SPOILERS ARE PRESENT So, A Crown of Swords. Part of me is unbelievably surprised that I have arrived at this point in the series already, halfway through the journey. Indeed, after having heard so much negativity composing these middle books, it wasn't so terrible. Of course, I haven't read further yet so who knows how that might turn out, I might end up taking it back. But anyways, at least I can say that I greatly enjoyed this book. Master of the Lightnings, rider on the storm, wearer of a crown of swords, spinner-out of fate, Who thinks he turns the Wheel of Time, may learn the truth too late The fact of the matter is, the reason we all are able to yet consume these installments that seemingly hold a great lack of plot development is because of the world-development. Undeniably, Robert Jordan is a master at conceiving a world that we live in. Because, everything else aside, we love existing and roaming in this universe. In the same way many have garnered negative opinion on A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons in A Song of Ice and Fire , I still loved my experience with them because I loved just existing in the universe. Even if you had to read a random 20-page POV from a character that probably will not matter, you still consumed it because it continued to discuss themes you were so familiar with and in love with. When you create a world where those types of emotions are in you, the seemingly snail pacing almost is a side-thought. Almost.First, let me clear up and say that I will forever remember this book as a Mat book because his storyline was the storyline that sold everything about this book. Not only do I grow to love him, somehow my prediction was correct when it came to his significance in changing the group dynamic. Elayne and Nynaeve are not completely hateable characters, how is that possible? Although the "men are dumb and at fault for everything" and "women are not understable" are still present here, they don't make me want to completely rip my hair out. "She laid a hand flat on his chest, back-heeled him into a high-backed chair, and plumped herself down on his lap. Between her and the chair arms, he was trapped. The woman possessed ten hands. He thrashed about, vainly trying to fend her off, and she laughed softly. Between kisses, he breathlessly protested that someone might walk in, and she just chuckled. He babbled his respect for her crown, and she chortled. He claimed bethrodal to a girl back home who held his heart in her hands. She really laughed at that. "What she does not know cannot harm her," she murmured, her hands not slowing for an instant. This still baffles me. Mat's encounters with Queen Tylin still leave me wondering. What was the purpose? What was it trying to prove? Their storyline concluded with the idea that he should be the one doing the chasing, not the one being chased. It was humoring for Mat to step into the shoes of the one who would normally be the woman, but am I truly supposed to be shipping them? Also, is it considered rape? Will this Tylin x Man return in the future?Leaving that aside, Mat and Birgitte. That was interesting because Birgitte is the first woman Mat has clearly stated that he truly regards as a friend aside from the Emond's Field Crew. He doesn't look at her with the eye of a chaser and womanizer, but with the eye of companionship and feeling as though he and she truly share some things in common and that maybe he has found a great friend in her. Hopefully, that friendship will be developed and expanded upon in the future.That aside, time to talk about the wonder girls! Thank god for Mat, I knew that he was a dynamic that would do well for this troublesome group. They always get on my nerves, but somehow they had managed to reach new heights when they tormented Mat during the course of the book's first half, alongside with Egwene. No words could describe how much I wished I could just hit one of them. They really were just grinding the gears. However, freakin somehow, by the end of the book they were all right and ALMOST were kinda buddy-buddy with Mat, or at least in good terms.Which brings me to his storyline's resolution. Wow, did I see that coming or what? It felt so obvious to me that something was going to happen. It wasn't the Seachan attack that I was expecting, but when someone looks at a group of companions they are with, after they kinda had bonded in their journey, then the POV MC is like "Oh wait, I forgot something", it just reeked of last minute tragedy syndrome. LMTS Alarms were blaring and I was like "All right, so we are gonna have them splitting up again". Then the Seachan attacked....that is quite the course to take. Probably rings true to the prophecy foretold in Book 4 or 5 when someone had a foretelling or dream with Mat in chainsQuickly, before I speak concerning the last section, Egwene. Her POVs were probably the most useless and nothing happened besides Lan being sent off to join the Ebou Dari squad, wooh!Another tid bit, Perrin and Faile. BINGO! I got told this and I see it because everything about Faile is just starting to scream jealous bitch now. What the hell is going on with this random Saeldea High School drama BS present here? This is totally gonna be ranted in the future, I sense the disturbance in the force from afar. "He has a rage in him fit to burn the world, and he holds it by a hair. Push him too far offbalance...Phaw! Al'Thor's not so hard as Logain or Mazrim Taim but hundred times as difficult, I fear" Rand is probably my favorite character of the series. His struggles and storyline and overall narrative use are fascinating to me. Seeing him in the world where everyone regards him as the Dragon Reborn and where he must learn to live as one, I find fascinating. Watching him question his sanity, deal with pain and sadness while going on the most arrogant and raging confrontations is a spectacle. For