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

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not best of the pack. A ground layer
Review: I have read each new issue in this series with much anticipation. It is one of the few I can't wait for the paperback version of, but, instead have to buy the hardback. Given that, I must say that compared to the others, both volumes 6 and 7 seem to have dragged a bit. Jordon appears to have hit a development crisis as he obviously is trying to lay down the ground work for the final stages, but want's to hide the outlines. The result is a story long on tangled emoting and short on actual plot progress. Too many threads dangling. The final scene was good, but the rest was simply not up to snuff. Tighten up the weave, Mr. Jordan. Loosely recommended, but only to keep up with the plot.

Rating:
Summary: totally engrossing yet very detail oriented
Review: The overall series of the Wheel of Time has been a masterpiece. This book starts a downfall of a legend. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great book and series, but I think that Jordan's peak was around "The Fires of Heaven". If he were to just let the story flow and start letting the readers imagination fill in the details this engrossing plot could still go on for another 5 books. I still can't wait for the end I know it will be very imaginative with all the plot twists that Jordan has already come up with.

Rating:
Summary: Good book...why won't it end?!?!?! let the hurting stop!!!
Review: It is a good series, but I would like him to wrap it up now.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but still good...
Review: Um...one complaint. Not at the books, at the reviewers. First of all, "The main characters, Mat, Rand and Perrin won't grow up!" Uh...well, the guys would be in their early twenties by this book, and being in the early twenties myself, I can say this: most men (or women) don't grow up that fast! Sheesh, they're not in their thirties... Nynaeve...yep, she is a bit typecasted these days, but hey, was she ever one of the REAL main characters? I saw her more as one of those people who hang around in the background in Tolkien's LOTR...you know, the ones who don't die, but still get dismissed with a simple "married this and that and died at that age"-bit at the end...and being one of those, she's a lot more well-developed than most of those... Not that I'm comparing Jordan with Tolkien, that would be stupid...not because one is better than the other, but because one (Tolkien) wanted to write a novel using old Celtic, Germanic, and similar tales. LOTR is an extremely good example of that. And besides, it is a classic. And excellent. But Jordan is writing a "Maybe everyone gets killed, maybe not, and I'm gonna keep you guessing till the last page"-series, combining Chinese, American Indian, African, European mythologies in one world...and it works! I mean, yes, we were all there with Sam and Frodo, but did anyone really doubt they would be saved? I mean, puh-leeze, give mr John Ronald Reuel some credit! Whereas in Jordan's novels, we don't really know. Will Rand die? Or will he survive? Will Mat die? Will any of them? And if so, who? It may sound morbid, but the reason people read books sometimes, apart from the adventure, is to see which people dies. Like when you watch a horror movie. Oh, and Rand is allready mad. Hasn't anyone noticed his ups and downs? One moment he spends days in his room, severely depressed, not eating, considering ending it all. And then he says, "Aww, what the heck, let's go make the Sea Folk a part of my followers!" as happy as a jaybird... That's really very reminiscent of a manic depressive...and wait till he gets deeper into the psychosis...heh heh heh... Like I said, not the best book, but still good. And please, don't say Tolkien or Jordan is better than the other. It's comparing apples and oranges.

Rating:
Summary: High expectation recieves medium delivery.
Review: After having read the first six books of this series I felt I had a pretty good understanding of where Mr. Jordan was going with this. His ability to leave connections that can lead the story in more than one path is astounding. Most Sci-Fi books set a path and go along it even when the reader can guess what will happen next. Robert Jordan has shown his talent by leading us to believe that a battle with one of the foresaken will not happen until another book, but instead occurs within the last 20 pages. The only thing I did not particularly like in this one was the fact that it did not have as much of an dramatic build-up and ending as the others an had too much description of things like emotion and scenery. But I can clearly see that this book was mostly for bricklaying of the next book which I am still anxiously awaiting. I expect the next book will deliver more action and less description of emotion and scenery.

Rating:
Summary: This book is great! Quit your gritchin'!
Review: I don't know abot most of you people, but I think this is the best series I have ever read. I don't say that lightly either because all I read is science-fiction/ fantesy! Ok, this book does get a little slow at times but that only helps the plot line! A book does not have to be action all the time! In fact if it was, it would be boring byond belief! Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but this book is the best book I have ever read!! Ok, now you probably wonder why I think it's so wonderful. For the simple reason that Robert Jordan made the story beliveable. The characters feel terrible if they kill someone, and they feel the conflict that being in power puts a preson in. I would highly recomend this book to EVERYONE, even if they don't like fantsy. (P.S. Hey, RJ, speed it up please. I can't wait for the next book. Is it true that the next book is the last? Please say no!

Rating:
Summary: Please Robert, more plot movement!
Review: I have been reading Jordan for quite a number of years now and I have got to say that this book is the most dissapointing so far. The first four books moved right along developing the characters, plot and atmosphere. The last ones seem to have become stagnated and distant to the reader. Jordan needs to recapture the movement that he had in the first few books. He seems to have become caught up in metaphysical and political conundrums as opposed to further plot and character development. The lines have been drawn in the novel and it seems that people are sitting back and pondering their signifigance instead of doing anything about them. Though this was still not a bad read Jordan must find a way to make things more dynamic or he will his readership will sharply decline.

Rating:
Summary: Come On Robert
Review: What I want to know is why is Jordan slowing down? This volume took over a year longer to come out than the other books but it just seems like the piece of Lord Of Chaos that was chopped off. It didn't even have enough action in it. Egwene disappeared in the first part of the book. All in all it tended to plod until the last chapter where the Rand / Sammael fight took place. As it is a year after aCoS and Book 8 doesn't look set to be released until March, I must say I'm disappointed

Rating:
Summary: Robert Jordan the Hack
Review: Robert Jordan is the undisputed hack, and dick tease of fantasy and science fiction history. When reading his books one gets the opinion that he sits at his computer for a year and prints everything that he types in during that time. One of the other reviews of this book suggests that Jordans character development is superior to Tolkein, Tolkein had a thing called subtlty, by the end of the Lord of the Rings one had an intimate knowledge of the characters, Robert Jordan has spent Buddha knows how many pages shoving so much information down our throats that if you didn't know what sort of characteristics the characters had you would have to be a blind monk living in some outer province of Mongolia. Tolkein was a composer who's work is a masterpiece which had brilliant imagery, when Sam and Frodo climbed Mount Doom the reader was there with them. In conclusion Jordan is tradesman who should employ a decent editor to cure his severe case of literary diaheroa

Rating:
Summary: 'Blood and Bloody Ashes', he has done it again!
Review: Seven down, another thirteen to go?? Hey, who's counting. Write on Mr. Jordan, that's what you do best. The Light shine on you.