Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is more complex than the Lord of the Rings trilogy, more heavily populated than the Dune series and longer than just about anything in the world. The newest 600-page volume is the eighth in the ongoing saga.
It's a thick tale of war and magic. A young man by the name of Rand has been chosen as the Dragon Reborn, and gains the ability to channel supernatural powers. Problem is, the prophecy that empowered him also predicts his eminent descent into madness. If he doesn't die in battle or get assassinated by one of his myriad hidden enemies, he is destined to lead an alliance in the Last Battle against the Dark Lord.
Rand is only one of many characters enveloped in the book's mad miscellany of plots, details and alliances. Where Jordan skimps on description, he more than makes up for in excessive intrigue, which is the book's weakest point. A typical scene for Jordan is a half-dozen characters with equally unpronounceable names standing around trying to verbally outmaneuver each other.
While never matching the sheer epic splendor of Tolkien, Jordan does turn a good phrase. The reader is sucked along as in any decent yarnthere is always a stranger tale, a more shocking betrayal and a nastier plot just around the corner.
Chris Barsanti
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Twenty days remain until the year 2000 and the activation of the infamous Y2K bug. Suddenly, an incredibly complex, global computer virus begins a countdown to the millennium, shutting down machines for the number of seconds equal to the number of days left until January 1, 2000. Add a mix of torturing terrorists and ancient prophesies, and what you get is Pineiro's (Breakthrough) enticing new novel, almost guaranteed to add more paranoia to the lives of the paranoid, yet, finally, to offer hope as well. Susan Garnett, chief of the FBI's high-tech crimes unit, whose family was recently killed in a hacker-induced car accident, is about to commit suicide. She is yanked back into the thick of life by the virus, which turns out to be linked to an extraterrestrial/Mayan mystery. Taking a cosmic approach to setting, the novel's omniscient narrator puts the Y2K countdown in perspective before zooming in on Susan, the expert Mayan archeologist who helps her, a SETI team whose search for alien life may be over and the terrorists who want to control the virus for their own ends. There is little chance of readers getting lost in the science of the book, as every aspect of it is explained, often using one character's ignorance to allow another to explain something. Paced at a steady rhythm, the narrative oscillates between the technical and the poetic. The proximity of the future predicted may shorten the shelf life of this work, but the paranoia and superstition surrounding the advent of Y2K should give it a vigorous, if brief, run. Agent, Matt Bialer at William Morris. (June) FYI: The marketing campaign for Pineiro's novel will tie in with the licensing program for Ken Walker's trademarked "01-01-00." Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
A computer virus points to an ancient Mayan prophecy that may come true in the year 2000. There will be a tie-in with a huge merchandising campaign for numerous products featuring the trademarked 01-01-00.
Gerald Jonas
The book works best when you scan each page quickly, guided by your own mix of interests....In effect, you create your own book....[A] fast and diverting read, something to keep you busy while waiting for the Y2K ball to drop.
— The New York Times Book Review
