Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan | Spoiler Book Chat

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[@knottyneedles9681]

“What happened in Cross Roads of Twilight? Pfft if I know.” 🤣🤣🤣 So feel you.

[@BookswithBrittany]

🤣🤣

[@gamer46ful]

I just finally finished Crossroads of Twilight and I feel like I just climbed atop the hardest mountain ever. Winter's Heart was a cake walk compared to Path of Daggers and Crossroads of Twilight. I do like this series but these books really tried my patience and stretched me to my limit. I cannot wait to understand why books 11-14 are regarded as good as they are.

[@pembie2]

I feel like the series in general is very slow and Perrin his utterly pointless I think lol it’s ok but I wouldn’t say it’s the best series I have ever read I’m at Crossroads now

[@MarisuSedai]

I think we’ve all asked ourselves “Why is Crossroads of Twilight?” at one time or another. It’s half recap, half setup and no payoff. In my rereads I find it’s more tolerable if I just think of it as part of Knife of Dreams. Anyways, congrats on making it through the slog. It’s all payoff from here!

[@BookswithBrittany]

Fingers crossed!

[@badmotherfucker6328]

​@@BookswithBrittanyDon't you mean Roads of twilight crossed?

[@sd2002]

I like Tuon and fascinated by the Seanchan. Big section of fandom does not like them because of slavery of damane and others. The matt/Tuon sections are some of my favourite of the whole series. Get ready for book 11. The Golden Crane will fly again :)

[@cvrc11]

I really enjoyed Path of Daggers and Winter's Heart, but this book almost broke me. Literally nothing happened in the entire book, all the way up to, and including, the ending. That said, I read New Spring right after this before Knife of Dreams, since that's where it's in release order, and I strongly recommend doing the same, because New Spring is (appropriately, given the title) very refreshing, and provides some awesome background and context for several major characters from the main series. Also it's pretty short, I read it in like 3 or 4 days.

[@BookswithBrittany]

Oh really!? I’ve never heard that!

[@schaduw56]

Another interesting thing is the mysterious murderer in Egwene's camp. In The Path of Daggers you see Arangar (Halina) burying a body she has murdered. Because she is a reincarnated Male Forsaken in a female body she can kill with Saidin, the male power. Egwene still trusts Halina (they share a tent), so she thinks there must be an Ashman killer.

[@jesse3715]

Haha when I read Wheel of Time, I thought everyone was massively exaggerating how bad COT was, and well, they weren't. It's just why? Agree with you on 9 not being bad though and 6 and 7 not being in the 'slog.' 7 is excellent imo. It's definitely all uphill from here. Knife of Dreams is really good and Sanderson does a mostly outstanding job of finishing the series. Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light in particular are both spectacular.

[@BookswithBrittany]

I can’t wait for things to get better!

[@boxerjeep]

Just finished the book. You are always my second stop (sorry Mike’s book review is always my first stop) I love your reviews and usually we are on the same page with response (execpt Perrin is.. was… my favorite character. Granted he hasn’t done anything for several books…) Thank you for helping fellow nerds with this community.

[@jahanshah1538]

I find it strange that a lot of people rank this book above The Path of Daggers. PoD had the great Bowl of the Winds sequence, we got to see Rand’s dark and paranoid side before one of the best battles in the series (against the Seanchan), interesting politicking with Egwene, and the tragic Cup of Sleep chapter. This book has... mostly just people sitting around and talking. Best scenes are some of the Mat/Tuon interactions and the torture scene with Perrin but that’s about it.

[@BookswithBrittany]

I think it’s because everyone has different things like look for and enjoy while reading

[@jahanshah1538]

@@BookswithBrittany I respect that lol I just wanted some input from fans who have this opinion, I'm a third of the way through Knife of Dreams and it's much better

[@dogusdursun6352]

I have to agree that A Cup Of Sleep is one of the best chapters I have read throughout the whole series! It is among other amazing chapters like "Fading Words", "The Golden Crane", "Veins of Gold", "Those Who Fight" for me. All of them are so powerful and filled with emotion that I still remember the name of these chapters years after I am done with the series!

