Why are the prologues so darn long?

[urrutiap]

Recently a couple of days ago the paperback of Knife of Dreams came in the mail and I started reading it.  Beginning of the book which is the prologue is pretty decent where its 95 pages of whatever just went on.

 

Why are prologues in the last half of the book series so darn long anyway? Robert Jordan had a habit of torturing his fans to suffer through many pages of a prologue for the heck of it?

[DojoToad]

Probably for the benefit of new readers that might be picking up a book mid-series to give them the benefit of some background.  Can't say I enjoyed them overmuch...

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

The prologues are like the "cold starts" in a show (I think they are called), where you have a vignette outside of the main narrative to illuminate a different part of the world-building or story. 

 

In terms of the Wheel of Time, 95 pages is just a brief detour, it goes with the territory.