[.ca] Crossroads of Twilight (ISBN 0812571339)

The Worst Book Ever Writt.en:
Garbage! This book should be used for kindling only. Your entertainment dollars would be put to better use purchasing a book describing mildew growing on bathroom tiles. I believe the pretentious Mr. Jordan has begun to think of himself in terms of Mellville, Dumas, and Tolstoy which is reflected in his writing. However, he lacks the talent for tying together plot lines, he introduces an endless cast of irrelevant characters and has a penchant for endless, repetitious descriptions of meaningless activities. I have the feeling that either Mr. Jordan is suffering from severe "writer's block" and delivered this book to his editor only to meet his publishing deadline or is producing these books only to become wealthy at the expense of his readers. Either way, if brevity is indeed the soul of wit, Mr. Jordan is a moron.

The journey ends here,:
Having struggled through the last several books of this series, I can no longer afford to spend time and money on a series that has lost it's way. At least for me. I'm sure others will like it but I need a fast paced, action packed book, not one which insists on talking about women's stuff. I read a review posted earlier on this site which suggested a book by a new author, Brian S. Pratt. Let me tell you, The Unsuspecting Mage, which is his first book it far better than this one. First of all, it gets right into the story and doesn't stop. Not a whole lot of description, he leaves that to your own imagination.

Have a Little More Patience...:
Holy crap. A one-and-a-half rating? How? I think that the majority of readers were asking a heck of a lot with this book. Personally, I loved it. Robert Jordan just wrote what he had to. He's setting up events for The Last Battle. He's moving the pieces into position. And following characters as they get there. I would have liked this book less had it been different. Had he not followed all of these characters, I would have felt like he'd forgotten them. I like reading about what they're all doing, and generally they're all important somehow to the final outcome. Besides, it's like the calm before the storm. In the first books, Trollocs and Myrddraal started to basically route certain areas of the world, but it's slowing. They're preparing for the main event. Sure, some fingers of the Shadow are still out seeking to end it before it begins, but strategically that would be a sound plan, while the main forces amass. Now the nations are figuring out what THEY need to do to get ready, and the Forsaken are fighting for supremacy. Everything needs to be aligned a certain way and it can't all be done with amazing action. I think the slower books add more depth to the series and prove how talented Jordan is. If he tried to make his writing action, action, action all the way through, I think our taste for it would begin to diminish. He's pacing us. He hooked us with the first book, which is the aforementioned action all the way through, and the second and third are pretty much the same, but then he slowed down and kept us going with more story aspects, but always gave us what we wanted by the end of the book. More action. And he's kept it up. Now, I understand the frustration certain people feel when they read the later books; you just want Perrin to rescue Faile and get it over with, but he can't force a time frame for one part of the story ahead of the rest. That would make the book a little incoherent and be a very damaging flaw in his writing. And as far as the "over-descriptivity" (yes, I made that word up, but it works for me because I hate the suffix 'ness') of his writing, he's just trying to paint a picture in your mind. Be a little more patient with the writing. It won't effect the outcome. You'll still absorb the story and get through the book if you know what someone's wearing. It just adds a little more detail to the world that all readers of The Wheel of Time can share. In conclusion, I was enthralled from book one and I haven't been let down once. I love the story, I love the pacing, and I can't wait to find out what happens in A Memory of Light. I hear it's going to be a big one and might even pass 1500 pages. Which, if it does, RJ said he'd split it in two so that Tor didn't have to invent a new binding process. So there's that for those who doubt it can be wrapped up. If you don't see where I'm coming from in all of this; try writing your own 10,000 page epic series and I'll let you know if I think it's as rich and flowing as The Wheel of Time. Furthermore, if you can do that with it being 100% action all the time that never gets boring, then I think you may just have yourself a career.

Painful ....:
I will keep this brief (Mr. Jordan please take note) the reviews on this page are infinitely more entertaining than slogging through this latest offering from Jordan. What really pains me is how this series did not live up to its great promise. I only wish I had a fireplace in which to use this book as kindling as others on this page have suggested.

Ho hum,:
Another in a long line of so-so books. they all have moments, I'll give you that. Just enough to keep me coming back for more. I will finish this series. I will! I will! I will! Though sometimes it's like going to your grandmother's house, fun at times but you'd rather not if you dont have too. A new author, Brian S, Pratt of The Unsuspecting Mage gave me what Mr. Jordan has been lacking in the last few of his novels. Action. There's none of this page after page of descriptions, he let's the reader's imagination fill in most of it. Mr. Jordan has lost track of what a reader wants, escapism, excitement, and most of all action! Maybe he should take a lesson from this newcomer and revitalize what was once a great series.