example, Colaveare in Chapter 5 was a bang to start off the book. Another character introduced was Cadsuane, a character that seemingly doesn't fear Rand and constantly tries to frustrate and anger him. She holds unknown intentions, but she seems like an interesting character who may grow more important. Rand and her's confrontations were fierce.Rand x Min is happening as well. It was cool the first time, but this guy is getting it on with all three of them makes them each a little less special because of it.That Sammael fight at the end was so anticlimmatic by the way. We barely had any words spoken with the Forsaken. Most of the battle was away from him. Truthfully, I had to look it up to know how he "died" on Wikipedia. Because his name was like once mentioned in that chapter. What rubbish disappointment.Overall, good and better than what I had expected. Although those first 30% are complete rubbish, the installments are progressing well in this middle stage of the series.+ World & World-Building+ Mat's Storyline and Development+ The Wonder Girls & Ebou Dari Squad+ Rand Development- Anti-Climatic Ending and Fight with SammaelBUY/RENT/SKIP: BUYFinal Score: 7.9/10Favorite WoT from Most to Least: The Great Hunt The Fires of Heaven The Eye of the WorldThe Shadow RisingA Crown of SwordsLord of ChaosThe Dragon Reborn
It is often difficult to reconcile how much I love the adventure of this series with the blatant sexism that pervades nearly every chapter involving a woman interacting with a man. In the first four books, it wasn't as much of an issue, because I saw it mostly as an in-world problem rather than something inherently problematic with Jordan's perspective that was interfering with his ability to tell a good and believable story. This changed in book five, where the ridiculousness exploded to such an extent that it didn't read like and in-world problem, but rather just a bad decision on the part of the author. It made all of his female characters look possessed. The good news was that the horrid portrayals of all of the main women in the story spouting sexist lines between each breath dissipated somewhat, partially because Min got so much POV time, and Birgitte and Aviendha were not caught up in it either, which was a relief. Not that it was not there, but the forced ridiculousness was less prevalent in this regard than in previous books.But then chapter 29 happened, and was followed by the rest of the book, and this was by far the worst thing out of all that had happened in the series thus far, mostly because it was the author's storytelling blunder.(view spoiler)[Mat was raped by Tylin. More times that I could count, or would bother. This after being starved, stalked, and held at knife-point. This after being sexually harassed for several chapters prior. I remembered the rape from my first time reading the book many years ago, but I could not remember how it was that Jordan delt with it.I was somewhat heartened in the beginning of the book, after Morgase has been raped (repeatedly) by Valda that nothing about that fact was taken as funny or silly or excused away by this or that. In spite of what has happened to Morgase (and the effects are obvious), she still manages muster inner strength to fight back and lead her party away from the Children of the Light. I could deal with that.What happened with Mat was another story. I was disgusted with the behavior of Tylin and the enthusiastic support she received from palace hands and other Ebou Dari women, but even that I was able to understand as an in-world problem rather than a problem with how the author was presenting the story. When Tyling raped Mat the first time, and times after, I was furious, disgusted, and sick, but I was still able to understand it as an in-world problem. It was also clear to me from the way in which Mat was responding to the whole thing that even if he didn't call it "rape", the very definition of it is what he has in mind when he thinks of what Tylin has done to him. I also that that his response to the whole thing--too ashamed to tell others, wanting to cry at various moments--was extremely realistic. And up until Elayne finds out about it, I was quite certain that Jordan was taking the whole thing seriously, and that it was no laughing matter--Ebou Dari women be damned.And then Elayne found out, and her response--to laugh, even when believing that Mat was indeed a victim--just crumbled everything. The rape went from an in-world problem to a problem with Jordan's presentation. The minute Elayne laughed, deciding that Mat was "getting a taste of his own medicine" was the minute I wanted to put the book through the shredder. It was one thing for the Ebou Dari women to laugh, but is another for a POV Heroine, one of the supposed "good guys" to make a mockery of rape. I have never cared for Elayne, only particularly being thrilled by her character when she first met Rand, and when she took control of the Aes Sedai in Ebou Dar, but this just ruined it. Although we never see Nynaeve's immediate reaction upon hearing the news, she was at the very least furious with Tylin, not at all amused. But Elayne?It was a poor, poor move on Jordan's part. Just when I thought he was actually taking the whole thing seriously he destroys the "good" image of one of the characters. If I wanted to read about the moral atrocities of even the best of people, I would have been reading A Song of Ice and Fire. It's one thing for them to have faults and biases, but at the very least I hope that I still give a damn about the fact that they are trying to fight the Shadow--and in Elayne's case, I really don't. She might as well laugh at what Rahvin or Valda did to her mother. And honestly, when the hero laughs at rape, it is very difficult not to interpret that as the author's personal feelings. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about A Crown Of Swords (1997)?
