisingly developed vocabularies at the drop of a hat. There are too many moments when characters look knowingly at one another and speak around subjects so as not to spoil major revelations for the reader, regardless of how plausible this is. There is an awful lot of hand-wringing rather than getting on with business. But there's also a few shocking reversals, some tragic moments of genuine emotional power and some revelations that will have long-standing Malazan fans stroking their chins and going, "Ah-ha!"

Forge of Darkness (****) is Erikson's attempt to channel the in-depth thematic approach of Toll the Hounds but weld it to a more dynamic (by his terms) plot-driven narrative whilst also satisfying the fans' thirst for more information and revelations about his world and characters. It's a juggling act he pulls off with impressive skill, with some polished prose and haunting moments. But those who continue to find his reliance on philosophical asides and long-winded conversations tiresome will likely not be convinced by this book. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.

Wertzone Classics: Deadwood Season 1

1876, the Black Hills of Dakota Territory. The discovery of gold has inspired thousands of people to break a treaty with the natives and flock to the area to prospect. The camp of Deadwood has been established to cater for their needs and is rapidly expanding into a large town. In such circumstances there lies opportunity, and the criminally-minded Al Swearengen, wanted for murder in Chicago, has set up his own saloon to cash in on such opportunities.

Swearengen's operations are complicated by the arrival of the noted Wild West figures Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok and Charlie Utter, as well as the establishment of a rival hotel and casino across the road from his own joint and the arrival of a former Montana marshal, Seth Bullock, who is looking to open a hardware store. With native attacks still a threat and a cholera outbreak striking the town, Deadwood needs to negotiate some perilous waters if it is to survive.

Deadwood is widely considered to be one of the jewels in HBO's crown. Running for three seasons from 2004 to 2006, the series has attracted critical acclaim matched by perhaps only two other shows in TV history: The Sopranos and The Wire. Unlike those shows, Deadwood was not able to complete its planned storylines and ended prematurely in 2006 for reasons that are still disputed between the show's creator and the studio.

The first season establishes the basic premise of Deadwood: the depiction of the slow metamorphosis of the settlement from a mining camp to a proper Western town. In the first episode, the town is shown to be lawless and almost anarchic. Over the course of the season the institutions of law, order and governance come into being, with in some cases the corrupt figures of the early episodes becoming 'respectable' figures in the new order. This shift is marked by one particular murder, which has significant ramifications for the town and its future. This gives the first season its thematic structure, the arising of order out of chaos.

The writing is exemplary, with David Milch and his writers (although Milch effectively rewrote every script in the season himself) creating a cadence rooted in both historical accuracy and also in getting across the feel of the period. The high levels of modern swearing, for example, are not particularly accurate but Milch felt this was necessary as the contemporary curse words would not resonate with a modern audience. This also extends to the general accuracy of events. Many of the show's characters are real historical figures, with their activities being a mixture of historically real events, real events that have been condensed or moved around in time for dramatic effect, and totally new scenes that better illuminate the characters and themes of the series. If there is a problem in the writing it's the lack of consistency in the use of some devices: E.B. Farnum's tendency to slip into monologue is rather intermittent, for example. Otherwise it's rich, textured and often amusing.

Performance-wise, the show features excellent turns from the likes of Timothy Olyphant (as Seth Bullock), Keith Carradine (Hickok), Paula Malcomson (Trixie), Doc Cochran (Brad Dourif) and Molly Parker (Alma Garret), but it revolves around Ian McShane in the role of Swearengen. Swearengen sits at the heart of the series, affecting events around him, like a particularly profane spider in his web. McShane, previously best known as the title role in the easy-goin' British detective series Lovejoy, is a revelation in this role, bringing phenomenal presence and menace to the screen. The characterisation of all of the characters is particularly accomplished, with a real focus on making them real, conflicted people. For example, a bald surface reading of the show would cast Olyphant's Seth Bullock as the hero, standing up to the villainous Swearengen, but in fact the two characters are also shown in the opposing role as well, such as when Bullock loses his temper and almost beats someone to death in a disproportionate response to a threat, whilst Swearengen shows mercy - albeit of a rough kind - and kindness to a desperately ill member of the community. This layering extends to all of the characters, making them much more compelling.

Production values are impressive, with huge sets depicting the town and its interiors. It isn't an action-packed series, with considerably more talking than shooting, but when things do go off, they go off in style.

Flaws are almost non-existent. Some events feel somewhat random, but this may be down to the show being as interested in depicting moments showing day-to-day life in Deadwood as it is in ongoing story arcs. In fact, arguably the most successful episode of the first season is the tenth, which shows a typical 'day in the life' of the town aside from all of the other ongoing shenanigans.

The first season of Deadwood (*****) lives up to the show's reputation and billing as a gripping, entertaining and highly compelling drama series showing the realities of life in the West. The series is available now in the UK (DVD only, so far) and USA (DVD, Blu-Ray).

Creators of the greatest RPGs of all time collaborate on new game

Obsidian Entertainment have announced their next big RPG: a fantasy game called Project Eternity (working title). This game will be an isometric, old-school RPG that draws heavily on their old D&D games using the Infinity Engine (the Icewind Dale series and the legendary Planescape: Torment).

However, tired of working for publishers who either don't do proper Q&A on their games (resulting in the bug-filled mess of Alpha Protocol), rush them out in an incomplete state (Knights of the Old Republic II) or refuse to pay them a bonus by failing to hit a ludicrously arbitrary Metacritic score by one point despite selling millions of copies (Fallout: New Vegas), Obsidian have decided to take this one to the fans. Via Kickstarter, Obsidian are asking for $1.1 million to help fund the game. They're already at $300,000 less than a day after starting the project.

The creative forces behind the game include Chris Avellone, the writer of Planescape: Torment; Tim Cain, the creator of the Fallout franchise; and Josh Sawyer, the project lead on the excellent New Vegas (who infamously disapproved of the game being somewhat 'softened' for console players and released his own, more hardcore mod for the PC version of the game). They hope to release the game in early 2014.

Kotaku interview Avellone here about the project, whilst GameBanshee talk to Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart here.

UPDATE: As of 24 hours later, the amount raised stands at $1,083,000, and should hit the target within a few hours (with 31 days still to go). Obsidian have already said that any money they make over the $1.1 million will go to making the game even more impressive, and some projections are now suggesting they could make upwards of four times the amount they asked for.

