April 6, 2012

Review : Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan







Title : Crossroads of Twilight
Author : Robert Jordan
Reading Dates : 6 Feb 2012 - 11 Feb 2012
Total Pages :822
The Wheel of Time

From Amazon :
In the tenth book of THE WHEEL OF TIME from the New York Times #1 bestselling author Robert Jordan, the world and the characters stand at a crossroads, and the world approaches twilight, when the power of the Shadow grows stronger.Fleeing from Ebou Dar with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, whom he is fated to marry, Mat Cauthon learns that he can neither keep her nor let her go, not in safety for either of them, for both the Shadow and the might of the Seanchan Empire are in deadly pursuit.Perrin Aybara seeks to free his wife, Faile, a captive of the Shaido, but his only hope may be an alliance with the enemy.Can he remain true to his friend Rand, and to himself?For his love of Faile, Perrin is willing to sell his soul.At Tar Valon, Egwene alVere, the young Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai, lays siege to the heart of Aes Sedai power, but she must win quickly, with as little bloodshed as possible, for unless the Aes Sedai are reunited, only the male Ashaman will remain to defend the world against the Dark One, and nothing can hold the Ashaman themselves back from total power except the Aes Sedai and a unified White Tower.In Andor, Elayne Trakand fights for the Lion Throne that is hers by right, but enemies and Darkfriends surround her, plotting her destruction. If she fails, Andor may fall to the Shadow, and the Dragon Reborn with it.Rand alThor, the Dragon Reborn himself, has cleansed the Dark Ones taint from the male half of the True Source, and everything has changed. Yet nothing has, for only men who can channel believe that saidin is clean again, and a man who can channel is still hated and feared even one prophesied to save the world. Now Rand must gamble again, with himself at stake, and he cannot be sure which of his allies are really enemies.


Book Review of Crossroads of Twilight.

I don’t like to say this about a favorite series but I think the Wheel of Time could have done without Crossroads of Twilight. Not that the story here was not needed, but that it would have been better to include the significant bits into Winter’s Heart.

Crossroads of Twilight is told from many different point of views and the main character, Rand al’Thor hardly makes an appearance. What it shows are the effects of his actions at the end of Winter’s Heart.

Only Rand’s closest friends manage to link the effect of his actions to him, even if they do not know what it is he has done. And then, only his male friends trust that whatever it is, is important and to the good.

As for the rest of the world though, once again the women have leapt to the wrong conclusions while believing themselves to be smarter than everyone else. And how they choose to rectify the supposed problem is definitely going to cause problems in the fight against the Shadow.

All in all, as the story progresses, I begin to understand why the Light seems to be in a losing battle. No matter what they may say, everyone is fighting for their own ambitions. Rather than fighting to save the world, they are thinking only of keeping their own nations, people or organizations whole. Yet, while the Wheel of Time does seem to be getting bleaker with the telling, I’m really hoping for a good ending.

It would be simply be too heartbreaking otherwise, after following the growth of the characters for so long.


My conclusions :

  • Would I re-read the book ? Definitely.
  • Would I want to read the next book in the series ? Yes.
  • Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? Yes.
  • Who would I recommend this too? All fantasy readers.
  • For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? Buy it. The series is a keeper.


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