The best of times, the worst of times. (A Crown of Swords - Robert Jordan)

Member Name: Bryn Pearson

Product:	A Crown of Swords - Robert Jordan
Date:	09/04/02 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: some very good plot lines

Disadvantages: major character boring and unlikable.

I'll admit now that I have a serious problem with this series - I cannot abide the main character, Rand, the Dragon reborn. Believe me, I've tried. I put up with his griping pathetic phase in the hopes he would get himself moving. I put up with his obviousness - young man ripped from rural home to fulfil vitally important destiny. The trouble is, Rand is dull, unlikable and depressing. If you haven't encountered him yet and have no idea what I am talking about, I think some introductions may be in order.

Rand is a ald from a small village, who, many books ago, was whisked away by a mysterious Aes Sedi (magic using female) because he may well have DESTINY. His friends Mat and Perrin get caught up in this, as do Egwene and Nynaeve, two lasses from his village. This is book seven, and to be honest if you haven't read the others, then the myriad complex conections between all the characters, the warring sides (too many to count) and the implications of all the prophecies are not going to mean anything to you. At this late stage, trying to explain it all would be tricky, we could be here for an unfeasibly long time. So, Here's some insight into the plot, which might give you some ideas about the setting. Hopefully.

Mercifully, the Wheel of Time Series has many characters in it, the vast majority of whom have no obvious destiny, and are just trying their best to cope with the unfolding events. Book seven is particularly good in that we don't get that much of Rand, and we do get a great deal of the others, making book seven on balance quite a good read.

Plot then. There are many of these, revolving around the different characters.

I'll get Rand out of the way first. Rand is trying to fulfil his destiny, unite the world and face the final battle with the lord of evil. There's some politicing along the way, he might be going mad, he's got three women in love with him. There you go. It's not a millio
n miles from standard high fantasy foder, save for the fact that there's so much of it going on, so many sides opposing each other and making tenuous alliances.

Egwene (grew up in same village as Rand, has been with us since the first book)is a young woman skilled with using magic. The White Tower at Tar Valon, where all the female magic users were based, has suffered a split, with the tower itself held largely by evil folks, while a second 'Tower in exile" is trying to establish itself. Egwene has been summoned to the tower in exile, and been put in charge - to be a pupet lead by older and allegedly more wise women, and a scapegoat should it all go wrong. Egwene is not going down easily, and is determined to try and do a good job of reclaiming the tower. Toerably interesting plot line, but not very much actual action most of the time, just lots of politicing - sometimes really good tore ad, sometimes deeply frustrating, mostly the former though.

Nynaeve and Elayne, also magic users, have gone to Ebou Dar with Mat (Blokish, gambler and outrageously lucky)Birgette (legendary heor unexpectedly manifested in the real world) and Aveinda (Aiel magic user and hard as nails.) They are looking for a bowl, a magical item that can be used to restore the seasons to their natural state - the dark lord is killing them with an ongoing scorching summer. They have to deal with a mysterious "knitting circle" with sea folk and an invading army. If that wasn't enough. Elayne knows she will have to reclaim her throne (yes, she's a princess) and the man Nynaeve is in love with is dying. There are dark friends (evil types) in Ebou Dar, magic users from the corrupt half of the tower and a host of minor characters who can cause them major inconveniences. This is an excellent and gripping plot line, with lots of action, exciting developments and strong characters. If this was a book on its own, I wouldn't be able to recomend it enough. r>
Perrin - usually a good character but mostly neglected. Perrin is out doing some politicing for Rand, and along the way he runs into some unlikely refugees - Queen Morgause of Andor (Elayne's mother) and her tiny retuinue. Perrin can talk to wolves, and has a very feisty wife. Usually he's a very interesting character, but he isn't given a great deal of time in this book and there isn't much new to be going along with. This si clearly jsut a stepping stone along the way for a future plot line, and as such gets in the way a bit of other narratives, but with so many characetrs and so much going on, this is bound to happen now and then.

So, we have two strands of really rather good plot, one middling, and one strand of Rand. It's not a bad trade off. It is a shame that Rand is such a weak point in this book - his plot lines just aren't interesting, and you start to feel like you've heard it all before. The female characters are excellent though, and I will confess I am following the series to see what happens to them. Fortunatly, there's enough of them in the books to make it worth doing. Despite the many complaints, I probably enjoyed this book more than the six before it - what action there is, is excellent, surprising and exciting to read. There aren't that many slow bits, but they do stick in the mind rather and mar the appeal of the rest.

Would I recomend reading the series? Currently, I'm not sure. It's an all or nothing sort of venture, and Jordan hasn't finished writing them yet.