Final cover art for THE LANDS OF ICE AND FIRE

The Lands of Ice and Fire - a tie-in map book for A Song of Ice and Fire - arrives at the end of October and the final cover art for the book has been unveiled:

Nothing too surprising, with a map of Westeros and some heraldic symbols forming the front cover to the book (though clearly the Tyrells and Martells annoyed someone).

Four major new old games in the next month

Looking at the more notable new game releases of the next month, it's surprising that four of the highest-profile are in fact remakes or re-releases of older games in new formats.

First up (tomorrow!) is Black Mesa, the free remake of the original Half-Life using the Source Engine. More than six years in the making, the game is looking very impressive indeed. Anyone with Steam installed on their PC will be able to download and play it tomorrow.

That's followed by the release of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition on 18 September. This is an upgraded and updated version of the original game, with significant UI improvements, compatibility with tablets and Macs, and some new content (in the shape of three new NPC companions and a major new dungeon). Baldur's Gate II will follow next year. Both games include the original expansions.

Then, on 28 September, we get Carrier Command: Gaea Mission. From the makers of the ARMA franchise, this is a remake and recreation of the classic 1987 action strategy game, casting the player as the commander of an aircraft carrier playing hide-and-seek with an enemy carrier whilst trying to conquer a chain of islands.

Finally, on 9 October, we get XCOM: Enemy Unknown. A modern remake of UFO: Enemy Unknown (X-COM: UFO Defense in the United States) from the makers of the Civilization series, the game retains the turn-based tactical combat of its forebear, whilst combining it with impressive modern visuals.

New WILD CARDS UK cover artwork

The Wild Cards series is being relaunched in the UK by Gollancz with all-new cover artwork.

Wild Cards will be released in November, followed by Aces High the following month. The third book, Jokers Wild, will be released in March 2013. The series will then jump to the newer volumes, with Inside Straight coming out in June 2013. Sales will determine if the other earlier books in the series will be reprinted at a later date.

I must admit, these covers are quite nice. They're not Michael Komarck, but there's some nice understatement to them (er, giant dinosaur aside) and good use of the card motif. It will be interesting to see the covers for the later books.

Terry Brooks's SHANNARA optioned as a TV series

After the success of Game of Thrones, it was only a matter of time before other epic fantasy works were snapped up for translation to the small screen. Now the first has been announced: an adaptation of the Shannara novels by Terry Brooks.

Terry Brooks's Shannara series was optioned several years ago as a big-budget movie to be helmed by Mike Newell, starting with an adaptation of The Elfstones of Shannara. This is the second novel in the series, chosen presumably due to 'significant' similarities between the first book, The Sword of Shannara, and The Lord of the Rings. However, the project stalled in development. Now it seems to have been revived, with Sonar Entertainment and Farah Films adapting Elfstones as a TV series. Sonar, under a different name, was previously responsible for the Lonesome Dove TV mini-series.

Obviously this is just an option, not a greenlight, and so far no director, showrunner or scriptwriter has been attached to the project.

Updates: Abercrombie and Morgan

With publication of Joe Abercrombie's Red Country just a few months away, review copies have been released into the wild and promotional materials are doing the rounds. Impressively, these have revealed that The First Law has now sold more than 1 million copies worldwide (though not specifying whether this was just the trilogy or includes the two stand-alone novels as well). An impressive achievement from Joe there.

Meanwhile, Gollancz has revealed (via Twitter) that the current working release date for Richard Morgan's The Dark Defiles - the conclusion to the Land Fit For Heroes series - is August 2013. There are two previews of the book currently up on the author's blog.

Intriguingly, Morgan has hinted that The Dark Defiles might become too large for one volume, and he and Gollancz are looking at the manuscript to see if it will be one huge book or two merely biggish ones. Watch this space for news on that.

The Wheel of Time So Far: Part 14 - Crossroads of Twilight

Previous instalments of the series:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13.

Spoilers for those who are unfamiliar with the series. Note that this summary is designed to help people who have already read the books get back up to speed before the release of the final volume in January. First-timers are advised to read the books directly, as in some cases these summaries may spoil things that are not revealed in the books until much later.

 Perrin Aybara makes a fateful decision over his destiny.

Follow the break for the summary:



Crossroads of Twilight

In Arad Doman Lord Rodel Ituralde, commander of the country’s armies, meets the leaders of the Dragonsworn rebels under an oath of truce. Ituralde has received orders to march against the Seanchan in Tarabon from King Alsalam, but a conventional assault would be suicide. He comes up with an alternate plan: a series of guerrilla attacks designed to provoke the Seanchan into mounting an invasion of Arad Doman, and into a trap. The Dragonsworn, impressed by the plan, agree to support it.

In north-eastern Amadicia the Children of the Light regroup after their disastrous defeat at Jeramel. The Amadician army has been destroyed and King Ailron has been slain. Thankfully, Lord Captain Commander Eamon Valda has saved over 9,000 Whitecloak troops and gathered them together. High Inquisitor Rhadam Asunawa is all for abandoning Amadicia to its fate and riding east through Altara and Murandy in pursuit of the Aes Sedai witches they have heard about, fleeing north from Salidar. Valda thinks that plan is preposterous and has already arranged an alternative, a meeting with factions which may aid them in battling their foes. Asunawa agrees to go to this meeting with Valda and the Council of the Anointed.

Logain takes his two captive Aes Sedai, Gabrelle and Toveine, with him on a ride through the forests near the Black Tower. Gabrelle ponders why Logain hasn’t made them swear an oath to do no harm to the Black Tower, but it might have something to do with the rift between Logain and Taim. One of Taim’s lackeys, Mishraile, arrives and informs Logain that he has permission to go on a recruiting expedition. Logain is satisfied, but Toveine realises that he is up to something and tells Gabrelle that they must both accompany him no matter the cost.

In the White Tower Yukiri, one of the Aes Sedai hunting the Black Ajah, is in a fit over the growing chaos in the world: horrifying stories coming out of Seanchan-occupied lands, mayhem in Arad Doman and Murandy, and rebel Aes Sedai all over the Sun Palace in Cairhien and the Royal Palace in Caemlyn. Yukiri has been assigned to guard Meidani, one of the rebel Aes Sedai that was smuggled into the White Tower months ago. Both are keeping an eye on Atuan Larisett, an Aes Sedai they know for sure is Black Ajah. They also know that Galina Casban and Temaile Kinderode are Black Ajah, but both are absent from the Tower. Atuan is the hunters’ only link to tracking down more Black sisters. Yukiri suggests that Meidani try to re-start her friendship with Elaida, whom she was friends with whilst they were novices. Meidani has already tried, but has been put off by Alviarin. Yukiri tells her that Alviarin left the White Tower yesterday for an unknown location and the way is open to Elaida now. Meidani agrees to try again. Both are then approached by Seaine, the sister Elaida first put on the trail of the Black Ajah two months ago. Seaine and Yukiri discuss a puzzling matter. The original reason that Yukiri, Saerin and Doesine approached Seaine and Pevara was that they were confused why the heads of the six Ajahs in the Tower were meeting one another in secret. However, further discussions have revealed that each of the five Ajahs who lost Sitters to the rebels have elected a young Sitter years before she should have even been considered for the post. A conspiracy between the Sitters and the Ajah heads sounds ridiculous, but Seaine and her conspirators realise it may be connected to their own quest and the division in the Tower. They must try to find out what’s going on before the rebel Aes Sedai arrive.

