Spencer's Bookcase

Shutter Island

Title: Shutter Island

Author: Dennis Lehane

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Pages: 325 pages

Synopsis:

Summer, 1954.

U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels has come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Along with his partner, Chuck Aule, he sets out to find an escaped patient, a murderess named Rachel Solando, as a hurricane bears down upon them.

But nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems.

And neither is Teddy Daniels.

Is he there to find a missing patient? Or has he been sent to look into rumors of Ashecliffe’s radical approach to psychiatry? An approach that may include drug experimentation, hideous surgical trials, and lethal countermoves in the shadow war against Soviet brainwashing. . . .

Or is there another, more personal reason why he has come there?

As the investigation deepens, the questions only mount:

How has a barefoot woman escaped the island from a locked room?Who is leaving clues in the form of cryptic codes?

Why is there no record of a patient committed there just one year before?

What really goes on in Ward C?

Why is an empty lighthouse surrounded by an electrified fence and armed guards

The closer Teddy and Chuck get to the truth, the more elusive it becomes, and the more they begin to believe that they may never leave Shutter Island. Because someone is trying to drive them insane. . . .

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

Teddy Daniels and his partner Chuck go to a Hospital for the Criminally Insane to find a missing patient. But as the book continues we learn that Teddy has other reasons for being here and that things are not quite what they seem.

This was a nice short read. I found it very well paced and definitely a page-turner (I have this rule that if the “thriller” you are reading is not a page-turner than something definitely went wrong). I just simply had to know what the hell was going to happen next.

The characters were likeable, and our main character’s backstory especially when it is unveiled in the end is really quite something. I really feel like I can’t say too much about the plot without spoiling it.

My main criticism I have is that I kind of knew what the reveal was as I did watched the movie many years ago. However, reading this book it did make the reveal make a lot more sense.

The other criticism I have is how the hell did Dr. Cawley and Dr. Sheehan managed to convince the entire staff to not slip anything at all during these four days? How did they keep them all quiet? It’s employed that there is a lot of staff on this Island. Wouldn’t at least one of them would have slipped something out while all of this is happening?

Overall, Shutter Island was a good quick read and is definitely worth reading if you are into the “thriller” genre. However it’s best to experience this book blindly. Do not watch the movie and do not going looking for spoilers while reading this. Do yourself a favour!

Rating:

Kings of the Wyld

Title: Kings of the Wyld

Author: Nicholas Eames

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Band #1

Pages: 502 Pages

Synopsis:

Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best — the meanest, dirtiest, most feared crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld.

Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk – or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay’s door with a plea for help. His daughter Rose is trapped in a city besieged by an enemy one hundred thousand strong and hungry for blood. Rescuing Rose is the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for.

It’s time to get the band back together for one last tour across the Wyld.

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

Kings of the Wyld is about a party of retired adventurers who get out of retirement to do one last big quest to save one of the members daughter from a siege taking place on the other side of the world. And that is basically the plot.

Honestly when I was reading this, I was actively telling myself that this is not a Dungeons & Dragons book and this book totally does not take place in the Forgotten Realms. This book honestly felt like a Dungeons & Dragons campaign in book form.

There’s a few things that I did like about this book. The cast of characters were fun and likeable. If I had to pick a favourite character it’s the gay wizard Moog, he is such a fun character. The dialogue was fun and almost every character in this party was unique.

Also some of the action scenes were fun and some of the locations they visited were really interesting. It was entertaining to read.

Even though there are a few things I did like about it there are flaws that I cannot ignore. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Rogues! Rogues are one of my favourite D&D/Fantasy Archetypes, but I found the Rogue in this book a little lacking for me. Matrick doesn’t really do anything I would consider to be Rogue-like at all. My next issue with our Rouge, Matrick is: How did this Thief/Criminal possibly become a king and a competent one at that? Him being a king just made me ask a ton of questions such as: How did you become King? Were you that great at charisma and winning people over peacefully or did you become king through force? What else did you do to become king? How did you convince the aristocracy and/or the people to let you become king? None of these questions get answered for me. I feel like this is a giant plot hole.

