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A Crown of Swords

A Crown of Swords

Wheel of Time, Book 7
Epic FantasyFantasy
Pages
896
Published
1996
Language
English

Synopsis

In the sweltering city of Ebou Dar, where unnatural heat is one more sign of the Dark One's touch on the world, Elayne, Nynaeve, and Mat search for an artifact called the Bowl of the Winds, the only known means of restoring the broken seasons. Rand, meanwhile, moves to strike down the Forsaken Sammael, a hunt that leads into the cursed ruins of Shadar Logoth and the hungry mist that haunts them. Egwene, newly raised to lead the rebel Aes Sedai, works to bind a fractious alliance of channelers to her will. The seventh volume of The Wheel of Time covers a comparatively short span of time in close detail, and many readers mark it as the beginning of the series' slower middle stretch. Even so, it carries several long-running threads to the brink of resolution and sets pieces in motion that pay off in the books to come. Its focus is intrigue and positioning, as alliances harden and the cost of the long war presses on every front.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

DarkTenseAtmosphericComplex
Chosen OneQuestMultiple POVsCourt IntrigueMorally Grey

Genres

Epic Fantasy Fantasy High Fantasy

About the author

R
Robert Jordan

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, James Oliver Rigney Jr. (1948-2007) wrote under the pen name Robert Jordan and became best known for the epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time. He served two tours as a U.S. Army helicopter gunner in Vietnam, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star, then took a degree in physics from The Citadel and worked as a nuclear engineer for the Navy. A fall and a long convalescence in the late 1970s turned him toward writing full time. Before fantasy...

Characters

Rand al'ThorProtagonist

Hunts the Forsaken Sammael while struggling to hold together the nations and alliances he has seized.

Matrim CauthonProtagonist

Stuck in Ebou Dar and entangled with its deadly court, he helps the search for the Bowl of the Winds against his better judgment.

Egwene al'VereProtagonist

Newly raised Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai in Salidar, she works to bind the fractious alliance of channelers to her will and sets her sights on the White Tower.

SammaelAntagonist

The Forsaken holding Illian, drawn at last into a direct confrontation with Rand.

MoghedienAntagonist

The cautious, treacherous Forsaken known as the Spider, scheming from concealment.

All characters in A Crown of Swords

Frequently asked questions

  • Is A Crown of Swords where the 'slog' starts?

    Many readers point to this book as the opening of the so-called slog, the slower mid-series stretch running through book ten, where the pace eases and storylines unfold in fine detail. Others enjoy its tighter focus, so the label is partly a matter of taste.

  • What is the Bowl of the Winds?

    The Bowl of the Winds is a ter'angreal that can influence weather on a vast scale. Recovering it is the key to reversing the Dark One's unnatural heat and restoring the natural turn of the seasons.

  • What happens between Rand and Sammael?
  • Why is this book so much shorter than the others?

    A Crown of Swords is one of the briefer main volumes and covers only a short span of story time. The narrowed scope contributes to the sense among some readers that the series slows here.

  • What is Shadar Logoth and Mashadar?

    Shadar Logoth is an ancient ruined city destroyed by its own paranoid evil, home to Mashadar, a hungry mist that kills anything it touches. Its corruption is so dangerous that it rivals the Dark One himself.

  • How much real time passes in A Crown of Swords?

    Very little. The book unfolds over a remarkably short period, lingering on detail and on parallel events happening at once. That compression is part of why its pacing divides readers.

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