A few days later, Gawyn Trakand and a detachment of the Younglings are returning to their base in Dorlan, a town not far from Tar Valon (from where they have been exiled by Elaida), when their scouts encounter over 25,000 men holding the bridge towns on this side of the Erinin. Reports indicate a similar number on the far side. An army has materialised out of nowhere and laid siege to Tar Valon itself, an almost incomprehensible idea. As a result of the siege, Gawyn and his troops and fourteen Aes Sedai - Katerine Alruddin and Tarna Feir most newly-arrived - among them, are unable to get any closer to the city. However, one Aes Sedai, Narenwin, has managed to slip out of Tar Valon with orders for Gawyn from Elaida. Katerine and Tarna immediately depart to find the boat Narenwin sneaked out of the city in. They need to get into the city no matter the cost. Gawyn is annoyed with Elaida having used the Younglings then thrown them to one side, but agrees to hear out her requests.

Marshal-General Davram Bashere and Bael, clan chief of the Goshien Aiel, observes the large number of troops gathering outside Caemlyn. 5,000 men in one camp, and seven such camps going up around the city at equal distances. The Andorans don’t pay the Saldaeans or the Aiel any attention, since they know that Elayne wouldn’t dare to use outlanders to resolve an Andoran situation. Bashere is still confused by the situation: two former claimants to the throne, Naean Arawn and Elenia Sarand have apparently thrown their support behind Arymilla Marne, the least capable of the rulers of the Great Houses of Andor (apart from the insane Nasin Caeren), challenging Elayne Trakand’s claim to the throne. Bashere is also slightly worried by the news that his own Queen Tenobia is less than 200 miles to the north of them. Although he could see no other way of proceeding, he knows his actions might be construed as treason. Returning to his camp, he is horrified to see his wife, Deira, injured, but learns her wounds are not serious. Two men tried to plant a fake note in his tent, but Deira and her bodyguard chased them off. The note, written in Bashere’s own hand, commissions two men to carry off certain ‘items’ from the camp.

In Cairhien, reconstruction of the Sun Palace continues following the battle between Rand and the Asha’man. Dobraine Taborwin is following Rand’s orders by running the city and the country efficiently, feeding those made homeless by the civil war and the Shaido War, and supporting Elayne Trakand’s claim for the Sun Throne. Samitsu, the senior-most of the Aes Sedai who follow Cadsuane, meets with Sashalle, a Red sister who has sworn loyalty to Rand, and learns that the senior members of House Riatin are urging the Lady Ailil to take the High Seat of the house, following Toram’s disappearance (word of his death in Far Madding has not yet reached Cairhien). Samitsu doesn’t want to upset the balance of power in Cairhien, but Sashalle is sure that it is the right thing to do: Ailil has forsworn House Riatin’s claim to the Sun Throne and promised to swear allegiance to Elayne Trakand. Before they can discuss the matter further, they learn that an Ogier has arrived in the palace with a human companion. Puzzled, they sweep down to the kitchens and confront the new arrivals, who pretend to be an Ogier mason up from Stedding Tsofu and his human travelling companion. Samitsu points out that she knows that Rand sent his Ogier friend Loial and an Asha’man, Karldin, from the city on an unknown errand. Loial is deflated that his attempt at misinformation failed and Karldin prepares to leave the city immediately, but suddenly word comes that Lord Dobraine has been murdered! The group immediately heads for his chambers and finds Dobraine on the edge of death. Samitsu, one of the most talented Healers the Aes Sedai possess (bested only by Nynaeve), manages to save him. They discover a note, forged to look like Dobraine himself wrote it, ordering certain men to carry off ‘items’ from his chamber. Loial guesses what they were after, but refuses to divulge it to Samitsu and Sashalle. Just as they face off with Loial and Karldin, a messenger arrives, reporting that Aes Sedai sisters are approaching the Sun Palace...and Logain Ablar is with them.

 Mat and his party fleeing through the Altaran woodlands.

Several days have passed since Mat Cauthon and his companions fled Ebou Dar with the Daughter of the Nine Moons, hidden in Valan Luca’s menagerie. However, rather than immediately flee, they have remained in the vicinity of the city. Sure enough, Seanchan patrols have hurtled off in all directions, not bothering to look right under the city walls. Mat is puzzled why a general alarm has not gone out, but Egeanin says that if the news that Tuon had been kidnapped got out, then half the Seanchan nobility in the city would have to kill themselves or surrender to the Seekers for the Truth (pretty much the same thing) in shame. Mat goes out to look at the harbour again, still aghast at what happened on the night they passed through the city gates. The Sea Folk Windfinders they set free were discovered by the Seanchan before they could give Mat his three hours, so unleashed hell immediately. They launched an attack on the damanequarters, killing many of them, before sinking half the Seanchan fleet in the harbour and destroying their own rakers to deny their use to the Seanchan. Many of the Sea Folk died and hundreds upon hundreds of ships were destroyed in the battle that followed, but hundreds of the Sea Folk escaped out to sea and, presumably, safety in the east. Mat realises that the Seanchan don’t have enough surviving ships to take them all home once they are defeated, but Egeanin points out that as far as the Seanchan are concerned, they are home.

