Really enjoyed this. Middle 2 quarters were excellent. Unfortunately I think Sanderson's writing was even more noticeable in this book than TGS, especially with regards to Mat and the Graendal scene in the prologue.

In terms of structure, I think it generally flowed quite well, especially around the 3/4 mark with Perrin, Egwene and Gawyn in the White Tower. The impossible has finally happened and I managed to read a Gawyn chapter without shuddering, which was great. Following that battle with Aviendha's experience in Rhuidean was awesome, and probably was one of the most impacting moments of the series for me: for the first time I started to believe that there might not be a way for Rand to leave the world a stable place after TG.

I didn't mind the dearth of BT info - I think the 2-3 POVs we got actually summed things up very well and kept up the suspense enough.

It didn't have the same pacing as TGS (slow buildup with a huge crescendo) but to me it actually felt more organic this way.

Glad to finally get some info on who killed Asmodean as well, if only to end the forum debates.