[@aldan7812]

I don't think you're supposed to dislike Tuon at this stage man. Tbh I never really disliked her, she was what she was and she was straight about it - there's a lot of people out there who could take notes if I'm being frank.

[@BookswithBrittany]

Yeah I like her so far!

[@dannysampson615]

I think most people dislike her because she's (like the rest of the seanchan) pro-slavery but still relatively likable

[@mnbaldie]

Reading Jordan is punishing. You feel bad for being bored out of your mind because people hype it so much.

[@BookswithBrittany]

Relatable lol

[@anthony449]

My favourite part of Crossroads of Twilight was when Perrin finally gave up the axe especially because it's the scene on the cover! I also think Egwene's kidnapping and the Seanchan truce are amazing set upsa

[@Turvok]

Just found your channel. Little disappointed you don't have videos past book 10. Did u finish the series?

[@DaneofHalves]

LOL awesome. Last 4 books of the series are great. Final 3 are from R.J./Brandon Sanderson!

[@gegalloneword1481]

in my re-reads, I do a lot of skimming when I get here. I'm one of those that believe that there is no slog. couple of not as great books (8 and 10) sure, but no slog.

[@adamtideman4953]

When I began the so called "slog" I did so with low expectations and actually ended up enjoying book 7-9, sure they are weaker books but I would never call them a slog to read. CoT on the other hand I just could not bring myself to enjoy. THIS is the true slog. The reason why this book is worse than PoD for me is because RJ description-heavy writing style is SO much worse in CoD than in any other book. I wouldn't even call it description-heavy, it's just mindless word-poop that makes you forget what was going on in any given scene. You said it yourself, you zone out while reading it, even on audiobook. For me, this was the first book in the series where I actually found myself needing to look up chapter summaries often because I just couldn't keep track what was happening in these chapters. After finishing this book I threw it away like Perrin threw away his axe.

[@DukeusMostchillius]

You didnt talk about chapter 21 in the white tower with Masaana and Alviarin.. best chapter in the book IMO Some people hate the overly detailed explanations of clothing, I hate the 4000 faceless names. It annoys me when i read of it as a selling point for the series..over 4000 indiviually named characters..who cares? I used to hate Elayne chapters because if Nyaneve..now i hate Elayne chapters because of Elayne. SMH The Sea Folk are the worst..no context complaint..just sayin'.. page 500 of Knife of Dreams and i wouldnt say its a huge leap in quality..just a handful of events that gives it majestic peaks, to break up the trudging valleys.

[@BookswithBrittany]

Lol I agree with all that

[@AEAsher]

Just finished this one a few days ago and it was rough. I thought perhaps I was experiencing burnout over reading 10 books in a little over a month, but I'm about 200 pages into Knife of Dreams and I'm completely invested. I don't understand why Crossroads was so hard for me to get through, or even work up motivation to read, but it was certainly rough.

[@mikem1585]

You made it! Knife of Dreams is so reinvigorating after CoT.

[@BookswithBrittany]

Thank goodness!

[@leonardhollerbach9806]

