Rating: Summary: Crossroads of Twilight = Unreadable Review: I am not a troglodyte of literature. I am not stupid, uneducated (degree from US Naval Academy at Annapolis), or incapable of reading densely written prose (I love Doestoyevsky and Stephen R. Donaldson). My uncle introduced me to the series in the early 90's, and I read all of them voraciously. I noticed a trend around book 5 or 6 that there was a notable lack of plot development and found myself skimming through pages to get to plot revelations. It got worse from there. By CoT, I put it down before I reached the 100th page. I never picked it back up. I couldn't take it anymore. Nothing happened. Repetitive writing. No character or plot development. No action. Nothing. There was nothing to stimulate my imagination or hold my interest. Any of the above literary devices might have done it, but it lacked all of them. I feared that I was losing my mind, and my ability to concentrate. So went back and re-read LoTR, 1st Chronicle of Thomas Covenant, and then a historical treatise on the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict written by a preofessor I'd studied under in college. Finished 'em all. I began to suspect it it wasn't me, and when I looked this book up on Amazon my suspicions were confirmed. This was a terrible book, and it further drags down a once promising series. I always thought that this whole series should only have taken at most seven books. The last three books have been atrocious. This series is at least 2400 pages too long, which is not coincidentally more than LoTR, Chronicles, or the history of the world's oldest and bloodiest conflict. I will not be coming back to finish the series. I will not buy anymore books. I have lost all interest, and unless I lose the will to live, I won't finish this book, either.
Rating: Summary: Robert Jordan must hate trees Review: That's the only possible explanation. I just can't stop reading though. (Someone should start a 12-step program for WOT addicts) At least it is better than the last one.
Rating: Summary: Its Not LoTR, THANK GOD!!! Review: Personally I believe that many of the reviews I have read are a bit harsh. Yes, the book was slow, no it didn't develop the story line much, yes I think that if Robert Jordan wants to go into so much detail about characters who most people dont even care about he should give them their own series. However, this book was quite good once you finished it. so many of these reviews compare Jordan to Tolkein, this is an unfortunate comparison. Yes, the two are very alike, if reversed, they both put somewhat excessive detail into the story, each describing far more than you need to know, however Jordan is getting worse towards the end, while it was tolkein's first story in his trilogy that was unbearable. Yes i am hoping for a conclusion, and soon, and no i am not happy about walking into the bookstore and seeing a prequal on the shelves by an author with an ongoing series i am trapped within, but that does not make this story any worse. If anything i want to read the next book more because of this one.
Rating: Summary: honesty of a review [no spoilers] Review: My WoT history. I originally became interested in this series when I moved and was looking for something to read while I acclimated to a new area which was prior to book 9 coming out in hardback. I remember reading the first 2 or 3 books in the series and going out to purchase the remaining ones in paperback, enjoying them so much. As I read further into the series, I found myself grinding my teeth at my haste for buying the latter novels. A fanatical WoT friend got book 9 the day it came out and I had it a week later to read. He was excited but I didn't feel happy with it and was glad I didn't purchase it later in paperback. I never did. I vowed to use the library for the remaining books. Current history. This is my first review. In no time have I been more outraged by an author and fanatical reviewers to start reviewing books, especially this trash. First the author. I do not wish to reiterate other great remarks. Most of them have used the best lines out there, quite funny. I enjoy reading them more than the actual book. I visit here about 1/week for my rip fix. I agree with what other 2 or less star rating reviews have said. I don't own the book, so bear with me. One thing I do remember, there was a minor lord who had about the same name as another character. 5 or 6 letter name. Basically, the 2 [v]owels and the other 3 or 4 [c]onsonants were rearranged between the two names. A name like [Cvcvc] or something alone those lines. Different people, similar name, same letters. He has so many characters and describe so many of their clothes, it started to get confusing. A better appendix is necessary. Some of the major names and phrases aren't listed! A minor character reintroduced deserves a mention. I don't want to bother sifting through 9 long books to ultimately find out that this person was the sister to the maid of the general in book whatever and we're expected to remember. Second the fanatical reviewers. There are a rare few 5 star rating reviewers that had true reviews about this book and this whole book, and nothing but this book. This is not about them. This is about the remaining reviewers, who are about as outrageous as the book. It doesn't matter if you started reading with the first book in hardback or book 10 in paperback, we at one time are/were