As for Worldbuilding, I will give the author credit for having a map and it’s not a bad map actually. However this world feels like a Forgotten Realms ripoff… it just feels like a generic Fantasy world just like The Forgotten Realms. And while yes we do get some lore, the information we did get made me only want more information about this world.

My next issue with this book is the pacing at times. Like the first hundred pages was pretty well paced but after that it does get a little slow. It took almost 200 pages, almost half the book for the entire band to be together! And the jungle subplot I felt went on a little too long.

Overall, this is a light read and it can be an fun and entertaining read that definitely does have the feel of a D&D Campaign but it does have it’s flaws. I can recommend it if you want a light fantasy read with some humor in it. But if you are looking for something more than that, I think you can do better looking elsewhere.

Rating:

Shadows of Self

Title: Shadows of Self

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Mistborn #5

Pages: 436 pages

Synopsis:

When family obligations forced Waxillium Ladrian to forsake the frontier lands and return to the metropolis of his birth to take his place as head of a noble House, he little imagined that the crime-fighting skills acquired during twenty years in the dusty plains would be just as applicable in the big city. He soon learned that there too, just being a talented Twinborn —one who can use both Allomancy and Feruchemy, the dominant magical modes on Scadrial —would not suffice.

This bustling, optimistic, but still shaky society will now face its first test by terrorism and assassination, crimes intended to stir up labor strife and religious conflict. Wax, his eccentric sidekick Wayne, and brilliant, beautiful young Marasi, now officially part of the constabulary, must unravel the conspiracy before civil strife can stop Scadrial’s progress in its tracks.

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

Shadows of Self is the sequel to Alloy of Law that takes place a year after the previous book. Where the team from the last book (Wax, Wayne and Marasi) must save the city that is on the brink of collapse, and stop a Kandra that’s gone rogue that is trying to stoke the flames.

The first thing that I liked about this book is that it brought back everything that I loved from the previous book and improved on it! When the main cast of characters all got back together in the second chapter I knew I was going to be in for a good ride.

This book develops most of the characters we already know. We learn more about Wayne and his backstory. We also learn that he is the one that reminds Wax that he is human when Wax goes overboard. We see Wax trying to deal with the ghosts of his past in this book. We see Marasi get more comfortable in being a constable and at the end of the book, we see how resourceful she is in dealing with the protestors. We start to really get to know Steris and I like the little detail at the end where she was comforting Wax from the ordeal he faced in the book.

I also love the idea that our Han-Luke-Leia have to work together to save the city from collapsing and enter into a conspiracy. I love the action scenes and just how complicated saving the city really was as two religions were fighting against each other, labour unrest was happening, prices were going up etc. It was all handled very well by Brandon Sanderson and helped give the book that thriller edge.

I also like the worldbuilding and how this book ties-in era one lore. We get more context on what happened in the few hundred years between era one and era two. We have Wax having an actual conversation with Harmony aka Sazed. They bring back two characters from The Hero of Ages (when Tensoon entered into the book, I immediately “oh no way”). We also learn what the Kandra have been up to since the ending of The Hero of Ages. All while hinting at the broader Cosmere Universe.This book really feels like a proper sequel to The Hero of Ages.

I also just want to say: wow what an ending! The ending was gutwrenching and heartbreaking.

Most of my criticism of this novel is more nitpicks. The first nitpick is that I just find it hard to believe that most of the book takes place in a single night. Especially considering how much happens in this one night.

My other nitpick is that I kind of wish we had more characters representing the different Allomancy powers. Like it would be cool if we had a character that uses Pewter, Tin or even Cooper. One of the things that I liked about the previous trilogy was that all of the Allomancy powers were well represented by the cast of characters. Here though I kind of feel like the aforementioned powers and a few more are kind of missing from Mistborn Era 2. I want to see more Allomancers! Allomancy is a great magic system and I kind of want more of it.

