Lord Winterborne's Fantasy

I never thought I would say this but Robert Jordan has disappointed, and I have nightmares that he will continue to do so. By the end of Book 9 of The Wheel of Time (Winters Heart) I was as enthused as ever; Rand al Thor the Dragon Reborn cleanses the Dark Ones taint from the male half of the True Source, in what has got to be one of the most climactic endings to any book, ever. But at the end of Crossroads of Twilight I couldn't help but think, that was a bloody non-event. 

Robert Jordan doesn't include synopses so its critical that you read the 9 previous installments to The Wheel of Time or you won't have a clue what's going on in the Crossroads of Twilight (or here for that matter).

There's a lot to it as usual, but maybe too much. Sub-plots jump from Logain, Davram, Gawyn, rival Aes Sedai, Dark Friends, etc etc, so often and easily that it's all beginning to fade into insignificance, even though you know it has to be really important. Meanwhile, others that we've come to know so intimately seem to plod along through the narrative one baby-step at a time:

Matrim Cauthon still continues to woo the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, his prophesized and very feisty future wife, whilst the Seanchan are in hot pursuit.

The rebel Amrylin, Egwene al Vere, besieges mighty Tar Valon and still attempts to reunite the factional Aes Sedai. As usual, she has a few aces up her sleeve, but could she be a little naive, and too reckless perhaps?

Perrin Aybara still continues to track down his precious Faile, who is at the mercy of seventy thousand Shaido and the psycho-bitch Sevanna.

Elayne Trakand still fights for her rightful place on the throne of Andor, unaware that her personal bodyguard is a servant of the Dark One.

And finally, Rand al Thor, the Dragon himself, with four women and a long-dead madman in his mind, is still as disturbed but determined as ever. Before he meets the Dark One in the Last Battle he must subdue the Seanchan, The Chosen, the Border Lords (amongst other countries), and the rival Aes Sedai and Ashamen.

Indeed, there are a million things going on at once. But that's to be expected after 10 large novels, with still more to come. And yes I'm being repetitive but as complicated/epic/in-depth/LARGE as this series is I can't figure out how it can be moving so slowly. Surely something has got to give, soon, or it's going to be a twenty book series. And if the next 10 books are as slow and uneventful as Crossroads of Twilight that could become a chore for even Jordan's more avid readers.

I must say that despite my being dissatisfied with this book I'm still hanging out for the next one. That's testimony to how awesome the rest of The Wheel of Time is. I truly hope that book 11 doesn't disappoint as this one has. Please die hard fans of Jordan don't get me wrong, compared to other works of fiction/fantasy this is a really solid, well written book, BUT, it's nowhere near as exciting as the other books in the series, and it ends on an anti-climax rather than the usual dynamic conclusion.

For all of you waiting on book 11, not even Robert Jordan can say when it will be finished, and he's not giving us any clues. Presently Jordan appears to be pre-occupied with The Wheel of Time prequel-trilogy, which I'm not sure is a good thing or not.

Other books in the saga:

The first prequel to the THE WHEEL OF TIME

New Spring

THE WHEEL OF TIME

The Eye of the World

The Great Hunt

The Dragon Reborn

The shadow Rising

The Fires of Heaven

Lord of Chaos

A Crown of Swords

The Path of Daggers

Winters heart

Crossroads of Twilight

The World of Robert Jordans The Wheel of Time (With Teresa Patterson)

Politics Factzone: The truth about Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il, the leader of the free world, has decided to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving with us just the memories of 8-color rainbows, singing Korean women and couple of nuclear weapons. But who was this man whose next ambition would have been to get the next Nobel Peace prize? Here are just a few facts you should know about. more Top 5 Conspiracy Theories Related to John F. Kennedy's Assassination 26.Aug 2011 Since just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, conspiracy theories abou...read ISRAEL KEEPING GHADDAFI AFLOAT 10.Mar 2011 ...read Glen Beck Is NOT the Anti-Christ! 10.Mar 2011 Hurtful and fiery rhetoric is now media’s default setting! This slippery and m...read Recipe for A REVOLUTION! (10 easy steps - try not to get burned!) 28.Feb 2011 Rebellion is cooking in the air. People are mad as hell, and not going to take...read THE ASSANGE CASE. CIA INTERFERED WITH SWEDISH LEGAL PROCESSES EXTREME RIGHT POLITICS A DANGER TO EUROPEAN UNITY THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY. OUT OF TOUCH, OUT OF FOCUS, OUT OF CREDIBILITY AND HOPEFULLY, OUT OF THE DOOR Opinion World governments charged with criminal negligence (in response to Megaupload case) EARTH (thecheers.org) - Federal authorities of the universe have charged the governments of all the countries in the world as well as the operators actually in power in these countries with operating a criminal enterprise, the Galaxy warriors announced Today. more The Great OSCARS 2011 – or so it would seem 5.Mar 2011 So, how exciting......a morning off, the Academy Awards. I wish I could say the...read Top 7 Expensive Bordellos. Prostitution: Shakedown, Tier Down, and Priced Out 31.Jan 2011 According to a report of the Washington DC-based US Department of State, The Ph...read The Great Secret and Reason for the JFK Assassination 11.Oct 2010 The great question is why the great secret? On June 4 1963, President Kennedy s...read Don't Do it! The 3 Worst Times to Get Tattoos 4.Oct 2010 As a general rule, tattoos gotten after 2 am are a bad idea. But in a bigger pi...read

Travel Travel Warning 13 September 2010 - DO NOT TRAVEL TO IRAN 13.Sep 2010 TRAVELWISE has been watching the situation in Iran for some months in relation ...read more TRAVELWISE TRAVEL ADVISORY 5th June 2010. DO NOT TRAVEL TO ISRAEL. 5.Jun 2010 Given the recent incident whereby the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, used...read TRAVELWISE. 16 APRIL 2010. EUROPEAN TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES 16.Apr 2010 Travelwise issues the following advice in relation to cancelled flights to, fro...read TRAVELWISE 6 APRIL 2010. AUSTRALIAN AIR TRAVEL. THE BEST WAYS TO TRAVEL BY AIR IN AUSTRALIA. 5.Apr 2010 Regular readers might have seen and read the various advisory and no-fly notice...read TRAVELWISE 2 APRIL 2010. QANTAS. 2.Apr 2010 Some concerns have been raised in relation to some of the maintenance practices...read Sport No Payoff From the Playoffs $16.50 will Get Anyone in the Hall Mr McGwire Stupid Athlete Tricks Technology Think Big! Think the World's Largest International Trade Show Top 9 cool laptop accessories for laptop geeks Twittering: I'm not that interesting Cheers Jesus' Answering Machine Brown Couch or twelve midgets in the town square How To Be Happy Drugged Out Saturday Nights Muslim Decapitation: Bad, or Simply Misunderstood?