Back at the menagerie, Valan Luca is enraged that they aren’t further away from the city. Mat agrees that they have lingered close to Ebou Dar long enough for any search effort to have passed them, and they prepare to depart. Egeanin is annoyed about Mat taking charge of the situation and tries to challenge him, but Mat deflects her. He sees Tuon, who is enraged that Mat has spread tales of her being a dishonest servant to explain why he has her under guard. Unexpectedly, she asks Mat if he remembers Artur Hawkwing’s face (which, thanks to the memories he gained in Rhuidean, he does). Mat says not. Thom Merrilin returns from the city with the news that no general alert has gone out about Tuon’s disappearance. It seems that the Seanchan will leave their Seekers for the Truth to locate Tuon, a far from appealing prospect. Thom’s next news is horrifying: Tylin Quintara, Queen of Altara, is dead. Her decapitated body was found in the palace. The Seanchan are planning to bury her and crown Beslan, her son, on the same day. Mat realises that the gholam killed her whilst looking for her. This makes him feel guilty. Tuon is pleased that Mat felt something for Tylin – his honesty does him credit – but doesn’t believe that Shadowspawn are real. One of the Aes Sedai in the camp, Joline, calls Mat away and tells him that their planned route to Lugard is too dangerous, suggesting they make for Illian instead. When he asks why, the Aes Sedai and the former sul’dam alike confirm that they can feel someone channeling saidar far, far to the north, a torrent of the One Power like nothing ever seen before. Mat suddenly sees a swirling image in his head, of Rand sitting with an unknown woman in a clearing, and realises that Rand is behind what is going on. He tells them they make for Lugard as planned.

In Ebou Dar Furyk Karede of the Deathwatch Guard is answering letters about the nature of the Asha’man, whom he has faced in battle, whilst Lord Yulan has asked him to look at – as a thought experiment only – a way of attacking Tar Valon. A Seeker for the Truth named Mor informs Karede that a woman answering Tuon’s description has been linked to a Tar Valon agent named Merrilin and Tylin’s ‘pet’ Cauthon, all of whom vanished along with Captain Egeanin on the same night. Mor’s intelligence has them heading north. After thinking on the matter, Karede assembles a taskforce of some 100 Deathwatch Guard, including 20 Ogier Gardeners, and sets out in pursuit.

Perrin and his comrades have been continuing their pursuit of Faile for twenty-two days. They headed south for a while before turning east, crossing the River Eldar into Altara near small hamlet named Brytan. By now they are only two days behind the Shaido. Some of Faile’s scouts report to Perrin that Masema has been sending riders back towards Amadicia for purposes unknown. Masema’s followers have also begun claiming that Masema died and was reborn as the Prophet of the Lord Dragon and no longer permit the use of his former name. Perrin is angered that Masema’s followers are indulging in wholesale looting and executing those who refuse to swear loyalty to the Dragon Reborn, but he still needs Masema’s troops too much to punish them. Perrin also learns that two of the Aes Sedai accompanying him, Masuri and Annoura, have been visiting with Masema in secret. Balwer Sebban offers his advice on the reports, but there are too many variables. Perrin has him arrange to insert Faile’s loyal retainers amongst the Aiel and use a high-ranking Tairen noblelady member of their number to try and talk to Berelain, to see if Annoura’s activities are at her behest.

Reaching the outskirts of the camp Perrin sees pawprints burned into the ground: Darkhounds. Perrin sends Aram to alert the other soldiers and follows the prints. He is disquieted to see that the Darkhounds circled the camp once before vanishing off into the night. Before he can follow them further, Berelain leads some their associates out to meet him. Berelain slips him a note one of her thief-takers took from Masema’s tent, revealing that Masema has been in contact with the High Lady Suroth of the Seanchan. Perrin tells Berelain her advisor has been meeting with Masema in secret, to Berelain’s disquiet. She promises to find out what’s going on. Meanwhile, Masuri is studying the Darkhound tracks. One of her specialities is in studying Shadowspawn. She reports that the Darkhound pack may have consistend of as many as fifty creatures and they didn’t find what they were looking for. They are more than an hour gone. Masema arrives with some bodyguards and reports that his people have found a nearby town called So Habor. They can stop there for resupply but Perrin wants to press on to find Faile. Elyas and an Aiel scout arrive with news: the Shaido have seized a fortified town in ridge country forty miles away to the north-east. There are at least 10,000 of them. Perrin is shocked: he only has 2,000 troops under his direct command. Masema has around 10,000-12,000 but most of them are looters, murderers and criminals of little military use.

Perrin has one of the Asha’man open a gateway near to the Shaido camp and he leads a scouting party through to investigate. On the far side of a ridge they see a large, fortified town swallowed in the midst of a vast mass of Shaido. The channellers in the party report that there are at least 400 Shaido Wise Ones in the camp (all of the ones that survived Dumai’s Wells), much to Perrin’s surprise. Suddenly Perrin sees a flash of colour and has a vision of Rand and Nynaneve sitting opposite one another. The channellers in the party can all sense an eruption of the Power like nothing they’ve felt before. Perrin tells them it is Rand and to start coming up with plans to free Faile and the others from the camp.

In the camp Faile is being questioned by a Wise One named Someryn. All of the Shaido Wise Ones have been intercepting and questioning those gai’shain who have been serving Sevanna, questioning them on her activities. Faile is responding as best she can when Someryn suddenly starts staring off into the north-west. Every channelling Wise One Faile can see is doing the same thing. Someryn absently dismisses her and Faile ponders what the channellers have sensed. Faile heads for the nearby city – Malden – which the Shaido overwhelmed in a single night following a surprise night attack. She finds Chiad nearby. Bain and Chiad helped two of the other women captured with Faile – Lacile and Arrela – to escape towards Perrin’s pursuers, but will not countenance fleeing themselves in violation of ji’e’toh. Faile moves on but is grabbed by a drunk Aiel warrior named Nadric, who carts her off. Another Aiel, Rolan, the one who grabbed her in the forest, intervenes and forces Nadric to leave. Escorting her back to the main camp, Rolan reveals that he finds Faile attractive, despite her having a husband. Faile starts thinking how she can use this to help her escape. Later, another of Sevanna’s servants, Aravine, finds Faile and reveals that Lacile and Arrela have been recaptured and punished as runaways. Aravin knows who Faile really is and offers to keep that knowledge secret in return for Faile taking her with them when they escape. Faile reluctantly agrees.

Reaching Sevanna’s tent, Faile overhears Sevanna and Thevara arguing. Thevara thinks they should keep heading east no matter what, whilst Sevanna wants them to stay for another few weeks until the snow starts to melt. Sevanna has found a knife Faile hid in her clothes and has her stripped naked and left bound in the snow as a punishment. Rolan stops by and leaves some burning logs to heat her up and Faile becomes convinced she can get Rolan to help her escape.

