New Spring by Robert Jordan (Password Clue)

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

For three days the battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon.  In the city, a foretelling of the future is uttered.  One the slope of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, is born an infant prophesied to change the world.  That child must be found before the forces of the Shadow have an opportunity to kill him.  Moiraine Damodred, a young accepted soon to be raised to Aes Sedai, and Lan Mandragoran, a soldier fighting in the battle, are set on paths that will bind their lives together.  But those paths are filled with complications and dangers, for Moiraine, of the Royal House of Cairhein, whose king has just died, and Lan, considered the uncrowned king of a nation long dead, find their lives threatened by the plots of those seeking power.

After I had done my Favorite Fictional Character post on Perrin Aybara, I was longing to dive back into the world of Robert Jordan.  While I was craving a taste, I really didn't want to gorge on the entire feast, so I went back and reread the prologue to the entire series, New Spring.  During my last drive to reread the entire series in order, so I could finally read the concluding book, I skipped over this one, though I'm really not sure why.  At only 334 pages, it's a rather short read compared to the other 14 books, so it wouldn't have taken much to fit this one in at the beginning.

When I dove back into these pages, it was like I was coming home.  I don't think I truly realized how much I had fallen in love with the world, and how much it meant to me.  After I finished A Memory of Light, I don't think I fully processed everything that happened, nor did I allow myself to fully accept some of the events that took place in that final book.   Because of that, my mind has been in turmoil when it comes to these books, and finding myself once again walking among the characters, healed some of that for me.  It wasn't a complete healing, I would have to spend time with some of the others for that to happen, if it's even a possible goal to reach.  I think I need to see a few epilogues written, instead of reading a prologue, but since I'm sure that will never happen, I'm going to be of two minds on this series for a long time to come.

New Spring was originally intended to be the first book of a prologue history, but like so many things, I think this will be the only one.  This is the book where we first meet Moiraine, Lan, and Siuan Sanche.  They are three of my favorite characters in the series, so seeing how they got their start on such a perilous journey is a treat to read.  In the 14 books of the main series, you know they all have tight relationships, but being able to see how they first formed, and how strong those relationships were from the beginning, is comforting in it's own way.  It's always nice to have the back story, so you can understand the way the dynamics work, and even more importantly, why they work.

If anyone is interested in getting started with the series, and why you wouldn't I have no clue, this is a good place to start.  It was published after book 10, but I'm not sure that really mattes all that much.  Since this is a relatively short novel, and it explores the history of some of the events and people involved, it's a good place to get your feet wet and decide if this is something for you.  In the end, I think it will be, and you'll be more than glad to get started on the journey.

Challenges: Password (Spring)