Overall this was another great read from one of my personal favourite authors. I had a fun time reading this from beginning to end, with great action scenes, an interesting plot and more importantly characters you care about. This is definitely a proper sequel to both The Alloy of Law and The Hero of Ages. I look forward to reading the next book.

Rating:

My Mistborn Reviews:

Mistborn: The Final Empire

The Well of Ascension

The Hero of Ages

The Alloy of Law

New Spring

Title: New Spring

Author: Robert Jordan

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Wheel of Time #0

Pages: 304 pages

Synopsis:

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a Foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, is born an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before the forces of the Shadow have an opportunity to kill him.

Moiraine Damodred, a young Accepted soon to be raised to Aes Sedai, and Lan Mandragoran, a soldier fighting in the battle, are set on paths that will bind their lives together. But those paths are filled with complications and dangers, for Moiraine, of the Royal House of Cairhien, whose king has just died, and Lan, considered the uncrowned king of a nation long dead, find their lives threatened by the plots of those seeking power.

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

New Spring is the prequel novel to The Wheel of Time Series. It follows a young Moiraine and Lan, how they met and their first adventure and how they began their mission to find the Dragon Reborn.

There is a few things I liked about this book. I really love Lan and Moiraine’s character development. We get both Moiraine and Lan’s point of views in this book. And that really helped flesh out their characters. I think this is the first time we get chapters from Lan’s perspective! We learn more of their backstories, what motivates them. We see a side of Lan that hasn’t really been brought up that much, and that was him struggling with his duty as the King of a nation that no longer exists: Malakier. He is a king of a country that no longer exists and yet the survivors of that country still look up to him for leadership and we see him struggle with the duty and responsibility that comes with that. Character development is the best thing about this book. It was also nice seeing familiar Aes Sedai characters in this book as well. This book also made me realize how much I miss Moiraine as a character.

For worldbuilding, there isn’t too much. We learn about what a “slice of life” of what living in The White Tower is like during regular times. We also learn a little bit more of Malakier: it’s history and some of their customs.

Without spoiling anything, Moiraine and Siuan have probably the best relationship I’ve seen in this series.

I actually liked that the villain in this book was not an over the top evil person. The villain is part of the Black Ajah, and this would be Moiraine’s first interaction with this group and it makes sense on why she was not surprised of hearing the Black Ajah during the earlier Wheel of Time books. Also unlike Crossroads of Twilight, we do get some fight scenes and a proper climax. The climax may not be as good as Lord of Chaos and Winter’s Heart but it worked for me.

Now I do have some criticism of this novel. It takes over 200 pages for Moiraine and Lan to finally meet. And I was really expecting them to meet earlier in the book and got to know each other better.

While the fight scenes and the climax definitely helped made me enjoy this novel, I felt like the fight scenes began and ended way too quickly. In one of the fight scenes, I was going: “Yes, a fight scene. Alright. I’m excited.” And the fight ended one page later. And I was like: “Wait, what? That’s it?”.

I also felt like the ending was a little bit rushed. I just felt like Lan and Moiraine and bonding just happened way too quickly for me. Lastly this book didn’t really add much to the series as a whole. While it was cool to see how these two iconic characters were brought together, I don’t feel like a novel is justified for this idea.

Overall, this was definitely a step up from Crossroads of Twilight. This book isn’t my favourite in the series but again much better than Crossroads. And again made me realize how much I miss Moiraine’s character. I would only recommend you read this book if you want to finish ALL of the Wheel of Time books or are just a devoted Wheel of Time fan.

Rating:

My Wheel of Time Book Reviews:

The Wheel of Time (1999 Game)

Crossroads of Twilight

The Martian

Title: The Martian

Author: Andy Weir

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 435 pages

Synopsis:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive–and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills–and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit–he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

Mark Watney is an astronaut who gets trapped on Mars after an accident happens during a storm. Who has to rely on his wits and intelligence in order to give him a chance of survival. All while NASA is racing to find a way to rescue him.

