Moraines journeys far and eventually meets Lan Mandragoran and two of his companions and promptly bullies the three of them into providing protection for her while they travel to the same city. It's an important meeting as both Lan Mandragoran and Moiraine Damodred occupy an important place in the early stages of the Wheel of Time saga. What follows is a rather entertaining if drawn out example of the problems two strong willed people face when thrown into a situation in which they must trust and depend on each other when the foundation for that relationship has not yet been established. In short order they must form common cause against bandits and creatures of the Shadow. The action packed sequence of events that follows should not fail to please even the most jaded of readers.

New Spring has the advantage of a wealth of soon to be familiar characters to veterans of the Wheel of Time series and a kind of new car smell attraction to readers new to the party. Reading this book will not excuse a new reader from the other volumes of what could easily be termed the world's longest trilogy but it is a good way for a new reader to determine whether or not to make the massive commitment the Wheel of Time entails. For anyone teetering on the edge of commitment this is a good place to start.