A Crown of Swords (Wheel of Time (Tor Paperback)) [Mass Market Paperback]

...This book, in my opinion, mantains Jordans high standards and is an improvement on the last book. Once more the pace is slow and you need to be prepared for this. It won't suit all people no matter how detailed a world he is building up this way. Personally I love this. It makes a marvellous contrast to other books such as the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson. Both are different but excellent in their own ways. Its good to read books of variety in pacing.

However, Jordan did get a little bogged down occasionally in the last book which I would give 4 stars for this reason. Crown of swords is different. I never once felt that a passage was unneccessary and all the detail simply added up to paint a wonderful picture of another world.

Some would say tht nothing happens in much of this book. I disagree, we see a subtle developments in character interaction particualrly between Mat, Elayne and Nynaeve, the intruduction of new elements to the world (true source for example) as well as a cliff-hanger of an ending. This all serves to set us up nicely for not only the next book but the rest of the series.

The aforementioned character development helps to negate the fact that Jordan still uses descriptions of Nynaeve tugging her braid, thinking all men are dumb etc. This is because you can see that these developments are leading us away from this. Hence me saying earlier that there are no wasted words. Without this, I would have begun to have become fed up with this but Jordan, skilled writer that he is has advanced things at just the right time.

So basically if you love the series then you will love this. It has many classic Jordan moments that stir the soul (a'la dumai wells!). If you are beginning to tire of things then please give it a chance as hopefully you will see the advancements that take place to make this one of the great achievments of fantasy literature. And he hasn't even finished yet!

The seventh volume of The Wheel of Time carries us over the halfway point of the series (with the final book now being split into two volumes, bringing the series total to thirteen) in terms of wordcount. However, in terms of the actual story we're much closer to the end. Robert Jordan made a decision in the latter part of the series to reduce forward story momentum in favour of developing subplots and character interactions, a rather controversial choice that has resulted in the series' overall mixed reviews across SF&F fandom. By this seventh volume, we are starting to see the impact of this decision.

The book opens in the aftermath of the massive Battle of Dumai's Wells, when the Dragon Reborn, imprisoned by the Aes Sedai loyal to Elaida, was rescued by his supporters and both sides had to fend off an attack by the Shaido Aiel. During this battle nine of the rebel Aes Sedai swore fealty to Rand to prove their loyalty and the Asha'man, a society of male channellers created by Rand to use in the Last Battle, proved their worth. Resisting the urge to revenge himself upon Elaida, Rand prepares for his much-foreshadowed confrontation with Sammael, whilst at the same time trying to finally win over the Sea Folk and the Cairhienin rebels to his cause. Meanwhile, in Ebou Dar, Mat, Nynaeve, Elayne and several other characters are trying to find the Bowl of Winds, an important artifact that will restore normal weather to the world. In Amador, stronghold of the Children of the Light, a shift in the balance of power puts Morgase's life in danger, and from the south and from the west an even greater threat is emerging to challenge the alliance Rand is hoping to assemble against the Shadow.

There's a lot going on in A Crown of Swords, and the book conveys a feeling of momentum and movement compared to the largely static Lord of Chaos, which makes it a moderately more satisfying read. There's also a widening of the worldbuilding, with the Sea Folk presented in more detail then we have seen before, the introduction of the Kin (a secret society of female channellers) and the revelation of a new form of magic, the True Power, and a convincing reason given why we haven't seen it before (although we have, kind of). We also get to meet a deadly new form of Shadowspawn which presents a real sense of menace, just as we were starting to get bored of Trollocs and Myrddraal. As with the last three books, multiple storylines proceed in tandem and build to a series of large-scale, epic climaxes which shift the balance of power in the world and the story and leave the reader eager to plunge into the next book.

However, several key problems emerge or are solidified in this book. There is a lot of talk and overlong chapters in which very little happens. Forward character development proceeds satisfyingly for several characters, but others (most notably Elayne) seem to be stuck going round in circles to the increasing frustration of the reader. The fact that one of the most interesting and morally complex characters in the entire series dies in this book is also rather irritating (given how reluctant Jordan is to kill off characters in this series). The introduction of the Kin also feels like a redundant step too far. On top of the Aes Sedai, the Aiel Wise Ones and the Sea Folk Windfinders, we really didn't need yet another group of female channellers and their attendant politics. On the other hand, Jordan sometimes gets criticised for his introduction of a whole new bunch of characters among the White Tower Aes Sedai who are assigned to flush out traitors, but he doesn't devote much time to them and they are clearly essential for the resolution of the Aes Sedai civil war storyline.

A Crown of Swords (****) is largely a satisfying continuation of the story despite the increasing longueurs in some of the storylines. Some of the new characters and elements introduced are more successful than others, but broadly there is still the sense the story is going somewhere with continuing hints that we are moving towards a definitive conclusion. Unfortunately, this is the last time for several volumes that this is apparent. The book is available from Orbit in the UK and from Tor in the USA.

Jordan, uncharacteristically one might say, produces a Wheel of Time novel which starts off with action, has plenty of exciting sequences in the middle and offers a grand finale to boot. There is none of the spirituality of the previous two entries and the action centres around the original Two Rivers 'heroes', as their stories continue on a collision-course with the Dark One. Although Jordan is still verbose and frequently uses five hundred words when fifty would suffice, there is less redundant prose here, although anyone looking for brief and concise fiction would have escaped from the Wheel of Time some volumes back. The story is worth the content and and Crown of Swords offers the propellant this ailing series needed offering various entertaining aspects of fantasy fiction from tavern brawls to field warfare, mysterious quests to assassinations. Entertaining from the first page to the last, although a little wordy on the way, this is a reminder of why the series is so popular.