Twenty miles from the River Erinin, on the other side of a spur of the small range known as the Chishen Mountains along Andor’s southern border, Elayne Trakand is visiting the manor house of House Matherin. Elayne has spent the last several days Travelling around Andor, visiting the estates of minor houses sworn to Trakand, getting them to assemble their bannermen and agree to support her in the struggle to come. A maid, Elsie, helps Elayne prepare for an audience but suddenly panics, saying she saw a ghost. Elayne dismisses her fears. House Matherin sends several green boys and ‘veteran’ (aka retired) warriors to help her, but most of their strength is heading for Caemlyn on foot. Elayne and Aviendha Travel back to Caemlyn with their new recruits, but just as they open the gateway they sense a torrent of saidar in the distance. Elayne thinks it has something to do with Rand but cannot be sure what. Aviendha convinces her not to intervene until they know what has happened.

Back in Caemlyn Elayne learns that Dyelin Taravin has not yet returned to the city. Dyelin, aided by Reanne Corly (who is making gateways for her), is sounding out support for Elayne among some of the other noble houses. There are 400 houses in Andor, but only 19 strong enough to have a deciding vote in the choosing of a new queen. At the moment only two – Trakand and Taravin – have sworn for Elayne. Six have sworn for Arymilla Marne. Houses Carand, Coelan and Renshar have offered support for Dyelin, but not for Elayne. Norwelyn, Pendar and Traemane have not yet declared at all. Elayne learns that eighty bannermen from House Norwelwyn breached the siege to reach Caemlyn and were rescued by Captain Doilan Mellar’s men. Angered, because Lord Luan Norwelwyn has not yet declared for her and his men could be assassins, Elayne curtly dismisses Mellar from her presence. She offers comfort to the other Aes Sedai, Windfinders and Kin worried by the massive eruption of the Power from the west, pointing out that they cannot worry about it now.

Supplies are continuing to pour into the city: gateways mean that Arymilla’s siege is nearly pointless in keeping troops and materials out. Rumour has come in with, but no news of Galad or Gawyn, to Elayne’s distress. There is talk that Tairen nobles opposed to the Dragon Reborn are besieging the Stone of Tear, demanding that High Lord Darlin help them boot out Rand’s forces, but so far the Stone is holding out. There are also reports of several Aes Sedai sisters newly arrived from the White Tower staying at an inn in the New City, suggesting that Elaida is supporting her claim for the Lion Throne, even if Elayne’s support for the rebel Aes Sedai will have to be punished one day.

The Atha’an Miere Wavemistress who is staying at the palace, Zaida din Parede, reports the death of the Mistress of the Ships and that she has been summoned to meet the other Wavemistresses for the election of a new leader. So that Elayne’s bargain with the Sea Folk is kept, she demands that Elayne send some of the Aes Sedai with them to continue teaching them about the Power. Elayne refuses, pointing out that the bargain was with the Mistress of the Ships. Once a new one is selected, the Aes Sedai will fulfil their part of the bargain. One of the Aes Sedai with them, Merilille, had already agreed to be a teacher so she can go, but the remainder will stay with Elayne. Zaida then suggests a new bargain. In return for some of the Windfinders remaining with Elayne’s group (who need them to make gateways), Zaida wants a square mile on the River Erinin in Andor ceded to the Sea Folk in perpetuity. Elayne nearly chokes on that but counter-suggests all 21 of the Windfinders with Zaida remaining behind and another 21 being sent when they leave, for as long as Aes Sedai teach Windfinders about channelling. Eventually they come to a compromise: nine helping Elayne for as long as it takes her to gain her crown. Even so, Elayne realises she has the better of the deal.

Dyelin returns with the High Seats of Houses Mantear, Haevin, Gilyard and Northan. Lord Perival, Lady Catalyn, Lord Branet and Lord Conail, the respective High Seats of those Houses, swear fealty to Trakand on the spot, much to Elayne’s pleasure. Even better, they have brought more than 3,000 troops to help defend Caemlyn. Lady Catalyn Haevin has brought the largest contingent, 1,200 troops. All have sent to their pledged armsman and more troops should be on the road, though whether they can reach Caemlyn before the issue is decided is another matter entirely. After that meeting, Elayne learns that several more spies have been unmasked in the city. Attempts have begun to feed them false information. There are also reports that the Borderlander army in Braem Wood is moving, but slowly. It will be nearly a month before they get close to Caemlyn. Some of the undecided Houses who treated with Egwene on the Murandian border are also heading north, though whether to winter at their estates or to head for Caemlyn is as yet unknown.

Elayne learns from a Wise One who is helping her through her pregnancy that she is expecting twins! That joyous news is cut short when the beacon of saidar blazing in the west suddenly cuts off. Minutes later news arrives that Merilille and two Sea Folk apprentices have vanished and the Sea Folk are in an uproar about it. Elayne puts her followers to work trying to track them down.

In the besieging camp, Lady Elenia Sarand is trying to think of a way of escaping the trap Arymilla has set for her, essentially blackmailing her and the other houses who have sworn to her with forged letters. Lady Naean Arawn offers to help Elenia in escaping, even promising to swear Arawn to Sarand’s banner in return and Elenia accepts.

Meanwhile, Daved Hanlon reports to Shiaine that Caemlyn will hold as long as the gateways continue to bring in fresh food and supplies. Shiaine suggests that Hanlon try to get closer to Elayne and promises to let him loot the city when it is taken.

At Tar Valon Egwene spies on the city with Gareth Bryne. They see riverboats docking at the harbours, bearing fresh troops for the Tower Guard. Bryne urges Egwene to let him attack the city, since every day means his own troops’ morale gets less and the enemy’s rises. Egwene refuses to accept that. She wants to seal off the harbours and starve Elaida into submission, however long that takes. Some of the sisters – mainly from the Grey Ajah – suggest opening negotiations with Elaida. Egwene agrees, but the sole condition is that Elaida must resign from the Amyrlin Seat. If she does that, Egwene will order her forces to surrender in order to reunite the White Tower peacefully. However, that seems a most unlikely outcome. Some of Egwene’s advisors suggest that, if nothing else, negotiations will show that somethingis happening. They’ve spent two weeks staring at the walls of Tar Valon and doing nothing. It’s unlikely that Bryne will find the ships he needs to blockade the harbours any time soon (since all ships bound for the city now make their last anchorages a hundred miles or more up- or downriver and then make full speed for the city to avoid being seized), and morale will suffer if the waiting continues. Large amounts of the rebel army’s supplies have spoiled, with weevils multiplying and meat rotting even when placed within a saidar-wrought Keeping, another headache for Egwene but, as yet at least, not a critical one. Another headache is keeping all the new novices (more than 900 of them, recruited on the road from Salidar to the Murandian border and then in the area surrounding Tar Valon) fed and clothed.

