I’m personally a huge fan of Lord of Chaos. It’s always a high point when I re-read the series. I really like all of the subtle foreshadowing of what’s coming up, all of the careful politics and groundwork that RJ laid for the latter half of the series, and then of course Dumai’s Wells is such an incredible moment in the series.
I was fascinated with the Aiel when I first read the books, so The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven were 1a and 1b for me. On my last re-read I really liked The Path of Daggers and Winter’s Heart the best. On this re-read I am now on WH, and I still love it, but who knows? Maybe this time through Knife of Dreams will leapfrog to the top (it’s already up there as it is), and eventually Sanderson’s style will click and I’ll like one of the final three books best when it’s all said and done.
I dunno, I grew up with the books, and as I get older I identify with the story and RJ’s style in different ways. He was a master at depicted the subtle nuances of character growth so well, and with his limited 3rd person perspective I find myself in the shoes of each main PoV character and those shoes don’t always fit the same, lol.
Just yesterday I read the chapter where Rand first sees the steam engine prototype in action, while debriefing Dobraine at his academy in Cairhein. So much was packed into such a otherwise mellow scene. I love these books so much :)