Review: This could go bad, very quickly.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 31, 2012
Spoilerish material (sort of)Look, I love this series, and like another reviewer commented, I've been waiting for the next installment for a while and was excited when it arrived.  That being said, book 5 didn't really advance the plot much.  The same looming villains and problems are present and massing.  In fact, it felt like the only victories for the characters were against adversaries created in this book!  Many authors seem to almost be afraid of ending their series, or allowing the "big picture evil" to be defeated.  I don't know if they're scared of having to say goodbye to their world, not sure if they have any other good ideas in them, or if they just don't want to stop the easy money train, but whatever it is, it makes a story expand to annoying levels, and pretty much go nowhere.  Jordan was notorious for this, as are many other authors.  Their "worlds" get so big, and so complex, that you can't follow, remember, or care about half of what is going on.  This series is on the verge of this right now.  Shifting back and forth between multiple story lines, and yet none of the big three enemies were defeated.  Does anyone remember Jordan's book 10 or 11, where the whole book was about what all the characters were doing when the event at the end of the previous book occurred?  Painful.  And such a waste!  I never read another book of his.  Please don't let that happen to this series!  Give us a bit of closure here and there!Bottom line, if you've read this far in the series, you're going to read this book, and to be fair, it's a good read.  However, just know that not a whole lot occurs to bring us closer to conclusion.  Oh sure, a few missions were successful, and some new information is gained, but overall, you could probably read a summary and just wait for book six.  (And hope.)