A CROWN OF SWORDS (The Wheel of Time #7) by Robert Jordan ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Original review written December 4, 2020)

Spoilers Ahead

After the seventh entry in this epic-as-hell series, I’m feeling...intrigued, more than anything. We’ve got a lot in store here!

This is the closest to matching book 4’s excitement and crescendo, though maybe it’s from devoting more time to getting through another 800 pager. The lulls were shorter here, but the best part is that there’s multiple (literal) shady characters and plots in motion now. And everywhere we turn there’s a Forsaken spicing things up. The patterns in the plot are easy to see through, but it’s hard to deny there’s still a world class story to experience.

After seven entries, it’s definitely worth a laugh for each straightened skirt or character that is about to have “apoplexy”. Almost reads like Robert Jordan saw that in a Word-A-Day calendar and reaaaallly liked it. No clue where his deep-seated influence for dress flattening came from though.

How do I feel at the halfway point? As expected, not every book is a winner, but the overall tale is. And the characters manage to outshine the repeated descriptors. Though the foreshadowing (mainly winks at relationships) may come heavy-handed, I care about most of these people. Probably Mat and Lan the most.

The crux of the whole thing is this massive world that has high stakes and crisscrossing motives, somehow still fresh after thousands of pages. I feel the pull toward the end (and mostly what this is all headed toward!) again, with an added boost from the two shorter entries ahead. Highly enjoy the random interludes I’ve taken between each book as well. With a possible end total of 2 years spent in this series, I expect I’ll be reminiscent of my time with the Wheel.