Back at the camp Egwene visits a group of novices who are working on her latest discovery: how to make cuendillar. Egwene wants large numbers of cuendillar artifacts made so they can be sold for vast profits, helping keep the rebel army supplied and its troops paid. Some of the Aes Sedai are unhappy with this, seeing it as demeaning, but accept the need as one borne of desperation. After Egwene, Leane, Kairen and Bodewhin Cauthon are the fastest and most effective at creating cuendillar. Tiana, the Mistress of Novices, complains to Egwene about Nicola Treehill, stating that she suspects Nicola has begun using her known ability to Foretell to her own advantage, faking predictions to enhance her own power. Nicola’s latest batch has included visions of battles with the Seanchan and the Asha’man, an Amyrlin chained and a vision of Tarmon Gai’don. Most of the other novices no longer believe her, making it difficult to judge the value of her gift. She has also been caught trying to eavesdrop on sisters and also trying to spy on the opening of a gateway to see how the weaves are made.

Back at her tent, Egwene talks to Siuan. One of her headaches comes on which Halima offers to treat, but Egwene packs her off. Siuan reports that during a sojourn in Tel’aran’rhiod she found out the names of new Sitters in the White Tower: five relatively young women, none in the Tower longer than seventy years. That makes eleven Aes Sedai raised to the Hall years before their time between the rebels and the Tower Aes Sedai. That makes it more than coincidence, but they can’t all be Black Ajah (otherwise the White Tower would have fallen years ago). Yet a conspiracy of sorts seems underway. Reports from the Tower’s eyes-and-ears comes in, along with Leane’s reports from her spies in Tar Valon. The Tower Guard has abandoned its traditional policing role to fortify the bridge towers, harbours and some of the walls, allowing crime to rise for the first time in centuries within the city. The White Tower has been sealed since the siege began and no sister has been seen outside the compound since then. Elsewhere, many people in lands occupied by the Seanchan seem to have accepted their lordship, since they rule better than many and no worse than some. There are confused reports out of Arad Doman, reports of battles and of Lord Rodel Ituralde leading Arad Doman’s armies to war. There is word of the Borderlander army in Braem Wood, with the Green Ajah concerned about the weakening of the defences against the Blight. Luckily, the rumoured 50+ sisters with the Borderlanders seem to preventing the Green Ajah from sending their own delegates to investigate, since the sisters with those rulers may be Elaida’s. Other reports come from Illian and Tear. Lord Gregorin has gathered large armies outside the city of Illian, ready to repulse a possible Seanchan assault, whilst Sea Folk armadas have gathered in both Illian and Tear (along with reports of wilders among them). The Grey Ajah is considering opening negotiations in Tear between the High Lord Darlin Sisnera and the besieging armies of rebel nobles. Reports from Cairhien and Tear are also hinting that Rand al’Thor may have used Compulsion on Aes Sedai sisters – including Melana and the legenday Cadsuane! – to do his bidding. Luckily, that idea hasn’t spread to the rebel Hall of the Tower.

A meeting of the Hall is convened. Several sisters sent to investigate the massive torrent of the Power which ended several days ago report that the ancient, ruined city of Shadar Logoth has been destroyed. Several sisters suggest that if this weapon was to be deployed against them they would not be able to handle it with their traditional thirteen-sister circles. They must countenance the impossible: expanding the circles with men who can channel! Egwene is surprised by the boldness of this suggestion, beyond what she would dare to suggest, and even more startled at how much support the idea garners, with even arch-rivals Lelaine and Romanda agreeing to support the idea. A delegation to send to the Black Tower is assembled.

Egwene goes to sleep and enters Tel’aran’rhiod. She meets Aviendha (using a ter’angrealto enter the World of Dreams) and they exchange news. Both are anxious for word from Rand or Nynaeve, but have heard nothing. Afterwards Egwene experiences some of her prophetic dreams. She sees Mat rolling bowling balls at pins and knocking them flying, but each pin represents thousands of men. An Illuminator is involved, somehow. Egwene is climbing a cliff-face and almost falls to her death, but a Seanchan woman armed with a sword appears and saves her, offering to help her reach the top. Again Egwene is climbing a cliif-face, but this is actually a path winding to the top of a spire. At the top of the spire is an oil candle burning a solid white light, the Flame of Tar Valon. Suddenly two night-black ravens fly out of the clouds and knock the candle over, nearly toppling it. Egwene realises that the Seanchan are planning to attack Tar Valon.

Awakening in the night, Egwene hears Halima come into the tent to sleep, complaining of having worked hard that night. The next morning Egwene is awoken by one of her loyal Aes Sedai, Nisao, who reports that Anaiya and her Warder have been found dead whilst out in the camp. No-one knows what they were doing. A resonance testing revealed that both were killed with saidin, indicating that a man who can channel is in the camp. Egwene knows they must alert the Hall, but orders Nisao to investigate the murder further.

Inside the White Tower Alviarin emerges from a gateway, having Travelled from the Sea Folk island of Tremalking. She goes to see Elaida. Along the way she bumps into Talene and is surprised to see Talene looking to Yukiri and Doesine for guidance when she is above them in the Tower hierarchy (Talene is the Blach Ajah sister exposed by the hunters including Yukiri and Doesine). Pondering this, Alviarin arrives at the Amyrlin’s study and is astonished when Elaida orders her to be silent until she has finished dealing with a delegation of Sitters. They want her to open negotiations with the rebels. Elaida agrees, on the sole condition that the rebels accept the disbanding of the Blue Ajah and that their punishment will be decided by Elaida herself, not their Ajah. After the Sitters go Alviarin tries to take Elaida in hand, but Elaida storms over her. She has had Alviarin stripped off the rank of Keeper of the Chronicles after disappearing for nearly a month and now has scapegoats for the disasters of Dumai’s Wells and the Black Tower, respectively Coiren and Toveine Gazal, making her immune to Alviarin’s blackmail. She tells Alviarin she knows she has her own agenda and is actively investigating her. Panicking, Alviarin summons Mesaana to her rooms using a ter’angreal and tells her she is at risk. Mesaana is furious at being disturbed for such a little thing and prepares to punish her, but Shaidar Haran appears from the shadows. He marks Alviarin as his tool and unleashes horrific punishments upon Mesaana for refusing to show up at the Battle of Shadar Logoth. Horrified, Alviarin realises that Shaidar Haran is somehow projecting the Dark One’s will at great distance from Shayol Ghul. Haran orders Mesaana to locate and kill those Elaida has put on her trail.

