A Crown of Swords
The Wheel of Time, book 7
by Robert Jordan
Rand pursues the Forsaken Sammael, Elayne, Nynaeve, and Mat search for the Bowl of the Winds, and Egwene works with Siuan Sanche to challenge Elaida.
Although there is plenty of plot in this book, a lot of time is spent developing the various relationships between the members of our continuously growing cast. The majority of them were interesting and wonderful to see. Except for the one with Mat and Tylin. I have a lot of problems with that one, both with what happens between them and how the aftermath is written. However, I have a feeling it’s never going to be appropriately addressed.
There’s so much happening. With every chapter, a new layer is added. It’s all really interesting, but in this particular book it felt like a lot of the big plot moments happened very quickly while a lot of the big character moments (most of them anyway) took a lot of focus. We have a lot of plates spinning and we’re only getting more added. The focus shifts around a lot, so things happen quickly, but I’m glad we’re getting to see such a variety of the plot and character moments.
Rand is making progress tracking down the Forsaken while the complex Aes Sedai relations continue to change. I personally wasn’t a fan of Egwene for a while, but ever since she abandoned her childhood attachment to Rand I’ve been really into her storyline. She let go of her past, embraced her future, and I’ve been loving seeing this girl grow and thrive and get the job done. She’s an Amyrlin on a mission.
I still haven’t connected with Nynaeve in that same way, but she’s definitely showing growth, doing amazing things, and finally getting rewarded for everything she’s contributed to the story. She may not be my favorite, but I’m happy for her. Truly. With this many characters, I think most of us are going to have preferences by this point, but they all add their own important role to keep things going. And I’m looking forward to seeing how things continue to change.
<3D
LessthanThreeD 