Rating: Summary: Jordan's literary laxative Review: You'd have to try really hard at this point to write a bad WOT book. Think about it ! How many threads has Jordan started that his readers would love to see resolved. The tower conflicts (white & black), the Seachen conflict (why can't this be covered in one book ?), the Aile, the forsaken, will the song be found again ? and on and on. What do we get instead ? Jordan writes about tea and how to wash silk and extremely boring political intrigue that has nothing to do with the major plots he established in the previous 9 books. I just don't get it. If you write down all of the things he could have written about, its almost as if Jordan purposely picked the most boring possible.Why would he do this ? I think that Jordan is like a miser. Not a money miser but a WOT puzzle miser. I can see him sitting at home: "I'm not going to let them know who killed Asmoden, he he he. I'll tell them RAFO to that, he he he. RAFO, RAFO RAFO. I'm not going to explain why Mat has to give up half the light of the world, he he he. I'll tell the RAFO to that, he he he. RAFO, RAFO RAFO. Perin and the broken crown ? he he he. RAFO, RAFO, RAFO ..... I'll write about weevils, he he he and then I'll have a tea party he he he. RAFO, RAFO, RAFO. I write for myself, he he he. I know the last chapter, he he he. They want to know my precious , my precious answers, he he he . Wait, that was LOR, he he he. Well, I've ripped Tolken off before .... RAFO, RAFO, RAFO". Note - I know I probably misspelled many of the names above, but I'm not going to open this literary laxative to find the correct spelling .....
Rating: Summary: A sad decline Review: I do not need to reiterate that this book is long and tedious with little actual action - you can read that in any other review. My problem instead is with the erosion of Jordan's writing. The original books in this series not only had much more active pacing, but they contained drastically fewer characters, to the credit of the writer. The number of characters in the early books left Jordan time to develop and realize each one in a believable way that is simply lacking in the more recent novels. These later books have many times the number of characters at the expense of character development. In a very real sense, each character is given a single trait that is played back ad nauseum - you find yourself counting how many times a basic device is used (such as an uptight character that tugs at a braid). The characters have each become eggshells with nothing inside, and that is what is truly disappointing about this series now. I'd rather Jordan muster 10 believable characters to fill his world than a thousand cardboard cut-outs. Don't scratch below the surface of this "epic" fantasy landscape - you'll only find that it is full of hot air.
Rating: Summary: A trip to snoozeville with a stop in naptown Review: This book is not worth the time you have to spend slugging through uninteresting plot line and boring characters hoping for a great climax. This book felt like a filler, and not even good filling. If you want to keep up on the story, I recommend looking on the internet for chapter summaries of this book and that will keep you up to date. This person will not be spending one penny on another book by Robert Jordan Do not buy this book!
Rating: Summary: A Sorry (p)Lot Review: This installment of the Wheel of Time will be the last I have read of this series. It cannot be salvaged anymore in my opinion. Jordan has lost his ability to write as good as he did in the first 6 installments. His disintegration started with a Crown of Swords and has reached an all time low in Crossroads of Twilight. Fans who write 5 star reviews on this installment must do so because they simply cannot phatom that Jordan lost it. Admitting that will wreck their world. But it is already wrecked and nothing they say will change that. To all of them: Wake up and smell the coffee. After all the fantasy, welcome to the real world.
Rating: Summary: Waste of time!!! Review: You can skip this book and read Book 11 when it comes out. Unfortunatley if this book is an indication you should probally wait until book 12..... In the meantime read Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. Events actually happen and charachters actually do something!!.