I started reading the books back when they came out originally. The slog made me stop reading the series. That and life just got too busy. I couldn’t remember much about the slog books compared to the ones that came before it that I remember very well. I LOVED that Perrin became the Lord of his hometown and brought their home to the final battle. The problem is that imho Robert Jordan screwed up Perrin by not letting him develop as well as Matt/Rand/Egwene/Elayne. He’s just stuck. He’s the leader that wouldn’t be a leader AT ALL if it wasn’t for him being Ta’veren. He’s just good old Perrin. Dum de dum de dum. He could have been SOO MUCH MORE if only his character could develop more…not just faster but any growth at all! I get there is a little growth here and there but it’s sooo lethargic with him. I get that it took a while for Matt to get going as well but once he did it was more fun to read I stopped reading halfway through crossroads of twilight. (Back when it first came out). I loved reading this series because of the immense amount of characters in which half of the developed characters are women which at the time was unheard of in this genre and did mention it to women who had NO thought to read fantasy books because it was sooo dominantly male driven stories. (Lord of the Rings comes to mind). Once the Amazon tv show came out I bought all of the audiobooks and listened to all of them that way since it had been 30 years since I read the first (eye of the world) book. What comes after the slog is awesome and worth reading. As for the slog… they may be the worst of the books because of various reasons BUT ON RETROSPECT it’s still part of the story and there are good juicy bits in them to quarry out. Also rereading them (or in my case listening to them). Allows me to be in that world for that much longer. Also rereading/listening allows you to catch parts you may have missed and left questions or… gaps in your memory (like Matt’s memory). I remember reading the slog and coming away from it forgetting what I read. (The prologue on Twilight in particular). You have to read it again for you to find those little gems. An example is that I completely forgot about Winters Heart after I read it to the point when I listened to the audio I had to keep playing back how Rand and Nyneave cleaned the male half of its filth. It seemed like they were in 4 places at once. Where the 2 huge statues were. Shadar Logoth and that town where the power doesn’t work and Rand snd Lan wind up in jail. A little confusing. Or how Nyneave got over her block by getting balefire shot at her by Mohedien while being on a boat. Or that Lan saves her after that attack. I just wish Jordan made it more enjoyable to read somehow. The slog I mean. And Perrin …and..

[@andrewmmbogori8339]

Not as vicious I expected.. Haha, also, I didn't realise that people hated Tuon, personally she's one of my fav's and I like her for the same reason as you. Bad Bitch! I do however find that wheel of time has so many characters and books that it's really difficult to find consensus on any particular topic. For instance I couldn't stand Cadsuane and I loved Tuon, I also prefer Perrin to Mat. Opinons vary widely.

[@BookswithBrittany]

😱

[@smaug1234]

You are starting the road back up now. Not that its all action or resolution from here on out, but the pace starts to build and build, and you get some surprises here and there. That Perrin questioning scene is very dark indeed, one of the better scenes in the series imo. Glad you powered through, you will most likely enjoy the rest of the series. I have issues breaking down the events by book, so I will go with my favorites from the whole slog. spoilers spoilers spoilers #1 the cleansing of the taint, and how realistic the world reacts to it, I love that nobody really believes it true. #2 Mats escape from Ebou Dar, love his interaction with the circus folk, Tuon is a underrated character imo #3 the questioning scene you mentioned for Perrin #4 Eggy and her siege of the the Tower

[@DavidWilliams-rv8vj]

I VERY much agree that this book was impossible to read without zoning out. I hate-read the entire book in one day and as a result I don't remember anything about it. It is by far my least favorite WoT book. The last 4 books are superb and at the time that I read it, I thought Knife of Dreams may have been the best fantasy book I had read (its since been usurped by Words of Radiance and Memories of Ice, but its still very good). And I didn't start disliking Tuon until the last book... I think -- I read all three of the Sanderson WoT books over around 9 days so they kind of feel like one long book to me.

[@BookswithBrittany]

Wow that’s impressive to read in one day!

[@DavidWilliams-rv8vj]

@@BookswithBrittany I think I listened to the audiobook at 3x speed the entire 8 hours I was at work plus transit. I normally do audiobooks around 2.3-2.7x so it wasn't that much of a stretch.

[@curzon176]

I look forward to discussing Knife of Dreams with you, but i don't really want to talk about this one. I'm sure there was one or two parts in it that i liked, but i can't recall them.

[@BookswithBrittany]

🤣 yep

[@katieamarsh]

I started reading them in 1998. So the slog wasn’t really a thing because I had been waiting for years for it to come out. It’s definitely my least favorite though. It drags. This book needed so much editing.

[@BookswithBrittany]

It wouldn’t be so bad with some editing haha

[@dnovess]

Tuon was a bit of a prankster when she was young so her and mat are alot alike in that regard

[@BookswithBrittany]

I love that!

[@counterhit121]

My favorite part of CoT is that now I know that I'll never have to touch it again

[@BookswithBrittany]

😬🙌🏻😂

[@safinan8008]

Hi 👋 thank you for the review.... I hope u like the rest of the book wheel of time book.. I hope ur ratings go up... happy reading to u!! 📖😊

[@BookswithBrittany]

Thank you!