Pevara, one of those very hunters, is talking to Tarna Feir, who has been raised Keeper of the Chronicles in Alviarin’s place. Tarna reports how she went to negotiate with the rebel Aes Sedai. With the failure of that mission she headed straight back to Tar Valon. Along the way, at a village in Murandy, she happened to see an Asha’man recruiting party. That party consisted of six of them. Doing the maths, Tarna worked out that in order to spare six Asha’man on one recruiting party, there would have to be at least a couple of hundred of them in total. Too many to gentle before Tarmon Gai’don. Tarna suggests that the only way to keep the Asha’man in hand is for the Red Ajah to bond them as Warders! They know how to handle men who can channel. Pevara is astonished but agrees there is some logic to that thought. However, most Red sisters will not be so reasonable. Pevara shows Tarna a message that has come from Toveine Gazal via an agent in Cairhien. Tarna merely thinks it confirms her idea, but Pevara thinks it changes the world.

In eastern Tear, less than a day from the Spine of the World and perhaps a week or two from Stedding Shangtai, Cadsuane has taken refuge with a Tairen Lord of the Land, Algarin, who owes her a favour. Rand, Nynaeve, Lan and everyone from the Battle of Shadar Logoth are there as well, recuperating from the battle. Verin makes a report, that their Sea Folk allies led by Harine have been delivered to Tear. The city is in an uproar. High Lord Astoril has joined his defensive forces to Darlin, making the chances of the Stone falling to the besiegers almost nil. The bored besiegers have taken to fighting one another on the streets of the city or staggering around drunk. Some have taken to fighting Sea Folk, but given the colossal size of the Sea Folk armada in the harbour they have not been joined en masse for fears of sparking full-scale war in the city. Harine is convinced she will be the next Mistress of the Ships, but Min bursts in at that report, angry that the Wavemistress misinterpreted her viewing again. Cadsuane is amused by Min’s inability to listen with care and clarity. After Min is sent off, Verin reports that only the High Lady Estanda is keen on keeping up the siege. Hearne and Simaan are keen to break it off, afraid of being trapped against the Stone when the other High Lords return from Illian with their retinues. Cadsuane dismisses the situation and orders Verin not to intervene. Cadsuane goes to see Rand. Along the way she learns that the Asha’man are growing more skilled and powerful in the Power, but in fits and starts, not the smooth curve that the Aes Sedai enjoy. Arriving at Rand’s rooms, Cadsuane is denied entry by Elza, one of the Tower Aes Sedai sworn to Rand, but Alivia, the former Seanchan damane, convinces her to let Cadsuane in.

Rand has been talking with Algarin and reveals that the Tairen lord wants to be tested for the ability to channel: his brother Emarin could channel and had been taken away by Cadsuane for gentling. That’s why Algarin is grateful to Cadsuane, since Emarin survived for ten years afterwards before comitting suicide, far longer than normal. Rand ponders this. He also reveals that he has been talking to Alivia about the Seanchan. Their army, the Ever-Victorious Army, has never lost a war and only rarely have lost battles. When they have suffered reverses, they have studied the exact reasons why and formulated a response, a doctrine dating right back to Artur Hawkwing's day. He worries that the Seanchan can only be stopped by spilling the blood of the armies he has carefully built up over the last year: Tairen, Cairhienin, Aiel, Mayener and Illianer. To stop the Seanchan, he may have to destroy the armies he has mustered to fight the Shadow, which is unacceptable.

Bashere and Logain arrive, accompanied by Loial, several Asha’man and eight Aes Sedai. Whilst they freshen up Rand tries to puzzle out what they want. He thinks of Mat and suddenly sees a brief flash of Mat riding on a wagon, something that hasn’t happened before. Lews Therin sounds in Rand’s head, pointing out that Alivia will help them die before the end. Rand seizes saidin and, although it is now pure and clean of the Dark One’s taint, touching it still makes Rand feel nauseous. Loial arrives and reports on the success of his mission to warn the Ogier to guard all the Waygates (A Crown of Swords). Most of the Ogier steddingagreed, but Shadoon and Mardoon on the Shadow Coast refused to believe Loial’s tale. He didn’t visit Shangtai but sent messages there via other stedding. Loial tells Rand that the Aes Sedai that have come with them have been bonded to Asha’man. Rand goes through the roof and angrily confronts Logain, knowing that this will throw huge numbers of problems in the way of his future dealings with the Aes Sedai. Logain replies that the order came from Taim. He also reports that Taim has put the names of all of Rand’s loyal Asha’man on the deserters’ rolls and that most of the Asha’man are now loyal to Taim, not al’Thor (most of they have never even seen him). Rand is incredulous when he realises that Logain does not believe that Rand cleansed saidin, who instead believes that the Creator has taken a direct hand in affairs. However, Rand (and Lews Therin) know that the Creator has created many worlds and that if one should wither on the vine, it would not matter as long as most thrived. Bashere reports on the attacks on himself and on Dobraine. He thinks the attackers were looking for the seals on the Dark One’s prison. Loial thinks if just one or two more shattered, the Dark One could break free. Rand makes a sudden pronouncement: he is sending Loial, Bashere and Logain to negotiate a truce with the Seanchan.

In the north of Altara Perrin is preparing to visit So Habor to arrange for fodder and food for his forces. Berelain is going with him, along with a modest bodyguard for both and Sebban Balwer, who has an ‘acquaintence’ (actually a spy) in the town. They Travel to the outskirts of the town and soon see a Seanchan raken fly past. If there are Seanchan nearby, that is another complication Perrin does not need. So Habor turns out to be a heavily defended town surrounded by thick walls, explaining why Masema did not attack it. After much debate, the guards agree to let them enter, but insist they prove they are not dead, which is a bit confusing. The local lord is away, but the grain merchants are present and Perrin is directed to them. They do not bargain very hard. Suspicious, Perrin investigates the grain warehouses and finds them infested with rats and weevils. The merchants agree to winnow the sacks thoroughly. Suddenly one of the Ghealdanin troops sees someone walk through a solid wall. An Aes Sedai reports that many people in So Habor have seen the dead walking, that some have died from the touch of a ghost and others have lashed out in fear at them, sometimes killing friends and family in the process. So Habor seems to be a town of the damned.