Mark Watney is a very fun character and this is definitely his story from beginning to end. He is a very smart person who is resourceful, knowledgeable and always try to think of how to solve his challenges of surviving on Mars. In addition he has a fun attitude and he’s just a fun person in general. The optimism, charm and humor really helped me like this person as a character. He’s a person you want to root for, you want to see him survive.

I do like how there was actual science in this book. I just like how this book is more rooted in reality rather than borderline Fantasy (looking at the Dune books for example). As there isn’t any aliens or anything like that, it’s just a guy stuck on Mars who is trying to survive and get back home. Not to mention, it’s a very interesting concept as NASA and much of the world are all interested in how can we rescue Mark Watney from Mars.

This book was a real page turner and I was able to get through this with very little trouble.

Now I do have a little criticism. Some of the science and the details does go over my head a little bit. For the record Astronomy is one of the areas of science that I am interested in but I am no expert in Astronomy.

As for the characters, while Mark Watney is definitely a fun character. He doesn’t really go through much of a character arc, which is surprising as I thought him being completely alone on Mars for a very long time, his life always in danger and other things would get to him or change him in some way. However he seemed to be the same person from beginning to end, which I just have a hard time believing. I want to feel that he is alone, I want to see him despair over the possibility that he might not leave Mars alive. And I just don’t feel like I got that. As for the other characters they were pretty flat. I was a little disappointed that Mark’s crewmates weren’t too effected when they learn that Mark is alive. Sure they were surprised on hearing that he was alive, but they seem to get over the surprise pretty quickly.

Overall, this was a fun book to read and I definitely think this is a book we should be thinking about as we plan to go to Mars in the future. I mean what will we do if heaven forbids something like this does happen? It’s a book with a character you want to root for and a book that’s more grounded in reality than some Science Fiction that I have come across. If you want to have an easy Science Fiction read on a very possible future scenario, I think this is a book you want to check out.

Rating:

Face Reveal

Hey everyone, so I’ve been blogging on WordPress since 2016 and I’ve never actually really revealed my true face. You maybe asking why? Well, I guess it’s because I wanted to have some privacy. But today I decided we are doing a face reveal! It’s time for you all to see my real face.

Drum roll please!

ARE YOU READY??

ARE YOU SURE?

CAUSE

HERE

FACE!

Monthly Wrap-Up: March 2023

Hello everyone! Welcome to the Monthly Wrap-Up where I give updates on my reading and other things I’m up to in the past month. So let’s get to it!

Total Books Read: 5

I’m keeping the five books a month streak alive! I wasn’t sure if I could make it due to Crossroads of Twilight being a more difficult novel for me to read and took a little longer for me to read than I was expecting. But I got there!

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is definitely now one of my favourite authors. This was my favourite book that I read this month. Wax and Wayne are now my favourite Fantasy Duo! These two guys are great and their chemistry with each other made this book for me. Mistborn Era Two is off to a great start and I look forward to reading more.

Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan

Sigh… I love the Wheel of Time but this book really felt like a big quality drop. The first half of the book was tough to read although it did get a little better during the second half of the book. It’s especially tough when I realize that there was no real progress in the plot or any sort of resolution in any of the storylines. It was tough but thanks to the second half it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. My conclusion is that this book is “the slog”.

The Firm by John Grisham

This was a decent Legal Thriller that I liked. As I said in my review, I can relate to Legal Thrillers since I do work for a law firm. This was a real page turner that left me in suspense for most of the book.

The Avengers: I am an Avenger by Stan Lee

This was a bit of a disappointment honestly. I hate to call this an anthology, and there is no narrative and there is no real coherence in this book. I think there are better ways of looking at The Avengers history than this book.

Like A Charm by Elle McNicoll

Reread this for my book club. Honestly rereading this book after Like A Curse actually made this book even better!

Currently Reading:

The Martian by Andy Weir

I decided to read some Science Fiction before I read New Spring. So far I am really liking the science of being out in Mars and I am liking our main character. So far so good…

What I’ve been doing and watching:

The main thing I watched this month is: I went out and see a movie in the movie theater for the first time since the Pandemic started! I went to see Cocaine Bear with a friend. And to be honest, it definitely isn’t the greatest movie ever made but it was just an okay comedy movie. I had a decent time with it and I got a few laughs. I look forward to going back to the theater again.

