A Crown of Swords - Robert Jordan - A Short Summary and Review

 A Crown of Swords - Robert Jordan - A Short Summary and Review

By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures

A Rite of Fancy Book Recommendation and Review

A wounded dragon wins, more Aes Sedai start swearing, and the Windfinders call for rain.

A short summary:

A Crown of Swords continues the aftermath of Rand al’Thor’s brutal victory at Dumai’s Wells. The Dragon Reborn is alive, triumphant, and badly wounded, both physically and psychologically. Power has consolidated, but the cost of wielding it is becoming increasingly visible.

As Rand struggles to maintain control, more Aes Sedai begin swearing fealty, fracturing old hierarchies and unsettling the balance of the White Tower. Elsewhere, the Windfinders make their presence known, calling rain and reshaping the world’s relationship with the One Power. The story spreads outward, political, magical, and personal tensions tightening across the map.

My favorite quote from the book:

"The weak must be bold cautiously."

- Robert Jordan, A Crown of Swords

Questions to ponder while reading:

Can you work with people you don't like?

Do you ever leave someone behind?

My review of the book:

Book seven of fourteen, and yes, we are still chugging.

This installment feels like a novel of consequences. Victories linger uneasily, wounds fester, and no one escapes unchanged. Rand may “win,” but Jordan is very clear that power does not come without deterioration—physical, emotional, or moral.

I felt genuinely bad for Mat in this one. His luck remains intact, but the price of surviving chaos with humor is clearly catching up to him. He’s one of the series’s most human characters, and here especially, his resilience feels hard-earned.

And the Aes Sedai? Watching their internal politics unravel continues to be both fascinating and exhausting. One day, truly, her hair is going to fall out, if not from channeling, then from sheer stress.

A Crown of Swords isn’t a flashpoint book so much as a pressure book. It tightens threads, deepens fatigue, and makes it abundantly clear that the end of the world won’t arrive cleanly or kindly.

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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life

She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.

You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.

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