fans of Robert Jordan and this world. We are reviewing this book, book 10 of WoT, Crossroads of Twilight. We are NOT reviewing the next potential book, we are NOT reviewing any prior book, we are NOT reviewing the overall series. To give CoT 5 stars because book 11 or future books will surely rock is rediculous. Are you psychic? I remember reading something along those lines in the book 9 reviews and book 10 stunk so your ESP is off. To give CoT 5 stars because the first books were great is not a review of CoT, but of the other book. Please leave that review with that book and not inaccurately raise the rating of CoT. To give CoT 5 stars because you love the series but this book wasn't that great is misleading. That is a contradiction..."this book wasn't that good and was slow and repetative, whatever, but the series is great so I'll give it 5 stars"...if you give what you are calling a mediocre book 5 stars, how can you truly express a great book? Please be honest about what you are reviewing, CoT, NOT the series. From what I've seen, the lower rating reviews are pretty much honest about what they are reviewing, this book. And stating the series is in decline is reflecting this book since it was horrible. As I said above, I bought the first 8 in paperback. Friend and library supplied the last 2. I will continue to use the library. Fortuntely, a friend helps me get the book early with his connections at the library, and the waiting list was HUGE the last time. A sign that others are wising up. Thank you for your attention to my rambling.
Rating: Summary: Incomprehensibly bad! Review: I, like many others, started out as a huge fan of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Books 1-4 were excellent. Well written and edited. Great storytelling. Unfortunately, books 5 and 6 really slowed down to a snail's pace. There were a few chapters of the original style, but for the most part the storytelling gave way to extended descriptions. I must point out here that I only continued with the series because I had been hooked by the 1st 4 novels and really just wanted to know how the series panned out. Books 7, 8, and most of 9 were utter rubbish. Minimal plot advancement and incredibly dreary writing. The series is obviously being milked for ever dollar & the ratio of filler to actual plot is around 20:1! The last few chapters of 9 sped up though and I admit I had *slightly* higher hopes for book 10. Even with low expectations, I was disappointed. Crossroads of Twilight is an utter ab.ortion of a book. I will go so far as to say it is the worst book I have ever had the misfortune of reading. It is a *complete*, and I can't emphasise this enough, WASTE of time. Nothing happens during the entire course of the book. (The entire book could easily have been condensed down to a single chapter without losing any required plot information). It starts before the previous novel finishes - and there are about 500 pages before RAND is even mentioned. There is little to no storytelling ... just excruciatingly boring levels of descriptive detail interspersed with completely irrelevant, banal character conversations that serve little purpose & advance the plot not a jot. There is an inane sideplot involving Perrin and a "city of the dead" that doesn't fit anywhere with the existing story arcs, and just feels like filler (basically an excuse to have Perrin in the novel). It's not written well, and if it's been edited at all I'd be shocked. There are quite a few glaring grammatical errors, not to mention spelling mistakes! And given that this book is already a ponderous bore, these only serve to further distract the reader. This novel was so unenjoyable I had to literally force myself to open it each evening (the only reason that I got through it is solely due to the fact that once I start a book, I never leave it unfinished). There is little point in reading this novel apart from skim-reading the chapters involving Matt and Tuon. This is the only area where any development takes place, and is therefore the only prerequisite to reading book 11. Mr. Jordan, Bring on the finale to this series and spare your remaining readers the ignominy of having your novels drag their IQs down with them any further.
Rating: Summary: One star, because I couldn't go any lower. Review: Awful. Just awful. The WOT series has been on a slow decline for a while now, and CoT is Jordan hitting bottom. Within the innumerable pages, nothing happens of any substance. The "action" is a few small happenings that could easily have been covered in a 20 page prologue. There is so much exposition, tedious description, and murky semi-political maneuverings as to make the book close to incomprehensible. This is a far cry from the moving, action-packed and wonderful books such as The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn. If Jordan has not been seduced by the lure of putting out awful books to make money, then he has certainly lost control of his grip on the plot and the characters. They engage in needless trivialities, wander aimlessly, and do not advance the stories. Characters that were once fun to read are now tedious and painful. I will personally not be purchasing any more WoT. Jordan has shown that he can't keep the story together, and I refuse to pay $30 for a piece of drech such as this. I got more worth for my money using the pages as tinder in my fireplace. A great epic has died at the hands of it's creator.
