Wheel Of Time #7 - A Crown Of Swords
Lord Of Chaos took me a little over three weeks to get through. A Crown Of Swords took me none days, and two of those days were spent at a convention where I didn't have a chance to read. Is this a sign that my reading slump is coming to an end, or is it simply that A Crown Of Swords is much less boring than Lord Of Chaos? I think it might be both.
I'm definitely beginning to feel some frustrations with the series at this point. I can't remember the last time a book felt like the characters had a specific goal that was established at the start of that book, which they achieved by the end of it. When storylines get wrapped up - like Sammael, for example - they've been simmering away in the background for several books already. And the Sammael ending here seems to come out of nowhere too, the climax happening incredibly suddenly without any real warning.
Meanwhile the main storylines continue to get kicked down the road a little further. And I'm actually starting to forget what the main storylines actually are. Nynaeve and Elayne have finally recovered the Bowl Of The Winds but still haven't used it. Perrin was here and now he's not, sent away by Rand on a secret mission that has been forgotten about in the final act of the book. Matt... Doesn't really feel like he has a goal at this point? He was supposed to be involved in the attack on Illian, and then he was diverted to escort Elayne and Nynaeve to Caemlyn, and then he instead had to go with them to Ebou Dar. He's just sort of following other people around not doing much. Lan is back, though, which is cool.
And yet, despite that fact that many of the main characters are really spending a lot of time just spinning their wheels at this point, despite the fact that every book is starting to blur into one because there are no real start and end points between them, I liked this a lot more than Lord Of Chaos. It didn't feel anywhere near as long as the previous book, and the pacing was much more enjoyable.
It's interesting to me to see how my relationship with the characters has changed over the years. When I first read these books (aside from the Sanderson books, which didn't exist yet) I was 19 years old and really related to Rand. I saw a man struggling to get the respect he deserved, being treated like a child by everyone around him despite having the ability to turn the world on its head.
Now I'm 20 years older, Rand is the same age as he always was, and I absolutely see a petulant child who needs to listen to some of the adults in his life. It's especially on display in his scenes with Cadsuane (though I absolutely can't remember what her deal is). It's funny how your perspective on these things changes over the years.
I'm tempted to plow on with the next book, but I have so many other things that I want to read before the year is out and only a few weeks left to do it, so I think I'll be taking a break from Wheel Of Time until January. I do really want to get to the cleansing of the Source, though. I've been looking forward to it for several thousand pages at this point and it doesn't feel like it's getting any closer.
My serialised novella The Mouth Of Winter is being released a chapter a day every day until Christmas. It's £3.99 and I'd love it if you picked it up.