This was actually my introduction to the series- and I personally recommend that new readers start here, too. My mother picked us up an audiobook for a road trip back in middle school and didn't realize it was the third book in the series.

This book is, I feel, the first time that Jordan's writing style for the rest of the series is really cemented in place. Books 1 and 2 have a different feel to me- I'm not really sure how best to describe it.

For example, in books 1 and 2 Mat only shows a mild interest in gambling, no more than anybody else- and in his first chapter in this book, his inner monologue talks like he is a seasoned gambling addict. Perrin had, in the previous book, accepted his Wolfbrother abilities- and in this one, he is suddenly back to rejecting them. I always have heard that Jordan wasn't sure he was getting more than 3 books until after book 2 released, so in book 3 he re-structured his characters and the story to set up more long-term arcs- and I think that's a good explanation for why this book feels so different. It feels both like the climax of books 1 and 2, and the opening to the rest of the series.

I LOVE the structure of this book and the characters he chose to focus on. And Jordan's storytelling abilities really shine in this book; it's engaging all the way through, and IMO is a rock-solid story. It's not the best in the series, but it's certainly the best of the first 3 books, and I consistently say that it's in the top half.