A Crown of Swords (The Wheel of Time, Book 7)

Rating:
Summary: "...a series that can only be described as perfect!"
Review: I am only young (19), but have read some 150 different books over the past five years, beggining with Tolkien. I have heard this series both praised and (rarely) bagged for its length. People say Lord of the Rings is the best. That is a joke. It was one of the first real Fantasy Fiction books but is does not come close to being the best. With the Wheel of Time, Jordan has managed to indulge the continued reading time of millions of people over a series spanning some seven thousand odd pages. Any other author would have crumbled by now but Jordan just keeps us all wondering. I have begun a novel of my own and after only a hundred and seventy pages, I can understand the difficulty an author faces in writing a good if not great novel. Already I have a list of some hundred or more charachters, accompanying seperate notes and histories spanning thirty pages and a mess of possibilities in my head that sometimes makes it difficult to write at all. Yet I read what I have done and it feels so pointless in comparison with Jordan. He has not only kept track of each charachter and their background, he has given each one a sub-plot almost as intriguing as Rand's own path. When you read the series for the second time, a hundred things that escaped your attention the first time appear. The details are endless and for this I commend Robert Jordan. Any one who has tried to write knows what I am talking about. In order to put together these details you need endless amounts of information at hand to ensure you do not slip up. To actually continue this series without losing its edge is the greatest feat of writing ever accomplished. Nothing can stand up to the intensity of each part and the confusion milling inside the readers head. Robert Jordan has created a series that can only be described as perfect!

Rating:
Summary: Rome wasn't built in a day!
Review: Jordan is a master. He has kept me reading for years now. I become a recluse whenever I read his books. The 7th book might not be the best, but it adds some development of the characters. I admit I get frustrated at the lack of communication between the characters. It would seem to simplify everyone's emotions. Rand is being used by Aes Sedai and can't trust anyone. I feel for him, but I don't understand why he just sits back and takes it when he could force those who want to use him to take a back seat,(like what he did to the Aes Sedai from the Tower at the end of book 6.) He made them swear fealty to him. I wish Rand could somehow manage to marry Elayne without angering Min and Aviendha. Rand does have a right to the throne of Andor, His real mother wasn't a true Aiel. His mother was Tigraine, the queen of Andor who suddenly vanished. She vanished into the Waste and ended up being adopted by the Aiel. Rand holds back from sharing his feelings because he doesn't want to trouble anyone with his emotions. Maybe if he shows a little more of his thoughts, things might be easier to deal with. I am going insane waiting for the next book. Jordan cannot stop now . He is the man. RJ, keep up the good work.

Rating:
Summary: Great Series - Fair Book
Review: I thoroughly enjoy the series but, like many other reviewers, Jordan needs to get to the point. while I thoroughly enjoyed the book, there appears to be a lot of repetition of searchs, plights for the heros, decisions that need to be made over and over again. Tolkien was the best - and he actually cut through all of his clutter to get to the point quickly. Can hardly wait for the next book!!

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Summary: God help us, 3 more books are coming!!!
Review: I am 13 years old and have read Terry Brooks, Salvatore, Tad Williams, and Tolkien. But never have I come across a series with so much detail as this. It is a truly masterful series and I love it. ACoS could have had some more action, but it still blew my mind. This is a gem that doesn't come out often. Read it. For anybody who says that RJ should wrap it up, do you really care? I mean, this series is so engrossing I could read 15 books!! At a signing, RJ said that there will be at least 10 books in the series. Great!!! I for one will rush to buy them!! Path of the Daggers comes out in October. I will be the first one to buy it!! The characters are intricately detailed like nothing I have ever read. I don't know if the sex scenes were really necessary but they were well written. This book left so many loose ends that I don't know if he can tie them all up! Is Taim Demandred? Who will get Rand? Is Moraine alive? Where is Lanfear? When will Rand go mad? Will Mat kick it? BLAH BLAH BLAH there are so many I can't ask them all. I really hope that RJ answers these questions in the next book or he will lose a lot of readers.

Rating:
Summary: A great series
Review: This is a very good series. It takes some time to write a good book so I'm being patient waiting for number 8. I only started the series in 1997 I therefore have not had a long wait in between titles. It is refreshing to note the many positive statements being made by fantasy enthusiasts. So many "so called" intellectuals who only read biographies and factual texts, denigrate lovers of fantasy and science fiction. If they only realised that sometimes you need escapism to rekindle your humanity. Enough of this - go for it Robert J. your series is worth waiting for.

Rating:
Summary: Thank you Mr. Jordan!
Review: It is impossible to rate just this book alone, so I'm going to evaluate the series. I understand the depth of detail needed to make a realisticly great book and enjoy it. The more detail, the better. There is a breaking point, but Jordan is not even close. I love the way new plots and characters are revealed, even if it does extend the story out of sight of an ending. Looking into the thoughts of seemingly unimportant characters is crucial to understanding what is really happening. As an author, the biggest mistake is to make your readers not really know why something happens. Mr. Jordan, I congratulate you on that point. I understand why the characters do the things they do, and yet I can't predict them -- the perfect senario. A great series, but couldn't you write the books any faster? Just kidding, keep up the good work.

Rating:
Summary: Robert Jordan is gifted!
Review: Robert Jordan is the most gifted writer I have ever read. I rated this book a 10 because I believe even Robert Jordan at his worst is still the best. Yes, I agree with most of the negative comments about this volume. It is long and not as good as the earlier ones, but in a way that is good because although I want to know how it will all work itself out, I am reluctant to end the best series ever produced. It is so rich and teeming with life. How could you not have anybody to root for. Even a character who shows up to open the door for the major characters is a real person with a life and background. I say so what if it takes Jordan 13 volumes to wrap up his story. I'll stick with it to the end and enjoy it every step of the way, and when I finish the last volume, I'll say to myself how unfortunate it is that he finished.

Rating:
Summary: CARI EN CALAZAR!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Great series, that only gets better, and more attached to the characters as time goes on. The action and detail is consuming, and makes for a memorable world. Prehaps the best fantasy series next to Covenant,with Lord of the Rings front running...

Rating:
Summary: Is The Writing On the Wall, will he give up?
Review: The first four books were excelent, even better than Tolkein. In the 'Wheel Of Time' series Jordan shows that he is the master of creating a fantasy 'universe'. Unfortunately the weath of absorbing detail means that the plot starts to grind to a halt, especially so in 'aCoS' (the timespan of the book is only two weeks). If he continues his trend it seems that it will be another 3-4 books before he can even contemplate finishing. The crunch point is that the story showed that Jordan has no idea how to end his epic series and even more important is the fact that aCoS was published in 1996 and the release date for the 8th book is pencilled in at 3rd Q. 1998. Does this mean that Jordan will give up the series as a project to difficult to bother to complete?

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Summary: RED ALERT - THIS SERIES IS GOING FOR RECORD....LONGEST!!!!!!
Review: A very good read, but...the author is going for a record. That is the one set by the unmentionable author/ creator of dianutics. I love the series but, "Robert, please put the pedal to floor and finish it, before I die of old age". REMEMBER, he started this at least 8 years ago!!!!