I know tPoD isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I always loved Rand losing it with Callandor when fighting the Seanchan:

" "I am the storm,” he whispered—a shout in his ears, a roar—and he channeled. "

SPOILERS

Pretty sure that a tied off weave will remain even if the weaver dies... otherwise the weaves around Callandor, Tar Avalon, and the Eye of the World wouldn't remain. Lanfear's shield on Asmodean doesn't in fact dissipate - Rand thinks it a cruel joke on him to give him hope that he will be able to channel again at full strength. Often channellers deliberately weave shields to dissipate after a length of time, such as after Semirhage's 'daughter of the 9 moons' attack.

Personally I felt this was one of the great strengths of Rand's character. It shows he's a goody, but remembering every face/name is a touch crazy I find I can relate to him a lot more with this, rather than him sacrificing loads of people for the "greater good".

Personally I think KoD has one of the best prologues in the series, only bettered by tEotW (on the second read!). Some interesting secondary characters get screen-time and yes, it's a bit slow, but there is some awesome action. I felt tGS was one of the best books in the series, but didn't really like ToM. In short, keep reading!! CoT is generally accepted to be the worst book in the series, so hang on in there