[@terrelljohnson5811]

Rand cleaning Saidin best part of that book and Tuon is just stubborn and strong willed not necessarily an asshole but just do things her way but she can see reason if you make valid points. I have been following your channel because we was around the same pace in the book series. I am now in A Memory of Light and half way through it now. Your view on the series will change from here on out. Robert Jordan gets back to it in the last full book he wrote in Knife of Dreams. The lows we had with the slog books will so be rewarded in books 11-14 from what I have read so far. I am actually reading at a slow pace because I want to know how it ends but I don't want it too end. Bittersweet, but your are in for some real treats Brittany. Look forward to your other reviews and don't feel bad you didn't have much to say about book 10 we all felt the same way lol. Enjoy!

[@BookswithBrittany]

But he cleanses Saidin in Winters Heart! I’m looking forward to the series picking up ☺️

[@terrelljohnson5811]

@@BookswithBrittany my bad I confused the two books because they both are pretty boring but not as bad as Path of Daggers. But it has been awesome since I got to Knife of Dreams and all the way to A Memory of Light can't wait to finish it next week.

[@ThePreciseClimber]

Have you considered reviewing some manga like Berserk, Vinland Saga, Death Note or Witch Hat Atelier?

[@BookswithBrittany]

Not Berserk but maybe the others!

[@katieamarsh]

I have read the series countless times and I hate this one, but on rereads I can skim through the Elayne and Perrin parts. Things just go up from here.

[@BookswithBrittany]

So glad to hear!

[@0Arman0]

Just finished this boook, so excited to be on the last 4 now :)

[@0Arman0]

I like your points about 9 and 10 positioning, i think we could have had 10 FIRST, and then the end of book 9 would have been a great reveal. Also IMO i didnt think 8 was slow. Great review!

[@nxsardella]

Hope you do get back on the train with the last four books! If I’m being honest I don’t even think Knife of Dreams is thaaaaat much better, I barely remember it though (which IMO is telling) but the last 3 are truly great!

[@BookswithBrittany]

I have a feeling that I will feel that way as well

[@nxsardella]

@@dreamshakejunya I read a summary of the book after that previous comment and I agree there were some great moments that I fort about. I think the issue is that KoD is basically just providing the payoff in plotlines that the last few books had been drawing out to seemingly no end, so it might have felt anticlimactic to me for that reason.

[@Jerome616]

I know I’m late to the party but… where is the rest of the reviews? All I see is that you finished the last book by the turtle and image of one of your more recent videos. Am I missing something? Also, good on you for finishing, I know plenty of others who gave up and missed out on Brandon’s take for the final books.

[@oluade626]

hey did you finish? I’m curious too. Watching your reviews after finishing a book has become custom x

[@bonnieliedtka9148]

📚

[@angelaholmes8888]

It took me two months to finish this book it was truly a slog read for me im definitely will be taking a long break before reading the next book

[@martinjg3662]

I thought Gathering Storm got better but Towers of Midnight pissed me off so much that I dropped the series half way through that book and still haven't read the last one. I started reading in 1999 andit was my favourite series for a long time, I've even read the first 9 multiple times (waiting for next book).... But, it let me down! And now I don't even care how it ends

[@BookswithBrittany]

Aw man, I hope that’s not me 🙈

[@martinjg3662]

@@BookswithBrittany well my friends who were reading the series too said it's worth reading the final book and that is a similar opinion from others here on Book tube so you will be fine!! I have thought about picking it up but it's been so long I feel I'd need to reread some latter books to jog my memory. And I ain't doing that! I'm content with not knowing now. 😁

[@aldan7812]

Oh yes it IS knife of dreams and IMO, it's the best book Jordan penned mate. Cover to cover anyway.

[@BookswithBrittany]

Glad I have that to look forward to!

