The seventh book in the Wheel of Time series follows the same group of adventurers through their quests to better their world. Its set in a very classical deep fantasy setting, complete with magical beasts and intense world building. In this book, Rand is attempting to stop the rebellions beneath him while also dealing with the upcoming attack against the Forsaken. Meanwhile, Egwene and Siuan are in the White Tower investigating into suspicious affairs. In another city Elayne, Mat and Nynaeve seek an end to the unnatural heat.
As the seventh book in the 14 book series, this book is officially the halfway point between starting the series and finishing it, which is quite an accomplishment. So if you’ve made it this far, Brava! I had to take a break between the sixth book and this one, but I did eventually return to the series just for this book. I’m afraid after this book I simply couldn’t read anymore in the series. Forcing myself through this monster of a series, even if it was only half of it, took me months and killed my joy of reading. I think if had I not been pushing myself so heavily I might have enjoyed it more. The Crown of Swords storyline (also called the crown of Illian) was interesting enough, I had simply lost all interest in the story overall. After this book I will take a much needed break from heavy fantasy.
Overall, this book was pretty much the same as the past few books and the future few as well. Even most fans of fantasy won’t make it this far in this series, but that’s reasonable. For others, I would recommend reading the first book, just to get a taste, and if you enjoy it, continue, but drop it when its starts feeling tedious (which it did for me). Don’t force yourself like I did. If you enjoy it, wonderful! If you don’t, find something else.