Cover of Winter's Heart

Winter's Heart

core novel 2000 Wheel of Time

Record

First published2000
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statuscore
Reader rating3.97 (160,345 ratings, collected 2026-09-11)
Page count780
First-edition ISBN9780312864255

Synopsis

In the ninth book, the Sun Palace in Cairhien lies damaged following an attack, and Rand al'Thor has gone into hiding while the formidable Aes Sedai Cadsuane Melaidhrin investigates the assault made against him. Elsewhere, Elayne Trakand works to secure Andor's defenses and strengthen her position as she continues her campaign to claim the throne. Perrin Aybara and his followers, meanwhile, pursue the Shaido Aiel who abducted his wife, Faile Bashere, a search that drives much of the book's tension and takes Perrin into dangerous territory. Mat Cauthon becomes trapped within an occupied city and crosses paths with the Seanchan heir, Tuon, an encounter complicated by a prophecy linking the two of them together. Across these separate threads, Rand also pursues a dangerous and ambitious magical undertaking involving the corrupted male half of the One Power.

Where it sits

Notes

  • From the series record (The Wheel of Time): 14 main-sequence novels (1990-2013) + prequel New Spring (2004).

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

Sources

← Wheel of Time dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.