Leaving his cart-drivers and the So Habor townsfolk winnowing the weevils out of the supply bags, Perrin returns to the camp. He learns that five Shaido Stone Dogs have been taken prisoner. They resist all attempts at torture until Perrin cuts off one’s hand. He tells the Shaido that he will remove all his limbs and leave him a cripple begging on the streets of the nearest city unless he gives up the information they need. This scares the Shaido into complying. Perrin storms off into the night and flings his axe into the night, disgusted with his own behaviour. Three days later the wagons return from So Habor and they prepare to depart. Balwer brings a man to see Perrin and Perrin recognises Martyn Tallanvor, who has been chasing the Shaido (who also have Morgase prisoner) on his own. Tallanvor tells Perrin that there is a Seanchan army encamped nearby, consisting of more than 15,000 troops (mostly Taraboner) and more than a dozen damane. Tallanvor suggests an alliance to help free Faile and the others. To his own surprise, Perrin finds himself considering the idea.

In southern Altara Valan Luca’s travelling show continues to creep northwards towards Lugard in Murandy, but their rate of travel is minuscule. After a week they have only gone thirty miles from Ebou Dar. Passing Seanchan colonists and soldiers report that the Seanchan are amassing in the east and that the High Lady Suroth is planning to present the city of Illian to the Empress before the end of spring at the latest. Mat is unimpressed with that news, but on the other hand it hopefully means the northern roads will be clear into Murandy. However, as they head north rumours begin of hordes of savage Aiel ravaging the north near the Murandian border and many settlers have been diverted eastwards towards the Manetherendrelle. The word is that Suroth has concluded an alliance with someone powerful who will deliver many new lands to the Seanchan. One of Mat’s retinue, Noal, tells Olver about the land of Co’dansin, which lies beyond the Aiel Waste (aka Shara). Mat dismisses it as a story. He also dismisses it when Noal recites a passage from the Prophecies of the Dragon, that a fox shall make the ravens fly and will pluck moons from the sky with lightning from his eye and luck from his soul. Mat and Tuon continue their dance, with Mat trying to talk to her whilst Tuon ignores or insults him. To get Tuon more interested in him, Mat plays stones with her, winning five out of eight games. She consents to walks at night, but Mat gives away more than he learns. Tuon seems bemused that Mat’s father is a farmer whilst Mat is shocked that Tuon trains damane for fun. Later, Egeanin tells Mat that when he named Tuon his wife three times (Winter’s Heart) he was effectively proposing to her. If Tuon replies within a year and a day, the wedding ceremony will be completed. Mat laughs at that.

The fair reaches the ferry crossing over the Eldar upriver from Ebou Dar, with the town of Alkindar on the west bank and Coramen on the east. The fair passes through, stopping to perform, and heads east to the town of Jurador. Tuon makes a request of Mat and he agrees: to buy her a new dress. On the road Mat nearly walks into a dense knot of people walking along, but Tuon and her handmaid, Selucia, can’t see them. The people vanish like ghosts, leaving Mat agape. Convinced it’s the stress, he takes them on into Jurador. After buying the silk they came for they return to a camp in uproar. One of the former sul’dam, Renna, has stabbed Egeanin and fled. One of the Aes Sedai, Teslyn, manages to save her with a Healing. Egeanin reveals that Renna knew that she knew her secret, the secret of all sul’dam, that they can channel the One Power. Damane are those who have the inborn spark, sul’dam are those who can learn. Everyone is shocked by that revelation and Mat remembers Tuon mentioning that she can train damane as well, maybe a hint she can learn to channel as well. Mat orders his forces to abandon the show and flee east and northwards. Mat then sets off in pursuit of Renna with two of his troops, Vanin and Harnan. They spot Renna as she approaches Coramen and shoot her dead, to Mat’s reluctance.

Returning to the travelling show, Mat is shocked to see his followers are still there. Tuon has offered her personal protection to the show and everyone in it...but specifically not Mat! Mat is left laughing at the sheer bizarrity of the situation.

At Tar Valon the negotiations being undertaken at the bridge town of Darein are coming to an end, neither side able to make the other budge an inch. Raiders have begun hitting Gareth Bryne’s forces on the east side of the Erinin. More devastating news arrives. Kairen is dead, leaving just Egwene, Bodewhin and Leane who can create cuendillar. Someone has divined Egwene’s plan. Like Anaiya before her, Kairen was killed with saidin. Theodrin sends Egwene a note, revealing that Romanda has sent two sisters to Travel to Cairhien and investigate some tale that has the Yellow Sitters astonished, something to do with Nynaeve. Theodrin doesn’t know what exactly, but promises to try to find out. Word then arrives that Nicola Treehill has disappeared without a trace, to Egwene’s fury. Sheriam, in her role as Keeper of the Chronicles, reports that the Hall is unconcerned about Egwene’s warning that the Seanchan are planning to attack Tar Valon. The official view is that the Seanchan are a thousand miles away, they don’t know how to Travel and the Hall will hear of it before they arrive.

Romanda, Myrelle, Maigan and other Aes Sedai arrive for a private meeting with Egwene. Egwene simply lays out the facts for them about the Kin: that there are more than one thousand of them, that some are five or six hundred years old, they are scattered across every country and they have evaded Tower scrutiny for more than two thousand years. Egwene outlines her plan for the Kin to be a retiring society for the Aes Sedai but Romanda denounes it as foolhardy. She will die Aes Sedai. Some follow her lead, but others are more cautious. Egwene says it is for the Hall to decide: she will abide by their decision. Lelaine comes in after Romanda departs and suggests that the Aes Sedai will have to take Asha’man as Warders to keep them in line. Lelaine also suggests modifying the Warder bond to control the male channellers. Horrified, Egwene tells her that is to suggest Compulsion, which is anathema to Aes Sedai. Lelaine merely replies that the Aes Sedai have made mistakes in the past which need to be rectified. She leaves before Egwene can even bring up her idea about using the Kin as a retirement home.

That evening Egwene goes down to the riverbank and gets in a boat, ordering Bode Cauthon to stay behind. The boat takes her out to the Erinin, where the great chain seals off Tar Valon’s Northharbour. Egwene uses a weave of the power on the chain to turn it into cuendillar, meaning that it can’t be lowered again. With Leane doing the same on the south side, both harbours are now sealed off. However, someone on the Northharbour wall embraces saidar and a club of air knocks Egwene out. She wakes up on the harbour with an Aes Sedai pouring something down her throat. Egwene passes out, aware that she has been betrayed.

In Tear Rand sees a storm passing out of the Spine of the World. Bashere arrives with news from their negotiations with the Seanchan. The Seanchan want to meet Rand face-to-face. Rand is to have a meeting with someone from the Seanchan Imperial Family, the Daughter of the Nine Moons (Tuon is still with Mat in Altara). Rand agrees and thunder sounds in the distance.