Rating: Summary: Top 10 theories why this book is so bad Review: 10. Author ran out of red ink crossing out the boring sections of the original 30,000 page manuscript. 9. Author channeling Andy Kaufman. 8. Manuscript sent to publisher swapped with manuscript sent to bad writing contest. 7. What happens when a million monkeys with a million typewriters aren't given an infinite amount of time. 6. Transporter accident creates good author/bad author versions. Good author rereads last novel and dies of embarassment leaving bad author to complete this one. 5. Attempt to include every plot and character archetype ever created into one series creates a literary black hole sucking the discarded scraps of other bad novels into this one. 4. Author watched too many Seinfeld reruns and thought a book about nothing would be a good idea. Get up in the morning... that's a chapter. Get dressed... that's a chapter. Sneeze... that's a chapter. 3. Author stopped taking medication and was unable to fight compulsion to add hundreds of insignificant details to every scene in the book. 2. It's not a book, it's a drinking game. Chug a glass every time you read something that's already been said 100 times before. Game ends after everyone passes out or one page, whichever comes first. 1. Author has become the literary equivalent of the strippers with the freakish basketball-sized breast implants. While some still have a fetish for reading the author's hyperinflated prose, the rest of us are just gawking in disbelief. Seriously, even after going through the hundreds of 1-star reviews for this book before reading it, I was still surprised at how bad it is. Nothing happens, literally. 800 pages of people talking, thinking, pondering, and scheming without them actually doing anything. Jordan drags out to 800 pages what hundreds of better authors would cover in far less than 100. If you want to get the most out of this book, turn to the last page of chapter 30 and read it. As mentioned by other reviewers, this is the only page that advances the plot. Everything else is just filler.
Rating: Summary: tedious and drawn-out Review: i don't understand why such a great beginning in THE WHEEL OF TIME could possibly result in the tedious and drawn-out writing of the tenth book. what, i wonder, was RJ thinking? he needs some fresh ideas, or else he needs something new. but whatever he needs, it's not found in here. if one is a beginner to THE WHEEL OF TIME one should definitely NOT read this book. if one can, one should skip most of the later books, and pick up the eleventh one (and hope it is at least more decent). bottom-line: don't expect much from THE CROSSROADS OF TWILIGHT. i just want to point out something: in the beginning i had much respect for Aes Sedai largely because of their mysteriousness and air of command. now i am disappointed, deeply. all they do now is "adjust their shawls" , "lick their lips in nervousness," and whatnot. it is very tiring and VERY repetative. if one is looking for a flowing, continuous fantasy novel that keeps one wanting to turn the page-- this is not it. i am not doubting Jordan nor am i critisizing him. i have faith that this series will end in an...interesting way, to put it lightly. but, please, stop with the madness. i cannot take any more of the characters that seem to say the same thing over and over again ("Bloody ashes," "Light", ---blah etc.) and i cannot take more of entire chapters focused on detailing what certain characters are wearing...and what parts are...exposed. i just hope that RJ will soon put Rand in somewhere and stop writing about Elayne Trakand so much... bottom-line: it is not worth the time to read this.
Rating: Summary: Too much! Review: I started reading these books quite a while ago. The first few were good, and then it started to go downhill. Although I like some of the characters, for the most part, I simply don't care any more. The other thing that I find to be infuriating is that he spends the first section of a book reviewing the previous books. This section has been getting larger with each installment. So now my strategy is to wait for the last book (27 or something) and just read that. Due to his fear of alienating people, he'll have a huge section on what I've missed since the last one that I read, and I'll just be able to skip to the last battle, assuming he ever gets there.
Rating: Summary: I kept hoping Review: Having invested in the story, I read and read and read this book. I kept hoping something would happen. Unfortunately it didn't. All those pages and the plotline was advanced almost nothing. You can read all the other reviews. They're true. This story could have been told in a chapter. Wake me up when the series is over. Then I'll decide if I want to read any more.
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