I’m nearing the end of my Dragonheist campaign. And I am hoping that my character somehow gets out of this campaign alive. I really do enjoy playing this character.

I’m getting interested in Warhammer 40K, and I’ve started to explore this hobby. Although I am hearing rumors that the next edition will be coming out later this year so I’m a little hesitant on making the plunge right now. I am interested and trying to learn as much as I can about this hobby.

Plans for Next Month:

I’m hoping I can watch the new Dungeons & Dragons movie. I really want to see this film!

With Spring coming I hope to be out a little more outside.

I kind of want to read more graphic novels because well I like them, and they tend to be light reading and I can get through them pretty quickly. I’m thankful for the good reception to my review of The Avengers: I am an Avenger. So I am going to be reading a little more graphic novels going forward on this blog.

See you all next time!

The Avengers: I am an Avenger

Title: The Avengers: I am an Avenger

Author: Stan Lee

Genre: Graphic Novel, Superheroes

Pages: 216 Pages

Synopsis:

The Boisterious Beast Tigra the Were-Woman The Sensational She-Hulk And, of course, the Amazing Spider-Man Avengers recruitment drives brought in all of them, and it’s a day unlike any other when those tales are teamed together for the first time. Plus: a member who comes back from the dead to rejoin and a literal trial by fire when two of Marvel’s most enduring characters – and one of mythdom’s most heralded heroes – join the team during the Inferno crisis. Also featuring the team’s first gathering and its first lineup revision into Cap’s Kooky Quartet Guest-starring X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy and more Collects Avengers (1963) #1, #16, #137, #151, #181, #211, #221, #300 and #329.

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

This may actually come as a surprise to you all but I do like reading about Superheroes, and I’ve always liked reading Marvel Comic Superheroes. I think it started with Spider-Man. I always liked Spider-Man. Peter Parker/Spider-Man is a fascinating and complicated character. Spider-Man was the gateway into the Marvel Universe for me. I think Iron Man was the next character that I was interested in and then The Avengers and X-Men. So I decided to do some light reading and decided to read a graphic novel about the Avengers and how some of the teams were formed.

Here’s what I like about it: it contains a reprint of the first ever The Avengers issue! I think that’s very cool. As if you are a new reader to anything about The Avengers. Reading the very first issue I think is a great place to start. Clint Barton (Hawkeye) is a fun character. And I like Beast and Wonder Man’s dynamic too. It was also cool that Spider-Man showed up twice in this book. It was fun taking a look back at how different line ups of The Avengers came together throughout the years.

However, I feel like this is a bad collection. There is no real coherency between these selected comics. And I hate to call this an anthology, and there is no real narrative to this book. Which will make it very confusing for any new readers or readers who aren’t really familiar with the characters.

Two of the stories in this book end on cliffhangers??!! And we don’t get the following issue, so there is no resolution. And that’s frustrating, as I kind of want to know what will happen. Like why not include the following issue that would resolve these cliffhangers? Not to mention the earlier issues have some sexism in them. And there’s an annoying habit of the characters monologuing what they are going to do or what their future plans will be.

Overall, while I still like The Avengers, if you really want to take a look through The Avengers history. I think you are better off looking elsewhere.

Rating:

The Firm

Title: The Firm

Author: John Grisham

Genre: Legal Thriller

Pages: 527 Pages

Synopsis:

Mitchell McDeere, raised in the coal-mining region of rural Kentucky, has worked hard to get where he is: third in his class at Harvard Law. He’s young. He’s bright. He’s ambitious. Mitch could have the pick of the big firms in New York and Chicago, but he’s chosen the Memphis tax firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke. They’re selective. They pay outrageous salaries. They have a turnover rate of zero. And Mitch is about to find out why. Several events fuel Mitch’s growing suspicions: two of the partners die in a suspicious diving accident off Grand Cayman; the senior partners seem unduly proud of the fact that no one has ever resigned; and security measures at the office are, even for a company with billionaire clients, more than a little extreme. Then Mitch makes an explosive discovery: The firm is owned and operated by the most powerful organized crime family in Chicago. Even as Mitch discovers the truth, he finds himself caught between the FBI, who wants an informant inside the firm, and the firm itself, which will make him a very rich man—or a very dead one.