[@aldan7812]

Yassssssssssss!!!!!!!!! You're out of the slog you bloody beauty

[@BookswithBrittany]

🙌🏻

[@chrissleeping65]

I love Tuon but I hate her views and the Seanchan'a philosophy of Damane

[@nicholasbenjamin3826]

On Prologues: This was the 20-25 month wait between books period. They put the prologues out on the 'net months before the actual book release, so we liked that they got ridiculously long and covered everyone. On 8-10 as one book: IIRC he had a tendency to claim that he'd written much better, more cohesive books, but Tor just couldn't physically print it so he had to spend months moving story lines around and cutting material. One of the hobbies of old-line Wheelies is moving storylines around to un-do this. Books 11-14 move much better because the middle-stuff-that-takes-longer-than-he-thought is pretty much all done. Everybody is about 150 pages from being ready for TG, so things really move, than TG happens. Perrin's storyline is very annoying in the slog. After that crowning moment of awesome in 6 he has to do these things: fake fight with Rand, meet the dude he's supposed to meet, meet the secret Queen, angst about women, his wife gets kidnapped, he angsts about women, and his scene giving up the axe signals we're about to start our 150 pages. That's not much content for four books. Since the kidnapping happens in 8 Ch 30, and the axe isn't until 10 Ch 27 we have basically two entire books where all Perrin has to do is bitch about women, and at least half of the problem is he refuses to talk to his wife. opportunities

[@BookswithBrittany]

Yes to the Perrin part lol

[@aldan7812]

hahahahaha - you're looking at a 10 outta 5 by the end my dear.

[@BookswithBrittany]

I hope so!

[@josephcarrel7202]

I bow down to you if you can read a book that has over 260,000 words that isn't interesting

[@BookswithBrittany]

It wasn’t a good time 🙃

[@josephcarrel7202]

@@BookswithBrittany maybe one day you can read my book when it's released. It's only 90k so if it's bad at least you can look back and say at least it wasn't that long. Lol

[@30Huckleberry]

Yassss you made it!!! Never had hate for Tuon and my favorite character is Mat. She just thinks her people are the final solution if everyone else fails. For this series, it’s pretty low on the arrogance list.

[@BookswithBrittany]

Ok glad I’m not missing something!

[@loriannwhite8384]

Final Solution. A pro slavery empress has a final solution for those who disagree with her expansion takeover.🤮🤮🤮

[@EhsJaySaunders]

Uh, well...if you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all, huh? Um...I liked some of the descriptions Jordan used for the baddies? I seem to recall a fun use of the word "unctuous" somewhere around here. Yeah, this isn't a series I regret having read, but I don't think I'll ever be revisiting. There is some good payoff in the last few books, but I really hope the show condenses all the meandering.

[@BookswithBrittany]

I totally agree!

[@Andre-xl2oe]

I actually didnt mind CoT. The series is longer than necessary, but still easy read. Mind I read the book when it came out, so had to wait a while before I could get back in the world.

[@BookswithBrittany]

I bet that would make it better

[@rcp7]

Hello. yay. so, no real reason to get back into the series.

[@BookswithBrittany]

Lol, I’m still continuing!

[@jamesfetcho6315]

I'm not a huge fan of Robert Jordan. Don't hate him, but a lot of what I read....hmm...not a fan. He really didn't do Conan Very well either IMO. Of course...Each 2 their own. That's why there are so many Authors. 👍

[@BookswithBrittany]

Yeah he ranks near Sanderson for me. I don’t love either 🙈

[@jamesfetcho6315]

@@BookswithBrittany Agreed 😁

[@katieamarsh]

I have always liked Tuon. I think people don’t like her but their reasons are related to her culture. She was raised in a culture very very different from what we, or the rest of the characters are used to. She’s high aristocracy. Her beliefs are foreign and behavior maybe off putting, but I appreciate it because she just has a different viewpoint. She’s a great foil to Mat.

[@curzon176]

Let's just reiterate the point though, that she thinks human beings that can channel should be treated, literally, like dogs. That's worse than slavery. Culture or no, there's right and there's wrong. You have a valid point, but it always bothered me that Mat was so blasé about it. And that overpowered her foil-ness to him in my mind anyways.

[@BookswithBrittany]

I felt like she’s good for Mat too!

[@loriannwhite8384]

She’s pro slavery. That’s not a different culture. That’s evil. She never changes.

[@bobbylavoie3223]

I skipped this book

[@BookswithBrittany]

Not a bad choice 🤣