Master of the lightnings, rider on the storm,wearer of a crown of swords, spinner-out of fate.Who thinks he turns the Wheel of Time,may learn the truth too late...It's really really hard to summarize a book like this due to its length and how far along it is in the series. Much like the previous book in the series, not a lot of action takes place until the last two hundred pages. There are countless conversations. Much travel. More characters are introduced. Loyalties tested. Friendships called into question. Love that was once lost is now found. All the things that make this series fantastic continue on in this book.My favorite aspects of this book are that Lan and Nynaeve have finally reunited, and Cadsuane finally appears. I love that badass Aes Sedai!If you love long, well crafted, wonderfully characterized fantasy stories, I strongly urge you to read this series!
—Branwen *Blaidd Drwg*
I read a lot of comments about Jordan's epic which mention (or outright complain) about its pace and staging. As far as I'm concerned, it's deliberate pace and intricate staging are pluses. It's not often that one finds such thoroughly realized visions of epic stories. This series is a genuine throw-back in story-telling style. Instead of going the route of non-stop, breathless action, Jordan spends a good deal of time taking his readers through the sometimes withering grind of day-to-day existence during a period of huge shifts in his world. The Chinese have an old blessing/curse, "May you live in interesting times." I think "Wheel of Time" offers a good example of just what a mix of good and bad that wish can be. Early in the series, there's so much discovery. Everything is new and exciting. By the time we reach this point, things are becoming more grounded in the realization that the struggle is not going to be won quickly or easily. That, my friends, is a sort of realism not generally seen in the fantasy genre.That said, Jordan does indulge quite a bit in what I've seen called his obsessive writing disorders. He has his peculiarities and tics, and they can get somewhat tiresome over time. I took a break for a couple of months after reading this installment, and it helped tremendously. When I picked up the series again, the idiosyncrasies were less grating. The first time I encountered one my reaction was less there-he-goes-again and more oh-yeah-he-does-that. I don't know if this one break will be enough to see me through the remainder of the series, but "Path of Daggers" is moving along just fine.
—John
i stand by the comment i made during the reading of the book. the wheel of time series is turning into 8000 page morality play badly written by a misogynist. i'm sure it's some subtle way to show that if anyone gets the least bit of power at any time, in any level, at any point in their lift, they automatically know everything and will be proud to tell anyone else how smart/wise they are. power apparently corrupts, and also makes people stupid. there have been two women in these books that i had any amount of interest in or respect for. one is now gone, and the other got herself involved with a man and completely lost her personality. she's become useless arm candy. jordan is no longer writing characters. he's writing caricatures. there are so many characters thrown in that i've completely lost track of who's on what side, and i almost don't care. any woman, and most men, are just caricatures of what jordan thinks they should be. if they're aes sedai or wise ones (heaven save me from wise ones), they're OBVIOUSLY aes sedai or wise ones. the redeeming value in this book? mat. although he has his moments, he's the one that i can relate to the most. surrounded by cat fighting, brow beating women (and don't even get me started on the ebou dari queen - ps, robert jordan, rape isn't funny, even if it's disguised as something very clever and fun (in your eyes)), i don't blame him for occasionally coming across as a jerk. i would, too.
—Jennifer