Rating: Summary: An advise on whether or not to buy Review: Instead of giving a heavily biased opinion and saying how much I like or hate the book, I will just try to provide some information on what happens whitout giving spoilers and let whoever reads this review decide for himself. Of course, I'll give my opinion as well, but this should not be the decisive factor when one writes a review. The book, Crossroads of Twilight, can roughly be divided into two parts. Roughly the first half of it deals with the events preceding or happening at the same time as Shadar Logoth (to know what Shadar Logoth means read book 9). These events, obviously, do not advance the plot, simply because they are happening before or at the same time as the end of book 9. For some other reason they are also dreadfully boring. And I mean this - up to page, say 350, the book is full of unnecessary descriptions of dresses, face expressions, characters nobody cares about, boring plotlines and more. There is very little happening. Especially annoying is Elayne - I never liked her character anyway, but in CoT the repetetion of how she loves Aviendha and Birgitte but how they are this and that simply becomes unbearable. Some of the scenes featuring Elayne were downright silly. The second part of the book, though, is very, very interesting. The plots abruptly leap into motion - a lot of very interesting stuff happens. The siege of Tar Valon has begun and we see Egwene reach some very interesting decisions. Loial makes a return and Rand sets him to a very interesting task. Perrin and Mat grow as characters - after 9 books they still manage to do the unexpected. We see strange, cursed towns, murders, secrets and more. To be honest, the second 350 pages of the book left me very annoyed - not because they were bad but because they ended so abruptly. It is obvious that this was how Jordan planned it, because of the title - Crossroads of Twilight. This foreshadows important, dark decisions made by the characers, and this is all we get. However, sadly, we do not get to see the outcome of these decision. Very annoying. So, the book is not that bad really. It's just not really a separate book in itself, it's more of a part of another book, and at some point I guess every story is set-up on the brink of exploding before the action starts. There were many implications on what is to happen in Book 11. These are only my suggestions, and not really spoilers, of what is to follow. In Books 11 and 12: Mat will deal with Tuon and thus the Seanchan; The whole male a'dam plot will be resolved; The whole white tower/ Gawyn/ Egwene plot will be resolved; A lot of interesting stuff will happen to Perrin, including dealing with the Shaido; The Logain greatness plot will be resolved; The Mazrim Taim traitor plot will be resolved; Elayne plots will be resolved; and more. Now, this means that by the end of book 12 the world will be ready for the final battle. So I agree with the reviewer who wrote he has inside information (look for that review, it's one of the 'most helpful ones') - there will be 13 books in the series. So, to get CoT ot not? There can be only one answer - if you've read the other WoT books, you have to get it. Skim through the first 350 pages or read their resumes over the internet so as not to get bored, and from then on read carefully. It's worth it. And if you've not read the previous WoT books... What are you waiting for ;-)? Oh yes, the 3 stars I gave it are just because the first half was so bad. I realize the need to put it, how people react to Shadar Logoth and all, but why so long? Anyway, the series themselves deserve 5 stars, no doubt, and the next book will surely be good. Poor Jordan has no choice but to start closing plotlines now - he set it up himself. On yet another side note - the paperback for book 10 comes out in November 2003 and book 11 itself comes out (supposedly) in the end of 2004/beggining of 2005. Can't wait!
Rating: Summary: why read this book???? Review: Why read this book....It answers no new questions. Most books have a beginning and end. Will this book ever be completed. I will not be buying another sequel for it does nothing. Don't buy.
Rating: Summary: when the wheel doesn't turn... Review: To those fans who have critiqued Jordan's latest as being as slow as the last few books, I say you're wrong. It was slower. A complete waste of time. The scattered plot events (you could count them on one hand) could have easily been condensed to an opening chapter. At least Winter's Heart had a central event (cleasing the male half of the source) for climax - don't hold your breath for one in Crossroads. Really. There's nothing. Its 680 pages of text have little more than the main characters wandering around being suspicious of everyone, incessant inner monologues about gender roles, and (absurdly) the introduction of new and reputedly powerful characters. Quite frankly, if the plot ever comes back you could probably skip this one and not even notice.
Rating: Summary: This time I agree ... this one IS disappointing. Review: Many of my friends said that book 8 and 9 of this otherwise excellent serie were boring, in which I totally disagree, but this volume is utterly disappointing - nothing happens, and after 600 pages leading towards a final conclusion, it just ends! - without any conclusion ...
Rating: Summary: WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE??? Review: I have read every book in this 10 volume series...books 1-6 make up the top 6 books I have ever read. This is the best series ever conceived. Unfortuntely, Jordan has become lost in his own story. While in the first 6 books he concentrates on the central, and incredibly well-developed, characters of Rand, Mat, Perrin, Elayne, Nynaeve, Egwene, Morraine, Lan, etc...and even adds more great characters such as Aviendha, Ruarc, Loial, Brigitte, Faile, Davram Bashere, etc...in books 7-10 we are innundated with huge numbers of worthless characters from such lame groups as the Sea Folk, the Seanchan nobility, the Kin, the rebel Aiel, THE LIST GOES ON. These characters do nothing and thus their longwinded addition to the story IS WASTING MY TIME. PLEASE JORDAN, GIVE US SOME ACTION. Why is Mat wandering around doing nothing? Perrin is equally doing nothing. Rand did nothing FOR ALL OF BOOK 10!!! We have countless women that I can't even tell apart anymore surrounding Nynaeve and Elaine and ALL THESE CHARACTERS DO IS TAKE AWAY FROM OUR BELOVED CENTRAL CHARACTERS!!! I wish I could sit down with Jordan and really have it out with him because I think he may have turned over control of the series to his 10 year old daughter. The end of Book 9 was promising, but unfortunately, Book 10 is one of the worst books I have ever read.
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