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

Mitchell McDeere is offered a great job with benefits as he is graduating Harvard as a Lawyer. Who eventually learns that the firm he works for has a dark past and he gets caught up in a huge conspiracy involving the Mob and the FBI.

This was a decent legal thriller novel. It had intrigue, suspense and it was a page turner for me.

I knew pretty early that there was something off about the firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke. First was on how selective they were at hiring, then on how controlling this firm wants over your life, and the amount of money they threw at you was also pretty suspicious. The book did make me ask questions such as: What is really going on here? Who is this mysterious man that the head of security keeps mentioning? Why all the surveillance?

The character of Mitch McDeere was a fun and interesting person to follow. This guy is smart and resourceful but also pretty lucky as well.

I do have a few issues though with this book. When Mitchell gets offered a very high salary with the potential of a raise and bonus in the first year, insurance benefit, a car, a mortgage with low rates, paying for his debts and moving expenses were all covered by the firm. Wouldn’t he stop and think isn’t all this too good to be true? I get that he wanted a good job and wanted to get out of debt and start living his life with his wife, but I think a smart and reasonable person would think: “This is just too good to be true.”

The only issue I had with the second half of the book, was while I appreciate the book showed us how smart Mitch is and how he planned out his escape. The problem I have with it is how it just felt he was constantly one step ahead of both the FBI and the Mafia. It made it feel less plausible and kind of lessens the tension in the story and made the ending a bit predictable.

While I do like the thriller genre, I really like the legal thriller genre. It helps that I can relate to it as I actually do work for a law firm. The Firm overall was a nice, quick and fun read that I enjoyed and I liked how it did explore the relationship between the workers of a law firm (relations between associates and partners, partners and their secretaries etc.). I recommend it if you want to give the legal thriller genre a try. I hope to read more legal thrillers in the future.

Rating:

Crossroads of Twilight

Title: Crossroads of Twilight

Author: Robert Jordan

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Wheel of Time #10

Pages: 600 Pages

Synopsis:

Fleeing from Ebou Dar with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, whom he is fated to marry, Mat Cauthon learns that he can neither keep her nor let her go, not in safety for either of them, for both the Shadow and the might of the Seanchan Empire are in deadly pursuit.

Perrin Aybara seeks to free his wife, Faile, a captive of the Shaido, but his only hope may be an alliance with the enemy. Can he remain true to his friend Rand and to himself? For his love of Faile, Perrin is willing to sell his soul.

At Tar Valon, Egwene al’Vere, the young Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai, lays siege to the heart of Aes Sedai power, but she must win quickly, with as little bloodshed as possible, for unless the Aes Sedai are reunited, only the male Asha’man will remain to defend the world against the Dark One, and nothing can hold the Asha’man themselves back from total power except the Aes Sedai and a unified White Tower.

In Andor, Elayne Trakland fights for the Lion Throne that is hers by right, but enemies and Darkfriends surround her, plotting her destruction. If she fails, Andor may fall to the Shadow, and the Dragon Reborn with it.

Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn himself, has cleansed the Dark One’s taint from the male half of the True Source, and everything has changed. Yet nothing has, for only men who can channel believe that saidin is clean again, and a man who can channel is still hated and feared-even one prophesied to save the world. Now, Rand must gamble again, with himself at stake, and he cannot be sure which of his allies are really enemies.

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

Crossroads of Twilight is kind of odd, as some of the events of this novel take place on the same day as when Rand cleanses Saidin from the previous novel, but then it does become an actual sequel to Winter’s Heart. Perrin is trying to find his wife Faile. Mat finally gets away from Ebou Dar and starts developing a relationship with Tuon. Elayne is still trying to become Queen and makes another bargain with the Sea Folk. Egwene is laying siege to Tar Valon.

