Yes, Jordan's writing can be a bit lengthy at times - and book 5 is certainly a good example. I'll agree that a lot of what happens with Nynaeve drags on more that it needs. Some tighter editing could have kept the Fires of Heaven closer to 900 pages than what it is. But WHEN he get's into action, few fantasy works pack as much of a punch as WoT does, even in book 5. The way that every book (still!) adds more layers to the world's lore, reveals more stuff that neither reader nor characters knew previously - that's just amazing and I love it.