Rating: 
Summary: What the heck is this fool doing writing a prequel?
Review: Just saw the listing (cant comment there and this is relavent to anyone considering this book) A New Spring? A prequel novel when the fool cant finish the original set of books without dragging on for the last 4 novels?Take my advice, either STOP at book 6 or NEVER start reading this series. Having re-read the books 3 times now (as the years have passed waiting to see how this thing ends..) I can say with CERTAINTY, DON'T BUY THIS BOOK! STOP THE MADNESS!
Rating: 
Summary: Not all THAT bad, really
Review: For all the annoying things about this book, and with all of the last few Jordan novels, this is really a pretty decent piece, for what it is. What it is, specifically, is a filler novel that catches the reader up with what was happening elsewhere while Winter's Heart was going on. In truth, Jordan should have just made Winter's heart longer and skipped this one entirely, give the guy a break. The real problem here is that if you haven't read the other books recently, it takes a while to remember who everyone is. In previous books this wasn't too big of a deal, but in this one, by the time you figure out who's who, you've jumped to the next set of characters.
If you can deal with that though, or if you've read the previous books recently, you'll probably get a modicum of enjoyment out of Crossroads. I'd read it, skip past the boring parts, and cross your fingers that Jordan will get back to his normal swing in book 11.
Rating:
Summary: I'm tired of this series
Review: I read a few chapters at the bookstore I feel insulted and robbed by this whole series. Don't do it. Enough is enough. By book eight I was hoping for ten books. By book nine I knew Jordan was stringing a decology into a dodecology or more. I refuse to read this one. Maybe when the final volume comes out, I'll backtrack and read them all. But I can't take another thousand pages of characters wandering in circles followed by a two year wait and another thousand pages of nothing happening. I'm hoping the sun sets soon on Rand and Mat and their meandering lives.
Rating:
Summary: A review of the reviews
Review: I used to work in the receiving department of a Barnes & Noble. That job gives one a unique perspective on popular literature. When a new Tom Clancy comes out, rather than thinking, "I wonder if he'll have to promote Jack Ryan to Pope now," you think, "Where the #@$% am I going to stack these forty 60-pound cartons, and what will be left of my sacroiliac when I'm done?" When the new installment of "The Wheel of Time" came out [number 6? number 7? Even the fans seem to be having a hard time telling them apart now] there was genuine excitement among the geekier book clerks to get their grubby little hands on a loaner copy before the book officially went on sale. [That's one of the few perks of working there. For example: I knew the shockingly lame ending of Thomas Harris's "Hannibal" before anyone else could even buy a copy.] One tried to evangelize me to the faith but as soon as he started saying things like "Aes Sedai" and "Nynaeve" my eyes glazed over. By that point, I had already unpacked, scanned, and security tagged hundreds of different fantasy titles - all with the same gibberish names [Tolkien was a professional linguist, folks - don't try this at home!], cheesy magic tricks, animatronic monsters, and epic quests against the Supreme Evil Whosit. His break finally ended and he went back to showing you good people where the cookbooks are and I went back to my box cutter and styrofoam "peanuts". But having a primitive interest in all things Really Big [I love Wal-Mart, for example - even though I know how evil it is], I kept WoT in the back of my mind as the series continued to grow in size. What if it was really as good as the geek had said? Imagine the Wagnerian power that would have been amassed by the end after 9,000 pages [three times as long as "Remembrance of Things Past"!] of build-up. So I stopped by here to see what the faithful had to say... Well, you know the rest. It seems obvious to me that Jordan is in the same situation that Chris Carter was with "The X-Files" [another geek fave that left me cold]. He managed to beguile people at the outset with intriguing portents, found himself in possession of a money-cow he lacked the willpower to walk away from, and thus was forced to keep artifically prolonging the suspense [at the cost of complicating things until even he couldn't untangle it any more] until people finally stopped caring. The hundreds and hundreds of betrayed Jordan fans here bemoaning their lost youth, money, and eyesight [let's stop piously invoking "the trees" though, shall we? Unless you volunteer your time to planting programs or contribute at least $100 a year to environmental groups, you're just advertising your hypocrisy] might have known better. The man isn't a prophet, after all - just a scribbling hack who got lucky. And until *you* walk away from a pile of money, you are in no position to sit in judgment on him. But we all choose our heroes and we all suffer the inevitable disappointment. That's what heroes are for, I guess. And to those die-hards trying to convince themselves that Jordan must be "building up to something" in the next book [or maybe the one after that? ...], I can only quote Sir Ian Holm's immortal line in "Alien": "I can't lie to you about your chances. But you have my sympathies."
Rating: 
Summary: This book is GREAT, not awful!