Once again Robert Jordan always impresses me with his Prologues. Again the Prologue in this book is almost a book in itself as it’s about 70 pages long!

There are a few things I like about this book. I like that Perrin does see some growth in this book. Here he has to learn that being a leader does sometimes mean making tough decisions and that he has to do anything in order to see Faile again.

Mat and Tuon’s may finally be the romantic relationship that works in this series (maybe). I liked that the last two chapters focus on Mat and Tuon starting to get to know one another. I feel like that they are slowly starting to love each other, rather than them immediately being in love with each other.

I personally thought the White Tower storyline was the best. I actually cheered on Elaida when she finally put Alvarian (a darkfriend) in her place. I don’t like Elaida but I had to cheer her on when it came to that. And the reveal in Chapter 21 of the Dark Lord’s Hand really surprised me.

Egwene’s storyline was second best as she still is navigating the politics of the Aes Sedai and trying to find a way to unite the Aes Sedai without resorting to violence.

Logain finally meets Rand in this book. It was pretty cool how these two characters finally meet face to face with each other. I just wished there was more Logain in this book.

We also got a little worldbuilding as we learn a bit about the Seanchan Marriage Traditions, and a little bit of their culture. We also learn about the shadowspan, Darkhounds.

Oh and I smiled the moment when Loial made a return to this series. He’s one of my favourite characters and I was just happy that he returned after disappearing for two books.

That being said reading this book at times was a real challenge. I think the first two main problems with this book is the pacing in the first half and how the first half took place on the same day as when Rand cleansed Saidin. Let’s talk about the first half being taken place on the same day first. In Mat, Perrin, Elayne and Egwene’s storylines they all mention how there’s a great use of Magic from somewhere in the world and that Rand might be involved. We the reader already know what happened if you’ve read the previous book Winter’s Heart. Wouldn’t it have been better for this to be in the previous book before the last chapter? That way there could have been a mystery, like “oh what’s going on?” kind of feel. Here, we already know what happened and there is no mystery or intrigue here.

As for the pacing, the story really came to a grinding halt. For example: Mat’s first two chapters, almost nothing happens for those first two chapters! And in one of Perrin’s chapters, he was supposed to talk with Balwer his secretary. And it takes four pages of them looking for a place for them to talk. Four pages! Did we really need four just for them to find a place for them to talk? The pacing is very slow in this book.

As for Elayne’s storyline, I’m starting to get a little disappointed in her storyline. When she was making a claim for the throne, I was expecting something like Game of Thrones or House of Cards. A political thriller for her storyline as she fights to become Queen. Instead Elayne’s storyline feels like it’s being dragged out. Yes there is a siege happening outside of Camelyn, but it feels more like an afterthought if anything. Elayne only meets with a few lords and that’s that.

I also feel that there wasn’t any real plot progression or any sort of resolution in this book. None of our characters achieved anything really. Perrin is still trying to find Faile, Egwene still hasn’t taken the White Tower, Elayne still hasn’t become Queen yet.

I feel this book also suffers from a lack of Rand. Rand is barely even in this book! And Rand’s story has been one of the strongest things about these books, and I feel this book suffers because of the lack of Rand.

Lastly there was no real climax in this book. No fight with the Forsaken, no sword duels or a magic duel. Now that I think about it there was no fight scenes in this book whatsoever! And this is a series known for it’s fight scenes. A couple of times I was asking: When is there going to be a fight in this?

All in all this was definitely the worst of The Wheel of Time Series (at least so far). The pacing was dreadfully slow, with no plot progression, no resolution and no action scenes to make things interesting. This book is the book equivalent of an anime filler arc. What happened? However, I do consider this book to be the only real “slog” book. Which for a fantasy series that is 15 books long, one bad book is actually really impressive. The only book in the so-called “slog” is this one. As I actually liked books 8 and 9. As I said this was a tough read but it does get a little better in the second half. However it isn’t as bad as I was expecting. After this though I think I need a short break from reading Fantasy.

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