I'm a little perplexed upon completing this, actually - I would have sworn I'd read the whole thing once before, but only the first half was familiar. It's certainly possible that the Perrin/Faile plotline and Elayne's infamous bath combined to make me unable to finish it, the first time through. Egad. Nonetheless, if read with the appropriate willingness to skim the cringe-inducing parts, the book is far, far better than my memories and the gestalt opinion of my corner of Jordan fandom had led me to believe.
...not that that brings it within shouting distance of good, I hasten to point out.
Anyway, only one more book - and that one I know full well I've not read - lies between me and the current end of the story, but the new book will be out in a few weeks, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I'm actually looking forward to Knife of Dreams, too, oddly enough.