Review: Sure, if you've been waiting for the last three years, it might be a bit dissapointing that Rand didn't defeat the Dark One, or Egwene didn't seize Tar Valon, but a lot more happened than you might think. The series is reaching a climax, which will result in Tarmon Gaidon, and this is book is simply laying the groundwork. My advice to all those who have been waiting with bated breath, start over at book one, read all the way through to Crossroads, and you won't be dissapointed. (There are no beginnings or endings to the Wheel of Time, but it is "A" beginning.) Regardless, the writing style of Jordan is beautiful, and something to be admired. Don't worry, in book 11 or 12, the pace will really start to pick up.
Rating:
Summary: How I am doubly stupid
Review: There are two reasons for me posting this review. The first is to help ensure that the rating of this book never gets beyond its 1.5 star average. The second reason is more selfish, I need to make a public confession of my stupidity in order to get some personal closure (lord knows you won't find it in this series). I bought the hardcover of this book when it first came out and was stunned by its lack of plot and endless stream of characters. Like other reviewers have mentioned, I found myself grazing over whole chapters looking for sentences that contained some indication that something was happening. Thus my foray into stupidity began, I finished the book. But no, the greatest act of stupidiy was yet to come. Many moons later I was browsing around Sam's club (the poor man's Costco) and saw the latest novel in the Wheel of Time saga in paperback. It was cheap and I said to myself "self, give him another chance, it's cheap and maybe Jordan will redeem himself". After slogging through about 150 pages or so I came to the horrible realization that this wasn't a new book, this was just the paperback version of the hardcover I had already suffered through. Aside from you now knowing that I am stupid, I am hoping that my experience is enlightening to those of you thinking about buying this pile of cr*p. Let's look at what you can learn from my experience about the nature of this book which I believe can be summarized in two sentences ( which also happens to be the number of sentences this book's plot could have been summarized in as well...a cosmic coincidence?) 1. There are so many books in this series that I couldn't even remember the title of the ones I have already read. 2. Book 10 had so little happening that it took me 150 pages to realize I had already read it. Yes, it was that memorable and filled with significant events. I would tell you to save your money and get the book from the library but that would be akin to me telling you to save money and extract your own teeth instead of paying a dentist. Either option leaves you suffering and should be avoided.
Rating:
Summary: The absolute best writer fantasy has to offer!
Review: Robert Jordan is an amazing writer. He is one of a few writers who produces works that require something of it's readers. There are few books that I've read that I can carry on a lengthy conversation about with friends. Although reading the series does take time I have found it worth every minute. Other reviewers, those who dislike Jordan's work, seem to take issue with how long his story is taking to tell or how much detail he gives. I find it refreshing to read something that is complex and takes time to develop. As for how much detail he gives - usually there is only a paragraph or two here and there in a chapter that are description rich - which does provide a detailed world and doesn't (or shouldn't anyway) require much time from the reader. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Jordan's style or writing for me is the characters he creates. His books aren't for everyone but it is worth giving it a try.
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: I used to eagerly await each new installment in this series. I doubt if I even finished book #9. It was not memorable. I am still debating whether to subject myself to #10. Besides, isn't the next book supposedly due out after this one a pre-novel? Doesn't an author usually do that after FINISHING the current series? So how long will we have to wait for longwinded #11? I thought this series was originally planned to be 10 volumes long? Will this series ever end, or at least pick up the momentum it lost 4 books ago?
Rating:
Summary: It's still good, dammit!
Review: I don't know what people have against the later books in Wheel of Time. It's my favorite series of all time, and if anything, I think the later books are the better ones!! The first book is by far the worst in my opinion: The characters are all pathetic weaklings, and sometimes the writing has the quality of a b-movie script. But later on, they just get better and better. I love how all the characters, starting from such humble roots, become all powerful and stuff. People who complain that nothing happens, that the books are boring, are obviously the kind of people who think action movies or 'thrillers' should win Academy Awards. It's political action, in a lot of cases, like in this book, and it's great. I agree that not much actually happened in this book, but the characters are interesting enough that I want to know what's happening in their lives, even if it isn't huge battles or monumental events. This is a great book, and this is a great series that has only gotten better. My two favorite scenes in the series: The Battle of Dumai's Wells (Book 6), and The Cleansing of the Source (Book 9), both in the later books. People who think this series has gone downhill need to A) Get patient, B) Learn to appriciate politics instead of just swordplay, and C) SHUT UP!
Rating:
Summary: The wheel of time turns and ages come and go...
Review: Truer words have never been spoken. Somebody please shoot me. I decided after Lord of Chaos that I would continue buying into this crappy series only if the next book (Crown of Swords?) was the last one. Hahaha - how happy am I that I made that vow instead of being like the poor suckers saying 'maybe book 12 will pick up and tie it all together'. Poor sadsack, deluded, readers. We'll all be dead before Jordan (or should I say Satan!) finishes this dull, pathetic series.
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