A Crown of Swords

A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The seventh installment of the late Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time franchise opens with a prologue indicating that the White Tower, headquarters of the Aes Sedai ordered in the city of Tar Valon, has been “broken,” with the dark sorcerers of the forbidden Black Ajah ruling in its stead. The main chapters commence with the same wind motif that opens all book in the series except the prequel New Spring, Perrin Aybara having experiences with his wolf brethren and holding Aes Sedai prisoners that he wishes to give to his friend and the Dragon Reborn, Rand al’Thor.

Rand continues his attempts to channel the darkness-tainted saidin, the male half of the One Power, and has the voice of the long-deceased Lews Therin Telamon haunt him occasionally. An artifact serving as something of the book’s main MacGuffin is the Bowl of the Winds, which many characters throughout the story seek. Many characters in the novel have occasional bad dreams, with one of the Forsaken, Moghedien, conversing with the Great Lord of the Dark in one of her reveries. The action concludes with Rand fighting another of the Forsaken, Sammael, with a fictitious prophetic excerpt “inspiring” the title of the novel.

Overall, the seventh main Wheel of Time novel is very much on par with its predecessors, which can be either a good or bad thing depending upon whether or not readers actually enjoy the series, which admittedly can be dense at times. Those who haven’t read any entry in the franchise would best start with the first main book or the aforementioned prequel novel, and since the events of all books contain close links, one would find it preferable to read them all within the same timespan or risk confusion. While a glossary at the end clarifies some of the series-native terminology, furthermore, there are some terms omitted. Even so, this reviewer definitely enjoyed partaking in Jordan’s fantasy series.

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